"Real-Life Experiment No. 9: GrowMax Growth Agent... failed."
Mia let out a quiet sigh, brushing her fingers through the dry, lifeless soil.
What was once rich, fertile earth had turned pale and brittle—crumbling like sand between her fingers.
Beside her, Luis stood frozen, lost in thought, his expression distant.
He had believed GrowMax would be a game-changer.
A miracle agent that could double plant growth, supercharge vitality, and outperform every product on the market. It had shown incredible promise during the first few growth cycles—trees growing tall in half the time, leaves shining with health, roots stretching deep into the ground.
But reality was far crueler than the lab.
After repeated field trials—both in the martial world and in Earth's controlled greenhouses—the hidden flaw finally revealed itself.
The soil, once teeming with microscopic life, was dead.
The GrowMax Agent, for all its brilliance, forced the plants to draw nutrients at an unsustainable rate. After two or three growth cycles, the essential microbes in the soil perished. The nutrient balance collapsed.
What remained was barren land—dry, fragile, unable to sustain life.
A miracle in the short term. A catastrophe in the long term.
Luis clenched his fists. All that work, all that hope—reduced to dust and disappointment.
Mia gently patted his shoulder, breaking him out of his spiral.
"Luis... it's alright. You'll figure it out."
Her voice was steady, warm. No blame. No judgment. Just quiet support.
Luis managed a weak smile. "Thanks, Mia. Really... thank you."
She shook her head with a faint grin. "What are friends for? Science doesn't succeed in one shot, you know. At least you found the problem before it went to market."
Luis exhaled slowly, the tension in his chest easing a little.
She was right. This was only a setback. Not the end.
But now...
He had to start over.
----
It had been one month since Luis received the Teleportation Tattoo, granting him passage between two worlds. In the Second World, nearly five months had passed.
And in those five months, Luis had changed.
In the field of pharmacy, he was no longer a clueless apprentice fumbling through dried herbs. With the precision of modern scientific tools at his disposal, he had surpassed even Old Man Daniel, the respected pharmacist of Anyu Town.
His follower, Jack, hadn't been idle either. Under Luis's guidance and with the aid of refined medicinal powders, Jack had broken through to the High-Level Physical Training Realm, becoming a martial artist few dared to provoke.
And tonight, it was Luis's turn to advance.
He reclined in a large bathtub, filled with water tinted a deep green. The rich aroma of herbs filled the room—this was a Body Tempering Solution, one of his latest creations.
It wasn't just about hard training. From what Luis had observed, the Physical Training Realm was built on 60% nutrition and medicine, 40% effort and discipline.
With the right food and medicinal support, even a pig could be cultivated into a Mid-Level Physical Training martial beast. The thought made him smirk.
As the warmth of the solution soaked deep into his muscles and bones, Luis felt his body absorb the medicinal energy like a dry sponge drinking water.
A tremor ran through his skin.
Crack—
It was faint, but he felt it something had broken through.
When he finally stepped out of the tub, streams of greenish water dripping from his body, Luis could feel the change. His skin had been tempered, hardened. His physical resistance, endurance, and strength had leaped to a new level.
He had officially stepped into the Beginning Level of the Physical Training Realm.
A far cry from an ordinary human.
The feeling was exhilarating, like casting off shackles he hadn't even known were there.
But Luis knew better than to get complacent.
This was only the start.
In a world where martial artists could punch through stone and swordsmen could slice boulders, his current strength was barely enough to survive.
Even though he had a pistol in his arsenal, in this world, reflexes mattered far more than firepower. He needed to be faster, stronger strong enough that no one could catch him off guard.
Luis clenched his fists, feeling the power coiled beneath his skin.
"I'll keep pushing forward. This is only the beginning."
"Hope nothing big happens..."
Luis stepped into Daniel Medical Clinic, the familiar scent of herbs and medicine welcoming him. From his bag, he carefully withdrew a small, neatly packaged pouch of powder.
"This is the new Medicine," he said, placing it in Daniel's hand.
The powder had been crafted in the modern world with precision equipment: carefully dried, crushed, heated, and sealed under strict conditions. Every step measured to perfection.
This was Blood Boiling Powder, one of the most difficult medicinal concoctions to master in the Second World.
Pharmacists here had tried for generations to perfect it, but Luis's formula was on another level. He'd enhanced it with modern chemicals unknown to this world, ingredients impossible to source locally. Without these, no one could replicate or refine it.
Daniel inspected the package, his nose twitching as he caught a faint, unusual odor.
"Kid, something's off about this medicine. There's an unpleasant smell to it."
Luis smiled calmly. "Master Daniel, this is my family improved Blood Boiling Powder. The old formula could only boost strength by 1.5 times for fifteen minutes before the user suffered severe exhaustion. Mine doubles strength for thirty minutes and the weakness phase lasts twelve hours."
Daniel's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Impossible..."
He couldn't just take Luis's word for it. With cautious excitement, he conducted a series of tests right there in the clinic.
The results stunned him.
Luis's claims were true.
This breakthrough was more than just a powerful medicine, it was a game-changer for Daniel and his entire clinic.
Before leaving, Luis handed over a batch of Blood Boiling Pills to Daniel, setting the price at four silver coins each.
"One thing," Luis added firmly, "you tell everyone that you personally bought and sell these pills. No mention of me."
"How much you sell them for... that's your decision."
Luis knew well that secrets like this never stayed hidden for long. Word would spread eventually.
But for now, he had bought himself precious time enough to build strength and protect himself when the storm inevitably came.
After all, even if the world exploded around him, he wouldn't be caught off guard.