Declaration Of Extra Strike

 

“I’m thinking of trying out the nullification series this week. Have you ever drunk a nullification potion?”  

 

“No, I’ve never tried a nullification potion.”  

 

“I’ve made a few samples in advance. They’re all different kinds, and there’s even one that temporarily nullifies the mana that’s suppressing your mana high, so don’t be surprised.”  

 

While Yeon Seung-yeon rummaged through the labels of the dozen or so samples prepared in advance, he inserted a specially crafted mana stone into the floor of the laboratory.  

 

“Ho-hyun nim, we need to conduct the experiment in this safety zone today. Just in case your mana high disappears.”  

 

Hearing that the symptoms of her mana high, which she was barely keeping at bay, might vanish, Yoon Ha-yan’s face showed a flicker of anxiety. 

 

Nevertheless, she voluntarily stepped into the magic circle, which had the mana stone embedded in it, to wait.  

 

“Are you ready? Then let’s start with the first one.”  

 

I handed the potion to Yoon Ha-yan. I watched nervously as she opened the potion bottle and drank from it.  

 

There were 14 samples prepared in advance, and considering Yoon Ha-yan’s condition, we excluded five that were incompatible with her. The experiment proceeded with the remaining potions. To cut to the conclusion… all nine were failures.  

 

Disappointment and guilt filled the faces of Ha-yan and Jeong Hyuk, who had come down to watch. I felt drained as well, but it was only natural to go through trial and error in a situation without a recipe skill, so I tried to gather my strength and stood up.  

 

“Again, they just don’t work… I’m sorry.”  

 

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Why would you be sorry? Just wait a little longer, I’ll find it soon!”  

 

Yoon Ha-yan’s gaze shifted to the five potions we had set aside.  

 

“Um, Ho-hyun-nim. Could I possibly try those too?”  

 

“No, those potions are incompatible with you; it would be too taxing on your body.”  

 

“But those could also be samples for the cure. I can endure a little strain.”

 

Seeing Yoon Ha-yan insist strongly for some reason, I scratched my head and eventually nodded. Since these were not likely to cause serious harm, it should be fine…  

 

However, starting from the second sample, Yoon Ha-yan’s control over her mana began to falter, and when she drank the fourth potion, sparks began to fly from her body. She tried to control her strength, but it didn’t work well. 

 

Jeong Hyuk leaned forward, wanting to rush to Ha-yan as the threatening sparks bounced dangerously close to the mana stone. 

 

I pressed down on his shoulder and said.

 

“Seung-yeon, inject the emergency potion.”  

 

Seung-yeon hurried over and administered the emergency potion. The chaotic sparks subsided, and Yoon Ha-yan collapsed onto the floor. Jeong Hyuk rushed over to her.  

 

“Ha-yan!! Are you… are you okay?”  

 

“I’m fine. It’s just…”  

 

Yoon Ha-yan couldn’t finish her sentence and lowered her head. I clicked my tongue, realizing that with all the recent failures, Ha-yan and Jeong Hyuk were being cautious around me.  

 

‘Is it really not going to work after all…’  

 

Looking at the last potion remaining, I felt a twinge of disappointment. Given that the previous potions had no effect at all, the last one was likely to be futile as well. It seemed that the nullification potion was indeed the wrong choice.  

 

“Let’s call it a day for now. It might be a bit early, but you should go up and rest, and I’ll do a bit more research with Seung-yeon…”  

At that moment, a loud bang echoed through the basement. Startled, I turned around, unable to finish my sentence, to see the basement door lying on the ground and Han Seo-jin, panting heavily as she stepped over it.  

 

“You just kicked down my lab door…” 

 

“What was that? Did an Esper go berserk?”  

 

Han Seo-jin, catching her breath after rushing in, quickly scanned the situation with his eyes.  

 

“What nonsense are you talking about? We were just doing a potion experiment.” 

 

“Are you sure? But this energy feels…”  

 

Realizing what he was worried about a moment too late, I sighed and swept my hand over my head.  

 

“It was just a minor slip-up that caused a side effect. Sure, there was a bit of a rampage, but you’re an esper and we’re hunters.”

 

“Is this the Illimital side effect?”  

 

Han Seo-jin’s gaze turned toward Yoon Ha-yan. He then took a deep breath as he scanned the lab.  

 

“…Hah. This is strange. It’s exactly the same as when an esper goes berserk. The energy and the premonitory waves are identical.”  

 

“It’s probably just a coincidence.”  

 

Since I had never experienced the special energy or waves that Han Seo-jin was talking about, I dismissed his concerns lightly. Just then, Seung-yeon, who was standing next to me, suddenly raised his head.  

 

“Ho-hyun, how about using the Guiding Potion?”  

 

“The Guiding Potion?”  

 

“Yes, the Guiding Potion! Listening to what Han Seo-jin said, I also have some concerns. When I briefly participated in the research on the Guiding Potion at the center, we conducted experiments related to esper rampages. Looking at this now, it’s very similar to the side effects of Illimital. It involves powers that can’t be controlled by the mana in the body and specific components that typically get repelled…”  

 

“So, you’re suggesting we try to suppress the side effects with new powers, like we do with the Guiding Potion?”  

 

“Yes!”  

 

Now that I thought about it, it made sense. Perhaps it was because the creator of the genuine Illimital was from our country, but I had only considered fixing the incorrect aspects and hadn’t thought about suppressing it with a new force. 

 

I turned to Yoon Ha-yan and asked.

 

“Are you okay? Do you want to try drinking another one?”

 

“Yes. I’m feeling better now.”  

 

I gestured for Seung-yeon to bring the Guiding Potion. Yoon Ha-yan received it with a slightly tired expression. As she drank the potion, her eyes widened in surprise.  

 

“What is this…?”  

 

“What? How does it feel?”  

 

“I can’t believe it…”  

 

Yoon Ha-yan placed a hand over her chest, looking down at the potion bottle as if in disbelief. Unable to contain my excitement, I rushed over to examine her. The abnormal status effect that had been affecting her was momentarily weakened. This was the most significant change we had seen so far.  

 

“It worked! This is it! Seung-yeon, you did great!”  

 

“H-Ho-hyun nim…”  

 

Seeing this, I joyfully pulled Yoon Ha-yan and Seung-yeon into a tight embrace. I also approached Han Seo-jin, who stood there with a puzzled expression, as if he couldn’t comprehend the sudden turn of events, and hugged him tightly as well.  

 

“Seo-jin ah! You did well, you did well!!”  

 

Startled at first, Han Seo-jin gradually wrapped his arms around my back and asked,  

 

“What… what happened?”  

 

“Yeah! I never imagined it would work for an Esper. This is all thanks to you. You did great breaking down the door too!”  

 

Though it was still temporary and not a complete cure, we just needed to process it a bit more. Now that we knew the method, improving it was only a matter of time.

 

As if it had never crossed her mind to take a break, Ha-yan, Jeong-hyuk, and everyone else excitedly continued their research. It seemed that the “new power” that could suppress the Illimital side effects was a major blind spot; the Unknown Potion, which was a precursor to the Guiding Potion, showed much better effects.

 

While I was smiling broadly at the progress we were making and ordering additional materials, Jeong-hyuk approached me hesitantly and spoke up.  

 

“Uh, boss. Can I ask how much you’re planning to charge for this?”  

 

“Hmm? What do you mean?”  

 

“Of course, I know it’s too early to determine the value of an unfinished potion… but it seems we need to prepare in advance.”  

 

At his unexpected comment, I stared at him, and Jeong-hyuk continued staring at me with a troubled expression.  

“I’m prepared for this. I remember you told me before to hand over all the money you have. But I haven’t been able to give you anything yet… I also recently learned that in situations like this, we need to pay development costs separately. We do have some supporters and people who help us, but it’ll take a bit of time for our families to gather the money.”  

 

“Oh, I see what you’re saying now. The payment for the treatment? You don’t need to worry about that.”  

 

“Pardon?”  

 

“You don’t need to worry about the payment. Just make sure to handle the aftermath well. Don’t let anyone else pick up fake ones.”  

 

“B-Boss!”  

 

Jeong-hyuk’s mouth dropped open, unable to close. He scratched his head and turned his gaze back to the list of materials. I had never intended to charge patients for the results of my potions since it was my responsibility. I wasn’t going to take advantage of them. However, I couldn’t help but feel a slight frown forming as I rapped my fingers on the table.

 

***

 

Based on the Unknown Potion, the development of the Illimital treatment was quickly completed, and I managed to produce enough for all the patients. 

 

I hadn’t considered it while making the Guiding Potion, but the energy contained in the Unknown Potion was essentially the essence of power itself, and I felt it could be used in many ways in the future.  

 

‘I should file a patent for it later.’

 

As I imagined the day I would stand before people, I hummed a little tune.

 

Today was finally the day to transport the treatment to the hospital, so everyone came to help. Along with me were my older sister Da-in, who had assisted in gathering materials, and Jin-myung, who had been following her around like a goldfish for some time.  

“Noona! I’ll carry this!”  

 

“It’s okay. It’s not that heavy.”  

 

“I-I get anxious if my hands are empty…”  

 

I squinted at Jin-myung’s insistence on carrying two cups of coffee, feeling the weight on one of my legs. Looking down at Da-hye, who was clinging to my calf, I swung my leg back and forth.

  

“Kid. You’re heavy.”  

 

“I only weigh thirty kilograms!”  

 

“…Why are you so small?”  

 

“I’m not small! You were probably the same size when you were little!”  

 

“Nope. I’ve been tall since the beginning. I’ve never been small.”  

 

“That’s a lie! Everyone is small when they’re little!”  

 

“I was taller than my friends even when I was young. Are you going to keep hanging on like this? Are you a koala?”  

 

“No! I don’t want to! You don’t know when the boss ahjussi will disappear again.”  

 

“Where would I go? I’m not going anywhere now.”  

 

As Baek Da-hye pouted and complained, I poked her little head playfully and then pointed at Han Seo-jin, who was quietly sitting in the corner doing some side work.  

 

“Kid. I was worried. So go hit that uncle over there. It’s because of him that I…”  

 

“Why would Uncle Seo-jin get hurt?”  

 

Her innocent question, without a trace of calculation, made me doubt my ears. I quickly stood up in disbelief and asked incredulously.

 

“Hey! Why am I ‘ahjussi’ and he’s ‘uncle’? We’re only a year apart!”  

 

“It’s said that the people who don’t want to be called ‘ahjussi’ are the real ahjussi.”  

 

“What? What?”  

 

I stood there dumbfounded, watching Baek Da-hye dash away toward Han Seo-jin’s side, unable to close my mouth in disbelief.

Flo here!

The updates are now every Monday and Friday!

Make sure to support the author on ridibooks! It's free chapter a day, so even if you don't understand Korean, just click it to support them! Also, consider buying me kofi if you like my translations~