The Alchemy: Rise of a new Emperor.

Chapter 6: The True Alchemist

The Dungeon Turns Deadly

The moment Min Ho and Ji Woo crossed the dungeon threshold with their guildmates—fellow Transmutation Alchemists—their senses screamed danger.

The portal changed from blue peaceful colour to a redish black and deadly colour.

SYSTEM ALERT:

[Dungeon Rank Shift Detected — Current Threat Level: A-Rank]

Before anyone could react, the air shifted.

From the shadows emerged Stone Horrors—grotesque humanoid creatures with jagged stone armor, fused with metal spikes and molten cores glowing beneath their skin.

Ji Woo froze, dagger trembling in her grip, she could create weapons but was not a good fighter, she was just a house girl before she awakened and she left because she wanted to make a profitable living.

"They're… all Transmutation earth monsters," she gasped.

Their guildmates, confident at first, began forging weapons frantically—iron spears, steel hammers, metal gauntlets—but the Stone Horrors shattered every weapon they made with a single blow.

"W-We can't even scratch them!" one guild member yelled in terror.

Meanwhile, Min Ho's face remained calm.

With a flick of his wrist, he summoned the Soulfang Dagger—its crimson, venomous blade shimmering like molten glass.

"These things can't be hurt by normal metals," he muttered. "But poison… that's different."

A Stone Horror lunged at him.

Min Ho weaved through its attack with amazing speed which no one saw even the horror didn't see him move. He slashed once across its chest with the Soul fang dagger. The venom from the dagger instantly seeped through its cracks, corroding its core. The creature crumbled to dust within seconds.

"Poison works," he said under his breath smirking.

He moved like lightning—dodging, striking, each slash of the dagger instantly dissolving the monsters from within. His speed and precision stunned the others.

But behind him—

"Such speed....for a weak Transmutation Alchemist, it's unbelievable",one Alchemist said while watching him.

"Help!" Ji Woo screamed, surrounded by two Stone Horrors.

Her forged sword shattered upon impact. One of the creatures' claws slashed her side, sending her sprawling across the ground, bleeding heavily.

She coughed, struggling to rise—but another monster loomed over her, preparing to finish her.

Without hesitation, Min Ho dashed forward, faster than their eyes could follow.

With one slash, the heads of the creatures fell and they dissolved into dust. Venom hissed as the remaining Stone Horror dissolved into nothing.

Ji Woo gasped, barely conscious, as Min Ho knelt beside her.

"You idiot," he muttered, voice low but steady. "You couldn't fight then why did you follow?"

She groaned weakly. "I… I thought I could handle it…"

"You almost died," he said, lifting her carefully.

More creatures approached.

Min Ho's eyes narrowed. He stood, holding Ji Woo in one arm, dagger in the other.

"Stay behind me."

He charged ahead, slicing down every remaining monster with ruthless efficiency—each strike faster, deadlier, more precise.

Within minutes, the chamber was silent. Only scattered dust remained where the monsters once stood.

Then came the boss, 20ft ready to smash, but min ho didn't give h a chance:

"Fireball", he said in a low voice stretching his hand.

A giant circilar magical gate appeared and fired a great mass of fire burning the boss in one touch.

Min Ho laid Ji Woo down gently, tearing off a strip of cloth to bandage her wound.

Her eyes fluttered open weakly. "You… saved me again…"

He didn't speak. He simply tightened the knot and looked away.

System Alert:

[Dungeon Cleared — Emergency Exit Created.]

The portal opened, light flooding in.

"Can you walk?" he asked.

She nodded faintly.

Min Ho supported her as they stepped through the portal together.

Back at the Alchemist Hall

As they returned, Ji Woo was sent to the infirmary, while Min Ho remained in the lobby.

His dagger vanished into his inventory, but his thoughts churned.

I need to get even stronger, he thought. If that was just an A-Rank trap… I can't afford to stay weak.

His phone buzzed with a new headline:

Then a group of boys who walked the hall like they owned the world came in for rank/type evaluation.

He placed his palm on the system and like usual, people leaned over to check and the system beamed.

."ERROR"

They tried again and the system gave the same answer again:

"ERROR"

Then the Alchemy Chairman came and shook his hand saying:

"Welcome True Alchemist".

The boy was quickly filmed by the press who got there in no time. The news went wild and this confused min ho.

The headlines read:

New True Alchemist Awakens — Kang Tae Yong, 10th In History To Awaken as The True Alchemist: master of all Alchemy types.!

Min Ho's eyes darkened.

"If he's the True Alchemist… then what am I?"

System Realm Awaits

Later that night, as Min Ho prepared to train, the System whispered again:

"Training Realm Access Available. Dangerous Entities Incoming."

Min Ho smirked.

"Good. I've been needing a challenge."

He stepped into the portal, his body consumed by golden light.

Inside the System Realm…

Dozens of massive creatures roared in the distance, heading toward him.

He drew the Soulfang Dagger again.

"Time to evolve."

With precision and intelligence, he cuts through the goblins that appeared, switching from one Alchemy type to another.

He ends them all yawning

SYSTEM ALERT

Stats:

Hp: 100/100 (full HP immediately after mission is a success)

Endurance: 240/1000

Strength (STR): 152/1000

Agility (AGI): 253/1000

Stamina (STA): 142/1000

Intelligence (INT):164/1000

Will power: 320/1000

Another one popped up

SYSTEM ALERT

Daily Quest

Push ups: 0/100

Squats: 0/100

Pull ups: 0/200

Crunches: 0/100

Jogs: 0/700 steps

Run: 0/800 steps

WARNING!!!, FAILURE TO COMPLETE WILL LEAD TO FORCED DUNGEON SURVIVAL FOR TEN MINUTES.

"QUEST NOT DONE: PUNISHMENT TIME: REALM OF SAVAGE BEASTS."

"Oh no".

He was shifted to another realm containing Savage wolves. Lots of them.

"Good thing I've leveled up, if not, I'd be dead... alright, let's get to action.",he said ready to fight.

SYSTEM ALERT:

HP: 100/100

GOAL: KILL 30 SAVAGE WOLVES

"You don't even have to ask",he said with a smile on his face.