Chapter 119: Tattoo

“Before anything else, I’m going to speak in the first person,” I said to the girls in the room. “Referring to myself in the third person feels too strange, and I can’t see myself as separate from this body anymore.”

Sarah puffed her cheeks at me. “We don’t care. To us, you’re Rick, so just get on with it!”

Her energetic reaction made me smile—if only briefly.

Because the story I was about to tell was not a pleasant one.

“The Forster family—my father’s side—once belonged to the kingdom’s nobility long ago. A lineage of alchemists that spanned generations.”

“W-What?!” I could see Sarah and Alicia’s eyes widen in shock at my revelation. The others were just as stunned, left speechless by what I had said.

Sarah already knew about the tattoos on my back, but she barely knew anything about my family’s origins or the true nature of the symbols carved into my skin.

“So you’re telling me I’ve been walking around with a noble’s son my whole life and didn’t know?” Sarah said nervously.

“Ah, so I was right. Rick really is a prince,” Alicia said, her voice filled with excitement.

“No, not at all. I said ’once belonged.’ Long before I was born, my family had already fallen from the high nobility of Ashia. No status, no wealth—almost everything we had was taken from us.”

“Forster, Forster… I’ve never heard of such a family among the noble circles,” Erina said, deep in thought.

Justine had impeccable manners, so it was easy to associate her with nobility like Alicia—but with Erina, I had to remind myself she was a noble too, given how laid-back she usually acted.

“That’s not surprising. Our noble title was stripped away during my great-grandfather’s time, and any records related to the Forster family were likely destroyed. I suppose four generations is enough for a family name to be completely forgotten.”

“But why?” Diane asked. “What led your family to such an end?”

“My great-grandfather, Alex Forster, was the cause. He was a brilliant alchemist—so talented that he worked directly for the royal family.

Medicines, elixirs for the nobility, even supplies for the army—he produced all kinds of potions of the highest quality. His talent earned him recognition from the king himself.

Thanks to him, our family reached the peak of its prestige and wealth. But it wasn’t enough for him.

He believed his achievements were beneath him, that as an alchemist he could reach even greater heights.

He wanted to accomplish something no alchemist had ever achieved.”

Justine’s brows furrowed. Even though she wasn’t an alchemist, I was sure my Sage knew exactly what I meant. “The Philosopher’s Stone.”

“Exactly,” I replied. “An item spoken of in alchemical legends, said to possess the power to perform miracles. Turning coal into gold, resurrecting the dead, even granting eternal life to its owner—everything would be within reach for whoever possessed it. That was my great-grandfather’s goal: to create the Philosopher’s Stone.”

“What a childish ambition,” Justine said in a cold tone.

“Why?” Sarah asked, looking at the girl with glasses.

“The Philosopher’s Stone is a myth—a mystical object that would make whoever possessed it an unquestionable god.”

“But wouldn’t it be a good thing if someone managed to create it?” Alicia asked innocently. “I mean, if someone made the Philosopher’s Stone, people wouldn’t have to suffer from death, there would be no poverty, and they could even see their loved ones again. Is that really such a bad thing?”

Justine shook her head at the blonde girl’s words.

“If gold could be created at will, economic chaos could be brought about just as easily. Eternal life may sound appealing, but what if someone truly cruel possessed that power? And lastly…” Justine lowered her gaze, as if carefully choosing her next words, “…bringing the dead back to life might seem like a good idea, but the ghosts we saw in the dungeon are close to that. People who once lived, now bound to our world by someone else’s power. Alicia, would you bring any of us back if you knew we would end up like that?”

Alicia froze where she stood as Justine finished speaking. Remembering the grotesque forms of the ghosts, she slowly shook her head, regretting what she had said.

Justine’s words were harsh, but there was no malice in them. In truth, the Philosopher’s Stone could grant everything its owner desired—but its power could just as easily bring harm to others through its consequences. Be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it.

And besides, such an item was nothing more than a myth. Creating it was a feat no one had ever achieved. If it were even possible, it would take more than a lifetime of work. Without knowing what awaited at the end of that pursuit, the Philosopher’s Stone could very well become a Pyrrhic victory.

“Indeed, Justine is right. It is a childish goal. And Alex Forster was not an ordinary man. He was respected, had a loving family, and was wealthy enough to keep his descendants rich for generations. Everything a commoner could dream of was within his grasp at his peak. And yet, he still didn’t think it was enough.

Neither his family, nor the king’s recognition, nor even his immense fortune could satisfy his greed. On the contrary, everything around him only fed his ego. Like a foolish man who discovered he could fly, he wanted to test how high he could go—even if it meant burning himself in the sun.

But despite his foolishness, he was a true genius. In terms of alchemy, he was brilliant—a prodigy who found the path he needed to begin. And so, following the desires of his heart, he devoted himself to his research.”

I spoke with a cold smile on my face.

“So… what happened?” Alicia asked hesitantly.

I answered the princess in a darker tone. “He was discovered while his work was still in its early stages. The kingdom’s agents uncovered his research. He was sentenced to death, his work was destroyed, his name erased from history, and his family name cast into disgrace.”

“Eh? B-But why? Why such a severe punishment?” Alicia asked, her voice trembling.

“His research was seen as an act of treason against the royal family. Someone with that kind of power so close to the throne was considered a major threat. And to prevent anyone from continuing his work, the king ordered that no records of the Philosopher’s Stone be left behind. They raided his laboratory and destroyed everything.

But that wasn’t the end. Alex Forster died—but his ideas lived on.”

The girls avoided looking at me. Only Diane, despite her discomfort, managed to speak. “His son… he passed his knowledge on to his son.”

“Exactly. Alex Forster was cautious. He taught everything he could about the Stone to his eldest son and disciple—my grandfather, David Forster. He hadn’t completed the research, but if his son ever succeeded, Alex could, in theory, be brought back to life… assuming the Philosopher’s Stone worked as the legends claimed.

So the research was carved into David’s back while he was still young. And the same was done to his son—my father… and to me.”

Alicia stepped closer to me. Her trembling eyes looked as if they were about to overflow with tears. I could feel her delicate fingers brushing against my back, gently tracing the markings etched into my skin, as if my body were a scientist’s notebook.

“How cruel…”

“This is madness,” Diane said, turning her gaze away.

“It really is nothing but madness,” I said in an annoyed yet slightly goofy tone, trying to keep the atmosphere from sinking even deeper. “But we’re not talking about someone sane. The very idea of creating a legendary item like the Philosopher’s Stone was madness to begin with.

Unfortunately, it didn’t stop there.

David Forster, despite everything, admired his father. He dedicated much of his life to trying to create the Stone. He didn’t have the same megalomaniacal ambitions as his predecessor—at least not at first.

The trauma of witnessing his father’s execution haunted him, and the only way he could keep going was by devoting himself to the research.

Not just the father, but the son was consumed by madness as well.

His family was expelled from the capital, and in the city of Valleria, he eventually married and had a child. But even that was merely a means to ensure the continuation of the research he couldn’t complete.

With each generation, the tattoo on the back of the child who inherited the Alchemist class grew more complex… yet the Philosopher’s Stone remained far from reach.

And then it was my father’s turn—Edward Forster.

And that was when the research nearly came to an end.”

“The research almost ended? What happened?” Erina asked.

“Maybe he went mad somewhere along the way,” Erina said casually.

“Maybe he was being hunted,” Diane said in a serious tone.

“Maybe he got stuck at a particularly difficult stage of the research,” Justine added thoughtfully.

But it was none of those.

“He fell in love with my mother.”

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