No Side Effects? It’s All Side Effects!

After John drove away, Aron, looking rather sullen, approached Sini,

"Just like that, we let him go? We're both Awakened, and he's just a Potion Master. Shouldn't he have handed over the equipment obediently?"

A flicker of concern crossed Sini's face as she glanced at Aron,

"Do you really think a mere Potion Master could decapitate a level 5 Goblin Warrior with a single slash?"

"But... the Goblin Warrior was already injured," Aron said, feeling somewhat uncertain. He imagined if he had faced the Goblin Warrior alone, not only would decapitating it be out of the question, but surviving unscathed until his teammates arrived would be considered lucky.

Sini sighed and replied, "It's just a piece of common-quality equipment. Let him have it. Consider it a favor to him.

Potion Masters, as support roles, are also important. We might try to win him over later." She then turned to Aron, eyeing his wound, "How's the potion working?"

Aron moved his arm, surprised by the lack of pain, "Instantly effective. As soon as I poured it on, the pain was gone. Though, it's a bit itchy..."

Scratching his arm, Aron noticed red rashes forming, which became itchier and even started affecting his fingers.

"This potion... what's in it? Did he add something extra?" The itch on Aron's arm became unbearable, with clear blisters forming.

"Damn, stop scratching and go to the hospital now!" the blond exclaimed, noticing Aron's arm turning black at an alarming rate.

Sini, puzzled, asked, "Did you check the potion with your system panel when he gave it to you?"

"I did, everything seemed normal. It even said 'absolutely no side effects'," Aron replied, scratching his nearly raw arm.

"Let's go to the hospital. I'll ask the Potion Master what's going on..." Sini took out her phone to message John.

[Sini]: John, what's with your pain relief potion? Why is my friend's skin unbearably itchy and turning black with blisters after using it?

...

Back at the university, John chuckled upon reading the message, "Wow, it acted so fast?"

He replied calmly, wanting to avoid suspicion that he had tampered with the potion.

[John]: What happened? Send me a photo.

Soon, Sini sent a video. John couldn't help but laugh upon viewing it. The once imposing Aron was now lying on the hospital floor, screaming, his body covered in blisters from excessive scratching.

Closing the video, John feigned concern in his response.

[John]: That shouldn't happen. I've used several bottles of the pain relief potion myself. It looks like your friend is having a severe allergic reaction. Better get him to the hospital ASAP.

[Sini]: Okay, we're already at the hospital...

Sini was completely baffled. The potion, as per the system panel, showed no issues. She couldn't understand what went wrong with Aron.

John put away his phone, no longer concerned with Sini's situation.

He headed towards his classroom, where students had gathered for an emergency meeting likely related to the emergence of the Portals to other worlds.

John took his usual spot at the back row of the lecture hall, right where he and his roommates always sat. His buddies were already there.

No sooner had John sat down than a buzz-cut, glasses-wearing guy turned to him and immediately asked, "John, where were you last week? You missed a whole week of classes and weren't even back at the dorm. What's up?"

This well-behaved-looking guy was named Dino, who not only served as class president but also as the dorm's social chair.

Enzo, sitting nearby, chimed in with a grin, "Yeah, man. We all took turns covering for you last week. You owe us a meal, big time!"

"Got caught up with some stuff and only just sorted it out yesterday," John replied with a laugh and a scratch of his head, readily agreeing, "No problem about the meal. Pick whatever you guys want."

John turned to look at the guy sitting on the very edge, a square-faced dude named Ritchie, also one of his dorm mates.

Ritchie hadn't noticed John's arrival, his face stern as he seemed engrossed in some short video app on his phone.

Looking at his roommates, John felt a wave of nostalgia. It had been years since he last saw them before his rebirth. After graduation, everyone went their separate ways, busily chasing their own futures, and gradually lost touch.

Ritchie then turned, nodding at John and said with a serious expression, "Have you guys seen this video? It's gone viral!"

John glanced at the phone. It showed a video taken from an upper floor, capturing the center of the western district crossroads in their college town.

A dark portal stood tall with goblins pouring out, launching an assault on the pedestrians around.

"This must be AI-generated," one classmate speculated.

Ritchie shook his head, "I've watched it multiple times. There's no sign of special effects or AI. I heard that area's been cordoned off by armed police."

John confirmed hearing gunfire on his way back, adding to the shock and disbelief among his classmates.

"Oh my God, seriously?" Enzo couldn't believe what he was seeing. It felt surreal to him, like he had just woken up from a long night of gaming to find otherworldly creatures invading Earth. He even wondered if he was still dreaming.

Ritchie sighed, "The school called for an emergency meeting over the weekend. That must be to inform us about this."

Right then, the instructor walked into the classroom, and everyone fell silent.

Holding a document in hand and using the microphone on the podium, the instructor announced, "The reason we've called for an urgent class meeting is that some of you may already be aware of what has happened... Just two hours ago, strange portals appeared all around the globe, unleashing hordes of monsters that don't exist on Earth."

As these words were spoken, the classroom erupted into murmurs.

Though there had already been a flood of related news on the internet, including some videos captured at the scenes, some students who hadn't seen it with their own eyes still found it hard to believe.

We were all on the verge of graduating, busy with job hunting and planning our futures.

No one could have anticipated that the world would suddenly plunge into an unknown crisis.

...

The meeting, lasting an hour and a half, ended with the principal's announcement over the PA system.

He assured students of their safety, stating the school would adopt a lockdown policy, and urged everyone to stay indoors until the situation stabilized.

John knew that the most chaotic state was when the portals of the other world had just arrived.

Senior officials from various countries are not clear about what means to use to destroy the portals of the other world, and ordinary armies cannot enter. They can only continuously clean up the monsters that emerge from it in waves.

John knew the initial chaos following the gates' arrival would last about a month until Awakened individuals began to emerge into public awareness.

After a month, national Awakened associations would be established to effectively manage the gates.

He reflected on the future, where humanity's resources would shift towards supporting the Awakened, the sole defenders against the threats from the gates.

Despite society stabilizing and the continued appearance of gates no longer affecting daily life, only the Awakened and the authorities knew the true extent of the danger each new gate posed, with increasingly powerful monsters emerging.

Top-tier Awakened faced a significant bottleneck after reaching level 6, struggling to advance further.

Determined not to waste a second, John recognized the need to strengthen his abilities, albeit momentarily hindered by the military's blockade of the remaining gates in Star City.

For now, he would have to wait a few days before taking action to enhance his powers.