Chapter 49
Even after I spoke, Han Siwoo still looked dazed.
I tilted my head.
“What's with your expression?”
“You...!”
He stared at me in shock.
Strangely, seeing that familiar expression made me feel relieved.
It made everything finally feel normal again.
I smiled slightly and teased him.
“Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?”
“Hah. Hey, you're not exactly in a position to worry about me... Wait, your body! Are you okay?”
“I'm fine.”
“...There's no way. Wait here. I'll get the doctor.”
Han Siwoo rambled in confusion before immediately running out of the room.
I shouted after him.
“Hey! Close the door... He's already gone.”
Maybe my joke had gone too far.
Judging by how completely wrapped in bandages I was, my condition must have been incredibly serious.
From Han Siwoo's point of view, my sudden recovery must have been shocking.
I should apologize when he comes back.
While I was thinking, a breeze came through the open window.
A strand of loose hair fluttered softly.
The sky outside was painfully blue, as though everything that had happened inside the dungeon had only been a dream.
The weather was beautiful.
And suddenly...
I realized it.
I'm really alive.
A peaceful everyday life.
Things so ordinary that I had always taken them for granted.
For some reason, they felt unbearably precious now.
My nose stung.
I sniffed and unconsciously raised a hand.
Then I frowned when I saw all the annoying bandages.
What am I, a mummy? Why did they wrap me up this much...?
I tried to remove them.
But my arms could barely bend because of how tightly everything was wrapped.
Eventually, I gave up with a sigh.
Instead, I decided to finish checking the quest windows.
[Title 'One Who Does Not Die Even in Death' acquired.]
[Hidden Achievement completed.]
[You have changed class to 'Immortal Sacrificer.']
[Quest Rewards: 'Mysterious Egg,' 'Scythe of Light Lv.1,' 'Recovery,' 5,000 Skill Proficiency.]
Things like this were best checked in order.
I started from the top.
First.
[Title 'One Who Does Not Die Even in Death' acquired.]
The name made me a little uncomfortable.
['One Who Does Not Die Even in Death' effect: While this title is active, Health cannot fall below 1%.]
My eyes widened.
According to this description...
Didn't that mean the effect of 'Indestructible Immortal Body' had become permanent?
That's insane.
Then came the next one.
[Hidden Achievement completed.]
[You have changed class to 'Immortal Sacrificer.']
At the time, I had been too out of it to think about it.
But seeing the name 'Immortal Sacrificer' reminded me of something.
A character called the Immortal Sacrificer appeared in the novel.
That made me feel slightly uneasy.
Still, separate from that uneasiness...
I was curious what effect this class had.
Ding.
['Immortal Sacrificer' effect activates when you sacrifice yourself for someone.]
[One of your owned skills will randomly increase by 2 levels.]
A skill increasing by two levels...
Skills became much harder to level as their level increased.
Even if the skill was chosen randomly, gaining two whole levels was definitely overpowered.
If not for the condition of sacrifice.
Sacrifice...
Surely it wasn't telling me to use Sacrifice again.
I had only experienced that pain briefly.
But I would never forget it.
It had been the most painful experience of my entire life.
Honestly, getting my stomach pierced by Arachne's spear might have been better.
No thanks.
I'm done with pain.
Anyway.
Next.
I looked at the final reward window.
[Quest Rewards: 'Mysterious Egg,' 'Scythe of Light Lv.1,' Recovery, 5,000 Skill Proficiency.]
[Would you like to receive 'Mysterious Egg'?]
[Y/N]
I selected Y.
['Mysterious Egg' acquired.]
[The acquired item has been stored in your Inventory.]
I opened my Inventory.
Something resembling an ostrich egg had appeared.
I touched it.
[Mysterious Egg]
[An egg containing something unknown.]
[Maybe it will hatch soon?]
I stared at the description.
What is this supposed to mean?
It literally called itself mysterious.
And with an explanation this vague, how was I supposed to figure anything out?
If it gave me even one clue, maybe I could guess.
So inflexible.
I clicked my tongue and looked at the next reward.
[Scythe of Light Lv.1]
[Summons a scythe made of light to slaughter the enemy in front of you.]
[Can be used for 5 minutes per summon.]
[Consumes 30% of total Mana.]
[Cannot be used against beings other than monsters.]
Five minutes...
Normally, summoned weapons stayed until their durability ran out.
Considering an average raid took three to four hours, a five-minute duration wasn't very efficient.
And using thirty percent of my mana made it even worse.
My first proper attack skill had to be this?
Well... better than nothing.
Considering my only other offensive skill was Sacrifice, this was practically excellent.
By the time I finished reading, Han Siwoo came back.
“Doctor! Over here!”
“Ah, yes.”
The doctor looked surprised when he saw me sitting up on the bed.
“Can you... speak?”
I nodded at his careful question.
“Yes. I'm fine. So could you remove these bandages?”
“No.”
“No.”
Han Siwoo and the doctor answered at the exact same time.
...
I had expected resistance.
I just hadn't expected them to be this firm.
I wanted to kindly explain exactly how I had recovered.
But to do that, I would have to explain the existence of the quests.
Would they even believe me?
After thinking for a moment, I changed my approach.
I stared directly at the doctor.
“Doctor, this is a Hunter hospital, right?”
“Yes.”
Hunters were stronger than ordinary people.
But they were still human.
Naturally, they could be injured.
Most wounds could be treated using Elixirs, so Hunters rarely needed hospitals.
But when an injury was too severe even for Elixirs...
Hunters needed medical treatment too.
Hunter hospitals worked directly with the Center.
There were only three in the entire country.
Apparently, this was one of them.
“Then check me.”
“Excuse me?”
The doctor frowned like he'd heard something absurd.
“Just check. See whether I'm actually injured or not.”
Once he had clear results, he shouldn't have any reason to keep me here.
But the doctor shook his head.
“We've already performed every test available in the country. Jia-ssi, you're in a condition that requires absolute rest.”
Of course a doctor would be concerned about a patient.
But unlike what he believed, I didn't actually need rest anymore.
And I really wanted to go home and lie on my soft bed.
“I don't know if you're aware, but I'm a healer. I understand my own condition better than anyone.”
“Our hospital possesses the best equipment available for checking Hunter conditions. Are you saying our equipment is wrong?”
The doctor pushed up his glasses with one finger, clearly offended.
No.
I'm saying the patient herself is telling you she's fine...
I had no idea how to convince this stubborn man.
Then a useful thought crossed my mind.
Doctors working in Hunter hospitals were said to possess a unique skill.
'Condition Check.'
With that, they could easily inspect a patient's body without complicated tests.
I looked straight at him.
“Use 'Condition Check.' Then you'll know.”
He stared at me like he had many things he wanted to say.
Then he let out a short sigh.
“...Very well. But if the result is the same, I don't want to hear anything about discharge for a while.”
Exactly what I wanted.
I answered immediately.
“Fine.”
Still clearly displeased, the doctor took my arm.
“Because we're continuously administering high-grade Elixirs, you may temporarily feel better. But Jia-ssi, you currently need complete rest.”
High-grade Elixirs cost at least ten million won each...
The doctor placed a hand on my arm and activated Condition Check.
The cool sensation of mana flowing into my body felt strange.
“Just listen to the doctor. Do you even understand how serious your condition was? You didn't wake up for an entire month.”
Han Siwoo's words surprised me.
I had felt like I had slept for a long time.
But one month?
“No... impossible. H-How?”
Shock appeared in the doctor's eyes while he used Condition Check.
He looked confused.
But he quickly controlled his expression.
“...There may have been some mistake. I'm sorry, but let me check once more.”
“Go ahead.”
The result would be the same anyway.
Even after the second inspection, the doctor didn't look satisfied.
He repeated the examination several more times.
Only then did he finally admit defeat.
“This shouldn't be possible...”
He looked devastated.
I felt slightly awkward.
Is me being healthy really that shocking?
“You said you're a healer earlier, correct?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Did you perhaps use some kind of skill? Ah, if you'd rather not say, you don't have to.”
A Hunter possessing a valuable skill didn't always lead to good things.
Whenever something new appeared, there were always people who tried to exploit it.
Apparently, the doctor was worried about that possibility too.
Well, I don't actually have that kind of skill.
“Let's just say it's... something similar.”
