I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 12

Clack. Hiss.

“Ah, this 2,000 won happiness isn’t bad at all.”

It was well past midnight.

I cracked open a 2,000 won can of beer from the convenience store and turned on the TV.

Skillfully, I flipped through the channels to find news related to Awakened Ones.

It was an old habit of mine, always keen on the happenings in the world of the Awakened.

‘I should call a company to dispose of everything in that studio apartment near Byeongjeom Station. Come to think of it, there’s nothing there I need to take.’

Usually, when people move, they have cherished items they want to bring from their old home.

But I had nothing.

Since the area was so unsafe, I had already stored things like family albums and my parents’ belongings in a safety deposit box.

I remember spending a lot of money to set up the box because it held the only traces of my parents left to me.

“Hello, I’m Kim Min-ah, host of ‘Awakened, Who Are We Today?’ How have you been?”

“The living proof of this program’s 30-year run is right here. She never missed a single broadcast.”

I chuckled at the sight of the familiar face.

She was the same announcer who hosted the same program back in 2052, achieving the milestone of 13,000 broadcasts.

She was ten years older than me, so she was sixty-six in the 2052 broadcast….

Seeing her so young now felt strange.

Perhaps because she was hosting a late-night program, her attire was more revealing and voluptuous.

“You’re probably aware of the recent buzz. It’s about the intermediate mana potion! Arisu Chemical has succeeded in developing it, and after clinical trials, it’s expected to be commercialized soon.

An intermediate mana potion that restores 25% of mana, regardless of individual capacity! The reaction from Awakened Ones is hotter than ever.

Shall we take a look at some of the posts on our STV viewer board?”

“Right. Back then, 32 years ago, mana potion development was only at that level.”

I reflected on my memories, feeling a sense of disconnect from the announcer’s words.

To cut to the chase, I can create top-tier mana potions – that is, 100% full recovery mana potions!

At this point in time, I’m probably the only one who can make top-tier mana potions.

Because 100% mana recovery potions are still an impossible feat for researchers in 2020.

‘I think I first made it in 2030, maybe?’

In my past life, the development point was also ten years from now.

That was when I could concentrate and change my saliva at will, creating high-purity mana potions.

“Let’s look at the viewers’ reactions. It’s quite interesting! Shall we take a look together?”

Following the announcer’s gesture, my gaze naturally turned to the viewer reactions on the screen.

-25% already? If I had the money, I’d buy it like crazy, seriously!

-Someday, a 100% recovery potion will come out, right? Then it’ll feel like buying a life!

-Ahem, explanation king is here. Why is mana recovery potion important? Because the mana recovery rate of Awakened Ones is slower than you think.

One of the three major causes of death for Awakened is mana deficiency! Mana management is this difficult!

-Waiting for the day when a 100% potion is developed. I’m willing to pay anything. Like the guy above said, it’s like buying a life. So who wouldn’t buy it?

“Mana recovery is really important. 100% would feel like getting a magazine fully loaded with bullets [a full magazine of bullets].”

As an Awakened One myself, I deeply sympathized with the importance of mana.

Each Awakened One has a mechanism called natural mana recovery, but the rate isn’t that fast.

Usually, it takes about 50 minutes for an A-rank Awakened One to fully recover their mana.

The problem is when mana depletion occurs during intense battles.

At this time, waiting for natural recovery takes too long, and the situation is urgent, but there’s nothing you can do.

This is why mana potions are needed.

This is why Awakened Ones are so enthusiastic about the emergence of intermediate mana potions that restore 25%.

Moreover, potions have a unique feature.

There is short-term resistance, so after drinking one bottle, no potion will work for 10 minutes.

Therefore, the trick of drinking multiple lower-level potions to fill up a large amount of mana never worked.

“If the reaction is that big for 25%, then 100% would be beyond words, right?”

I jumped up from my seat.

F-rank Awakened Ones have a small total amount of mana, so their thirst for full recovery isn’t that great.

But for upper and top-tier Awakened Ones with large amounts of mana like a deep and wide ocean, the importance of percentage (%) recovery becomes very significant.

If the efficiency is good, they are people who would spend hundreds of millions of won [Korean currency; approximately hundreds of thousands of US dollars] like pocket change.

If I could make a top-tier mana potion that allows 100% mana recovery?

They would gladly pay at least 1 billion won [approximately one million US dollars] or more! I would think so even if I were them.

“Shall I try making one as a test?”

I turned off the TV I was watching and headed to the kitchen.

On the table, there was a 500ml bottle of water that I had taken out to drink.

“Hoo.”

After taking a short deep breath.

I began to gather the mana in my body to one place.

The target point was the salivary glands.

It was to create ‘mana saliva’ by concentrating and changing mana to a high density.

Of course, the repertoire for making potions isn’t limited to saliva.

It is also possible with blood, and other forms of bodily fluids or by-products can be used.

‘Since there are ways to apply it appropriately, let’s not think about unnecessary methods.’

I decided to simply think of the better methods.

No matter how much efficiency is pursued, products that are visually repulsive are dangerous.

But a small amount of saliva should be fine.

Blood would also be fine if the unique fishy taste could be removed.

“Keuk.”

A heavy and tingling pain was felt throughout the salivary glands.

Perhaps because it was a structure that concentrates a large amount of mana in a very small area, it was somewhat strenuous.

So the maximum production of mana potions was one bottle per day. Other forms of potions do not cause great strain, so more relaxed production was possible. In other words, mana potion production is tricky.

Anyway, you can’t greedily make more than one mana potion a day, but if you do it wrong, there is a possibility that the salivary glands will be deformed.

In my past life, I greedily made two mana potions a day and had problems with my salivary glands, drooling all day long. I have to prevent such misfortunes.

I can feel the mana concentrating in the salivary glands all at once.

‘Anyway, even if I use up all my mana, I can quickly recover using the mana lungs.’

The efficiency of the lungs, which can recover mana just by breathing, is beyond imagination.

Unlike other Awakened Ones who can recover up to 5% per minute even if they have learned extreme mana training methods.

I can recover up to 15% per minute.

Also, it’s automatic 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, just by breathing without paying any attention. There is no need to worry about the process.

However, mana training methods require concentrating and diligently training for more than 6 hours every day.

My overwhelming victory in all fields, regardless of efficiency, time, and cost.

It’s my talent, though.

Really, the modification of the body and organs can be said to be the talent of the devil.

‘Moreover, the mana lungs have the effect of gradually increasing the total amount of mana held, albeit in small amounts, through breathing.’

In other words, the basis for rank increase is created in itself. It’s a special internal organ that is completely different from others.

‘The strength of my body is that it doesn’t wear out the more I use it, but rather its efficiency improves.’

I smiled with satisfaction and finally dropped a drop of saliva that had undergone final condensation into the water bottle.

A very small amount of saliva that looks like two or three drops from a dropper at first glance.

The essence of mana recovery is contained here.

Shaaaa!

Soon, the mana saliva that naturally dissolved into the water bottle turned slightly blue and then mixed and disappeared.

The top-tier mana potion that restores the entire amount of mana is complete!

“One bottle a day. Thirty bottles a month. Even if I charge a minimum of 1 billion won [approximately one million US dollars] per bottle, I can easily make 30 billion won [approximately thirty million US dollars], right?”

A plausible calculation was made.

The maximum mana recovery potion that currently exists in the Awakened world is the high-grade recovery potion. It instantly restores 50% of mana.

Of course, this is not manufactured.

It can only be obtained from the bodily fluids of the SS-rank monster, ‘Blue Long-Nosed Lizard,’ which can be encountered with a slim chance in dungeons.

It is rarely distributed on the market because it is usually processed and drunk rather than sold.

“Shall I try drinking it once?”

As it happened, the mana in my body was almost depleted because I had used all my mana to make the potion.

Gulp- Gulp-.

I quickly drank 500ml of water in one go. This is the correct amount.

If you drink less than 500ml of the potion, mana recovery will not occur at all, and if you drink more than that, the recovery efficiency will decrease.

“Keuh!”

After finishing the dose.

I waited for the empty mana storage to be filled.

As expected, I felt a tickling sensation around my abdomen.

Soon, I felt something expanding, and a warm energy enveloped my entire stomach in an instant.

The next moment.

“Oh!”

Immediate recovery occurred.

Just like a potion that instantly fills the mana bar in a game, I felt the mana in my body filling up without any exaggeration!

‘To think that I would not only reach D-rank in two days since my regression, but also become a walking potion-making factory.’

I was very proud!

Even if I only consistently produce it once a day, it’s like rotating a machine that earns 1 billion won [approximately one million US dollars] every day.

There is no need to risk my life, and there is no need for expensive facilities and processes.

All I need is a bottle of water to become a potion and my body.

If the changes in the history I remember don’t happen, I will be the only one who can make top-tier mana potions for at least 10 years.

Awakened Ones with low ranks obviously don’t have the ability to buy it, but after all, business isn’t always about selling a lot for a small profit.

So I was thinking of selling potions to customers called ‘VIPs’ who are A-rank or higher.

Because the world they live in is where they have hundreds of billions of won [hundreds of millions of US dollars] in their accounts like child’s play.

“Good. Very good.”

The satisfied smile lingered on my lips for a long time.

Isn’t this what a regressor’s wise life is like?

A spectacular life that can’t even be compared to the few years of my past life that I lived like hell with trial and error, mistakes, and all kinds of contempt and neglect!

Right then.

Drrr.

A text message arrived with a vibration.

[Hello, Kang Shin-hwa. This is Yoon-byeol from KSA [Korean Special Ability association]. I would like to meet you and have a conversation. Would that be okay?]

“Oppa is busy.”

I smiled and put my smartphone in my pocket with an indifferent expression.

Now, even this kind of attention will no longer be a special thing.

Because rumors spread like winged horses in an instant.

I lightly ignored Yoon-byeol’s first contact and headed to the balcony.

The full moon floating high in the sky was shining brightly.

It was as if I was seeing my bright future, which would be on a smooth path from now on.