Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Miraculous Recovery
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Seo Woo-jin swallowed dryly.
No, he tried to swallow, but he couldn't even control that tiny movement.
*Cough*—a cough escaped him.
It felt like his chest was shattering.
"You're not in any condition to talk yet?"
Briana furrowed her brow.
Then she nodded shortly after.
"Well, it's no wonder. You used 'Celestial Wing' at full power, after all. No way you'd come out unscathed, even with the priests' powerful healing."
It seemed the priests had already been by.
And yet his condition was this bad...
'Just how wrecked was I?'
He vowed never to use 'Celestial Wing' at full power again.
'That is, if I survive this situation.'
Seo Woo-jin looked into Briana's heavily sunken eyes.
"You've got a lot of questions, but since you can't answer, just listen for now."
It sounded caring at first glance, but her voice was just as icy.
"If what I saw that day is true, the energy gathered on your sword... it was similar to demonic energy."
She said it casually, like commenting on breakfast that morning.
But Seo Woo-jin's heart sank.
"The Demon King's seed said the same thing, didn't he? He asked how you could wield demonic energy. Right?"
Briana's gaze swept over his entire body.
Her cold stare made him shiver.
Even that was painful.
"What happened? A hero wielding demonic energy. It's incomprehensible."
Indeed, confusion filled Briana's cold, sunken eyes.
"I've racked my brain over it. But I just can't figure it out."
Her hand rested on Seo Woo-jin's forehead.
It felt like she might crush his skull right then.
Seo Woo-jin's eyes trembled.
He wanted to say something, but no sound came out.
But then—
Briana's eyes curved into a smile.
"So I decided to let it slide."
'What?'
As if it had never happened, her gaze softened.
"Think about it—you're my lifesaver. How could I corner someone like that? I'd rather bite my tongue and die."
She beamed.
"So don't worry. I won't pry into what power you're using or how it's possible."
It was unexpected.
He'd thought she'd grab him by the collar and interrogate him on the spot...
"No one else will know. As long as I keep quiet, no one will find out. Just focus on recovering."
Briana stood up.
Her red hair brushed Seo Woo-jin's nose tip with a soft *swish*.
It hurt, but the relief was far greater.
"Oh, and that knight girl who was with you—she was terribly worried. When you're better, give her a thank-you at least."
Her crescent-moon eyes gleamed brightly, as if she knew something.
"I'm off. Rest well."
Briana vanished.
As if she'd been a hallucination from the start.
Seo Woo-jin lay still, staring at where she'd stood.
*The door slid open.*
Eileen returned from outside.
In her hands were a bowl full of water and a fresh towel.
Suddenly, Briana's parting words came to mind.
* * *
"You're badly hurt. This is largely my fault."
Martes.
The Sky Tower's master had come to visit.
'Probably stopping by while running other errands.'
Seo Woo-jin wore a strange expression.
The doll-like magic duke asking after him felt utterly unreal.
"It would be so much better if you could move even a little..."
Martes checked his condition and shook her head.
A hero's surest recovery method was leveling up.
If Seo Woo-jin could twitch a finger, she'd have dragged in hordes of monsters for him to ride the bus.
But since even that was impossible, she looked so regretful.
'I regret it too.'
He didn't love bus rides, but if it healed him, he'd have no reason to refuse.
"Just hold on a bit longer. I'll repay you."
Repay him?
How was getting this beat up fighting Gerald repayment?
Did she sense his doubt?
Martes smiled and answered.
"Briana is a child I truly cherish. She's the only one on this land I can call a close friend. You saved her—how could I not repay that?"
He hadn't known.
'Well, for her to make that request, they must be that close.'
He nodded inwardly.
"I've spoken to the Academy too. So just focus on recovering."
'The kids must be worried.'
They thought he'd taken leave to go on a trip, but hearing he was brought back half-dead—how shocked would they be?
Especially Lee Ji-ah; she was probably throwing a fit to rush over right now.
"As promised for your help, I'll give you the 'Summoning Stone' once you're healed. And I'm thinking of some extra gifts too, so look forward to it."
The 'Summoning Stone' alone was exciting enough, but more?
Seo Woo-jin blinked to show his joy.
Martes smiled at that.
"You'll like them. Recover quickly and come find me."
Seo Woo-jin decided he'd head to the Sky Tower first once healed.
After Martes chattered on and left, many others came to visit.
Briana stopped by several times a day, and even Meigers, a top-tier knight, visited.
The attendants came and went, providing comforts in gratitude for saving the Grand Duke. Aside from the pain, it was a luxuriously easy life.
A week passed like that.
In that time, Seo Woo-jin recovered at an astonishing speed.
"It's really amazing. How are you walking like this after just a week..."
Briana stared wide-eyed at Seo Woo-jin, who wobbled slowly with Eileen's help.
It was close to a miracle.
"I thought you'd need at least a month of rest."
Even the Mernotaine doctors had said that.
His body had been so wrecked that a month seemed short.
Yet Seo Woo-jin's evolved flesh had drastically shortened the time.
"Thanks to your, concern."
His words of thanks came out haltingly.
He wasn't fully recovered yet.
"This should be enough."
"For what?"
When Seo Woo-jin asked, Briana flashed a bright smile.
"The method Martes taught you."
Seo Woo-jin's eyes sparkled.
* * *
*Hoo—*
He took a slow deep breath.
The pain that had felt like it would rip him apart with every breath was gone.
He moved his hand.
It worked smoothly without hindrance.
Mana flowed vigorously as before.
"You're fully recovered."
At Seo Woo-jin's words, Briana looked at him in wonder.
"I'd heard, but heroes really are something else."
Was it because she'd seen him level up for the first time?
She looked a bit surprised.
"Thanks to you, I recovered quickly."
The Grand Duke's Castle knights had swept in monsters.
Briana had personally annihilated them and dumped them in front of Seo Woo-jin.
All he'd done was painfully thrust 'Rune Dear' into one after another.
Since there were no high-level ones, he'd had to kill a lot.
Around fifty?
Bright light burst from Seo Woo-jin's body, and the level-up message appeared.
Of course his broken body healed.
He twisted this way and that to check his condition, then finally smiled.
"I owe you. You saved my life."
Briana had kept her word from when Seo Woo-jin lay in bed.
She never asked about the demonic energy again.
She acted as if she'd seen nothing.
He was deeply grateful for that.
"Still, it's a shame."
Briana's face fell.
"No helping it. I have to visit the Sky Tower and get back to the Academy."
"To me, that Academy seems like it won't help you much."
She was right.
Academy training was uniform for all heroes.
It wasn't much use for Seo Woo-jin and his elite friends.
Truth be told, if he wanted, he could leave the Academy and train alone.
It might even be faster.
But even so, Seo Woo-jin didn't leave the Academy.
'I need to build more allies.'
Heroes who'd side with him no matter what.
He had to forge those bonds.
'And being alone is kinda lonely.'
Many ties already bound him.
Honestly, he didn't want to leave them behind and go solo.
"Well, if that's your choice, nothing to be done."
Briana wanted to keep him here if she could.
Just one day, but they owed each other their lives.
Parting so soon wasn't pleasant.
But she couldn't hold him, so Briana let him go coolly.
"Oh, and..."
Seo Woo-jin removed his bracelet.
"I should return this."
It was an item given as payment for a favor.
But Martes had come personally and taken the dark elf, so Seo Woo-jin couldn't claim the reward.
'It's a shame.'
But keeping it would be too greedy for such a good item.
"What are you saying between us? I don't take back gifts. I'm royalty, you know?"
Naturally, Briana refused.
She seemed eager to give even more.
"I'm swamped with the castle and Mernotaine right now, but once things settle, I'll visit with a gift."
"No need for that."
"I told you—I'm royalty. The price for saving my life isn't cheap."
When she put it like that, he couldn't refuse.
Seo Woo-jin nodded and accepted her kindness.
"Heading back right away?"
"It's gotten pretty late."
Counting the time he was unconscious, over ten days had passed.
The kids would be worried; he wanted to return soon and show he was fine.
"I'll visit the Academy soon. Take care until then."
"Got it. See you then."
Seo Woo-jin bid a simple farewell and left the Grand Duke's Castle.
Lumas and Meigers saw him off.
"...I planned for just a 1-night, 2-day stay, but I ended up here way longer."
"Be grateful you're alive."
Meeting Gerald and fighting him, yet keeping his head—that was incredible.
Who knew, the imperial capital might already be in an uproar.
"No more wandering outside for a while."
Every time he left the Academy, trouble happened.
Big trouble that flirted with death.
He resolved never to leave the Academy again, convinced it was cursed.
Eileen giggled.
She knew he'd repeat the same despite saying that.
"Let's head back."
The train arrived.
He pulled out the golden ticket and boarded first class.
His short but long outing ended.