The usually-crowded second floor of the Guild House was now strangely quiet, and I couldn't quite get used to the feeling.
'It isn't a bad thing, though...'
Even though my fellow party members had just left a few hours ago, I never imagined that I would feel this way. Of course, I felt lonely, but this was a natural reaction that came from a sudden change in environment.
Honestly speaking, I felt a little happy. It was undeniable that there were some strange discomforts that came with having my fellow members around.
My personal time was always cut very short because of Jung Hayan's ever-present badgering, Park Deokgu's surprise visits, and Sun Hee-young's constant requests to volunteer. At that point, I was rather grateful Kim Ye-ri didn't talk much. If she did, then I would most likely have zero percent privacy.
I'd have to do all the basic chores myself for the time being, but it also felt like a vacation at the same time.
'However, the fact that we are on a time crunch still presents a different type of urgency.'
In order to get the third job and stats that Kim Hyunsung desired, I would have to start moving quickly. I didn't know what it would take to spark my growth, but I at least had a few ideas.
In fact, I found it hard to believe that I was in a hard situation.
I had hero-grade alchemy equipment, numerous catalysts and materials, and my eventual growth was already confirmed.
My intelligence stats were no problem at all, but my problem now lay in raising all my other stats – which was a feat that seemed impossible to do.
This was why my third job was important.
I hadn't thought about going for a combat-type job for my next one, but it seemed that following a party's growth with a job that solely depended on intelligence would be a hard thing to do.
As we continued to grow, I had to think of other ways to expand my horizons. There had to be answers to my current problems. I had to find a way to get a combat-type job without losing my identity as an alchemist.
'First of all, Homunculus...'
In fact, this would also lead me to other opportunities. Being able to deal with a creature I could treat as my pet without having to consume magic would be very advantageous at this point.
In fact, Ramus Tucker's Introduction to Alchemy dealt with Homunculus in great depth.
[Homunculus means an artificially created creature that does not need a mother's womb. Since each school has different interpretations on the subject, I will at least define Homunculus as a unique creation.
Of course, it doesn't mean that it is like the chimera. Unlike the chimera that creates something out of Yu, the concept of Homunculus that our alchemist deals with is the concept of creating something out of nothing.]
Simply put, homunculus was the creation of artificial life.
Of course, one wouldn't know what it looked like, or how to create one. Even Tucker's book contained nothing but theories on the subject.
Although the chimera was explained comparatively in detail, chimera, a concept that manipulated genes, and Homunculus, a creature that was created, had distinct properties.
Perhaps for Tucker, Homunculus was an uncharted territory.
No, if he had actually managed to create new life, then he wouldn't have been talking about the possibility of it in the first place. Perhaps one could think of the concept as something divine.
