Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Vitality Pill
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◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Sophie and Do-yoon borrowed an empty training ground in secret, away from prying eyes. Inside, they rolled around naked. It was the essence of the Vitality Pill.
Even after the ritual ended, Sophie remained in a dazed state for quite a while. She stayed so out of it that Do-yoon had to dress her in her underwear and clothes himself, and she didn't even stir.
The way Sophie blankly stared at Do-yoon was filled with such thick affection that it almost looked like hearts were drawn in her pupils.
Then, at some point, she snapped to her senses, her face flushing bright red as if it might explode, and bolted away.
'...This is going to be awkward for a while.'
He checked the time. The ritual had dragged on longer than expected, and the training ground rental period was up.
Do-yoon decided to return the key first and head back to the dorm.
In his previous life, Do-yoon had consumed the Vitality Pill multiple times through repeated regressions. Thanks to that, he had memorized the entire ritual and could apply it to Sophie.
Moreover, thanks to his innate talent for mana control, he could perform his own ritual without an assistant.
To head back to the dorm, Do-yoon picked up the clothes he'd left in one corner of the training ground.
But before putting on his underwear, he looked down at his crotch with a troubled expression.
His groin was coated in sticky, hot fluids from Sophie.
'...I wish this thing were a bit smaller.'
Do-yoon's equipment was much larger than Enoch's. Uncomfortably so.
As it was, he couldn't put on his pants. It seemed he'd need to calm it down with a short meditation.
'First... I need to clean it off.'
With nothing handy to wipe it, Do-yoon reluctantly used his clothes against his lower body.
But then.
"Ugh...!"
Do-yoon jerked his hand away in surprise.
'What... what is this...?'
He looked down at his groin in bewilderment.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Hoo..."
Sitting on the dorm floor, Do-yoon let out a heavy exhale as he finished absorbing the elixir.
Do-yoon looked at the system message in front of him.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Stat 'Stamina' has increased by 1 level. Stat 'Mana' has increased by 1 level. ⚔ STATUS ⚔ ⚡ Strength: Level 5 💨 Agility: Level 2 ✨ Mana: Level 3 💪 Stamina: Level 8 🍀 Luck: - 🛡️ Toughness: Level 4 Feeling the changes in his stat levels and body, Do-yoon grinned.
'Impressive.'
As expected from one of the top alchemists of his era. He'd felt it in his previous life too, but the effects of this Vitality Pill were truly outstanding.
His Stamina stat had gone from level 7 to 8. That single level wasn't something to dismiss lightly.
Low-level stats could be raised through basic physical training alone, since the difficulty was low. But as you progressed, the hurdles between levels grew exponentially steeper. Naturally, the bodily changes from leveling up became far more dramatic too.
Do-yoon recalled an interesting anecdote the instructor had shared during class.
'There was once an elixir that raised Strength from level 1 to 8, and another that raised it from 8 to 9. Ah, not literally named that way—just describing the effects. Anyway, which one do you think sold for more?'
'Heh heh. Wrong. Or right? The question was ambiguous. The more expensive one was... the first one.'
'The first sold for an astronomical sum. But the second didn't sell at all.'
'The second elixir sparked a war.'
'It was a treasure so priceless that no amount of money could measure it—one of the greatest in history. A single elixir caused a war between kingdoms, even in an era when everyone had to band together against the Demon King.'
No need for long explanations. As taught in class, the highest stat since the System's creation was the Lion King's Mana at level 9.
If the alliance's strongest had a level 9 stat, you could assume the top ten Apostles had main stats clustered around 7-9.
In other words, level 7 was top-tier. Naturally, the difficulty to level up was brutally high.
Generally, past level 7, natural methods to raise stats were virtually nonexistent. That's when forced methods became necessary.
Those included top-grade elixirs or System-given opportunities, but even the former barely worked past level 8.
Yet the Vitality Pill had leveled up Do-yoon's level 7 stats. And it was an artificial elixir made from cheap, common materials.
'And he tried designing it for repeated consumption...?'
If that had truly succeeded, wouldn't Enoch's Demon King subjugation in the 18th round have happened two rounds earlier?
No matter how many times he'd taken it, thinking about this always sent chills down his spine.
Do-yoon examined the changes in his body.
'My Stamina alone has already surpassed my peak from my previous life.'
Of course, the name Enoch Războinic wasn't to be taken lightly.
In this case, while Do-yoon's innate talents and the pill's potency played a role, the bigger factor was the limitations of his pathetic human birth that had always held Enoch back. Stamina showed especially stark racial differences.
This body was utterly insane. Compared to the days shackled by a worthless human origin, everything felt comfortable and superior. The title of Divine Beast wasn't undeserved in the slightest.
Here, the System's Stamina didn't just mean basic cardiopulmonary endurance. It encompassed regeneration, endurance against wounds, and more—a broad concept.
Plus, according to the instructor, higher Stamina levels amplified other stats and skills. It increased the vitality and energy your body held.
Even with the same stats and skills, power varied with Stamina. This applied not just to sustained output but bursts as well.
'At this point, I can use the Hecleus Style in real combat to some degree. Encouraging.'
Do-yoon called it merely encouraging, but if word of his current state spread through the Cradle, it wouldn't end with mere uproar.
A mere cadet achieving a level 8 stat?
This was realistically impossible. Not a single instructor in the Cradle had a level 8 stat.
Of course, Do-yoon's stats weren't balanced. Level 8 Stamina didn't make him the Cradle's top in output—not by a long shot. His crucial Mana was only level 3.
But regardless, the fact that Do-yoon was now instructor-level—or beyond—purely on stats remained unchanged.
However, Do-yoon also felt a touch of embarrassment.
'...My libido's spiked too, huh.'
Do-yoon glanced at his lower body. While he'd suppressed it mentally during absorption, it was starting to swell again.
After helping Sophie with her ritual, Do-yoon couldn't comprehend this sudden change in his body.
His penis's sensitivity had become abnormally high.
Until now, he'd kept erections in check with willpower, but with Stamina at 8, even that was getting tough. His sexual energy had risen beyond human levels.
'Seems like Sophie's the cause...'
He had no clue how to fix it right now.
In the end, he'd have to ask Sophie tomorrow morning. No other way.
"..."
Worried if he'd get any sleep tonight, Do-yoon lay down to bed.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The next day, Sophie kept avoiding Do-yoon.
Even when he tried to talk, saying they needed to chat, she'd blush without meeting his eyes and run off.
But when Do-yoon explained his physical condition, she dragged him somewhere in startled alarm.
"I-I'm sorry!"
Behind a building, on a secluded walkway where few people passed, Sophie bowed deeply to Do-yoon right away.
"...So it really was Cadet Sophie's doing?"
"Yes, definitely... I-I'm really sorry. I never thought it would turn out like this..."
Do-yoon nodded. He'd suspected her, but he wasn't blaming her.
Just seeing her panic and apologize so profusely showed she hadn't done anything malicious on purpose.
Besides, a kind, innocent girl like Sophie didn't seem the type anyway.
"Th-that... The truth is..."
Sophie began explaining her situation with a fidgety, uneasy face.
"My... my... love juices... I think that's why..."
"Pardon?"
Do-yoon's eyes widened at the explanation that veered far from his expectations.
"In my home dimension, my kind... are called... succubi. So, our bodies have various traits... one of them being... aphrodisiac components in our fluids..."
Sophie mumbled in a halting voice, squirming her hips nonstop from sheer embarrassment.
"Ah... I see..."
Do-yoon found her explanation baffling yet oddly convincing.
It was hard to grasp that a gentle soul like Sophie was a succubus. But looking at her body made him nod instinctively.
Skin white as jade, a mound without a single hair, hips far wider than her shoulders, a voice that tickled the glans, flesh softer than her training warranted...
In a way, her body was lewder than the Succubus Queen legion commander Enoch had faced in his previous life.
'...Huh? Wait.'
But then Do-yoon recalled Sophie's status window and felt a sense of incongruity.
'Weren't they a race that valued chastity highly?'
From the traits and skills in her status window, her kind placed great importance on 'purity.'
Succubi? The explanation didn't quite line up.
But he couldn't ask directly. It would reveal he could view her status window.
In the end, Do-yoon decided to ask indirectly.
"...By succubus, do you mean something like the succubi of this world?"
At those words, Sophie's face turned distraught.
Her eyes grew moist. She looked up at Do-yoon with utter grievance, as if asking how he could say such a thing.
Do-yoon realized from her reaction.
'Oops.'
He'd said the wrong thing.
"N-no, that's not it...! We're nothing like those filthy creatures!!"
Sophie cried out sharply.