Chapter 14
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Translator: MJK
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: The Generous Healer (4)
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Mental Barrier Potion.
Among special potions, it was one that actually had some demand.
It was something I'd need in the future, and it was also a potion I had to get into Lee Hae-sol's hands as soon as possible.
I could say I'd made it thinking of its versatility, but to him, who had heard my dream story, it might seem suspicious—like there was some other reason behind the choice.
Hiding a strange tension, I smiled as softly as I could.
"I'm interested in mental stuff. Studying it would be good, but that takes time. Potions give immediate effects, so they feel more appealing."
If I said too much, it might seem even more suspicious.
Yoo Han-seong just listened quietly.
"Do you need any mental-type potions by any chance? Tell me, and I'll practice that type too! I probably can't get it to a high level, though..."
"...Ah."
A moment later.
His expression cleared of that odd suspicion, and he spoke cautiously.
"I do need a mental barrier type..."
"Huh? This is a Mental Barrier Potion!"
His conflicted face instantly went blank.
In truth, mental-type potions were a field where difficulty varied wildly depending on the effect.
Other types have difficulty based on rank, but mental types have difficulty based on both rank and effect.
Potions that boosted mental strength were relatively easy even at low ranks, but Mental Barrier Potions were hard to succeed even at low ranks.
"It worked."
"Yeah! I just happened to practice exactly what you needed."
When I spoke cheerfully, he flinched and stared straight at me.
"Still, I'll give this one to you, Teacher. Han-seong, I'll make a new one for you. How's that?"
"...Thanks. And I'll buy it. Don't just give it away."
He said firmly.
"Oh."
As expected of the protagonist.
I nodded slowly.
"Got it."
I was about to say I'd planned to sell it anyway, but he added,
"You should sell it to the others too."
"Hmm."
A small alarm went off in my head.
It felt a bit off for Yoo Han-seong to show this much interest in an F-class healer.
Acting like this just because he saw me once that time feels unnatural.
Leaving a good impression should have been enough.
His eyes urged an answer with a persistent gaze full of goodwill.
He probably thought his attitude was nonchalant.
Suppressing a chuckle, I replied,
"You're worried for me?"
"..."
Yoo Han-seong stubbornly kept his mouth shut, neither confirming nor denying.
His face just said he wanted to hear that I'd sell it.
Smiling, I continued,
"Thanks. Truth is, I was planning to sell them anyway. I was only going to give the Mental Barrier Potion to you for free."
"To me? ...Why?"
"You seemed to trust its effects without even trying it."
He blinked.
As if realization had dawned.
"The ones I'm handing out now—partly because there's some left over, but also because I don't think anyone would buy them later."
I had a bad feeling he'd been seeing me as some overly kind pushover for a while now.
Forcing the words out with a grin, Yoo Han-seong tilted his head.
"It's a potion. No way."
"I'm F-class?"
Yoo Han-seong paused.
"Wouldn't people see F-class-made potions through colored glasses?"
It was a valid point.
Yoo Han-seong knew it too, so he didn't deny it.
Instead of addressing that, he asked something else.
"...Did you hear the rumors too?"
"Rumors?"
Was he talking about the rumors the seniors were spreading?
The subway seniors who said they'd rumor that this F-class was utterly useless, as expected.
I asked with sparkling eyes, and the answer came.
"That you're too weak to enter dungeons."
Ah, not the seniors' rumors—just the general perception of F-class.
"I thought the rumors made you think that."
"Ahh."
I grinned and said,
"You could say that. But it's not a rumor—it's fact. If anything, that's why I think I need to work harder."
"Haa."
"To be as little of a hindrance as possible."
Yoo Han-seong's face twisted slightly as he spoke.
"Got it. So until when are you planning to just give them away like this?"
"About a week?"
"A whole week?"
"Yeah."
I said it like it was obvious.
"I think it'll take that long for people to start believing my potions are stable."
Yoo Han-seong's expression hardened just a bit.
"Lee Hae-sol was smiling after getting your potion earlier."
"It's normal for someone to be upset getting an F-class like me's potion, but he wasn't, so I was really grateful."
"...What I meant was, there aren't many people who'd question a finished potion just because of rank."
"Isn't Hae-sol the unusual one?"
I had to interpret the situation conservatively. When I answered with that in mind, Yoo Han-seong sighed like he'd given up.
"If that's how you see it. Then I recommend not giving mid-grade potions to just anyone if you succeed—save them."
Was this a trait of a long-lived regressor?
He couldn't rest until something was resolved.
But I shook my head immediately.
"No way. Mid-grade potions are way more useful than low-grade if you succeed. More people would need them. If I succeed, I want to sell them as cheap as possible or just give them away. ...I wanted to give one to you for free too."
Yoo Han-seong's hand twitched faintly.
He couldn't continue for a moment.
He just stared at me without a word.
His eyes held some emotion hard to describe.
The wind shook the window.
A small sound echoed in the quiet hallway.
"I'll gratefully accept the sentiment."
He said in a very low voice again.
"...At least sell them."
Hugging the box tight, I smiled softly.
"Okay, okay. I get you're worried."
But inwardly, I added,
This feels kinda unsettling. Please, don't plan to drag me anywhere, Mr. Regressor.
I know I won't be any help.
"Yeah."
Yoo Han-seong nodded a bit late.
I hugged the box tighter, avoiding his eyes.
"Then I'll head down."
I pointed toward the hallway.
"Time to give them to the kids."
At that, Yoo Han-seong paused for a brief moment.
Then he said lowly,
"Yeah. I'll help."
Really, why was our protagonist acting so strangely!
I remembered him being pretty depressed around this time.
But for image control, I hid the awkwardness and chuckled briefly.
"Thanks!"
"Gotta earn what I got."
He replied, lightly shaking the lowest-grade potion I'd given him.
Then he headed for the stairs.
This is more tense than I thought.
Dealing with the protagonist seemed harder than succeeding at a mid-grade potion.
If rumors spread that the F-class healer seemed competent, I'd get dragged off right away?
Not gonna happen.
I'd thought it was fine if potion-making got a little buzz, but now even that felt risky.
His gaze wasn't normal.
He might drag me into dungeons to grind until I awakened an S-class skill or something.
If you overdid efforts beyond limits, there was a rare chance of acquiring a related skill postnatally. The protagonist might overvalue my potions and grind me in dungeons to awaken one...
It's possible. Totally possible! He did similar things in the original.
It was to awaken non-natives to S-class, but what those others went through was hard to watch with eyes open...
I'd thought as an F-class, I was safe from that, but I'd caught his eye too early.
I hoped not, but it feels like I've made an impression.
I wanted to brush it off as imagination, but bad feelings were usually right.
At least he didn't deny that I'm a useless existence as the rumors say.
That was my sliver of hope.
As long as he didn't take me into dungeons.
As we descended a few stairs, Erich spoke.
[Pathetic. An S-class is paying that much attention, and you pretend not to notice.]
Huh? Did you just say S-class?
[The soul is S-class. He'll be S-class soon. What a weird guy.]
Oh ho.
The demon sword couldn't see the regression, but it could see his power.