Screeeeeeech!!!
The piercing scream was strong enough to send shivers down one’s soul.
Amidst that background noise,
『The qualification of “Kim Shimun” for the divinity of creation has been reserved.』
An impersonal system window appeared before Shimun’s eyes.
Paradoxically,
『This is only a temporary reservation. The qualification can be obtained upon fulfilling the conditions.』
『The title “Dragon God” has been updated to include the divinity of creation.』
The system continued its stark announcements, seemingly unaffected by the dreadful screams. Eventually, the divinity removal procedure seemed to conclude.
『Ugh, ugh…』
Echidna’s barely alive, gasping breaths could be heard.
『This… this is… impossible…』
Her final groans, steeped in agony and disbelief, were followed by,
Kiiieeeeng!
A sharp ringing similar to when hi first arrived engulfed Shimun again.
*
Perhaps it was due to the sharp ringing and accompanying vertigo?
“Ugh.”
Shimun briefly stumbled but quickly regained his footing.
Hug!
It felt like he was wearing a solid protective gear, his body was firmly supported by a gentle embrace, prompting him to look down.
There he saw, “Appa!”
A child resembling his younger self, clutching him securely.
“Appa… are you hurt?”
What misunderstanding was this?
“Are you hurt because of me?”
Despite the child’s distinct facial features, his pure eyes welled up with tears.
Quickly regaining his senses, Shimun responded, “No. I’m fine.”
He shook his head quickly.
“If anything, you kept me from falling. Thank you.”
Along with a warm smile, he patted the child.
The touch of his soft hair, “Ehehe! Appa!”
The child beamed, shaking his head happily.
Then, “Oh, by the way…”
Looking down at the child, Shimun trailed off.
The reason was simple.
“I haven’t given you a name yet?”
Like Shiyeon, the child who closely resembled him didn’t have a name yet.
As if waiting for this moment, “Yes! I don’t have a name!”
Having wiped away the tears from his eyes, the child nodded energetically.
‘I must have been out of my mind.’
Shimun let out a small, self-deprecating chuckle.
‘No matter how busy I was, I left the most important thing for last…’
The unexpected events regarding the divinity of creation were indeed overwhelming,
But forgetting to name the child?
Shimun shook his head slightly and looked down at the child in his arms.
‘Come to think of it, Shiyeon had already named Kyung before I alchemized the Faerie Dragon.’
Shiyeon had named Kyung even before Shimun alchemized him as a Faerie Dragon.
So now, just like when he first alchemized Shiyeon, even though this child was a dragon-type being, Shimun had to name him himself.
“Hmm…”
Shimun hummed contemplatively.
‘What name would be good?’
Like with Shiyeon, despite the homunculus aspect, the child who resembled him was calling him “Appa.”
‘Given how he looks and everything, I want to give him a name similar to mine and Shiyeon’s.’
Shimun wanted to give the child a name reflecting his own, making him feel like a true family member.
After a moment of silence, Shimun spoke.
“Since Shihyuk and I both have names starting with ‘Shi’, and there’s Shiyeon too… Yes! How about Kim Shijun?”
Since he was a boy, the name seemed fitting and sounded good. It seemed the child liked it.
“Kim Shijun… Kim Shijun…!”
Repeating the name Shimun had given him several times,
“Yes! From now on, I’m Kim Shijun!”
The child nodded energetically.
『The homunculus has been named Kim Shijun.』
『You have acquired the achievement “My First Homunculus” achievement.』
『You have gained 50,000 achievement points.』
『You have gained 5,000,000 merit points.』
As the name was officially set, the achievement rewards popped up.
As it seemed the merit points had surpassed a threshold,
『The “Strength Stat” section in the Achievement Shop has been upgraded to “Strength Stat +4”.』
『The “Agility Stat” section in the Achievement Shop has been upgraded to “Agility Stat +4”.』
『The “Stamina Stat” section in the Achievement Shop has been upgraded to “Stamina Stat +4”.』
『The “Random Stat” section in the Achievement Shop…』
With the storm of upgrades to the achievement shop,
Swoosh.
The same kind of white light as when he alchemized Shiyeon enveloped Shimun and Shijun.
And then, “Unni.”
Watching from a corner of the laboratory was another child who looked much like Shimun.
“Does Shiyeon have a little brother now?”
Shiyeon looked at the floating flask with an eye inside, her bright eyes sparkling.
The Philosopher’s Stone.
“Unni?”
Shiyeon, whose expression had been bright, now tilted her head slightly in curiosity.
The reason was simple.
-…….
Although it was a momentous occasion with a new creation and family member officially being born, the Philosopher’s Stone seemed unusually subdued.
While one might mistake it as a moment of solemnity due to the significance, “Unni…?”
Having spent so much time with her sister, Shiyeon instinctively sensed something was different about her demeanor.
Yet, that was all.
As the light gradually dimmed,
-… Oppa is different… he will be different… from that one…
The Philosopher’s Stone bit its lip faintly, its eyes trembling slightly,
-Yes? Shiyeon, what did you say?
Returning to its usual self, it asked Shiyeon, who was staring deeply at it.
“…”
Perhaps because it had reverted to its normal state, Shiyeon blinked a few times and then, “Yes! I’m just happy to have a little brother now!”
Responded with her usual bright smile.
-… Yes. It’s good to have more family.
The Philosopher’s Stone replied with a temporarily subdued voice but nothing more.
-By the way, is it because the blood used was all oppa’s?
Soon returning to its usual cheerful demeanor,
-That little one sure looks handsome, just like oppa!
Gazing at Shijun, who was now free from the enveloping light, with a bright smile. Was it really that delightful?
“Yes! My little brother. He’s super handsome!”
Shiyeon even jumped in joy, expressing her delight.
-Indeed. Shiyeon is lucky to have such a wonderful little brother, huh?
“Yes! Shiyeon is super happy! He’s my brother without any other girls involved!”
Of course, “But no matter what, not even unni can have Appa. I’m going to marry Appa.”
-Um, what?
Shiyeon’s following words and gaze caused even the Philosopher’s Stone to feel somewhat flustered.
“Appa belongs to me, every single hair strand on his head and everything.”
Though it was somewhat eerie.
*
A wide ceiling. To be precise, Shimun was looking at the status window floating there.
“Shimun-nim. Aren’t you coming?”
Turning his attention to the deep voice calling him, he saw a rugged-looking man.
It was Night Hunter, Park Jinwook.
“Oh, I had to take care of something. I’ll be there soon.”
“Understood. Come quickly. Everyone’s very curious! Myself included!”
“I’ll be right there.”
Shimun answered Park Jinwook’s eagerness with a smile.
“Then I’ll head over first!”
Click.
As Park Jinwook closed the door to the laboratory behind him,
‘Now, let’s see. My titles…’
Shimun immediately checked out the growth of his title due to his recent homunculus creation.
『Pioneer of Alchemy』 – Growth Type
A title granted to an alchemist who has alchemized mythical products of alchemy.
-Receives significant bonuses related to alchemy.
-Reduces alchemy energy consumption by 55%.
-Increases alchemy potency by 45%.
Perhaps due to reaching the pinnacle knowledge of human alchemy through creating a homunculus,
‘Overall, the options have all increased.’
The alchemy bonus had improved from “considerable” to “significant”, alchemy energy consumption had been reduced from 45% to 55%, and alchemy potency had increased by 10%, from 35% to 45%.
‘As expected from a growth-type title.’
Noting the improvements, Shimun nodded in satisfaction.
Because, ‘These accumulations made creating a homunculus possible.’
Being someone who didn’t carry equipment, aside from his stats, these options provided substantial spec increases.
Even though the Obsidian Tablet had been 80% complete, without these supplementary options, alchemizing a homunculus using the divinity of a Constellation would have been extremely challenging.
Most importantly, ‘And since it’s not a renewal type, it can only continue to grow.’
Unlike the renewal-type titles like Chosen by the Constellations, growth-type titles only see improvements.
This made it a solid, dependable title that would continue to support him as he progressed.
‘By the way, they mentioned that the title Dragon God has now included the divinity of creation?’
Having checked through the improvements to Pioneer of Alchemy, Shimun then looked at the title ‘Dragon God.’
『Dragon God』 – Growth Type Title
A title proving the qualifications to take the vacant seat in the dragon realm.
-Bound Draconic Species: Faerie Dragon, Demon Dragon
-Divinity of Creation: 12% (Reserved)
The options hadn’t changed significantly, but the new elements caught his eye.
First, the newly added bound dragonic species, Demon Dragon.
‘So this is how the divinity of creation is displayed…’
And then, the newly added option of the divinity of creation.
Shimun’s eyes focused on the terms ‘reserved’ and ‘12%.’
‘The reason it’s reserved is, as the divinity said earlier, because I’m not a Constellation.’
Earlier,
When confronting the 2nd Dragon Lord, Echidna, in the divinity of creation’s domain.
The divinity of creation, which had been weighing between him and Echidna, had deemed him unfit to hold the divinity because he wasn’t a Constellation.
Moreover,
‘They said I could obtain the qualification anytime by meeting the conditions.’
This means,
‘The true owner of the divinity of creation held by Echidna is actually me.’
The divinity of creation that the 2nd Dragon Lord Echidna currently possesses.
The qualification to hold it indeed belongs to Shimun.
‘Well, it’s not surprising.’
The dragonic abilities he possessed all originated from the Dragon God Tiamat.
Though they had developed in various forms, like the Dragonoid, their roots remained unchanged.
Additionally,
‘It’s the same with the dragonic birth achievements.’
The divinity of creation had explicitly referred to the dragonic birth achievements. He had two achievements with Kyung and Shijun.
Echidna had zero.
Although she did possess multiple ‘assisted birth’ achievements, they weren’t comparable to actual birth achievements.
‘Having only two dragonic birth achievements equates to a value of 12% of the divinity?’
The divinity of creation had mercilessly extracted 12% from Echidna’s divinity.
‘So if each achievement is worth approximately 6%, then roughly 16 to 17 achievements would be needed to hold 100% of the divinity?’
If he accumulated 16 to 17 more dragonic birth achievements, he could potentially reclaim 100% of Echidna’s divinity of creation.
Of course, like the end stages of alchemizing mythical artifacts, the values might change as he progresses, but one thing was certain.
‘Even if I’m not a Constellation, I can still chip away at Echidna’s divinity.’
The true owner of the divinity of creation being himself meant that each new birth achievement would gradually weaken Echidna.
‘Well, seeing that assisted births don’t count, it seems only genuine creations are acknowledged as birth achievements…’
Despite these stringent conditions, Shimun didn’t feel particularly anxious or impatient.
The reason was simple.
‘Echidna has no dragonic birth achievements at all.’
Echidna hadn’t achieved a single ‘dragonic birth’ achievement. So while it might be tough, Shimun was steadily gaining ground, knowing he could ultimately claim the divinity.
With that in mind, he decided to focus on his upcoming plans and preparations. Echidna only had multiple ‘assisted birth’ achievements, didn’t she?
Even Echidna herself probably knew well that she lacked the qualifications for the divinity of creation.
‘In this aspect, even a Constellation like her falls short compared to me.’
It seemed there was a reason why figures like Sun Wukong or Lucifer mentioned their ineptitude in creation.
‘No wonder she sent the Ancient Dragon.’
The Ancient Green Dragon, etra, who had intervened in the guild war. Now understanding the reason behind those past events, Shimun chuckled.
‘And considering the memories from Tiamat about sharing the divinity of the Dragon God…’
He recalled the memories seen through the blood of Dragon God Tiamat.
Reflecting on them, ‘The other Dragon Kings might possess similar forms of divinity.’
Though creation was a particularly special domain, it was a possibility.
‘If that’s the case, it’s good for me. It gives me another means to weaken them.’
And very effectively at that. Satisfied with the thought, Shimun smiled.
“Ahhh! How can he look so alike… Shijun~~!”
He turned his head at the commotion coming through the door.
“It seems our Shijun is quite popular.”
Then, “Alright! Then, let’s go out too…”
As Shimun, having organized his thoughts, got up,
『Interdimensional Defense Battle No. 274 of Earth has been matched.』
A message appeared, blocking his path.