Ranker
Ranker
Potions consume Capacity.
He had heard that rankers were born with high Capacity so they didn't die even after drinking low-grade recovery potions twice, but this was the first time he had ever heard of a potion having zero Capacity.
However, no matter how many times he looked, the information window for this potion clearly stated that it consumed 0 Capacity.
For a moment, he even thought, 'Did the exchange break down?'
'But I've never heard of the exchange breaking down before.'
Then does this potion really consume no Capacity?
If it's real, there's no need to hesitate.
Although it had the suspicious modifier 'Zero-Calorie' attached to the front, it was still a recovery potion.
Since he was going to die anyway, it would be better to trust the exchange at least this once.
The man carefully pressed the purchase button.
He snatched the glass bottle that appeared before his eyes.
On the outside, it was no different from the usual low-grade recovery potion he used to drink.
However, the status window clearly told him that this potion was different from other recovery potions.
[Zero Calorie Low-Grade Recovery Potion]
Restores a small amount of Health.
Capacity Consumption: 0
The consumed Capacity was still 0.
'If this really doesn't consume Capacity...'
He could survive.
The man calmed his pounding heart, popped open the cap, and drank the potion.
It tasted just like an ordinary low-grade recovery potion.
His body grew warm.
Warmth returned to his body, which had turned cold from blood loss.
The wound on his arm healed.
Vitality returned to his exhausted body.
Even so, no symptoms of toxicity appeared.
The man muttered blankly.
"It was real...?"
That night.
The Awakened Gallery was in complete chaos.
[Awakened Gallery]
[General] Hey, I'm telling you it's real!
Seriously, someone sold a recovery potion on the exchange that consumes zero Capacity!
My Capacity ran completely dry after taking one potion, but I drank that one and barely managed to survive and escape the 10th floor!
Most of the comments were indifferent.
└ You probably misate something.
└ There are occasionally idiots like that who forget whether they took a potion or not and think they drank two when they only drank one.
└─ Real lmao
Some people even mocked the original poster.
└ Bullshit, are you a ranker or something? As if you wouldn't die after taking two potions, lolol
The general atmosphere was that most people didn't believe the poster's words.
However, testimonials gradually started creeping onto the bulletin board.
[General] But I think I saw that potion too
I was browsing the exchange this afternoon, right?
And isn't some guy selling a low-grade recovery potion for 100,000 points?
I was watching, thinking, "This bastard is totally determined to hook one sucker, lol,"
But when I looked closely at the info window, the Capacity consumption was 0.
What? Is it a bug? I wondered, but someone bought it in the meantime.
Even when the first testimony was posted, the comments were still negative.
└ No clickbaiting allowed
└ Nobody's falling for it, only scammers everywhere lmao
└ Ain't no sucker getting fooled by this kind of bait post, right?
However, testimonials kept popping up on the board.
[General] I saw that potion too
When I checked the info window, the Capacity consumption really was 0.
Though the potion's name was pretty unusual to begin with.
It wasn't just a Low-Grade Recovery Potion, it was a Zero Calorie Low-Grade Recovery Potion.
And comments agreeing with the testimonials also started appearing.
└ I saw it too, the Zero Calorie Low-Grade Recovery Potion. It really didn't consume Capacity?
└ I also saw it this afternoon when I had nothing to do, there was indeed one weird potion. It's true that "Zero" something was attached to the name.
The opinion on the board, which was negative at first, gradually began to shift.
If the initial reaction was "there's no way that's true," it had now shifted to something like "wait, could it actually be real?"
That was when the poster who claimed to have bought the Zero Calorie Low-Grade Recovery Potion for the first time appeared.
[General] I checked my purchase history and found out who sold it
When I checked, it says a person named Zero-Calorie Alchemist sold it? Looking at the name, it seems like this person made it, right?
After that, the board spent a long time discussing the Zero-Calorie Alchemist who had appeared on the exchange.
Some people speculated that he had reached the pinnacle of proficiency as an alchemist, reducing Capacity consumption to 0.
Others speculated that unlike existing alchemists, he must have awakened to an entirely new class altogether.
On the other hand, there were those who denied it, saying it was just bait or a misunderstanding from the start and no such person existed.
In the midst of this, a new post appeared on the board, drawing everyone's attention to it.
[General] Hey, I used the exchange feature to send a message to that Zero-Calorie Alchemist guy
And this nickname actually exists?
I don't know if this person really sells potions that don't consume Capacity, but at least there's definitely someone using this nickname?
And the board began to be flooded with stories of people sending direct messages to the Zero-Calorie Alchemist.
The next morning.
Doyoon woke up from his sleep.
It was because of that persistent ttiring sound.
Wondering where the sound was coming from, he sat up and looked around, and a message window appeared right before his eyes.
[A message has arrived.]
[A message has arrived.]
[A message has arrived.]
[...]
'What is this?'
Doyoon was bewildered.
Direct messages?
Why messages all of a sudden?
As he stared blankly at the window, a new window popped up.
[Subject: Hey you bastard, stop with the clickbait]
[Sender: StrongestWarriorChoi]
Because of you, the gallery is getting flooded with weird stuff, f*ck
Gallery?
The Awakened Gallery?
What had he done to cause that place to be flooded like that?
Puzzled, Doyoon began reading through the messages.
[Subject: Hello. By any chance, do you sell Zero-Calorie potions?]
[Subject: Do you really sell potions that don't consume Capacity?]
[Subject: I'm a novice awakenee. If you give me some potions as charity, I will definitely repay you later.]
All sorts of different messages.
Most of them were inquiries trying to confirm whether Doyoon himself was selling potions that consumed zero Capacity.
'Did the person who bought the potion yesterday post on the Awakened Gallery?'
Judging by the messages, circumstances pointed to that being the case.
He had predicted there would be an explosive reaction if a potion consuming zero Capacity hit the market, but he never expected things to become this noisy starting the very next day.
Fortunately, the exchange's identity protection was absolute.
They could send messages, but they wouldn't be able to find out who he actually was.
Doyoon had no intention of revealing that he was the Zero-Calorie Alchemist.
At first, he had even considered just revealing it.
With an ability like this, he would receive an immense amount of attention.
Even Doyoon, who used to watch YouTube while envying awakenees, couldn't help but feel his mind sway at the thought of such desire for fame.
However, because the ability itself had such massive repercussions, he didn't bother revealing it since he had no idea what consequences might come back to bite him.
Frankly speaking, wasn't there a non-zero chance he'd end up kidnapped and turned into a living potion factory?
One might wonder what he was talking about in Korea where public safety was quite decent, but a potion that didn't consume Capacity was just that incredible.
With the message notification sound continuing to ring even now, Doyoon used the exchange's settings to mute the notification sounds.
Instantly, the room fell dead silent.
For a while, he should just craft potions without selling them.
Only by taking his time and releasing them slowly into the market would his own value rise.
With the points earned from selling the potion yesterday, he had no financial worries for the time being.
Just as Doyoon was about to close the message window, a message in the corner of the window caught his eye.
[Subject: You sell mana potions?]
Sender: Cold Noodle Mage
With zero calorie?
What caught Doyoon's eye wasn't the overly short subject line or body text, but the sender.
Sender: Cold Noodle Mage
Cold Noodle Mage.
A nickname that anyone interested in awakenees couldn't help but know.
It was the alias of the ranker Lee Sol.
As a mage, she boasted the top skill, evaluated to be at the very top tier even among rankers.
Not only her skill, but also her appearance—looking somewhat languid yet captivating enough that one couldn't tear their eyes away.
The uniqueness of her personality, constantly refusing interviews and finding everything to be a hassle.
All of these combined made her a female ranker enjoying top popularity among the public.
Doyoon, too, had admired Lee Sol's skill, appearance, and aura on YouTube more than a few times.
Such a high ranker was sending him a message?
Doyoon's heart pounded wildly.
A life as an orphan where no one gave him a second thought.
In the span of a single day, things had changed so much that people he would never have crossed paths with in his entire life were showing interest in him.
And that didn't feel half bad to Doyoon.
He originally intended to ignore the messages, but he changed his mind.
If it was a ranker of Lee Sol's caliber, it wouldn't be bad to form a connection in advance.
According to what Doyoon looked up yesterday, an alchemist could craft low-grade mana potions after low-grade recovery potions once their proficiency built up.
Doyoon wrote a reply to Lee Sol's message.
[Subject: Not right now, but I can make them within a few days.]
Sender: Zero-Calorie Alchemist
It will be low-grade, but I should be able to craft it.
A mana potion that doesn't consume Capacity.
Not long after sending the reply, another message appeared.
[Subject: Come to XXX Apartment Unit XXX, XXX-X XXX-ro in a week]
Sender: Cold Noodle Mage
The main entrance passcode is XXXX, and the apartment door passcode is XXXX.
Looking at the message, Doyoon felt his mind go blank.
Wait, did Lee Sol just invite him to her house?