[Ash's Apartment – The "Slums" of Sector 9] [Time: 11:45 PM]
My apartment was a 10-square-meter box that smelled of mildew and despair.
It had a single window that looked out onto a brick wall, a mattress on the floor that had seen better decades, and a kitchenette that consisted of one rusty gas burner and a mini-fridge that hummed like a dying chainsaw.
"Home sweet hellhole," I sighed, locking the door behind me.
I dumped my loot onto the wobbly wooden table.
C-Rank Undead Core (Glowing ominously purple).
Sun-Fire Lotus (Burning a small hole in the tablecloth).
Vial of Troll Blood (Bought from a sketchy 24-hour Hunter Mart on the way home for 500,000 won. It looked like green slime).
B-Rank Spatial Ring (Shiny).
[System: Welcome to 'MasterChef: Poverty Edition'. Today, we will be brewing a legendary Elixir of Life in... let me guess... that pot?]
I looked at the aluminum pot sitting in the sink. It still had crusty orange residue from the spicy ramen I ate two days ago.
"It's seasoned," I defended, grabbing a sponge. "It adds flavor."
[System: It adds E. coli. Please scour it. If you contaminate the elixir with MSG, your mother won't turn back into a human; she'll turn into a bouillon cube.]
"Right. Scrubbing."
I cleaned the pot with aggressive enthusiasm, then filled it with distilled water I'd bought. I placed it on the burner and clicked the dial. Click. Click. Click.
The flame sputtered and died.
"Out of gas," I groaned. "I forgot to pay the utility bill."
[System: Perfect. Just perfect. A God-Tier Awakened defeated by the Seoul Gas Company.]
"I don't need gas," I snapped. I stared at the pot. "I have physics."
I placed my hands on the sides of the aluminum pot.
Tier 3: Friction Control.
Heat is just the vibration of molecules. If I could make the metal molecules vibrate faster, I could generate heat without fire.
"Rub," I whispered.
I focused on the atomic structure of the aluminum. Move. Grind. Vibrate.
VMMMM.
The pot began to hum. Within three seconds, it turned red hot. The water inside instantly went from room temperature to a rolling boil.
"Who needs a stove?" I grinned, sweat forming on my brow. "Okay, Step 1?"
[System: Step 1: Crush the Undead Core into a fine powder. Warning: The Core is harder than diamond. Good luck smashing it with your soup spoon.]
I looked at the purple orb. It pulsed with dark energy.
I put it on the cutting board. I picked up a heavy meat tenderizer.
Whack.
The tenderizer bent. The orb didn't even scratch.
"Okay," I said. "Plan B."
I placed my palm over the Core.
Tier 3: Gravity Manipulation.
"Gravity Press," I commanded. "Localized field. 500x."
CRACK.
The sound was like a gunshot. The orb didn't just break; it imploded. It was instantly crushed into a shimmering purple dust.
[System: Show-off. Now, add the Troll Blood and bring to a simmer. Stir counter-clockwise. If you stir clockwise, it explodes.]
I poured the green slime into the boiling water. It hissed and turned the water a gross swampy color. I stirred carefully with a wooden spoon.
"It smells like wet socks," I gagged.
[System: It's Troll Blood. What did you expect? Lavender? Now, the hard part. The Sun-Fire Lotus.]
I picked up the burning flower. It was hot to the touch, singing my fingertips.
[System: You need to extract the 'Essence of Fire' without burning the liquid. If you just drop the flower in, the heat will evaporate the potion instantly. You need to thermally insulate the flower while extracting its mana.]
"Thermally insulate... while extracting," I muttered. "So I need to separate the heat from the energy."
I held the flower over the pot.
This required finesse. I had to use Control to create a vacuum seal around the heat, keeping it contained, while allowing the mana particles to drift down into the soup.
My headache returned. This was like trying to thread a needle while riding a rollercoaster.
"Focus," I gritted my teeth.
Maxwell's Demon Protocol. Separate the hot atoms from the cold.
I squeezed the air around the flower. The flames turned blue, then white, contained in a perfect sphere of vacuum. Golden dust—the mana essence—began to rain down into the pot.
As the gold dust hit the purple swamp water, the potion changed color.
It turned a brilliant, glowing gold. The smell of wet socks vanished, replaced by the scent of honey and sunshine.
[System: Stabilization at 98%. Don't sneeze.]
I held my breath. My hands were shaking. Just a little more...
The last speck of gold fell. The flower crumbled into ash.
The liquid in the ramen pot swirled on its own, glowing like liquid sunlight.
[System: Ding! Quest Complete. You have crafted: 'Elixir of Reversal (Low Grade)'.]
"Low grade?" I wiped the sweat from my eyes. "I nearly gave myself an aneurysm!"
[System: You made it in a dirty ramen pot in a bathroom-sized apartment using tap water. You're lucky it's not 'Elixir of Diarrhea'. But don't worry. It's potent enough to cure Stage 4 Crystallization.]
I grabbed a clean thermos and carefully poured the golden liquid inside. Not a single drop spilled.
"Mom," I whispered, screwing the lid on tight. "I'm coming."
[Seoul General Hospital – Room 304] [Time: 12:30 AM]
I burst into the room like I was raiding a dungeon.
"Ash?" Dr. Choi looked up from his chart, startled. "Visiting hours ended two hours ago. You can't be here."
"I have the money," I lied, holding up the thermos. "Or rather, I have the cure."
Choi frowned. "Ash, you're tired. You're grieving. There is no cure for—"
"Just watch."
I walked over to the bed. My mother looked even more like a statue than before. The blue crystal lines had reached her chin. Her breathing was shallow, a rasping sound that rattled in her chest.
I uncapped the thermos. The room filled with the scent of honey.
Dr. Choi froze. He sniffed the air. "What is that? That mana density..."
I gently lifted my mother's head. "Drink, Mom. Please."
I tipped the thermos. The golden liquid flowed into her mouth.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then, she coughed.
FLASH.
A bright light erupted from her chest. The blue veins glowing under her skin flared white, then gold.
Crack... hiss.
The sound of stone breaking.
The crystallization on her arms began to flake off like dead skin, revealing healthy, pink flesh underneath. The grey pallor of her face vanished. Her breathing deepened, losing the rattle.
Dr. Choi dropped his tablet. It shattered on the floor.
"Impossible," he whispered, adjusting his glasses with trembling hands. "The necrosis... it's reversing? The mana toxicity is being neutralized? What did you give her? Is that... is that a High-Elixir?"
"Grandma's secret tea recipe," I said, screwing the cap back on the empty thermos.
My mother's eyelids fluttered.
"Ash?" her voice was weak, raspy, but it was her voice. Not the wheeze of a dying patient.
"I'm here, Mom," I choked out, grabbing her warm hand. It was soft. "I'm here."
"I had... a terrible dream," she murmured. "I dreamed you were carrying heavy bags... and everyone was laughing at you."
I squeezed her hand, tears streaming down my face.
"It was just a dream, Mom," I smiled, though my vision was blurry. "Nobody is laughing anymore."
[System: Aww. Look at you, having emotions. Gross. But... good job, kid. +1000 XP.] [Level Up!] [Current Level: 6] [Current Stat Points: 10]
Dr. Choi rushed over to the bed, pulling out his stethoscope. "Heartbeat strong. Lungs clear. Mana levels... normal. This is a medical miracle. Ash, where did you get this? Who made this?"
I stood up, wiping my face.
"I found it," I said. "In a dungeon. Dumb luck."
Choi looked at me. He wasn't stupid. You don't find a miracle cure by "dumb luck." He looked at the confident set of my shoulders, the clear skin where my scars used to be, and the faint aura of power I hadn't fully suppressed.
"Right," Choi said slowly. "Dumb luck. Well... I need to run tests, but... I think she can go home in a few days."
"Thanks, Doc."
I turned to leave. My mother was sleeping peacefully now—a real sleep, not a coma.
"Ash," Choi called out.
"Yeah?"
"Be careful," he warned quietly. "If people find out you have a cure for Mana Poisoning... the Guilds won't ask nicely. They'll tear you apart to get the recipe."
I paused at the door.
I thought about the Centaurion. I thought about the Red Vipers. I thought about the Ramen Pot.
"Let them come," I said, a cold grin touching my lips. "I could use the XP."
[The Street Outside]
I walked out into the cool night air. I felt lighter than I had in five years. The burden was gone. My mother was safe.
Now, I had a new problem.
I looked at my stats.
[Name: Ash] [Level: 6] [Control: A-] [Mana: F- (Still trash)]
I was strong, but I was broke. I had 4.5 million won, but I needed billions to truly reach the top. And I needed to level up.
[System: Notification. Now that you aren't moping about your mommy, can we focus on the real issue?]
"Which is?"
[System: You have an unread message. It arrived while you were playing nurse.]
"A message? On my phone?"
[System: No, you ape. On the System.]
A black envelope icon appeared in my vision. It wasn't blue like the usual notifications. It was pitch black with a crimson seal.
[Sender: Unknown] [Subject: I know what you did.]
My blood ran cold.
I opened it.
[Message: You manipulated the gravity vector of the Centaurion's halberd by a factor of 10.4. You reduced the friction coefficient of the floor to 0.01 against the Red Vipers. Your mana capacity is 5, yet you wield physics like a God.]
[Come to the 'Velvet Lounge' in Gangnam. Midnight. Alone.] [If you don't, I will send the video of you decapitating the Boss to the Association.]
[Signed, The Chairman.]
I stared at the text.
Someone knew. Someone had watched.
"The Chairman," I whispered.
[System: Well. That escalated quickly. Shall we go kill him?]
"No," I said, checking the time. It was 12:45 AM. "If he wanted me dead, he would have sent assassins, not a text message. He wants to talk."
I hailed a taxi.
"Gangnam," I told the driver. "And step on it."
The game was changing. I wasn't just fighting monsters anymore. I was playing chess. And apparently, I was already in check.
[End of chapter 7]