CHAPTER 385: CHAPTER 1: ENTRY

[Derivative World: Fullmetal Alchemist activated, no anomalies in this world, spatial coordinates stable, reset complete, consuming 0.021 ounces of Power of Space-time.]

[Based on the Power of Space-time consumed, the Contractor must achieve a minimum overall rating of C Level in this world.]

[Hint: The Hunter will undergo an assessment in this world, no mainline tasks, no hunting tasks. Return upon completion of promotion task.]

[Promotion task remaining attempts (2/3). If all three attempts fail, the Hunter will be demoted to Worker.]

Su Xiao opened his eyes, finding himself sitting on a bed, dressed in gray-white clothing that was quite loose.

His hands felt restrained, and upon looking down, he saw his hands were bound by a metal plate, rectangular in shape and with two round holes, somewhat like ancient stocks.

He tried to break free from the iron stocks, managing to do so, but he chose not to.

Looking around, he found himself in a cell, with simple furnishings: a bed and a toilet, nothing else.

There were bloodstains on the walls and iron bars of the cell. Su Xiao sniffed the air; the blood was fresh.

Bubute Ni wasn’t in the cell, but not far from Su Xiao. Bubu Wang was in the adjacent cell, ’treated well,’ bound by thick iron chains and wearing an iron muzzle.

Outside Su Xiao’s cell stood a guard, wearing a blue military uniform and holding a loaded firearm.

"A prisoner, how unique a status."

Su Xiao stood up and walked to the iron bars, prompting the guard to panic and aim his gun at Su Xiao.

"N-no moving, sit down!"

The guard seemed fierce but cowardly, his hands shaking as he held the gun.

"Someone, the Flame Alchemist is being unruly again."

The guard shouted, and hurried footsteps approached. A dozen guards rushed over, standing outside the cell, watching Su Xiao with wary eyes.

"Heh, are you going to kill again?"

A light laugh came from the next cell. Hearing the voice, a name flashed in Su Xiao’s memory: Zolf J. Kimblee, the Crimson Lotus Alchemist, a fellow inmate.

Su Xiao wasn’t at a loss; this derivative world was unfolding in a surreal way, transported to a prison and becoming a prisoner right at the start.

Sensing the surroundings, there were no other Contractors in the prison, likely a result of the promotion task, giving him special ’treatment.’

Suddenly, new memories appeared in his mind.

Bai Ye (Flame Alchemist)

Participant in the Ishval Extermination War.

State Alchemist, involved in 17 battles of varying scale, with a destabilized mental state due to prolonged engagement in war, killing many Amestris soldiers (soldiers of his own nation).

...

After these memories surfaced, the Demon’s Mark on the back of his right hand transformed into the shape of an Alchemy Array Diagram.

Reincarnation Paradise disguised him as an Alchemist because of his understanding of alchemy, making alchemy bombs look like alchemical creations was simple.

Su Xiao also gained information that if he possessed the Philosopher’s Stone, he could create alchemy bombs without regard for materials, but there was a precondition: to make a Sun God Apollo required spending Soul Crystals (small).

Consultation revealed that the Philosopher’s Stone and Soul Crystals were fundamentally different, not of the same grade, incomparable.

Checking his storage space showed there were eleven Special level Alchemy Bombs left, sufficient for use.

"No need to be nervous, I just wanted to stretch after sitting for a long time."

After observing the surroundings, Su Xiao sat back on the bed, and the guards visibly relaxed.

The cell was opened, and a few guards entered to clean the bloodstains, quickly leaving once the task was completed.

Once the guards were gone, the voice from the neighboring cell spoke again.

"Flame, you’re out of Philosopher’s Stone, aren’t you? Your chances of leaving are slim; they’ll abandon useless pawns."

Zolf J. Kimblee chuckled lightly. To Su Xiao’s surprise, he found out his identity was actually as a friend of Zolf J. Kimblee, with similar alchemical characteristics and past collaboration during the war.

"Who knows, but before making snide comments, you’d better think about your own situation. I just killed ordinary soldiers, but you blew up officers. If anyone dies, it’s you first."

His current identity was a good cover, with no tasks appearing yet, Su Xiao decided to wait and see.

Zolf J. Kimblee laughed and said,

"I have a feeling we’ll be out soon. The array diagram for this country is almost complete, but there aren’t enough sacrifices. When it comes to killing, no alchemist is more suitable than the two of us. Prison life is so leisurely; it makes me want to kill someone. I’m off to sleep."

Zolf J. Kimblee spoke no more. The guy could leave but chose not to. Zolf J. Kimblee had a penchant for killing, a war madman.

Su Xiao lay on the bed in the cell, pondering the current situation.

The current timeline should be the start of the original story. From Zolf J. Kimblee’s tone, he seemed to have been in the cell for a long time, at least a while after the Ishval Extermination War.

Zolf J. Kimblee was released mid-story, and since he was still in prison, the plot hadn’t progressed that far.

[Entering World: Fullmetal Alchemist]

World Difficulty: LV.10. Difficult (Difficulty determined by Hunter Level)

World Source: 0% (The Hunter’s exploration or interaction with individuals in the current world will increase this percentage, and it will be factored with the task difficulty to form the final rating upon settlement.)

World Introduction: A clash of conspiracy and justice, a showdown between alchemists and homunculi.

Alchemy: A technology that can change the composition and appearance of materials and create another type of material. The fundamental principle is equivalent exchange, where the mass and elements of the raw material and what is created must be the same, so you can’t transmute water into metal. However, since the earth contains various metal elements (aluminum, iron, etc.), most combat alchemists can source materials on-site.

The process of alchemy involves three steps: understanding, decomposition, reconstruction.

Alchemists follow a principle: equivalent exchange. A strange substance breaks this principle, which is the Philosopher’s Stone.

Philosopher’s Stone: Primarily made from human souls, used as a high-level exchange medium, replacing most materials in the world. Alchemists carrying the Philosopher’s Stone can ignore equivalent exchange, significantly enhancing the power of alchemy.

Promotion Task: Steal Divine Power (Fake)

Main Task: None

Hunt Task: None

Warning: Do not mention anything about ’Paradise’ in this world, or face forced execution if the warning is ignored!

Hint: Detection shows the Hunter lacks language proficiency in this world. Automatic mastery of the language has been consumed at the cost of 100 Paradise coins.

World, begin!

...

After seeing the world introduction, Su Xiao appeared deep in thought. Neither a main task nor a hunt task was present, which wasn’t a good sign.

Having only the promotion task indicated its high difficulty. After checking the details of the promotion task, Su Xiao’s brow furrowed.

[Promotion Task: Steal Divine Power (Fake)]

Difficulty Level: Lv.14

Task Description: Capture Divine Power using the Magic Crystal Bottle.

Task Information: The Divine Power (Fake) resides within the ’Little Man in the Bottle.’

Task Duration: One month

Task Reward: Promotion Qualification.

Task Penalty: All Attributes -10!

PS: (Today’s not one update but a misplaced draft, posting one first. The wasted mosquito is working hard, and the three updates will be finished.)