Chapter 9
Part 8
“But... are those really all the materials?”
“Fewer than you expected?”
“Yes... A lot fewer.”
Mincheol stared blankly at the black bag.
It was not even a large twenty-liter bag.
It was a tiny five-liter bag at most.
And all the materials Yugeon had prepared were inside it.
“I know it's hard to believe, but don't worry. Your mother's treatment won't take long.”
“No. I trust you now, hyung.”
Mincheol smiled.
He had only stared at the bag because he was surprised by how few ingredients there were.
Not because he doubted Yugeon.
Yugeon had already given him more than enough reason to trust him.
“Is your mother sleeping?”
“She was awake until a little while ago, but she took a painkiller and fell asleep.”
Mana Poisoning had three stages.
Early stage.
Middle stage.
Late stage.
In the early stage, symptoms included chronic fatigue, headaches, numb hands and feet, mild fever, and loss of appetite.
In the middle stage came shaking hands, muscle spasms, breathing problems, and unexplained severe pain.
In the late stage, the organs became damaged one after another.
Eventually, the patient died from Mana Shock.
Cha Mincheol's mother was in the middle stage.
And even that was only because they had desperately slowed the progression.
Without narcotic painkillers, she could barely sleep.
“That's actually better. She can sleep peacefully and wake up healthy.”
“Please... take care of her, hyung.”
Yugeon smiled gently and patted Mincheol's shoulder.
Then they entered the bedroom together.
Rustle.
Tap.
“Huh?”
When Yugeon removed the items from the bag, Mincheol tilted his head.
He recognized them.
Not just him.
Almost every Awakener had seen these materials before.
“White Spirit Incense, Flowing Star Stone, and Crimson Blood Root?”
[Item: White Spirit Incense]
Grade: High
Type: Herb
A rare incense that releases faint white smoke when burned.
When an Awakener inhales the fragrance while meditating, unstable mana inside the body becomes calm and impure flows are corrected.
However, its effectiveness decreases as the user's level increases.
[Item: Flowing Star Stone]
Grade: High
Type: Mineral
A mineral that creates faint resonance in response to nearby mana.
It is used in magical tools to guide mana in specific directions.
When mana with a uniform property exists nearby, the stone draws that mana toward itself.
[Item: Crimson Blood Root]
Grade: High
Type: Herb
A thick medicinal root with a red color.
It grows in forests with dense mana.
It helps restore damaged organs and slowly strengthens a weakened body.
Mincheol stared at the items.
He had used some of them before.
They were also easy to purchase at stores.
“Are these the cure?”
“They're the treatment materials. I'm not going to make your mother drink some special medicine.”
Click.
Yugeon placed the White Spirit Incense in a bowl and lit it.
The windows were already closed.
The bedroom door was tightly shut.
Even the gaps around the door had been sealed.
Hssssss.
As the incense burned, a pleasant fragrance spread through the room.
“Do you know why Mana Poisoning hasn't been cured yet?”
Mincheol shook his head.
“Because everyone keeps trying to neutralize the mana inside the body.”
Mana itself was not poison.
Awakeners needed mana.
Their bodies absorbed it, circulated it, and used it.
Ordinary people were different.
They could not properly circulate mana that entered their bodies.
The mana spread through nerves and blood vessels.
Over time, it seeped deep into their organs.
Like dye sinking into wet cloth.
Trying to forcibly erase it would damage the surrounding tissue as well.
Of course, there are items that can cure Mana Poisoning instantly...
But Yugeon could not obtain them right now.
Even if he could, Mincheol's mother's condition was not severe enough to justify wasting such an item.
She could still be treated normally.
Don't neutralize the mana.
Separate it.
Then draw it outside the body.
Crackle.
“Huh?!”
About one minute after the White Spirit Incense started burning...
Blue lines resembling glowing blood vessels began appearing across Mincheol's mother's body.
Five more minutes passed.
The scattered blue lines gradually began gathering in one place.
Yugeon placed the Flowing Star Stone near the center of her chest.
Bzzzzzzzz.
The gathered mana began flowing into the stone.
“Gasp!”
Mincheol cried out without realizing it.
Then, frightened by his own voice, he quickly covered his mouth.
The mana...!
Bzzzzzz.
Whoosh!
Yugeon watched carefully.
A few minutes later, the last remaining trace of mana was absorbed.
He removed the Flowing Star Stone.
“Hyung...”
“The treatment is finished.”
“...”
Mincheol's legs gave out.
He collapsed to the floor.
He had been so tense that he could no longer keep himself standing.
“Your mother isn't an Awakener, so you need to brew the Crimson Blood Root before giving it to her. Use low heat, not a strong flame. Simmer it for about two hours, remove the root, and give her only the liquid.”
“...”
“Mincheol.”
“Yes, hyung... I'm listening.”
“Understood?”
“Yes. I'll remember it. I definitely will.”
Mincheol lowered his head.
Tears fell silently to the floor.
Every day, he had lived with the fear that his mother might die.
It felt as if a massive stone had always been sitting inside his chest.
But now that she was finally cured...
That heavy knot slowly melted away.
Creak.
Thud.
After finishing what he had come to do, Yugeon left Mincheol's home.
The future has changed.
Standing outside the building, Yugeon thought about Cha Mincheol.
His mother would no longer die.
And Mincheol would no longer become a member of Genocide.
He had become Yugeon's companion instead.
One by one...
I'll change everything.
Yugeon looked at the Flowing Star Stone in his hand.
Crack!
He crushed it.
He had used knowledge of the future to change the past.
Ding!
[You have changed the fate of a key figure from the future.]
[The Sanctuary is startled after observing Cha Mincheol.]
[The Outer Realm becomes angry after seeing Cha Mincheol's dormant trait.]
[The Sanctuary searches for ■■■, the original owner of the Heavenly Killing Star.]
[The Outer Realm curses ■■■, the original owner of the Heavenly Killing Star.]
[The Sanctuary and Outer Realm express concern regarding Cha Mincheol's dormant trait.]
Feat +1
Oh. My Feat increased.
His level had risen.
His stats had risen.
But Feat had remained at 2.
Until now, Yugeon had wondered how to increase it.
These messages gave him a clue.
It seems Feat rises when I greatly shake or change the flow of events.
Of course, he could not be certain yet.
He would need to observe it further.
Actually, Cha Mincheol was the first person to discover this treatment method.
Several decades in the future...
Even after his mother died, Cha Mincheol could never let go of his obsession with finding a cure.
Eventually, he discovered one.
He found a method of using White Spirit Incense to make the mana uniform.
Then he used a Flowing Star Stone to extract it.
Normally, simply placing a Flowing Star Stone nearby would not absorb mana.
There was one exception.
When the mana had become uniform.
In other words, the chaotic flow of mana had to be aligned into a single pattern.
Once the mana's flow became uniform, the Flowing Star Stone could absorb it.
Without that process, even one hundred Flowing Star Stones would fail to remove mana that had seeped into someone's body.
More importantly, the Sanctuary and Outer Realm's reactions...
Something felt strange.
They had been surprised by Mincheol's trait?
Heavenly Killing Star...
A being born with a destiny of slaughter.
Or a murderer sent by heaven.
But unlike what most people believed, the true meaning of Heavenly Killing Star was...
Not a calamity of slaughter sent by heaven.
It is a calamity capable of killing heaven itself.
Judging by the reactions of the Sanctuary and Outer Realm...
They had not known Cha Mincheol possessed that trait.
Could it be...?
The message saying they were concerned made Yugeon suspicious.
Before his regression, Cha Mincheol had been betrayed by Genocide and killed.
Did the Sanctuary and Outer Realm interfere?
If two groups filled with gods reacted this strongly...
It was not an unreasonable suspicion.
I'll watch for now.
Next, it was time to find the Legendary item he had promised Hwang Mungi.
His preparations for the future were moving forward one step at a time.
In front of the entrance leading into the Tower.
Yugeon and Mincheol stood side by side.
“How is your mother?”
“Haha. She woke up early this morning and started running around in front of the apartment building. She said her body feels so light she could fly.”
“You gave her the Crimson Blood Root brew?”
“Of course. Maybe because of that, she's recovering even faster.”
Mincheol looked at Yugeon.
Then he bowed deeply.
“Hyung, you are my benefactor.”
“It wasn't difficult. Besides, you were the one who taught me that treatment.”
“Excuse me? Me?”
Mincheol tilted his head.
He had not even known such a treatment existed.
Then he slammed a fist against his chest.
“From now on, I'll even give my life for you, hyung!”
Han Yugeon had given him salvation.
No matter what happened, Mincheol had decided to stay beside him.
He would help and support him until the end.
