Qaeidat Dhahabia's office was... as expected, golden as fuck. And very organized too, even with hundreds of hard-light tablets put neatly on the shelves, color-coded but most of them are in some shade of magenta - a spectrum color humanity cannot hope to comprehend, all of the spaces have ptes with names written in a nguage I cannot comprehend, all Gibberish to me.

  And here I sat on a golden armchair, comfier than its look would indicate.

  Opposite of me is the Eldritch God herself, carrying another tablet, scrolling through it for a brief moment before looking at me with a business-perfect smile.

  "Let's start with the basics, the nature of Alchemy needs four components. The soul, the mind, the body, and the exchange material."

  I nodded. This I know of very well.

  "Your kind of Alchemy is special, I say, as instead of relying on the exchange of material like mine, yours relies more on the soul and the mind. Got that?"

  Once again, I nodded. I thought I was screwed in Alchemy before, but now that she expined it, I realized I couldn't hope to even use it with my fragmented soul.

  "Good! Now let us start with something simple.", she pced a chunk of coal on the table between us, "With your soul fixed, this should be as easy as blinking. Try to turn this chunk of coal into a gold bar."

  Taking the coal, I coated it with Reverie, breaking it down into quartz, but not absorbing it into the great mass inside my body. Then electricity surged through my body, clean it of any impurities—

  I widen my eyes, as this blob of bck goo turns white, not a trace of Reverie can be found in it. But strangely, I can still control it as freely as I could with Reverie.

  Then using some purified quartz particles, I traced out an outline for a cube. Which was quite easy.

  And finally, I lit the whole thing on fire with my blue fme, not intending to destroy it but to change it. Like a sculptor with his hammer and chisel, I sculpted the blob ever changing its form, building it from a blob of pure quartz to gold.

  And when the process was finished... I have a block of gold in my hand. A small one considering the amount of quarks a chunk of coal can provide...

  Woah... that was...

  "It was easier than I expected.", I said out loud.

  "It is a good start! But I noticed some impurities in it, as the cube is only 99,99% pure.", she stated, taking the cube of gold and casually turning it into a bat statue, "But for humanity, it is good enough."

  "Now let's try making an Artefact."

  Damn, that's a jump in difficulty.

  "Like I said before, your Alchemy relies on soul and mind, plus a little bit of creativity. What do you think you need right now?"

  What do I need... I closed my eyes. I certainly do need a gun, with Hoa borrowing Fallen Starlight at the moment, and I need to kill Romulus... but I don't need a gun, Ouroboros Omniscia can provide that amount of fire.

  No... what I need is...

  "Gsses.", my eyes are scary, I know it, "I want something to hide or suppress my gaze... you called it something, right?"

  "Mhm~! Excellent! Your eyes are becoming those simir to an Eldritch God of Judgement!! A gaze that makes people feel uncomfortable, as if they are being judged, prosecuted with prejudice against their every move! Gsses would be good for disguising those judgemental looks."

  For me, Qaeidat Dhahabia took out a pair of golden gsses from a drawer, golden frame, and gold-tinted. Gold is a color I dislike, but the being that wanted to invest in me's whole thing is gold... I have no choice.

  I took the pair of gsses, and tried them on for a moment... oh wow, these are pretty comfortable. And pretty tough too.

  Now...

  As Prometheus taught me, the secret is willpower, which I don't have enough of.

  So...

  "Just brute force it.", Qaeidat Dhahabia stated.

  Leaving me staring at her through these gold-tinted gsses.

  "What?", I questioned out of bewilderment.

  "Is that not your whole thing? If something is too hard, just brute force through it!!"

  Right. I could forego delicate matters such as relying on my emotions and willpower. I am a sociopath, if I am anything, it is being stubborn and incomprehensible.

  I took off the gsses, then I used Reverie to understand its components... the materials, the crystal structure, the innerworking... but I didn't break it down completely, instead, I took off the outer yer and...

  Closing my eyes, I began to search through the Library. Bookshelves expand toward the high sky and beyond the horizon.

  "Enchantment.", I spoke out loud.

  The Library listens and heed my words... rumbling as they move around.

  "Concealment."

  "Suppression."

  "Memetic disruption."

  A few thousand books remained after those keywords were spoken.

  So I picked out a random one, caressing the spine to read the title, "Art of Assassination: The Soundless Killer."

  A lost book written by Hasan-i Sabbah, the leader of the Hashashin. Or better known far and wide as the Old Man of the Mountain, the origin of the word Assassin itself.

  I smiled as I flipped through the book... then I let Reverie consume it.

  Melding the content of the book with the gsses... putting the knowledge of the First Assassin into them.

  Hmm...

  Things are cshing, and Survive's calcutions are showing incompatibilities...

  "Desire."

  Then I have to force them to work together. Purify the redundancy of both objects, sparks of electricity flow through the gsses and the Reverie. Having the Desire of humanity forced upon it, the bck sludge turned white and almost silvery.

  Heha~ the percentage is going up!!

  To bend the ws of reality to its knees, shaping, and molding it to my own benefit. Merging all of the book into the gsses...

  "Malice.", I solidify it with the fme of evil.

  "Done."

  Looking at the pair of gsses, it had changed. It gain a silvery color instead of gold, though I can still see traces of the color it used to be. It isn't gold tinted anymore, but simple, clear gss.

  I wore them... I feel nothing. But from Qaeidat Dhahabia's expression, I knew I succeeded.

  "See? Brute force always works!!", she praised.

  It is great to brute force an otherwise delicate process. If I can't use my emotions, I just have to use others. It just so happens that my books contain the emotions of humanity.

  "To our final lesson!", she raised both of her hands in joy, "To start, I will ask you. What is Alchemy to you?"

  "It is a means to an end, something I feel like I need to reach my goal..." of protecting humanity.

  "Good.", she nodded, "Then do you know the destinations of your world's Alchemy?"

  "Isn't it to create the Philosopher Stone?", there is Avalon running around with Magnum Opus.

  She nodded again, "Yes and no. From my research of your culture, Alchemy has two goals, the materialistic kind which you described as The Philosopher Stone. And then there is the spiritual side, the Synchronization of Soul, Mind, and Body."

  What the fuck does that even mean?

  "You can easily make a Philosopher Stone with your current ability, so let's move on to the synchronization. I'll simplify it for you, your soul and mind are too big for your body to handle, when you use your powers, there is a time limit, right?"

  I nodded, "Survive, Euphoria, Delusion, and Reverie all have time limits. When I am near or over the limit, my body begins to fail me.", I had no reason to hide.

  "Then what about this form of yours?"

  She was referring to Malice.

  "Malice is special, it is my strongest form. Using it I feel so... free. Yes, free."

  "This form allows a part of your soul to partially manifest without the limitation of your body.", she expined, "The size of your soul and mind are millions of times bigger than your body, it wouldn't be too far fetch to say that you cannot handle your own power and you would probably explode."

  Then she smiled, sliding a card toward me, "The solution? Condense your soul until it fits in your body!"

  "Can I do it?", I asked. Is there a way for me to condense my own soul? Reverie?

  Nope! In human history, there isn't a single person capable of condensing their soul!

  "You cannot.", Qaeidat Dhahabia confirmed it, "But I can do just that, if you just~ sign this card."

  I picked up the card on the table... it was made of gold, like everything else. This should be safe... at least I know I won't sell my soul or anything like that...

  "What do you really want, Qaeidat Dhahabia?", I asked, staring at her.

  She crossed her finger, smiling at me like a supervilin, "That I cannot answer, but I can assure you, with my identity as a businessman on the line, it won't harm you in any possible way."

  "Then...", I reached my hand out, clutching it, "I will sign it."

  She held my hands, "Good, this will take a bit of time..."

  !!!

  There is it again, I feel something invading me. I want to yank my hand out, to retreat and retaliate. But this is a dangerous situation, an Eldritch God is touching my soul, handling it with care.

  "Mmh...", I let out a whisper of a cry.

  This is uncomfortable... but I must bear with it.

  I need any advantage I can get... Romulus has some tricks up his sleeves, I am sure of it.

  After an uncomfortable 10 minutes, with just me squirming around and Qaeidat Dhahabia holding my hand tightly, unmoving like a rock. She finally let go.

  "Done!! Now, do you feel anything different?"

  I closed my eyes and felt myself with Survive... huh. Not that much different from what I was used to, but I know there is something changed on a fundamental level.

  How should I say this? I feel like I was breathing out of a straw the entire time while underwater, but now... this is what I call breathing. And I can sense more of the world around me too, the calcutions that were already fast now seem even faster.

  Ah~ that is not all.

  I feel my emotions even clearer, the chemicals rushing through my blood— it stimutes me even more!!

  "This feels... amazing...", I can't help but smile.

  "Great! Aside from having your soul condensed, my Blessing made your Alchemy a bit easier to use. So you should try it out when entering the Dungeon.", she said, cpping her hands with a muffled sound.

  Wait what? Dungeon?

  "What do you mean by Dungeon?", I questioned her.

  To that, her smile turned sinister, "You see, the man you are trying to reach signed and gained a Blessing of another Harbinger of Life. That just so happens to be Welt Eam the World Border."

  The World Border... Nyar mentioned it before, the Sixth Harbinger of Life. So this pce is it's doing...

  This is going to be a problem.

  I took off my gsses, "Tell me all you know."

  "I don't know much.", she shrugged, "All I know is that the individual in question received one of Welt Eam's Systems, which one? I have no idea. But no matter which System it is, that person has become what Welt Eam calls Tale End-Css Entity, which is as strong as a Jury of the Pale Court."

  So I have to fight something as strong as a Herald...

  "You don't have to worry, with your current skill set, I think you have a fifty percent chance of winning! But if they have the Skill 'Plot Armor', I think about thirty percent chance for you."

  I frowned, "What do you mean Plot Armor?"

  "It is as beled, 'Plot Armor' is a special Skill that maniputes causality to ensure the owner's survival.", she expined, "It can only be granted by Welt Eam and is usually hidden."

  So on top of dealing with Romulus' invincibility, a power-up that raised him to the level of a Herald, and fucking Plot Armor?!

  I smiled, holding myself from ughing maniacally. This is good, this is good...

  I have a way to deal with it...

  "I will be going then.", I stood up and left— no, I decided to look at The Golden Order.

  "You said you gave me your Blessing, right?", I asked.

  "That is correct.", she nodded, still smiling.

  "Then it doesn't end with making it easier for me to use Alchemy, right?"

  "Hm~ not really, for you specifically, it helps lighten the burden of your body when you use your powers.", she cpped her hands, "There is more, but I'm afraid you will have to find out yourself for the rest. And as for my guitar, I'll give it to you when the time is right."

  Great, another secret. I rolled my eyes.

  "See you ter, Qaeidat Dhahabia.", I said my goodbyes.

  Outside, I grabbed my nce and shield. Following my memory, I soon exited the factory full of steam.

  Huh... I did not find myself in the reception room but in an open forest...

  Then a blue screen appeared before me, like some sort of game dispy.

  [Golden King's Trial #1]

  [An elven vilge is located close by. What will you do to innocent elves? Will you negotiate with them to find the passage through this trial? Or will you walk through a path of blood?]

  [Hymn: Cooperate or Destroy]

  I think the genre just changed.

  This prompt here says that I must either cooperate with... elves... or I could destroy them.

  My grin grew wider.

  I know which option I am choosing. I swiped it aside, making it vanish. Curious how I understand what to do...

  "By the Rite of Steel and Gunpowder... I will show you why humanity is the strongest."