95-96
Added 2025-02-14 02:22:18 +0000 UTC*Chapter 95: The Cost *
The professor held a small vial in his hand.
The light from it distorted Roger's face into a twisted reflection.
Staring at the cleansing potion before him, Roger instinctively reached out to take it.
However, the professor's fingers, holding the potion, pulled back slightly, avoiding Roger’s grasp. Smiling at the eager expression on the boy’s face, the professor said,
“If you want this potion, you must first pay the appropriate price.”
Roger, jolted out of his daze by the professor’s reminder, finally came to his senses.
He glanced at the cleansing potion in the professor's hand, then turned to the professor's smiling face. Swallowing nervously, he asked tentatively, “So, is it still just one dollar?”
“Of course not.”
Shaking his head, the professor shattered the last shred of hope in Roger’s mind. Pinching the vial of cleansing potion between his fingers, the professor slowly revealed its price.
“To obtain this, you must exchange three years of your lifespan.”
“Lifespan?!”
Hearing the professor’s words, Roger, despite having prepared himself mentally, was still stunned by the potion’s exorbitant cost.
“But the love potion only costs a dollar,” he protested.
Roger found it hard to accept that the same professor who called love cheap would demand such a high price for its antidote.
“Love is indeed cheap, but...”
The professor’s eyes, magnified behind his glasses, seemed to possess an uncanny ability to see through people’s hearts. Fixing his gaze on Roger’s astonished face, he replied in a slow, enticing tone,
“It is also the most unbearable thing in this world. The cost of the cleansing potion is not compulsory. You can choose not to pay and instead return to the ‘joy’ of experiencing love in reality.”
The professor’s words brought back memories of Layla’s face in Roger’s mind.
That face, contorted with jealousy and madness born of excessive love, seemed to materialize before him, wielding a sharp kitchen knife as it charged at him.
“I’ll pay the price,” Roger declared, his teeth gritted, as he was haunted by the memories in his mind.
Seeing Roger sign his name on the contract, the professor’s smile broadened. Handing the cleansing potion to Roger, he added,
“Remember, use it immediately when you get back. Otherwise, you won’t get another chance.”
Clutching the thumb-sized vial in his hand, Roger felt its weight pressing down on him like a stone.
---
*That Evening, Outside Layla’s House*
Roger took a deep breath, looking at the bottle of red wine in his hand before touching the vial of cleansing potion in his pocket. He silently encouraged himself,
“You can do this, Roger—just like before.”
If he could, Roger would never have returned to this place again. Once the object of his infatuation, it now stood as the most terrifying nightmare in his memory.
But when he thought of Layla’s current madness—a result of his own actions—Roger convinced himself he couldn’t ignore it. He had to set things right.
Summoning his courage, Roger pressed the doorbell with a mindset completely different from the one he had when he first arrived.
*Ding-dong.*
*Click.*
The moment Roger rang the bell, the tightly shut door opened from within, revealing Layla’s gaunt face.
In just an afternoon, she seemed even more haggard than before. Spotting Roger at the door, her eyes, previously filled with madness, now brimmed with excitement.
She let the sharp kitchen knife in her hand drop to the floor with a dull thud.
Rushing forward, Layla threw her arms around Roger, holding him so tightly it felt as if she wanted to absorb him into herself.
“Darling, where were you? I thought you’d left me...”
Feeling Layla’s suffocating love wrap around him like a spider’s web, Roger’s face showed discomfort, though he forced himself to reply, “I just stepped out for a bit—you’re overthinking it.”
After finally freeing himself from her grip, Roger took a deep breath before raising the red wine in his hand.
“On my way back, I came across this lovely bottle of wine. I thought we could share a glass together.”
“Anything from you, darling, is perfect,” Layla replied, her love for Roger distorted into obsession by the effects of the love potion.
---
*In the Kitchen*
Glancing at Layla, who was twirling and humming in the living room, Roger discreetly poured the cleansing potion into one of the glasses of wine.
Carrying the glasses, Roger walked into the living room and handed one to Layla with a casual air.
“To our love,” he said, urging her to toast.
Accepting the glass, Layla looked at the shimmering red wine inside. Without hesitation, she drank it in one gulp.
Watching her drink, Roger felt a wave of relief wash over him.
“Darling, this wine tastes... a little strange,” Layla murmured, looking at him curiously. But before she could finish her thought, her vision blurred.
She shook her head and blinked rapidly. As her vision cleared, Roger’s once charming appearance seemed suddenly... ordinary.
Why had she been so obsessed with someone so plain?
He wasn’t even her type.
“I’m sorry, Roger. I don’t know what’s come over me these past few days. Maybe we need some time apart to think things through.”
Layla moved her hand off Roger’s and shifted away from him slightly, gently suggesting they take a break.
“It worked!”
Hearing her suggestion, Roger saw her returning to her normal self. Instead of feeling hurt at being rejected, he clenched his fists in joy, struggling to suppress a victorious yell.
*“Woof, woof!”*
But just as Roger was basking in his relief, a familiar bark from outside froze the expression on his face.
“Crap, I forgot about Carla!”
Looking at Layla’s empty wine glass, Roger’s heart sank with regret.
He had eliminated one form of love but completely overlooked another waiting for him.
---
Meanwhile, in the library, the professor ignited the signed contract. Amid swirling smoke, he smiled contentedly as the library faded into the night.
---
no ch 94
*Chapter 96: Entering the Scene *
San Marino.
As the final storyline of the latest script evolved on the data panel before him, the system's fractured interface began to reflect fluctuations in the [Plot Value].
However, after only a few jumps, the value promptly came to a stop.
[Plot Value]: 265,580
Undoubtedly, from a purely [Plot Value] earnings perspective, this new script, The Magical Potion, could only be described as mediocre.
Still, Allen had never intended to maximize [Plot Value] when he created this script.
Out of caution, he deliberately avoided including too many dangerous elements in the storyline to prevent any potential pitfalls during redemption.
Thus, his gaze barely lingered on the string of numbers representing [Plot Value] at the top of the system's data panel. Instead, he navigated smoothly into the system's backend.
*[System &...BackendHistory...Logs...&%￥Red...&emption&Shop...]
[Script 6]: The Magical Potion
[World Evolution Rate]: 0.28%
[Plot Prop—"Love Potion"] (500/Redemption)
Effect: Love
Description: Drink it, and you’ll obtain the love you’ve always dreamed of—if you can handle it.
Note: After all, love is the cheapest commodity.
Note 2: Some believe love is nothing more than a goal-oriented motivational state, driving humans to peculiar behaviors.
[Random Evolution Location Card] (3,000/Redemption)
Effect: Random
Description: Use this card to randomly select any location as the setting for your script's evolution without expending additional [Plot Value] points.
Note: Random—is that good or bad?
Note 2: Do you trust your luck?
[Plot Scene Card—Library (1/1)] (1,500)
Card Grade: Black Iron
Description: Insert the scene in this card into any script without expending additional [Plot Value] points.
Note: Enter the library, tell the librarian your troubles, and perhaps they’ll fulfill your expectations.
“*[Random Evolution Location Card]?*”
Allen’s eyes immediately locked onto the [Random Evolution Location Card] among the series of items available for redemption.
A card capable of randomly selecting any evolution location—if his luck was good, he could even evolve the next script in a country outside of America.
Of course, if his luck was poor…
Landing in a nearby location would mean wasting 3,000 [Plot Value] points for nothing.
In short, this was a tool that heavily relied on luck.
After giving the [Random Evolution Location Card] a mental definition, Allen suppressed the itch to immediately redeem it and test his luck.
Though the card's appearance was surprising, he hadn’t forgotten his original objective when designing The Magical Potion.
[Plot Scene Card—Library (1/1)]
This was his target.
With a reduction of 1,500 points in [Plot Value], Allen redeemed the [Plot Scene Card—Library (1/1)].
Staring at the newly appeared prop on the fractured system panel, Allen unhesitatingly issued a command to use it.
[Plot Scene Card—Library (0/1)]
A black light emanated from the [Library] scene card in the system panel, spreading into a dense black fog that enveloped Allen in his home in San Marino.
Within the thick black mist, the surrounding space distorted.
Allen felt as though an invisible force was pulling his body into an entryway. The process felt both infinitely long and as brief as the snap of a finger.
When the black fog dissipated, a new scene unfolded before his eyes.
Tall bookshelves rose around him, neatly arranged with tens of thousands of books. It was undeniable—he had entered the library from The Magical Potion script.
“Welcome, great Creator.”
Unlike when Roger had entered, this time the professor was not seated atop a pile of books at the center of the shelves.
Instead, he extended a hand in greeting to Allen, bowing slightly with a polite smile.
“Creator?”
Hearing the professor’s address, Allen was momentarily taken aback.
This was his first direct interaction with a character evolved from a script. Unlike the text within the script or the system’s depiction, the professor’s every movement was as lifelike as a real person’s.
“Indeed, from the moment I was evolved, I became a part of this world,” the professor responded, reading Allen’s thoughts—an ability Allen had bestowed upon him in the script.
Although I’d be glad to answer all the Creator’s questions, I regret that [Library] cannot be sustained for long due to its extraneous nature to the script. Please state your troubles, and I will do my utmost to assist you.”
Noticing something, the professor’s smile subtly shifted, his expression tinged with regret as he reminded Allen of the time constraint.
Hearing this, Allen didn’t hesitate and quickly expressed the purpose behind The Magical Potion script’s creation.
“The Trial of the Grasses. I need a potion capable of enhancing the body.”
The professor’s initial purpose in the script was to prepare the core potion for [Witcher Transformation], known as the Trial of the Grasses.
“The Trial of the Grasses?”
However, unexpectedly, the professor’s brows furrowed slightly beneath his glasses. Looking at Allen, he softly warned, “Creator, if your goal is merely to enhance your body, the Trial of the Grasses is far from the ideal choice. While the potion does alter the user’s physiology, the process is highly unpredictable and inherently fatal. Furthermore, once consumed, it permanently severs the user’s connection to humanity…”
“Though I’m unsure who created such a potion, it’s undeniable that the alchemist behind it was utterly insane. Judging by the potion’s abysmally low success rate, it can hardly be called a success at all.”
Allen’s recollection of the Trial of the Grasses’ description confirmed the professor’s words.
Those who survived the potion underwent physiological mutations, but they could no longer produce offspring.
This was because the trial fundamentally altered the user’s biological structure. Although they retained a human appearance, they had become an entirely different species.
(End of Chapter)
