[Stage 1 Elixir] (Tier 1)
Description:Heals bodies afflicted by abnormal conditions and diseases.If complete recovery is not possible with a Stage 1 Elixir, symptoms will be alleviated.
Ingredients:Willow bark, colloidal silver, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), activated carbon, iron powder, protein, sugar, salt, purified water, Luktic Basic Catalyst Stone
1. Finely chop the willow bark (1) into pieces smaller than 0.5 cm per chunk, then mix with colloidal silver (0.2).
2. Add dimethyl sulfoxide (0.01), activated carbon (0.5), and iron powder (0.05).
3. Pour in purified water (10), then add protein (0.5), sugar (2), and salt (1). Stir slowly until the mixture becomes uniform.
4. Finally, insert the Luktic Basic Catalyst Stone into the mixture.
5. The mixture will begin to heat to around 80°C and boil vigorously. After approximately one hour, the heat will naturally subside. Once the mixture has completely cooled, the Stage 1 Elixir is complete.
* The numbers in parentheses indicate mixing ratios.** To adjust the elixir's potency, alter the ratio of purified water. Increasing water content will weaken the effect. Do not change the ratios of any other ingredients.*** The Stage 1 Elixir is generally recommended for oral consumption, but it is also effective when administered intravenously. If oral intake is impossible, intravenous injection or similar methods may be used.**** Recommended dosage: 100 ml. Consuming more than this will not cause side effects, but will not increase efficacy. Consuming less will reduce the therapeutic effect proportionally.
Finally—
It had been decrypted.
The Stage 1 Elixir I had long awaited.
A miraculous medicine capable of treating my father's condition—or at the very least, improving it.
The ingredients themselves weren't especially rare.
There were a few chemical compounds with complicated names, but unlike sulfuric acid last time, every single one of them could be purchased easily through online marketplaces.
The administration method was also ideal for my father's current condition.
Given that he was critically ill, oral administration would be difficult.
But if intravenous injection was viable, then this elixir could be applied to him without issue.
I needed to gather the materials and begin production as quickly as possible.
I wanted to inject that elixir into my father's body—even a minute sooner.
But then—
A strange feeling crept over me.
I looked over the ingredient list once more.
Willow bark?
Why would willow bark appear as an ingredient in a formula decrypted from the Akashic Records, knowledge left behind by an ultra-ancient extraterrestrial civilization?
Protein had already struck me as odd back when I created the Skin Regeneration Agent.
Still, I'd brushed that off—after all, amino acids had reportedly been discovered in meteorites not long ago.It wasn't impossible that alien life also used proteins.
But willow bark?
Willow trees are plants that evolved and flourished specifically on Earth.
They are not some universal cosmic organism.
Most likely, this formula was utilizing aspirin—acetylsalicylic acid—the primary active component derived from willow bark.
If that were the case, why not simply list acetylsalicylic acid directly?
Why specifically write "willow bark"?
I asked the quantum computer about it.
It replied:
[System Message: As expected, you are perceptive, Heir.As always when you ask such questions, there is a reason you will find acceptable.]
[Input: But you can't tell me right now, and I'll understand someday after unlocking more of the Akashic Records.Same as always, right?]
[System Message: Yes. That is correct.You will understand—eventually.]
…Fine.
That mystery could wait.
Right now, nothing mattered more than my father.
I immediately ordered all the necessary materials.
They would arrive by tomorrow.
The moment everything was ready, I would manufacture the elixir and take it straight to the hospital.
Of course, no doctor or nurse would ever agree to inject an unknown substance brought in by a family member.
Which meant—
I would have to do it myself.
I could handle it.
Not long ago, I'd drawn 200 ml of my own blood when manufacturing gold.
Compared to that, this was nothing.
Still, mistakes were unacceptable.
Given my father's severely weakened condition, a single error—damaging a blood vessel—could lead to catastrophic consequences.
I spent the entire night replaying instructional videos on intravenous injections, memorizing every step.
***
The next morning, I switched roles with Dong-sik.
I was overseeing packaging operations in the warehouse.
"Dong-sik, I'm really sorry, but could you swap shifts with me around lunchtime today?Something urgent came up."
"Lunch? Sure.You covered half a day for me yesterday anyway.But wow—you acted totally fine yesterday. Looks like today's hitting you hard, huh?"
"It's not that—I just have something important to do."
"Haha! No need to deny it, Si-woo.That's what friends are for, right?Today, the ever-energetic Kim Dong-sik will cover for you."
He was clearly getting back at me for teasing him yesterday.
Obvious—but endearing, in a way.
"Thanks, Dong-sik. Really."
"Leave it to me. You go get some proper rest!"
By lunchtime, after sharing a jajangmyeon and sweet-and-sour pork set with Dong-sik and the part-time workers, we switched shifts.
"I'll come back in the evening. Thanks again."
"Don't mention it.You definitely aren't as tough as you used to be, huh?"
"…Yeah. Maybe not. I'll rest a bit and come back."
He waved me off cheerfully.
When I returned home, the ordered materials were already neatly stacked at my door.
I immediately began manufacturing the Stage 1 Elixir, following the Akashic Records' instructions exactly.
I finely chopped the willow bark into pieces smaller than 0.5 cm.
Placed them into a beaker.
Poured in the colloidal silver.
Though it looked like a solution, colloidal silver wasn't actually dissolved—it was microscopic solid silver particles suspended in liquid.
In folk medicine, it was often said to be beneficial to the human body, though modern science largely dismissed those claims.
Yet if it was included here, perhaps it truly held some hidden potential.
Following the recipe, I added minute amounts of DMSO, iron powder, and a spoonful of activated carbon.
The mixture darkened into a sticky, murky sludge.
I poured in purified water according to the specified ratio.
This time, I did not dilute it further.
I needed the maximum possible potency for my father.
Finally, I added protein powder, sugar, and salt, stirred thoroughly, and submerged the softly glowing Luktic Basic Catalyst Stone.
The reaction was immediate.
Heat surged violently.
The mixture began to boil, bubbling furiously.
Perfect.
After about an hour, the reaction subsided.
Ten minutes later, the beaker had cooled.
The once-dark mixture had transformed into a mysterious, translucent purple liquid.
A color so pure it felt like something from a childhood fairy tale.
It even smelled faintly sweet—almost like a grape-flavored drink.
I transferred the completed elixir into a small bottle, packed it together with a syringe and needle, and hurried to the hospital.
***
I entered the VIP hospital room.
My father lay unconscious on the bed.
Machines surrounded him, emitting intermittent high-frequency beeps—artificially sustaining organs that had almost completely failed.
His complexion was worse than before.
The doctors had said it repeatedly—
That the fact he'd lasted this long was already a miracle.
That it was time to prepare myself.
His body was collapsing day by day.
But—
That ended today.
I was holding a miracle left behind by a civilization far beyond ours.
I assembled the syringe and drew the purple liquid into it.
Then I brought it to my father's arm.
Wrinkled. Darkened. Withered.
Soon, it would regain vitality.
…But finding a vein was harder than expected.
I was an amateur.
Finding a usable vein in the arm of a critically ill patient was far from easy.
Still, I had to do it.
No one else would.
Just as I was carefully feeling for a vein—
Click.
The hospital room door opened.
A doctor in a white coat stepped inside.
Damn it.
No time.
I brought the needle closer.
The doctor's face twisted in shock.
"G-Guardian! What is that?!What do you think you're doing?!"
Here.
I drove the needle in.
Smooth.
Perfectly into the vein.
"Stop immediately!!"
The doctor rushed toward me, grabbing for my arm.
But I pushed the plunger down all the way.
Every last drop.
"No—! You can't—!"
The syringe emptied.
The doctor finally grabbed my arm, staring in horror at the empty barrel.
It was done.
I had successfully injected the elixir into my father's body.