Hong Yeon-hwa stared intently at the hologram that appeared before her.
A text history unfolded in front of her like a scroll. Her gaze was fierce enough to pierce through it, but the hologram remained unmoved.
“Staring at it won’t make it respond, Miss.”
“I know that.”
It was Saturday afternoon. In preparation for the Tower of Growth that was to take place next week, Hong Yeon-hwa was refraining from any physically exhausting activities.
She only did some light warm-ups and skipped all other physical training. She let her mind rest too, aiming to be in prime condition for entering the tower.
That’s why she could just lie on her bed, mindlessly staring at some hologram. Sometimes she would roll around, strike a meditation pose, and then sneak a glance at the texts.
Ariel, who was doing simple house chores, couldn’t help but sigh at such a pitiful sight.
She knew too well why Hong Yeon-hwa was acting this way, as she was responsible for guarding and doing odd jobs for her.
Ariel swallowed a sigh as she watched Hong Yeon-hwa engage in her silent stare-down with the hologram.
“…If you’re that curious, why not go find out in person?”
Hong Yeon-hwa jerked, her shoulders shaking. It was a reflexive response. The shaky voice that followed was like a bonus.
“That’s a bit much, don’t you think? What if I go check whether I’ve eaten what I left behind… No, they could just be asleep right now and not able to respond…”
“I do not understand why you, who knows the reason well, choose to have a staring contest with a hologram.”
“When have I had a staring contest?”
“To be precise, you’ve done so ever since you returned to the lodging last night.”
Hong Yeon-hwa squirmed with her eyes darting and buried her face in the pillow. Declaring an end to the conversation through bodily refusal, Ariel moved away without holding back her sigh this time.
The sound of her footsteps faded. Feeling Ariel’s presence leave in search of something to do, Hong Yeon-hwa let out a sigh for no reason.
The room was illuminated by drowsy sunlight. Along with it came a gentle breeze, possibly due to leaving the window open for ventilation.
It was quite a peaceful atmosphere. With the mood even creating a drowsiness that hadn’t been there before, Hong Yeon-hwa thought for a moment about taking a short nap and adjusted her pillow to lay down.
…But in reality, sleep didn’t come.
Hong Yeon-hwa crinkled her forehead and turned over. Her cheeks were squished into the pillow. Restlessly wriggling, she glanced at her smartwatch.
There were no new texts. To be precise, there were no texts from the contacts she’d set alarms for.
“Did I use it well?”
The potion she had given to Lee Ha-yul. She had said it was scattered in the clan’s warehouse and considered an investment, but it was still a precious item.
Those who awaken their magical powers are referred to as superhumans.
At this time, based on those abilities, they contribute to society by hunting monsters and dealing with villains, and they are called “heroes.”
There’s also the title of Hunter. They too are superhumans, but rather than hunting monsters and villains, they focus on exploring dungeons and historical ruins.
Heroes and Hunters. Many superhumans walk down one of these two paths, but not everyone does.
There are those who hate bloodshed wherever they go, and talents that flourish not in combat but in other areas.
Alchemists were among them.
The development and production of medicinal products meant to be consumed by superhumans. Few superhumans majoring in alchemy and pharmacology found their path in this field.
Moreover, there are very few capable individuals who achieved greatness in this field.
The Gop-hwa Clan was always in a position to supply potions to an exceedingly small number of talented individuals.
The potion given to Lee Ha-yul was a rare one supplied once a year, meant for the clan’s heir.
A potion centered around the roots of the Fairy Tree.
The Fairy Tree is a mythical creature everyone would shout their luck about if they even found a branch, let alone a single tree, regardless of the merits built up by a lineage over three generations.
Because the Gop-hwa Clan had deep ties with the Taesan Clan since the founding of their lineage, they could comparatively easily obtain the materials. Thus, they received a potion even if it was just one or two every year.
Since Hong Yeon-hwa’s output of Gop-hwa was unprecedented, she hadn’t consumed all the potions she received, leaving her with some leftovers.
The efficacy was certain. Hong Yeon-hwa had at least taken it three or four times and felt the effects.
So she passed it on. She thought it was an important time for Lee Ha-yul, who had just started to grow.
She was certain it would have a good effect on the rapidly growing Lee Ha-yul.
‘…Would he like it?’
While feeling gloomy looking at the stagnant texts, a faint smile formed when she suddenly imagined the future.
She was looking forward to Lee Ha-yul’s reaction when they met again. What kind of reaction would he have? Would he be amazed by the tremendous effects? Would he be overwhelmingly grateful to her?
“Ehehe…”
Or maybe he’d show the same smile he had back then.
Her heart swelled with anticipation. Hong Yeon-hwa buried her face in the pillow and let out a chuckle.
*
“Ugh, damn it.”
Her expression crumpled involuntarily.
Feeling an odd sensation, she spat out. As expected, black blood splattered onto the floor.
Spitting on the floor of the house was a filthy and uncouth act, but at this moment, she honestly didn’t care.
The floor was already drenched in blood. Even spitting dozens of times would go unnoticed against the hardened blood covering the ground.
At this moment, she was rather grateful that her sense of smell was gone. At least she wouldn’t have to deal with the stench of dirty blood.
“Ugh…”
What on earth was happening?
Leaning against the wall, she sank into contemplation.
She had consumed the potion, and blood had come out of her mouth. The amount gradually increased, and she eventually lost consciousness, waking up almost a day later.
Why? For what reason? She wasn’t sure…
She sighed, scratching the dried blood clots from inside her mouth with her finger. It had gotten stuck in her mouth, obstructing her breathing.
Even moving a single finger felt exhausting.
When she initially tried to rise up, she almost fell down again. The floor wasn’t as slippery as she had imagined. It seemed the blood had dried up.
The problem lay with her body. She had doubts when supporting her upper body with her arms, but the moment she tried to stand on her legs, she nearly collapsed.
Her body felt heavy like a cotton ball soaked with water. She was slow to respond, as if just waking up from a deep slumber, and couldn’t exert any strength.
Making any sudden movements was overwhelming, so she could only lean back against the wall.
She felt heavy, but the power within her was bubbling up.
The amount of magical energy contained within her core. To claim it was the same as before was impossible considering how drastically the amount had increased.
If the previous amount could be compared to a droplet, now it felt like a cup full of water.
The circuitry had also changed unrecognizably. The existing circuit had grown at least twice thicker and wider. The minuscule movement of magical energy felt foreign.
Additionally, new circuits had emerged. Thanks to the pathways opened up between the existing circuits, the movement of magical energy had become much denser.
Though it felt heavy now, her body had transformed.
It seemed that during the process of accepting magic after consuming the potion, her body had received positive effects too.
She could only guess that her current state was a backlash from sudden growth.
It was an absurd change. She couldn’t stop being shocked that a single potion could bring about such a transformation.
What had happened in the original work? Honestly, she didn’t know since she hadn’t stopped at just one potion.
She didn’t even know if the stats from the original could be compared here…
That’s why at this moment, she couldn’t use magic. The absurdly increased amount and quality of magic, along with the changes in her core and circuits.
Unwise manipulation of magical energy could have negative repercussions, it seemed. Perhaps that’s what they meant by saying to take a day or two to adjust.
For now, she focused solely on letting the energy from the potion settle into her body smoothly.
‘…What was that again?’
While resting her back against the wall and blankly organizing her thoughts, the dream she had just before waking up came to mind.
Actually, it was a bit strange to say it came to mind. Dreams are like that, but she couldn’t remember the details vividly after waking up.
She only vaguely recalled a dreamy forest and flying light clusters. Beyond that, nothing surfaced no matter how hard she tried.
‘What is going on?’
She didn’t understand what all this meant. Was this what happened every time someone consumed a potion? She didn’t think so…
She couldn’t hide her bewilderment as she perceived the information of the room conveyed through spatial awareness.
Half of the floor was taken over by hardened black blood that had engulfed everything…
“Ugh.”
A sigh involuntarily escaped her. As much as she wanted to shut her eyes, she couldn’t just leave things like this.
Thankfully, this mess could be cleaned up easily. She had forgotten until now, but several cleaning spells were embedded within the dormitory.
Using the embedded purification and cleanliness magic, the bloodstains clinging to the room vanished completely. Magic was amazing.
Wobbling, she got up and washed herself off in the shower room. As the warm water drizzled down on her, she felt like she might doze off, prompting her to hurriedly dry herself and step out.
Throwing on a soft, white gown for the first time felt really nice. The texture was so smooth and cozy, it made her quite satisfied. It might have felt even better since it was against her bare skin.
With all the blood stains cleaned, the room was left open for air. Her sense of smell was sealed away, so she couldn’t detect odors, but still felt a bit uneasy.
Ever since that time with Professor Atra, she couldn’t grasp how this unease was felt.
Both Professor Atra and Professor Riana had indeed drunk the previous day, but they had cleaned up well and cast cleanliness spells so there were no lingering odors.
How her senses could react was a mystery.
“I’ll think about it later.”
After pondering deeply for a moment, her head started aching. Her body was heating up too. She shuffled her legs and headed towards the living room sofa.
Even though she couldn’t smell anything, she didn’t want to fall asleep in a room that felt unpleasant.
After grabbing a suitable blanket, she collapsed onto the sofa. Covering herself with the blanket, it turned into a rather nice place to sleep.
“Just a little nap…”
Though she had fainted for a day, she was still tired. They say sleep is the best medicine. Just a short nap to wake up and think again…
…
– Diiing! Diiing! Diiing!
Just as her consciousness was about to slip away, an alarm rang out. It kept going off repeatedly.
“Ugh.”
Frowning, she tapped her smartwatch. Just when she was about to fall asleep, why was it ringing like this?
A hologram popped up.
[Monday AM 6:40]
An odd phrase appeared. She scratched her head for a moment before checking her spatial awareness. Confirming there were no problems, she interpreted the hologram again.
Monday, morning, 6:40 AM.
Monday… The day of the Tower of Growth schedule.
“Uh…”
Is my spatial awareness experiencing hallucination? Or am I still in a dream? Did my smartwatch break?
She plunged into serious contemplation.
The relentless notification that didn’t read the room continued to ring. The sense of reality rushed to meet her.
With no proper preparations made over the weekend, she was currently unready.
The day to enter the tower had dawned.
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