Blooming Fire Poison

The name of the poison candy was Blooming Fire Poison.

It was, at its core, a poison that inflicted burns — but factor in the resistance it granted, and Oh Taesu judged it to be a product of considerable commercial value. Which, in turn, made the man who had created it seem all the more remarkable.

Had he ever seen a poison that performed like this? Among every item Oh Taesu had laid eyes on in his career, there had been none.

"That candy looks rather delicious."

"It's a fresh batch — just made today. It'll be a few more days before it's ready for sale."

Oh Taesu's hand, wrapped around his briefcase, was clenching of its own accord.

When Baek Dogwang had asked whether he could bring this man in, he'd thought it more than doable. A crumbling laboratory. Worn-out furniture, down to the very tools research demanded. He had seen at a single glance what Shin Dohyun lacked.

'This one is a very big deal...'

To make matters worse, poison awakeners were nearly nonexistent, and the trait was a minor profession among minor professions — which was exactly why he'd overlooked it. Its fatal flaw was simple: the world had no need for poison. It wasn't especially lethal, and the status ailments it inflicted by mere chance had never decided a fight.

And yet.

The Blooming Fire Poison before his eyes now — and the Ice Flame Poison alongside it — had already proven their future worth. The moment these hit the market... the Poison Lab would become famous. Which meant this man, right now, was at his lowest point.

With his mind made up, Oh Taesu turned to Shin Dohyun.

"Mr. Dohyun, might we have a word for a moment?"

"Yes. Of course."

Oh Taesu had decided to change his approach.

Inside the briefcase Section Chief Oh carried would be the reward he'd said he'd prepared.

'What could it be...?' One thing was certain: it wasn't money.

Oh Taesu opened the bag and handed me a document envelope he drew from within.

"Here you are. This is payment for Lady Baek Juyeong's clearing of the Tower's first floor."

Swish. When I took the envelope he'd offered, I found several sheets of paper inside.

"What's this?"

"You might call it a deed — to help you relocate somewhere new."

"I'm sorry? What do you mean—"

"We wanted to help you work in better facilities, in a better environment. Look it over, sign, and the place will be ready for you to move in and use whenever you like."

"Ah... a new laboratory."

"This here is the research facility registration, the safety inspection has already been cleared, and along with your awakener registration—"

Oh Taesu kept talking, but none of it was reaching me.

A new laboratory. That was what had set my heart pounding. I never dreamed anyone would fund a lab for me.

For a moment, I glanced around. The drying racks where venomous herbs hung, the glass jars full of poisonous insects, the workbench steeped in years of memories...

My hesitation didn't last long.

"...Section Chief Oh."

"Yes?"

"From when can I move in?"

"Today, if you'd like."

Holy shit!

The place Oh Taesu and I arrived at was a building in Jongno-gu.

Tap. Stepping out of the car, I took in the building's appearance — a five-story building, neither too big nor too small, of just the right proportions.

"This is the place. From here on, it's a building you're free to use as you please, Mr. Dohyun. As you know, the deed is already in your name."

Insane. The Baekho Guild is so damn cool...!

"The building's research facilities and the ownership transfer procedures are all complete."

All I'd done was hand over a poison. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined receiving a building like this.

"Thank you..." The words you really didn't have to go this far... climbed to the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them down. Then again — what if he took it back?

It was shorter than the surrounding buildings, but that only made it better. Buildings like that were the kind occupied by major guilds and corporations. What pleased me most of all was having the Association right nearby.

Then Oh Taesu spoke, gesturing toward the large building beside it.

"And that one over there is Sun Guild — a subcontracted guild under Baekho Guild's management."

"I'm sorry? Sun Guild?"

"Yes. A guild dedicated primarily to climbing the middle floors of the Tower."

"Ah... I see..."

Sun Guild. The goddamn guild that bastard Minseok belongs to.

"You'll likely cross paths with Sun Guild's people from time to time."

"Wh-why is that?"

"Because it seems they'll be purchasing your poisons on a regular basis. Shall we head in for now?"

Hmm... this makes me uneasy. Cradling that unsettled feeling, I followed Oh Taesu's lead into the building.

The building had its years, but the interior renovation seemed freshly finished — the sharp bite of new paint stung my nose. It wasn't a bad smell.

"Wow..."

The first floor had been laid out like a pharmacy, built for selling poisons at a moment's notice. The second and third floors had been designed purely around research — state-of-the-art equipment, nothing like the battered gear I'd used in that cramped basement room. Best of all was the workbench, more than twice the size of my old one.

My thanks for that one came straight from the heart.

"Thank you, Section Chief Oh." I gave a deep, formal bow.

"Not at all! The gratitude is ours. You have no idea how happy Lady Juyeong has been these past few days. She's already reached the fourth floor, you see — I hardly recognize her as the woman who swore she never wanted to awaken."

"Really? She didn't want to become an awakener?"

"It would seem so. There were certain... family circumstances."

"Ah... I see."

Family matters weren't mine to pry into. It wasn't my family, after all...

"Shall we go up higher now?"

"Yes."

The fourth and fifth floors were empty. I could use them as a home right away, he said — or arrange them however suited me best.

We came back down to the first floor and sat facing each other across a table.

"Now then, Mr. Dohyun. Please read it through carefully, and pay special attention to anything in bold print."

"Understood."

The final step of the transfer. The documents included a contract, and its terms requested the right of first negotiation over new poison products, along with quantity pre-emption rights. Not exclusive distribution — simply that, should a new poison be developed, Baekho Guild would be the first to know. And. Down to the right of first purchase on a fixed quantity.

"..."

The right of first negotiation was fine. If one thing bothered me, it was the quantity pre-emption. I alone made the poisons. If I had to deliver a set volume to Baekho Guild on top of that, it would deal a serious blow to my business going forward. So I raised the issue.

"Excuse me, Section Chief Oh — this part might be a little difficult for me."

"...?"

"I can't produce poisons in large volumes. As written, I'd end up selling my products to Baekho Guild alone."

"I see... then let's revise this clause."

He seemed to grasp my meaning at once; Oh Taesu yielded without protest. We found common ground soon enough, and with that, the contract was concluded.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Nothing I can think of. I'll manage the move myself."

I had already received far too much. When I took the contract, I'd noticed there was some intention behind it — but that much was easily overlooked in exchange for an entire building.

Back at the laboratory, I broke the news of my move — not to family, but to the gallery crowd first.

Warmed by the gallery's support, my moving preparations were all but finished.

"Kkureuk- kkureuk-."

"Yeah, yeah. Mandoki, quit rushing me. It's way more spacious than this place, so..."

"Kkureuk-."

Whether he understood me or not, the one thing he did well was answer.

Once the last of the packing was done, I glanced over at Mandoki's terrarium.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Mandoki! What's gotten into you!"

I'd assumed his body had turned bright crimson from eating nothing but Fire-Forget-Me-Not these past few days — and now, perhaps because there wasn't an inch of him left that could get any redder...

"Kkuureuk-."

"What is it! What!! Stop it, you're gonna burst!!"

Even the fierce glint of his eyes was dyeing red.

"Mandoki!!!"

Jiggle.

"Kkeuruk-."

Ding.

"..."

"Kkureuk-."

"Hey. Seriously. You scare me half to death and all I get is a 'kkureuk'? You startled me!"

"Kkureuk-."

The crimson had drained away; his body was back to how it looked the day I first met him.

So it was the venom... and he'd gone and worried me over it. I collected what he'd produced into a fresh beaker.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I examined the effects of the poison Mandoki had brewed.

"..."

No matter how I searched, there was no duration listed. Which meant... recovery would be left to natural healing. Magic conductivity, ten percent. It looked as though the Fire-Forget-Me-Not's preserved conductivity had carried over intact.

Even on the gallery, I had never seen a poison this potent. Burns and fever were fringe effects, hardly mainstream — yet the fact that Mandoki had produced it at all was what left me stunned.

"You were quite the remarkable creature all along, huh..."

"Kkureuk-."

From now on, I'd need to be far more careful about what I fed him.

"Good work, Mandoki."

"Kkureuk-."

Mandoki was none the worse for wear, and all that remained was to walk out of this old laboratory for good.

Moving day.

Mandoki and I arrived at our new home. The movers seemed nearly finished, already wrapping up the last of it.

But.

Beside the moving crew stood a woman I'd never seen before, studying the freshly installed Poison Lab sign with keen interest.

Hm? Who is that?

Perhaps sensing my gaze, the woman met my eyes.

"You wouldn't happen to be Venom of the Poison Lab?"

I have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a perfectly good name, too — Shin Dohyun. But calling me Venom meant this woman was a gallery member. Which meant she was an awakener...

A crimson ponytail. Those sharp eyes felt like something I'd seen somewhere before...

Anyway.

"Yes, that's me. How do you know me...?"

"I saw you on the Poison Gallery and came to find you."

Figures.

"What brings you here, if I may ask?"

"You do take formulation commissions, right?"

With that, she handed me a bottle of some kind — a liquid of silvery water with a strange, quiet allure.

"Here, take a look. I read the information on your Ice Flame Poison and came to make you an offer. It's Silver Golem Core Extract."

Silver Golem? If I remembered right, that was a monster that only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠appeared on the upper floors...

"And this is my business card. You do know who I am, right?"

I took the card she offered and looked it over — and in an instant, I knew exactly who this woman I'd found so oddly familiar was.

An S-Rank Tanker. Her name was Min Jiyeong.

What was someone of her caliber doing at a humble place like this...?