Health (2): The Last Hope and Final Struggle
Selena arrived at her private lab with a mindset of last hope and final desperation. Her lab was equipped with everything rivaling even the Mage Tower's facilities—a testament to her frantic struggles to heal her body somehow. Her health had deteriorated rapidly, making it hard to even enter, but today was different.
"Mary. Just do exactly as I say. Got it?"
"Yes! I'll do my best!"
"It's not difficult... cough!cough!hack!"
Selena hurriedly covered her mouth with a handkerchief as a sudden coughing fit erupted. Mary rushed over in a panic, but Selena raised a hand to stop her.
"Hoo..."
Once her condition improved, Selena let the handkerchief drop from her mouth. Staring at it, she saw a pool of pitch-black dead blood gathered there. It used to just dampen the cloth, but now it was pooling... 'If not today, then tomorrow.' Time was running out. Selena clenched the handkerchief tight. The pooled blood began soaking into the fabric. She glanced at the worried Mary and nodded. With her body like this, Mary would have to be her hands and feet.
"No time to waste—let's start. First, bring over that extractor."
"Yes!"
"Next, connect the extractor to the charger, and..."
Selena issued instructions one after another. Mary fumbled at first from the urgency but made no mistakes. She wasn't as brilliant as Selena, but her mind was sharp enough. For a commoner, it was impressive.
'I should consider sending Mary to the Academy.'
Soon enough, Mary had everything prepared just as instructed. All that remained was extracting the essence from the adult mandrake.
After extraction, they'd adjust it with various herbs to make it tolerable for a human body.
"Next... hack!hack!gack!"
"L-Lady Selena!"
Just as they neared the final stage, Selena coughed up blood. She couldn't even cover her mouth in time—black blood gushed out.
"G-Guh... Q-Quick... Ex-Extract... It...!"
"B-But...!"
"Quick... Do... It...! Cough!"
"Y-Yes!"
Coughing and hemoptysis brought respiratory distress. Selena forced it down and kept giving orders. They were this close—she couldn't give up. She gripped her fading vision, which was starting to darken.
"L-Lady Selena! P-Problem!"
"What... Cough! What problem?"
"Th-That one...!"
To make matters worse, something was wrong with the mandrake. Selena caught her ragged breath as best she could and looked. Just as Mary said, the mandrake—which had been unconscious moments ago—was twitching back to life. It meant it was regaining consciousness. A real headache.
'I was in too much of a rush to grab a pot...!'
Mandrakes had to be extracted while unconscious to avoid accidents. If extracted awake, their screams could shatter the extractor. Normally, she'd use magic or plant it in a pot to keep it quiet. But Selena's body was too wrecked for magic, and she'd been too rushed for a pot. A true crisis.
The silver lining: only one had woken up. Selena pondered, then a brilliant idea struck.
'It quiets down if you hit it, right?'
A method from Grills. Punching the mandrake shut it up quick. Primitive and unproven scientifically, but desperate times.
"Mary! Cough! Beat it to death!"
"P-Pardon? Beat it?"
"Yes! Beat it! If that's hard, grab the stem and slam it on the floor! Cough!Cough!"
Her breathing had eased, but blood sprayed from her mouth with every word. Mary glanced anxiously between Selena and the adult mandrake, hesitating on what to do first—but decided to obey.
Squelch!
"Eh?"
It was when Mary grabbed the adult mandrake's stem. The mandrake, with its whisker-like chin hairs, quietly opened its eyes.
Thwack!Smack!Splat!
"Kwek?! Kuek! Kuaek!"
And it had to close them again. Mary had grabbed the stem and was thrashing it around. It screamed a bit in the process, but not enough to cause chaos.
"I-It worked!"
"Then now, extract... Cough! Let's extract first."
"Yes!"
Mary began extracting the mandrake essence as instructed. As she did, the adult mandrakes plugged into the extractor began shrinking bit by bit.
Drip...Drip...
Golden liquid dropped one drop at a time into the glass vial connected to the extractor. Seeing it, Selena felt hope rising. The iridescent essence made her feel healthier already.
"Cough!Cough!"
"Lady Selena. Here's a handkerchief..."
"No. I'm fine now."
Of course, it was just a feeling. After coughing, Selena checked her clothes—now soaked in dark red blood. Each cough spewed out a bowlful.
Drip...Drip...
Time passed, and they'd extracted nearly all the essence. The adult mandrake had shrunk to baby-palm size. Its once vibrant red had turned ghostly white. Every last drop of essence had been pulled out, draining its life.
"Almost done now. What's next?"
"What's left is... Cough!Cough! Hup...!"
Selena's eyes bulged. She could endure the cough, but the respiratory distress that followed was the problem. She tried to steady her breathing, but it was no use. Her vision blackened, and agonizing pain hit as if her brain activity had stopped.
'No... Not now...!'
Mary's desperate cries echoed like a distant reverb as consciousness faded. Selena clung to it desperately, reaching out a hand—toward the freshly extracted essence. She gestured urgently for it.
Drinking unrefined essence raw was suicidal. But with her life on the line, Selena had no choice.
Gulp!Gulp!Gulp!
Catching on, Mary poured it straight down her throat. Selena felt the hot essence surge through. Could this heat truly heal her? A spark of hope reignited. She couldn't give up.
'I... need to circulate the mana...'
Even as consciousness slipped away, she forced mana circulation. But her hopelessly clogged circuits wouldn't respond. Infuriating and unjust, yet she persisted. A thread of survival instinct spurred her on.
Just before blacking out, what she felt was...
Thump!
A vivid heartbeat.
*****
"Lady Selena! Selena! Wake up! Lady Selena!"
Mary patted her shoulders, checking consciousness. She'd been in her wheelchair but collapsed unconscious. Without Mary, she'd have hit her head hard. Still no signs of waking—Mary grew frantic.
'F-First, call for help!'
Pacing wouldn't help. To be safe, Mary turned Selena's head sideways—lest she vomit blood and choke like before. As she rose to head out...
Crack!
A strange noise pierced Mary's ears. She froze. It wasn't from the tools—it came from Selena. Anxiety in her eyes, she turned back.
Crack!Crickle!
"Wh... What?"
Mary was utterly bewildered. A bizarre phenomenon unfolded before her. Selena's skin was snow-white—but the bad kind, from blocked mana circuits halting blood flow. Now, flakes of that skin peeled away, new skin regenerating beneath. Not pallid white, but a soft glow like untouched sunlight. Especially striking: faint veins showing through the skin—proof her clogged mana circuits were circulating again.
Crack!Pop!
Not just skin. Her muscles and bones visibly transformed. A body that couldn't even exercise properly due to her illness. But now, harmonious mana reshaped it into a fitting vessel. In Jungwon's terms: Hwan-gol-tal-tae.
Normally required vast mana and enlightenment. But Selena's body, plagued by her congenital disease, had plenty of mana—it just lacked harmony. Her talent fulfilled the enlightenment.
Crunch!Snap!
Her sickly form vanished, replaced by pronounced feminine curves. Her stark white hair shed and regrew repeatedly before stabilizing at its original length. Moonlit white strands now accentuated her beauty.
Finally, her face. Already beautiful, it had blossomed further through Hwan-gol-tal-tae. Amid all changes, one defined her state: a body far healthier than before.
"Mm..."
The short yet eternal Hwan-gol-tal-tae ended, and Selena stirred. Mary snapped out of her daze and asked urgently.
"Lady Selena! Lady Selena! Are you awake?!"
"...Mary?"
"Yes! It's me, Mary!"
"What happened... Huh?"
Selena unwittingly stood—and her eyes widened round. Lying down let her inspect her body first. And the first thing she saw: her chest. Hard to miss when looking down.
'Were my breasts always this big?'
Selena poked them, tilting her head. Her old body had been pathetically flat—no feminine appeal. But now, soft mounds filled her vision and hands. Enviable size by any measure.
'Not just my chest. My arms too...'
Enchanted, she checked her arms. No longer skeletal, but normally fleshed like anyone else's. Even the skin: healthy-toned white with faint visible veins—blood flowing.
"..."
"Lady Selena? Something to say...?"
Whoosh!
As Mary cautiously spoke, Selena abruptly shot to her feet. Mary startled briefly, then gaped at her standing unaided.
"Lady Selena! Don't overdo it...!"
Pat-pat!
Mary's words cut off again. Selena stood tall on both legs—then suddenly ran. Not walked: sprinted. Barefoot, like skipping crawling.
Mary's heart dropped.
"Lady Selena! Where are you going?!"
Mary's cries trailed, but Selena ignored them. She just ran and ran and ran. Servants' shocked voices echoed occasionally. She tuned them out. Just ran.
'I can run. I can!'
She didn't stop. Occasional stumbles didn't faze her. When had she last run like this? She couldn't remember. Maybe never—walking had been hard. Yet now she ran effortlessly. Selena burst outside, feeling like she owned the world. Her stiff face remained, but her lips curved noticeably upward.
"Se-Selena?! You, you...!"
"Child! Where are you going?!"
Her returning parents jolted at the sight. Of course—who could stay calm seeing their bedridden daughter galloping like a wild horse? Blood-crusted clothes made her look insane.
"Hoo!"
Ignoring them, Selena caught her breath in the courtyard. No fatigue after all that running. Only her heartbeat rang clear.
'No cough either.'
The lifelong cough gone. No bodily discomfort at all—so surreal it felt awkward.
'Mana circulation is smooth too.'
Not just smooth—blazing fast. Once clogged, now harmonious mana flowed everywhere.
'Not a single ache.'
A miracle. What else to call it? Selena closed her eyes, gazing at the sunny sky.
'Thank you, Grills.'
The man who gifted her new life and miracle. Never met face-to-face, yet he gave generously. What kind of person was he? Curiosity grew. Her facial muscles relaxed into a happy smile.
"Selena!"
"Child! Are you okay?!"
"Lady Selena!"
As she savored her new life, her family called frantically from behind. Selena opened her eyes and turned. Her beloved family stared worriedly.
"Yes. I'm fine no—hack!"
Splurt!
Mid-sentence, Selena bowed her head. Black dead blood poured from her mouth—not a bowlful, but two or more.
"Kek! Keak!"
Plop!Plop!
Not just blood. Clotted black lumps fell too. Waste not purged during Hwan-gol-tal-tae—clumped from her prior poor state.
"Ahh..."
"M-Madam! Pull yourself together!"
"..."
To her clueless family, it was horrific. Her mother collapsed; father barely supported her. Even Mary paled, stomach turning.
"Cough.Cough. Urgh."
Selena grimaced. Rotten blood and waste reeked terribly. She wanted to scowl, but her face was still stiff.
'Need a bath.'
Now she could bathe alone. Anticipation rose. But first, clear the misunderstanding. Approaching her shocked family, she spoke softly. Blood-smeared face and blank expression made her terrifying.
"Mother. Don't worry. I'm healthy n—blurgh."
Blank-faced Selena vomiting black blood. The family gasped again at the grotesque sight.
"Aaaah..."
"P-Pull yourself together! You can't go like this!"
The road ahead was still long.
*****
Meanwhile, in the Gallery...
Grills.
Thanks.
PassingDwarf (Photo of adult mandrake-soaked liquor)
Finally getting to drink some medicinal brew lol
└YasaengGrill You crazy dwarf bastard. Turning that expensive shit into booze?
└PassingDwarf What's the problem?
└YasaengGrill I told you that shit's insanely expensive. And you make booze out of it?
└PassingDwarf My call. Tasty?
└YasaengGrill From now on, sharpen your knives with gold, you lunatic.
└lolololol
└lmao rofl
└Sharpen knives with gold lmao
└I'd be pissed too lmaoooo
└Can't resist good brew lolol
Another peaceful day.