TRPM 260

chapter 260

According to the information Yu Won-hoon brought, the Awakener Supremacists inside the Legioness Guild were planning to raid the resort construction site owned by the guild.

“…A resort?”

“Wait, you mean the one we saw yesterday?”

“Yes, that one.”

Hearing Yu Won-hoon’s words, we all thought the same thing at once.

‘A resort?’
‘Why?’
‘For what reason?’

Why would the Awakener Supremacists target their own guild’s resort construction site so far away?
The reason was completely beyond our guess.

“My subordinate found out that their reasoning is this: the resort will also be open to non-Awakeners in the future, so they decided to target the construction site.”

“……”

What?

“At first, I couldn’t make sense of it either. But then my subordinate showed me a video of their meeting, and only then could I believe it. I was reminded that the world is wide, and full of lunatics.”

Just because non-Awakeners would be allowed to use it someday, they wanted to attack the construction site?
Well, if I think about it, many Awakener Supremacists throughout history have committed atrocities without any proper reason.
Their way of thinking is fundamentally different from normal people.
The Awakener Supremacists within the Legioness Guild must be the same.

“Anyway, my plan is this: when they actually begin their operation, I’ll intervene on-site and arrest them.”

“So… are you asking us to take part in that operation too?”

At Yu Won-hoon’s words, Song Eun-ji, guildmaster of the Cleaner Guild, asked.
But her tone wasn’t particularly enthusiastic.
No matter how important the suppression of Supremacists was, she sounded like it was just a hassle.

“No. I only want you to overlook the possibility that I may have to do something illegal during the operation.”

“Illegal…?”

“For example, if in the middle of subduing them, I misjudge my strength and accidentally kill one.”

…So he’s basically announcing in advance that he intends to use excessive force.

But neither I nor the others blamed Yu Won-hoon for that.
When you remember what Awakener Supremacists have done in history, and what it took to subdue them, you can’t afford to be complacent.
There’s a good chance they’ll take civilians hostage and rampage.
And if they commit crimes on that level…

“…Looks like the prison island will be getting a lot of new inmates.”

Most of them would go through trial and then be sent to Prison Island.
And once they’re there, unless they’re very strong, they won’t last long before dying.
They’ll end up perishing miserably in fights nobody will ever know about.

“In that case… if necessary, our Night Eagle Guild will accompany you. Witnesses will be needed to prove they attempted terrorism.”

“Our Ironblood Guild will join as well.”

“Ugh… if you two are going, I can’t back out, can I…? Fine, the Cleaner Guild will come too.”

And so, all four of Korea’s top guilds decided to head south.

Oh, but of course…

“Not today.”

It wouldn’t be today.
We planned to go to the resort construction site on the day the Legioness Guild’s Supremacists made their move.

The next day.

For now, I put aside all thoughts of Awakener Supremacists and went to school.
There, I noticed some strangely dressed people.

‘Robes? Wizards?’

From their hoods to the long outer garments that covered their bodies, it was full-on robe attire.
In the old days, many mages wore robes in games because of rumors that they had high magic defense.
But since dungeon monsters rarely used magic, hardly anyone wore them in reality.
And when people did wear robes, it was usually to enchant them to support their own magic, not for defense.
Expecting raw defense from an ordinary robe was nonsense.

‘But those robes don’t look enchanted at all…’

Thinking that, I walked toward them.
It wasn’t on the way to my classroom, but I already had a hunch about who they were.

“Join us in the great work of creating the Philosopher’s Stone….”

“N-no, I don’t want to….”

“Child, with your talent it’s more than possible! Won’t you let us witness your Magnum Opus?”

“I… I can’t….”

The Philosopher’s Stone.
The ultimate substance in Western alchemy.
Magnum Opus.
The process of creating such a stone.

Just hearing those words was enough for most people to recognize who these robe-wearers were.

‘Alchemists.’

I stepped between them and the girl they were cornering.

“No matter how esteemed you alchemists may be, is it right to pressure a child like that?”

“G-Geonwoo….”

The girl I protected—Kim Eun-yeon—recognized me and immediately hid behind me.
I could guess the situation.
These alchemists must have recognized her talent and were trying to pressure her into becoming their disciple.

‘She does have a handler assigned to her, but….’

I glanced aside and saw the staff member a little way off, now hurrying toward Eun-yeon, apologizing for not being able to help.
But of course she couldn’t raise her voice against alchemists.
After all, they were incredibly rare, even worldwide.

‘Because they’re so rare, alchemists get special management at the national level.’

So special, in fact, that even someone as young as Kim Eun-yeon had her own assigned staff member.
But adult alchemists who had trained for years must be managed even more strictly—I couldn’t even imagine to what extent.
And the staff here didn’t have the authority to go against such alchemists.

‘And on top of that, they’re all foreigners.’

Their robes concealed their features, but from their accents—clearly foreign, despite their studied Korean—it was obvious.
Which meant if the staff tried to oppose them, it could even escalate into an international issue.

Of course…

‘That doesn’t apply to me.’

I wasn’t officially affiliated with any organization.
Even if the head of the Korean Association clutched his head over my actions, that wasn’t my concern.

“Hmm…? You’re….”

“Ah, right. You must be that Artist, the one who holds the copyright for pill-type potions.”

Pill-type potions?

Ah, that reminds me….

[There’s a girl in your class, Kim Eun-yeon, right?]
[I don’t know all the details yet, but she went to the World Awakeners Association HQ to take an alchemy exam so she could patent her potion.]
[But she wanted to file the patent under your name, saying she only managed it thanks to your guidance.]

Yeon Mirae had once told me that.
I’d forgotten about it until now.

“Artist, surely you understand, if not young Kim Eun-yeon, then at least you! You know what the Philosopher’s Stone means to us alchemists!”

“She mustn’t waste her gift studying alone like this. She must learn properly from her own kind, so that she may someday reach the Philosopher’s Stone! She has the potential!”

In any case, since I was protecting her, the alchemists had shifted their target to me.
Though their true goal was still to take Kim Eun-yeon as their disciple.
Convincing me was just their first step.

‘The Philosopher’s Stone, huh….’

To alchemists, it was certainly special.
But since it was a purely conceptual substance, each alchemist had their own definition.

Some said it was a material that could become any other.
Some said it granted infinite energy.
Some said it was simply something that greatly boosted energy efficiency.

‘Each alchemist imagines their own version of the ideal stone.’

The common ground was that the Philosopher’s Stone represented the alchemist’s ultimate masterpiece—their Magnum Opus.

“……”

And while not all alchemists did, most spent their entire lives chasing their personal Philosopher’s Stone.
Sure, they might make potions and earn money along the way, but their true end goal was that.

Which is why I could say this with confidence:

“Sorry, but becoming your disciple would not benefit Kim Eun-yeon in the slightest.”

“What….”

“Impossible….”

As I said earlier, most alchemists devoted themselves to chasing their own stone.
But not all of them.
And Eun-yeon belonged to that minority.

‘In the previous timeline, Kim Eun-yeon never even had a Philosopher’s Stone she aimed for.’

She simply enjoyed the process of synthesizing and separating substances through alchemy.

In fact…

‘If they truly wanted to teach her for her own sake, they should have done so back then too.’

But in the previous life, she was completely self-taught.
No alchemist had ever taken her on as a disciple.
The only reason they wanted her now was obvious.

‘They’re after the potions she developed—for money and fame.’

Stealing her work—that was their true goal.
Since they themselves couldn’t create paradigm-shifting breakthroughs like her pill-type potion.

Of course, saying that outright here would accomplish nothing, so instead…

“Kim Eun-yeon is still very young. It’s far too early for her to decide her own path, and her family lives here in Korea. Sending her abroad isn’t an option.”

I decided to deflect.

By the time she became an adult, she wouldn’t need them at all.

“…Then we could bring her family along as well….”

“Her family are not Awakeners. They can’t just pick up new languages instantly. Forcing them into a foreign environment would be unbearable. You really intend to drag them overseas against their will?”

“……”

At my words, the alchemist fell silent.
After all, the only reason they were pushing so hard was because they assumed Eun-yeon was too young to resist.

“Then please, be on your way. We have class to attend. Let’s go.”

“Y-yeah…!”

Leaving the speechless alchemists behind, Eun-yeon and I walked back toward our classroom.