It goes without saying, but the better the materials used in alchemy, the better the result.
If the material Ian had used to make the knife had been a rusty blade instead of a perfectly good kitchen knife, the effect might have been the same, but it would have shattered the moment he used it.
The one made from a kitchen knife had broken too, but in any case, he had killed all the monkeys with it. If it had been a rusty knife, that would have been impossible.
In this way, even if the object was the same, the result differed depending on the materials that went into it. The item Ian was trying to make now was no exception.
A Dying Eyeball. A heinous object that seized and burst the eyeballs of whatever target was reflected on its retina.
However, for the creature’s eyeball that served as its core material, Ian had chosen that of a dead fish. It was better than an insect’s, but compared to the eyes of other beasts, it was far inferior in quality.
He had no choice, since this was the only eyeball he could obtain legally. Bluntly put, it wasn’t as if he could gouge out the eyes of humans or animals.
He had honestly considered digging out the eyeballs of the corpses that had died in the monkey dream, but he had not put it into practice.
Desecrating corpses was a crime. He could not rummage through bodies at a place the Bureau was certain to visit. If he did not want to be grabbed by the scruff of the neck and dragged away, he had to behave himself.
So, fish eyes it was. They were somewhat cloudy and flat rather than round like a human’s, but in any case, they were still the eyeballs of living creatures. They were not so poor that they could not be used in magic.
“Thinking that a mage chosen by an Outer God’s grimoire is using magic with fish eyeballs is kind of lame.”
He ignored the voice coming from behind him. With a serious expression, Ian drew a magic circle on the paper and placed the materials one by one.
He poured the blood he had brought in a bottle over the eyeball placed at the center of the magic circle. He sprinkled water around it, set the lump of Palcheok’s arm he had brought at the very top of the circle, and placed the monkshood he had bought from a flower shop at the bottom.
With that, the preparations were complete. After telling Lee Seo-a to step back, Ian opened the grimoire.
“……!”
The moment the pages of the pure white grimoire opened, goosebumps rose along Lee Seo-a’s spine. It felt as though she had come face-to-face with something she could not resist. It was as if insects were crawling all over her skin.
This was what happened merely from opening the pages. If she were to read the grimoire herself, what would happen?
“…….”
She was curious, but she had no intention of trying. As a mage herself, she valued her life more than most. There was no need to satisfy a curiosity that would obviously get her killed.
She was not a cat. She would not do something stupid like sticking her head into danger for no reason.
Still, she was curious about the result of the alchemy, so Lee Seo-a peeked over Ian’s shoulder and watched the process.
Ian felt her gaze as well, but he did not stop her. Instead, he calmly recited the incantation written in the grimoire.
“How dare a mere creature attempt to gaze upon a great one? Lower your head. If that is not enough, gouge out your own eyes.”
Wooooong.
The magic circle vibrated. The trembling blood and water fused together, and the mixture flowed into the lifeless eyeball. Ether covered the area around the magic circle like a barrier.
At that moment, Ian felt as though some indescribable thing was directing its gaze at him.
It was different from when the Great Mother had used magic. This gaze was far more malicious and murderous. He immediately realized that these were the wicked things mentioned in the grimoire.
Perhaps because he was inside a mage’s workshop, the gazes failed to locate him and soon scattered.
If this place had not been a workshop, they would certainly have pinpointed Ian’s location and taken some kind of action. Even a passing dog could tell that would not have been beneficial to Ian.
‘Unless it’s a truly urgent situation, I should absolutely avoid using alchemy anywhere that isn’t a workshop.’
Resolving that inwardly, Ian calmly finished the final incantation.
“Crush the eyes you have gouged out. Thus prove that my form was not reflected in your eyes. Then I, in my mercy, shall not take your life.”
The incantation ended. As before, Ian glanced at the sphere and flower scattering into ash, then picked up the slightly reddened eyeball and checked whether the alchemy had worked properly.
Fortunately, the alchemy had succeeded. Ian carefully wrapped the eyeball, which gave off a fairly sinister aura, in the cloth he had brought and placed it inside a ring case.
This way, he wouldn’t have to worry about it breaking during transport.
He nodded in satisfaction and showed the eyeball inside the case to Lee Seo-a as well.
“What do you think?”
“……About what?”
“This. Doesn’t it look like it was made properly? That’s how it looks to me, but it might be different from another mage’s perspective. I wanted your opinion.”
As Ian spoke with a shrug, Lee Seo-a narrowed her eyes and tapped the squishy eyeball wrapped in cloth with her finger.
“I can feel some kind of special power from it. It’s really unsettling. More importantly, is alchemy a branch of magic that developed toward making weird things like this? The Introduction to Common Magical Knowledge didn’t really explain it that way.”
“Introduction to Common Magical Knowledge?”
Ian asked back. Lee Seo-a pointed at several books on the shelf.
“Basic magic books written by the Clock Tower in Britain. They’re not usually leaked outside, but a large quantity ended up on the Cartel market once. I bought them then. They contain explanations about various kinds of magic.”
“……Really? May I read them?”
“Do what you want. More importantly, I’m hungry, so I’m thinking of ordering something. Is there anything you want to eat?”
“No, order whatever you want. I’ll pay. As thanks for lending me the workshop.”
“Sure, then.”
Lee Seo-a cleared her throat for no particular reason and began browsing a delivery app. Leaving her to it, Ian took out the books on the shelf and began reading through their contents.
Most of the content was already known to Ian. However, there was one piece of information that particularly caught his eye.
[It is possible to create fire with magic. This means that learning magic of the sort that would appear in a fantasy novel is not entirely impossible.]
[However, the process of becoming able to use that magic is extremely painful. If you wish to handle fire, you must suffer full-body burns at least ten times.]
Full-body burns more than ten times.
Finding it absurd, Ian settled down in a corner and continued turning the pages.
[If you wish to handle water, you must undergo near-drowning experiences more than ten times, and if you wish to handle earth, you must endure being buried alive for a month. To handle wind, you must fall at least ten times from heights close to one hundred meters without any safety equipment. Only then can you wield the power of the elements.]
[Every single method is close to suicide. If you value your life, it is right not to attempt them at all. Even if you succeed and become able to wield elemental power, that power is not great enough to justify the risk. Therefore, it is recommended that you simply give up on the idea of handling the elements.]
‘So magic like fireballs does exist.’
Because the way magic worked was different from ordinary magic, he had thought that spells like those found in fiction did not exist, but it seemed they did. However, the prerequisites were far more severe than he had expected.
Full-body burns, drowning, burial alive, falling……
Every single one was insane. He could not even bring himself to consider attempting them. For that matter, he had no idea whether there actually existed anyone who had succeeded and become an elemental mage. It seemed like they would all die in the process.
Still, the fact that records remained meant they had existed in some form. Since there was always a chance, it seemed there was no harm in being careful. Ian closed the book he had been reading and this time opened one related to alchemy.
It was a book explaining the basic concept of alchemy. It did not contain any formulas.
However, a few examples of alchemical products were listed, and all of them were precious metals or potions. There were no records of making knives or eyeballs like Ian had.
The explanation of alchemy merely described it as magic used to create valuable potions and talismans. There was not a single sentence saying it created bizarre objects like the ones Ian made.
‘It seems only the alchemy I use can create things like this.’
It was a grimoire written personally by an Outer God. The possibility that it differed from the magic of ordinary societies was more than sufficient; it was overflowing.
He was not sure whether he should simply be pleased about that.
Still, now that he had it, there was no reason to hesitate in using it. Rather, he would have to keep developing it.
‘I don’t know when the Outer God’s madness will appear, or whether it will truly appear at all, but there’s no harm in being wary. Even if it does appear, the only way to control it perfectly will be to raise my level as a mage.’
Ian had come to trust the contents of the grimoire to some extent by now. It had said that madness would not appear in a one hundred percent compatible vessel, and judging from his condition so far, that statement was likely true.
Even so, that percentage might suddenly drop at any moment. If he grew complacent and lived halfheartedly, the Outer God might decide he was impudent and start kneading his mind.
All possibilities remained open, so to prevent that, he needed to make an effort.
For now, developing as a mage came first.
That was also Ian’s own desired goal. Now that he had entered the world of magic, he intended to see it through to the end. Outer Gods, madness, and the like were not particularly important. Those were all merely excuses.
“Ughhh……”
He closed the book and stretched. Lee Seo-a, who had been awkwardly loitering beside him, turned her head at the sudden sound.
“Done reading?”
“Yeah. Thanks to you, I learned a lot.”
“That’s good, then. More importantly, the chicken should be arriving soon, so give me your card and I’ll pay.”
Ian handed over his card without complaint. A short while later, Lee Seo-a returned with the chicken, placed the box on the table, and opened it.
Half seasoned, half fried.
A menu full of fundamentals. Ian finished the meal in satisfaction, cleaned up the trash together with Lee Seo-a, then put the Dying Eyeball he had taken out into his bag.
Once his stomach was full, he remembered what he had meant to ask on the way over by subway. Without hesitation, Ian immediately asked Lee Seo-a.
“By the way, where are mages supposed to earn money?”
“Ah, that?”
Lee Seo-a answered.
“Usually, they make contact with people called the Cartel and do various jobs. It’s easiest to think of them as a kind of broker.”
“……A broker.”
“The requests they give are pretty varied, but you can choose what you want to do, so there’s no need to worry too much. I’ve used them a few times myself.”
“What kind of work do they usually give?”
“Just, well. Ghoul hunting, vampire hunting. Tracking mysteries, exterminating anomalies. Things like that? But I only do it when I’m in a hurry. I have a main job.”
“A student?”
“That’s just extra.”
It was the moment Lee Seo-a said that. Suddenly, her phone rang, and a message arrived. Lee Seo-a skimmed through the message, grinned, and showed Ian the contents.
“This is my main job.”
[Exorcist, I heard that you’re very effective, so I’m leaving this message. Recently, I went to an abandoned house, and after that, too many strange things started happening……]
The message was cut off halfway. Ian glanced over the contents and looked back at Lee Seo-a.
With a confident expression, she brought out her guardian spirit and smiled.
“I’m an exorcist.”