I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 51

Chapter 51

“This doesn’t feel good.”

As I cut up the baby Madillo’s corpse, my expression grew increasingly grim.

Thanks to being stored in the subspace, the corpse hadn’t decayed or developed a strong odor.

However, since I hadn’t prepared any cutting tools, I was using my right arm, modified for the purpose.

Consequently, every time I severed a part of the baby Madillo’s body, I felt its unique, squishy texture.

I was used to the stench and bloody scenes from my past life, but the sensation through my arm always made me feel unpleasant.

Slurp.

After cutting away the unnecessary parts, I collected the fluids from the Madillo’s corpse into a special container.

Body fluids.

From now on, I would produce Stimulus, an enhancement potion, which requires three ingredients.

First, the body fluids of a baby Madillo.

Second, bone powder from a skeleton-type monster.

Third, the poisonous herb Katra.

I had plenty of the second ingredient from wiping out the Skeleton Archer Legion before.

I also secured the first ingredient through the raid with the Yanghwa Guild executives.

Judging by the number of baby Madillo corpses I obtained, I could probably make about 100 to 110 packs.

The poisonous herb Katra had little commercial value, so its price was very low, making it harder to find.

However, I found quite a lot of Katra being sold at the open market on my way home.

So I bought it all.

It wasn’t expensive, and I could store it in my subspace without worrying about it spoiling.

“It’s still February 2nd. The ABE Research Center is probably still failing to find the right formula.”

A satisfied smile crept across my face as I recalled the past.

In December 2021, the ABE Research Center announced the development of an enhancement potion called Stimulus.

It was a drug that temporarily enhanced combat power by 1.5 to 2.5 times without any side effects.

The mechanism of action was simple.

It maximized the speed of mana circulation, like a blood flow enhancer, and greatly provided psychological stability.

In other words, it stabilized the mind while simultaneously awakening the body.

It was truly the emergence of a revolutionary new product.

Because of this, the ABE Research Center quickly became the pride of Japan, receiving full support from the government and entering mass production.

Until 2035, when the formula was leaked due to an internal technology leak, they enjoyed a near-monopoly on sales.

Several enhancement potions were developed under the title of rivals, but they were not enough to beat Stimulus.

“I didn’t like the name of the research center from the start. Anyway, if I take the lead now, the ABE Research Center will have to scrap their development plans. Is this a two-birds-one-stone effect?”

I didn’t have extreme anti-Japanese sentiments, but I felt good about giving Japan a blow.

Squeak. Squeak.

I continued to extract the fluids.

The baby Madillo’s corpse, now devoid of fluids, was stored back in the subspace.

It had no commercial value without the fluids, so I planned to discard it in a dungeon later.

Once the dungeon raid was completed and reset, the corpses and traces inside would all disappear.

Since it was a solo operation, I had to keep moving non-stop.

The skeleton bones had been ground into powder early on, but the poisonous herb Katra was still as I had bought it.

I used my right hand, appropriately transformed into a mortar shape, to diligently crush the Katra.

These three ingredients have no connection whatsoever. There isn’t even a tiny, similar characteristic in common.

That’s why when the ABE Research Center developed the enhancement potion, even though numerous Awakeners tried to uncover the secrets related to the combination, they ultimately failed.

Even if they analyzed the ingredients, the poisonous herbs, bone powder, and body fluids could be obtained from other monsters, making it difficult to ‘specify’ them.

To put it simply, it was like taking a breath of air from somewhere and trying to guess where the air came from.

So, many similar products appeared, but none had the same effect as Stimulus.

Even if they did have an effect, the side effects were so severe that they were not approved for sale or were classified as narcotics due to their addictive properties.

“Moreover, if the combination is wrong, it becomes not an enhancement potion but an instant-death potion that sends you straight to the afterlife.”

This was the problem.

According to later disclosed internal information, more than 100 researchers at the center lost their lives during development.

To verify the effects of the potion, clinical trials were inevitable, and the researchers became the subjects.

Instant death and enhancement were only a hair’s breadth apart.

It took the ABE Research Center more than eight years to bridge this minute difference in mixing ratios for potion development.

I plan to shorten that time now. Isn’t this the true value of exclusive knowledge?

Thirty minutes later.

The preparations were roughly finished.

The most time-consuming task, extracting the body fluids, was also completed with the last corpse.

First, I precisely measured the weight of the body fluids, bone powder, and Katra.

Then, I put the body fluids in a large pot and poured in the remaining two ingredients according to the mixing ratio.

Now, all that was left was to keep boiling it and skimming off the impurities that floated to the top.

If these impurities were not removed, the duration and quality of the potion would be greatly reduced.

“It feels like I’m doing ascetic practice.”

For at least 30 minutes, I needed to keep watching the state inside the pot and stirring the body fluids to prevent them from solidifying.

It was a simple, repetitive task, so it wasn’t difficult at all.

However, just watching the whirlpool of the constantly stirring ladle made me feel dizzy as the world spun around.

“Should I delve into it a bit more while I’m at it?”

Following Gorim Chemical stocks and the Jije Station investment, I thought about the next element to pay attention to.

Immediately, a company name popped out of my memory.

‘Lycon.’

March 20, 2020.

A major issue arises for Lycon, a security system development company.

They succeeded in developing a program that analyzes dimensional energy changes inside and outside dungeons, verifying internal stability with a 95% probability.

Thanks to this, the probability of unforeseen incidents such as sudden outbreaks was greatly reduced.

Awakener associations from around the world rushed to place mass orders.

“Should I make a killing here? I just need to get in and out before the CEO scandal and accounting fraud break out, which would be a double whammy.”

Assuming I buy before that, the expected return is about four times. Not insignificant at all.

“That’s right, and 2020 had more incidents than I thought… It’s a strangely significant time to have regressed to.”

I revisited meaningful incidents and accidents from countless fragments of memory.

The large-scale all-out war between the American and European Awakener Associations.

The parasite incident that occurred in lower-grade mana potions mass-produced and sold worldwide from China.

The large-scale civil war between the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd ranked guilds in South Korea.

And the massive outbreak that occurred throughout Russia, the so-called Russian Cataclysm.

There were many incidents that could not be overlooked.

This is because these four incidents caused many talented Awakeners to die like flies.

“Nicholas told me. Because of these incidents in 2020, too many talented people died, which greatly delayed preparations for the Great Disaster.”

Nicholas’s words came to mind.

He was always rambling about the disappointing aspects of the regression, so I remember all his words.

“It would be better for me to take care of things in advance that need to be taken care of. That way, even if Nicholas regresses later, preparations will be much easier. If I take care of some things in advance, he won’t bother me.”

Somehow, that seemed like a plausible idea.

It’s not about volunteering for trouble, but about doing some groundwork in advance.

If I save many of the talents that Nicholas would use?

The possibility of being pushed into playing the hero, with him preaching about my necessity as Nine Lord or whatever, will decrease.

It’s because I still remember the words of the guy who hurt my feelings.

‘Kang Shin-hwa, you weren’t really an essential member of the Nine Lords that I had in mind.’

‘Originally, there were many talents to pick up in 2020. But too many died in 2020.’

‘And I happened to regress after that, right? Man, consider yourself lucky. You were recruited because everyone in front of you died, so you were about 35th in line.’

“Damn bastard.”

Strangely, those words remained vividly in my memory for life.

So, in the position of selecting nine heroes, including himself, I was 35th.

If the first nine had all been alive, I would never have been chosen, but he chose me out of necessity because they died… That was the gist of the story.

“Let’s at least acknowledge it for sure. The decision on whether to intervene or not will be made after a more thorough review.”

I absolutely hate troublesome things.

However, to avoid unnecessary attention from Nicholas even after early retirement, some arrangement seems essential.

If I save the people ahead of me, he might not even come looking for me at all. Because there’s no particular need.

“As expected, time flies when you’re thinking.”

As I was thinking about this and that, quite a bit of time had passed.

I immediately used the ladle to skim off the impurities and checked the state of the well-stirred liquid.

“Just right.”

I had made it so many times in my past life that the finished state was perfect.

However, I couldn’t use it right away.

I had to wait for about 2 hours for it to cool naturally, until only the clear liquid floated to the top.

Only after skimming off the clear water would it become an enhancement potion.

Until then, it was just a mixture that had no effect no matter how much you ate.

“Then let’s go quickly.”

I got up from my seat.

2 hours was enough time to visit Old Man Hwang and order the production of the enhancement suit.

It was almost 10 PM, but there was no problem since it was a place that operated at night.

And a little later.

Whoosh!

Coming out of the basement of the warehouse, I leaped with all my might, jumping to the top of the building in front of me.

It was Kang Shin-hwa’s style of high-speed movement, lightly ignoring the traffic congestion on the road.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Each time a figure stopped and marked a point, they easily leaped over one building at a time, gradually disappearing into the distance.

* * *

At the same time.

Hwang Seok-cheol was meeting a woman sent by his Japanese acquaintance who had called him about Shin-hwa before.

She and Hwang Seok-cheol were old acquaintances, not relatives, but they were as close as a grandfather and granddaughter.

“Marina, it’s been a while.”

“Grandpa Hwang, have you been well? I’m so glad you look healthy.”

“Oh, your pronunciation has improved! Your Korean has gotten better in the meantime?”

“If you talk like I was originally bad at it, I’ll be sad! Now it’s good enough to be used as a common language.”

“Contacting Kintetsu wasn’t to ask him to send you, what brings you here?”

“It’s as you know. I came to meet Kang Shin-hwa in person.”

In a place without Shin-hwa.

The two were having a lively conversation, using Shin-hwa as the topic.