[Obtained 'Blood Stone of Hob Goblin'.]
[Obtained 'Purifying White Crystal'.]
[Obtained 'Mithril' 15kg.]
[Exiting the Tower.]
Light wrapped around my body, and when I opened my eyes, the familiar street appeared before me.
Seeing that the Association employee was awake,
"Gasp...!"
I quietly slipped out of the Tower and headed home.
Before Si-woo entered the Tower.
Hong Chae-yeon, who was surprised seeing the potions Si-woo made.
"A Blacksmith made this potion?"
[Sweet Healing Potion]
The name itself was suspicious.
But 'SW'.
His unconventional moves eventually made Hong Chae-yeon's fingers move.
Hong Chae-yeon, who bought everything available on the Exchange, picked up the orange-hued potion.
—Pop!
Her brow smoothed at the fresh scent spreading as soon as she opened the stopper.
Hong Chae-yeon drank the potion, thinking she was being tricked.
"...Uh?"
It was different.
What went down her throat wasn't a disgusting fishy smell but a sweet fruit scent.
It was a sweetness as if she had drunk well-ripened orange juice.
And.
"It doesn't... hurt."
The pain that hadn't left her for a single moment in the last 10 years.
The fire energy that seemed to gnaw at her bones subsided like a lie.
Of course, the scars didn't disappear, nor was it a fundamental cure.
But the absence of pain.
That alone made her feel like she could breathe.
'If it's this... Su-yeon too!'
Hong Chae-yeon turned on the Exchange screen again with trembling hands.
I have to buy everything.
It didn't matter how much it cost.
But.
[This product is sold out.]
"Ah...!"
It was sold out.
Just as despair was about to set in, she saw the remaining potions in her hand.
30 bottles secured while buying urgently.
With this, we could hold out for a while.
Hong Chae-yeon hurriedly picked up her phone.
"Ah-rin, are you at the hospital?"
"Uh...? Yeah... I'm next to Su-yeon... Is... Is something wrong...?"
"Wait there just a little bit. I'm coming right now."
"U... Uh...? Is it... urgent...? O... Okay.... I... I'll wait...."
As soon as she hung up, she shouted to her secretary.
"I'm going to see Su-yeon for a bit!"
"Guild Master! The afternoon meeting...!"
The secretary's shout disappeared beyond the closing elevator doors.
She ran to the underground parking lot and grabbed the steering wheel.
As she stepped on the accelerator and sped down the road, memories of that day 10 years ago, which she couldn't forget even if she wanted to, suddenly reared their heads in her mind.
The memory of that day was still stuck in Hong Chae-yeon's mind like a terrible burn scar.
It was an ordinary way home from school.
When she was carrying her younger sister Su-yeon's bag and sharing trivial worries about whether to eat Tteokbokki or Sundae for dinner.
The world turned upside down in an instant.
—Rumble!
The ground screamed and cracked, and a black tower soared in the middle of the road.
And that damn blue window floated in front of Hong Chae-yeon's eyes.
[Skill: Flames of Hellfire Lv1]
"Unni, it's hot... Kyaaak!"
When she turned her head at Hong Su-yeon's scream.
Hong Chae-yeon had to doubt her own eyes.
Her uncontrolled power created dark red flames.
The flames were swallowing her sister through their joined hands like a hungry snake.
"Su... Su-yeon!"
Her mind went blank on what to do.
Should she shake it off?
There was no time to think.
She just had to put it out.
She had to extinguish this curse-like fire even if she had to cover it with her own body.
Hong Chae-yeon hugged her burning sister tight.
"Aaaaaack!"
The smell of her sister's flesh burning and the pain of her own flesh melting mixed to create a terrible sensation.
Even in the pain of her whole body being seared by fire, she couldn't let go of her arms.
Because if she let go now, this child seemed like she would turn into a handful of ash and disappear.
[Warning! Caster's HP has reached a critical level.]
—Sizzle
Only after eating away at her life force did the flames subside.
If Hong Chae-yeon had been scared then and pushed Hong Su-yeon away or just stared blankly...
Her sister would have disappeared in less than a minute.
But what remained in her arms was no longer her pretty younger sister of before.
"...Ah."
A body burnt black like charcoal.
The chest faintly rising and falling was the only signal that the child was alive.
Hong Chae-yeon's arms and chest were also messily crushed and numb, but that wasn't the problem.
"Su... Su-yeon!!!"
Seeing Su-yeon, guilt became a dagger and stabbed Hong Chae-yeon's heart.
She grabbed her crumbling sister and howled like a beast in the middle of the street.
"Is anyone here!!! Please!!!"
She shouted until her throat tore.
"My sister!!! My sister hurts!!! Please someone save her!!!"
Whether she heard her voice or it was coincidence, she didn't know.
A woman walked out from the collapsed alleyway.
That was the first meeting with Seo Ah-rin.
. . .
Running while lost in thought, she was already in front of the hospital.
If I hadn't met Ah-rin right then...
Hong Chae-yeon shook her head.
It was an assumption she didn't even want to imagine.
She kicked open the car door and entered the hospital lobby.
"Huh? Isn't that Hong Chae-yeon of Red Scale Guild?"
"That's right. That red hair and mask..."
"Heard Seo Ah-rin went in earlier too? That Epic Healer."
"Heard they were best friends since 10 years ago."
"Birds of a feather flock together after all... Why am I..."
"That's why you're meeting me."
"...Sh*t."
People's whispering could be heard, but she had no time to care.
She took the elevator to the top floor of the hospital.
VVVIP Room.
Hong Chae-yeon's everything was there.
—Slide.
When she opened the door and entered, a familiar smell of medicine mixed with a fishy metallic smell.
On the bed lay a red-haired woman covered in bandages and burns all over her body.
Every time she took a ragged breath, a metallic sound flowed from her bronchial tubes.
It was her younger sister, Hong Su-yeon.
And Seo Ah-rin was sitting next to her.
She flinched her shoulders as if surprised by the presence and turned her head.
"Uh... Chae-yeon...? Y... You came...?"
A small voice like a mosquito crawling.
Hong Chae-yeon nodded as if used to it, and instead of answering, took out a potion bottle from her bosom and handed it over.
"Ah-rin, check this for me."
"Th... This... What is it...? I... It's my first time seeing it..."
Seo Ah-rin carefully accepted the potion Hong Chae-yeon held out.
"Says it's a potion that removes pain. I tried it and it was effective."
"P... Pain... stopped...? Is... Is that true...? N... Not just your feeling...?"
Seo Ah-rin opened her eyes round in disbelief and looked at the orange liquid in the transparent glass bottle.
"F... First... I... I'll check..."
It was a precious potion with only a few left, but Ah-rin was an Epic grade Healer.
Verification before feeding it to her sister was essential.
Hong Chae-yeon nodded.
Seo Ah-rin rolled up her sleeves.
As her pure white arm was exposed, she cut her own arm with her index and middle fingers without hesitation.
—Slice.
Red blood trickled down.
Seo Ah-rin opened the potion stopper and brought it to her mouth.
She swallowed dry saliva nervously before her lips touched it.
—Gulp.
And a moment later.
Her eyes went wide.
"...! T... Tasty...!"
She covered her mouth with her hand and exclaimed quietly.
"Th... This... It's really tasty...? No fishy taste... at all either..."
Due to the nature of the Healer class, MP consumption was extreme, so she lived with potions.
Seo Ah-rin, who knew the hardship of having to swallow them while holding back retching better than anyone, burst into admiration.
"No, not the taste, the effect?"
When Hong Chae-yeon urged, Seo Ah-rin came to her senses and examined her arm.
The blood dripping on her white arm stopped, and the wound was healing rapidly.
Her expression became quite serious.
"D... Definitely... Pain disappeared.... Recovery is... fast too.... A... Above all... It's comfortable.... Doesn't seem to have... narcotic ingredients either..."
Even Seo Ah-rin's verification was done.
Convinced, Hong Chae-yeon took the remaining potion bottle with trembling hands and approached the bed.
Feeling the presence then, Hong Su-yeon struggled to open her eyes.
"Un... Unni...? What brings you here...? Aren't you... busy...?"
The voice mixed with metallic sounds pierced her heart.
Hong Chae-yeon forced a smile and sat at her sister's bedside.
"Just came because I wanted to see my sister's face."
Hong Chae-yeon answered while carefully sweeping back her sister's disheveled hair.
Her eyes hidden behind the mask were already moist, but she tried hard to keep her voice bright.
Hong Su-yeon's gaze turned to the glass bottle in her sister's hand.
"What is... that...?"
Rejection lingered in her finely trembling eyes.
It was understandable since to Hong Su-yeon, potions were torture.
Existing potions with minimal effects but disgusting taste.
Because the nausea rising every time she swallowed it and the pain that didn't get better despite it made her even more exhausted.
Hong Chae-yeon knew that fact better than anyone.
She shrugged her shoulders pretending nothing was wrong.
"Ah this? It's a new fruit juice. They sell it in front of the hospital, bought it thinking something sweet would be just your taste."
"Juice...?"
"Yeah. It's not medicine so don't worry and just drink one sip. Huh?"
Hong Chae-yeon opened the bottle cap and inserted a straw like coaxing a child.
Hong Su-yeon looked suspicious but couldn't defeat her sister's desperate gaze and brought her mouth to it.
Please...
Hong Chae-yeon prayed inwardly.
Hong Su-yeon carefully sucked on the straw.
"...!"
Instantly, Hong Su-yeon's eyes grew round.
It wasn't the disgusting fishy smell that always made her frown.
Refreshing and sweet orange scent filled her mouth and wet her parched tongue.
"It's tasty..."
"Really? Then want to drink more?"
Hong Su-yeon nodded and drank it gulp by gulp as if afraid someone would take it away.
She didn't know how long it had been since she saw this.
Seeing her sister eating something so deliciously.
Hong Su-yeon, who emptied it cleanly to the last drop, licked the orange liquid on her lips.
"Unni, this is really tasty.... Not fishy at all either..."
"Is that so? That's a relief. Next time I'll buy aga... Su-yeon?"
Hong Chae-yeon, who was continuing her words, paused.
Hong Su-yeon's eyelids, which were about to chatter until just now, were closing softly as if heavy as a thousand pounds.
"Uh...? Sleepy... Why suddenly so..."
Hong Su-yeon's head dropped onto the pillow.
It wasn't fainting.
She was someone who hadn't been able to sleep comfortably even once due to the terrible pain gnawed by the fire demon for the last 10 years.
Thousands of times she woke up groaning in pain even after taking sleeping pills.
But now that the terrible pain disappeared, the extreme fatigue accumulated all this time rushed in like a receding tide.
"Su-yeon..."
Her brow, always distorted in pain, was smoothed out peacefully as if ironed.
The rough breathing mixed with metallic sounds also changed to be quiet and regular like a baby sleeping.
Hong Chae-yeon covered her mouth.
It was to swallow the cry trying to burst out.
How long has it been since she saw her sister's face this peaceful?
Seo Ah-rin next to her was also watching the scene with her mouth open in disbelief.
"O... Oh my.... R... Really... She fell asleep...?"
Hong Chae-yeon nodded slightly instead of answering.
Looking at the sleeping Su-yeon, she slumped down as if strength left her legs in relief and muttered.
"Th... Thank goodness.... Really thank goodness...."
Something hot surged from a corner of Hong Chae-yeon's heart.
Her gaze turned to the empty glass bottle her sister emptied.
'SW'
Hong Chae-yeon wrapped her two hands around the empty bottle preciously and very carefully.
It wasn't something like curiosity or interest.
It was an overflowing emotion towards the benefactor who lightened the weight of pain that had crushed her chest for the long period of 10 years.
Her amber eyes became moist.
Thank you... Thank you....
Hong Chae-yeon repeated inwardly countless times towards the potion maker she didn't even know.
I must find him.
She just wanted to convey her thanks.
And if possible...
She wanted to beg him to help this child continue to dream.
Hong Chae-yeon kissed her sleeping sister's forehead briefly and stood up.
As she left the hospital, she called her secretary.
"Yes! Guild Master!"
"Please collect all information about SW."
"Yes? Suddenly??"
"Please proceed with it as the number 1 priority."
"...Yes, understood!"