Chapter 16. Mage (1)
"...This is how you do it. It's the intellectual part, right?"
"Oppa... You're really good at scheming."
The voice of the Philosopher's Stone, entranced by Si-moon's explanation.
"Even if that guy explains it, just say he's smart."
Si-moon forced a hollow laugh and gently stroked the Philosopher's Stone at the center of his chest.
"So, is it impossible?"
"...No, it's entirely possible. I can't guarantee it, but there probably won't be any rebound either?"
"Really?"
"Yeah. This is the same case as the Obsidian Tablet. It's not a tool for using abilities."
Si-moon nodded at the Philosopher's Stone's words.
'Certainly, what I'm trying to create this time is a book containing knowledge.'
Like the [Obsidian Tablet] containing knowledge of human transmutation.
The 'this' he was trying to create now wasn't an immediate ability-manifesting form like Astrape.
It was clearly a book form containing knowledge.
"But just like the Obsidian Tablet, if you try to create the latter half, the required cost will be completely different."
"Does that mean it'll require an enormous amount of achievement points?"
"If your alchemy stat alone can support it, that won't happen."
"That's exactly what I'm saying, Yonseok."
He could confidently say this current project was undoubtedly a myth-grade item.
To handle that with alchemy stats alone - how high would those stats need to be? He couldn't even fathom.
'Even if I invested all stats into alchemy and reached ranker-level, it'd probably still be impossible.'
When he thought about it, it made sense.
Myth-grade artifacts were items constellations only conditionally permitted to their chosen sponsors.
To perfectly replicate such a thing - there was no way a mere player could bear the full cost of equivalent exchange.
"Then how many achievement points do you think will be needed for the transmutation?"
"Hmm... Wait. Let me calculate."
If this transmutation's required points exceeded 9,000, he wasn't planning to make the Mage Elixir either.
After all, in his current state, he was already dominating this rank bracket.
He could just run more arenas to meet the requirement and make the Mage Elixir later.
'Achievement points come quickly enough anyway.'
Judging by Constellation Zeus and Black Goat's attitudes, they'd keep closely watching him.
If he performed well in constellation missions or arenas, achievement points would naturally accumulate.
"It depends on how much completion you aim for. Honestly, we got lucky last time with the Obsidian Tablet."
"We got lucky?"
When Si-moon tilted his head in confusion, the Philosopher's Stone made an affirmative sound.
"Yeah. You got bonuses for being an alchemist, and I'm kinda pretty? The Obsidian Tablet fell head over heels for me so we got a discount~!"
"Does... 'pretty' refer to the Philosopher's Stone's special properties as a transmuted object?"
"Ah, shit! Can't you just call me pretty?"
"Ah, right. You're pretty."
"Eek! But saying it so directly makes me blush~!"
Ignoring the Philosopher's Stone's coquettishness, Si-moon propped his chin.
'Completion rate...'
The completion rate mentioned by the Philosopher's Stone likely referred to the [Grade - Replica (%)] section.
'Lowering this reduces the cost, right?'
But he couldn't lower it indiscriminately.
'For artifacts like Astrape, it might be acceptable...'
Even with low completion rates, artifact types could still manifest corresponding abilities.
'But knowledge is different.'
No matter how great the recorded knowledge might be,
If the text gets cut off midway, it becomes useless.
"Wait."
Reaching this conclusion,
"Philosopher's Stone. Let me ask one thing."
"Mmhm! What's your question?"
Si-moon recalled the time with the Obsidian Tablet.
"You fused with the Obsidian Tablet before."
"To be precise, I absorbed it. No matter how great I am, I'm ultimately a transmuted object, right?"
Si-moon's eyes sparkled at its words.
"Then as a transmuted object, you can absorb knowledge too?"
"Of course! Oppa, I'm an incredibly intellectual girl. Didn't you know?"
The Philosopher's Stone's confidence turned Si-moon's hypothesis into certainty.
Si-moon cheered and raised his transmutation power.
"Good. Philosopher's Stone? Let's start the transmutation immediately."
The stone asked:
"What completion rate are you aiming for? You know knowledge works differently from artifacts..."
"Exactly 10%. That's enough."
"Hmm. You seem to understand the structure of transmuted objects?"
"Roughly. I heard about it from someone."
Si-moon recalled the complaints from Go Mal-suk, one of his few acquaintances.
'Hey, genius. Look at this. Can you make sense of this bullshit?'
She had thrown an old, thin manual while fuming.
'This damn martial art is divided into 10 stages of mastery across 10 pages!'
'But fuck! My dumbass can only handle up to the 7th stage!'
'You're good at appraising stuff. Can't you interpret these cryptic texts?'
In her past life, she had requested his help interpreting [Heavenly Demon Divine Art], a myth-grade item from Constellation Cheonma.
Of course, due to the "inheritor-only" restriction, Si-moon hadn't even seen the characters.
'But I know the Heavenly Demon Divine Art consists of 10 chapters.'
Dividing it conventionally, each stage would be 10%.
Thus, the 10% completion rate should contain the first stage's teachings.
'Originally I planned to interpret the Heavenly Demon Divine Art myself...'
This was the art that made Go Mal-suk a top ranker with just 7 stages.
No matter how long it took,
Si-moon had intended to interpret and master it himself.
He had some confidence,
Having observed Go Mal-suk's techniques and combat style.
But.
'If the Philosopher's Stone can absorb knowledge from transmuted objects...'
Like how the human transmutation knowledge from the Obsidian Tablet had become part of him,
This would apply as a trait, eliminating the need for tedious interpretation.
He just needed a body capable of using Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
'And human transmutation should suffice for the body.'
Having organized his thoughts, Si-moon asked:
"Philosopher's Stone, how much would a 10% completion transmutation cost?"
"10% completion? Not too expensive. Maybe around 5,000 points?"
"5,000? Cheap."
"But the later parts will be no joke. It's myth-grade knowledge after all."
"Well, I can learn the first stage immediately. That's enough."
Si-moon nodded contentedly.
Half the 10,000 points needed for 20% Obsidian Tablet transmutation.
Considering both were myth-grade, it was a clean calculation.
"Good. Let's begin immediately."
"Mmhm!"
Si-moon attempted the transmutation while recalling the featureless pages of [Heavenly Demon Divine Art] that Go Mal-suk had given him.
[Insufficient transmutation power to meet requirements.]
A familiar message window appeared.
[Philosopher's Stone requests 5,000 achievement points to compensate for equivalent exchange deficiency.]
[Accept? (Yes/No)]
Without hesitation, Si-moon tapped 'Yes'. The moment 5,000 points were consumed,
Snap
Pazzt!
The intricate transmutation light at his fingertips thinned and split,
Becoming a single aged piece of paper.
Flutter.
Though no wind blew,
The frail paper fluttered weakly in the air.
Si-moon's face lit up for a simple reason:
'I can see it!'
The [Heavenly Demon Divine Art] that had appeared blank before,
Now showed dense, mysterious characters covering the aged paper.
Si-moon carefully caught it and checked the information.
[Heavenly Demon Divine Art]
Grade - Replica (10%)
Constellation Cheonma's martial art.
Can be learned, but somehow cannot exert its full power.
"Success!!"
Si-moon spontaneously jumped up cheering.
Was alchemy being finicky?
Though he knew the structure, that was all.
He'd worried the early-stage knowledge quality might demand additional transmutation.
But having extracted just 1 of 10 stages, how could he not rejoice?
"Now, Philosopher's Stone? Absorb it quickly."
"Mmhm! But Oppa, your hopping is so cute! Let me give you rabbit ears so you can hop aga-"
"Hurry."
Sharply cutting off the mischievous stone, Si-moon pressed the Heavenly Demon Divine Art to his chest.
"Gulp! Tastes fancy, being constellation stuff."
As the stone's voice mumbled,
Si-moon watched the manual slowly sink into his chest while tilting his head.
'Speaking of which, no constellation reactions this time?'
He'd been somewhat tense.
When he made Astrape, all Olympus constellations reacted.
With the Obsidian Tablet, Black Goat had shown direct interest.
'Guess I should count myself lucky.'
Not all constellations would view him favorably.
Naturally.
Freely copying their creations wouldn't earn him goodwill.
The Black Goat incident proved that.
'Without the [One Who Catches Distant Gazes] title, I might've clashed with Black Goat.'
The anger message and its quarrelsome nature with Zeus suggested as much.
"Oppa! Done absorbing!"
"Really?"
Si-moon's eyes sparkled at the stone's words.
Then.
"Mmh! But this is disgustingly abstruse. These concepts are like grasping at cloud-"
The stone's voice grew faint.
Not just that.
Their ever-present connection faded.
Finally, all senses blurred.
This situation felt familiar.
'This is like before the regress-'
With that thought,
Si-moon's consciousness cut off.
"Mmm..."
Si-moon's elegant brow furrowed.
'Where...?'
As his senses gradually returned, Si-moon opened his eyes and slowly sat up.
Expansive natural scenery.
From bizarre rock formations to majestic waterfalls.
This place resembling the Peach Blossom Spring seemed like a living classical Eastern painting.
Then from behind:
"Kehehe. Awake, are we?"
A dignified yet mysteriously imposing voice.
Turning his head,
"Though I wonder if your body's recovered."
In a simple pavilion sat an elderly man.
"Ah. I'm fine."
Si-moon quickly stood up.
Though not excessively deferential to elders from his Korean upbringing,
Basic courtesy remained ingrained.
Perhaps pleased by this,
"Kuhaha! Not like today's youth. Sit."
The old man gestured to the adjacent seat with amplified laughter.
Before Si-moon could respond,
Swoosh.
He slid effortlessly to the seat before the elder.
'Good heavens...'
Si-moon's eyes widened in shock.
How could mere gesturing alter someone's position so?
Then,
'Of course.'
Si-moon realized.
This wasn't any Peach Blossom Spring.
The being before him only wore a benevolent facade.
"I never expected to meet a constellation directly like this."
"Ohho? You speak as if knowing my identity."
"Hard not to. I transmuted Heavenly Demon Divine Art before coming here."
One of the highest-ranked constellations alongside Zeus,
Cheonma - the Heavenly Demon.
As if proving this,
"Kuhuhu! Well said. My unnecessary question. You're correct. I am Constellation Cheonma."
[First Earthling to directly meet a constellation!]
[5,000 achievement points acquired.]
The system granted a whopping 5,000 points.
Then,
[Constellation Cheonma is extremely dangerous.]
[We'll strive to ensure player safety, but refrain from rash provocation.]
[Player Kim Si-moon will be instantly recalled to Earth during emergencies.]
Tension-inducing messages followed.
'For the system to issue warnings...'
Si-moon felt slightly puzzled.
For good reason.
'Ugh! This damn old coot again!'
'Fuck! Would it kill you to give easier missions?!'
'This crazy perverted geezer!'
Having vaguely known Cheonma's nature through Go Mal-suk,
Was Si-moon the only one receiving these messages?
"Tsk tsk. How fucking annoying."
Contrary to his sage appearance, vulgarities flowed naturally.
Cheonma waved dismissively at empty air,
Likely swatting away system warnings.
'Like teacher, like disciple.'
Seeing Go Mal-suk's image overlap momentarily, Si-moon chuckled.
"You summoned me because of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art?"
"Kuhuhu. Straight to the point, I see."
Cheonma preferred boldness - something Si-moon knew from Go Mal-suk's past life.
It worked.
"Refreshing lack of hesitation. Good. Youth should have audacity. Though you're mistaken on one count."
Cheonma nodded with a satisfied smile.
"Single inheritance is the rule, but the Divine Art isn't my concern. My interest lies elsewhere."
His benevolent face continued,
But through that benevolence shone a gaze that chilled the soul:
"You. What exactly are you?”
