Ssshhk-.Entering the lab, I listened to the hum of the mana regulator and fell into thought.'My current Alchemy level is [Lower 9th Stage], late.'Even while unbearably busy, I processed the mana orb imbued with Bell’s Extreme Flame every day. On top of that, I poured in all kinds of alchemical enhancement materials to raise the level.Of course, even with that much investment, pushing the level up to late lower tier in just a few weeks is hard.This rapid growth came from Loen’s high Mana and Intellect stats functioning effectively.'Skill-level growth experience can be earned according to the number of times magic is performed.'Using excellent Mana and Intellect stats, I spammed magic and filled experience.You could say I benefited fully from the Epic trait [Gu-eum Jeolmaek / Nine Yin Severed Meridians].I suffer constantly with my feet caught by this trait; there should at least be this much upside.Right now I’m at the tail end of Lower 9th Stage in Alchemy, on the verge of advancing to Intermediate Alchemy.'[Trait] advancement carries considerable weight in The Saga of Mirielin.'If lower tier is a sampler that can only handle the basic skills of the job, intermediate is where you properly choose a skill tree and specialize.From intermediate on, swordsmen can learn [Sword Aura], spirit users can learn [Intermediate Spirits], and mages can learn [Specialized Magic] of 4th tier or higher instead of common spells, so you can say this is the point where you truly get stronger.Accordingly, the conditions for advancement are a bit exacting.'You can’t advance just by filling experience.'Like a class-change quest in other games, you must clear a specific quest to advance to the next stage.And the quest for me to reach [Intermediate Alchemy] is precisely—'Artifact production.'I smiled as I looked at the crafting materials sourced from the underworld.If lower-tier alchemy only strengthened artifacts and bestowed amplification, restriction, and the like, from intermediate alchemy on you must be able to produce artifacts yourself.In some ways this overlaps with the magitech engineers of the Meister Academy.Such inter-job similarities are because the academic scope of alchemy is too broad.'Alchemy overlaps a lot with pharmacology and chemistry, metallurgy, astrology, astronomy, and mysticism. In a broader view it intrudes into the creative domain of material generation or homunculus production, too.'A broad but shallow knowledge that probes the truth of the world. An alchemist is fated to become a jack-of-all-trades in the end.Anyway.The advancement quest for Intermediate Alchemy, [Artifact Production], is a principal assignment for alchemists.Once you complete this task, you can be seen as pulling your weight as a full alchemist.Having organized my thoughts, I laid out the various materials and tools delivered from the underworld on the table.'Everything I ordered arrived.'I compared my order list with the delivered manifest and nodded.Not a single item missing.As expected of Alfredo—a talent you can trust to handle things.There was a letter in the box along with the ordered goods; reading it, I saw news that Rize had made a friend.Panopticon also runs an orphanage, and they decided to bring in talented kids of the same age from there and have them educated together with Rize.'Good news.'I’d worried Rize would grow up lonely, but this is good.It’ll develop sociability and be good for educational psychology. It’ll help when entering the Union later.I folded the letter with Rize’s update and began the artifact-production work.Even so, at this stage it’s only preliminary: drafting the blueprint before full production, sorting and preprocessing materials.'Artifact production is not some lenient task you finish in one sitting.'Just as a craftsman puts care into every hammer strike while making a sword, artifact production likewise requires tremendous care and effort.Starting from processing materials and creating magical circuits, you must delicately connect materials of various properties and attributes, carving the circuit so that everything can function.You could say it demands extreme focus and effort.I sighed as I looked at the various types of gears and parts inside each case.'Times like this, it’d be nice if an “artifact production tutorial” popped up….'I had boldly gathered the materials, but when it came time to start, it felt daunting.As with the Alchemy or Spirit-Arts tutorials, you’d think it would help me, yet for some reason the system offered no assistance.'Since it’s an intermediate advancement exam, maybe it’s saying do it yourself.'It also felt like it was telling me that, in any field, to break through a wall and climb a stage, you must put in tireless effort.'I don’t need that. Really. I want to cheese it.'I grumbled lightly and recalled the practical of Introduction to Intermediate Magic.The class where, together with Bell, Beatrice, and Yulina as a team, we drafted the circuit for a magic crystal sphere.Although that class only extremely simplified the artifact-production process, the underlying principle was no different from real artifact production.'Process and link materials with different concepts, attributes, and properties, and make them run as a magical circuit.'If I keep to that gist while proceeding with production, I’ll eventually reach my goal.I steeled my mind and unfolded the blueprint stored in the system.Ting-.A semi-transparent schematic floated in the air.It was the blueprint for [Tubal-cain’s Star], the artifact I’ll produce this time.A simple artifact that even a beginner like me can make, with the function of automatically restoring the durability of a linked artifact.For me, who constantly frets over the durability of the Ring of Derode, it’s essential.If I link the Ring of Derode and Tubal-cain’s Star, even if durability is shaved down it’ll recover immediately, so even a direct hit from some holy magic won’t expose my identity.'Unless it’s an out-of-bounds existence like Elena.'Her holy magic possesses power that vastly exceeds an auto-recovery function for durability.Because it greatly reduces the risk of my identity being exposed, I wanted to obtain and use it quickly, but unfortunately I couldn’t.It’s a player-bound crafted item.You could compare it to the recipe for cola, but this blueprint can’t be transferred, nor can you commission someone else to craft it.It’s an artifact that only I can produce and use in this world.'To the residents of this world, it’s close to an object outside the gods.'You can tell from the fact that it bears the name of “Tubal-cain,” the progenitor of blacksmiths.After finishing my thoughts, I looked to the system encyclopedia floating before my eyes and began in earnest.'First, start with circuit drafting.'The magical circuit composing an artifact is a kind of blueprint.To make anything properly, a solid design is important. Same for artifacts.I put on work gloves and carefully set the high-grade magic-stone substrate sourced from the underworld on the bench.'The abilities of crafted items vary widely according to the maker’s ability and the materials.'Even with the same Tubal-cain’s Star, the result grade ranges from common to legendary depending on the outcome.I swallowed as I looked at the high-grade magic-stone substrate priced in the tens of millions of krone.'The grade I’m targeting now is [Ancient].'To get that grade, not only must my own abilities be excellent, I also have to use every kind of expensive material item.If it breaks mid-process, tens of millions of krone will vaporize on the spot, so I have to devote particular care to the work.The high-grade magic-stone substrate on the bench gave off a faint black glow.With trembling hand, I picked up the mana pen and brought it to the substrate.The nib pressed smoothly onto the surface.I guided the nib carefully, drafting the circuit along the form of the Tree of the Sephirot on the alchemy workbench.'The circuit I’ll draft will be the magic circle used for artifact durability restoration.'I’ve used the magic circle for durability restoration extremely often, so I remember its form and connection order.With the mana pen I drew ten circles on the substrate that correspond to each attribute held by Kabbalah’s arcana, and then linked them in the proper order.After that, I sketched in the concepts of the various alchemic stones and enhancement stones used in “durability restoration” magic in the appropriate directions.Here I consulted the Intermediate Alchemy Illustrated Manual I’d preloaded into the system encyclopedia.A book in which the footsteps of alchemists who previously produced artifacts were drawn in an easy-to-understand way.Even though there was no help at the system level, the Union has many such books I could draw on.“Done.”Only after lifting the mana pen from the magic-stone substrate did I let out a deep breath and take a break.My hands shook, apparently from nerves.It was laborious, carefully infusing steady mana so the substrate wouldn’t be damaged.'It came out well.'I smiled as I looked at the schematic glowing faint blue atop the magic-stone substrate.Next, I lightly cut my finger and let a single drop of blood fall onto the substrate.Plip-.Player-bound crafted items must contain the maker’s blood.The blood that fell onto the substrate slowly spread along the drafted magical circuit.Like water soaking into paper, the fresh blood ran along the lines of the circuit.This is the process of overlaying my genetic and mana traits onto the circuit.According to the manual, absorption takes about 72 hours.During that time, there’s nothing to touch.Having finished the circuit drafting, I took out a healing potion to treat the cut on my hand.A potion gleaming an iridescent green.'A potion….'I dabbed the healing potion onto a handkerchief and applied it to the wound, thinking.Because the scope of alchemy is extremely broad, there are multiple advancement quests.The representative skill tree other than [Artifact Production] is [Potion Making].'Potion Making has good short-term efficiency.'Even now I pour in Strength and Agility enhancement stones and potions to fight powerful enemies.Though the effect is temporary, the stat increases rival the level of equipping several decent artifacts.If you take the [Potion Making] skill tree, you can expect crafting bonuses for consumables, additional stat bonuses, increased potion duration, and bonus effects for things obtained via [Alchemy].You can even step into pillcraft to develop unique reinforcement potions or artificial panaceas suited to your constitution.In the end you can manufacture the legendary potion, the Elixir, so you can’t say its ceiling is low.However.'It can’t compare to Artifact Production.'The final goal of an RPG is farming and upgrading items.In that domain, the [Artifact Production] skill tree, where you can gain growth bonuses, boasts the highest ceiling in alchemy.When others are using +18 gear, I alone can use +20 or higher.Moreover, the artifact-production skill tree even contains a hidden skill that raises the very [Grade] of in-game equipment, so there’s nothing more to say about its value.'Do you secure a floor with early growth bonuses, or aim for the ceiling with late hidden skills?'Normally you’d agonize between Artifact Production and Potion Making.'What’s there to agonize over? Do both.'I’ve already multiclassed into alchemist and martial artist; there’s nothing stopping me from choosing both skill trees within alchemy.It’s only a prediction, but I’m sure the system will allow it.'The materials sourced from the underworld aren’t only for artifact production, anyway.'I plan to produce artifacts and potions simultaneously and clear ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) both advancement quests at once.

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