Chapter 70
Colombia’s undisputed king of the drug trade. Don Senor.
Few people knew that one of his many backers was a Hunter at the very pinnacle of the world.
If that ever became known, it would surely cause a tremendous shock.
To the public, that Hunter had the image of a righteous paladin.
Fortunately, they weren’t in frequent contact.
Don Senor had no desire to keep in touch with such a nauseating hypocrite, either.
But after a very long time, that man finally contacted him.
─How have you been?
“I was doing fine until a moment ago. What brings you here all of a sudden?”
─I have a favor to ask.
His request was that Don Senor keep a certain Hunter, who would soon be arriving in Colombia, from getting where he was going.
“That won’t be hard.”
At the time, he’d thought it would be no trouble at all.
When he heard the Hunter had gone to the mansion of one of the narcos under his command, that thought became certainty.
But...
“M-My God.”
Don Senor had hacked into the CCTV systems installed in the narcos’ mansions and secured the footage.
The narcos, of course, knew nothing about it.
Naturally. That way, he could put them down if they ever rebelled.
And the footage he saw on the CCTV... was truly shocking.
“... Is something like this even possible for a human?”
Don Senor muttered with a hollow laugh.
Don Senor was the only one who could access the CCTV, so no one else had seen it.
It was frustrating for him, but he couldn’t make the footage public. If he did, word might get out that he was spying on the narcos.
“Kaiser’s orders are still in effect, but...”
Kaiser’s request—no, his order—to keep the Hunter from proceeding was still in effect.
But...
“I’m afraid.”
If what he felt from Kaiser was intimidation...
In the face of that unknown being that swallowed and disassembled everything...
He felt overwhelming fear.
**
After a lot of trouble, we finally made it to Lake Guatavita.
So this was the lake steeped in the famous legend of ‘El Dorado’?
The legend said that an ancient tribe regularly threw treasures into the lake to win the lake god’s favor for their chief.
It wasn’t just a rumor—the lakebed held quite a lot of treasure whenever the water was drained and the bottom surveyed. But for some reason, accidents occurred every time they drained the lake to investigate, causing massive casualties.
Some people even called it the ‘Curse of the Treasure.’
The Level 33 Gate here was a dungeon that seemed to embody that very curse.
[Entering Level 33 Gate, ‘The Empire of False Gold.’]
Sorry, but Senior Choi Kang had to stay outside since his level didn’t meet the requirements.
Ms. Gyuseon and I entered the Gate.
What greeted us after we entered the Gate was...
“Wooooow....”
“Whoa... holy crap...”
I’d heard about it, but seeing it in person, the golden castle was even more magnificent.
A pyramid-shaped castle made entirely of solid gold stretched out before us.
“So we just have to reach that place, right?”
“That seems to be it.”
The gimmick was clear.
We just had to push through the waves pouring out of the golden castle and reach it.
Usually, the gimmick was to defend against waves, but here we had to break through them entirely...
Should we call it a reverse-wave dungeon?
“It looks far even at a glance.”
Still, they say even a thousand-li journey begins with a single step...
“Shall we go?”
“Yes!”
As I strode ahead, Ms. Gyuseon stayed close behind me.
I also spoke to Athena, who was following us with quick little steps, in case anything happened.
“I have Sacrificial Offering active, so if anything happens, protect Ms. Gyuseon above all else.”
“Yes, understood.”
Gyuseon scooped Athena up in her arms.
“Aw, you’re so cute. You’re going to protect me, right?”
Gyuseon’s interest in Athena was unwavering.
To begin with, Blood Gold, as an unknown metal, was naturally of interest to her as an alchemist.
For now, though, she was just cute.
Women were weak to cute things.
Of course, Athena herself seemed flustered and kept looking at me... but then made a point of looking away.
Do your best to keep her company...
This is the esteemed person who’ll soon become a Transcendent-grade alchemist...
As we slowly began walking, golden warriors appeared before us.
They carried greatswords adorned with elaborate gold decorations.
At this point, some people might think:
If waves of warriors decorated in fancy gold kept appearing... wouldn’t that be a damn good deal?
Couldn’t you just sell all the gold they dropped?
Sadly, this Gate wasn’t called the Empire of False Gold for nothing.
“Good heavens. Every single one of those entities is made with False Gold Alchemy. What kind of alchemist could be in that castle?”
It was a transcendent-grade alchemy skill that temporarily gave metals like lead the properties of gold.
Of course, once destroyed, they were just scrap metal.
False gold... yeah, that fits.
“Could you leave a few samples instead of destroying them completely?”
“As you command, yes, yes.”
It wasn’t hard, anyway.
I casually dismantled their moving parts with Gluttony, leaving only their arms and legs to fall away.
Then the composition that had been temporarily altered by False Gold Alchemy instantly reverted to its original state.
Gyuseon nodded after confirming the effect.
“I think I’ll get a little more familiar with it after seeing a few more cases.”
“... Yes, as many as you like.”
The road to the golden castle was long, and there were plenty of waves.
As I strode forward, I dismantled each entity as soon as it spawned.
I felt a little bad.
But...
“Whoa.”
“What? Why? What’s wrong?”
“The composition is changing little by little.”
“Huh?”
“... Should I say it’s getting a little harder? It’s still gold, but it’s shifting into something that doesn’t quite seem like gold.”
“What does that mean?”
After thinking for a moment, Ms. Gyuseon cautiously opened her mouth.
“I think it’s... adapting to the attack.”
“Whoa?”
“But because the attack is so powerful, it can’t adapt easily.”
Only then did I remember.
Something from the clear reports about this Gate.
“Wasn’t there something about how, as the waves continued, my attacks gradually felt less effective?”
So it wasn’t that my attacks felt dull because I was getting tired.
What if they were actually adapting to those attacks and growing stronger?
We passed through dozens more waves like that.
By then, the golden castle was right in front of us.
“It’s definitely slower than it was at first...”
“The disassembly speed, right? The metal composition is adapting to the bacteria swarm’s attacks.”
Well, even if it was slower... it had gone from 0.1 seconds to about one second.
When we reached the golden castle after breaking through so easily I could’ve yawned...
A message appeared before my eyes.
[The Golden Castle has not fully adapted to your attacks.]
[You are victorious.]
[You have earned the right to meet the Lord of the Golden Castle.]
So it wasn’t a clear?
We’d apparently cleared the Phase 1 gimmick.
“Oh. It says we can meet the Lord of the Golden Castle.”
“Me too. And I got another reward.”
“What kind of reward?”
“The ‘False Gold Alchemy’ skill and ‘False Gold Alchemy (僞金術), Applied Techniques ─ How to Make Adaptive Armor.’”
This really was a holy site for alchemists.
I got jack squat even when I cleared a Gate, while an alchemist got transcendent-grade skills as rewards.
Soon, the castle gates opened, revealing a path to the audience hall.
We walked slowly to the hall, where an old man sat on a golden throne.
He sat with his eyes gently closed, looking as if he were either dead or alive.
The moment we reached the center of the hall.
Bang! With a loud crash, the open door we’d entered through slammed shut.
... Was it a trap?
Just as I was momentarily startled, careful not to let my guard down...
The old man, presumably the Lord of the Golden Castle, snapped his eyes open.
Then his lips slowly parted, his voice reverberating throughout the hall.
─An alchemist is not someone who can stand alone. A great alchemist is always accompanied by a great guardian. Guardian of the alchemist, you have already proven your strength.
Uh, um... I suppose?
─But strength alone does not prove everything. Here, I shall determine what kind of person you are.
Determine?
─You are a ruler who commands the tiny things no one else in the world can see. In addition, you possess the ability of casting, which the gods love.
... How did he know?
─You possess the great ability to expand an alchemist’s horizons when they reach their limits. Therefore, I shall pass judgment.
[You have passed the ‘Trial of Qualification ─ Alchemist’s Guardian.’]
[Your class has been judged capable of creating an extraordinarily powerful synergy with an Alchemist!]
[A legendary achievement! Your class is exceptionally well-suited to supporting an Alchemist.]
[As a reward, you have acquired the title ‘Legendary Alchemist’s Guardian.’]
[Through the effect of the title ‘Legendary Alchemist’s Guardian,’ you have learned the toggle skill ‘Sharing Experience.’]
[Sharing Experience] [OFF]
Description: Most great achievements are not accomplished alone. By sharing experience, you can help each other reach greater heights.
Effect: You share 50% of the experience you earn with a target connected to you (Im Gyuseon). You can use this skill at any time to decide whether to share experience.
... Oh, this is good.
I was already having a hard time controlling my level...
I’d have an easier time controlling my level, while Ms. Gyuseon could gain levels, which were hard for her to get.
I switched it to ON right away.
─Alchemist, you have a fine guardian. You have passed the trial.
I got a whole long speech, while Ms. Gyuseon passed in one go.
─Then I shall give you your final task.
Almost at the same time he said it...
Rrrrumble!
The ground shook violently.
... This is ominous.
And my ominous premonitions never seemed to be wrong.
[The castle is about to collapse!]
[Survive.]
Well, I’d expected something like this.
“Um, this is...”
“Just get on my back!”
I hoisted Ms. Gyuseon onto my back.
I changed Athena back into her ring form...
“Run!”
[The effect of Pilgrim’s Step is applied at maximum.]
As long as I headed for the dungeon entrance, I’d get a 1,000% boost.
The structure had been a straight line from the entrance to the castle...
Even with my slow movement speed, I could get out of the collapsing castle in no time.
No matter how slow I was, a 1,000% boost should make me faster than a horse.
“Phew.”
After running for a while, the cloud of dust rising behind us had settled.
But... why hadn’t I gotten a clear notification?
“... I think I was supposed to stop the final collapse.”
“What?”
“The mission says to use False Gold Alchemy to save the guardian and myself from danger.”
Cough.
S-so...
Did I just troll the quest?
“Well, fortunately...”
She used the False Gold Alchemy skill on a small stone rolling nearby, and it turned into shining gold.
Even knowing it was temporary, it was still amazing.
[Im Gyuseon used False Gold Alchemy to save the guardian and herself from danger.]
[You have passed the ‘Trial of Qualification ─ Sometimes an Alchemist Must Protect Someone.’]
No... isn’t the order of events backwards...?
She didn’t use False Gold Alchemy to save us from danger; she used it after being saved from danger, didn’t she?
Was that actually allowed?
“... For some reason, it feels like I cleared it with a loophole.”
I agreed completely.
Leaving us with a great deal of unease...
[You have cleared Level 33 Gate, ‘The Empire of False Gold,’ for the first time.]
[As a first-clear reward, your maximum mana has increased slightly.]
We were caught up in a halo of light, carrying our first-clear reward with us.