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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 35: Golem Creation (1)
Yoojin and his party stood before the gate to the border region.
"Huff... huff..."
"I thought I was going to die for real."
"S-sunbae, are your arms still attached?"
The exhausted Little Runts team members looked at each other with vacant eyes.
Yoojin, standing behind them, grumbled but restored their depleted stamina with holy magic.
"You're exaggerating. It's fine as long as everyone's limbs are intact."
"It was too hard without Fafnir-nim."
Kang Minho listlessly swung his arm.
His shield was dented and deformed beyond recognition.
It looked like it would be better to melt it down in a furnace and make a new one rather than repair it.
Kang Minyeong also strained her voice.
"Hyung, it would have been better if they had helped us."
A group of Armored Skeletons lined up behind Yoojin.
About half of them were carrying several large sacks on their shoulders.
Mana Stones and byproducts from the monsters that had flocked to the Necropolis.
The amount of byproducts was enormous, as they had been defeating monsters non-stop for two weeks.
"We can't just leave money behind, can we?"
"That's true."
"Hey! Why are you agreeing with him?!"
Half of his subordinates were on standby, managing the byproducts and mana stones.
The remaining 10 Armored Skeletons, the Little Runts team, and Yoojin had to clear the way.
'There was no crisis, but it was a bit tiring.'
As expected of the border region, they encountered monsters even with the slightest movement.
Continuous battles.
It was fortunate that Life Drain also restored health. Otherwise, it would have taken several more days to finish the battles and rest repeatedly.
〔Khahahaha. It's truly a sight to behold.〕
'Do you enjoy seeing others suffer that much?'
〔Didn't I tell you? A hero's epic must have hardships and adversity. You're having it too easy.〕
I don't want to.
I returned to the past, so I should take the easy route. There's no need to go back or suffer hardship on purpose.
Let's have a comfortable life now.
"Pass."
The soldier at the gate was slightly surprised to see the Armored Skeletons but didn't stop them.
They went straight to Shin Joonseok's workshop.
"Partner, I'm glad you returned safely."
He didn't even make a fuss about the skeletons anymore.
They say humans are creatures of adaptation.
He was getting used to it pretty quickly.
〔Shameless. From what I see, it's not adaptation, but resignation.〕
'Oh, come on. What is resignation between partners?'
Ignoring Kronos's jab, Yoojin picked up his phone.
-It's Madam.
"Hey there, it's me."
-Oh my, you're back! I heard you were in the border region. I was starting to think we'd lost you to those monsters.
"Ha, not quite. It's not as bad out there as everyone thinks, you know."
Ground Zero also faced the border region.
That was also the reason why the government left the lawless zone, including the old outlet, alone.
The outlaws paid no taxes but blocked the monsters from the border region.
'Should I call it a tacit agreement?'
While Yoojin was recalling his past memories, Madam's voice came from the receiver.
-It seems like you just came back, what's the matter?
"I have a favor to ask."
He switched to a video call.
He showed the byproducts and mana stones piled up in front of the workshop.
-Customer, it seems you have some misunderstanding...
"You can do it as a service."
-Handling byproducts is not part of the Milky Way Pub's business.
"So you're not going to do it?"
A brief silence.
-I'll send someone.
"I have one more favor."
-I'll decide after hearing it.
"Use the proceeds from handling these byproducts to get me mana boosting potions."
-Any type or attribute is fine?
"Yeah."
-Okay. Then I'll try to find suitable potions.
Click—
‘How cold. Hanging up immediately after the business talk is over.’
〔From what I see, you're the one being harsh.〕
'How can a constellation understand the human heart and say such a thing?'
〔Isn't this a matter beyond mortal and immortal? It's because of your shamelessness.〕
I don't want to hear that from a constellation who devoured his own son to keep his power.
Yoojin snorted and ignored Kronos's remark.
＊ ＊ ＊
Although he had left the handling of the byproducts to Madam, there were still many things to be done.
"Don't we need to help?"
"No. You three go to Myeongdong."
"Why Myeongdong all of a sudden...?"
"The Gate where we first met. The Ancient Garden has hidden elements."
Yoojin explained the entry requirements for [Ancient Trial Ground I].
〔Contractor, that's a different story.〕
'What's different?'
〔You were cackling about monopolizing that opportunity, why are you telling them?〕
'Back then, they could have become strangers, but after acting together like this, I can trust them.'
The future Mirror Hunters.
Judging from their actions in his previous life, the Kang siblings were trustworthy.
He couldn't trust Lee Seongmin, who was active as a team member, 100% yet.
But his unique trait was useful, so he intended to nurture him.
〔What if that little human betrays you?〕
'After getting a taste of the sweet stuff, do you think he would?'
Direct instructions from a former 9 Star.
Precious lectures that couldn't be heard anywhere else in the world!
〔Khahaha. That little human doesn't know that the Contractor has reached the 9 Star.〕
'If he has ears to listen, he'll know how amazing my explanation is.'
The process of rearranging mana.
How to release it.
He had taught them various other things as well.
'I didn't tell them how to utilize their unique traits, but it will be enough.'
They would be able to tell whether the rope handed to them was made of gold or rotten.
After finishing his explanation, Yoojin looked over the Little Runts team members.
"Any questions?"
"You're saying the target of the trial is a Draconian, right?"
"Its stats are limited to 2 Star, but it's still a formidable opponent."
"So we have to face it one-on-one."
"You won't die even if you fail the trial."
Fortunately, they didn't have to risk their lives.
It would probably hurt enough to die if they failed, though.
"You can only enter when the full moon is up, so go into the Gate and check it out in advance."
One fortunate thing was that although the entry restriction for the [Ancient Trial Ground] was one person at a time, up to 10 people could take the trial per day.
This meant that if they prepared all the materials, all three of them could enter the Ancient Trial Ground on the same day.
"We'll be back, hyung-nim."
"See you later, hyung."
"We'll definitely pass the trial!"
The Little Runts team said goodbye with determined expressions and left for Seoul.
"Wow, it's quiet now that those guys are gone."
"You don't like it when it's crowded, do you, partner?"
"Well, sometimes it gets lonely."
"Don't say things you don't mean."
Yoojin chuckled and sat down on a chair.
Shin Joonseok, who was facing him across the long table, opened his mouth quickly as if he had been holding back.
"Mass production of intermediate potions is proceeding without a hitch."
"Any problems with the mass production process?"
"The mixing machine acts up sometimes, but that's trivial."
"No investment offers from Arhan?"
"They wanted to get involved in the factory equipment and production process, but that's nonsense. I received investment with the condition of handing over only the first production batch."
Wise indeed.
If he had accepted Arhan Guild's offer in its entirety, the entire factory might have been taken over later.
Perhaps because he had been burned once by a large corporation, he was thorough in this aspect.
〔If you had foreseen that, why didn't you give him some advice when he first talked about it?〕
'Telling someone and experiencing it firsthand are different.'
Shin Joonseok was closer to a collaborator than a colleague.
Even in the previous life, he was a figure who gained fame as an alchemist and had numerous apprentices.
He was in a position to make his own judgments, not just follow Yoojin's instructions.
'There's a limit to how much I can coach him.'
〔Are you trying to foster his independence? How amusing.〕
I don't see what's so amusing about it.
Ignoring Kronos's strange remark, he focused on his conversation with Shin Joonseok again.
"Did you get everything I asked for?"
"Yes. Except for the Arachne's thread and the magic engine, everything else was easy to find."
"Then we can start working right away."
Before Yoojin could finish his sentence, Shin Joonseok's nostrils flared.
"F-finally!!!"
"You have a lot to do."
"Of course! Whatever it is, just tell me!"
Even though he had gained knowledge in alchemy by becoming a 2 Star, it was only a small part.
As with the Eldritch Dragon, attempting to create a golem without Shin Joonseok's assistance would be impossible.
〔Didn't you inherit the Golem Creation spell? Shouldn't you be able to do it without the little human's help?〕
'A golem isn't something that's completed just by casting a spell.'
A golem was a creation that encompassed all the techniques of alchemy.
It was fundamental to engrave magic circuits one by one. It involved all sorts of elements, such as transmutation, herb mixing, and mana forming.
Even with the same materials, the results varied greatly depending on the alchemist's skill.
'I'm looking forward to it. A golem created with the future's great alchemist.'
The two moved to an empty lot near the workshop.
The corpse of the Masked Beast was left abandoned on the spacious land.
Although it had been embalmed, it couldn't be completely protected from flies, so some parts were rotting.
"Ugh. I'm sorry. I tried to manage it..."
"It's excellent considering it's been two weeks."
Yoojin placed his hand on the Masked Beast's corpse.
Swoosh—!
A whitish energy seeped through the contact point, circulating throughout the Masked Beast's body, which was rotting in places.
The rotten parts were extracted, and the insects that had settled in the corpse were driven out.
〔Then isn't it the same as with the Eldritch Dragon?〕
'It's a bit different. I'm not making an undead.'
It was different from when he engraved magic circuits on the Draconian corpse.
He restored the deceased to its purest form and stopped manipulating the spirit power.
"Bring the materials."
"Yes."
Shin Joonseok moved the pre-ordered alchemy materials to the empty lot.
"It would be good to set up the cylinders and the witch's cauldron as well. To reduce movement."
"Understood."
While Shin Joonseok was finishing the alchemy setup, Yoojin examined the quality of the materials one by one.
'As expected of Shin Joonseok. He's prepared decent materials.'
The state of the catalyst was also a factor that determined the success or failure of alchemy.
Shin Joonseok had thoroughly selected and managed the materials, ensuring that all elements were in optimal condition.
"Partner, I have a question."
"You're curious why the golem's medium is a corpse?"
"Are you reading my mind?"
"No. I just figured you'd ask that question around this point."
A golem was an artificial life form created through alchemy.
The properties of its body varied depending on the 'medium' it was first made from.
If made of rock, it was a Rock Golem.
If made of iron, it was an Iron Golem.
There were also Giant Golems, which were the culmination of magic engineering.
There were various types of golems that couldn't be defined as a single entity.
"You were thinking, 'It would be more beneficial to make an undead with such a large corpse, so why make a golem?' right?"
"Shamefully, that's correct. I couldn't understand your thoughts, partner."
"Well, you're half right. What I'm going to make is something that straddles both undead and golem."
A secret golem passed down to necromancers.
That was what Yoojin was going to create.
"Blood Golem."
"...Blood?"
"Yes. The golem I'm going to make uses blood as its body."
Blood was the currency of life.
That was what necromancers, whose profession defied death, or vampires, who toyed with life itself, said.
"A golem that uses blood, the essence of life, as its body. Aren't you curious what it will look like?"
〔Khahahaha. What kind of crazy little human would look forward to that?〕
I think you're wrong.
A golem that uses blood itself as a medium.
It was the opposite of the mechanism of ordinary golems.
Engraving magic circuits on a liquid that wouldn't stay still and tried to flow down?
An alchemist wouldn't be able to resist.
"I'm incredibly excited!!!!"
The pocket watch shook violently.
Kronos must have been quite offended since he was immediately contradicted as soon as he spoke.
'Incompetent constellation, just watch quietly.'
If you stay still, you won't make things worse.
Yoojin chuckled inwardly as he rubbed his hands together, then recalled the knowledge he had accumulated in his previous life and instructed Shin Joonseok on the next step.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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