My Potions Are a Bit Different 2
“Jungnyeong-dong intersection—tower crane under construction has collapsed. Request immediate dispatch.”
Woo-woo-woo. The sirens blared deafeningly through the fire station as the firefighters hurriedly donned their gear and rushed out.
“What's the status at the scene?” Kim Seokyoung asked once they were in the truck.
“The crane collapsed, covering the sidewalk and road. A pedestrian on the sidewalk got caught up in it, and the cars that couldn't avoid it, plus the ones following behind, caused at least ten collisions.”
Kim Seokyoung's face darkened at Lee Yeonghak's report.
“Yeonghak, did you grab all the potions?”
“Yes. All twenty.”
That was some small mercy, at least. For some reason, they'd stocked up more generously than usual today, as if heaven itself had intervened.
But why is my heart pounding like this? Kim Seokyoung rubbed his chest, quietly murmuring to himself that everything would be fine.
“Help! Save the person!”
“Someone's trapped in this car! Over here!”
The accident scene they finally reached was pure chaos, no different from hell itself.
“We're starting rescue operations immediately. Yeonghak, take your team to the pedestrians. Sangje, Hyeongtae, you're with me on the road.”
At Kim Seokyoung's command, the firefighters split up, launching full-scale rescue efforts.
“Hey, bring the gear! What are you waiting for? Pry the door off.”
In the midst of the frantic activity, someone urgently called out to Kim Seokyoung.
“C-Captain! Captain!”
“What? Something wrong? Spit it out.”
He turned to see Jinsu, one of his rescue team members. The man's hardened expression sent a chill through the air. At the same moment, the heart that had raced during dispatch began pounding uncontrollably again.
“Captain, you need to come over right now.”
“Damn it, can't you see the situation? Where do you think you're going? Just tell me here.”
He gripped the cutter tightly, muscles straining in both arms.
But one sentence made the strength drain from his arms, and he dropped the tool.
“It's your wife. You have to see this now.”
Was that it? Is that why my heart was going crazy?
Kim Seokyoung clenched his teeth, forcing himself to keep his head turned away.
“Rescue... family doesn't come first. Priority goes to the most critical.”
He wanted to run to her right then. But he couldn't—not him, of all people. He was in charge here. If he broke protocol, who would follow his lead?
So he held back.
But then—
“That's exactly why you have to go.”
No sooner had Jinsu finished than Kim Seokyoung set down the cutter and sprinted toward the cluster of rescue workers.
Just as he reached the scene, a hand grabbed his shoulder—Yeonghak.
“Yeonghak... S-Seonyeong?”
“Hyung, steel yourself. This way.”
They stepped behind the barricade tarp shielding the area from onlookers, and there she was—his wife, right before his eyes.
A shard from the shattered crane had pierced her abdomen, blood pooling steadily. And that wasn't all. Another fragment had gone straight through her right chest, and blood kept bubbling from her mouth.
“S-Seonyeong...”
A heartbroken groan escaped Kim Seokyoung's lips. The team around them knew their relationship and watched silently.
Then Yeonghak called out.
“Hyung.”
Snapping back at the sound, Kim Seokyoung steadied himself. The trembling vanished, replaced once more by the rescue captain.
After a moment inspecting her wounds and weighing his options, he set his jaw.
“Get me five potions. We're pulling the shards.”
“C-Captain!”
Yeonghak startled at the decision.
“Even basic potions—five bottles means definite mana poisoning. Even if the wounds heal, it'll cause problems.”
“I know. But if we don't... she'll die anyway. Two punctures and hemoptysis—lungs are hit directly. She won't make it to the hospital like this. This is the only way to save her.”
His teeth ground together, eyes bloodshot, lips bitten until they bled. It was clear how much torment he'd endured to reach this call.
Even Yeonghak, who'd initially opposed it, nodded and fetched the five potions himself.
“Now, pull the shards. Abdomen first, then potion. Chest next, then potion. Final potion down her throat, then straight to the hospital. Ready... 3, 2, 1—go!”
At the countdown's end, two team members yanked the shards free. Blood sprayed in fountains, but they immediately poured in two bottles.
Moments later, skin regenerated, wounds sealing before their eyes.
They swiftly removed the chest shard and dumped in one and a half more.
Finally, they trickled potion into her mouth. Kim Seokyoung spoke up.
“Jinsu, I'm counting on you.”
Jinsu startled.
“C-Captain, what are you saying?”
“Isn't it the ambulance crew's job to transport rescued patients?”
“E-Even so... it's your wife!”
“I'm the ambulance chief. There are still people here we need to save. I go to the hospital after.”
As he spoke, glancing sidelong at his wife, Jinsu gritted his teeth.
“I'll get her there as fast as humanly possible.”
“Good. Do it.”
Turning back to the scene, Kim Seokyoung bit down hard to stifle his tears. His teeth gleamed with bloody saliva, but he felt no pain.
Seonyeong, I'm sorry. Just hold on a little longer. Wait for me. Please...
He'd never once hated being a firefighter. Not when buying gear out of pocket, or dealing with entitled assholes who wrecked his car after a rescue and demanded money, or missing a peaceful meal, or even failing to accompany her properly to the hospital when she was sick.
Hundreds, thousands of frustrations—he'd endured them all.
But right now, in this moment, he wanted to quit, to just run to the hospital.
If not for her voice echoing in his mind, he probably would have.
Oppa. You're most handsome when you're saving lives, like when you saved me. So never stop rescuing people for my sake. Got it?
Tears welled in his bloodshot eyes. Wiping them away, Kim Seokyoung bellowed.
“From now on, we go all out. Save every life we can!”
“Pardon?”
“I don't know how to explain it, but there's zero mana detected. Completely clean. You're sure this is the patient who got five potions?”
The doctor stared at Kim Seokyoung in disbelief.
“Yes, absolutely. I poured them myself.”
“And that's not all. We'd need more precise tests, but her lung function has likely improved dramatically.”
“W-What? What does that mean?”
Mana poisoning avoidance was shocking enough, but lung recovery? Kim Seokyoung could barely process it.
Seonyeong's lungs had been severely damaged from toxic fumes at a fire scene years ago. Part was removed, the rest functioning at only 50% of normal.
They'd tried everything to fix it, but nothing worked. Sudden improvement?
He couldn't wrap his head around it.
“Sigh... How to explain this... It's my first time seeing anything like it, so I can't be certain, but here's what I know. Purely my personal opinion. Potions basically regenerate cells at the wound site. They 'remember' prior cells, so regeneration follows that template.”
“Uh... what does that mean?”
“Simply: recent scars can be erased, old ones can't. But these potions seem to regenerate cells to their healthiest state—like peak condition. So all damaged lung cells were replaced.”
“You... really treated her with potions?”
“...Yes.”
Kim Seokyoung was already half out of his mind.
The doctor pressed.
“Then... could I get just one bottle of that potion?”
“Commissioner, we must buy them all. Over the past three days, we've saved 13 lives on the brink with NPC potions. Four were children under eight—especially vulnerable to mana poisoning. One was an eight-month-old infant, and even she showed no effects. This isn't just any potion. It's a miracle for us.”
Fire Commissioner Jin Gukjin listened gravely to Safety Bureau Chief So Byunghee.
He set down the report.
“After the first day, three more days of potions appeared, but we missed one.”
“Yes. Word is the Medical Association bought it.”
“None available now.”
“Checked with some potion makers—high chance they're in production. Basics take 2-3 days; improved ones up to 2-3 weeks depending on specs.”
Jin Gukjin stroked his chin.
“So high odds they're brewing now.”
“Definitely. No listings for a week means they're at it. This is our golden chance. Win the next round, great—but if we miss? We'll watch more die helplessly.”
Jin Gukjin had been chief himself once, and before that, faced countless blazes on the front lines saving lives.
“No hesitation for something like this. Get the car ready—I'm going straight to the Minister of the Interior and Safety.”
“Right away.”
“I-Is this real? A terminal cancer patient... fully cured?”
Korea Medical Association President Lee Mungil's voice trembled as he clutched the chart.
“No lie. Removed metastasized cells, regenerated with potion— all normal cells. Like healthy mid-20s level. And it only took ten bottles. Ten potions cured terminal cancer. Revolution—pure revolution. Even if it doesn't fix cancer cells directly, Korea conquers cancer first in the world.”
Korea University Hospital President and Association Vice President Kim Chunsik shouted, veins bulging, passion like his first successful surgery.
“And firefighters snatched two batches?”
“Yes. They say 100 people glued to the market all day waiting.”
“They skipped rescues for that? We should've thrown more manpower.”
“Where from? We scraped 800 from the university this round. No guarantees even then. We need to see the Health Minister now—buy before they hit the market.”
Lee Mungil shot up.
“What are you waiting for? Get the car!”
Health and Welfare Minister Byeon Jaejin and Interior and Safety Minister Kim Gijae were alumni from the same school and department—close as brothers.
They didn't meet often now due to duties, but shared drinks once or twice a month.
Now, icy tension filled the room.
“Gijae, let's do 6:4.”
“If hyungnim yields that much, I'll gladly accept.”
“Hey! Kim Gijae—you wanna go?”
Byeon Jaejin slammed the table. The bang echoed. Tea spilled from cups, but no one cared.
“Hyungnim, no high or low in human life, right? True. But if we must compare: one vs. ten. That potion saved 13 in three days—if it goes to Welfare, it's one. Twelve die without proper care.”
Kim Gijae didn't flinch.
“Same argument. When did I say abandon twelve? Unknown accidents matter, but save the dying first. Dozens die daily. No-death days still see teens go in hospitals. Per you, save them first.”
As they glared like beasts, the door burst open.
“Who said come in? No one—Prime Minister? Here?”
Byeon Jaejin started, but it was Prime Minister Lee Busik.
“Tsk tsk. Your shouting reached the lobby—how could I not? What's the uproar?”
Lee Busik had stopped at the teahouse for personal business, heard familiar voices from the restroom, and barged in upon recognizing them.
Knowing talks were deadlocked, they explained to Lee Busik.
His expressions shifted: surprise, shock, awe.
He'd never heard of such potions.
“Heavens! A true benefactor. God blesses us with such a hunter.”
Then he scowled at them.
“Tsk, shortsighted fools. Ratios now? What if that hunter sells to others? Hunters? Foreigners? Corps? Then what?”
Kim Gijae and Byeon Jaejin paled.
“Th-That...”
“Uh, w-well...”
They stammered in shock.
“Knew it. Contact Hunter Management Bureau chief now. We meet that hunter first.”
To be continued in the next chapter...
The Hunter Who Awakened as an NPC