Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Emergency Quest (1)
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This isn't fucked.
This is the greatest opportunity of my life.
I cackled as I stared at the blue interface floating in midair, [Dead Doctors' Gallery].
Laughter exploded out of me like I was some maniac.
The clamor of these dead physicians was the ultimate textbook and weapon for me.
Dozens, hundreds, maybe even thousands of ghosts from every field of medicine.
A lifetime of accumulated knowledge and experience, now accessible in real-time through an internet community.
I gathered my trembling thoughts, buzzing with excitement, and began examining the gallery interface more closely.
The board list, the post button, the search bar... it had everything.
But then my eyes locked onto a tiny icon at the very top right of the screen.
On closer inspection, it was a faintly glowing little shopping cart.
'Store...?'
Why hadn't I noticed this before?
No, had it not been there earlier?
A mix of confusion and curiosity swirling in me, I thought about clicking the cart icon.
In an instant, the drab blue gallery screen smoothly transitioned, revealing a completely new interface before my eyes.
[Owned LP: 100]
LP? What the hell was this? Legend Points? The moment I tilted my head in confusion, a small popup appeared below the text.
[Reward for first rare disease diagnosis success! 100 LP granted.]
"Crazy...."
There was even a reward system.
I swallowed dryly and slowly scrolled through the store's item list.
[Fatigue Recovery Drink (Low Grade)]
Price: 50 LP
Description: A special drink that erases all fatigue for 3 hours. Excellent for hangovers too.
[Concentration Booster Potion (Mid Grade)]
Price: 200 LP
Description: Keeps your brain in peak condition for 6 hours. Perfect for writing papers or performing complex surgeries.
[Palace of Memory (One-Time Use)]
Price: 800 LP
Description: Perfectly recalls everything you've seen or heard in the last 24 hours like a photograph. Find those missed clues.
"Whoa...."
My jaw dropped.
Every single one was like rain in a drought for me right now.
Especially that fatigue recovery drink.
But I stopped myself from hitting the buy button and scrolled further down. I had a hunch there was something even more insane.
And my hunch was spot on.
Near the very bottom of the list, I spotted one item radiating an overwhelming aura that put all the others to shame.
[Possession]
Price: 5,000 LP
Description: For 30 minutes, have a designated gallery user possess your body, or have them float invisibly beside you and guide you in real-time.
Penalty: After use, suffer severe full-body muscle pain for 12 hours.
"...."
I held my breath.
I rubbed my eyes and looked again.
Possession.
Possession?
That possession I knew?
My mind went blank.
The 5,000 LP price didn't even register.
A dead doctor entering my body for 30 minutes?
Just imagining it sent chills down my spine. This was straight-up cheat territory.
'...or have them float invisibly beside you and guide you in real-time.'
If full possession was too much, I could get ghost tutoring instead.
An invisible mentor right by my side, coaching me move by move.
Of course, the penalty was brutal.
'Severe full-body muscle pain'
But trading 12 hours of agony for 30 minutes with the hand of God? That was a steal.
The problem was the price. 5,000 LP.
I'd gotten just 100 LP for solving that VEXAS case.
I calmed my pounding heart and clung back to reason.
'Calm down. Check first.'
This store, this LP system.
Was it visible only to me? Or did all the gallery ghosts share it?
I cautiously opened the gallery's posting window.
After a brief moment of thought, I typed in a single line.
Title: One quick question
Author: HellJoseonSlave1
Do you guys have a store icon in the top right?
The instant I hit post with a thought, comment notifications went berserk not even a second later.
Anon (210.94): So you're really alive, huh!!!
PediatricsGhost77: Hey! Answer us! Are you actually on the job? You in the ER right now?
AnesthesiologyPainMedicine: Store? What bullshit. You mean the gallery skin changer?
ORGhost3: Quit yapping and answer what laparoscopic machine you use. We asked already.
Anon (1.234): This guy's just spouting his own crap. What year resident are you? Which hospital?
HippocratesHeir: No such thing as a store. You're deep in delusions.
Anon (118.235): Ain't no such thing. Quit hallucinating and spill your specs. Which med school?
BoneFreak88: What store? All I see is my beautiful bone collection.
The comments turned into instant chaos.
But amid the bedlam, one clear truth emerged.
'Ain't no such thing.'
No one could see it.
Not a single soul knew the store existed.
...It's only for me.
This mad world's rules hit me again.
[Dead Doctors' Gallery] was a forum for everyone.
But [Store] and [LP] were privileges granted solely to this world's sole survivor, the one living player: me.
"Alright, so how do I grind 5,000 points."
I shot up from the bed and stretched.
The fatigue weighing on my shoulders felt a bit lighter, replaced by accomplishment and thrill.
What now? Rush to the ER and hunt for some tough diagnosis?
Or blow 50 LP on a fatigue recovery drink first?
Right then.
A glaring red alert popped into my vision, aimed at empty air.
『Emergency Quest Activated!』
『Save a patient's life and prove your worth!』
"...?"
Quest?
[Emergency Quest: Hidden Shadow]
Objective: Find the neglected patient and save their life.
Time Limit: 00:59:58
Success Reward: 1,000 LP, [Unlock Hidden Trait]
Failure Penalty: None
Save a life? What the fuck.
No time to mull over the quest details, I bolted from my seat.
One-hour limit.
No failure penalty, but that 1,000 LP and 'Unlock Hidden Trait' dangled temptingly before me.
I kicked open the on-call room door in a frenzy and pelted toward the ER.
'Dying patient. Where the hell are you right now?'
In the ER, obviously the critical zone.
I charged like a madman straight into A zone, the severe patient area. But all I saw were neatly made empty beds and silent monitors. Deserted.
"Damn it!"
Resus room then?
Where you rush for cardiac arrests. I veered sharply toward the resuscitation area. Through the glass doors, resus rooms 1 through 6—all spotless and empty.
Isolation rooms?
Clinging to my last hope, I sprinted to isolation. Peered through the thick glass walls—nope, empty too.
"What the fuck, seriously."
I was gasping for air.
I'd checked every spot in this massive ER where a dying patient might be.
And nothing.
No one.
System glitch?
Or was the patient somewhere I didn't know?
Clutching my spinning head, I staggered to the central nurses' station.
The nurses were busy eyeing monitors or clutching papers, hustling around. But no urgency. Just the usual bustle.
I scanned the station, trying to gauge the situation.
At the center stood Choi Soo-min, the third-year EM resident hailed as the ER's angel, calmly receiving handover. Beside her, EM fellow Park Se-young glowered at a stack of charts. Business as usual.
Then my heart sank at the sight of the man behind them.
'Ugh, fuck, why is the director here again.'
Director Park Woong.
Guardian of the conference room and living disaster incarnate—why the hell was he gracing the ER at this hour?
Please don't see me.
Please.
I'm invisible.
I'm air.
Mid-desperate mental prayer, the director's head slowly turned my way.
Ah, fuck. Eye contact.
Director Park Woong tilted his head at me curiously, then pointed as if remembering something.
"Hey! Right, right, you're that... Han... Teacher?"
Shit. If you can't dodge it, enjoy it?
No, if you can't dodge it, grovel.
I moved on pure spinal reflex.
"Yes!!!! Director, sir!!!!!!!! I'm Han!!Hyun!!Jae!!!!"
My near-roar of a reply came with a perfect 90-degree bow.
Screw it, jingle my way out of this.
The director seemed pleased—or baffled—by my bellow, clearing his throat before speaking.
"Haha, yeah. Got a call from rheum earlier. They were singing your praises, saying our Han Teacher studies so hard usually."
'No, that was gallery cheating.' Couldn't say that, so I unleashed the one survival skill a first-year socializer masters.
I mustered the most awestruck, study-fire-blazing newbie voice possible.
"Yes!!!! Thank you, sir!!!!!!! For the patient, day or night doesn't matter—absorbing the latest knowledge is a doctor's sacred duty!!!!!"
My soul-infused flattery sliced through the ER's chill air.
Choi Soo-min sunbae's shoulders shook faintly, and Park Se-young fellow buried her face in her charts.
That's laughter, right?
The director gawked at me wide-eyed, then burst into booming guffaws he couldn't hold back.
"Hahaha! What spirit! Hohoho!"
His meaty hand thumped my shoulder.
Still bowed, I waited for this jovial storm to pass.
But where the hell was this emergency quest?
My mind was consumed by that.
Where was the patient?