I'm a proper student; I only take nine kinds of potions every day.

That anger wasn't just directed at any one person, but at the entire set of rules.

In this parallel world, the control that the rich exert over the poor is no longer limited to sweatshops and monetary exploitation.

They can use their superhuman power to annihilate, enslave, and crush the poor at the bottom of society, and the poor at the bottom don't even know how they died.

Pris, a noble vampire who uses students to test his potions.

A middle-class student who curses himself because he failed to bully others.

They treat people like dirt.

He stared at the iron hook on the door frame used for hanging clothes.

Without the physical enhancement from the potion, that stumble would have been enough for the rusty iron tip to pierce his eye socket.

A poor student died at the door of his own bathroom, his eye blinded by a clothes hook, and he bled to death.

The coroner will write "accident," but the newspapers won't publish a single word about it.

"Directly alters a person's luck, creating a series of fatal coincidences."

Ivan's mind was racing.

"It seems that the extraordinary in this world is not just about cultivating the body and strengthening the spirit by focusing on numerical values."

"It's more like a bizarre, mechanic-driven game where rules are used to kill people."

"but."

He looked at his arms, which had become much stronger, and the muscle lines on his forearms were clearly visible in the dim light.

"As long as the value is high enough, the mechanism can be broken by force."

Avoiding laundry water is a numerical value.

I just grabbed the water pipe to save myself, which is also a numerical value.

The curse creates accidents, but when the body's reaction speed and strength exceed the accident's lethality threshold, the accident is no longer fatal.

"What misfortune will be next? How can I break the curse? Or how can I fight against it?"

Before he could even sort out his thoughts, another, more pressing issue came rushing at him.

“Mary. She must have gone to find Zack.”

Ivan's pupils contracted slightly.

"I see. Offending Mary was also part of the misfortune."

"No wonder the anger came so fiercely just now; I almost couldn't control myself."

The curse amplified his volatile temper, causing him to act at the worst possible time and push things in the worst possible direction.

"This is forcing me to directly offend the Guz gang."

Chapter 18: The Effects of the Night Demon Potion

"The Guss Gang..."

Ivan was well aware of the Gus gang's methods.

He had heard of debtors having their arms cut off and the severed limbs thrown into the mud at the docks to feed the crabs.

I witnessed firsthand how the owner of the food truck on the street corner was beaten to death by three men on the cobblestone road because he couldn't pay protection money, and none of the bystanders dared to call the police.

I once saw my parents being extorted by the Guz gang through a narrow crack in the door. My father was bent over, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace, as he respectfully handed over the envelope.

"If in this world, the extraordinary are the privilege of the wealthy, then a powerful force like the Gus Gang, which occupies a certain area, must also have extraordinary individuals."

Legend has it that the leader of the Gus gang is a mysterious prophet who can see many things and predict a person's daily fortune.

The old drunks in the tavern whispered that the reason the Gus gang was able to stand firm in this neighborhood was because of this.

It wasn't just because they were strong, but also because their eldest brother "knew everything."

Evan carefully stepped out of the bathroom, testing the floor's stability with his toes before putting his weight on it.

His 1.9-meter physique gives him keen hearing and vision, allowing him to capture many subtle details.

Which part of the floor is loose? Where are the burrs on the door frame? Which corner of the table is pointing directly at a person's temple?

The entire apartment became a map full of traps in his eyes.

He walked around the canvas sofa in the living room, went back to the bedroom, and locked the door.

“Zack will come knocking on my door soon. When that happens, I’m definitely not going to get away with it.”

"If that's the case, then let's fight it out. If all else fails, we can always go find Priss."

“He used me to test drugs, so if he wants to continue testing drugs, he must provide me with protection.”

"This is a transaction, not a beggar's plea."

Thinking of this, Ivan took out the thumb-sized glass bottle that Pris had given him from the inside pocket of his jacket.

The dark red, viscous liquid swayed slowly in the bottle, and a strong smell of blood could be smelled even through the glass.

It's already past six o'clock; in November, it's long before it gets completely dark.

Only the last, dim yellow light from the streetlamp shone through the gaps in the curtains.

He unscrewed the wax seal, tilted his head back, and poured the viscous liquid into his mouth.

A strong, pungent smell of blood exploded in my mouth, along with rust, saltiness, and a deeper, more animalistic stench.

He thought he was going to throw up.

but no.

Surprisingly, it tasted pretty good.

The liquid was spicy and warm, sliding down my esophagus like a mouthful of mildly spicy chili oil.

The heat started burning from my throat all the way down to my stomach, and then it quickly spread to my limbs.

You have ingested the Night Demon Potion. Effects last: 12 hours.

[Effect: When the drug is in effect and it is nighttime, perception is increased by 30%, and night vision is increased by 200%.]

[Did you reverse the side effects?]

"Reversal".

[Reversal progress: 4 hours.]

The world changed the moment the potion was consumed.

It was as if someone had simultaneously turned the brightness knob in his eyes and the volume knob in his ears to maximum.

The room was completely dark, with no lights on, but his eyes could see everything clearly.

Every word in the old newspapers on the wall, every scratch on the table, every crease on the bed sheet—everything is clearly visible, as if under the midday sun.

However, the color is on the cooler side, with a faint bluish-gray hue, like looking at the world through a tinted glass.

Their ears are incredibly sensitive.

The sound of old Tom talking downstairs and the baby crying in the next building all seemed to be right next to my ear.

"Pris's research is progressing so quickly? The Night Demon Potion is already finished?"

He had previously consumed an "unfinished Night Demon Potion," which only crudely enhanced his physique and didn't match the name "Night Demon" at all.

To my surprise, the finished product was completed in just four days.

And this finished product truly lives up to its name.

Night ghost.

A ghostly perception and vision in the darkness.

Just then, Evan's incredibly sensitive ears caught a sound.

It came from downstairs.

The sound of hurried footsteps came from more than one person.

The thud of leather boots on the cobblestone pavement was accompanied by rough curses.

he knows.

Zach is here.

Ivan didn't wait for them to come up and kick the door.

He walked over and opened the apartment door.

Rather than letting the door get kicked down and having to spend money to repair it, it's better to save that expense.

Heavy, hurried footsteps echoed in the stairwell, growing ever closer.

Then the short, stocky Zach appeared at the top of the stairs.

Behind him were four teenagers, around seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing cheap work jackets and dirty boots, their faces showing the fierceness and excitement typical of young people who frequent the streets.

Mary huddled at the back, her left cheek swollen high, her right arm in a sling, her eyes red like a rabbit's, and she kept cursing.

As soon as Zach saw Evan standing at the door, he roared angrily.

"Arkham! You fucking want to die!"

After cursing, he kicked her.

That kick was fast and vicious, aimed straight for Evan's abdomen.

With the enhanced perception from the Night Demon Potion, Evan's body became incredibly agile.

He twisted his waist slightly, tilting his upper body less than three inches to the right. Zach's boot tip grazed the hem of his shirt, missing its mark, and the momentum carried his short, stocky body forward half a step.

Ivan took a step back, steadied himself, and spoke calmly.

"Zack, this is my home, not yours."

Seeing that Ivan dared to dodge, Zach was stunned for a second, then laughed in anger.

A twisted smile appeared on his rugged face, and the distorted snake tattoo on his neck twitched slightly as he clenched his jaw muscles.