Episode 90
090. I Will Fix This
[You forge your own destiny.]
[The system applauds your choice to reject a predetermined reward and choose a thorny path.]
[You reject a quest and create a new one.]
[Pioneer Quest: The Refuser]
Content: Create an ‘Elixir’ capable of stopping Grand Archmage Astrid’s hourglass.
Since this is a quest you pioneered yourself, the entire process depends on your knowledge, skill, and will.Success Condition: Astrid’s survival and memory preservation.
Reward: ???
Failure Consequence: Loss of the Mage profession and forgetting of all related skills.
A question mark reward, an extreme difficulty level. Moreover, failure meant losing everything related to magic. It was essentially saying they would take away everything Astrid had bestowed.
‘Is this a threat?’
It claimed to applaud, but the quest felt nothing like praise. It almost seemed to encourage refusal. However, golden hand accepted the quest. He, too, had no intention of backing down. He hadn’t refused Astrid’s quest with half-hearted resolve.
Golden Hand silently headed to Astrid’s cottage. The alchemy tools prepared there. Before them, Geumson gritted his teeth.
‘I have to fix it. I must!’
golden hand was a blacksmith. He had decided to become an all-master. To fix the broken sky, the ruined future of humanity.
Restoring what was broken to its original state. That was the task for him, a blacksmith. Geumson opened his system window without hesitation. What he needed now was information and materials.
‘Master Craftsman’s Workshop.’
[Hidden System ‘Master Craftsman’s Workshop’ Lv.2]
[Reputation Shop]
[Remaining Reputation Points: 6,000]
6,000 points. Enough to purchase the perfect counter-item for the Lich King. Surely, somewhere, there must be a material that could stop Astrid’s fading memories. No, a material that could even recover lost memories.
Geumson searched the ‘Materials’ category without hesitation, inputting all keywords related to memory, spirit, and recovery. Dozens of lists appeared and disappeared. At that moment, only one material caught Geumson’s eye.
[Incomplete Young Leaf of the World Tree]
Grade: Legendary
Description: The World Tree, which grows only in the deepest part of the ancient forest, where the flow of time has stopped. It possesses the characteristic of absorbing and storing all memories from its surroundings.
‘It would be nice if it were a perfect World Tree leaf, but…’
[Purchasing ‘Incomplete Young Leaf of the World Tree’. -6,000P]
[Remaining Reputation Points: 0]
All the reputation points he had diligently accumulated became zero. But Geumson felt no regret at all. Reputation points could be gathered again; they couldn’t compare to Astrid.
“Master, please wait a moment.”
On the workbench, Geumson placed the newly purchased ‘Incomplete Young Leaf of the World Tree,’ the ‘Fairy’s Tear’ he got from Parakel, and various herbs.
‘Shall we begin?’
First, golden hand concentrated all his senses to understand the essence of the materials.
‘Resolute Intuition, Insight of the Veins!’
[‘Resolute Intuition’ analyzes the target’s physical structure.]
[‘Insight of the Veins’ analyzes the flow of magic inherent in the target.]
In golden hand’s vision, the delicate leaf veins of the young leaf and the flow of minute magic embedded in each dust particle began to appear. Tens of billions of intertwined magic flows and a ridiculously complex physical structure. Even as a young leaf, a World Tree leaf was still a World Tree leaf.
‘I have to… separate and reassemble this?’
A task an ordinary alchemist wouldn’t even dare attempt. But golden hand had the potion recipes Astrid provided and the ‘Extract’ skill Parakel left behind.
‘Extract!’
[Using ‘Extract [MAX]’ skill.]
[The effect of ‘Divine Dexterity’ makes the extraction process extremely precise.]
[Further refined movements are achieved due to the influence of the Precision stat.]
.
.
.
Messages kept popping up. But golden hand couldn’t pay attention to them. Only golden hands moved, so fast they were almost invisible, separating the ‘memory fibers’ from the young leaf strand by strand. Even Astrid, watching from the side, found her mouth slightly agape without realizing it. The separated core substance emitted an unstable light, fiercely repelling upon exposure to the air.
‘Magic Control, Elemental Affinity!’
[‘Magic Control [MAX]’ suppresses unstable magic.]
[‘Elemental Affinity [MAX]’ induces harmony of unstable attributes.]
The ‘memory fibers’ began to stabilize under golden hand’s will. But it was still insufficient. As it was, it was just a tangled clump of memories. Something crucial for ‘healing’ and ‘restoring’ memory was missing.
‘Sun’s Right Hand.’
A pure solar flame blossoming from golden hand right hand gently enveloped the extracted memory fibers. The divine energy within that warmth began to gently unravel the memory fibers and infuse new energy.
[The effect of ‘Sun’s Right Hand’ infuses divine power.]
[The potion being created begins to take on ‘healing’ and ‘restoration’ properties.]
The memory fibers gradually changed to a clear amber color, transforming into a liquid form. But golden hand was still not satisfied.
“Soul Forging.”
With his other hand, Geumson began tirelessly hammering a heated Moonlight Steel ingot with the Void Hammer.
Clang- Clangclang-
Clangclangclang!
[‘Soul Forging’ skill activates.]
[A magic enchantment slot is created on the potion vial being crafted.]
A small vial was completed in an instant. golden hand carefully poured the potion into it. Now, only the final step remained.
“Magic Engraving!”
The final touch to bind all these processes together and maximize the potion’s efficacy. Astrid’s magic. The magic that draws miracles. It began to manifest from golden hand fingertips.
Blue magic gathered at golden hand fingertips. He began drawing a complex yet beautiful character in the air. An ancient engraving symbolizing ‘Complete Circulation.’ It began to be imprinted onto the vial.
The magic-made character settled onto the Moonlight Steel vial golden hand had made. The moment the magic was engraved, messages began to appear.
[‘Magic Engraving’ activates.]
[The ‘Successor of the Stars’ title effect amplifies the engraving’s power.]
[The ‘Cycle of Memories’ effect is permanently bestowed upon the created potion.]
[A great success is achieved!]
[Due to the influence of the ‘Luck’ stat, a ‘Transcendent Great Success’ occurs!]
[The grade of the created item is raised by ‘two tiers’!]
[This is alchemy beyond common sense! The system records your crafting process.]
[Successfully crafted the ‘Elixir of Memory’!]
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.
.
[Resolute Intuition skill has reached Lv.9.]
[Soul Forging skill has reached Lv.7.]
[The recipe for the created elixir is recorded in the Blue Index.]
[Blue Index skill has reached Lv.3.]
Alchemy, magic, and blacksmithing techniques—every skill golden hand could utilize was poured into creating this single potion. Messages popped up, dizzying to the eyes. golden hand was also surprised, but he wasn’t interested. Right now, checking the potion’s effect was important.
[Elixir of Memory]
Grade: Ancient
Crafter: golden hand
Effect: Perfectly restores damaged or lost memories and dispels all curses and constraints placed on the mind. ※Warning: Success probability is below 50%. Failure results in instant death.
Golden hand, having read the elixir’s details, felt his eyelids tremble. He had undoubtedly created an elixir that surpassed the category of a mere potion. Its grade was even Ancient. But he couldn’t simply rejoice over that.
‘Success probability below 50%… and it says death upon failure?’
The effect was clear. Exactly the elixir effect he desired. But with a success rate below 50% and side effects, this couldn’t be called a proper elixir.
‘Failure… is it?’
golden hand gritted his teeth. He couldn’t hand such a dangerous elixir to his master, Astrid. But.
“So this is your miracle.”
Astrid, who had already picked up the ‘Elixir of Memory’ golden hand made. Astrid’s eyes shone blue. Just as golden hand had assessed the elixir’s effects, Astrid seemed to have fully grasped its contents as well.
“The medicine might be… a bit bitter.”
“W-wait a moment! Master! The success rate—”
“It’s fine. How could anything be amiss with something you made for me, golden hand?”
Astrid seemed unconcerned about the success rate. In fact, she seemed to like the effect that it could cause death even more. She couldn’t even die as she pleased.
The magic that elevated Astrid to a Grand Archmage. It was even rejecting the death she might choose for herself.
But the effect of the elixir golden hand made. With it, it seemed Astrid could also meet a peaceful end.
“Golden hand, even if it fails, it’s okay. It’s what I wanted, so it’s not your fault.”
Astrid comforted Geumson until the very end. She downed the potion golden hand made in one gulp.
Gulp—
Her action, devoid of hesitation. The moment the Elixir of Memory passed down Astrid’s throat, her entire body was engulfed in an intense blue light.
Thump—
Concentric circles of magic spread out from Astrid.
Thump—
Thump—
The magic pulsations emanating from Astrid, like a heartbeat. Just observing it with ‘Insight of the Veins’ left golden hand speechless. Moreover, a message popped up simultaneously.
[Insight of the Veins skill has reached Lv.6.]
