‘Alchemy facility.’
His heart sped up, very faintly.
The fact that “C opened” meant the Tower had begun to come into his hands.
[Energy Priority Reallocation.]
Lumina supplied energy to the alchemy facility.
However, the inside of the device was silent.
There were no lamps, and no sounds of reaction.
[Mana flow not smooth.]
Jin-woo looked over the device once.
Its exterior was intact.
There did not seem to be any particular seal on it, either.
‘If there were a seal, there’s no way I wouldn’t know.’
Even so, the inside was completely still.
“Why isn’t it running?”
[Energy inflow confirmed.]
[However, circulation is not occurring within the internal circuit.]
Lumina continued calculating for a moment.
[The magic circuit of the alchemy facility has either been severed, or the circulation route has been distorted, causing energy to dissipate.]
[In its current state, lighting and function activation are impossible.]
Jin-woo examined the side of the device.
There were circuit grooves with fine cracks and old mana residue left behind.
“Energy is coming in, but it isn’t circulating.”
[Correct.]
[This facility was designed on the premise of ‘circulation,’ not ‘supply.’]
[Circuit maintenance and mana flow correction required.]
The alchemy facility remained silently mute.
Like lungs unable to draw breath.
Jin-woo took out his equipment.
The fact that it would not turn on meant there was something to fix.
“Haa….”
Jin-woo let out a short sigh.
“…Repairs come first, then.”
***
《DAY -17 ended.》
《Survival EXP accumulates.》
Two days passed.
He snatched sleep in pieces, washed his hands, and tore open the circuits again.
Only numbers remained.
And today, he finished the final repair.
Click.
“How is it?”
[Analysis complete]
[Mana Circulation Rate: 76%]
[Repair Rate: 45%]
[Minimum value required for operation met]
Jin-woo was confident in Magic Engineering.
As he held out all the way to the ninety-eighth floor, he had handled countless broken devices and intact devices alike.
In the process, he had even been given an unwanted nickname.
Of course.
“That nickname is banned.”
“Meister? Just insult me instead.”
Jin-woo genuinely loathed it.
Calling it embarrassing was not enough.
Just hearing it made goosebumps rise all over his body.
Even so.
He could not deny the pride he had in his own skill, skill great enough for that nickname to stick.
“…45%.”
The Arcanist’s facility was not something that could be finished with simple repairs.
Theoretically, it was possible.
If he had enough materials.
The problem was that those “enough materials” did not exist on the first floor.
The things needed to restore the entire Magic Tower could not be obtained without climbing the Tower.
‘In the end, I’ll have to climb. If I want materials.’
Jin-woo breathed out briefly and spoke.
“Lumina. Activate it.”
[Alchemy facility energy supply]
[Checking mana circulation state….]
[Operation beginning.]
Vwoong—
Flash!
The magic lamps lit up.
[Mana circuit stable.]
[Alchemy facility operating normally.]
‘Thankfully, it doesn’t look like there’s anything dangerous.’
“Good.”
Jin-woo smiled faintly, but clearly.
Only then did the interior properly come into view.
Large shelves filling one wall.
Below them were several neatly arranged workbenches and an alchemy cauldron.
And the basic work tools were calmly laid out.
“So this is… the Arcanist’s alchemy facility.”
At a glance, it did not seem particularly special.
That was when it happened.
Jin-woo’s gaze stopped on one wall.
Another door had been placed there inconspicuously.
“This is….”
Arcanist’s language was engraved above the door.
[Translation: Material Storage Room]
“Material Storage Room?”
Jin-woo’s eyes narrowed.
A space that stored materials required for alchemy.
There was no need to think any further to understand what that meant.
“Then that means there are alchemy materials in here, right?”
[Affirmative.]
At that short answer, Jin-woo’s expression brightened noticeably.
No matter how good the facility was, if there were no materials, alchemy was nothing more than a hollow game.
But if there were materials, the story changed.
“…There’s something I can use.”
Jin-woo approached the door, then stopped once more.
“Hm?”
A scrap of paper was attached to one side of the door.
It was a note that strangely resembled the one he had seen in Food Storage.
“Lumina.”
[Translating….]
[Translation: (damaged) —— bastard, no entry.]
[Subject identification impossible due to document damage.]
Jin-woo’s spine went cold for no reason.
The Tower always left unease behind so casually, like this.
“…Who is it?”
For it to be a simple warning notice, the erased spot was far too precise.
Food Storage had been like that, and so was the alchemy facility.
Had there been an existence troublesome enough for even the Arcanist to leave notes like this?
“Open it.”
[Material Storage Room opened.]
Click.
The door opened.
When he went inside, a thick medicinal herb smell reached him.
Mixed into it was a single strand of an alien smell, like burnt metal.
[Material Storage Room activated.]
Vwoong-
With a brief vibration, the Material Storage Room lights came on, and the interior came into view.
A few herbs needed for alchemy could be seen on the shelves.
“The herbs are secured.”
But….
“Can’t this door be opened?”
There was yet another closed door.
He tried to open it, but it was firmly shut.
He felt the flow of mana.
‘A seal?’
It had been sealed so that this door could not be opened.
Then Lumina’s voice sounded.
[Access impossible.]
[High-grade Material Storage Zone – insufficient access authority]
[Accessible Grade: B]
There seemed to be other materials beyond it.
However, with Jin-woo’s current Grade, it appeared he could not enter.
“…Of course it won’t give things up easily.”
Leaving his regret behind, Jin-woo turned away.
Then he examined the materials he could use right now, one by one.
‘Most are F… E at best, even if I’m generous.’
It was difficult to say the quantity of materials was sufficient, either.
However, it was enough to use for the time being, as if eking out survival.
“……It’s not like there’s nothing.”
Jin-woo absently swept his palm over the workbench.
At that moment, his fingertips stiffened strangely.
A memory from before the Regression abruptly surfaced.
The days he had been stuck in front of an alchemy table, staying up all night.
Memories of calculating mana ratios just to make a single scroll, and losing everything because the concentration of a potion was off by a single drop.
‘Ah….’
His breath caught for a moment.
His hand stopped on its own, and cold sweat soaked into his palm.
The thought, ‘Am I going back to that hell again?’ sprang out first.
Moments when a single wrong calculation blew away both materials and money at the same time.
‘……The PTSD is hitting hard. ’
Back then, he had started out saying he would make money through alchemy, only to end up being dragged around by alchemy instead.
“…This time, I’m not running away.”
That was when it happened.
Ding!
《You have opened the alchemy facility.》
《Judged a core facility necessary for survival.》
《Accumulated EXP has exceeded the threshold.》
《Level rises.》
《Current Level: 6》
His Level had risen.
It seemed the Tower had judged that opening the “alchemy facility” would help his survival.
The Magic Tower Stability remained the same.
Facility openings seemed to be separate from Stability.
Jin-woo moved on with a satisfied smile.
At that moment, a certain herb caught his eye.
“…This is.”
A refreshing scent brushed past the tip of his nose.
His memory reacted first.
Jin-woo’s eyes widened.
He knew this smell.
Jin-woo’s gaze stopped.
“It’s Lethe herb.”
At that moment, a small ‘tap’ sounded from inside the alchemy cauldron.
Jin-woo slowly turned his head.
***
《The Temporary Administrator has left the Magic Tower.》
《Leaving Post Penalty is applied.》
《Magic Tower Stability: 38%》
《Penalty decreasing》
After coming outside the Magic Tower, Jin-woo first scanned the ground around his feet.
Beneath a fallen tree, dry branches were scattered with a rustle.
“This should do.”
They did not need to be thick.
It did not matter if they did not burn for long.
What he needed was not “fire,” but “ash.”
‘Let’s hurry.’
The Magic Tower Stability did not fall.
After collecting the branches and returning to the Magic Tower, Jin-woo headed straight to the Forge.
When he threw the wood into the furnace, flames rose in no time.
Crackle—
Crackle—
The wood did not last long.
By the time the fire died down, only fine ash remained.
“Good.”
Jin-woo scraped up the remaining ash and put it into a container.
When he poured in water, a fishy, bitter smell quickly rose.
“That’s enough.”
[Alkaline component confirmed.]
[Suitable for cleaning and sterilization.]
“Then shall I start?”
Jin-woo took out the Lethe herb, crushed it finely, and mixed it into the lye.
‘Normally, this much would be enough to make soap.’
But this was inside the Tower.
The strange unpleasant residue that remained until the end even when he washed with water, and the faint foreign sensation that clung to his fingertips the more he handled equipment.
To erase that, he needed one more thing.
“I just need to add this.”
Jin-woo dropped in only a very small amount of Mana Stone powder.
The lye reacted slowly, and its color shifted subtly.
‘Now.’
He poured the liquid into a simple mold.
A moment later, the surface began to harden slowly.
[Mana response confirmed.]
[Cleaning and sterilization effects enhanced.]
After taking out the hardened soap, Jin-woo smelled it.
The distinctive refreshing scent of Lethe herb brushed past the tip of his nose.
“…I’m using this.”
Jin-woo checked the soap.
[Lethe Soap]
Grade: F
Cleaning Power: F
The Grade was low.
However, even if it was F-grade, being “usable” inside the Tower was a matter apart from Grade.
Jin-woo headed to the shower room.
Trying it himself was the fastest way to know.
“Washing with only water was starting to reach its limit, so this works out.”
There was not much lather.
Instead, the unpleasant “slick” feeling at his fingertips was cut off.
The stinging sensation he felt every time it brushed his scalp disappeared.
In its place, a faint coolness remained.
Perhaps because Lethe herb had been added, it caused no irritation even when used on his hair.
He did not feel any discomfort, either.
Once he rinsed it out with water, his hair felt much lighter.
Jin-woo shook off the water and nodded.
“This is usable.”
The stinging that had brushed against his scalp subsided.
The suffocating heaviness that had been pressing down on the back of his neck vanished as well.
His mind cleared.
It felt as if his thoughts were a beat faster.
[Cleanliness increased.]
[Physical contamination decreased.]
[Infection chance decreased.]
‘So this is why everyone cared about cleanliness.’
Jin-woo naturally thought of the next task.
Now, even alchemy that required concentration seemed manageable.
[Current state suitable for survival.]
“This much is enough.”
Jin-woo laughed softly.
This soap was one of the first survival tools he had properly completed before the Regression.
‘It wasn’t easy.’
He had already experienced that lye soap alone was not enough to endure inside the Tower.
It had taken a month.
Only when Lethe herb and Mana Stone powder were added did it finally become “usable soap.”
‘It was rough… but it was worth it.’
Thanks to that soap, the people who had been suffering from the stench had been able to catch their breath.
To them, soap had been something close to an elixir.
“Later, I’ll make toothpaste too… and fix up other things.”
That was when it happened.
Ding!
《You have succeeded in crafting ‘soap,’ one of the necessities of survival.》
《Cleanliness is judged an essential element for long-term survival.》
《Survival EXP accumulates.》
He received Survival EXP.
Jin-woo took the soap.
“Next.”
Cleanliness had been secured.
Only now could he move on to the next stage.