The Angel Who Brings the Rain (1)

Actually, Refri loved the easy life. He loved eating delicious food without paying for it, and receiving gifts without any effort was even better. And his absolute favorite was...

'Lying around like this and doing absolutely nothing!'

The boy grinned as he played a smartphone game. Today, too, Refri was boasting superhuman agility in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a massacre of ordinary civilians. It was almost time for the hospital meal to arrive.

'The food here at the hospital is seriously so good...'

Hospital food? Where the heck was Refri right now?

Obviously, the only place that served hospital food was a hospital. That's right. Refri was currently enjoying a hotel-like vacation in a private deluxe suite on the 12th floor of Seoul Superhuman Hospital.

This room had a living room and reception area despite being a hospital room, and even a dressing room—it was truly a top-tier suite. Naturally, Seoul Superhuman Hospital's deluxe suites weren't available just because you had money.

Only heroes who protected humanity, authority figures recognized everywhere in the human realm, and shadowy manipulators who controlled the Earth from behind the scenes were granted admission.

But of course, Refri wasn't one of those scary types.

"How the heck did I end up admitted here...?"

Gazing down at Seoul's nightscape, Refri recalled what had happened the day before yesterday.

Refri, cradled in Park Jinho's arms, had arrived at Seoul Superhuman Hospital in an instant. Park Jinho, his face still streaked with tears, commanded the on-duty doctor for senior heroes to treat him immediately.

"You there, doctor. Start emergency treatment on this child right now."

"Wait a minute, who are you people? This is the senior hero exclusive—"

"Hurry up and begin."

The on-duty doctor was a bit annoyed at receiving orders. But he didn't realize how lucky he was that it ended with mere annoyance.

If Refri hadn't been in his arms, Park Jinho would have unleashed his killing intent right then, forcing the doctor's submission—and the doctor would have wet his pants in the most unpleasant way.

"I'm a Grade 1 doctor who only handles senior heroes..."

Park Jinho regretted that he couldn't do it. Leaving a critically injured patient to pull such a stunt—what nonsense.

"Park Jinho, let's meet the hospital director first. That'll be faster."

"...Understood."

In the end, he had no choice but to heed Rusa's words. Refri was left alone with the on-duty doctor.

"I don't know who you are, but you're newbies who don't know how this place works."

Unfortunately, the doctor didn't recognize Park Jinho. He never imagined the iron-blooded Park Jinho would carry a child with such desperation.

"No way, some bigwig's kid?"

The doctor immediately investigated Refri. What's this, a pretty boy? No guardian, awakened less than a year ago, enrolled in Central Academy...? This was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠important info. Talented, huh. But...

"Looks like divine item backlash... struck by divine punishment. To treat this level of divine punishment, we'd need at least three bottles of Spirit Elixir."

Three bottles of Spirit Elixir. Each one cost over 100 billion won. And to pocket some himself, he'd have to charge even more...

"Can't prescribe such expensive medicine to a kid with no guardian."

To an orphan like this, they couldn't collect payment anyway. It would all go down as a loss for him. Not that he'd have to pay it himself, but... his reputation in the hospital would tank.

"Ow, it hurts..."

"Yeah. But there's nothing I can do."

He couldn't even give painkillers to low-grade superhumans like this. Heh heh—truly a doctor who treated the Hippocratic Oath like a free meal.

"Really, there's nothing I can do. You got no money. No one to pay the bill."

The doctor sneered at Refri as he spat those words.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

With that shout, the doctor took a fist to the face and crashed down with a thud.

"Wh-what?!"

"How dare you lay a hand on the young master? Administer the elixir immediately—what are you waiting for?!"

The one who punched the doctor was none other than the director of Seoul Superhuman Hospital, Kim Taejin. And behind him, the department heads watched in shocked horror.

"Guild master, forgive us. Kill us, please."

And standing behind them was Park Jinho, red killing intent swirling murderously in his eyes.

Park Jinho turned to the hospital executives and said, "...There will be disciplinary action for this later."

"Kill us!"

Without coordination, they uttered the exact same words at the exact same time.

"It hurts..."

Park ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Jinho, who had been radiating fierce killing intent moments ago, instantly softened it and returned to a desperate expression.

"What are you standing around for?! Do I have to see blood today?!"

The on-duty doctor witnessed an unbelievable sight. Those arrogant doctors who outranked him and ignored even administrative execs... rushing desperately to that one boy...

"Pathetic. Trash."

And then the inspectors who bound him and dragged him away. Who the hell were they?

The inspectors muttered in contempt, "To lay a hand on the next heir of Cheonggu..."

No one saw that on-duty doctor again after that.

"Ahh, this is the life..."

Refri sipped yogurt while admiring Seoul's night view. In movies, people usually savored nightscapes with wine.

'Eh, yogurt hits different like this.'

Refri chuckled to himself. Ah, too good. He wanted to live this peacefully every day.

But today had been a bit busy. The hospital director and department heads had visited all day, saying things like,

'It's an honor to meet you, young master.'

'Is there anywhere you're unwell...?'

It was a little uncomfortable.

'Ah, no, you're all way older than me... why are you using formal speech with me?'

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

That was the uncomfortable part.

Slurp—Refri finished his yogurt and opened his status window.

Sacrificing to draw the holy sword was an angelic deed. Saving an entire race was truly angelic. And preventing a hero from accumulating sins was also truly angelic.

Therefore, saving the lives of countless people in Gumyo Fortress was truly angelic. Making one person realize their wrongs was angelic. And allowing one girl to continue walking in the light was angelic.

Angel Power gained from angelic deeds. Refri had earned an immense amount from this operation.

'Angel Power 190...? Already spent it all. Well, I did go wild experimenting with new uses.'

This time, Refri had amassed a truly enormous amount of Angel Power. Thus, he developed new abilities using it.

The first was level up. He could increase his base HP and MP limits.

'Solo angel level up...!'

Refri invested Angel Power into a single level up.

The second was skill upgrades via Angel Power. Exactly as it sounded—spend Angel Power to raise a skill's level by one.

'Honestly, I'm a slow learner. No matter how hard I try, I can't master top-tier techniques like Fairy Fighting Method, True Cheonggu Swordsmanship, or Klein Magic quickly.'

So it was a relief. Another way to level skills for a dullard like him.

'The downside is it consumes so much Angel Power...'

The level up and skill upgrades unlocked only when he had this much Angel Power accumulated, naturally consuming far more than other abilities. Poor cost-performance, really.

So Refri raised his stats: Strength to 13, Agility to 12, Supernatural Power to 9. Nearly a ten-point stat boost overall.

No one would believe it.

'If this got out, I'd end up in some lab... Gotta hide it...'

Great Angel's Dragon-Trampling Martial Arts Lv.3, Life-Respecting Healing Angel's Cure Lv.3, King-Anointing Angel's Blessing Lv.2. Upgrading each divine ability by one stage depleted his Angel Power completely.

'Supernatural Power at 9 now. Just one more, and it'll hit 10. Then I get the All-Master achievement...'

When all stats exceed 10, a superhuman earns the All-Master achievement. Its reward was simple: '+1 level to all skills.'

Obviously, with such power, it was best to delay it as long as possible.

'Acquire more skills first... and use it right when a skill level is just one short...'

That's why Refri hadn't maxed Supernatural Power to 10 yet.

"Hey, brat. You alive?"

A voice dripping with annoyance came from behind. As always, it was Rusa Sherinen, the renegade elf who'd abandoned elven dignity for a sloppy life.

"Professor."

"You crazy brat. Pulling that sword like it's nothing?"

Rusa's affectionate knuckle-rap—Refri could only whimper, "Ow... it hurts...," and shrink back onto the bed.

"Hmm? Something fun here? Is this why Park Jinho bashes my head without mercy?"

"Wh-what are you talking about?"

Don't mess up my already bad hair even more, Refri grumbled inwardly before cautiously asking Rusa, "What about the cat folk?"

"They said they'd repay your grace. And since you're with Central Academy, they swore not to antagonize it. Joint front against the Demon King goes without saying, of course."

Refri couldn't help but smile. History had changed dramatically. The cat folk, once the Demon King's vanguard and humanity's headache, would now become the Demon King's headache instead.

"That's a relief."

"And thanks to you breaking the holy sword's seal... Klein's missile experiment should proceed smoothly."

Klein Porfurogenetos's missile. What was that?

In his past life, Klein had proposed a mad plan: Draw the holy sword, load it onto a missile, and launch it at the Demon King at a critical moment. In simple terms, use the holy sword like a javelin—propelled by missile, since no one could wield it.

It was absurd, but if successful, it could've blown off one of the Demon King's arms—a genuinely great plan.

'In the future timeline, they couldn't break the seal. But I accidentally did it?'

Even by accident, leading humanity to victory was... angelic.

Therefore...

"That's good too!"

Refri beamed at the free Angel Power. Watching him, Rusa couldn't understand why the boy was so happy despite gaining nothing for himself. That's why she liked him.

"Anyway... time to head back to the academy."

"Huh...?"

Refri wanted to rest more. Academy classes were too grueling...

"Um, my hand still kinda hurts, and my eyes feel blurry..."

Rusa grinned and assumed a stance. Fairy Fighting Method Chapter 1: Dawn Without Moon.

'Wh-what? Gotta activate my martial arts authority first...!'

Fairy Fighting Method Lv.2 + Great Angel's Dragon-Trampling Martial Arts Lv.3—Rusa's Dawn Without Moon was dismantled in an instant by Refri.

"Perfectly fine. Heh."

"Seriously..."

Tormenting an injured student like this...

Refri pouted miserably.

"Don't sulk too much. The professors have something for you."

"...What is it?"

His face lit up instantly. Pure Greedy Angel Refri.

"I'll tell you on the way... Oh, didn't your Fairy Fighting Method level up?"

"Y-yeah...?"

"For sure. Dismantling Chapter 1 that cleanly..."

Rusa smiled happily. And fell into another misunderstanding.

"Even a talented elf royal would need at least three years... and you've advanced after barely over a month?"

"There was this hard-to-explain incident..."

Suddenly, Rusa's eyes gleamed with greed.

"You're becoming my direct disciple."

"Pr-Professor?"

Refri backed away slowly.

"Don't run!"

And so, unable to even enjoy a few days of rest, Refri had to return to the academy, tormented by the half-mad Rusa.