Philosopher's Stone

Philosopher’s Stone

Giants and spirits—the ancient demigods’ bodies were composed of magical power and the Philosopher’s Stone.

It was the only substance that could directly combine with magical power, a miraculous material that could accomplish anything within a single universe.

That was the Philosopher’s Stone.

[Destroying existing cells. Maximizing the body’s regenerative abilities.]

[Injecting Philosopher’s Stone. The subject’s body is adapting to the Philosopher’s Stone. From now on, the cells produced by the subject will use only Philosopher’s Stone as nutrition.]

[Replacing all cells with ‘Philosopher’s Stone-cells.’ Proceeding sequentially according to cell replacement cycles and sensitivity.]

[First, replacing stomach cells.]

[Replacing skin cells.]

Hmm… feels quite warm.

[Replacing fingernail and toenail cells.]

…This is bearable.

[Replacing pancreatic cells.]

[Replacing bone cells.]

Huh? What?

[Replacing brain cells.]

‘Arrrrrgggh!’

The complex process ultimately boiled down to one line.

It hurt unbelievably.

This wasn’t ordinary pain. It was creative agony.

Fingernails, toenails, bones, pancreas, heart, and brain… normally, these don’t have pain receptors. Yet I felt vivid pain.

The newly created cells were hypersensitive, as if each had eyes and fingers attached. I “created” and felt pain that normally couldn’t be experienced.

Have you ever felt your warm brain squishing inside your own skull?

Ah…

Aaah…

Arrrggghh!

I screamed at least a hundred times in my mind, but never let it escape my lips. The magical powers were watching me.

After an endless period of endurance, I finally heard a voice sweet beyond comparison.

[Enhancement complete.]

[You are now free from aging, disease, and addiction.]

[Physical limitations have been removed. You can become as strong and fast as your will permits, and transform into anything.]

[But beware. If not properly controlled, you may self-destruct with your own power.]

[Disconnecting. Please refrain from connecting again until a safer method is found. There is a risk of revealing the Shadow Library’s location.]

[It was nice to meet you, possible Administrator. May you complete the work of creation.]

The Shadow Library’s voice faded into the distance.

In its place, the clamorous voices of magical powers filled my ears.

<Wooow!>

<Divine Mage! Let’s go back! This feels right!>

<Hmm… not bad? Hmm… this is too good! Ah, what a nostalgic scent.>

<You like this? It smells like those half-breeds…?>

<But it’s much clearer now. This is the closest match we’ve seen yet!>

<That’s right. This is it! This is the one!>

The white magical powers showed distinctly lukewarm reactions, but I received full support from the red and black magical powers.

The magical powers swirled around me, pressing in.

Before long, even the hesitant white magical powers joined in, rushing toward me as if giving up their resistance.

Amazing…

Previously, magical powers wouldn’t even bat an eye at considerable achievements… but once you truly impress them, they swarm to you in incredible numbers.

I reflexively recited the mage’s covenant.

[Sky. Earth. Wind. Stars. All things of the world and the records of all things. Behold me. A thousand eyes and ten thousand ears. I am here. Listen. See. I am the one who speaks to the world. The one who accomplishes what is spoken. Behold. I have a mouth, an ear to which you shall listen. Behold. Here are lips to which you shall submit. Now the teeth have grown, with which I distinguish the world.]

[I take the palate as my sky and the jaw as my earth, and between them all things grow.]

[Also hear. My tongue’s tip announces the time of all creation.]

I created a mouth and lips, and above the teeth, I formed two rotating semicircles to make the palate and jaw.

I created an elastic magical power sphere and placed it at the center of all Circles to form a tongue.

I had skipped the 4th Circle and reached the 5th Circle in one leap.

Inhale, exhale—

The breath I drew in and out was heavily infused with the scent left by the magical powers.

Pan-Dalus, the Mage of Refinement, Monggu.

Evan, Kaisel, Beatrice.

Six people huddled together in the Mage of Refinement’s now-chaotic workshop, staring at me.

Judging by their expressions, they wanted to ask questions like “What happened?” “Did you succeed?” “How do you feel?” But…

Hmm. How do I feel?

The Philosopher’s Stone used in this modification is estimated to be worth at least 4 million Morning.

That’s about 4 trillion Korean won. My body has literally become “money itself.”

Just plucking a single strand of hair would be worth about 300,000 won… or 3 Shine.

So how do I feel?

I looked at the Mage of Refinement.

With a bright smile, I said.

“Refinement. Sorry, but I think I’ll keep growing taller.”

Thanks to being enhanced through a different method than planned, I no longer had to worry about my growth stopping! Plus, my body’s performance exceeded expectations! The best! This is the best!

The Mage of Refinement, who had been gazing at me in amazement, opened his eyes wide. He looked bewildered, then… his pupils began to tremble.

Crunch.

Grinding his teeth, he shouted,

“You damn brat…!”

* * *

My current level is 5th Circle with 3 stars.

Upon reaching 5th Circle, everything became so much simpler.

First, my simulation capacity increased about 30-fold, reaching 2 million simuls. What that means is that I can now simulate the Waiting Stairs for 4 minutes, whereas before I could only do so for about 8 seconds. Four minutes a day is enough time to conduct various experiments.

But the real advantage lay elsewhere.

“Are you sure?”

The Mage of Refinement asked with a tense expression.

“I’m sure, so don’t worry.”

“How can I not worry? Do you realize how many resources we’ve poured into this one hack? If we fail, we lose everything and become paupers before we even declare independence!”

That’s why I ran [Simulation] so many times, right? It’s definitely going to work.

“…Okay, I’ll believe you. Since what you talk about isn’t theorized yet, I can’t help but feel anxious. Don’t take it too personally.”

The Mage of Refinement headed to his position with a nervous face.

“Let’s begin.”

Large mana stones floated around the Mage of Refinement. Like a conductor leading a choir, he waved his hands intricately, making the mana stones glow softly as they spun in the air. Soon, the entire Waiting Stairs lit up brilliantly. Not just the Azure Magic School above the water’s surface, but also the submerged lower sections beneath the Great Water Plains were illuminated. The blessings engraved by the Mage of Refinement rippled above the water’s surface.

“There! I’ve overloaded the Waiting Stairs! Now it’s your turn! You need to seize the main system!”

The Mage of Refinement shouted with a flushed face.

What he had just done was temporarily awaken the Waiting Stairs from its deep slumber.

Which means,

My voice can now reach the main ego.

Woong!

I moved my Circle and uttered the prepared words.

[All cha nnel on. Broad cast.]

[Re mo te cont rol.]

The truly great thing about becoming 5th Circle?

That would be my Circle’s pronunciation.

Though still a bit clumsy, theoretically, I can now handle most pronunciations. This means I can now give very precise commands!

-Welcome, Administrator. It has been far too long.

-You have requested a broadcast to all facilities. One. Two. Connected.

-You have requested remote control. Level 1 Administrator authority certified by the 3rd Subdimensional Workshop confirmed. Ragnarok alert activation confirmed. No higher priority commander detected. Remote control approved. Remote control will be implemented for all facilities connected to the channel. One. Two. Connected.

So this is the voice of the Waiting Stairs’ main ego?

Rumble!

Whoosh!

The ground surged upward.

The Waiting Stairs, more than 90 percent of which had been submerged underwater, rose above the surface. The impossibly heavy water of the Great Water Plains cascaded down like a waterfall below the stairs. The water droplets hitting my chest and cheeks were painfully heavy. Even the rainbow stretching across the sky was dense, heavy, and beautiful.

And every staircase and city in the world connected to the Waiting Stairs through the communication network.

* * *

Bakis Stairs.

A sign hung at the wide entrance read: <All goods to Bakis Stairs, all people to Bakis Stairs.>

“Welcome to the great market of Bakis Stairs! This is a market directly operated by the Mage of Rebirth, the chairman of Society!”

“Ah, that sign? It was personally carved by the founding chairman, the Mage of Freedom.”

Pride overflowed from every voice, whether hawking goods or engaging in casual conversation.

Rumble!

Until the entire staircase shook and the founding chairman’s sign crashed to the floor with a bang!

* * *

Tree Stairs.

The Forest Sea. In a great forest where trees stood together like a sea, one particularly gigantic tree stood out. Not only was its size impressive, seeming to reach the sky, but the way its lower trunk had been hollowed out to form a huge tunnel was even more remarkable.

The tree, which seemed as eternally still as a mountain, suddenly shuddered. Elephant-sized leaves fell from the sky with a rustle.

Light beams shot between the branches, weaving together like a spider’s web to form an image.

In the image appeared the famous Academy figure Pan-Dalus, the Mage of Domestication, and Oh Si-jin, the Mage of Refinement. Also visible was a white-haired boy mage who would be familiar to any magic user interested in circulating rumors. The place they stood was the Waiting Stairs, rising prominently above the Great Water Plains…

“Wait! Is that really the Waiting Stairs? Why is it so tall?”

Druids who had been meditating among the branches began to peek out one by one. They lost themselves watching the images appearing throughout the tree.

-Our goal of preventing extinction is the same as the Academy’s, but there is a great difference in how we implement it. For some time now, the Academy has been content with maintaining the status quo and has fallen behind in embracing change. The problem is that the pace of extinction is faster than our rate of development.

Therefore, the ‘Great Cataclysm Emergency Committee’ hereby declares independence from the Academy. We will ascend the tower to uncover the world’s secrets, and we will not hesitate to experiment with and apply new theories.

Our new name is ‘Pathfinder.’ We are the seventh mage organization to be established in the Tower of Covenant.

This video is being broadcast to all staircases and cities. Are you curious about what kind of magic this is? Come find Pathfinder. We seek more active exchange of knowledge.

The druids, who had been quietly watching the video, sighed.

“Hmm… is this the formation of a new balance?”

“No. Isn’t this the shape of balance being destroyed?”

Debates began to break out everywhere.

* * *

Magic Tower.

It originally had a name—Indara’s Stairs—but now no one remembered it.

Five hundred years since Magic Tower declared its independence here, it was now simply called ‘Magic Tower.’

The surrounding area was a barren wasteland without a single tree, shrouded in poisonous mist.

A desolate place visited only by Society’s crazed merchants besides the Magic Tower mages.

At the top of Magic Tower was the research lab of the Lord of Magic Tower.

The Lord of Magic Tower, the Mage of Soul Severance, Bram Skeleton, gazed with fascination at the video projection outside his window.

“Remarkable. This is our fault. When we first received reports about this white-haired boy, we should have committed all our resources. Now we’ve approached clumsily and might lose him completely. We’ve suffered pointless losses.”

The mages standing behind Bram Skeleton shuddered with fear at his muttering.

“Use every available resource. This is our last chance. Don’t just use force—use your brains too. You know what they say about the enemy within being the most dangerous? Listen, it’s no longer just about experimentation. The 70th floor has fallen. We need to secure the lower floors by any means necessary.”

“Understood! We’ll mobilize all our embedded forces as well!”

“Good. Good. Let’s do well this time.”

Bram Skeleton clicked his tongue once more as he looked at the image reflected in the window.

“Tsk… if only I could go myself.”

And so, the formation of the seventh mage organization, ‘Pathfinder,’ was announced to the entire world.

It was a month before Baek Jun-woo’s 17th birthday, and the day humanity’s bastion on the 70th floor had fallen.