In the early days of admission, Baek Yu-Seol used to get weekend leave passes and roam the hunting grounds frequently.

It was the only way he could get stronger.

However, things were different now.

He had learned a classic way to do it without having to go far, and he could also enhance physical aspects by researching items.

Thanks to that, during less busy times, Baek Yu-Seol managed to have some personal relaxation time on weekends.

Usually, he engaged in activities with Eisel and Mayuseong, but this week, he had to spend the whole day wandering around Rodeo Street and pretend to be dating Edna.

It was a kind of relaxation in its own way.

Compared to the grueling daily training and life-threatening battles, watching movies, drinking, and playing whack-a-mole felt quite enjoyable and stress-relieving.

Baek Yu-Seol intended to just pretend as if he was on a date, but halfway through, it almost felt like he was genuinely having fun...

‘I'm pushing thirty, and I don't even know what I’m doing here.’

Anyway, having successfully mimicked a date, Baek Yu-Seol headed straight for the Alchemy City.

He visited Alterisha quite frequently.

Recent events had been quite tumultuous, but he couldn’t postpone his tasks.

"Student Yu-Seol! You're here!"

As Baek Yu-Seol arrived, Alterisha greeted him while wearing a white robe stained with reagents. She appeared to be preoccupied with her work on alchemy experiments with the doctors.

"How have you been lately?"

Baek Yu-Seol placed a vial of the Janyang River Extract he brought on the table.

Her smile appeared lethargy, but she managed to appear joyful.

She must be so busy.

She was planning to hold an 'Item Presentation.' It was a presentation targeting giants, so she was a bit nervous…

"You'll do well."

"Yeah, I hope so."

Items could create anything, and nothing was impossible.

However, if one showed too many things to the world, they might start feeling averse.

Accessories and consumable items like that might not be easily accepted by regular people.

Show as much as they can digest.

It didn’t mean the common people were ignorant.

If he suddenly presented something the world had never seen before, people get bewildered rather than delighted.

So, Alterisha decided to show people familiar items first.

The easiest way to explain the greatness of an item... would be to make it comparable to something already known.

An object most familiar to mages.

Universally adopted and used by everyone.

That's right, the 'mage robe' and 'staff.'

Up until now, the mage robe and staff had been crafted merely through magical engineering.

However, with the advent of alchemical engineering, they undergo a revolutionary transformation.

To explain it in a way that a 21st-century person would understand...

Imagine an ancient mobile phone.

It could make calls, but if you don't extend the antenna, the signal won't be strong.

It doesn't work in rural areas, and its internet capability is limited to playing music at best, like an ancient mobile phone from the past.

But one day, suddenly, the world was introduced to smartphones.

One can track your location in real-time on a map, chat with others anytime, and it's an all-purpose device with a camera and internet functionality!

The items underwent that level of revolution.

There was no need to bother with revealing the details of other item technologies.

Just improving the functionalities of the staff and robe and presenting them was sufficient.

Even that alone would naturally amaze people with the technology of the items.

"Has Yu-Seol been busy lately? I heard the news. It seems you’re attending the Aslan seminar."

"It just happened."

"Impressive... You not only solved the Delta Augmentation Formula, but also wrote another thesis and will attend the Aslan Seminar..."

"It was just luck."

Baek Yu-Seol took off his Stella Coat and hung it on the hanger, then put on a new white gown.

This gown was also a prototype of an item, sturdy enough to withstand even substantial explosions. It was a testament to its defense capabilities.

"Presenting the item is good, but are you preparing for the 'Investors Briefing' properly?"

"Yeah. Want to check?"

A briefing for investors, solely for Starcloud Corporation President Melian.

As part of efforts to elevate the item's status, they were developing something slightly different from the regular presentation.

"Show it to me right now."

Even though he couldn't perform alchemy himself due to the lack of mana in his body, he could at least observe and offer insights into the process.

The alchemists of the Alterisha’s institute quite liked his insights.

They always appreciated his sharp observations and suggestions for improvement.

"Wow..."

It was getting a bit tiresome to be surprised every time he came, but he was astonished once again.

The pace of technological advancement was mind-bogglingly fast.

"This is the item in the process of being 'elevated to luxury.' It's still incomplete, but what do you think? Do you want to give it a try?"

"Yes."

Upon saying that, two alchemists who had been waiting behind Baek Yu-Seol approached and handed him a box.

Inside there was a bracelet and a choker, but even though they seemed like that at first glance, they were actually staff and robes.

They were just shrunk down in size.

He had received an item in the form of a bracelet which covered the entire forearm when activated, and he had Alterisha complement and improve it.

Though the stats themselves might be lower than other items of the same grade, these were equipment items that heightened mobility.

When the thin bracelet was activated, mana particles flowed out and solidified into a form, transforming in an instant into the shape of a long staff.

"Oh..."

The weight was light, and the stats were pretty decent.

If they were willing to sacrifice mobility, they could have gotten much better stats, but just like Earth, the mages of Aether World wanted portability even if it meant slightly reduced performance.

An accessory that could summon robes and staff from anywhere, anytime.

How appealing was that?

However, the catch was that it was incredibly expensive.

Shrinking particles and materials to make them small was a technology beyond modern Earth's nanotechnology.

On top of that, it required unique and costly materials, making it unavoidable.

Later, when "subspace" became more common, they might pursue performance again, but that was a matter of the distant future.

The foundational technology for ‘Vessel Manufacturing’ was expected to develop much later.

Next, he tried on the choker.

As soon as he pressed the gem hanging around his neck, a robe grew from the choker in an instant, covering his entire body.

"Oh... It's fine."

"It has an automatic Level 2 shield activation feature."

Level 2 meant Class 2.

A Level 2 shield function that covered the whole body on the choker which enhanced mobility.

The world had truly improved.

"We still don't have the technology to pay attention to the design, so just covering the body is the end."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. It's even challenging to implement simple sleeves or pockets."

After a moment's consideration, Baek Yu-Seol asked for a magic pen.

In response, the alchemists hurriedly brought him a magic pen.

Originally, he didn't want to fuss about these details, but there was no choice.

This item was meant to be presented to Melian as a "luxury," so leaving it bland without even a design wouldn't do.

"Here, how about drawing a boundary on the particle reduction line and adding shape-memory fusion? Right now, it merely folds and unfolds, but by adding fusion, we can record a rough form. Just drawing a boundary line on the particles might be enough to create sleeves or pockets."

"Huh...!"

An alchemist who had been listening to his words let out a sigh.

Alterisha’s reaction wasn't much different.

"That's... well... it's fine, I guess..."

With the current technology, to implement something like that, dozens of alchemists would need to be involved in creating a single item.

However, since what's important during the presentation is the finished product, the process and effort put into it didn’t matter much.

They only needed to show evidence that ‘eventually they can mass-produce this item,’ so the extensive process could be greatly reduced during the actual development and commercialization phase.

But before that, it could serve as a high-end ‘item sample’ that could be shown to Melian in advance.

"Then, let's keep up the good work from now on."

After saying that, Baek Yu-Seol left the place.

There was no farewell.

The alchemists who were going to bid him farewell were all focused on the magic lines he had drawn.

While his work in alchemy was done, he didn't immediately return to Stella.

He had the idea to visit the Orchard of the Third Heavenly Tree.

———-

Spirit Garden.

Whenever he frequented this place, he would always wander around in the late dawn hours.

Climbing this sparsely used path felt rather suspicious, so he avoided it.

Today, it wasn't quite late dawn, but a fresh evening, so he headed straight to Celestia’s Garden.

"Hello!"

As expected, Celestia, who had woken up earlier, was energetically moving around inside the garden.

He had received a mental signal that Celestia had awakened not too long ago, but he didn't fully grasp what that signal meant, so he came a bit later.

"Hey. You look healthy?"

"Yeah! I'm perfectly healthy!"

Although she answered like that, he felt a bitter feeling.

Well, she couldn't help it... Celestia’s physique had become much smaller than before.

Originally, she had the appearance of an ordinary woman, but now she was about the size of a person's palm.

The divine beings which had lived for many ages gradually acquired a form similar to that of humans. However, Celestia was weakened to the point where she couldn't even maintain that human-like form.

"It's okay! I'll recover soon!"

"How long will it take?"

"Um... about a thousand years~?"

"... Uh. That's really soon."

She had lost most of her strength, but the fact that she was alive and moving around while breathing was a good thing in itself.

Despite her weakened state, Celestia didn't rest and continued darting around the garden.

Seeing her so content made Baek Yu-Seol feel relieved.

"I might recover even sooner!"

Perhaps noticing his expression, Celestia smiled bright.

"How?"

"A divine contract! ...A divine contract?"

Translating it into the language of mages, it meant a Familiar Contract.

"Yeah. I used to be really weak before. But after forming a contract with Ha Tae-ryung, I became so, so much stronger."

"Ha Tae-Ryung, you say..."

The person who had researched Mana Accumulation Retardation Syndrome and created the "Tae-Ryung Breathing Technique."

However, something felt odd.

"You got stronger by forming a contract with someone who doesn't have mana? What principle is behind this?"

The reason why mages and familiars desired each other was that there were mutual benefits.

Mages enhanced the performance of their magic by increasing the affinity of their soul connection with familiars, and familiars received mana from mages to strengthen their own power.

However, Ha Tae-Ryung had Mana Accumulation Retardation.

A body without any mana.

What benefit could familiars possibly gain by forming a contract with such a human?

“Um... I don't know.”

"You don't know?"

"Yeah. I just did it. And I became stronger."

"Well, well. That's a comfortable answer."

Though he didn’t understand the reason and cause, at the end of the day, it seemed the outcome was positive...

"So, how about forming a contract with me? What do you say?"

"It's not a bad idea..."

Baek Yu-Seol’s current affinity with familiars was quite high, but he hadn't formed a contract with any familiars.

Ultimately, the fact that his body lacked mana significantly reduced his attractiveness as a contract partner.

It felt a bit like being someone who wants to date but doesn't want to get married.

"So you really got stronger like this?"

Though she had lost all her strength now, Celestia was once a great familiar who had even reached the presence of the Spirit.

Contracting with her would be a loss for him in no way.

On the other hand, those with great knowledge would know that it might be a significant loss for Celestia.

"Do you really want to do this?"

He asked with a guilty expression, but Celestia vigorously nodded her head up and down.

"Just trust me!"

"Yeah... You did it just because I asked, right? You won't change your mind later?"

"Yep, yep."

As he extended his hand towards her, Celestia flew onto his palm and lightly kissed him.

Then, a cluster of light resembling constellations enveloped his body, and a brilliant light extended to the high sky.

[Contract established with familiar Celestia!]