Chapter 248 – Birth of an Alchemist

“There is something I want to ask the alchemists of Tabula.”
“Yes? What kind of request is it?”

I was in the drawing room trying to ask Kellon for a favor.

Originally, I was going to borrow a rune scroll and try to explain the principle. While coming this far, I realized for sure that it wasn’t something I could touch yet. I couldn’t even get a sense of how the scroll was made.

‘It’s a scroll that no one has explained the principle for hundreds of years in the first place. Can you figure out how to make it with my hands?’

Alchemy has only been learned in theory so far, but has rarely been used in practice. What even the rune mages and first-class alchemists of Ninggard have not been able to explain is the structure of the rune scroll, but for me to challenge it is no different than hitting a rock with an egg. It was obvious that I would only waste my time playing snowball fights with rune scrolls. I’d rather do something more useful.

What is that useful thing?
It is learning how to make magic scrolls.

Since the magic scroll is the main combat tool for alchemists, there is nothing wrong with learning it. It was also meant to be against Albert, the alchemist, sooner or later anyway. If you understand the principle of the magic scroll, beating Albert will be easier.

‘The landlord burns down!’

If you know your enemy and know yourself, you will not be in danger even if you fight a hundred times.
I made up my mind and opened her mouth to Kellon.

“I want to learn how to make magic scrolls. Can I learn directly from the alchemists in Tabula?
“Ah, you’re talking about the scroll recipe. I’m sorry, but I can’t reveal Tabula’s scroll recipe to anyone.”

Hearing my request, Kellon responded with trouble.

“This is a knowledge passed on only to senior members who have built up a long career in Tabula. I acknowledge the credit for recovering the rune scrolls, but after all, Luke-sama is an outsider. It will be difficult to entrust the captain’s permission.”

Why are you so expensive when you only make scraps of paper?
You may have this idea, but the scroll crafting method was the alchemist’s capital. These are unique manufacturing methods that each magic society has developed over a long period of time. In a different world where there is no copyright, if you recklessly disclose it, you will incur huge losses. Right now, from tomorrow morning, fake scrolls will be distributed.

“Even if Luke joins Tabula, it will take quite a while to be promoted to an advanced member. It takes about 10 years of hard work to pass the promotion review. To become an advanced member, I also lived here as a slave. Do you know the miserable feeling you have to have?”

Meeeee…

Kellone looked at me as she let out her plaintive cries.

… Slave life?

It seems that Tabula’s working conditions are not very good. In fact, most large magic societies are no different from Earth’s black corporations. It is to gather the fruits of the members’ blood and sweat to increase the size of the organization. The greed of magicians is endless, so there is no guarantee of a work-life balance.

“I have no intention of joining a magic society in the first place. I’m satisfied with my job as an adventurer. So, are you saying that the recipe for making scrolls is strictly a secret to outsiders?”
“It’s not like we treat it as a complete secret. The royal family of Morph paid a large amount of money to learn how to make a scroll. Luke-sama also has a valuable item that can be used as a sponsor.

Valuable stuff?
What do you mean?

“…Don’t you remember? Grendel’s corpse. The corpse of a monster that has lived for a long time contains a large amount of mana. If you create an elixir from the corpse, you can drastically increase your mana reserves at once. They want Grendel’s body now.”

You mean you want to make an elixir out of Grendel’s corpse? In fact, as long as I was charging magic power, the elixir that increased the amount of mana didn’t mean much to me. Rather than making an elixir with Grendel’s corpse, it would be more efficient to have sex at that time.

“How much can I tear off the body and donate it?
“Half of Luke’s corpse! If you donate half of it, the captain will be satisfied. The corpse of an ancient beast is not a common item.”
“Great.”

The moment he announced his intention to trade, Kellon jumped up from his seat.

“Wait a minute. I’ll tell the captain and come back. I’ll get an answer for sure.”

Kellon, who went to see the director, returned to the drawing room after about half an hour.

“The captain has given permission! He said it’s okay to teach the scroll crafting method in exchange for half of Grendel’s body.”
“I’ll hand over the body within today.”

I’m a bit curious about the elixir made from slime corpses. The feeling of wriggling in the throat makes it taste terrible. Just imagining it makes me sick to my stomach. Still, it must be a precious material for other mages.

That day, a deal was struck between me and Tabula.
He separated exactly half of Grendel’s slime body and handed it over to the members. Of course, from the next day, I got Kellon’s promise to teach me how to make a scroll.

*

After returning from the spring water inn, I went into the guest room and asked Rumi for advice. She wanted to learn if she knew how to make her scrolls too. Perhaps you can learn a method that is superior to Tabula’s Magic Scroll.

“Rumiya. Do you know anything about how to make magic scrolls?”
[As for how to make scrolls, there are several books in the library. But you already agreed to be taught by the alchemists of Tabula. I don’t think I need to tell you how to make it.]
“Why? If you search the library, you might come up with a recipe that’s better than Tabula.”
[The recipes stored in my library are all ancient knowledge. Regarding alchemy, I recommend learning from modern alchemists first. Ancient knowledge is too difficult for a wizard who is new to alchemy to learn. It is better to learn the basics by learning from Tabula alchemists first.]

It’s so esoteric that I can’t understand it with my head right now? I can’t imagine how difficult it is. Are elementary school students at the level of learning college major subjects? I don’t know, but I’ve never lost money by following Rumi’s advice. For the time being, I’ll have to focus on taking classes at Tabula.

I also have to teach Wendy magic.
It has become a busy body in many ways.

The next day, I visited Tabula’s studio alone.
Kellon was waiting for me holding a magic tool to be used in the scroll recipe.

“Luke-nim! Here are the magic tools that will be used to create the magic scroll. Originally, you have to purchase it yourself, but we will provide it as a special service. The leader said that you can generously support Luke.”
“Let’s see.”

A barrel filled with ink ejected by the Kraken.
A brush made from broken branches of the World Tree.
Magic paper made from the skin of a high-ranking plant-type monster.
A pot containing a mana-enriched potion.

Except for the brush, all of them are consumable materials. The Kraken’s ink, the World Tree’s branches, or the dryad’s skin. From the point of view of ordinary adventurers, it was an expensive material to the extent that their backs bent. There was a reason why magic scrolls are so expensive.

“You’re giving me all this for free?”
“Because Grendel’s corpse is worth it.”

As soon as she received the scroll material from Kellon, her hands trembled. Even if she spilled a little bit of ink or potion on the floor, it was no different from spilling money. If you use it sparingly, you’ll be able to create even one more scroll.

“Take a look at the magic paper processed in the form of a scroll. Engrave the magic formula you want to seal on the empty white paper. Of course, you can’t just engrave the spell. Inside the spell, the ‘hook spell’, which is the core of the scroll’s recipe, is written. You have to insert it.”
“What is a hook spell?”
“This is a spell that allows the magic sealed in the scroll to activate itself. You can think of it as setting the rules with the spell inside the scroll. Under what conditions the magic is activated, in what path the flow of mana circulates, etc. It’s the hook spell that sets the rules. It’s a hook spell because it sticks to the spell like a hook.”

Kellon handed me a book explaining hook spells. A book titled 〈 Hook Commentary 〉. It wasn’t too difficult to understand because they were spells created by transforming runes.

‘You can think of it as a command that activates scrolling.’

For example, let’s assume that you recorded the basic magic fire spell on the magic scroll. Simply recording the spell with a brush is nothing more than an explanation of fire magic. The hook spell used the spell as an axis to induce magic to be activated.

When does fire magic activate?

1. When a scroll unfold signal is received.
2. Move the coordinates of mana by a certain distance on the scroll.
3. Repeat this process N times.
4. When mana cycles perfectly on the scroll.
5. Interpret the formula and release the seal.
6. Activate the magic.

In this way, the hook spells related to scroll motion, control, detection, calculation, and variables were divided in detail. It’s the same as writing a program by coding. All the alchemists in this world are qualified to become coding slaves.

“The hook spells are based on the runes. Luke, a rune mage, can learn them quickly. It took me three years to understand those spells.”
“I understand everything.”
“If it’s a rune mage, it’s usually about a month… What? Do you understand everything?”

1 hours.
That’s the amount of time it took me to complete the hook commentary.
When I revealed that I understood everything, Kellon looked at me with an angry expression.

There’s nothing really surprising about it.
I’ve mastered almost all runes.
I learned the basic rune words, but learning the modified words is nothing more than memorizing them.
As if she was learning faster than expected, Kellon looked at me and stuck out her tongue.

“You’re quick to learn. Then let’s try making a magic scroll yourself. You can choose the magic you want to seal in the scroll… From among the magic you’ve learned. Please choose the magic you want and proceed with the task.”

What kind of magic would you like to work with?
After thinking about it for a while, I asked Kellon what he was curious about.

“Can I seal the ancient magic?”