After Suho awakened as an EX-grade crafter,
in other words, after he gained an immense breadth of knowledge about every sort of crafting and material, there was one thing that made him clutch at his chest whenever he happened to think back on it.
It was none other than the incident during his first awakening, when he had soaked his body in a hodgepodge bath mixed with large quantities of the Elixir of Immortality.
They said ignorance made one brave, and it was only because he had known absolutely nothing about alchemy back then that he had gotten away with it; looking back now, after gaining knowledge on the subject, it was truly dizzying.
He hadn’t even done it with his life on the line and a solemn determination at the time, but in truth, he had crossed the valley of death several times over.
It had been an utterly foolish, insanely dangerous act.
Thinking about it, whether it was obtaining the Cheonyangwon said to be granted to only one person in the universe, or surviving that deadly, perilous hodgepodge bath, it seemed his luck really was absurdly good.
On that day, when he made that mysterious hodgepodge bath, the ratios, temperature, and components of the ingredients—even the Everglow Wood that made up the tub and the high-grade Aetherium laid on the bottom—had all acted together to produce a completely unexpected result.
The special space known as the subspace warehouse, which functioned solely for Suho’s safety, the compatibility between the highest-grade healing potion, regeneration potion, and anti-aging elixir, and even the rune he had borrowed from Ravi had all worked together with exquisite precision,
reversing the terrifying side effects inevitably possessed by the Elixir of Immortality, which could laughably devour even deadly poison.
As a result, he had ended up with a body that could not die, but...
Needless to say, that was far better than dying on the spot.
Suho quietly looked down at the results of the past few weeks of work he had devoted himself to in the subspace alchemy laboratory.
Transparent glass bottles, each holding about five liters, were filled with liquids of different colors, and the labels Suho had attached indicated their identities.
[Draught of the Giant]: Increases strength tenfold for three hours.
[Elixir of the Giant]: Permanently increases strength thirtyfold.
[Draught of the Gale]: Increases agility tenfold for three hours.
[Elixir of the Gale]: Permanently increases agility thirtyfold.
[Draught of Aether Harmony]: Increases total aether capacity and recovery per second tenfold for three hours.
[Elixir of Aether Harmony]: Permanently increases total aether capacity and recovery per second thirtyfold.
Six kinds in all.
“Keu... This is no joke.”
They were draughts and elixirs that even Ravi had praised unstintingly, saying they were astonishing.
According to the test results for each medicine,
the draughts had the effect of temporarily raising abilities, and it was possible to gain a certain degree of overlapping effect with other draughts or elixirs,
while the elixirs permanently raised stats, but could not stack with draughts or elixirs of the same type.
And the conditions for the draughts only had the usage restriction of “Aether Awakening Grade A or higher,”
but the elixirs came with the usage condition of “Aether Awakening Grade S or higher,” as well as the restriction requiring “a high level of self-regeneration ability.”
Apparently, since elixirs worked by twisting the existing DNA structure of the human body, survival itself could not be guaranteed without regenerative ability.
All of this information was merely the values Suho had obtained through the “enchantment tester” he had personally made.
The most important clinical trials had yet to be performed.
There was no need to look far for a test subject. He himself, with his undying body, could serve as the guinea pig.
In the name of safe experimentation, he couldn’t call in A-rank or S-rank Addmiti and feed them unverified potions... so from the beginning of his research, Suho had comfortably thought, “I’ll have to try them myself.”
According to the data, the proper dosage was 50 ml.
Since he had attached small faucet-like fixtures to the bottoms of the glass containers holding the draughts and elixirs, he drew the liquid into a small vessel like an espresso cup.
Drip, drip, drip...
“...Hooah, is this going to hurt like hell or something? I’m nervous.”
“Oh, are you starting with the elixirs right away?”
“Of course. The elixirs are the real deal. If the elixirs work, then the draughts are a given. And if I want to take them as safely as possible, wouldn’t this place be the best?”
“That is true. The subspace warehouse itself is pro-Suho in every possible way.”
“Good. I’m drinking!”
With a solemn expression, he downed one cup each of the Elixir of the Giant, the Elixir of the Gale, and the Elixir of Aether Harmony.
“Huuup...!”
“Oh dear, does it hurt badly?”
After acting out a face contorted in pain, Suho immediately relaxed his expression, shook his head from side to side, and shrugged.
“No... just kidding. What is this? I don’t feel anything... Did the effects apply properly?”
“You should test it.”
“Theoretically, if the effects were fully applied, thirty times my original strength should manifest, but it doesn’t feel like that... Anyway, let’s test it.”
Suho teleported to the area where he had gathered fitness and sports equipment among the endless supplies he had brought over from Earth.
An area lined with an enormous quantity of exercise equipment.
There, he picked up one of the barbells piled up in heaps and estimated the weight as he slid plates onto it.
Even before, Suho had been able to deadlift 70 to 80 kilograms without much trouble, but that had truly been average or below.
After awakening as an EX-grade crafter—especially with an immortal body—he had undergone changes in which he grew taller and his skin, muscles, and bones were reconstructed to be stronger, and his strength had improved to the point where he could deadlift up to 150 kilograms without any special exercise.
He had confirmed this several times, so it was a figure he could be fairly sure of, and for that reason, he first loaded the plates up to 150 kilograms as the initial stage.
“Let’s see... Hup...”
Suho lifted the barbell and tilted his head.
He definitely hadn’t felt anything after taking the elixir, like strength surging up or his muscles about to burst... but for some reason, he felt no resistance from the 150-kilogram weight.
“It’s light... Then...”
He immediately doubled the weight, loading plates onto the barbell until it reached 300 kilograms.
“Huuup.”
He took another deep breath and exerted strength, but once again, he felt almost no sense of weight.
He was starting to get a feel for it.
Suho showed Ravi the barbell shaft and ordered a barbell shaft made of Maglite, asking for the same thickness but a much greater length.
Then he began mercilessly loading plates onto the shaft Ravi immediately carved for him.
“Let’s see... two, four, six, eight... twenty... thirty, okay.”
There were thirty 25-kilogram plates on each side of the long barbell shaft, making a total of sixty plates and completing a 1.5-ton barbell.
It was a weight that was exhausting just to look at. A weight that an ordinary human could never lift, but if the effect of the Elixir of the Giant applied to Suho was as stated, he should be able to lift up to 4.5 tons.
“Uryaryaryara. Hup..?”
It lifted easily, just as expected.
“Oh... Lord Suho, your strength has become very great. It’s somehow fascinating.”
“Haha, right? This feels strange.”
He didn’t feel as if power were boiling up within him, but his strength had increased. By an enormous margin at that.
Just as even an incredibly strong person could perform delicate tasks requiring little force, and even a supercar could drive at low speeds,
it seemed that when he performed ordinary activities, he couldn’t really feel the increase in strength, but when great power was needed, he could draw it out instantly. The very range in which he could exert strength appeared to have expanded tremendously.
As he continued testing, his strength slightly exceeded that of an S-rank tanker, his agility slightly exceeded that of an S-rank assassin, and his total mana capacity and recovery rate also surpassed that of an S-rank mage.
And that was by the standard inside the Tower. Outside the Tower, where people dropped to a mere 15%, there was no need to even say it.
“Uahahaha... I’ll have to make time and have a contest of strength with Taeung.”
Suho laughed wickedly and put the barbell and plates back in order.
In the end, the elixirs had become something only Suho could take, but the draughts were not the same. Those were different.
He thought he could produce more of them, seal and package them, and distribute them to his clan members, or perhaps even sell them somewhere.
To do that, he would first have to register them with the Administrative Bureau, request and receive standards, and make an efficacy guide before selling them... but anyway.
“I should make more of the other kinds too. Wow, there’s an endless amount to make, isn’t there?”
After all, he had confirmed the possibility that even unique potions that were difficult to apply to humans could be transformed into draughts or elixirs with incredible efficacy depending on how they were reprocessed and mixed.
* * *
“Wow... Isn’t it a bit too long since you last came by?”
At the research institute for the construction of artificial space habitats, which he had visited for the first time in a while, Dr. Barrett greeted Suho with a bright face.
As he clasped the hand Barrett offered, Suho smiled awkwardly.
“Ah... I’ve been so busy that I just couldn’t come by...”
In truth, they were all excuses. He had done plenty of everything else.
He had simply lost interest because he thought of it as research and construction that would take an immense amount of time.
Still, it was true that after recruiting a large number of talented people from NASA, including Dr. Barrett, he hadn’t paid enough attention to them, so he admitted it cleanly and apologized.
“I’m sorry. I called you and everyone else here, but I haven’t taken proper care of things.”
But Barrett waved his hands.
“Oh my, what would Clan Leader Jeong have to apologize for? We are here under reliable support, researching and designing what we want to make to our hearts’ content. Where else in the world would there be an environment like this? As researchers, we’ve truly hit the jackpot.”
Whether he was sincere or not, the faces of all the researchers inside the institute were bright.
There was no need to win projects, no need to produce some kind of performance record and submit it, no need to compete with other research institutes, and on top of that, the owner paid them handsomely. In truth, there really was no better environment.
“If that’s the case... I’m very glad. Still, if there’s anything you need, please contact me anytime. I’ll handle it immediately.”
On the outskirts of Gyeonggi-do, the land Suho had purchased to use for expanding the research institute now had various buildings standing on it.
The Space Environment Research Institute, the Structural Innovation Center, the Living Systems Development Building, the Gravity and Motion Laboratory, the Space Adaptation Biology Research Institute, the Satellite Control and Observation Station, the Space Resources Research Building, the Habitat Modeling Experience Hall... and more. Looking at the place that had become one massive research complex, Suho let out an exclamation.
“Wow, you’ve been busy.”
“Haha, this is only the beginning stage. It is all thanks to the active support you have provided, Clan Leader.”
Among them, one particularly unique and conspicuous large dome-shaped building caught Suho’s eye, so he asked what it was used for.
“Ah, that is the Space Settlement Modeling Center. It is a research building where we precisely study and simulate the design and structure of artificial space habitats. Its main role is to efficiently model and design the form, function, and safety of habitats suited to the space environment. Here, we consider and simulate the shapes and layouts of various space habitats, then produce and evaluate prototypes for actual construction.”
“It’s an important place.”
“Indeed. You could say it is where core and practical research takes place.”
Dr. Barrett led Suho around every corner of the research complex and explained things, and Suho marveled at the research progress on artificial space habitats that had advanced considerably without him knowing.
Clap, clap, clap...
After roughly touring the entire complex, Suho clapped.
“This is truly wonderful. It really feels like the artificial space habitat is already complete.”
At those words, Dr. Barrett and the researchers laughed heartily.
“Hahaha, absolutely not. We still have an unimaginably long way to go. Still, having set things up to this extent means we’ve laid the groundwork, so we’ve taken the first step.”
“No. It really is amazing. Is there anything the research team needs? Expanded support, perhaps...”
“Oh, no. The budget support is already sufficient. However...”
After briefly falling into thought, Dr. Barrett began listing what they needed.
“Since this place is not the United States, there are many limitations in available infrastructure. It is not easy to rapidly expand in terms of personnel, land, and facilities...”
“Hmm... I understand. Then let’s do this. First, as for personnel, Doctor, you can recruit them yourself. Whether from the United States or any other country, bring in capable people. I can match their annual salaries to the level of your current researchers—that is, about two billion won a year. Also, don’t overwork the researchers with trivial tasks. I’ll provide as many high-end androids as needed. Ones loaded with the relevant AI.”
“Ooh... If you guarantee that much, I think we’ll be able to expand personnel quickly. Heh heh... It seems there will be many people trying to get in line with me now.”
“I will delegate full authority regarding personnel decisions on this side, so please handle it as you see fit, Doctor. And as for land and facilities... Hmm, if you wait just a little, I’ll connect you with a company.”
“A company...?”
Not fully understanding what he meant, Dr. Barrett tilted his head.
“As it happens, I have a concierge service that can take care of all sorts of minor matters for me. It’s an organization with a well-established system. I’ll connect you right away.”
Dr. Barrett wanted to ask how on earth something like a concierge service could handle such a global, cosmic-scale matter, but Suho had already taken out his phone and was calling somewhere, so he silently waited for the call to end.
After the signal rang several times, the voice of a husky old man came through the receiver.
—This is Baek Seungjae.
“Oh, hello, Chairman Baek. This is Jeong Suho. I hope you’ve been well? It seems Cheonghwa Group has been thriving lately. Cheonghwa Group’s stock price has been steadily rising too.”
Realizing that the person Suho had called was the chairman of the world-class conglomerate Cheonghwa Group, Dr. Barrett’s jaw dropped in shock.