"The core of Urario. It increases the amount of magic in the body and transforms the magic itself, turning it purer. Well, it doesn't mean much to people who already have pure magic."

"Okrohwan. It's a potion that clears the mind and body and greatly increases stamina, so if you take one when you get an internal injury, you don’t have to worry. If you want to raise your level right now, then perhaps it’s a good choice?"

"Bilbodna’s potion is unlike other potions. It boosts your senses as well as all your stats."

Reiji continued to read the 'newspaper.’ Each time, Seo Jun-Ho would smile and give her a thumbs-up.

"Why do you keep giving me a thumbs up? Doing that won’t really benefit you. I’m an honest Administrator, so don't expect anything from me."

Reiji was giving off a solid "corrupt official pretending not to notice what was going on" feeling. Did she think she might get caught? Well, this was not the time to think about such things. Seo Jun-Ho focused on the potions in front of him.

‘All these potions over here have no side effects.’

His first choices, the ‘Hundred Years Snowy Root’ and the ‘Solution of Flasia,’ were in the compartment next to them. All the potions in front of him now were 'top-level' potions. It meant that no matter what he chose, he wouldn’t be losing out.

'What a vicious store...’

It was easy to become a sucker in this place because you couldn’t read the item information. In fact, didn't he almost get tricked even though he had taken potions in the past as if he were eating food and drinks? All the potions that emitted a strong enough fragrance or energy to catch your attention were ‘busts.’ So, he did not even spare any more glances at the first two potions in the side compartment.

‘The real ones are this way.’

For the novices who didn't know better, they would probably go mad with greed and pick the ‘busts.’ However, thanks to Reiji's advice, Seo Jun-Ho had narrowed down the top-level potions to three candidates.

[Bilbodna’s Potion.]

All stats +10, all sensory sensitivity increases.

[Nenkas' Energy]

Magic stat +50.

[The Core of Pochiclops.]

Magic stat increases by 1 per day for 60 days.

'Hmm...'

The higher the magic, the better it was. Especially in his case, since he had both Watchguard of Darkness and Frost. The higher the magic, the higher the destructive power of each skill would become.

‘Should I go with Nenkas' Energy or the Core of Pochiclops, then?’

In actuality, what Seo Jun-Ho coveted the most was the Core of the Pochiclops. Even though it took time, it would give 10 more magic in the end.

‘The Core of Pochiclops is 700,000 points’

If he bought it, he would have to give up the other potions.

'I've made up my mind.'

The moment Seo Jun-Ho resolved his heart and reached out to the core, he heard a hint from behind.

"That idiot is really... shouldn’t buy that."

Looking back, he could see Reiji muttering while glaring at the newspaper with an irritated look on her face.

"Weren’t you supposed to be a big shot back in the day? Why can’t you take a hint? Idiot Specter."

“...”

His ear tickled. She wanted him to hear what she was saying, right?

"Then, what should I buy?"

"Huh? Why are you asking me that? Are you joking?"

Shoo, shoo.

She waved her hands as if chasing away flies.

'Based on her reaction. Is there a potion that I haven’t found yet?’

Seo Jun-Ho blinked and looked around at the potions once again. As expected, there were none. He had already asked about the effects of the 12 ‘top-level’ potions in front of him. He looked through the cupboard to see if there were any hidden potions, but there were no such things.

'That means…’

Seo Jun-Ho's gaze turned to one side. These were the potions that he classified as ‘busts.’ All of them had side effects and were likely to be bought by beginners.

‘I heard the effects of the Hundred Years Snowy Root and the Solution of Flasia earlier.’

Seo Jun-Ho looked around one by one at the other potions. As if they were advertising ‘I'm a bust,’ there were only things that emitted intense energy and scent. When he stared at Reiji and picked up a wooden box, she read the newspaper with her eyes sparkling.

"Thousand Year Earth Root. It’s a potion that can only be made when a wild ginseng buried in the ground endures enormous pressure and high temperatures for a thousand years. You can get a lot of magic when you take it, but since it is a potion representative of yang energy, those who are not prepared can burn to death as soon as they swallow it."

It was a potion that had both terrifying effects and side effects.

‘In short, if you don't have fire resistance, you’ll die the moment you take it.’

Of course, this looked like something even beginners wouldn’t buy. It looks hot on the surface, and heat was actually being emanated out of it.

"...Wait, it's intense yang energy?"

Seo Jun-Ho looked like he had realized something. Was this what she wanted? When he looked back at her in surprise, there was a mocking grin on her face.

"Tsk, tsk. Would you be able to use it properly when you’re so dull?”

He was certain that what she wanted him to get weren’t the side effects-free potions.

'Among the ones with side effects, there should be something I can take.'

Unlike the top-level potions that anyone could take, these were cheaper. This meant he had to use his limited 800,000 points efficiently. Seo Jun-Ho's hands became busy. At the same time, Reiji's mouth also became busy. As a result, he checked dozens of different types of potions.

'...I found it.'

Seo Jun-Ho looked at the two wooden boxes in front of him. The sentences that she explained about these potions naturally came to his mind.

"The Amitabha Holy Water. It's a rare potion, and only a single drop of it is formed once every thousand years. So what? It's a representative potion for yin energy, so if someone who is not prepared takes it, then that person would be overcome by the cold and freeze to death. Well, it would be great if one could take it since it has the ability to transform their body and bring about great improvements."

"The Heart of the Darkness Dog. Wow, why the hell would someone put that in the store? It's a potion that people who don't have the power of shade or darkness can't touch at all.”

These potions could only be taken if you had the property of ice and darkness, which Seo Jun-Ho’s Frost and Watchguard of Darkness fulfilled.

'Skills of most grades won't even be able to do it.’

Even if it was A-grade, it was probably close. In fact, in the case of the Amitabha Holy Water, it was questionable whether he could even take it right now. That was how great the chill emanating from the potion bottle was.

"I'm buying it."

Seo Jun-Ho didn’t hesitate to buy the two potions for 400,000 points each.

[You have purchased the Amitabha Holy Water.]

[You have purchased the Heart of the Darkness Dog.]

800,000 points were deducted.

'That's why she told me to prepare 800,000 points.’

However, he had tried to buy a strange potion for 700,000 points, so of course she would become frustrated. He would have nothing to say even if he was told that he was stupid. Seo Jun-Ho approached her with an awkward expression.

"Thank you."

"Huh? What for? Oh, for selling you the items?"

She could be an actress. Her acting was getting better with her sly performance of pretending to not know anything.

"But can I ask you a question?”

"What is it?"

Seo Jun-Ho looked around the store and asked, "Any Player can use this store, right?"

"That's right."

"Does that mean that fiends can use this place, too?”

"Of course..."

"…Why do you leave them as they are?”

Fiends were the biggest obstacle for Players when climbing the floor. If the ultimate goal of Administrators was to let Players clear the floors, the fiends were clearly people they had to get rid of.

"Sorry, but Administrators don't get involved in Players’ business. No, I should say that we can't…”

"Why is that?"

"That's the rule."

"Rules... Who made those rules?"

Reiji smiled and extended her index finger and pointed it toward the ceiling.

"The people above."

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho stared blankly at the ceiling. “Are they gods?"

"Hmm… that's a bit of a broad word. Because…"

Clap!

While talking, she suddenly clapped her hands.

"Oh, I almost misspoke. I have to go to bed now, so can you get lost?”

"Wait, could you finish what you were saying…!”

"Nope. I refuse."

The last thing Seo Jun-Ho saw was a smile on Reiji's lips. The location changed again after that.

"Oh, he appeared. Where have you been?" asked the Frost Queen.

“...At the Administrator’s store."

"Did you get anything useful?"

"Yeah."

With a slightly blank look, Seo Jun-Ho took out a wooden box containing two drugs. The Frost Queen looked closely at them and shook her head. “It was certainly worth going through all that hard work to collect those points. But…"

She continued, clearing the wooden box containing the 'Amitabha Holy Water' to one side. "The yin energy in this is still too massive for you to accept. You will not be able to endure it."

"As expected… Even the Ex-grade Frost is still not good enough?”

"It is not about the grade.” The Frost Queen poked him lightly. "Your body is not complete yet."

Currently, if you only considered stats, Seo Jun-Ho was on the same level as when he had been Specter in the past. However, even in his Specter days, he would not have been able to take the Amitabha Holy Water. The potion was just that amazing. It was an ancient potion that heaven would only give to those who were prepared.

‘For potions of this level, it’d be a waste to just absorb the energy.’

This was similar to the case of the 'Frozen Heart' he had just taken just a while ago. He only took it after absorbing the cold energy with the Frost skill. However, he had only done that because the potion’s strength was ambiguous…

‘It's a different story when it comes to the Amitabha Holy Water.’

Potions of this caliber were things you would only see once or twice in your life. The moment it was used by a person, the effect was likely to be halved. It was much better to take it safely than to gamble, after all.

"It’s a shame, but I can't help it. It’s not like it’ll disappear over time." Seo Jun-Ho swallowed his regret and looked at the wooden box containing the ‘Heart of the Darkness Dog.’ "I should take this now, then.”

"I will stand guard for you."

When taking a potion, there must be no interference. Since you were taking in a huge amount of energy at once, if you were disturbed and something went wrong, you could become crippled. As the Frost Queen flew toward the entrance, emitting frost, Seo Jun-Ho reached out carefully.

‘As expected, I can't just do it.’

The Heart of Darkness Dog was bound in darkness and could not even be touched with bare hands. But when the energy of darkness was wrapped around his fingertips, the heart was lifted so easily that it felt surreal.

‘The problem is that it has to be the same way when I take it.’

The esophagus, magic circuit, and all parts of the body had to be layered with the Watchguard of Darkness. That way, he would be able to absorb the potion completely without any loss.

‘Let's focus.’

His heart, which was disturbed by the conversation with Reiji, suddenly became calm like a peaceful lake. Perhaps because of the Hero’s Mind (S), his concentration was at a monster-like level.

Swallow.

Seo Jun-Ho carefully swallowed the Heart of the Darkness Dog in one bite. After smoothly passing through his throat, it quickly spread to the veins throughout his whole body.

‘It's coming...’

The enormous power of darkness possessed by the Heart of the Darkness Dog came hurtling toward him like a huge tsunami.

Kwagwagwagwagwa!

‘Keuk!’

The blood vessels and magic circuits that could not withstand the destructive power screamed. Now, what Seo Jun-Ho had to do was simple. He had to calm these mischievous things that didn’t know where to go. Seo Jun-Ho closed his eyes and focused his mind. One by one, he began to put to sleep the guys who were jumping around like they were going to tear apart his veins. Sometimes he gently soothed them, sometimes he calmed them down by force.

"Whew..."

When he woke up again, it was five hours later.

[You have taken the Heart of the Darkness Dog.]

[Your magic stat has increased by 50.]

[The affinity for darkness has increased.]

The effects were, of course, excellent. Vitality surged all over his body. But that was only for a moment as he noticed something.

“Sniff, sniff. Oh, the smell."

There was a bad smell all over his body.

"High-rank potions are good, but this is the problem."

As long as you were a person, no matter how well you had taken care of yourself so far, impurities would still accumulate in your body. Those were cleaned out and discharged from your body after taking excellent potions.

'To get rid of all the impurities completely... I wonder if I need a body transformation?’

Reiji said taking Amitabha Holy Water could achieve that state. Suddenly, his inventory felt heavier. The heaviness was not from the item but from having a strong backer.

"Should I take a shower first?"

Seo Jun-Ho got up. He noticed that he had become tremendously lighter than before.