Blue Ocean in the Abyss
Multiple lifeforms approaching.
Unidentifiable. Hostile reaction detected.
The peaceful meal had just ended, and Kang Jinhyeok was in the middle of stirring instant coffee mix into a paper cup and taking a sip with a satisfied slurp.
Lee Shinwoo, who had been lounging on the sofa—or rather, the mammoth fur rug—sprang up like a coiled spring.
"Director! We're surrounded!"
At his shout, chilling howls erupted from outside the hospital.
"Grrr... Kyaaak!"
"Kieeeek!"
It wasn't just one or two presences. The darkness enveloping the hospital seemed alive, writhing. Dozens—no, hundreds—of red eyes gleamed through the window cracks.
"Damn it, they must've smelled the food. This is why I said we need ventilation!"
The Ice Emperor, Seo Jihu, gripped his staff and gnashed his teeth.
"Battle stations! Protect Team Leader Yoo! They're gonna smash through the walls!"
Ma Dongtak reflexively raised his massive shield, blocking Yoo Isu.
Even Yoo Isu, who could barely stand, instinctively reached for the hilt of her broken sword.
It was trauma from three years in the Abyss.
The beasts here didn't talk—they were monsters driven only by slaughter.
"Everyone, sit down. Running right after eating gives you acid reflux."
But Jinhyeok remained calm. He took another sip of coffee, then shuffled barefoot in his slippers toward the front door.
"Director! Are you insane? You'll die outside the barrier!"
"Those are S-rank specimens! Lord Balakas is asleep!"
The hunters cried out in horror, but Jinhyeok ignored them and flung the door open.
Creak.
A wave of foul stench and killing intent hit him the moment the door opened. Jinhyeok stepped into the middle of the hospital courtyard.
In the pitch-black darkness without even moonlight, a scene from hell unfolded.
Drooling wolves, skeletal bears, venomous spiders... All sorts of magical beasts surrounded the hospital in layers, licking their chops.
At the front, the apparent leader of the pack. A massive beast three meters long, two meters at the shoulder.
It was a [Hell Hyena], its body covered in blazing crimson fur.
It growled low, ready to rip out Jinhyeok's throat.
"Grrrrr..."
Terror that would stop a normal person's heart on the spot. But Jinhyeok's eyes were elsewhere.
The hyena's right hind leg. Flesh torn away to expose the bone, the wound shrouded in purple poison, rotting away.
'That must hurt.'
Jinhyeok clicked his tongue. A wound like that would've made hunting impossible, let alone walking. Hunger and pain had made it feral.
"Kyaaang!"
The hyena couldn't hold back and leaped, jaws wide to swallow Jinhyeok's head.
"No!"
Yoo Isu screamed from behind.
But Jinhyeok didn't dodge. Instead, he reached into his pocket, pulled something out, and chucked it straight at the beast's maw.
Thud.
"Eat up. You're hungry, right?"
What landed before the hyena's nose: An [S-Rank Magical Beast Rib], thick with meat, freshly grilled by Balakas at dinner. Still warm, juices dripping.
Sniff.
The hyena, mid-pounce, slammed to a halt. Its nostrils flared.
What was this smell? Not rotting corpse. Not blood.
Sweet, salty, nutty... A heavenly aroma it had never known in the Abyss. The scent of Earth's masterpiece: soy sauce-based marinated ribs.
The hyena's pupils shook like an earthquake. 'Kill the human' clashed fiercely with 'eat the meat.' And in 0.1 seconds, hunger won.
Crunch! Snap!
Forgetting all dignity, the hyena tore into the rib. Starved so long, it crunched even the bone.
"Tasty, huh? But you couldn't hunt 'cause your leg hurts."
Jinhyeok approached slowly. The hyena growled warily, but its mouth was busy chewing. Jinhyeok stared into its eyes and extended a hand.
"It's okay. I won't steal it. Let bro take a look."
A subtle mana flowed from Jinhyeok. Not hostility, but waves of 'healing' and 'calm.' Beasts instinctively knew: friend or foe. The hyena's fur slowly settled.
Jinhyeok squatted and examined the hind leg. Worse than expected. Necrosis from an Abyss venom bite had eaten into the muscle.
"Tsk tsk. Must've hurt like hell. No wonder you're on edge."
Jinhyeok opened his bag. Earth's supplies: [Advanced Regeneration Potion], disinfectant alcohol, [Mana Bandages].
"Gonna sting a bit. No screaming. Don't embarrass yourself, man."
He soaked cotton in alcohol and wiped the wound.
"Kyaagaeng!"
The hyena yelped in shock and whipped its head to bite Jinhyeok's arm. A normal hunter's arm would've been gone.
Smack!
But Jinhyeok lightly swatted its muzzle.
"Tch! Hold still! It's healing! You bare your teeth at a doctor?"
The hyena flinched at the scolding. Weird. This human looked weak... but scary. Like getting chewed out by mom as a pup.
Jinhyeok excised the rotten flesh, poured in the potion.
Sizzle—!
White smoke rose as necrotic skin melted, fresh pink flesh budding in its place. Pain vanished, replaced by cool relief.
"Bandage to finish."
Jinhyeok wrapped it skillfully, tying the end in a cute ribbon bow. Adorable on a hell beast.
"Done. Go rest. No water on it, no booze."
He patted its butt to stand it up. The hyena stared blankly at its leg. No more throbbing. Tested it—no pain.
In disbelief, it hopped in place, then looked up at Jinhyeok. The feral glare gone, now puppy eyes begging for more treats.
Lick.
Its rough tongue slobbered his cheek. Thanks—and more ribs?
"Eww, stinky spit. Brush your teeth."
Jinhyeok shoved it away in disgust, but smiled. He pulled out another rib.
"Here, to go. Eat at home."
The hyena wagged its tail like a propeller, took the bone, bowed with a whine, and bolted into the darkness.
"......"
Silence. Suffocating silence. The surrounding beasts stirred.
"What? Its leg's healed?"
"Human fed it and cured it?"
"If I go, will it fix me too?"
Their eyes changed. Murderous intent to curiosity, to 'hope.'
In the eat-or-be-eaten Abyss, 'healing' was a miracle.
Here, injury meant death or dinner. This white-robed human gifted 'survival.'
Jinhyeok waved at them.
"What? Everyone hurt? No appointment, beat it. We're closed."
Surprisingly, hundreds of beasts smacked their lips regretfully and slunk away.
Not one attacked.
They saw him as 'untouchable'—or 'future helper.'
Jinhyeok shuffled back inside.
"Director... what the hell was that?"
Seo Jihu gaped. Yoo Isu looked dazed.
The monsters she'd fought for three years acted like neighborhood strays before Jinhyeok.
"Patients."
Jinhyeok downed his cold coffee.
"Beast or human, same deal. Hurt and hungry, they're mean. Full and healthy, they're sweet. That's life."
"Still, tossing ribs to an S-rank..."
"Why? To them, that's omakase."
That night, the hunters slept soundly.
The treated hyena had brought friends to stand guard voluntarily.
And the next morning, as Jinhyeok stretched and opened the door.
"......Huh."
Mountainous piles of [gift packages] filled the courtyard.
Left by the hyena and its pals overnight.
Black rocks, weird roots, monster horns...
"This... trash? I just cleaned the yard."
Ma Dongtak grumbled, kicking a rock.
"Trash?! Are you nuts?!"
Lee Shinwoo screamed, diving to catch the rolling stone. He appraised it with a loupe, hands shaking.
"This is [Supreme Black Magic Stone]!"
"Huh? What's that?"
"Mineral with 100 times diamond's mana efficiency! Unobtainable on Earth—1 gram goes for 100 million won! This size... at least 500 billion!"
"W-what?! Five hundred billion?!"
Ma Dongtak's eyes bulged.
"And this root! [Abyss Mandragora]! Elixir ingredient that revives the dead in three minutes! One root buys ten Gangnam apartments!"
Seo Jihu hugged the root, dancing in excitement.
Jinhyeok's eyes widened. Two ribs' worth: treasures worth trillions on Earth.
The Abyss overflowed with resources. Just no mining tech or trade routes.
"Huh."
Jinhyeok grinned ear-to-ear, eyeing the wasteland. Yesterday's barren hell now gleamed.
That cyclops giant: a walking 100 billion. That wyvern: a flying Gangnam high-rise.
To Earth docs, a plague of sick beasts. To Jinhyeok: blue ocean, motherlode mine.
"Jackpot."
He clapped.
"Hey, you lot! What're you doing? Hang the sign back up—now!"
"Pardon?"
"[Magical Beast Health Insurance Not Applicable. 100% Out-of-Pocket. In-Kind Payments Welcome.]"
[Magical Beast Health Insurance Not Applicable. 100% Out-of-Pocket. In-Kind Payments Welcome.]
Jinhyeok pumped his fist. A pink future unfolded.
"We'll make bank here, buy up this whole zone before heading back to Earth. No retirement worries for you, Team Leader. Bro'll make you the Abyss conglomerate wife."
"...You're crazy."
Yoo Isu shook her head, but a faint smile played on her lips.
Rumors spread faster than wind.
"There's a weird human doctor in the eastern wasteland. Feeds you, heals you. Payment's just a few rocks."
The gossip swept the Abyss, soon turning the hospital yard into a tent city with numbered tickets. Even Abyss lords overheard and grew curious.
Jinhyeok's full-scale Abyss practice life began. No more blood-soaked wars—just money-flying clinic battles.