TYSAFWCG 01

𖹭 Chapter 1 𖹭

Yujin Magnus, the youngest son of the empire’s long-established alchemist family, the Magnus family, knew that he had been reincarnated into this world.

He wasn’t sure exactly when he became aware of it, but he had known it since the earliest point he could remember—so, roughly from the age of seven.

In his previous life, he had been a graduate student in advanced materials engineering at a national science and technology university in a country called South Korea. Back then, his name had been Jung Yujin.

Because Jung Yujin hadn’t been born into a wealthy family, he had to work part-time jobs from a young age to support himself. As a result, he hadn’t performed well on the college entrance exam and ended up enrolling in the chemistry department of a regional national university.

Fortunately, Yujin’s talent was enough to keep him at the top of his class for all four years. Thanks to that, he caught the attention of a professor who recommended him to one of the country’s top graduate research labs in advanced materials engineering.

Yujin entered graduate school with dreams of becoming a researcher, but the problem was his advisor.

‘She was the kind of person who was completely different inside and out.’

On the outside, his advisor had a good reputation. She got along well with other professors and consistently produced strong results.

She had become a professor at a young age, proving her competence, and with her neat and refined appearance, she had a very positive public image.

But she possessed a particular ability… to drive people insane in a very sophisticated way.

She would say there were no fixed working hours, yet pressure students with performance demands until their workdays stretched endlessly. Even when results were good enough to earn a degree and graduate, she would dismiss them as garbage.

And all of her criticism wasn’t delivered through direct insults, but through indirect, roundabout remarks—so much so that anyone listening would naturally start thinking, ‘Am I trash?’

As a result, while some students managed to graduate with good achievements, more than half gave up and left the lab altogether.

Because he was in such a lab, Jung Yujin lived a life where he went to work seeing the morning star and left work seeing the evening star.

The reason he died and ended up in this world was also because of that life—after getting less than three hours of sleep due to experiments, he had been driving his advisor to a conference, dozed off at the wheel, crashed into a guardrail, and died in the accident.

There was no need to elaborate on how miserable that life had been.

‘Even thinking about it again makes my teeth grind… ugh….’

Since the accident happened on the highway, his advisor likely hadn’t come out unscathed either. That thought was at least a small comfort.

Anyway, having lived such a miserable previous life, the moment he realized he had been reincarnated into a noble family in another world, he was overjoyed.

A noble in a fantasy world? That meant privilege, didn’t it?

So Yujin had dreamed of living freely and indulgently, enjoying life to the fullest…

‘…Of all places, why did I have to be born into this family?’

The Magnus family was not a place suited for that kind of life.

First of all—

• “We will now conduct today’s basic herbal compendium test. The bottom 10% will spend the next month living with the servants and performing their duties. You will, of course, be treated the same as servants.”

To cultivate the greatest alchemists, the family regularly conducted tests on its numerous heir candidates.

The tests ranged from identifying the properties of herbs and metals, to recalling formulas, and even directly producing reagents.

And those who failed to achieve proper results were treated no better than servants—an utterly humiliating experience.

The Magnus family had a strict tradition. Though they were nobles, they also had a strong sense of privilege.

On top of that—

• “Mariel, I heard your Hayes family is completely ruined this year? Do you really think you can compete with me?”
• “Fiona, I heard the Osterburn family is in trouble these days… If you’re smart, you know who you should align with, right?”

There was effectively a civil war happening among the siblings.

As the empire’s greatest alchemist family, the Magnus family was tied to immense interests. Where there were such interests, people naturally gathered.

And when people gathered, the most basic way to solidify relationships was marriage.

Unlike South Korea in his previous life, this world allowed polygamy. Naturally, the head of the family, Isaac Magnus, had many wives from various noble families. And as expected of the greatest alchemist, he also had many children with them.

Naturally, competition formed among those children. And if one of them fell to the level of a servant, their treatment didn’t need to be described.

Of course, if someone excelled in the tests and stood out, they could become the heir…

But the problem was that Yujin couldn’t do that.

• “Hey, Yujin, you bastard. Still clinging around here like a beggar? Guess being half commoner makes you tough.”

Unlike the others, Yujin Magnus had no mother.

Of course, someone must have given birth to him—but Yujin didn’t know who she was, or what had happened to her.

What mattered was that without a mother, he had no one backing him.

Yujin realized that painfully on the day he ranked first in a test.

• “So how does it feel to get first place by luck?”
• “How dare a half-commoner act so confident? You wanna die?”

Yujin had always been good at studying, even in his previous life. After several tests, his grades rose, and he eventually took first place.

But the result was miserable.

His older siblings, who had always found him annoying, dragged him to a corner of the garden and beat him.

As the youngest son and effectively the weakest in the family, with no noble backing like the others, there was no one to help him.

After that incident, Yujin realized that he must never stand out.

In such a fierce succession battle, standing out would only invite more suppression—and the weaker your backing, the harder it would be to endure it.

If Yujin kept ranking first, he would be making enemies of all the powerful factions behind his siblings.

So from then on, Yujin deliberately kept his grades moderate—just enough to avoid falling to servant status—while living quietly and avoiding attention.

Of course, he was preparing behind the scenes.

‘A family worse than that damn graduate school… I’ll escape someday, no matter what!’

He had no intention of staying in the Magnus family, which made his previous life seem like paradise.

So Yujin secretly prepared to escape.

Though he had considerable knowledge of alchemy, he didn’t know what he would need to survive outside. So he learned and practiced basic swordsmanship, beginner-level magic, hunting, and survival skills.

He set his escape date for when he would become an adult by the empire’s standards—fifteen years old.

On his fifteenth birthday, he would leave this cursed family and gain his freedom.

With that thought, Yujin Magnus sharpened the blade in his heart.

And so, a few days before his fifteenth birthday—

“Young Master Yujin, the Head of the Family is calling for you.”

The butler, Jeffrey, delivered Isaac Magnus’s message.

Jeffrey was a man who had served Isaac Magnus for a long time. With black hair and narrow eyes, he appeared to be entering middle age. His expression was difficult to read.

“Ah, Uncle Jeffrey. Why would the Head of the Family call for me…?”

“He did not specify the reason, Young Master.”

“…Understood.”

Though Jeffrey was technically just a butler, Yujin treated him with great respect.

The reason was simple.

From his observations, the person who spent the most time with Isaac Magnus was none other than Jeffrey.

That meant he was the closest aide to the head.

And it wasn’t hard to understand that it was wise to stay on good terms with such a person.

“I will guide you, Young Master.”

“Thank you.”

As he followed Jeffrey, Yujin tried to guess the reason—but nothing came to mind.

At best, he thought of a political marriage, but even that didn’t suit someone without backing like him.

As they walked down the corridor—

“Well, if it isn’t the half-commoner. Still alive today?”
“Seeing a commoner first thing in the morning—what bad luck. Tch.”

He ran into Cassian and Raisha, the siblings who had bullied him since childhood.

“….”

Yujin ignored them and walked past.

“Your patience is admirable, Young Master,” Jeffrey remarked.

“Huh? Ah, it’s nothing, Uncle Jeffrey.”

To Yujin, compared to what he had endured in his previous life, this was just childish behavior.

“…I see.”

Jeffrey nodded thoughtfully.

Soon, they arrived at Isaac’s office.

‘It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Father.’

Isaac Magnus was a busy man. Seeing him ten times a year was already fortunate.

A one-on-one meeting like this was even rarer.

Feeling a slight sense of unease, Yujin greeted him.

“Have you been well, Head of the Family?”

Isaac looked up from his work.

‘He hasn’t changed at all.’

Isaac Magnus was, objectively, a man of striking beauty—white skin, silver hair, and sharp red eyes.

It was clear his many wives weren’t just due to family status.

Yujin resembled him in appearance, which he considered fortunate.

But—

‘…How many years has he looked like that?’

Isaac didn’t seem to age at all.

‘Alchemy really is something.’

Then—

“You will soon turn fifteen.”

“Yes, Head of the Family.”

“I see. Fifteen means it is time for you to prove your usefulness.”

“…Pardon?”

“I do not like leaving useless things in this world.”

Before Yujin could understand—

“You will find out soon enough. You may leave.”

The next day—

“Young Master, the Head of the Family has ordered that starting from your fifteenth birthday, you will manage the ‘Magnus No. 43 Alchemy Workshop.’”

“…What? Me? Why a workshop all of a sudden…?”

“That is all he said.”

A thunderbolt-like order.

“…I believe the reason is that this is the only role you can fulfill,” Jeffrey added.

Because Yujin had no political value, he needed to prove his worth through work.

And if he failed—

“…He said he doesn’t like leaving useless things…”

Jeffrey didn’t elaborate.

But Yujin understood.

Failure meant death.

Escape had never been an option.

A few days later, on his birthday, Yujin became the manager of the Magnus No. 43 Alchemy Workshop.

A small, failing workshop.

‘…I’m screwed.’

As he toured it, it reminded him of a graduate lab.

When he heard about their current project—

A request to create a metal that was both extremely light and compatible with the lightning element.

‘That’s insanely difficult…’

A setup for failure.

‘They’re trying to bury me with it.’

Then—

‘A light metal… If only something like aluminum existed…’

Yujin’s eyes widened.

‘Wait… if I can make aluminum…?’