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

The burlap sack weighed about forty pounds (about 18 kilograms) and was filled with tobacco leaves. Even through the coarse burlap, one could smell a strong, fermented, pungent odor.

The bag weighed on his shoulder, and his knees buckled slightly, but he kept his balance.

The skilled, strong man next to me could carry three bags at a time. With more than 100 pounds on his shoulders, he still walked with great vigor, his boots thumping on the wooden boardwalk.

Ivan carried his bag of tobacco leaves and followed the group for about thirty meters before delivering the bag to the warehouse and stacking it in the designated spot.

"Where did these come from? Giving them away bag by bag, do you think this is an orphanage?"

A sharp sound rang out from the side.

Evan turned his head and saw a thin, long-faced overseer standing there with his hands on his hips, spitting as if he had stepped on something dirty.

He was wearing a slightly more presentable gray coat than the average worker, with a red cloth strip tied around his sleeve to indicate his identity. He was holding a work-keeping pencil in his hand, poking the tip of the pencil at Evan.

Ivan wasn't angry.

He smiled, a smile that carried humility and tact—skills he'd honed during his years in sales on Earth.

"Brother, I'm new here, so I'm not familiar with the area yet."

"Okay, I'll make sure to deliver the full amount first, and then I'll work a little longer after the other workers get off work, alright?"

After listening, the foreman looked Evan up and down.

With fair skin and a thin frame, he was clearly not cut out for this line of work.

Just as he was about to say something more, Parker walked up from behind. The tobacco in his pipe had already gone out; he was just using it out of habit.

"Alright, Kerry, all done." Parker patted the foreman on the shoulder, his tone casual but carrying the weight of a foreman.

"This is Anta's son, a top student at the University of the Wise."

He paused for a moment, then added, "You might need their help someday."

Upon hearing the words "University of Sages," a knowing glint flashed in the eyes of the foreman in Kerry's eyes.

People who can get into those kinds of schools will either become doctors or lawyers in the future, and they are people you can't mess with.

He dropped the harshness on his face and snorted, "Fine. If you haven't done enough, work more to make up the difference. Don't make things difficult for us."

These lower-level managers are not high-ranking, but they have a lot of room for maneuver.

A pencil and a work logbook—whether he records an extra hour or an extra hour depends entirely on which way the pencil tip is pointing.

Ivan smiled and nodded his thanks, then turned and ran back to the dock, bending down to grab the next sack.

This is not an easy job.

He would carry a 40-pound sack on his shoulder, walk 30 meters back and forth, put it down, run back, carry it again, and walk again.

Repeatedly.

The wooden pier creaked underfoot, and the sea breeze rushed in from the harbor, cooling the sweat.

He was surrounded by adult men three sizes bigger than him, and their shouts, curses, and the dull thuds of sacks hitting the ground blended into a noisy symphony.

But thanks to the two potions, Ivan clearly sensed something incredible.

With each trip he carried, his body became a little stronger.

This is unlike the previous kind of vague change that took several days to notice.

It's real growth that you can feel with every trip.

The burden on my shoulders is getting lighter, the strength in my legs is getting stronger, and the rhythm of my breathing is getting steadyer.

Two hours later, a notification suddenly popped up on the panel.

Constitution +0.2

[The health condition has improved further, and the patient's mental state has naturally recovered.]

【Spirit +0.2】

Taking both potions together will speed up digestion.

Physical constitution 0.903, mental strength 1.002.

She's almost like a normal person now.

So Evan started carrying two bags at a time.

Eighty pounds pressed down on his shoulders, and his back bent slightly, but did not collapse.

He gritted his teeth and strode forward, the sound of his boots on the pier twice as heavy as before.

Time slips away in the midst of busyness.

Evan, who was gradually getting the hang of it, was still unable to carry three or four bags at a time like the veteran workers under Parker.

But he was traveling much faster.

He carried two bags of tobacco leaves on his shoulder and covered the 30-meter distance almost at a jog. When he put down the bags, he even had the energy to stack them neatly.

Kelly stood at the warehouse door, a pencil tucked behind her ear, watching Ivan run in and out. The harsh expression on her face had somehow disappeared.

Instead, there was a kind of inexplicable confusion.

This kid struggled to carry one bag two hours ago, but now he can carry two bags and run faster than the old workers.

For the next four hours, Evan worked at the dock.

For four hours, he was like a fully wound-up machine, almost never stopping.

I only took two short breaks, each lasting five minutes. I would squat down against the warehouse wall, drink a couple of mouthfuls of cold water, catch my breath, and then continue carrying the load.

The speed at which the body becomes stronger is too fast, and the consumption is also astonishing.

The leftovers from Professor Price's dinner were all gone.

My stomach is like a bottomless pit, constantly protesting.

During his first break, he went to a food truck that was open all night by the dock and spent eight cents to buy a large loaf of dark bread, a large bowl of mixed bean soup, and a sausage.

The sausage was the cheapest kind, with a rough casing and some kind of meat stuffed inside. When you bit into it, your mouth was filled with the taste of grease and garlic powder.

But he ate it so ravenously that he even wiped the bread crumbs clean from the bottom of the enamel bowl with his fingers.

The body needs fuel, so it doesn't care about any smells.

It's 10 p.m.

Just as Evan was stacking the two bags of tobacco leaves into the warehouse, a notification suddenly popped up on the panel.

[The side effects of the Blood Potion have been reversed.]

Your anemia has been significantly relieved! 30% → 5%

Your self-healing ability is permanently increased by 2%.

[Your blood quality will permanently improve by 1%]

……

You reversed the side effects of the Night Demon Potion.

Your anemia has been completely cured, and your blood quality has permanently improved by 1%.

Your self-healing ability is permanently increased by 2%.

The changes came swiftly and directly.

It was as if someone had lit a lamp inside his skull, sweeping away the gloomy fog that had long shrouded his mind.

My vision became clear and sharp, the buzzing in my ears completely disappeared, and even the noisy voices on the dock became distinct.

My body has undergone a complete transformation.

My limbs were filled with a strong sense of power, and the dull pain and spasms in my abdomen that had lasted for who knows how long had completely disappeared, replaced by a warm, comforting feeling of fullness.

My appetite increased further.

He felt he could eat three more bowls of bean soup.

"What does it mean that your anemia has been cured and your blood quality has improved?"

He clicked on the details.

Blood quality: Your blood can carry more nutrients and vitality.

"Hehehe, this is interesting. Blood can be enhanced."

Without thinking twice, he turned around and ran back to the dock to continue carrying sacks.

In the end, Evan worked an hour longer than the other workers.

When the clock on the dock struck eleven, he finally put down the last bag of goods and straightened up.

Parker stood at the warehouse door waiting for him, clutching a few coins in his hand.

"Four hours of effective work, thirty-two cents."

The foreman handed over the money, and Evan reached out and took it, the coins clinking in his palm.

Thirty-two cents isn't much, but it's what he earned through his own hard work, every single cent was earned honestly.

Parker handed over the money, but didn't leave immediately.

He held a pipe in his mouth, looking the young man up and down with an undisguised look of confusion in his eyes.

The man who walked in four hours ago, Ivan, was as thin as a bamboo pole, with a pale face, and a forty-pound bag of tobacco swayed as he carried it on his shoulder.

The man standing in front of him was covered in sweat, but his face was flushed.

The shoulders stretched the seams of the canvas shirt, and the muscle lines on the forearms were faintly visible.

"Hey kid, you look a whole size bigger than when you came. Your complexion is much better too."

Ivan laughed heartily: "Life is all about movement, Uncle Parker."

Parker scoffed after hearing this, took the pipe out of his mouth, and tapped the ash off his pipe on the sole of his boot.

"Then I'm sure I'll live a long time."

He waved and said, "Be careful on the road, don't catch a cold."

Ivan put on his jacket, pulled up the collar, and pushed open the side door of the warehouse, stepping into the night.

In early November, the temperature had already dropped to around four degrees Celsius late at night.

The canvas shirt and denim overalls, soaked with sweat, clung to my body, stiff and hard in the cold wind, like wearing a layer of icy iron.

With each step, the stiff fabric rubbed against my skin, feeling cold and rough.

Fortunately, the blood wine enhancement from the Blood Potion was still in effect.

Evan started running, his boots clattering on the cobblestone pavement.

After running for less than a minute, the heat in my body began to evaporate, and my body warmed up. A thin layer of new sweat even appeared on my back.

As night falls on Hain Street and Guding Street, the streetlights cast a dim yellow light on the empty stone slabs, and the buildings on both sides stand darkly like two rows of tombstones.

But these tombstones are not quiet.

From behind a window came the intermittent howling of a drunkard, which sounded like singing or crying at the same time.

Gang members were shouting from deep within the alley, accompanied by the sound of shattering glass.

A stray dog ​​crouched beside a pile of garbage, barking wildly into the darkness, its voice sharp and hysterical.

In a third-floor window of a building, a woman was cursing her child in Irish-accented English, and suddenly burst into tears halfway through her rant.

This is the Nocturne of Guding Street.

It is performed on time every night without fail.

Ivan walked briskly, humming a tuneless little melody.

Back downstairs at his apartment building, he retrieved his repaired shoes from Old Tom's shop; the heels were finally the same height.

He tucked his leather shoes under his arm, went upstairs, and took out his keys to open the door.

As soon as the door was pushed open a crack, a stench wafted out.

It no longer just smelled like Mary's cheap perfume, but also had a more murky odor, accompanied by lingering wisps of smoke.

Strange groans and incoherent curses came from Mary's room, their rhythm chaotic, interspersed with the muffled thuds of the bed hitting the wall.

Ivan's brows furrowed, and a cold look of disgust flashed in his eyes.

"Almost there, you bitch."

He swallowed those words and remained silent.

They took off their work clothes, which were soaked with sweat and stiffened, and hung them on the back of a chair to dry.

After the sweat on his body had subsided somewhat, he took an old towel and went into the washroom.

There are no water heaters these days.

It's already a rarity for each apartment in this building to have a private bathroom; most apartment buildings have a public bathhouse downstairs with an ever-present long queue.

He turned on the tap, and the hose coughed twice, spitting out a stream of icy water.

He didn't feel cold when the cold water was poured on his skin.

The Blood Potion is still working its magic.

It felt like there was an inextinguishable fire burning inside my body.

"Blood potion, what a wonderful thing."