Chapter 607: Making an Angel (1)
The search for the owner of the holy sword was evidently proceeding smoothly.
It wasn’t as fast as expected, but there was such an emotional response to the point where Benignore Net ended up being paralyzed.
There were parts of the process that I didn’t like, but it was at a level that I could just laugh at.
Those who passed the trials presented by the Holy sector began to flock from all over the place, moving from the test benches to the location where the holy sword was situated.
Griffons scattered throughout the continent took to the skies every day to find the chosen warrior as fast as possible.
Of course, as promised to the continental people, the process was broadcasted all over the continent through the Goddess’s Mirror.
Needless to say, the aggregated ratings were at an all-time high. In fact, it was fun to watch, even for me.
As if to prove that attention had been drawn from the entire continent, the tests conducted day and night became a tourist attraction in the capital. People had begun from various cities to form a strange group, perhaps dissatisfied with watching through the Goddess’s Mirror or Hand Mirror.
They then started to broadcast it live once again through the Goddess’s Hand Mirror.
It was a natural occurrence for the people crowding in each broadcast to talk and exchange opinions.
‘Who are the rookies we should watch out for?’
‘One of them is from a certain province, and he’s not bad at all.’
‘A swordsman from the North has been showing some pretty great skills lately.’
‘I’ve been watching a guy since the pre-tests, and I just know he’s qualified to become the master of the holy sword.’
and eventually, a small fandom began to emerge.
With the Goddess’s Mirror, a special broadcast was organized, driven by that momentum. They revolved around phrases like ‘who is the chosen warrior?’ and initiated interviews and information about the rookie.
There was even a tear-jerking one about a swordsman revealing his heartbreaking past as a former peasant.
Everyone had their own story, and those with solid goals and convictions became very popular.
Of course, there were those who were my favorites, and they were given more media exposure since they were receiving preferential treatment.
After all, I was the one that benefited the most from that peculiar situation. Of course, it wasn’t an economic benefit. With this, I had discovered the gemstones that were hiding all over the continent.
Even though I was the one managing the world, there was no way I could find a gemstone that I couldn’t see. Honestly, it was still far from what I expected, but the big event was empowering me in a completely different way.
There was a girl who had been a shepherd in a mountain village. She had a natural talent for taming, and there was a boy who showed potential for both magic and swords, like the magic swordsman Jung Jin-ho.
Of course, Kim Hyunsung was also happy with the appearance of those gems.
Since the talents who couldn’t be found even in the first round had now shown themselves, he had to be enjoying it.
He even expressed his intention to recruit some.
Those individuals, unfortunately, didn’t pass on the final exam, but large guilds and countries that wouldn’t have a knot in their eyes still tried to meet them, and the rookies accepted the offer with a sour expression.
They even thought that it wouldn’t be bad to hold auditions every quarter.
‘It’s no wonder that the content from Earth is working.’
It worked because there was a reason.
The rookies accepted the contract, and the guilds didn’t spare any support for the talented people. Hence, they were raising combatants that they could use for free in the future.
In the meantime, troops arriving from the joint training center were deployed to each site and immediately began training that revolved around siege defenses.
It was going so well that I could immediately tell that Kim Hyunsung and Cho Hyejin did a good job.
At that moment, I remembered that I discarded the position I had recently maintained and sent a warm smile to Kim Hyunsung after a very long time.
After that, of course, we went our separate ways again and focused on our respective works.
While I was still nervous about the whole Benignore situation, thanks to Cho Hyejin’s coordination, the restoration work at the 5th District finally began to gain momentum.
The same was the case with the research of the three that stayed there.
“I think I can use them…”
Han Sora, looking at all the new creatures with their eyes closed in the test tubes, quietly opened her mouth.
“You’re amazing, definitely…”
‘In fact, it’s not that great.’
It would certainly be surprising to Han Sora, but to me, it wasn’t something out of the ordinary.
‘I’m not that stupid.’
[Ramus Tucker’s Introduction to Alchemy - Alchemist Only (Heroic)]
[The Great Alchemist, Ramus Tucker, was one of the most prominent alchemists of all time. He was a republican military alchemist who earned his reputation as the best in bio-synthesis and potions, but for some reason, it is said that his studies have been purged.]
‘I started my alchemy career with this… If they can’t do even this much…’
It was not an exaggeration to say that I had built up the foundations of living alchemy.
At the time, I focused a little more and invested time on the field of potion synthesis, but if the character Lee Kiyoung grew a little more balanced, it wouldn’t be strange even if he had become an authority in such a field.
Didn’t he even create his own class called Living Summoning Alchemist?
The absence of knowledge of black magic, which was the reason why I couldn’t deal with chimeras, was also completely resolved with Belial’s gift.
Whenever I succeeded, like putting together a puzzle or finishing a Lego figurine, I often found my jaw dropping while I was looking at my hand.
Chimeras on the continent were based on the synthesis or rearrangement and creation of beasts.
Broadly speaking, it involved removing and reuniting parts of the body, such as the limbs of a monster, and in detail, transplanting cells, organs of evil spirits, or catalysts that could be used as cores.
The basic task wasn’t that difficult. It was no different from making a toy by removing the lion’s head and putting it next to the goat’s head.
Of course, whether such a creation would be alive afterward was a completely different matter.
Even if it was alive, it was bound to have unconditional side effects.
Some became violent, and some ended up losing their energy.
It could stagger and die suddenly in a few days, or control over it could become impossible.
Alchemy alone had no way to control chimeras that were experiencing that phenomenon.
That was also the reason living alchemy failed…
“Did you control it with black magic?”
“Yes, it’s similar.”
“It wouldn’t be good for your body…”
“Sora can do this too, right? As far as I know, I think you can.”
“Yes, of course, I can’t say it’s impossible at all, but… It’s harder to control a chimera than to create it. The higher the grade, the more difficult it is to control…”
“That’s only from the point of view of a black wizard. In my case, the opposite feels easier.”
“I envy your talent for combining this strong chimera in your first attempt and controlling it right away.”
“Actually, I want to create one that’s at least legendary-grade.”
“…”
“Of course, a legendary-grade should’ve been produced. You probably can’t even imagine how many catalysts were in it. Although the monster’s quality used as the base was poor, it contained unimaginably advanced catalysts. There were already dozens of legendary ones used for it. With that being said, I combined it without thinking too much…”
“Wouldn’t it be better to try combining monsters with some connection points? If the array is broken, the probability decreases, so I think that would work better.”
“Hmm…”
“Then how many of this are you going to make?”
“I don’t know. I try to make them steadily without taking a break. However, since we’ve developed some outline, I think we can see this point as the real start.”
“I have to ask… Is this really okay?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I mean… using chimeras in your position as the Vice Guild Master… I wonder if it won’t stand out a bit…”
“How can you say that it looks like that type of chimera?”
Even if I washed my eyes and look at it, I couldn’t find anything nasty about it.
Its foundation was the figure of an angel that we had been told about only through stories.
The leather and skin of Salit were implanted, and more skin was once again used to cover over them.
Eight wings from easily-found bird-type monsters were attached, so it could theoretically fly.
Even the wing muscles were separated and had been turned white, making the angel guise even more plausible no matter how one looked at it.
Although the appearance itself was quite heterogeneous, the basilisk’s optic nerve was incorporated and customized to make it look as sacred as possible.
Should an angel be like a human? Rather, it would feel strange if it didn’t look like an alien.
The cost of drafting was quite astronomical. However, I could confidently say that it was worth it. It had eyes with paralysis, lithography, and wings to fight directly against the outer god’s pigeon-like minions.
What I liked most was that it could even emit light.
“Look at this.”
“…”
“That was really hard to find.”
It actually was.
At least in my memory, no monster could emit light by itself. However, when I searched, I somehow found some.
“To the south, there are several species of fish monsters that live in the sea, and one of them attracts humans and other monsters with light. It’s similar to anglerfishes. By catalyzing that organ, the transplant was successful.”
‘That took the longest time.’
“It’s not a big effect, but it’s still fascinating enough. Those who don’t have resistance to magic might be amazed the moment they looked at the light… Of course, it feels a bit artificial as a whole, but it won’t cause any problems since I will supplement that part as well. I’m asking again just to make sure, but… Does it really look like a chimera?”
“Ah… of course… of course not. Yes, an angel… It’s an angel.”
“Does it look like an angel?”
“Yes.”
“I plan to make about six units with a little more strength. It’ll be better if you make its characteristics stand out. It would be more efficient for the blacksmith to control everyone than me.”
“Ah…”
“The number 666 is bothering me these days… It’s impossible to create that many, but I want to try to come close at least. I’m going to make one more right now, so watch me. It would be nice to make it together.”
“What? Together?”
“Yes, wasn’t Han Sora, the best student? You had outstanding grades in alchemy as well, so you’ll get it in no time.”
I was sure it would be unconditionally helpful to her. Although she was overwhelmed by Jung Hayan, she was still one of the top-tier wizards.
She would’ve had limitations if she had been a normal wizard, but the black wizard class had allowed her to rise.
I was so lucky that I had told her about alchemy in advance. If it hadn’t been for her, I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy little hobbies, let alone exiting the lab.
She immediately became anxious, but…
“It won’t be that hard. You don’t have to worry too much.”
“That… Will Jung Hayan be okay with this?”
“It’s not going to be a problem. I thought you both are close now. What are you worried about? Don’t worry about anything else and work comfortably. Oh, and I’ll send you a list of people, so please train them.”
“…”
“Don’t say anything about black magic. You just need to talk roughly about a dark hero or something. Tell them darkness is the only way to have light or that you are the dark priest from the church. Lines only those who understand it well can respond to it. We are the ones who gave up our names. Use conventional phrases related to that. Do you understand?”
“Yes, but…”
“Yes?”
“Can we make chimeras… with Jung Hayan, the three of us?”
She had a desperate expression, a fearful face, and eyes that seemed to be about to burst into tears. Honestly, I thought I knew what she was afraid of, but…
‘She has something else to do…’
I couldn’t put three high-quality workers in the same place.
That was especially the case for our Archmage.
I then heard the sound of knocking at the door.
Instantly, Han Sora, who was surprised, screamed and put some distance between us, but Hayan wasn’t interested in her.
“It’s not what you think. It’s not what you…”
“…”
“O-O-Oppa. Today’s the tamer, Alp’s exam day. I think they’re starting now!”
Jung Hayan was also addicted to the recent broadcast.