Gold and Silver Alchemist

It reminded me of what happened at Lake Baikal.

At that time, when the stone box was placed on the altar, a huge whirlpool enveloped the entire island.

I wondered what kind of magic would be used in this place to prevent outsiders from approaching.

however,

quiet-

Nothing happened.

‘what?’

There were no abnormal phenomena around, and the altar did not descend underground.

‘Did I put the stone box in the wrong place?’

Just in case, I lifted the stone box and put it back in line with the groove on the altar.

But still nothing happened.

The stone box itself was certain to be authentic.

Because if it’s not real, you can’t contain the elixir at all.

‘What the hell is wrong?’

Perhaps the altar here has a similar appearance, but has nothing to do with the elixir extraction facility.

However, looking at it again, the appearance was very similar.

The shape and size of the grooves on the top were similar, and the concentric circle pattern engraved on the front was the same.

[May I take a look?]

The manager inspected the altar carefully before continuing.

[The appearance is too similar to think that it was made in a similar shape by chance. It could be that someone made a counterfeit based on the original.]

Just as I made a fake stone box, someone could have made a fake altar with a similar appearance.

If the altar is a counterfeit, then this problem must be solved from scratch.

‘What if it’s not an imitation?’

The intuition that the altar was real ran through my head.

[The altar is authentic, but might there be a problem with the stone container? Each altar may need a different stone box.]

At my words, the manager nodded.

[This is a very probable reasoning!]

The stone box you have now could be exclusively for the altar of Lake Baikal.

Even if the shape of the lock is the same, the keys are all different.

If that’s true, there must be a separate stone box somewhere that can activate the altar here.

But I had no idea where to go to get it.

I looked at the shamans.

‘Maybe they know something?’

I checked their outfits carefully.

The T-shirt worn underneath the shaman’s costume had the logos of Naxki and Addisx printed on it.

I don’t know how it was in the past, but now the shamans here in Peru are not very different from those in Korea.

It was their main job to counsel people who were having trouble and receive blessings.

It was similar to attracting public attention by predicting who would win the presidency and which country would win the World Cup.

In a word, it’s all about ‘business’.

Shuung-

I moved about 300 meters away from where the shamans were.

Then, in the thick steam, he released the invisibility magic.

Then, he took the boat out of his inventory and floated it on the river.

burrung-

I started the engine and drove the boat to where the shamans were.

Earlier, I saw a group of scientists meet and greet the shamans before examining the river.

When the boat reached the shamans, everyone looked at me.

I got off the boat and approached them.

one of the shamans asked me.

“[For what purpose did you set foot on sacred ground?]”

I replied with a smile.

“I am a researcher of microbes. I came to collect microorganisms living in the river here.”

Scientists from various fields visited this river.

Because extremophiles that can survive even in hot water are inhabited, scholars in the field also visited this place.

The shamans who heard my introduction welcomed me.

“[Welcome to SHINee Teamfish Car!]”

The natives called the boiling river ‘shiny timfishka’, which literally means ‘boiling with the sun’.

The shamans came and wished me a blessing.

“[The spirits of the forest will protect you!]”

I gave you a blessing, but if there is no example, I will be disappointed.

“thank you! I have brought you a present.”

I handed them the groceries and daily necessities that I had brought out on the boat earlier.

And Peruvian money was also handed out little by little in envelopes.

Everyone looked very happy.

Taking advantage of the friendly atmosphere, I pointed to the altar and asked.

“What is that? Does it feel somehow special?”

Then one of the shamans told the legend about the altar.

“[A long time ago, the emperor of a huge empire came here once every few years to hold a ceremony. This is the altar I used at that time.]”

The first thing that came to mind at the sound of a huge empire was the Inca Empire.

The Incas were a great empire that ruled most of the Pacific coast of South America, but was destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors.

“Are you referring to the Inca Empire?”

“[As we were guessing, it wasn’t the Inca Empire. As an archaeologist who visited this place in the past investigated, that stone altar was built before the birth of the Inca Empire.]”

In fact, the Inca Empire was not a very old civilization.

It was born in the 15th century and died in the 16th century.

In short, the altar is a thing from before the 15th century.

Anyway, what I wanted to know was whether or not there was a stone box that could operate the altar here.

I asked, pointing to the groove on the altar.

“What is this home? It looks like a place to put something…”

“[This is the place where the emperor put the ‘jegi’ made of stone during ancestral rites.]”

Perhaps the ceremonial vessel the shaman is talking about is the stone box I am looking for.

“Do you know where it is?”

Then the shaman tilted his head and replied.

“[I only heard about it from the teachers, but I never actually saw it. If it is not damaged and remains somewhere, it must be in ‘Lima’.]”

Lima was the capital of Peru.

I asked the shaman again.

“Is there an altar in Lima?”

Then he nodded and replied.

“[Yes, because there is a museum there.]”

.

.

.

I came out of the jungle and moved to Lima.

The Archaeological Museum in Lima displays the remains of the ‘Andean Civilization’.

When it comes to the birthplace of civilization, people often think of the ‘four major civilizations’: China, India, Egypt, and Mesopotamia.

However, this classification was first created by a Chinese thinker and was mainly used only in the East.

In the West, the expression ‘Cradle of Civilization’ is used, and the Andean civilization of the New World is also included in it.

Anyway, the museum exhibits not only the Inca Empire, but also artifacts from before that.

Perhaps there is a stone box embedded in the relic.

After arriving in Lima,

Instead of going directly to the museum, I stopped at a nearby coffee shop.

Here, you will first search for the ‘List of Artifacts’ held by the museum.

I drank coffee while Seoyeon Kim hacked the museum.

slurp-

Slight acidity and sweetness were felt.

‘not bad.’

There are many famous coffee-producing regions in South America, and coffee grown in the Andes Mountains was also world-famous.

“Done!”

Kim Seo-yeon finished searching the museum’s database.

“I found it?”

“It is not on the list of exhibits. I guess I’ll have to go and look for myself in the ‘Unclassified Artifacts’ depository in the basement of the museum.”

.

.

.

I left the coffee shop and entered the museum.

To enter the storage room in the basement, you had to pass through the main exhibition hall on the first floor.

I was crossing the exhibition hall while covering my appearance with transparency, but artifacts made of gold caught my attention.

oh!

They were elaborate crafts enough to exclamation.

Nearby, a museum employee was explaining the artifacts here to tourists.

“[There are only a handful of Inca gold artifacts that have survived to this day. It was completely destroyed by the Spanish invaders.]”

If the ancestors fail to protect their possessions from foreign powers, it seems that only regrets remain for the descendants.

The Spanish conquistadors plundered vast amounts of gold from the Inca Empire and brought it home.

At that time, I hammered and compressed the crafts so that I could load a lot on the boat, and it was not enough, so I melted it and made it into an ingot.

After passing through the exhibition hall, I finally arrived at the stairs going down to the basement.

When I went downstairs, it was dark because the lights were off.

There was no one to keep.

It is a place where objects that are judged not to be of much value as exhibits are stored, so they do not seem to pay much attention to security.

‘Dark eye.’

I activated the magic that allows me to see clearly in the dark.

Then the long rows of shelves came into view.

There were piles of things on the shelves.

They were all made of stone.

‘That’s a lot!’

There was no other way.

You’ll have to search and find them.

Last time I didn’t have to do these simple tasks myself because the Suzuki guys were there.

[Let’s finish quickly and eat something delicious!]

[Yes, boss!]

rustle-

rustle-

Me and the golems started rummaging through the underground storage.

I searched for the stone box silently for several hours.

Then the manager called out.

[Found!]

Shuung-

The manager flew to me with a stone box.

Concentric circles were drawn on the lid of the stone box.

[great job!]

[I’m glad it’s made of stone! If it were gold, it would have been destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors!]

I received a stone box from the manager and filled up the elixir.

Swoop-

Elixir filled up.

It was definitely genuine.

To be honest, I hardly expected to be in a museum.

However, if it is intelligence, it is Gamcheon, and in the end I found it.

[Let’s go to the boiling river!]

.

.

.

I returned to the Amazon jungle with the stone box.

When I came to the place where the altar was, the shamans were still there.

But when I checked their faces, they weren’t the same people as before.

It seems that they take turns guarding this place.

‘It doesn’t matter.’

When the entire area around the altar descends, the shamans will also descend underground.

But there is no problem.

It’s because the memories of the shamans can be erased.

I quietly approached the altar, hiding my face.

He then placed the stone box containing the elixir on the altar.

‘Make sure it works this time!’

Goo Goo-

The ground started to vibrate.

‘nice!’

The shamans looked at each other in surprise and opened their mouths.

“[Why is the ground suddenly shaking? Is it an earthquake?]”

“[All down!]”

Everyone fell on the floor and curled up.

After a while, something even more strange happened.

bubbling-

The water in the nearby river began to boil.

The temperature of ‘Boiling River’ was different for each section from 30℃ to 100℃, but the temperature was relatively low where the shamans were.

But now the river was bubbling up.

Surprised by the sudden situation, the shamans prostrated themselves toward the river and bowed.

“[O river spirit! Please dispel your anger!]”

As the water boils, the amount of steam produced increases exponentially.

It got to the point where I couldn’t even see right in front of me.

It was then.

Goo Goo-

Something huge rose from the ground behind the altar.

Since the ground kept shaking, the shamans who were prostrated toward the river didn’t notice at all.

Only me and the golems were staring at the arched structure.

cool-

The space under the arch shook.

What rose from the ground was a teleportation gate.

Unlike on Lake Baikal, the altar did not go down, but instead the gate rose up.

I quickly put my hand on the arch.

‘acceptance.’

hiss-

I put the entire teleportation gate into my inventory.

I’m going to move to a more secret place instead of here and go inside the gate.

hiss-

I collected the stone box that was placed on the altar.

Then the shaking of the ground stopped.

The water in the nearby river was no longer boiling.

The shivering shamans let out a sigh of relief when the situation around them stabilized.

[Let’s go back.]

[Yes, boss.]

I quietly got out of there with the golems.