# Chapter 25
Despite expressing his grievances internally and adamantly refusing, insisting he could go to the guild alone, Haegang started the engine without a word, giving Dohyun that characteristically cold look. Left with no choice, Dohyun carefully settled into the burdensome car once again.
Even after arriving at the guild, Haegang followed behind Dohyun as if he couldn’t be trusted to enter alone.
“Yesterday, thanks to you, I wasn’t… in danger.”
I should at least express my gratitude. When Dohyun cautiously said, “Thank you,” Haegang glanced at him briefly before turning his head away as if Dohyun had said something ridiculous.
“Esper Baek Dohyun is an Esper after all, so there wouldn’t have been a major threat to your life even if you had remained as you were. And it’s a Guide’s duty to assess an Esper’s condition and provide Guiding for recovery, so there’s no need to thank me specifically.”
Though the response was cold, suggesting Dohyun shouldn’t worry since it was just part of his job, Dohyun strangely found it warm. At the same time, he forcefully pushed away the memory of yesterday’s body temperature. Even if it hadn’t been for Haegang, his mind was already complicated just thinking about that mysterious liquid.
He recalled what the guild employee had told him in the morning. When they mentioned that the composition was unusual, Dohyun had seriously wondered if it wasn’t just water but actual blood, and if his ability involved using blood. But he soon relaxed when told it wasn’t blood. The call had ended abruptly with them saying they would explain in detail when he visited, so he should come as soon as possible.
Dohyun entered the guild, hoping that whatever it was, it was related to his ability.
“Meow!”
“Wah!”
“No! Nabi!”
“Aah! Catch the cat!”
“G-got it!”
Dohyun’s eyes widened in surprise at the commotion when he opened the laboratory door. Haegang, following behind, looked toward the source of the disturbance with a similar expression. Several researchers were holding beakers filled with red liquid, staring at the table, while in the middle, a cat was struggling in a researcher’s grasp. Then, one person who spotted Dohyun shouted:
“Esper Baek Dohyun! What on earth did you create?!”
Dohyun’s eyes darted around at the incomprehensible words. He tensed, thinking they were angry, but that wasn’t the case at all. The excited researchers’ faces, including the one who had called him, were filled with joy. It was like a sort of pleasant shock.
“Why? What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with my body?”
“No. There were no abnormal components in your body. In terms of composition, it was truly just ‘water.'”
“Water? Red?”
“Yes. But it’s water containing energy. Your energy, Esper Baek Dohyun.”
Was that abnormal or normal? He didn’t understand. The researcher, seemingly uninterested in Dohyun’s confused reaction, was practically panting with excitement.
“I was wondering how to explain it, but there’s really no other way to describe it.”
“What…?”
“A Potion.”
Potion? Dohyun asked again, as if confirming that the word he understood—reminiscent of RPG games his friends had urged him to play—was correct. The researcher nodded and pointed to the captive cat.
“That cat was sick until this morning.”
“…Pardon?”
“We found it in front of the guild building the day before yesterday, limping and covered in wounds from somewhere. So we took it in and were caring for it, giving it some food. Then one of the researchers accidentally spilled that liquid, and when the cat drank it, it changed like this!”
Far from limping or being wounded, the cat looked extremely healthy. Dohyun wondered if he was understanding the researcher’s words correctly.
“Is that… even possible?”
“Yes, it’s possible.”
Seeing Dohyun still looking dazed, the researcher looked around and picked up a pen from the table.
“Here, watch carefully.”
“No, wait a moment.”
“It’s fine. We’ve already tested it.”
Tested what? Deliberately wounding themselves? The researcher drew a long line across the back of their hand with the pointed pen tip. As blood burst forth with a cry of pain, Dohyun grimaced and turned away.
“And when I pour this on…”
“…Esper Baek Dohyun, don’t turn away.”
“How can I look at that…!”
“Look quickly!”
Haegang, who had been silently observing, urged Dohyun. Despite stubbornly keeping his gaze averted, Dohyun’s face was captured by Haegang’s large hand and delivered right toward the researcher. Unwillingly witnessing the researcher’s bloody hand, Dohyun tightly closed his eyes, but…
“…Huh?”
“Makes sense, right? Doesn’t it?”
Dohyun blinked at the unexpected situation glimpsed through his blurry vision. The skin where blood had been flowing was not only intact but even smooth. He looked back and forth between Haegang and the researcher in confusion, but Haegang’s expression was also serious. In contrast, the researcher smiled and concluded:
“Esper Baek Dohyun. Congratulations on becoming the world’s only ‘Potion Maker.'”
A chill ran down Dohyun’s spine as he stared with bewildered eyes at the researcher’s hand—no, where the wound had definitely been.
❖ ❖ ❖
Among non-combat Espers, weapon crafting Espers create weapons imbued with their abilities. Typical examples include guns that use condensed energy bullets, swords that can forcibly open and enter closed gates, and bombs with flame or freezing capabilities.
Such special weapons become survival tools that can save lives in critical moments. As a result, items made by crafting Espers generally commanded whatever price they asked. Moreover, since they weren’t produced in large quantities, people wanting to purchase them were abundant.
Korea had only one C-class crafting Esper. Despite being C-class, the weapons he made were so popular that all combat Espers in the country had made reservations and were desperately waiting for their turn.
And the researcher was saying that Dohyun was exactly that kind of “crafting Esper.” Having never thought he would be that type of Esper, Dohyun asked in disbelief:
“Potion Maker…?”
Crafting Espers weren’t the only type of non-combat Espers. There were also Espers who could accelerate plant growth or regulate surrounding temperatures, and even minor ones who could maintain their self-made food at desired temperatures.
Hearing stories about those who ran flower shops or restaurants, Dohyun had believed he too could lead a normal life like those precedents. However, according to the researcher’s explanation, his ability was far from ordinary. If they had told him he had the ability to breathe fire, he wouldn’t have been this perplexed.
“Yes. Applying it topically seems effective too, but drinking it appears to have more definite effects.”
Dohyun, who had been standing with his mouth agape, collected himself and asked for details about the substance he supposedly created. The still-excited researcher then explained, somewhat haltingly, what had happened during the morning.
At first, they too couldn’t determine what power this substance possessed. Worried it might be poisonous, they sprayed it on a pot with weeds, but the plants grew normally.
“Come on, I told you it couldn’t be poison.”
“True… Guide Choi Haegang said he pulled Esper Baek Dohyun directly out of the water.”
They couldn’t experiment on animals recklessly either. Even after analysis revealed it was no different from ordinary water, how could they freely use water that had changed color? They couldn’t just drink it carelessly either.
While they were deliberating, a cat that had been sleeping in one corner of the energy lab woke up, perhaps feeling thirsty. The researchers, focused on the Esper energy detected in the liquid, didn’t notice. Then, one person spilled a little water on the floor, and before they could react, the cat licked it up.
“And then it became healthy like that…?”
“Yes. Even the large wound on its leg healed cleanly.”
“At first I thought I was seeing things, but it wasn’t wrong. Just to be sure, I applied some to a cut on my finger, and like this, it completely healed.”
The researcher waved their hand to show. Looking at the hand without even a small scratch, Dohyun gradually came to terms with reality.
“Esper Baek Dohyun, you’re going to be incredibly busy now, aren’t you?”
Dohyun wasn’t sure if being busy was a good thing for him. The researchers, on the other hand, looked pleased.
“We need to experiment to see the extent of injuries it can heal.”
“No matter what, it would be difficult for diseases, right?”
“Could it treat amputation wounds too?”
“That’s something only an A-class healing Esper could do. We can’t expect that level.”
“Since Esper Baek Dohyun is S-class, what if the potion has abilities equivalent to an S-class healing Esper?”
Dohyun stared blankly at the people chattering about various experiments they wanted to try. Then, a thought suddenly crossed his mind, causing his face to drain of color. Haegang, who had been watching the researchers’ behavior, turned with a puzzled expression.
“What’s wrong?”
“Um, then, do I… have to make… that?”
“Of course you do. Esper Baek Dohyun, you are now the world’s only Potion Maker. The guild will help with the announcement…”
“Isn’t that a bit…?”
Why? Everyone looked at Dohyun with expressions of incomprehension. Healing was considered a premium ability among Esper powers, and even low-grade Espers who could stop bleeding were highly sought after by guilds. What if that ability could be materialized and kept in stock? It could completely change the paradigm of gate conquests.
Nevertheless, Dohyun shook his head, his face even paler than when he had collapsed.
“You said it has to be… drunk, right?”
“Yes, applying it works too, but drinking it is more…”
“How can…”
Dohyun’s urgent voice filled the laboratory.
“How can I make people drink my bathwater!”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
