By Zephyria “Ah, I’m not trying to snipe at you, sir.”
“Yeah.”
“Anyway, do you think your rank has lowered enough? If it’s not enough, you’ll have to take a Weakening Elixir too.”
Eui-jae moved his arms and legs a little, gauging his own condition. He was far from it. At this rate, he’d be grateful to get even a B-rank. Eui-jae shook his head.
“I don’t think it’ll be enough.”
“I knew you’d say that, so I prepared this. Just a moment.”
Just then, the light turned red. Min-gi Seo took out a large cardboard box from his Inventory and handed it over. When he opened the lid, ten glass bottles filled with a hazy liquid were neatly arranged inside.
“It’s an A-rank Weakening Elixir. The Wave Guild’s Elixir makers created this masterpiece in just one night.”
“…Really?”
“Yes. The Guild Master promised a 300% bonus, so everyone volunteered to work overtime.”
What a waste of money. But he only thought that for a moment.
‘It’s not my money, so whatever.’
With a much lighter expression, he took out a bottle and held it up to the light. Min-gi Seo muttered with a determined look on his face.
“It’s originally meant to be applied to weapons… but drinking it shouldn’t cause any major problems. We conducted a thorough bio-experiment yesterday.”
The head that had been examining the opaque liquid turned stiff. Who on earth did they experiment on? Eui-jae glanced suspiciously at Min-gi Seo for a moment, then opened the lid and drank the Elixir without hesitation.
However, the sensation that came over Eui-jae was a little different from what Min-gi Seo had said.
‘There’s not much difference?’
Unlike the bracelet, which had an immediate effect as soon as he put it on, the Elixir didn’t seem to do anything. It was too anticlimactic for something that was supposed to be a terrifying product of a bio-experiment. Eui-jae opened the second bottle with a strange look on his face.
“How is it?”
Eui-jae didn’t answer and downed the second bottle. But his condition was still the same.
‘There’s really not much difference?’
Min-gi Seo asked cautiously.
“If it’s not too much to ask, could you please answer? If you’re not feeling well, you should take the Antidote right away.”
“Min-gi Seo.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Does it usually take some time for the effect to appear?”
“No. According to the experimental results, the effect was immediate upon ingestion. Perhaps because we put so much effort into making it, even drinking just one bottle would lower your physical abilities and rank. A System warning window popped up too. I was terrified that the weakened ability would become permanent.”
The story was getting a little strange as it went on. Don’t tell me you’re the one who was experimented on. Eui-jae examined the empty bottle and asked again and again, as if to confirm.
“A System warning window pops up, you say.”
“Yes. Why do you ask?”
Eui-jae silently opened the lid of the third bottle. By now, Min-gi Seo had realized that something was going wrong. He tapped the steering wheel anxiously and asked.
“Um, perhaps. Just perhaaps. I shouldn’t ask, but just in case.”
“……”
“Is there… no effect at all?”
Gulp.
Even after drinking three bottles, there was no change in Eui-jae’s body. Min-gi Seo, who was watching him, now looked almost ready to cry. Why wasn’t it working? After thinking for a moment, Eui-jae suddenly looked up.
“Min-gi Seo.”
“Yes.”
“In the System, is the Weakening Elixir treated as Poison?”
“Ah, that’s right. Our Guild Master also drank it yesterday, but he’s immune to most Poisons, so the Weakening Elixir didn’t work on him either…”
Min-gi Seo’s eyes began to tremble violently as he answered. Eui-jae quietly closed the lid of the box. Basilisk’s Poison must be silently detoxifying the Weakening Elixir as soon as he drank it. Since it was only A-rank, it probably didn’t even deem it worthy of displaying a System window.
“Could it be that you’re immune to Poison, sir? I didn’t hear anything about that. On the contrary, they said you were very vulnerable to Poison and told me to be extra careful…”
Min-gi Seo muttered anxiously as he asked. By the end of his sentence, he was practically talking to himself.
“Hey.”
“Yes? Yes. Please, go ahead.”
“Is there any other way to lower my rank besides this?”
Min-gi Seo, who had been looking down and lost in thought, suddenly looked up.
“…How about going to the Hunter Market right now and buying up all the Weakening Curse items with the corporate card? I’ve always wanted to do something like that at least once in my life.”
“Denied.”
“…I figured you’d say that. The rumors would spread immediately, after all.”
Min-gi Seo muttered gloomily and let out a long sigh.
“I’m really sorry, but I didn’t anticipate this situation at all… Yes, for now, the bracelets are all we have.”
The atmosphere inside the van suddenly turned heavy. Min-gi Seo seemed to be greatly shocked by the failure of his plan, and he kept muttering with vacant eyes.
Eui-jae was also a little frustrated by the situation, but because the person next to him was being more depressed than necessary, he tried to start a small talk that he had learned while working at the Hanover Soup Restaurant.
“Are you Buddhist?”
“Yes, yes? I’m not religious.”
Then what’s that Buddhist rosary dangling from the rearview mirror? Eui-jae wanted to ask, but he just rubbed his nose at the strong scent of failure. However, Eui-jae’s honed eloquence was not about to crumble here.
“I saw this Buddhist rosary here.”
When Eui-jae tapped the Buddhist rosary with his fingertip, Min-gi Seo finally seemed to realize that he had hung it there. He let out a small exclamation and nodded.
“I bought it at a Bulguksa Temple souvenir shop for 20,000 won. For the sake of realism. Doesn’t it go really well with this vehicle?”
He likes realism. Is that something that should come out of the mouth of a guy wearing a suit and driving a van? Eui-jae’s eyes turned cold, but fortunately, the small talk seemed to have done its job. Min-gi Seo muttered with a slightly excited face, as if his spirits had been lifted a little.
“If I look Buddhist enough, then it’s done its job. It was worth buying and hanging it up.”
“Ah, yes.”
Eui-jae listened to Min-gi Seo’s rap-like speech with one ear and let it out the other as he opened the glove compartment on the passenger seat. Inside, there were things like a crude massager, a foot acupressure device, and a folding fan. When he took out a fan and unfolded it, a Buddha with his hands clasped together in a lotus flower gave Eui-jae a gentle smile. Eui-jae slammed the glove compartment shut.
‘Isn’t this crazy brat just getting ripped off?’
While his trust in Min-gi Seo plummeted, the van diligently drove and arrived near the registration center. Min-gi Seo parked the car in a paid parking lot where the center was visible.
The temporary registration center was a large container sitting alone in the parking lot of the district office. At the entrance of the container, there were life-size cutouts of Jung-bin with his thumb up and Lee Sa-young with his arms crossed wearing a Gas mask. There was also a banner hanging above the door.
‘We support your Awakened registration! ―Awakened Management Bureau’
It had an overwhelming visual that you could believe it was set up to discourage people from coming. Lee Sa-young’s cutout seemed to have been set up after the public service advertisement, as it was cleaner than Jung-bin’s. Min-gi Seo subtly averted his gaze, perhaps to avoid looking at his superior’s cutout.
“We’ve arrived, but sir, I don’t think the Weakening effect will be enough to get you a D-rank with just a pair of bracelets. How about making a strategic retreat and visiting again?”
“When?”
“…I have a business trip scheduled overseas, so it’ll be possible in three weeks.”
Does that make sense? Eui-jae glared at him with cold eyes, as he needed to register as soon as possible to create an alibi, and Min-gi Seo bowed his head.
“I’m sorry.”
“Any other way?”
“…Actually, getting it done today is the best option. This container is only operating until the main building construction is finished… Maybe when I get back from my business trip, it’ll already be…”
“If you’re going to rob an empty house, today’s the day?”
“Your choice of words is unusual. Yes, that’s right. And those bracelets too.”
Eui-jae touched his wrist. Min-gi Seo said bitterly.
“If you don’t get tested today, you’ll have to live like this until the next test. Because they’re actually disposable.”
Honestly, he didn’t really care about being under a Weakening Curse all the time. But Eui-jae read the hidden meaning behind Min-gi Seo’s words.
“You’re just telling me to go get tested, right now.”
“That’s right, actually.”
“You were just suggesting a strategic retreat a moment ago.”
“That was just me being polite.”
“……”
“You can do it, sir. I believe in you.”
Min-gi Seo cheered with his hands clasped together. Eui-jae was dumbfounded. What does this crazy brat believe in to be so positive? Min-gi Seo muttered again with a determined face.
“Don’t worry too much. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll use the last resort.”
‘Instead of thinking about using the last resort, just get me a D-rank.’
“Alright, alright, don’t feel pressured. I’ll buy coffee and wait, so do well and come back. Fighting!”
Would it be wrong to hit someone with a Buddhist rosary? Eui-jae glanced at the dangling Buddhist rosary and decided to just give up. Leaving Min-gi Seo behind, who was sending him support with his hands clenched tightly, he pulled up his hood and trudged towards the temporary center.