LD - 2 . Elixir (2) ​

“The King’s Blood… . What in the world is that?”

During the past week, Han Seo Jin searched far and wide for the ‘King’s Blood’ . He researched diligently for the unique ingredient, looking for its scientific name or any hints of its properties . On the other hand, he discussed with pharmaceutical experts in person for any possible information that wasn’t found on the internet .

But he still could not find anything of use .

“Not even the power of Insight could help me . ”

To find out what the King’s Blood was, he attempted to use Insight by staring at his test results again . However, the results of his actions were the same as before . Three chemical structures and the catalyst, King’s Blood .

“King’s Blood, King’s Blood, King’s Blood! Oh, it"s driving me insane! What in the world can it be? Does it literally mean to mix the blood of a king?”

Han Seo Jin was so frustrated, his chest was hurting . Suddenly, he saw his reflection in the mirror . His physical appearance seemed more gaunt compared to before .

Suddenly, a thought popped into his mind .

“Wait a moment… it can’t be?”

Han Seo Jin looked alternately at his reflection and at the three compounds .

“This can’t be, I am not a king…”

He could not accept this ludicrous idea .

“No matter how frustrated I am, this is not a valid idea . It is absurd . ”

Over time, the strength in his voice grew weaker . He fell into deep thought, pondering over the idea of mixing his own blood .  

This was a nonsensical idea, wasn’t he the farthest thing to what a king is?

“Still, it wouldn’t hurt to try . ”

Han Seo Jin convinced himself, as it was better than not doing anything .  

He poured some of each compound in an empty container, creating a transparent mixture . As he watched the liquid, he reaffirmed his decision and p.r.i.c.ked his finger with a needle . Like a flower bud in the spring, blood bloomed from his wound . He held his finger over the container, and allowed for his ruby red blood to flow out . The drops of ruby dripped into the container, scattering upon contact with the transparent liquid . Just as the blood spread out like tentacles, the droplets eroded the mixture .

Suddenly, a golden light shone from the container . This was not caused by the use of Insight, instead this was from his previous actions of mixing his blood with the liquid .

“Oh, wow!”

Surprised by the successful outcome, Han Seo Jin stepped back a few steps . The bright golden light encompa.s.sed the whole room, bathing him in a warm radiance . He grew more confident and approached the container . In an instant, the light vanished as if it was a lie .

“ . . . ”

Han Seo Jin stared at the mixture and opened his mouth in shock . Unlike before, the liquid was no longer transparent, nor red like his blood . Instead, it was a translucent blue, as if it was a liquified sapphire gemstone .  

Starstruck, Han Seo Jin could not look away from the unreal solution .

When suddenly… 

“Huh?”

Insight had kicked and displayed numerous letters above the mixture . What appeared though, was the ancient language n.o.body had been able to comprehend before .

‘That’s the same language as before . ’

An unknown language that n.o.body knows how to read . Han Seo Jin had thought that this was possibly a variation of English that was not known yet .  

“Uh? What is this?”

All of a sudden, there was a word that had caught his eye .

The word was written in the unidentified language, and he did not understand what it translated to . But he seemed to be able to recognize the word . Unconsciously, his mind could a.s.sociate the word with a hidden memory . He stuttered as he tried to read the words .

“E… lix… . er?”

Was this the name of the medicine?

Building up courage, Han Seo Jin held the container containing the mysterious blue drug .  

‘There is nothing left to lose for me!’

He swallowed the medicine in one attempt, but a hot sensation ignited past his throat . His stomach felt as if it was being burned, but it was not painful . Instead, he felt as if he was bathed in a pleasant warm liquid . He could only hope that the heat from this flame could consumed his cancer cells .

***

The king opened his eyes .

As soon as he arose from the bed, he sighed in relief and smiled .

“It was a success . ”

Elixir .

Legend has it, the Elixir was capable of curing all diseases, grant eternal youth, and resurrect the dead .

Of course, Han Seo Jin had not produced the real Elixir, but an imitation that held some of the Elixir’s powers . Even calling the imitation an ‘Elixir’ was insulting . It could not grant eternal youth, nor resurrect the dead . Instead, it could only cure diseases . In the dream world, there was a limit to what Han Seo Jin could gather . He would not be able to make these three ingredients, even with the knowledge he had .  

Due to the presence of the king’s blood in Han Seo Jin, he could use it to anchor the three ingredients together, and form the imitation .  

“The blood by itself can’t do anything… Hopefully Han Seo Jin won’t do anything foolish with the blood . ”

His blood didn’t have any special properties . Although they were the same person within the dream, he did not possess the power of the king there .

“I stopped my incoming death within the dream, preventing the completion of the curse . ”

The king relaxed for a little bit .

***

Han Seo Jin woke up feeling refreshed .

His body felt light, as if he was able to fly; and he did not feel the pain in his abdomen as often as before .

To get rid of the strange taste, Jan Seo Jin went to Hapamart to buy some appetizing beef . The grilled beef was engulfed in an instant .

“Strange, I am still hungry . ”

He was slightly worried, but he knew it was better than having no appet.i.te at all . With the thought that he should be healthy, he continued to do a cycle of eating and sleeping for three days straight .

Afterwards, he observed his appearance in the mirror and noticed that he had improved . So, he returned to the hospital he had received his first diagnosis .

“Are you here to get more painkillers?”

“That’s not it, my body has been feeling strange . My appet.i.te has improved and the pain has almost disappeared . I can move around much more as it does not feel anymore . Does this mean that I have gotten better?”

“ . . . ”

“I would like to be retested to make sure . ”

The physician sighed slightly . Usually, patients at Han Seo Jin’s stage would be hospitalized due to being unable to function normally . The pain would be unbearable to the point that hospitalization is needed . To the doctor, Han Seo Jin was attempting to brainwash himself that he felt better . The words, ‘I’m feeling better’ must be his method to say ‘I want to be better . ’

“Ok, I will recheck your condition . ”

Several hours of testing began .

Han Seo Jin changed into patient robes and got ready to do an MRI . He rea.s.sured himself firmly that he had improved .

‘It should be better than before . ’

The lights turned off and he closed his eyes . Only his pulse rate could be heard .

After a long period of testing, Han Seo Jin returned to the doctor . The doctor’s expression was serious as he inspected the test results .

“The test results are incredible . Oh, this is really amazing . This is ridiculous…”

“Did I get worse?”

“Did you get worse? No, rather it is the opposite!”

The doctor excitedly turned the monitor so that Han Seo Jin could see his results . There were several images displayed .

“This picture is an image of your previous state . You can see that there is a large ma.s.s that has invaded your intestines . On the other hand, today’s images show that the malignant tumor has almost all vanished!”

The doctor could not hide his enthusiasm and shock after witnessing a miracle . In delight, he ignored the standard of being calm during clinic visits .

“Over 90% if the cancerous tissues are gone! Only a month has past and you did not receive any formal treatment! This is a miracle!”

One month ago, he had received his first diagnosis of cancer . The doctor a.s.sumed the improvement was an ongoing progress throughout the month .

Truthfully, his recovery had only happened in three days . He wondered how the doctor would react if he discovered the Elixir’s potency in treating his cancer .

“Will I be able to live now?”

“Will you be able to live? Of course! At this point in time, I can safely tell you that you will make a full recovery!”

‘I have succeeded!’

Han Seo Jin wanted to leap and shout in excitement .