# Chapter 48
Dohyun expected to recover quickly, so he didn’t have his leg put in a cast. Although even with an Esper’s recovery ability, it would have been better to keep it immobilized until it healed, Chan had contacted the hospital saying that a healing Esper would soon be heading there. Of course, Chan had Dohyun’s potion in mind when he said this, and Haegang, who understood this, brought the potion.
But it didn’t heal.
“…Why isn’t this healing?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
Just as healing immediately treats external wounds, Dohyun’s potion should have quickly restored his body. But Dohyun’s leg was still swollen. Neither Dohyun nor Haegang could understand what they were seeing.
Surely the cat that drank the potion had recovered enough to run around right away, and they had seen the researcher’s wound heal completely before their eyes. In subsequent experiments, animals in poor health had shown rapid recovery. That’s why they hadn’t doubted the potion’s effectiveness, but…
“This is bad. I brought this to the gate. What if injured people drank the potion and didn’t recover…”
“I don’t think that would happen… They wouldn’t have taken it into the gate without testing it first, would they?”
That’s true—would they have taken it into the gate without checking? And even if such a situation arose, it would be fine since there were healing Espers.
Haegang looked back and forth between Dohyun and the potion before reaching out.
“Perhaps…”
He poured the potion directly onto Dohyun’s leg.
“What… are you doing?”
Dohyun blinked. Haegang, looking at Dohyun’s leg, put a finger to his lips with a “shh.” Shortly after, a faint light emanated from the swollen area.
“Huh…?”
“Last time, there was a faint light when the wound healed.”
“Last time…?”
He was about to ask what that meant, but there was a fleeting memory. The day he became able to use his ability properly. He had collapsed from suddenly using too much energy, but Dohyun clearly remembered getting burned that day. When he regained consciousness, his wounds had already healed, so he hadn’t paid much attention. So that’s when the potion had been used.
As the light faded, the swelling visibly subsided. Dohyun waved his leg around.
“Huh…”
“Can you move it properly? Does it hurt?”
“No.”
Moving his ankle and shaking his leg, Dohyun got off the bed and put his foot on the ground. The pain that had been so intense he should have been limping had stopped.
He lifted his leg up and down, and when he jumped slightly, there was a faint ache, but it soon disappeared.
It was clear that it wasn’t just because he was an Esper that he healed quickly. Espers generally recover to some extent within a day or two, or at most a week, no matter where they’re injured. But Dohyun felt like he could run right now.
Since it was his first time directly experiencing and seeing the effects of the potion, Dohyun looked at his leg with an amazed expression.
“How did you know?”
“I remembered spraying it on Esper Baek Dohyun’s arm last time.”
The Association had concluded that ‘drinking it seems more effective than applying it.’ So Dohyun had naturally chosen to drink it.
“Why… didn’t you give it to me to drink that day?”
“Isn’t that obvious? How could I make an unconscious person drink? Even if you’re an Esper and would be better off than an ordinary person, I knew that if liquid went down your windpipe when you were in a bad state, it would be trouble.”
It was an extremely ordinary reason, but fortunately it had helped him recover.
Now that his leg was fine, the question was why it hadn’t healed properly despite drinking the potion. Dohyun and Haegang, holding the empty potion bottle, were lost in thought for a long time. It was a puzzling situation. Other people and living beings had good results when they drank it, but it showed no effect at all for Dohyun. After pondering for a moment, Dohyun raised his hand as if in a trance.
“What is it?”
“Guide Choi Haegang. Do you happen to… have any wounds?”
“…Wounds? I do have some.”
Haegang thought for a moment and rolled up his sleeve. It was an ordinary bruise that occasionally occurs while weight training. As soon as Dohyun heard Haegang’s answer, he grabbed his hand.
“What are you doing?”
“Just a moment.”
Dohyun moved the energy inside him. Like when making a potion. Then Haegang’s arm was enveloped in light.
What on earth is happening? Haegang, who was confused, quickly rolled up his sleeve. The wound was healing instantaneously.
“…It seems that when I drink it, I can use the healing ability. Just like I used Esper Ye Handam’s ability.”
Dohyun looked at his hand with confused eyes.
❖ ❖ ❖
Chan, who had visited the hospital room briefly, stared blankly at his already-recovered friend, then abandoned Dohyun in the unnecessarily spacious and unnecessarily nice VIP hospital room, saying discharge would be possible the next day.
“Take this opportunity to rest.”
Haegang shook his head even when Dohyun asked if he couldn’t just be discharged. After Haegang, who had clearly seen Dohyun’s wounds heal, answered like that, Dohyun gave up and lay back down on the bed.
Recalling when he had received healing at the guild, he was able to use the healing ability as if moving his own body. That means…
“We should test this on other people too, I think.”
“That’s true… but the issue is whether it works on ordinary people too.”
“We can find that out by using it, can’t we?”
“On whom?”
“On me.”
“But that’s dangerous.”
“What does it matter when we have healing potions?”
At Haegang’s matter-of-fact tone, Dohyun wavered, thinking, is that so? After a long brainstorming session, they reached their conclusions.
One: Drinking or applying healing potion results in healing. This effect applies to ordinary people as well.
Two: When Dohyun drinks the potion, he can use the ability contained in the potion. Conversely, others can see the effects of the potion, but cannot directly use the ability.
Three: For Dohyun to see the effects of the potion, he must apply the potion directly to the wound.
“It’s always difficult to cast any ability on oneself. Except for tank-type Espers who strengthen their own bodies, most are similar. A healing Esper needs to use more energy to heal their own wounds than they would for others, and a telekinetic Esper needs to use several times the force to lift their own body compared to lifting objects or other people. That’s why, except for high-grade Espers, people don’t often think about lifting their own bodies. Conversely, physical enhancement-type Espers cannot enhance others. They can block knives and bullets with their bodies, but they can’t make others do the same. If one effect is strong, the opposite effect tends to be weaker.”
Thanks to Haegang, who had been preparing to join the Association, various knowledge was instantly imprinted in Dohyun’s mind.
In Dohyun’s case, the effects were applied differently when drinking the potion versus using it on his own body.
First, when throwing a potion containing explosive ability, others can escape crises through one-time explosions, similar to using weapons like grenades.
“Well, this would be the same when other people use it too. Basically, they would participate in gate conquests by throwing explosive potions to help with the conquest or drinking healing potions. They could also give it to Guides to temporarily protect their bodies.”
Conversely, if Dohyun drank the potion, he could directly help with conquests, like during the previous gate incident. Unlike when others drink potions, he could ‘use’ the abilities.
The answer that emerges is that he could just make a lot of potions for others, but it was difficult because both the amount of energy that could be contained in water and the amount of water that could be carried were limited. After all, one couldn’t carry around several tons of water. Therefore, it was more beneficial for Dohyun to directly use abilities when needed.
“In the previous experiment, the water Esper’s ability couldn’t be applied, right?”
“…Yes. Since it was created with energy, I couldn’t interfere with it.”
Potions could be made with ordinary tap water and filtered water, but not with water created by Espers. The guild had wanted Dohyun to go to gates with a water Esper, but after confirming the experimental results, they had completely canceled the plan.
Dohyun nodded as he listened, and Haegang continued his explanation until they finally reached one conclusion.
“…We should check if there’s a schedule to enter a low-grade gate. We need to see if you can use abilities meaningfully.”
It was the most certain method. If they experimented outside and the ability was activated incorrectly, it would naturally become dangerous. A low-grade gate would be assigned even if a bit late, as long as they applied.
Sa Gongchan would be adamantly opposed. The reason, of course, was the risk. Even though Dohyun could function like a combat Esper due to the effects of the potion, his stamina and physical durability were far inferior compared to an F-grade combat Esper. What was needed to compensate for that was…
“…I’m sorry, but may I use that device?”
“Device…? This one?”
Haegang lifted the barrier device he had received from Dohyun. It was an expensive amount, but not so expensive that he couldn’t buy it again. Since it was an amount he could receive from Dohyun if necessary, Haegang willingly activated the device. Dohyun, who was close to Haegang, felt the energy wave when the ability was activated from the device. And thinking about the energy wave, he made one more potion as if infusing it into water.
“Why is it black?”
“Well, that… It’s not what I intended, but…”
Dohyun swallowed the black potion, which resembled the color of the suit Haegang was wearing. There was no change, but when he stretched out his hand and moved the energy, a barrier was created around him. And he could regenerate it multiple times. Dohyun created and dissolved barriers freely, like a shield Esper, several times.
“Wow.”
“This is just…”
You’ll become the world’s strongest Esper.
Haegang muttered in disbelief.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
