As he continued forth, an altar came into view. The altar was wrapped in steel and copper and had a crude appearance. Two Mana Golems, sitting beside the altar, abruptly stood up.

[Unfurl the Alchemist’s Scroll over the altar.]

Sungchul’s eyes turned towards the altar. A considerable amount of mana could be felt coming from it. However, it felt different from a magician’s mana. If a magician’s mana could be compared to the constant rhythm of breathing, this mana had a consistent presence with no fluctuations. Sungchul began to picture the heart monitor at an emergency room.

‘This is a proper altar. It could almost sell me on this cla.s.s all on its own.’

Eckheart, the person, was interesting, but he was not so interested in the alchemist cla.s.s itself. Sungchul simply pa.s.sed by the altar into the pa.s.sage beyond. As soon as he entered, a message in red brought him to a stop.

[Only those with Alchemic abilities can challenge the trials which lay beyond.]

Several blades and hidden traps made intimidating noises as they activated from all sides. Looking at the message, Sungchul felt despondent. Only allowed to advance after becoming an Alchemist. What a childish trick.

Sungchul could pa.s.s through the traps with his own strength, but he felt like playing along for at least a little while longer.

[Alchemist’s Cla.s.s Scroll]

Grade: Rare – Hidden

Type: Cla.s.s Change (Compact Form)

Effect: Acquire Hidden Cla.s.s Alchemist

Restriction: None

Requirement: 20x Palace Token

Everything else was fine, but the Palace Tokens made him hesitate. Sungchul had 33 Palace Tokens. He needed 17 more Palace Tokens to become an Echo Mage. It wasn’t like these Tokens were very easy to get, and there was the chance that he could be hit by some misfortune and miss his mark for becoming an Echo Mage. Taking this was like filling up on ramen before going to a high-cla.s.s restaurant then missing out on the main course.

‘Mm… what to do…’

He didn’t hesitate for too long. Sungchul reached into his pocket for 20 Palace Tokens and placed them along with the scroll, onto the altar.

The reason he was confident in doing this was simple. He was humanity’s greatest warrior; there were two more rank matches left, and he could earn more than enough Palace Tokens just by maintaining a good rating. There was the risk however of being noticed by the spectators, but missing out on this curiosity would linger too much in the back of his mind.

‘What’s there to life? Might as well bet it all.’

Before this man, who has more enemies than friends, a lengthy message appeared.

[You have felt the breath of truth.]

[Congratulations! You have acquired the hidden cla.s.s, Alchemist!]

Reward: Cla.s.s – Alchemist acquired

Wind, interwoven with magic, blew out from the altar and wrapped around Sungchul’s body. The wind grew brighter and brighter and flowed even faster before finally disappearing into his body. He immediately opened his cla.s.s window to take a look.

[Cla.s.s]

Main Cla.s.s – Primordial Warrior (Legendary)

Sub Cla.s.s – High-cla.s.s Chef (Rare)

Sub Cla.s.s – Alchemist (Rare)

*2 Additional Sub Cla.s.s slots available

He had acquired the Alchemist cla.s.s. There were two Sub Cla.s.s slots left; more than enough room for the Echo Mage cla.s.s. Personally, it bothered him that he had wasted one of his precious Sub Cla.s.s slots. But hadn’t he done fine without worrying about his Sub Cla.s.s slots so far? He rea.s.sured himself with these thoughts and continued past the altar, into the corridor. Unlike before, none of the traps were activated.

Past the hostile corridor, there sat a table and a stone cauldron. The cauldron lit up with bright orange flames and heated itself; while different kinds of minerals, plants, and sh.e.l.ls from unknown organisms appeared as he stepped closer. A fearsome Mana Golem appeared on one side of the room, but it appeared to be wrapped tightly in something similar to a spider’s web.

[The Fundamentals of Alchemy: Synthesis]

[Combine the prepared ingredients on the table and synthesize an item capable of freeing the Mana Golem.]

[Being unable to free the Mana Golem will result in disqualification.]

[Time limit is 10 minutes. There will be no second chances.]

This was a trial for Alchemists. Sungchul glanced over the ingredients on the table. There was some gra.s.s, a rock, a vial of water, some pieces of a sh.e.l.l, and other tedious bits of junk. He was at a loss with what he should do with the ingredients in front of him.

Sungchul continued to thoughtfully stare at the ingredients before holding up the gra.s.s then took a whiff.

It smelled just like gra.s.s.

After he’d finished smelling it, an unexpected message appeared in front of him.

[Gra.s.s of the Blind]

Level: 1

Grade: E

Attribute: Wood

Effect: None

Note: It is a commonly seen gra.s.s, but due to its agreeable nature, it is generally used as a buffer during alchemic experiments.

Here in Other World, appraisals were usually limited to weapons or potions that had some practical use. Gra.s.s, stone, or other natural objects could not be appraised at all, but more than that, only a few books, meant for herbalists and the like, contained any information regarding these.

‘Is this a basic skill for alchemists?’

Sungchul checked the fine details of the Alchemist cla.s.s window.

[Cla.s.s: Alchemist]

Cla.s.s Skill: Synthesis

Cla.s.s Skill: Inspection

After reading about Inspection, Sungchul understood what had just occurred.

‘I must have gotten the message screen because of the Inspection skill.’

According to its description, an alchemist can determine the attributes of an ingredient after having a sniff. Sungchul continued to investigate the other materials in the same manner: Vaporizing Liquid, Riverside Stone, Glacial Crab’s Sh.e.l.l Fragment, etc. They all had their own description and effects.

Sungchul obtained all the information and pondered briefly before tossing the Vaporizing Liquid into the cauldron. The Vaporizing Liquid was the base, the foundation for the ingredients. The Riverside Stone with its polar attribute was pulverized by his fist, then tossed in afterwards. The Vaporizing Liquid emitted a white light as the stone powder began to react with it.

Next, he pulverized then added the crimson wings of a b.u.t.terfly. It was called Wings of the Infernal b.u.t.terfly. It contained a fire attribute that could be used to amplify a weaker ingredient. The Riverside Rock essence flared up as the crimson powder entered the cauldron and the liquid turned a b.l.o.o.d.y red. However, the Riverside Rock, added before the wings, had an earth attribute and began to emit a black smoke once it started mixing. To neutralize this, Sungchul added the Gra.s.s of the Blind which acted as a buffer. Once added, the black smoke stopped, and the cauldron turned purple.

Sungchul began to stir the cauldron with the large spoon next to the cauldron. This was when the Alchemist’s next skill, Synthesize, would start to be useful. Every time the cauldron was stirred, he could feel a small amount of mana leaking out of him.

‘This must be why the alchemist cla.s.s remains unpopular.’

After countless minutes of stirring, a bright light came pouring out of the cauldron.

[Synthesis Complete]

For the first time in a while, Sungchul felt his heart race in excitement as he checked his work. The product was a colorless, sticky liquid. He collected the liquid into a provided container then inspected it.

[Low Grade Acid]

Level: 1

Grade: F

Attribute: Fire

Type: Common Clutter

Effect: It melts sticky substances

It was exactly the results he was looking for. He was slightly bothered by having used only some of the ingredients on the table, but he’d still managed to make something as he had intended. Sungchul took the low-grade acid and poured the liquid over the Mana Golem.

Ssssss-

The spider web emitted white smoke before slowly beginning to melt. Sungchul watched his success with smug eyes as he waited for the spiderweb to melt completely, but it didn’t melt any further. He had used all of the acid but had only managed to melt some of the spider web. It seems he still needed to use the rest of his ingredients in some way.

[30 seconds before time limit ends.]

[Acid of Rank D or higher required to melt the spider web.]

[Before the road of truth, a peerless mind is required. Those without talent shall be turned away.]

There was no more time or ingredients to spare, but it was also a waste for him to turn back now.

“….”

Another message appeared as if to mock him.

[10 seconds before time limit ends.]

[Turn back! You who lacks talent!]

It was once said, a man will be more willing to make promises when he needs to use the bathroom, than when he’s already used it. Sungchul couldn’t help but feel this was an apt saying to describe his situation. He stood over the Mana Golem, looked over the spider web, before roughly spitting out a single phrase.

“Aaaah, f.u.c.k it!”

He pulled apart the spider web covering the Mana Golem with his bare hands.

Rip!

It was something that could never be pulled apart by a normal human, but before Sungchul’s divine strength, it was no different than any other type of spider silk. The Mana Golem’s eyes lit up as the spider web covering it was harshly pulled apart.

“Thank you for freeing me. You have great talent as an alchemist. I will lead you to the next test.”

[You have torn the Spider Queen’s silk, which even a legendary blade could not sever.]

Reward: +2 Intuition

Getting lost is fine as long as you didn’t end up in another city; freeing the Mana Golem was the only requirement for the test. Creating the acid was only one of the methods to pa.s.sing the test. Of course, this probably wasn’t the intention of the quest-host who had created this quest; because, no matter how sharp or powerful the weapon, it would still take no less than 10 minutes to unravel this web. The only thing the host could not have foreseen would be Sungchul’s overwhelming strength.

After pa.s.sing the first test with ease, Sungchul headed towards the next course. Another trial, similar to the previous one awaited him. He’d failed the first time, but he wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. Sungchul used his wealth of experience and adaptability, and his occasionally surprising wit to move forward. If all else failed, he temporarily unsealed his ma.s.sive strength to brute-force through each one of Eckheart’s tests. Now, as he approached the final trial, a ma.s.sive three-headed golem stood to block his path.

[Eighth Hero, Eckheart’s final exam]

[The ingredients prepared before you is a seed of possibilities.]

[No questions asked. Destroy the Three-headed golem!]

The requirements were simple, and by now, Sungchul had also become tired of all of the tests. He directly pulled out Fal Garaz and smashed the Golem across the chest.

SLAM!

[You have completed all of Eckheart’s exams and come to accept the glorious potential of Alchemy.]

[Eighth Hero Eckheart could not be more excited to bestow his inheritance on you who has completed all of his tests.]

Reward:

1. Creationist’s Scroll

2. Familiar: Living Book Bertelgia

3. Eckheart’s Portable Golden Cauldron

4. + 5 Intuition

The rewards fell in front of Sungchul. There were two books. One of which was significantly larger, but as he reached for it, it floated into the air as if to reject him.

“Ah… what a blatant scam artist…”

A depressed and frosty little girl’s voice sounded out, but it wasn’t coming from a human…

“… This is the worst. For such a person to now be my master.”

…the voice was coming from the book.