Ch. 109 - Item Presentation (1)

Chapter 109: Item Presentation (1)

In the early days of his admission, Baek Yu-Seol used to get weekend leave passes and roam the hunting grounds frequently.

It was the only way he could get stronger.

However, things were different now.

He had learned a classic way to do it without having to go far, while also enhancing his physical aspects by researching items.

Thanks to that, during less busy times, Baek Yu-Seol managed to have some personal relaxation time on weekends.

Usually, he engaged in activities with Eisel and Ma Yu-Seong, but this week, he had to spend the whole day wandering around Rodeo Street, pretending to be on a date with Flame.

It was a kind of relaxation in its own way.

Compared to the grueling daily training and life-threatening battles, watching movies, drinking, and playing whack-a-mole was enjoyable and stress-relieving.

Baek Yu-Seol intended to pretend like he was on a date, but halfway through, it almost felt like he was genuinely having fun.

‘I'm pushing thirty, and I don't even know what I’m doing here.’

Anyway, having successfully mimicked a date, Baek Yu-Seol headed straight for Alchemy Castle.

He visited Alterisha quite frequently.

Recent events had been quite tumultuous, but he couldn’t postpone his tasks.

"Student Yu-Seol! You're here!"

As Baek Yu-Seol arrived, he saw Alterisha dressed in a white robe stained with reagents. Accompanied by other alchemists, she appeared to be preoccupied with an experiment.

He placed a box of energy drinks he brought on the table and asked, "How have you been lately?"

Her smile appeared lethargic, but she managed to appear joyful.

She was planning to hold a presentation. It was a presentation targeting giants, so she had been rather nervous.

"You'll do well."

"Yeah, I hope so."

Items could create anything, and nothing was impossible.

However, if one showed too many things to the world, they could start feeling averse.

It was likely that accessories and consumable items wouldn’t be easily accepted by regular people, so the plan was to show as much as they could digest.

It didn’t mean the common people were ignorant.

If they suddenly presented something the world had never seen, people would get bewildered rather than delighted.

So Alterisha decided to display familiar items first.

The easiest way to explain the greatness of items would be to make them comparable to everyday objects.

Objects most familiar to mages, universally adopted and used by everyone—the mage robe and staff.

Mage robes and staffs were crafted merely through magical engineering.

However, with the advent of alchemical engineering, they could undergo a revolutionary transformation.

To explain it in a way that a 21st-century person would understand, imagine an ancient mobile phone.

It could make calls, but if the antenna weren’t extended, the signal wouldn’t be strong.

It didn’t work in rural areas, and its internet capability was limited to playing music at best.

But one day, suddenly, the world was introduced to smartphones.

People could suddenly track their real-time locations and chat with others anytime. It became an all-purpose device with a camera and internet functionality.

Items would pioneer that sort of revolution.

Merely improving the functionality of existing items would naturally amaze people with the technology of the items.

"Have you been busy lately? I heard the news. It seems you’re attending the Aslan seminar."

"It just happened."

"Impressive... You not only solved the Alchemical Engineering Cross Technique but also wrote another thesis and will attend the Aslan Seminar..."

"It was just luck."

Baek Yu-Seol took off his Stella coat and hung, then put on a new white gown.

The gown was another prototype, sturdy enough to withstand even substantial explosions. It was a testament to its defense capabilities.

"Presenting alone is good, but are you preparing for the investors briefing properly?"

"Yeah. Want to check?"

A briefing for investors, solely for Starcloud Corporation’s President Melian.

As part of efforts to elevate the status of items, they were developing something slightly different from the regular presentation.

"Show it to me right now."

Even though he couldn't perform alchemy himself due to the lack of mana in his body, he could at least observe and offer insights into the process.

The alchemists of the Alterisha’s institute quite liked his insights.

They always appreciated his sharp observations and suggestions for improvement.

"Wow..."

It was getting a bit tiresome to be surprised every time he came, but he was astonished once again.

The pace of technological advancement was mind-bogglingly fast.

"This is the item in the process of being luxurified. It's still incomplete, but what do you think? Do you want to give it a try?"

"Yes."

Upon saying that, two alchemists who had been waiting behind Baek Yu-Seol approached and handed him a box.

Within the box was a bracelet and a choker, but even though they seemed like that at first glance, they were actually a staff and robe.

They were just shrunk down in size.

He had received an item in the form of a bracelet that covered the entire forearm when activated, and he had Alterisha complement and improve it.

Though the stats themselves were lower than other items of the same grade, these were equipment items that heightened mobility.

When the thin bracelet was activated, mana particles flowed out and solidified into a form, transforming in an instant into the shape of a long staff.

"Oh..."

The weight was light, and the stats were decent.

If they were willing to sacrifice mobility, they could have gotten much better stats, but just like Earth, the mages of Aether World wanted portability even if it meant slightly reduced performance.

An accessory that could summon robes and staff from anywhere, anytime.

How appealing was that?

However, the catch was that it was incredibly expensive.

Shrinking particles and materials to make them small was a technology beyond modern Earth's nanotechnology.

On top of that, it required unique and costly materials, making it unavoidably expensive.

Later, when subspace became more common, they could pursue performance again, but that was a matter of the distant future.

The foundational technology for vessel manufacturing was expected to develop much later.

Next, he tried on the choker.

As soon as he pressed the gem hanging around his neck, a robe grew from the choker in an instant, covering his entire body.

"Oh… Not bad."

"It has an automatic Level 2 shield activation feature."

Level 2 meant Class 2.

A Level 2 shield that covered the whole body on a choker with enhanced mobility.

The world had truly improved.

"We still don't have the technology to pay attention to the design, so just covering the body is the end."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. It's even challenging to implement simple sleeves or pockets."

After a moment's consideration, Baek Yu-Seol asked for a magic pen.

In response, the alchemists hurriedly brought him a magic pen.

Originally, he didn't want to fuss about these details, but there was no choice.

This item was meant to be presented to Melian as a luxury item, so leaving it bland without even a design wouldn't do.

"Here, how about drawing a boundary on the particle reduction line and adding shape-memory fusion? Right now, it merely folds and unfolds, but by adding fusion, we can record a rough form. Just drawing a boundary line on the particles might be enough to create sleeves or pockets."

"Huh!"

An alchemist who had been listening to his words let out a sigh.

Alterisha’s reaction wasn't much different.

"That's... Well, it's fine, I guess..."

With the current technology, to implement something like that, dozens of alchemists would need to be involved in creating a single item.

However, since what was important during the presentation was the finished product, the process and effort put into it didn’t matter much.

They only needed to show evidence that they would eventually be able to mass-produce the item, so the extensive process could be greatly reduced during the actual development and commercialization phase.

But before that, it could serve as a high-end sample that could be shown to Melian in advance.

"Then, let's keep up the good work from now on." After saying that, Baek Yu-Seol left the place.

There was no farewell.

The alchemists who could have bid him farewell were all focused on the magic lines he had drawn.

Although his alchemy work was done, he didn't immediately return to Stella.

He wanted to visit the orchard of the third world tree.

Spirit Garden.

When he visited, he would always wander around in the late dawn hours.

Climbing the sparsely used path felt rather suspicious, so he avoided it.

It wasn't quite late dawn but a fresh evening, so he headed straight to Leafanel’s garden.

"Hello!"

As expected, Leafanel, who had woken up earlier, was energetically moving around inside the garden.

He had received a mental signal that Leafanel had awakened not too long before, but he didn't fully grasp what that signal meant, so he came a bit later.

"Hey. You look healthy?"

"Yeah! I'm perfectly healthy!"

Although she answered like that, he felt bitter.

Leafanel’s physique had become much smaller than before.

Originally, she had the appearance of an ordinary woman, but now she was about the size of a person's palm.

The divine beings who had lived for many ages gradually acquired a form similar to that of humans. However, Leafanel was weakened to the point where she couldn't even maintain that human-like form.

"It's okay! I'll recover soon!"

"How long will it take?"

"Um... About a thousand years?"

"Uh. That's really soon."

She had lost most of her strength, but the fact that she was alive and moving around while breathing was a good thing in itself.

Despite her weakened state, Leafanel didn't rest and continued darting around the garden.

Seeing her so content made Baek Yu-Seol feel relieved.

"I might recover even sooner!" Perhaps noticing his expression, Leafanel smiled brightly.

"How?"

"A divine contract!"

Translated into the language of mages, it meant a familiar contract.

"Yeah. I used to be really weak before. But after forming a contract with Ha Tae-Ryeong, I became so much stronger."

"Ha Tae-Ryeong, you say..."

The person who had researched mana leakage delay and created Tae-Ryeong's Godly Technique.

However, something felt odd.

"You got stronger by forming a contract with someone who doesn't have mana? What’s the  principle behind this?"

The reason why mages and familiars desired each other was that there were mutual benefits.

Mages enhanced the performance of their magic by increasing the affinity of their soul connection with familiars, and familiars received mana from mages to strengthen themselves.

However, Ha Tae-Ryeong had mana leakage delay.

A body without any mana.

What benefit could familiars possibly gain by forming a contract with such a human?

“Um... I don't know.”

"You don't know?"

"Yeah. I just did it. And I became stronger."

"Well, that's a simple answer."

Though he didn’t understand the reason and cause, at the end of the day, it seemed the outcome was positive. 

"So how about forming a contract with me? What do you say?"

"It's not a bad idea..."

Baek Yu-Seol’s current affinity with familiars was quite high, but he hadn't formed a contract with any familiars.

Ultimately, the fact that his body lacked mana significantly reduced his attractiveness as a contract partner.

It felt a bit like being someone who wanted to date but didn’t want to get married.

"So you really got stronger like that?"

Though she had lost all her strength now, Leafanel was once a great familiar who had even reached the become a spirit.

Contracting with her would be a loss for him in no way.

On the other hand, those with great knowledge would know that it would be a significant loss for Leafanel.

"Do you really want to do this?" he asked with a guilty expression, but Leafanel vigorously nodded her head.

"Just trust me!"

"Yeah... You won't change your mind later?"

"Yep, yep."

As he extended his hand towards her, Leafanel flew onto his palm and lightly kissed him.

Then, a cluster of light resembling constellations enveloped his body, and a brilliant light extended to the high sky.

[Contract established with Leafanel.]

Comments