:{Health Potion (Α)}:
{{{A Potion created and sold by the Arkadia Medicinal Shop. This potion serves one singular purpose: to stimulate the natural healing factor of the being's body, allowing for a marginally quicker healing ability.}}}
{{{This potion is the Highest Grade of health potions in the Alpha Grade. It will be extremely effective in healing multiple different types of injuries for Alpha Rank Beings, from broken bones to gaping wounds; however, it can not regenerate limbs or heal spiritual injuries, birth defects, or psychological injuries.}}}
{{{Directions: Consume the entire contents of the Vial orally; effects will be instant; however, there is an effective time rate which lasts up to 1 hour. Results may vary depending on Age, Race, and Particle Rank.}}}
As expected, the Low-Alpha Health Potion was lackluster, but only when speaking of Alpha beings. Based on my status, I could already assume I wasn't even considered Alpha Rank since I didn't have a Particle Grade yet.
'In theory, I won't have to use the High-Alpha potion…please let this work.' With that final thought, I uncorked the Low-Alpha potion and downed it as if it were a shot of whiskey.
-One Year Post Saturation Completion.-
A lot has changed in one year…for starters, the Low-Alpha Potion was able to heal all of my prior injuries, and now…after a full year of living in the new world created by the Arkadia System, I fully understand why.
When the Particle Saturation was completed, although Earth was upgraded to an Alpha planet, that didn't mean the beings living on it were as well. No, instead, we were listed as No-Grades, a title that now, after a year…was considered an insult.
I…I don't even know where to begin; this year has been an absolute nightmare, both emotionally and physically. I have experienced so much in such a short time that it's hard for me to even put it into words, and honestly, I feel like I've aged a decade.
Looking back, I find it difficult for me to even consider myself as the same person I was merely a year ago. Back then, I felt rich, on top of the world, and in the best shape of my life, but how stupid I was to fall into the false sense of security brought on by a few High-Alpha coins and a fully functional body.
In the beginning, life wasn't that different, but that was only a falsity and one that didn't last long; as I had predicted, it didn't take long for the global economy to collapse, and funny enough, soon after, the value of Non-Particle items such as the precious metals we had exchanged did as well.
One month, only one month, was how long it took for Arkadia coins to take over as Earth's Primary currency, with the lower-value Low-Alpha coins becoming the most common form of money.
But with this shift in the global economy came a massive wave of inflation.
The price of essential items such as food and water went out of control, similar to what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, and the government took drastic action before things were stabilized.
Speaking of the Government, it had been completely overhauled. When the Particle Saturation was completed, much like what happened to my Father, nearly every person over the age of 70 fell ill, with over 80% of them dying within the first month.
The other 30% of the elderly, although fortunate not to die right off the bat, entered a comatose state. The same could be said of those with birth defects or extreme disabilities.
Unfortunately, although I had been quick in administering the Acclimation Potion along with a few health potions to my Father, he, too, ended up in a comatose state.
I spent many nights by his bedside observing him and soon realized that although he was in a coma, it wasn't the same as what I had seen on the news; no, he was healing; it would just take time. I was sure of it.
I spent so much time looking after my Father in the early days that I couldn't see it, but Brenden, who had gone back to his home, would stop by regularly, and he pointed out that our Father appeared to be de-aging, albeit slowly, but it was noticeable to him.
By the end of March, the global population had a massive cut in numbers. This hit countries like Japan, China, and The United States the hardest, but that didn't necessarily give a pass to other countries because the majority of the planet's governing bodies were over the age of 65.
The first few months were absolute chaos, looting, riots, murder, crime was rampant, and if my family weren't prepared, we would have died during that time. Life for a time resembled a particular movie franchise where all crime was legal for 24 hours.
Neighbors were killing neighbors, theft, S-assaults, everything was free game if you had the means, and those months were terrifying to live through. It was also during those first few months that Emilia and I took our first lives.
She took it harder than I did, and if Brenden weren't by her side and didn't have his experience from going to War or being a Cop, she probably would have shattered mentally back then.
For me…I don't know; it just, for some reason, didn't bother me, it still doesn't. It wasn't that I didn't feel anything from killing another human being, no quite the opposite; as scary and twisted as it may sound, I found thrills in doing so.
This was probably just a side effect of losing access to my medications. From a young age, I had been on a cocktail of different meds for treating my ADHD, Depression, and some other things, but now that I didn't have them…it was like my mind was liberated.
Brenden took notice of this and had even tried getting his hands on medication. Still, after spending more time with me and noticing that it wasn't inhibiting me in any form, he took a step back and decided to observe my actions instead of stopping me.