It was her last hope and final struggle.
That was Selena’s mindset as she arrived at her private laboratory.
Her laboratory had everything it needed, rivaling even those of the Magic Tower.
It was a testament to how she had struggled desperately to heal her body.
Access had been rare after her health precipitously deteriorated, but today was different.
"Mary. Just do exactly what I tell you. Got it?"
"Yes! I’ll do my best!"
"It’s nothing difficult... Kulleok! Kulleok! Kulleok!"
Selena hurriedly clamped her handkerchief over her mouth as a burst of coughing erupted suddenly.
A startled Mary rushed over, but Selena raised her hand to stop her.
"Huu..."
Soon, as her condition stabilized slightly, Selena pulled the handkerchief away from her mouth.
Looking down at the handkerchief, pitch-black dead blood pooled like a puddle.
Originally, it was only enough to soak the fabric, but pooling like a puddle meant...
’It would have been today or tomorrow.’
Time was running out. Selena clenched the handkerchief tightly.
The pooled blood slowly began to drench the handkerchief.
Following that, she looked at the worried Mary and nodded.
Since her body was like this right now, Mary would serve as her hands and feet.
"We have no time, so let’s start immediately. First, bring that extractor over there."
"Yes!"
"Next, connect the extractor to the charger..."
Selena gave Mary one instruction after another.
Mary also flustered at first due to the urgency, but she did not make any mistakes.
Though not quite on Selena’s level, she was quite intelligent in her own right.
In fact, considering she came from a commoner background, reaching this level was quite impressive.
’I should consider sending Mary to the Academy as well.’
Before long, Mary completed the preparations just as Selena instructed.
All that remained was extracting the essence from the Mature Mandrakes.
After extracting it, they just needed to adjust it with various herbs so a human body could endure it.
"Next... Kulleok! Kulleok! Keo-heuk!"
"D-Ducal Lady-nim!"
Just as they entered the final stage, Selena vomited up a cough.
Unable to even bring the handkerchief to her mouth, pitch-black blood poured out.
"Keo, keo-heu... Qu, quick... Ex, extract... it...!"
"B-But..."
"Do it... quickly...! Kulleok!"
"Y-Yes!"
Difficulty breathing caused by coughing and hemoptysis.
Selena forced herself to endure as she gave orders.
Having come this far, she could never give up.
She forcibly held onto her vision, which was slowly being stained with darkness.
"D-Ducal Lady-nim! Th-There’s a problem!"
"What... Kulleok! What problem?"
"Th-That over there...!"
To make matters worse, a problem had arisen with the Mandrakes.
Selena controlled her ragged breathing as best she could and looked at the Mandrakes.
Just as Mary said, the Mandrake that had been unconscious until a moment ago was squirming and moving.
It meant it was waking up from being knocked out. Quite troublesome.
’I was in such a rush that I couldn’t grab a pot...!’
Mandrakes must be extracted in an unconscious state to prevent accidents.
If extracted while conscious, its scream could shatter the extractor on the spot.
To prepare for that, one would usually use magic or plant it in a pot to keep it quiet.
Currently, Selena’s body was wrecked to the limit, making magic casting impossible.
And the pots could not be brought along because they were in too much of a hurry.
It was truly a crisis moment. The only saving grace was that only one had regained consciousness.
As Selena pondered what to do, an ingenious idea suddenly occurred to her.
’Didn’t he say beating them up makes them quiet?’
It was the method Grylls told her about.
That punching the Mandrake with fists quickly silenced it.
It was somewhat barbaric and scientifically unverified, but this was an emergency.
"Mary! Kulleok! Beat it to death!"
"Huh? Beat it?"
"Yes! Beat it! If it’s hard to hit, grab its stem and slam it against the floor! Kulleok! Kulleok!"
Her breathing difficulty eased slightly, but blood spattered from her mouth every time she spoke.
Mary looked back and forth between Selena and the Mature Mandrake with a flustered gaze.
Her face showed hesitation over what to do first, but she decided to follow Selena’s order for now.
Ggwa-ak!
"Eeung?"
It was when Mary grabbed the stem of the Mature Mandrake.
The Mature Mandrake with fine beard-like hair on its chin quietly opened its eyes.
Peo-eok! Peok! Ppeo-eok!
"Ggu-eolk?! Ku-ek! Ku-e-ek!"
And it had no choice but to close its eyes again.
Mary grabbed its stem and slammed it back and forth furiously.
It let out screams during the process, but not enough to cause chaos.
"I-I did it!"
"Then now let’s extract... Kulleok! Let’s extract first."
"Yes!"
Mary began extracting the Mandrake essence according to Selena’s instructions.
As extraction commenced, the Mature Mandrakes plugged into the extractor gradually shriveled up.
Ddok- ddok-
Golden liquid dripped drop by drop into the glass bottle connected to the extractor.
Looking at that liquid, Selena began to harbor expectations.
Seeing the brilliantly glowing essence made her feel healthier already.
"Kulleok! Kulleok!"
"Ducal Lady-nim. Here is a handkerchief..."
"No. It’s fine now."
Of course, feeling that way was just a feeling.
After coughing, Selena looked down at her clothes.
Now, even her clothes were drenched in dark crimson blood.
Every time she coughed, a bowlful of blood poured out.
Ddo-ok- ddok-
Time passed, and almost all of the Mature Mandrakes’ essence was extracted.
The Mature Mandrakes shrank down to almost the size of a baby’s palm.
Their vibrant red color had turned pure white.
Every last drop of essence had been extracted, causing even their vital energy to vanish.
"I think it’s almost done. What should we do next?"
"All that’s left... Kulleok! Kulleok! Heu-eup...!"
Selena’s eyes widened. She could endure the coughing.
The problem was the difficulty breathing that followed right after.
She tried desperately to regain her breath, but it didn’t work.
Her vision began to black out, and an agony like her brain activity was stopping rushed over her.
’Ah. No...!’
Even Mary’s urgent shouts echoed like a distant echo as her consciousness blurred.
Selena barely held onto her consciousness and reached out her hand.
Towards the essence that had just been extracted. She gestured for her to hand it over immediately.
Drinking the unrefined essence directly was tantamount to suicide.
However, in a situation where her life hung by a thread, Selena was in no position to be picky.
Ggul-ggeok! Ggul-ggeok! Ggul-ggeok!
Noticing Selena’s hand gesture, Mary poured the raw essence directly into her mouth.
Selena could feel the hot energy of the essence coursing down her throat.
Could this burning hot heat truly heal her?
Hope rekindled like a spark. She could not give up.
’M-Must circulate mana...’
Even amid her fading consciousness, she forcibly circulated her mana.
But there was no way her Mana Circuits, already hopelessly blocked, would react.
Though bitter and aggrieved, Selena did not give up.
The thread-thin instinct for survival stimulated her.
Then, just before her consciousness cut out, what she felt was—
Dugeun!
A vivid heartbeat.
"Ducal Lady-nim! Lady Selena! Wake up! Ducal Lady-nim!"
Mary tapped the shoulders of Selena, who had collapsed onto the floor, checking her consciousness.
Originally she was sitting in a wheelchair, but she had lost consciousness and fallen over.
Had Mary not been there, she would have hit her head first and been severely injured.
Even so, showing no sign of waking up, Mary had no choice but to panic.
’F-First, let’s call someone!’
Stamping her feet in anxiety would fix nothing.
Just in case, Mary turned Selena’s head to the side.
Because if she vomited blood like earlier, it could flow back into her airway.
Right as she stood up to run outside the laboratory:
Jjeo-jeo-jeok!
A strange sound struck Mary’s ears. The noise made Mary freeze.
It came not from where the laboratory tools were arranged, but from Selena herself.
At this, she turned back to look at Selena with anxious eyes.
Jjeo-jeo-jeok! Jjeo-jeok!
"Uh... Uh-oh?"
Mary was thoroughly bewildered. A bizarre phenomenon was unfolding before her eyes.
Selena’s skin was as white as snow. But it was white in a bad way.
It was white because her Mana Circuits were blocked to the point where blood circulation couldn’t even occur.
That skin peeled off bit by bit, and fresh skin sprouted beneath.
Not sickly pale, but fair and glowing simply from lack of exposure to sunlight.
What was particularly striking were the veins beginning to faintly show beneath her skin.
It was proof that Selena’s tightly blocked Mana Circuits were now circulating.
Ddudu-duk! Ddu-duk!
It wasn’t just her skin. Selena’s bones and muscles also underwent a striking transformation.
A body that couldn’t even perform proper exercise due to the Nine Yin Severed Meridians.
But as the internal energy—that is, mana—achieved harmony, the situation changed.
Powerful mana was re-forming a vessel worthy of its power.
Referred to in the language of the Central Plains as Body Metamorphosis.
Originally, it was a phenomenon that only manifested when vast mana was accompanied by enlightenment.
However, Selena’s body had been suffering from the Nine Yin Severed Meridians.
It had lacked harmony, but the mana itself was more than abundant, and her sheer talent fulfilled the requirement for enlightenment.
Ududuk! Uduk!
Her sickly appearance vanished without a trace, replaced by the striking curves of a woman.
Her snow-white hair repeatedly shed and lengthened before quickly settling back to its original length.
Snow-white hair shining like moonlight accentuated her breathtaking beauty.
Lastly was her face.
Though originally beautiful, her face bloomed into even greater splendor after undergoing Body Metamorphosis.
Though many things had changed overall, Selena’s state could be defined by a single sentence:
She had obtained a body that was far more ’healthy’ than before.
"Eeu-mm..."
As the short yet long process of Body Metamorphosis concluded, Selena also regained consciousness.
As Selena let out a low groan, Mary snapped out of her daze and asked urgently.
"Ducal Lady-nim! Lady Selena! Are you conscious?!"
"...Mary?"
"Yes! It’s me, Mary!"
"What on earth happened... Huh?"
Selena involuntarily got up from her spot, her eyes widening in surprise.
Having been lying down, she could examine her own body first.
And the first thing that caught her eyes was her chest.
Looking down, it was the first area visible, so it inevitably stood out most.
’Was my chest always this big?’
Selena touched her chest and tilted her head.
Originally, her body was pathetically meager.
A body she thought possessed not a single shred of feminine charm.
But soft, full mounds were now in Selena’s field of vision—and felt within her two hands.
Judging by size alone, it was enough to draw envy from others.
’It’s not just my chest. My arms too...’
Selena checked her arms with a spellbound expression.
Instead of gaunt, frail arms, they were filled out with healthy flesh like an ordinary person’s.
Even her skin wasn’t sickly pale, but a white tone radiating a healthy vitality.
A complexion where veins faintly showed beneath the skin, giving a lively flush.
"..."
"Ducal Lady-nim? Did you say something..."
Beol-tteok!
It was when Mary carefully spoke up.
Selena suddenly jumped up on her feet.
Mary was startled, but then stunned to see Selena standing up on her own.
"Ducal Lady-nim! If you overexert yourself..."
Ta-dat!
Mary’s words were cut short once again.
Because Selena, standing proudly on her two legs, suddenly burst into a sprint out of nowhere.
Not walking, but running. She had skipped learning to toddle and went straight to running.
And barefoot at that. For Mary, her heart dropped into her stomach.
"Ducal Lady-nim! Where are you going! Ducal Lady-nim!"
Even with Mary’s frantic shouts echoing from behind, Selena paid no heed.
She simply ran, ran, and ran.
Occasionally, the astonished voices of servants working in the estate could be heard.
Selena didn’t care. She just kept running.
’I can run. I can actually run!’
She did not stop her sprint. Even when she stumbled slightly, she pressed on all the same.
When was the last time she ran like this? She couldn’t even remember.
No. Perhaps she couldn’t remember because she had never been able to run in the first place.
Even walking had been grueling, yet now she was running without any trouble.
Feeling as though she possessed the entire world, Selena dashed out of the mansion.
Her stiff expression remained rigid, but the corners of her mouth were noticeably turned up in a smile.
"Se-Selena?! Y-You..."
"Child! Where are you going?!"
Selena’s parents, who happened to be returning at that moment, gasped in horror at the sight of her.
After all, seeing a daughter who couldn’t leave her bed running around like a wild horse would naturally evoke such a reaction.
And in clothes caked with dried blood to boot. Plainly speaking, she must have looked like a madwoman.
"Huu!"
Be that as it may, Selena caught her breath in the estate yard.
Despite running like this, she didn’t feel exhausted in the slightest.
Only the vivid beat of her heart sounded clearly.
’Not even a cough.’
Even the coughing she had carried her entire life had completely stopped.
She didn’t feel a single thing wrong with her body.
It was so foreign it felt almost awkward.
’Mana circulation is running smoothly too.’
In fact, it was beyond smooth—it was extraordinarily fast.
In the past, it felt completely blocked, but not anymore.
Harmonized mana circulated through every nook and cranny of her body.
’Not a single place hurts.’
A miracle had occurred.
If this wasn’t called a miracle, what else could one possibly call it?
Selena looked up at the sunny sky and closed her eyes.
’Thank you, Grylls-ssi.’
The person who gifted her a new life and a miracle.
A benefactor who readily extended goodwill without ever having met face to face.
What kind of person was he? She grew increasingly curious about him.
Her facial muscles relaxed naturally, forming a happy smile.
"Selena!"
"Child! Are you alright?!"
"Ducal Lady-nim!"
It was while Selena was relishing her newfound life.
From behind, her parents and Mary shouted urgently.
At those shouts, Selena opened her closed eyes and turned back.
Her beloved family members were looking at her with deep worry.
"Yes. I am alright now—kua-eok!"
Chwa-a-a!
Selena stopped mid-sentence and dropped her head.
At the same time, something poured out of her mouth: pitch-black dead blood.
And it wasn’t just a bowlful, but at least two full bowls poured out.
"Kek! Ke-ek!"
Tuk! Tuduk!
It wasn’t just blood spilling out. Pitch-black clumps fell onto the ground as well.
Waste products that hadn’t been fully discharged during Body Metamorphosis.
Because her previous physical condition was so dire, they had coalesced into solid clumps.
"Aaah..."
"W-Wife! Get a hold of yourself!"
"..."
From the perspective of her family who knew nothing, it was beyond horrific—it was gruesome.
Selena’s mother collapsed, and her father barely managed to support her.
Even Mary, who remained, turned deathly pale as if nauseated.
"Kulleok. Kulleok. Eeu-eu."
Selena twitched her brow.
Spewing rotten blood and waste from her mouth created a terrible stench.
She wanted to grimace, but her facial control wasn’t quite working yet.
’I need to wash up.’
Now she could bathe on her own without Mary’s help. Selena harbored high anticipation.
First, clearing up her family’s misunderstanding was priority number one.
Selena approached her panic-stricken family and spoke quietly.
Combined with uncleared blood and her characteristic expressionless face, she appeared quite horrifying.
"Mother. Don’t worry. I am healthy now—pueo-eok."
Selena vomiting black blood with a stoic expression.
At that grotesque sight, her family gasped in sheer horror once more.
"Aaaaaah..."
"Pull yourself together! You can’t collapse on me like this too!"
There was still a long way to go.
Title) Thanks, Grylls.
Passing Dwarf
(Photo of liquor infused with Mature Mandrake)
Looks like I can drink infused liquor after a long time
└ Wild Grylls) Hey, you crazy dwarf bastard. You turned that expensive thing into alcohol?
└ Passing Dwarf) Any problem with that?
└ Wild Grylls) I told you that was fucking expensive. And you turn it into liquor?
└ Passing Dwarf) My choice. Mad about it?
└ Wild Grylls) You go sharpen your blades with gold from now on, you crazy bastard.
└ kekekekeke
└ kekekekekeke
└ He told him to sharpen blades with gold kekeke
└ Fucking understandable to be pissed off kekekeke
└ Ah, infused liquor is irresistible kekeke
Today was peaceful as well.