Chapter 216 – Philosopher’s Stone (9)

The Philosopher’s Stone was a large bundle of energy. Since it was made from ten thousands of souls, making it was even harder.

That was also why Bild wasn’t able to use it.

There were 3 different steps that Yeon-woo had to take to complete the process.

The first was to properly settle the energy source into the stone.

The second was to combine the Philosopher’s Stone and the energy source to complete the stone.

And the last step was to have his body adjust to the stone.

Yeon-woo was thinking that the last step would be easiest.

The Philosopher’s Stone was a type of magical organ. However, Yeon-woo had the Magic Circuit, which could hold all the mana in the world, and the Philosopher’s Stone was nothing more than a fraction of that power. His body would definitely be able to accept it. And according to his calculations, it was totally possible.

However, the problem was putting the contents into the vessel. It wasn’t easy to combine the Devil Cores and the stones.

Yeon-woo understood the formula perfectly, and if the formula was used, there wouldn’t be any problem with finishing the stone.

‘There’s only one chance. If I fail, I die.’

While he was in his Time Difference, Yeon-woo focused all his consciousness onto the stone.

There was only one chance. If there was the slightest mistake, the chance would evaporate into nothing. The Devil Cores and the stone that he gained with difficulty could be ruined.

Since he had gone through it in his head several times already, nothing unexpected happened.

Clack.

Clack.

Like pieces of a puzzle being assembled one by one, the stone next to his heart started to take form little by little.

Nemesis and Nike had temporarily left the stone for the completion. There was nothing that was taking his attention away from the process right now.

How much time had passed?

The stone slowly started to look complete. The stone, which was about the size of a fist, was slightly trembling. It looked like it would break any second.

There was only one material left now. The energy source, Agares’s Devil Cores.

Yeon-woo finished the path from the stone and the Devil Cores, and the energy from the Devil Cores slowly began to move towards the stone.

Yeon-woo though his brain was going to burst. It was the first time he felt like this since he learned the 72 Bian in the Monkey King’s Palace.

His touch was light and careful. Everything would be messed up if he made the slightest mistake. It was the demonic energy that most demons couldn’t make, and it could probably even make a new demon.

But fortunately, Yeon-woo had a deep knowledge of alchemy and magic from the past 4 months, and his control of magic was skilled enough to defeat most magicians.

On top of that, in his slowed time from Time Difference, there was no way any mistakes would be made.

Clack, clack—

Carefully, he put the last of his magic power into the Philosopher’s Stone, and Yeon-woo closed off the path from the stone to the energy source.

Agares’s magic power swirled around the stone. It sparked to escape the stone, but the stone didn’t budge at all. Then, the magic power synchronized with the stone, and it turned back into the Devil Cores again.

Clack!

Like it was heading towards its home.

A clear sound rang inside his head.

‘It worked!’

Yeon-woo shouted to himself.

Then, that moment…..

Dring, dring—

[Additional information about the hidden functions will be revealed.]

[The Corrupted Philosopher’s Stone]

Category: ???

Rank: ???

Summary: The purest energy in the world is a human’s soul. This stone was created after refining souls accordings to the directions on the Emerald Tablet.

It was filled with fear, so special care needs to be taken. The current emotions inside the stone is receiving the energy of the demon Agares, and slowly becoming bigger.

*Report of Deep-seated Grudge

From the demonic energy that was emitted from Agares’s Devil Core, the grudges within the Philosopher’s Stone can be amplified with magic power. However, the user of this power must pay the price to use this function.

**This artifact is ‘Unique.’ There is only one in the Tower, and it is impossible to share with someone else.

**Warning! This is an artifact with a strong curse. It can be used several times according to the need, but the user may be cursed, so care must be taken.

[The artifact is complete, but still not available for use. It must be connected with an existing magic organ.]

[There is a strong curse on the artifact. When connected with an existing magical organ, special attention must be taken.]

The words ‘special care must be taken’ were not only in the summary, but in the messages as well.

That was how dangerous the completed Philosopher’s Stone was.

Yeon-woo thought that was to be expected.

He knew more than anyone how many players had been sacrificed for this.

Its form was just hidden in the form of a stone. It was clear that there were ten thousands of grudges. The demonic energy of a Grand Demon Duke just added to its power.

This was something that Yeon-woo hadn’t expected.

So even as Yeon-woo realized how dangerous this situation was, he just continued with the process. If he planned to stop now, he wouldn’t have started in the beginning.

He activated his Magic Circuit and connected the circuit to the stone.

Yeon-woo considered the Philosopher’s Stone to be just another Core of his Magic Circuit.

And the moment he released the stone’s path…..

Hwak!

The Magic Circuit circulated his magic power in his body.

As the two different magic powers collided, they clashed like water and oil at first, but…..

[The two magic powers are being synchronized with the ‘Demonic Dragon Body’ trait.]

The purification began. It was an abundant and pure magic power compared to before.

Yeon-woo tried using his Philosopher’s Stone to see how much he grew. As he did, the magic power all began to explode.

It was enough to make him shiver.

His Dragon’s Blessing and Demon’s Blessing woke up on their own.

Even though he didn’t awaken his dragon body, dragon scales grew on his skin. His power unintentionally lashed around him.

Hwihwihwi!

The room where Yeon-woo began to shake with a magic power storm, and everyone was swept away.

The Head Elder quickly set up a barrier so Yeon-woo’s energy didn’t leak out, and Brahm widened his eyes at the white smoke around Yeon-woo. The Philosopher’s Stone, the wish of all alchemists, was there.

[Ah!]

[This…..is the Philosopher’s Stone?]

Shanon and Hanryeong exclaimed in astonishment. Hanryeong’s body even trembled.

He thought of when he first became a high ranker. The same feeling of invincibility that he had felt then was now swirling around Yeon-woo!

Rebecca was also astonished. Cernnunos’s holiness around her was brighter than ever. If this continued, she was excited that she could even become a godly spirit.

Inside of the storm, Yeon-woo couldn’t get a grip on himself.

If Time Difference wasn’t activated, he might’ve lost consciousness a long time ago.

An unlimited power.

An intense power.

All these things seemed to be in his palm.

Was the 5th step awakening, where you gained a Dragon Heart, like this? He couldn’t express how he felt with the Philosopher’s Stone.

However, after the exhilaration swept past his body, the grudges in the stone slowly began to wake up.

They started to spread around his power. Like ink in water, they quickly moved past where the magic power had moved through.

It had happened too quickly.

Before Yeon-woo could stop it, like a beast after a long hibernation, they quickly poured into Yeon-woo’s subconsciousness.

If Time Difference wasn’t being used, he would’ve become a bundle of grudges already.

Yeon-woo quickly tried to focus. Exhilaration still ruled his body, but it wasn’t the time to enjoy that right now.

The grudges growled like they would eat Yeon-woo up any second, and Yeon-woo did everything he could do push them away.

If the grudges took his consciousness and his identity, it would be the same thing as a new demon, no, a new Agares being born.

‘That damned bastard!’

Yeon-woo thought this might be a trick that Agares had had up his sleeve.

Yeon-woo wouldn’t have been able to handle just the Devil Cores or the stone by himself. But if the two were mixed, it was different. The grudges were swallowing the demonic energy. It was still hard for Yeon-woo to bear, but he grit his teeth.

At the same time that he pushed away the grudges, his consciousness was placed into the Philosopher’s Stone. It was a fight against an opponent who was trying to take over Yeon-woo’s territory.

Kookookooong!

His body shook up and down. As the Devil’s Blessing and Demon’s Blessing amplified each other, Yeon-woo’s body continued to break apart and recover over and over again.

***

Yeon-woo opened his eyes.

He was met with a world of empty darkness. This was his consciousness. It was the stage that Yeon-woo prepared for a better fight.

And he consciousness had accepted it.

[Hidden Quest / Wish of the Corrupted Fallen]

Summary: The demonic energy that Agares left behind is targeting for you. It met the grudges inside the Philosopher’s Stone, and is trying to take over your body together, by demonizing you.

Protect your body from the demonization and absorb the leftover magic power from the fight.

Conditions of Succeeding:

Defeat the demonization in the limited time.

Completely absorb the remnants of the demonization to control the Philosopher’s Stone.

Time Limit: Unknown.

Rewards:

Complete the Philosopher’s Stone

Strengthening of demonic energy property

Then, a quest window popped up in front of Yeon-woo, and the dark environment began to change.

The red sky stood out. It was similar to the 23rd floor in more than one way.

And far away, something floated up and began to take the form of a human.

It was a gray shadow. There was nothing to show its expressions, but Yeon-woo got the feeling that it was looking at him.

Then, Yeon-woo was able to see the ten thousands of souls behind it.

Those were the grudges. No, the demonization.

It was the form of the souls that had swallowed Agares’s demonic energy.

Just then, the face of the demonization crumpled. Its shoulders moved up and down like it was laughing.

Yeon-woo felt threatened.

It was like he was looking at a mirror.

The demonization was imitating Yeon-woo. His looks, patterns, movements, habits, thoughts, and even his traits and skills.

The problem was that its personality was completely different.

It was a violent beast.

Nothing more, nothing less.

And that smile.

It reminded Yeon-woo of someone.

‘Agares.’

Annoyance filled Yeon-woo. The being’s obsession brought on a migraine.

However, although it was similar, it was also different. It was hard to explain, but they seemed to be fundamentally different.

‘It’s like me, but not…..’

He couldn’t shake the feeling that it was similar to his brother’s shadow that he met on the 21st floor.

But Yeon-woo shook his head. It was someone who was created after imitating him anyway. He didn’t have to be concerned about it.

All he had to do was get rid of that thing he didn’t want to look at. As Yeon-woo moved the quest window to the side, his powers started waking up one by one.

His dragon scales grew, and behind him, wings of fire flamed on his back.

And just when he was about to rush at it, the demonization licked its lips. Yeon-woo’s face hardened seeing it.

Just then…..

Krrrang—

The world of his consciousness suddenly crumbled.

***

[You have successfully finished the hidden quest ‘Wish of the Corrupted Fallen.’]

[You have achieved an accomplishment that isn’t easily achieved. Additional Karma is being rewarded.]

[You have earned 5,000 Karma.]

[You have earned an additional 3,000 Karma.]

[As a reward, you have earned the ‘Complete Philosopher’s Stone.’]

[As a reward, your evil and demonic properties are strengthened.]

[You have succeeded in completing the wish of all alchemists and magicians, the Philosopher’s Stone. You have made a great accomplishment.]

[The gods and demons of the 98th floor are watching you.]

…..

Endless messages.

Even after Yeon-woo was flicked out into the real world, his face was still stiff.

“Cain, are you alright?”

Just then, Brahm, the Head Elder, and Henova worriedly woke him up.

Although he nodded his head, it was hard for him to calm down after what happened inside his unconsciousness.

The demonization that suddenly disappeared before he could fight had definitely said this.

-It’s not time yet. A little later. After you’re more ripe, I’ll come back to eat you then.