#86.
Thud.
The entrance opened by pressing the secret button, and what lay beyond was an endless stretch of stairs.
Down, down, continuously down we went.
Illuminating the path shrouded in darkness was a luminescent stone emitting a faint light.
Thanks to that blue glow, we could barely make out what lay ahead.
What could be seen while descending for quite some time through that darkness.
“Kyak!”
Yeil let out a scream upon seeing what was decorating the sides of the luminescent stones.
“Heavens!”
“What is this…?”
The others’ reactions were the same.
Because what hung on the walls were human bodies.
Like stuffed beasts hung up to boast of a hunt, human bodies were impaled on large nails and suspended.
Everywhere, byproducts of experiments that seemed to have undergone human experimentation.
*Great advancement is always accompanied by cruel experiments.*
Humanity developed through war.
The same was true even in the apocalypse.
Cruel human experiments were committed for the growth of various traits.
All the reinforcements and full-body reinforcements I had performed were also things whose probabilities and effects had been discovered through numerous experiments.
Alchemy was no different.
Paracelsus—the homunculus that bastard completed was finished through human experiments.
The human bodies hanging here now were for making that homunculus an existence closer to completion.
*This… I’m looking forward to it.*
But that terrible sight couldn’t evoke any sentiment from me.
Rather than disgust for it, I was filled with anticipation.
Because Paracelsus—that bastard was a Golden Goblin.
A fellow possessing tremendous treasure, one who would hand over exactly what we needed most right now—a very welcome guy.
*Through him, I can grow the parts that have been stagnant until now.*
The particularly noteworthy point was that he had something prepared that would scratch where it itched—mine and Jeong Do-hwan’s—that had been stagnant until now.
Of course, he was also an opponent that difficult to match precisely because of that.
*Continuously created homunculi, spirit summons, and even magic on top of that.*
The reason I had been reluctant to come to the catacombs despite knowing the reward was sweet was entirely because of Paracelsus.
He was more powerful and more troublesome than any existence I had faced until now.
Had it been moments ago, I might have hesitated to face him.
But now.
*Because I’ve obtained a variable.*
The Necronomicon.
A powerful artifact presumed to be a growth-type with abilities suited for Jeong Do-hwan.
If we made good use of it, we might be able to face him more easily than I had thought.
Of course, the situation wouldn’t be that easy.
As I advanced, thinking of the difficulty ahead, what appeared before me was the entrance to a stone chamber.
And a stone statue guarding that entrance.
A grotesque stone statue with the head of a lion, the wings of a bat, and the body of a human.
*A gargoyle.*
Used to drive away evil spirits, like the Haetae of our country.
However, the gargoyle guarding the entrance to the stone chamber—Paracelsus’s entrance—was not merely for superstitious purposes.
Thud.
The moment I took a step toward the entrance.
“Kyaak!”
The gargoyle tasked with guarding the secret laboratory awakened.
Flutter!
It immediately flapped its wings and charged.
It wasn’t a simple stone statue.
It was one of the homunculi created by Paracelsus to eliminate intruders.
*An enemy against whom bladed weapons don’t work.*
One of the representative characteristics of a gargoyle was durability.
Especially since it received no physical damage whatsoever from bladed weapons, swords, blades, spears, etc., those couldn’t be used.
Without drawing the sword with the strange strap, I intended to continue the fight bare-handed.
Because a body enhanced through full-body reinforcement could sufficiently substitute for blunt weapons.
But there was someone who moved faster than me.
Rustle!
Jeong Do-hwan’s eyes turned milky-white as he opened the forbidden tome, the Necronomicon.
*…What?*
In the brief moment I was distracted by the unexpected change.
Swoosh—
A dark green aura emitted by Jeong Do-hwan—no, by the Necronomicon—passed by me and surrounded the gargoyle.
And the next moment.
“Kiiik?”
“Kik, kiek—”
Something astonishing happened.
The fellows who had been tilting their heads in confusion.
Thud!
Suddenly slammed their heads to the floor, showing deference.
“…What is this?”
Something completely unexpected.
To my surprised question.
“Advanced Summoning.”
Jeong Do-hwan answered simply.
“If it’s Advanced Summoning, then chapter 3 of the Necronomicon?”
“That’s right.”
Something came to mind at that moment.
“Don’t tell me it’s familiar theft?”
I had seen it occasionally.
The sight of a higher-level black magician stealing the opponent’s familiar, that is, their summon.
But it wasn’t something you could see easily.
That was because a considerable difference in level was necessary.
Even if they awakened different traits, fundamentally the starting point was the same.
Therefore, stealing an opponent’s summon with a trait that had grown significantly was not something you saw often.
Yet it was unfolding before my eyes right now.
*That Paracelsus’s homunculus?*
He had stolen the familiar of Paracelsus, a high-level summoner at that.
Was that possible?
Jeong Do-hwan, who had just evolved his trait to tier 1?
“The Necronomicon showed me the way.”
He said it was Advanced Summoning.
It seemed it also made advanced abilities like familiar theft possible.
“…It really is an advanced summoning method.”
“You could say that.”
“Haha.”
It was an unexpected situation, but not a bad one.
No, rather it was something to be welcomed with open arms.
Because the Necronomicon’s abilities had been proven.
This forbidden tome, whose effects had been utterly unknown, certainly seemed to possess amazing power.
*Necromancy primer, understanding of curses, and advanced summoning.*
A forbidden tome containing knowledge of various black magics would elevate Jeong Do-hwan—and our fighting power—to another level.
“Kyaak—”
The gargoyle shrieked as if in agreement.
It seemed he had definitely stolen it from Paracelsus and made it completely his own.
If so.
“There’s no need to wait any longer then.”
The door to the stone chamber.
Kwaaang!
I kicked it as it was.
It had originally been protected by powerful magic, but that magic’s power was utterly useless before an even stronger force.
Rumble—
Passing through the door that had toppled over and been completely shattered, I entered inside.
Inside the laboratory littered with various flasks, colored liquids, and all sorts of human body parts.
“Oh, my!”
A being welcoming us was there.
He wore a black gown contrasting with what ordinary doctors wore.
“…A skeleton?”
“Hmm….”
It was not a living creature.
A skeleton whose skin, muscles, and everything else had disappeared due to the passage of ages.
Strangely, it wasn’t white—a skeleton with a blue sheen was moving.
Shining from the eye sockets holding darkness were green flames.
*A Lich.*
One of the high-ranking undead.
Some of those with knowledge turn their own bodies undead to obtain immortality.
That is a forbidden sorcery.
Those who have undergone the undead transformation enjoy immortality in the form of bare white bones, all skin, flesh, and muscles gone.
Paracelsus too was immersed in the singular knowledge of alchemy, wished to reach its end, and as a result chose the path of becoming a lich.
“I was just in need of test subjects; this is truly fortuitous.”
And that bastard who had become a lich through the undead transformation had already discarded his former humanity.
Therefore, even upon seeing fellow humans, he felt no emotion whatsoever.
Rather, he looked upon them only as test subjects for his experiments.
“Prepare yourselves.”
After giving a firm warning.
Shwing—
I drew my sword.
Though the enemy was one, he was not alone.
Soon the laboratory would be filled with the tremendous number of homunculi and spirits he would summon.
Fighting powerful summons and the magic he would manifest from the rear would be quite troublesome….
“Ooooooh!”
…or so it should have been, but an utterly unexpected reaction came out.
An exclamation burst forth filled with intense emotion—the kind that would have brought tears to his eyes instantly had he not been a lich.
Where the green flames turned was toward Jeong Do-hwan.
To be exact, they were fixed on the Necronomicon in Jeong Do-hwan’s hands.
But, would you look at this?
The familiar theft from earlier and the current reaction pointed to one particular result.
*Is it possible?*
Could it really be possible?
I watched his actions with doubt.
“The ultimate tome of black magic, the book containing all the ill omens of the world!”
Step.
He walked toward the Necronomicon as if bewitched.
“….”
My companions’ gazes gathered on me.
At that gaze asking what to do.
“Stay still.”
I warned them to stay still.
A capable being like Paracelsus had no need to put on such an act to cause confusion.
He wasn’t acting right now.
He was being drawn to the ancient tome called the Necronomicon.
Paracelsus, who had approached Jeong Do-hwan abruptly, stopped one meter away and came no closer.
He stood there as if there were an invisible line.
“Is this truly!”
“Truly astonishing!”
“That there could be such emotion!”
He was busy admiring the form of the Necronomicon, letting out admiration repeatedly.
“….”
Jeong Do-hwan, maintaining silence, stared intently at Paracelsus.
“…You—no, are you the master who possesses this tome of knowledge?”
“I am.”
“How on earth? Your power is still unripe. How did you obtain this from the hands of the archdemons?”
He seemed to have many questions.
And.
*He knows quite a lot of information?*
He didn’t seem to know exactly that it belonged to Dantalian, but he seemed to know that the archdemons had possessed it.
Well.
Having lived as an undead for a long time, there was no way he wouldn’t know the Dark Scripture.
*He is an undead, after all….*
I recalled the situation from earlier.
You never know.
“Sir, a moment….”
I whispered to him to test that possibility.
“….”
Jeong Do-hwan’s pupils flashed with an odd light after hearing my whisper.
“Amazing, astonishing.”
He had no reaction to the whisper either.
Paracelsus remained absorbed in admiring the Necronomicon.
Rustle!
Jeong Do-hwan opened the Necronomicon.
At the same time.
Swoooosh!
A dark green, mist-like aura emanating from the book began to envelop Paracelsus.
*Will this work?*
I was the one who suggested it, but I wasn’t sure if it would work.
Theoretically, it was certainly possible.
The problem was how far the domain of Advanced Summoning could reach.
With a pounding heart I hadn’t felt in a while, I stared straight ahead at Paracelsus.
“Ooooooh!”
Paracelsus thoroughly enjoyed the dark green misty aura surrounding him.
How much time passed that way?
Drip.
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Jeong Do-hwan’s forehead.
*Is it difficult?*
The situation didn’t seem very good.
Well.
Even I thought it was unrealistic—a burden too heavy for the current him.
*Trying to get something for nothing was the mistake from the start.*
It seemed the method was wrong after all.
“Now, let’s….”
Just as I was about to tell Jeong Do-hwan to stop.
Thump!
Paracelsus, who had been enjoying the dark green mist, suddenly fell to his knees.
“…Huh?”
Flustered by the suddenly unfolding situation, I opened my eyes wide.
No way… could this really be working?
“This humble servant Paracelsus greets his Master.”
The eye sockets that had blazed with green flames turned blue.
That was the proof of the mark.
“It worked!”
I shouted without realizing it.
I couldn’t help it.
Because Jeong Do-hwan had just subjugated Paracelsus, the alchemist—the high-ranking undead lich—to himself through familiar theft.