The Grimoire and the Unknown Entity
Anxiety clamps my mouth shut. But I immediately recall that this is from the previous loop. Right. Whatever happened because of the surgery, that was the last loop's story. There's no way it would carry over to this one... or would it? If I think about it that way, my status window, points, and items all carried over, didn't they?
A sense of unknown dread washes over me. Swallowing hard, I ask, "Then, Doctor. What happens to those who receive the surgery?"
"..."
A brief silence. Then Kim Seong-han's pupils lose focus.
"Aah... I'm not entirely certain either..."
"Doctor?"
"Before performing surgery, I put on my flayed skin. Once I wear that skin, I lose my personality and become the Hospital Director."
He begins speaking as if possessed, gazing into empty space. "But even after losing my personality, fragments of knowledge still reach me... proof that I'm being completely assimilated... The surgery process itself feels hazy, but... I can tell that the treated patients become the Chosen..."
The Chosen...? "Chosen by whom, exactly?"
I ask the question of Kim Seong-han, who has begun muttering like a complete madman, and he continues staring into the void as he answers. "Some unknowable existence... Aah... It would be impossible for a human to perceive that being..."
An unknowable existence! The very entity that created this hospital...!
"Doctor. Why does this being heal humans? Why create this bizarre hospital in the first place?"
I instinctively sense this is crucial knowledge. Suppressing the creeping terror, I demand an answer.
"That is..."
Kim Seong-han's movements freeze. "Probably salvation."
"Salvation?!" What the hell does that mean?
"It wishes to save humanity... That's why it performs the surgeries."
"You mean salvation in the sense of healing the injured and serving them?"
"No. That is not it."
Kim Seong-han's gaze turns toward me. His eyes are already completely empty. The skinless being stares at me through sockets filled only with darkness. I feel an illusion of being sucked into those empty holes. Am I... about to fall into that pitch-black abyss as the price for seeking forbidden knowledge?
"It heals humans... to understand them. To save humanity, it must first know what humans are, mustn't it?"
Trying to understand humans in order to save them. At first glance it seems reasonable, but I sense an indescribable grotesqueness in the idea. It means healing human bodies while dissecting their structure for data?
"I believe this is a form of data collection... Aah, of course it is... When I imagine how that being, having finally analyzed humanity, will carry out its salvation, I feel as though I'm drowning in distant terror."
"..."
"It will never be a normal salvation. Even as I think it must be stopped, there's nothing I can do."
Even Kim Seong-han is overwhelmed by the unknown terror. That crushing feeling transmits to me as well. If even he can't find a way, what can I possibly do? Is there truly no option but to struggle blindly in the dark?
"But you... might be able to find that method..."
"H-how? Why would I be able to figure it out?"
You have acquired the item 'Hospital Director's Grimoire'.
It's an item?! What the...! And it's called a grimoire, no less.
"With that, you'll be able to leave this hospital without issue."
"Wait a moment. Even without receiving treatment?"
"Yes. Unless you actually want treatment?"
The moment Kim Seong-han says this...
Kim Seong-han offers you treatment.
Will you accept?
[YES / NO]
A choice window I've seen before appears.
"...!"
This kind of prompt shows up? Is treatment such a major event that it triggers a choice? This is the same kind of window that appeared when the vampire angel Gehanak offered to make me a follower...!
I'm consumed by overwhelming confusion. Cheongak Mary Hospital is a place I've already experienced. I never imagined I'd encounter such a bizarre situation in a place where I already know the escape route. What I knew was only a fraction of the truth—something far greater had been hidden all along.
I stare at the [YES / NO] prompt. There must be a reason it's appearing. The status window must have judged this a critical branching point. I think quickly. Based on my experience from the last loop, there hadn't been any problems. I'd received the hospital's treatment too, and felt nothing strange afterward.
But now I know the truth. If I accept treatment, I'll become one of the Chosen... which means falling under the influence of that unknown entity that created this hospital. That can't be good!
[NO]
"I don't need treatment."
I refuse the offer.
"Understood. Then please... uncover the truth about this hospital. That's all I ask."
"...I can't make any promises."
"That's fine. Ah, and..."
Kim Seong-han holds out a familiar ring. "Please deliver this to my wife. I'm begging you."
"Yes. I'll do that."
Handing this over will get me the black stone. In my opinion, farming black stones is absolutely essential. After all, it's a holy relic that can even repel the vampire angel. The best approach would be to stop by the hospital each loop to farm both medicine and black stones at once.
"By the way, Doctor. How do I get back?"
"You've already obtained guest privileges from the Hospital Director. That bizarre book is proof. You can return whenever you like."
So there's this kind of escape route too? The routes really are diverse.
"Does that mean I have free access?"
"I wouldn't recommend it... As you know, anything could happen in this hospital. Imagine arriving only to find the Hospital Director has changed."
Anything could happen. "Understood. I'll head back now. Ah, before that—Doctor, I'd like to receive the hospital's medicine. Is that all right?"
Honestly, this is essential. Without this medicine, I can't defeat the offspring of the singing star. If that happens, no matter what I do, it's game over. If the regression point gets messed up, I might have to advance to the next loop just to fix it.
Do I have to become a patient again just to get the medicine?
"As the Hospital Director's guest, you have permission."
After saying this, Kim Seong-han makes a phone call, instructing a nurse to bring the medicine. While waiting, someone knocks on the door.
"Come in."
—Tap, tap.
A familiar nurse enters, carrying a medicine case. "Here you are."
"...Thank you."
You have acquired the item 'Cheongak Mary Hospital Medicine'.
So this counts as an item too.
"Please go safely."
Carrying the grimoire and medicine case, I step out of the office. This went well. I escaped without undergoing surgery and even farmed the medicine. More than anything, being able to leave this space filled with terror and madness is a relief.
Though Lee Do-hyeong's rampage had diluted the fear, thinking back on the overwhelming dread and unknown terror I experienced while talking with Kim Seong-han again makes my phobia flare up once more.
However...
"..."
Since the nurse came all the way up to the office, I end up riding the elevator with her.
"..."
A terrifying silence. I remember how this nurse used to call my name repeatedly. Please. Let nothing happen. I'm the Hospital Director's guest, so it'll be fine, right? This elevator is way too slow...!
"Mr. Lee Seung-cheol."
I nearly jump at the voice, but this time she called my alias, not my real name. I should respond, right?
"Yes."
"Let's go on a date."
What the hell is this nonsense?!
"No."
"..."
When I answer reflexively, the nurse turns her head away again. A date? What kind of bullshit is that...? Don't tell me she asked me out because I'm the Hospital Director's guest?
Anyway, the elevator reaches the first floor. Nurses and patients are moving about. I can just leave, right? The moment I think this and step forward—
"Are you leaving?"
The nurse at the desk asks.
"Yes."
At my answer—
"Please go safely."
"Please go safely."
"Please go safely."
"Please go safely."
"Please go safely."
"Please go safely."
Everyone on the first floor greets me.
"..."
I nod slightly and walk out of the hospital. With that, I return to reality. I've escaped the hospital.