Chapter 297: The Second Question (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 297: The Second Question (1)
Was it a natural change that came with the passage of time?
Or was it an unnatural one, brought on by some other reason?
For a woman who had changed so much, there were exactly two things that had remained the same.
The first was her beauty.
Even compared to when I first met her in her twenties, she hadn't lost a step. It was just that the charm she exuded had changed. The freshness and youthfulness of her younger years had been replaced by a sultry allure and a mature beauty.
In fact, there had even been online debates comparing photos of her past and present self.
Han Ju-hee of the past versus Han Ju-hee of the present—who was more appealing?
Surprisingly, hundreds of thousands of people had participated in the poll, and the votes had split into a golden ratio of 51 to 49.
The second thing that hadn't changed was none other than her unyielding passion for research.
The moment I told her about the new drug—one that, unlike others that spread from the body to one's mana, spread from mana to the body—she immediately called the secretary who managed her schedule.
“Cancel all my appointments. For the ones that can't be canceled, sort them out and postpone them.”
Taken aback by the sudden cancellations, the secretary asked in a troubled voice from the other end of the line.
-Um… how far out should I cancel?
Han Ju-hee replied as if the question was absurd.
“Until my research is finished.”
With that, she ended the call, stood up, and picked up the bag containing the red pill.
“Let's go to the lab.”
We took the elevator down.
Her lab on the 66th basement floor was her exclusive domain, just like the Tower Lord's office on the 66th floor.
Lined with research equipment costing anywhere from hundreds of millions to billions of won each, it was nothing short of a paradise for a researcher.
“Alright. Let's start by analyzing the components of the pill you brought.”
Using a small pair of tweezers, she took out the red pill, placed it inside the component analyzer, and activated it.
About three minutes later, the pill's components appeared on a small screen.
“This is…”
Han Ju-hee's eyes widened as she read the results.
What on earth was in it to make her react like that?
Curious, I moved closer to her side and looked at the components displayed on the small screen.
“Cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine…”
It was like a drug cocktail set. All three of the most notoriously hallucinogenic and addictive drugs were in it.
But it seemed Han Ju-hee wasn't surprised just because of the drugs.
“That's not what's important.”
She pointed her index finger at one of the components on the screen.
I looked to see what it was.
“A new type of mana with unknown properties…?”
The component list included mana with properties completely different from any that had been identified before.
Is this the red mana that was clinging to Kim Jeong-hun's mana?
“To discover mana with new properties… this is truly…!”
Her eyes were filled with ecstasy.
“Do you see this? The component ratio.”
“Uh… the three major drugs don't make up a very large percentage.”
The three major drugs accounted for only about 10% of the red pill's composition. Of the remaining 90%, more than 80% was made up of this new type of mana.
“The drugs are merely a device to increase addiction and dependency. This red mana, whose exact properties are unknown! They were used to make people addicted to and dependent on the effects of this mana.”
She was absolutely thrilled.
The woman who, on a good day, would barely say three words to me, was now talking nonstop.
As I listened to her explanation, a question suddenly occurred to me.
“Ah, there's something I'd like to ask.”
“What is it?”
“I took the guy who took this pill to the hospital and had him tested for drugs.”
“And?”
“Like I said before, the drug test came back negative.”
I pointed to the three drug components listed at the top of the screen and continued.
“For all of these drugs here.”
“That… is certainly strange.”
Ever since mana became a part of daily life, drug tests had become more accurate, faster, and simpler.
They were so accurate that they could detect even 0.000001g of a drug in the system—no, even less. If it was there, they would find it.
The reason why the test didn't detect the three major drugs, despite them being present.
Her answer pointed to the mana that made up most of the pill's components.
“I suspect this mana had something to do with it. Of course, how that was possible… is something I'll have to figure out now.”
“I see.”
Her frozen expression melted as if touched by a warm breeze, coming vividly to life.
It was a face I had wanted to see my whole life, but one I could never bring out on my own.
Now, occupying another's body, she showed me that face without reservation as she spoke in an energetic voice.
“The overall process is simple.”
Her finger pointed straight. Its tip was aimed at the mana of unknown properties.
“Once we figure out the properties of this mana, the entire mystery of the drug will be solved. And if we add these properties to the test's parameters, it will no longer be able to slip through the net of a drug screening.”
Hearing her explain it, the process did sound simple.
The only problem was…
“Figuring out the properties of the mana will be the hard part.”
“Exactly. The process itself is simple, but that one step is the most difficult part.”
Mana cannot be seen with the eyes, smelled with the nose, heard with the ears, or touched with the hands. Needless to say, it couldn't be tasted, either.
Even for mages, who are most sensitive to it, deciphering the properties of mana—something felt not with the five senses but with a sixth—was an incredibly difficult task.
“First, I need to find a way to extract the mana that's been refined into this pill form. Then… I'll run a component analysis with a mana analyzer, and then… Haa.”
She sighed in the middle of her enthusiastic explanation.
Look at her.
That's how hard it is to identify the properties of mana.
And this newly discovered type even included elements harmful to the human body. It was bound to be tricky in more ways than one.
Watching her quietly map out the process, I tossed out a comment.
“Going through that process step by step will take a considerable amount of time.”
“It's the work of uncovering the properties of new mana. It will probably… take quite some time.”
“And that means adding it to the drug test parameters will be delayed as well?”
Did my words sound like I was rushing her? She frowned and snapped at me.
“I understand the gravity of the situation. But this is unavoidable.”
“Calm down. I wasn't trying to argue.”
At that, she let out a small sigh and offered an apology.
“Haa… I'm sorry. I get a bit sharp when I get excited.”
“Well, that can happen.”
I understood completely. No, in fact, it was the reaction I'd wanted to see.
That prickly, sharp, fiery emotion—that was the Han Ju-hee I knew.
I'd wondered where that personality had gone. It was just hidden away inside her.
I let out a small chuckle without realizing it and took one of the pills from the plastic bag, placing it on my palm.
“So… the very first thing to do is extract the mana contained in this pill.”
“That's right. I'll have to run the extractor, but… I don't know. I'm not sure if I can extract it perfectly without any loss of its properties.”
Her gaze shifted to the mana extractor occupying a corner of the lab.
A machine that extracted mana from enchanted equipment or items.
However, it wasn't perfect either.
It could extract mana with known properties with a loss rate of less than 0.1%, but for mana with no existing data like this, it had to attempt extraction using only pre-existing data, making it difficult to estimate how high the loss rate would be.
To extract it perfectly, one would have to continuously fine-tune the values used for extraction and collect data… Even if she got lucky and found the right values quickly, it would take at least ten days.
Thinking about her research, where she would spend dozens of days on a single process, I suddenly laughed.
“Haha.”
I wasn't sure what emotion it was.
Was it disappointment toward the woman who would sacrifice even dozens of days for her research? Or was it for some other reason?
“…Why are you suddenly laughing?”
I answered her questioning, uncomprehending tone by holding out the fist that held the pill.
“Listening to you, I've come to realize that I'm a rather necessary existence to you, Hunter Han Ju-hee.”
“What did you say?”
In front of her, her eyes narrowing sharply as if she were offended by my words, I revealed my ability.
The mana, refined into the form of a pill.
Without touching any of the other components, I drew out only the mana, returning it to its original form—an ability unique to me, who could manipulate mana itself at will.
“……!”
Her eyes, fixed on the fist holding the red pill, widened as if they would tear.
“H-How…”
Even if she couldn't see it, she must have been feeling it. The streams of mana with properties she had never felt before, seeping out from my grasp.
Her face was a mixture of emotions, unsure of what expression to even make.
I whispered to her.
“That I'm a necessary existence to you, Hunter Han Ju-hee… seems about right, doesn't it?”
Was it because of her last shred of pride?
Though she scrunched up her face as if she didn't want to admit it, she gave a slight nod.
Seeing that, I felt…
a little thrill.