58th Floor
58th Floor
"...Zero-Calorie Alchemist? The one said to create potions that don't consume Capacity?"
Seah, having suddenly learned Doyoon's identity, wore a confused expression.
Well, Doyoon would feel the same way if he were in her shoes.
Her younger sister, who usually paid no attention to human relationships, suddenly announced she was living with a man she'd never met before, and that man turned out to be the Zero-Calorie Alchemist making waves all over the world right now.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't cohabitation, though.
Regardless, far too much information had been dumped on her in a short amount of time.
Perhaps trying to help her eonni, Lee Sol continued speaking.
"We met through the exchange a while ago. At first, I thought he was a scammer and was going to turn him over to the Bureau, but the rumors turned out to be true."
"Then that potion you drank during the duel too?"
"Yeah. He made it."
"Then the reason you started living together is...?"
"In exchange for a long-term supply of potions, I agreed to protect him. Given how incredible his ability is, there'll be plenty of awakeners targeting him."
"I see. You can't really trust the Bureau anyway. If it's you, you can keep him safe."
Only after hearing Lee Sol's explanation did Seah seem to understand the situation to some extent, turning her gaze toward Doyoon.
"To be honest, it was so sudden that it's still a bit hard to believe."
"I understand. I would have felt the same way."
"Thank you for understanding. Still, if my younger sister says so, it must be true. She's not one to spout nonsense."
Fortunately, Seah seemed to have barely accepted it.
"Actually, I came here to ask Lee Sol about the Zero-Calorie Alchemist, but I didn't expect to meet you already."
"Me?"
"I wanted to know who helped my younger sister win her duel. Thanks to you, she didn't lose her ranker status. Thank you so much."
As Seah bowed her head, Doyoon waved his hands deprecatingly.
"Ah, no. It wasn't to that extent. It was because Lee Sol-ssi's skills were outstanding that she won."
"Given the compatibility matchup, Lee Sol couldn't have won without that potion. It's no exaggeration to say it's all thanks to you, Doyoon-ssi."
After exchanging repeated thanks and modest refusals several times,
Lee Sol, seemingly getting bored, looked at Doyoon and spoke.
"By the way, why did you come find me today? Do you have some business?"
At those words, Doyoon let out an "Ah."
Because of the confusing situation, he had momentarily forgotten, but he just recalled the business he had come to see Lee Sol for.
"To sell a potion. Well, strictly speaking, it's not just a regular potion, though."
Saying so, he pulled an elixir out of his bag and placed it on the table.
At that, Seah and Lee Sol's eyes gathered on the elixir.
"What's this?"
Lee Sol asked.
The two didn't seem to know what this item was.
Well, it was evaluated as a nuisance item that nobody bothered to craft anymore, so it was only natural.
"This is an elixir."
"An elixir?"
"If it's an elixir, are you referring to that potion evaluated as practically undrinkable?"
Seah looked at Doyoon with puzzled eyes.
"I heard that regardless of its effects, it consumes far too much Capacity for anyone to drink. So I heard people don't even craft them anymore."
"Yes. That's correct. If it were a normal alchemist, that is."
Seah's eyes widened.
"Could it be...?"
"Yes. Just like the other potions I craft, this elixir does not consume Capacity."
Lee Sol picked up the elixir in her hand and muttered.
"It really is. Zero-Calorie Elixir of Agility. It doesn't consume Capacity."
"Not just potions, but elixirs don't consume Capacity either? I had no idea an alchemist capable of making such a thing existed."
Seah was so shocked that her mouth hung open.
Then, as if something crossed her mind, she suddenly snapped her eyes to Doyoon.
"Doyoon-ssi. Bringing this elixir... don't tell me."
"The 58th Floor. I heard rankers are struggling with it."
The 58th Floor.
A floor where one had to hit high-speed targets.
A floor that had remained uncleared for several months, and wasn't expected to be cleared anytime soon.
"I believe that with this Elixir of Agility, the 58th Floor can be broken through."
Now, that floor would be cleared by Doyoon's elixir.
"...Certainly, with just this elixir, breaking through the 58th Floor would be simple."
Seah nodded.
"Then do you intend to sell the elixir to Lee Sol?"
"Yes. That's right."
"Hmm. That will probably be difficult. Since Lee Sol won't buy it."
"Pardon?"
Why wouldn't Lee Sol buy an elixir that could clear the 58th Floor?
As a flustered Doyoon looked at her, Lee Sol nodded.
"Eonni is right. It's an item I don't immediately need."
"Why is that? With just this, the 58th Floor..."
"No, even with that elixir, I can't clear it. I haven't practiced."
"Practice?"
"The 58th Floor requires raising skill proficiency to increase speed. It's structured so that you can't clear it without repeated attempts."
Seah grimaced.
"That's why I kept telling Lee Sol to try challenging the 58th Floor usually, but she kept saying, 'It doesn't look like it'll be cleared anytime soon anyway, so I'll just do it later,' and didn't. With Lee Sol's current skill level, even if she consumes the elixir, clearing the 58th Floor would be difficult."
So, to summarize, she put off practicing because it was a hassle, and now when she actually needed it, she couldn't clear it due to a lack of skill—was that it?
Doyoon was left utterly speechless.
This time, Lee Sol also had nothing to say, so she fiddled with her teacup and feigned innocence.
"Anyway, even if you sell the elixir to Lee Sol, clearing it right now is out of the question. It would be better for someone else to buy it."
"Even if you say someone else, I don't know who I should sell it to. Rankers I know are only..."
"There is one. Right in front of you."
Lee Sol said.
"Eonni is also a ranker challenging the 58th Floor. She hasn't slacked on her attempts until now, either. If she just drinks the elixir, she'll probably clear it right away."
Indeed, the skill Seah had displayed on TV not long ago had improved enough that if she were just a bit faster, she could clear the 58th Floor.
As Doyoon looked at her, Seah nodded.
"Certainly, with that elixir, I feel like I could clear the 58th Floor without trouble. That is, if Doyoon-ssi sells it to me."
As long as the price was right, there was no reason not to sell.
Besides, since she was Lee Sol's eonni, he also wanted to make a good impression on her.
"For my part, there's no reason not to sell. I will sell it to you, Seah-ssi."
"Then how about selling it for ten million points?"
Ten million points.
Since 1 point was about one hundred won, that meant about one billion won...?
To Doyoon, whose mouth was agape in shock, Seah said with a smile.
"Clearing the 58th Floor with the elixir this time will make it a first clear. An awakener who achieves a first clear receives huge rewards accordingly, so ten million points isn't an absurd price."
"Still, I had no idea it would be as much as one billion won."
"You'll have to get used to money on this scale from now on. In the world of rankers, even larger amounts of money change hands quite often."
Even larger amounts of money change hands...?
He had heard that rankers earned a lot of money, but it was beyond his imagination.
"So, will you make the trade? If you do, I'll send the points through the exchange."
There was no reason not to.
"Yes. I will."
"Great. I will definitely clear the 58th Floor."
Seah clenched her two fists tightly, as if steeling her resolve.
A broadcasting studio.
Here, preparations were in full swing to broadcast a ranker's challenge of the 58th Floor.
Even though it was a broadcast covering the assault on the tower's front line, no tension could be found on the staff members' faces.
Well, that was natural.
Broadcast after broadcast of an uncleared challenge repeated for months on end would drain the tension out of anyone.
Even more so when it was expected that it wouldn't be cleared anytime soon in the near future.
When the attack broadcasts first started, high interest drove view counts and ratings through the roof, but now they hit rock bottom.
Nevertheless, due to the importance of the tower's conquest, the broadcast continued steadily.
"Today's challenger is Lee Seah-ssi. Her steady, repeated challenges are truly nothing short of exemplary for a ranker."
As the broadcast began, the caster poured out praise for Seah.
Due to her diligent personality, Seah consistently participated in the raid challenges, earning good reviews as a ranker.
"Yes. That's very true. I'm really looking forward to whether she can clear the 58th Floor today."
The color commentator chimed in, but in truth, not only the commentary team but the entire staff knew very well that clearing it was unlikely.
While it was true that Seah was close to clearing it, raising her skill proficiency any further required even greater effort than before.
It would be difficult to clear in a short amount of time.
Soon, the screen that had been showing the commentary team switched to Seah.
Seah was holding a bow and arrow with both hands, taking a deep breath with her eyes closed.
Opening her eyes, Seah nocked an arrow to her bow and aimed forward.
In front of Seah's eyes, a ball flew around rapidly here and there.
But Seah didn't bother moving her bow around to aim directly at the ball.
She simply aimed carefully at the general path the ball was moving along.
Waiting quietly for the right moment, she released the bowstring, and the arrow closed the distance in an instant.
To the naked eye, it even looked like the arrow had just touched the ball.
However, the arrow grazed past the side of the ball and missed.
"Ah," the commentary team let out a sigh.
Even though their heads understood that clearing it was difficult, Seah's outstanding skill naturally sparked a hopeful "what if" in their minds.
The same situation repeated a few more times.
Each time, the arrow narrowly missed the ball.
"Ah, what a shame. It feels like she could do it with just a little bit more."
"Yes. Even if not right now, it looks like she could easily clear it if she raises her proficiency a bit more."
Now it was about time today's attempt came to an end.
As the commentary team expressed regret while preparing to wrap up the broadcast, they heard an "Uh?" from one of the staff members.
Wondering what was going on, they looked over to see all the staff members staring blankly at the screen.
Following their gaze, the screen captured Seah pulling something out from her waist.
It was a luxurious glass bottle trimmed with gold.
Inside, a green liquid was contained.
"What is that? It looks like some kind of potion."
Unlike the caster, the color commentator, who recognized what Seah had pulled out, muttered under his breath.
"...An elixir."
"Pardon?"
"That's an elixir! Seah-ssi is trying to drink an elixir!"
The excited shout of the commentator echoed through the previously calm broadcasting studio.