Chapter 015
### [Chapter 015]
< Small Miracle >
15
The next morning, I opened my eyes as soon as the sun rose.
The porridge that had been simmering in the cauldron all night was now in an almost perfect state.
Clatter-
As I opened the cauldron lid, a brilliant golden energy rose along with the steam.
A fragrant and fresh smell!
The porridge looked as soft as white milk, and the finely chopped mushrooms were scattered like gold dust inside, glowing faintly.
-Hmyoooo....
Having woken up from the smell, Muryong clung to my leg and began to beg for some as well.
“First, let's put aside So-ye’s portion.”
I picked only the best parts and filled a large thermos to the brim.
I shared a bit of the remaining porridge with the old lady next door, and the rest became breakfast for me, Muryong, and the Gorani.
“Is this the taste of nature?”
It wasn't stimulating and was rather bland, but the rich natural umami inside wrapped around my tongue.
Even for me as an adult, the seasoning seemed a bit lacking, yet the original taste of the ingredients was alive so the spoon kept moving. It seemed it would be perfect for So-ye.
“As expected, the garden is miraculous.”
The mushroom that was shriveled when obtained from the Tower had become a completely different entity after only being planted in my garden for a single day.
It was clear that the power of the [Absolute's Herb Garden] had pulled the potential of the mushroom to the limit.
-Hmyoot?
“Kkiyot?”
Muryong finished a bowl as large as its own body and rolled on the floor with a bloated belly.
The Gorani was moved by the delicious food and showed its gratitude by rubbing its head against my leg and hopping around the yard.
It was clear that the food filled with sincerity and the pure energy of the mushroom were having a good influence on them too.
My energy overflowed after finishing just one bowl of porridge.
The minute sense of foreignness from the dimension remaining in my body after returning from the Tower vanished like melting snow, and my mind became clearer than ever.
Even if it didn't give direct power like the Hasuo or Golden Bone Grass, it was a kind of power that purely purified the root of existence and infused life force.
“So-ye should be okay with this too.”
Filled with hope, I held the thermos preciously in my chest and headed to the hospital.
The first person I met upon arrival was So-ye’s attending physician.
“Will what I mentioned last time be possible?”
It was a consultation about moving So-ye to a hospital near the country house.
The doctor turned the chart with a troubled expression.
“Looking at the recent test results, it is still premature.”
“Is it still difficult?”
“Yes. In So-ye’s case, it has reached a state beyond simply showing an allergic reaction to mana. It is close to an autoimmune disease where the internal immune system recognizes mana particles as enemies and attacks itself.”
“How could....”
This disease was similar to having extreme atopic dermatitis combined with fibromyalgia in modern medicine.
The skin suffered from constant burning itching, and the nerves throughout the body throbbed without reason, sending pain signals to the brain.
However, the difference was that the cause was not environmental hormones or stress, but 'mana' which had come to exist everywhere in the world.
Mana was acting as a dagger that confused her immune system and made it attack herself.
I couldn't even imagine how much that pain would be.
“Right now, we are barely suppressing that reaction with medication, but if exposed to a place with even a slightly higher mana concentration, acute shock could occur. It is too dangerous to be in a place without special medical facilities that can respond to sudden mana fluctuations.”
“....”
It was the same as saying So-ye could never leave this hospital for her entire life unless a miracle cured her disease.
After the consultation with the doctor.
“Oppa!”
Having received outing permission for the first time in a long while, So-ye was sitting on a bench in front of the hospital waiting for me.
My heart ached because her face looked a bit more gaunt since I last saw her.
“Why did you come out dressed so thin.”
I wrapped the blanket I brought around my sister's shoulders.
‘Lately, she hasn't had much of an appetite and avoids eating.’
The concerned voice of the caregiver aunt came to mind.
“So-ye, you're hungry, right? Oppa brought something delicious.”
“What is it? I'm full though....”
I opened the thermos lid and poured a bit of porridge into a bowl.
The golden porridge with steam rising.
“Waaa... what is this? It smells good.”
So-ye’s eyes grew a bit larger at the savory scent.
Using a plastic spoon, I took a bit of porridge, blew on it to cool it, and brought it to my sister's mouth.
“Now, say ah.”
“Hey, I’m not a kid!”
So-ye grumbled, but she obediently opened her mouth and accepted the porridge.
And.
“...!”
So-ye’s eyes became the roundest I had ever seen in my life.
“...It’s delicious.”
So-ye, who had been munching with her small mouth, let out an exclamation.
“It’s incredibly delicious! Oppa, what is this? Did such a delicious porridge exist in the world?”
She eventually took the spoon and bowl from my hand and began to eat the porridge ravenously.
Until her cheeks were as bloated as a squirrel's.
“Eat slowly. You’ll get indigestion.”
“It's so delicious I can't stop.”
“Yeah, there's plenty of it so chew ten times.”
“Okay!”
So-ye munched with her small mouth, savoring the taste spoon by spoon. It had been a long time since I saw her eating so deliciously.
“I finished it.”
So-ye, who had emptied a bowl, held out the empty bowl proudly.
Perhaps because she had eaten something warm, I saw a healthy complexion returning to her previously pale face for the first time in a while.
With just that, I felt this porridge had already fulfilled its worth.
“Oppa, I want to take a walk!”
So-ye stood up energetically as if she had gained strength.
“How is the countryside? Aren't you lonely?”
“Lonely? Why?”
“There are fewer people there than here.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course, and delivery doesn't work there. Oppa can't cook.”
Listening to her, they were words worrying about the days I’d be alone in the countryside.
“I made this porridge though?”
“Wh-what?”
So-ye stopped abruptly while walking and her mouth hung open.
“Really? Isn't it a lie? There's no way my Oppa could make something like this!”
“Actually, the old lady next door helped a bit.”
“The old lady next door? Do you have a dog at the house too?”
“Uh... I have a friend with fur.”
“Really? I want to see them!”
We shared trivial conversations about the new family members at the country house, the old lady next door, and the new friends So-ye made in the hospital ward.
“Oppa, give me the medicine. I have to take the medicine since I ate.”
“Should we? Just a moment.”
“But me, why... is it not itchy? Before taking the medicine.”
So-ye rolled up her sleeve.
The red spots that always tormented So-ye had noticeably faded.
“Really? It’s not itchy?”
“Yeah. Not at all!”
‘It’s effective!’
And it was an effect that appeared immediately.
It wasn't a complete cure, but it felt sufficient for now.
Hope was seen.
The hope that I could take So-ye out of the hospital.
* * *
After leaving the hospital, I headed to the next destination.
It was because Old Man No insisted on meeting, saying he must repay the grace of the Hasuo water from before, and I couldn't refuse.
However, since Old Man No is one with the Bureau, visiting my former workplace again was not a pleasant thing.
‘It’s a bit uncomfortable.’
The meeting place was a temporary equipment storage warehouse on the outskirts, away from others' eyes.
“Old Man No, has your back really completely healed?”
“I told you it's all healed! Thanks to you, Manager Jang, I feel ten years younger!”
As soon as he saw me, he thanked me and patted my back repeatedly.
“Is it not just temporary?”
“No. It’s not just that the pain disappeared. That 지긋지긋한 pain that used to throb to the bone on rainy days feels completely uprooted.”
“Really?”
“It was a chronic disease those doctor bastards also gave up on, I wonder what kind of harmony this is.”
Looking at Old Man No, it wasn't a lie.
In the past, he always bent his waist and had a habit of making sounds of suffering, but now the posture of his straightened waist was different.
His previously dull complexion also seemed somehow clearer and his voice was full of energy.
“So, is the rural life doable?”
“Yes. It's quiet and nice.”
“Is the house repair finished well? I heard that friend Lee Seok-ju went with you.”
“Yes, thanks to you, Old Man No, the house has become brand new.”
The repair team Old Man No introduced did not accept any labor costs besides the material costs.
Thanks to that, I could save at least 2 or 3 million won from the originally expected repair cost.
“How was the Tower? You must have always been curious during your 6 years at the Bureau, how is it? Your impression after entering for the first time.”
Actually, it was a shameful experience to even say I had experienced the Tower.
Everything was done by the Gorani, and I just watched from the side.
“It was... nothing much compared to what I thought.”
“Haha, really?”
“Old Man No!”
“Oh dear, just a moment.”
After Old Man No went to attend to some business, I stared blankly at the employees moving busily inside the warehouse.
Checking equipment, submitting reports, and running at the superior's order.
‘That was my appearance a month ago.’
I felt an unknown sense of the passage of time. It was a subtle feeling.
Do I want to return to this group?
No. It didn't seem to be that.
“Oh dear, sorry.”
“But Old Man No, why is the Bureau so cluttered?”
It was originally a busy and cluttered place, but now something was different.
A묘한 tension, mixed with excitement and anxiety, was sensed on everyone's faces.
“The Bureau? No, right now the entire South Korean Hunter world is cluttered.”
“Why?”
“It’s a mess because of some hunter named Muryong. Haven't you heard the news?”
“...Pardon? Y-yes?”
Why is the name Muryong coming up here?
“The 1st place in the 1st Floor ranking has changed. But it’s even more of a mess because they're listed as E-Class. They say the skill far surpasses S-Rank.”
“What does that....”
“Check the integrated ranking. It's truly a mess right now.”
I turned on the terminal in my pocket and entered the integrated ranking board for the first time in my life.
And I doubted my eyes.
[Tower 1st Floor Comprehensive Ranking]
1st: Muryong (E-Class) (Raid Grade: EX) (Record: 12 seconds)
2nd: Yu Jin-hyuk (S-Rank) (Raid Grade: S) (Record: 1 minute 12 seconds)
What is this?
‘Yu Jin-hyuk is under me?’
No matter how good the time record was, the raid grade was a separate matter.
Damage taken, skill efficiency, and mana consumption.
The system synthesizes all this to assign a grade. But an EX grade.
‘Was the Gorani’s cry such a perfect raid method?’
“Haha, it's something to be surprised about. Right now, all the guilds and the Association are frantic trying to find that hunter named Muryong. They say they're the hope of the E-Class.”
I let out a hollow laugh.
People are looking for me?
“But, Manager Jang. The Bureau seems a bit strange lately.”
“Why? Did another accident happen?”
“It’s not at the level of an accident. It’s rotting away.”
Laughter vanished from Old Man No's face.
“That Team Leader Park Jin-soo is only frantic about raising performance, so he doesn't seem to see the field festering.”
“....”
“It seems Seok-ju will leave for another guild soon. Has he contacted you?”
“No. He hasn't mentioned anything.”
“I heard he had a confrontation with Park Jin-soo in the conference room recently. He exploded because he couldn't take being nagged about the Tower raid schedule. That friend is someone with an extraordinary loyalty to the Bureau... if it's to that extent, it should be seen that his heart has practically left.”
Hunter Lee Seok-ju leaving.
That wasn't something to be seen lightly.
“If Hunter Lee Seok-ju leaves... won't the Bureau become precarious?”
“As expected, I knew you’d know, Manager Jang.”
Old Man No nodded his head vigorously at my words.
“Everyone is drunk on the short-term performance Park Jin-soo raised so they don't know the seriousness of this problem. Only you know. Do you know what the problem is, Manager Jang? Lee Seok-ju leaving is only the beginning.”
“Pardon?”
“The real problem erupted yesterday. One of our B-Rank parties active on the 35th floor of the Tower almost reached total annihilation and barely returned.”
“On the 35th floor? Isn't that a place where mid-level B-Ranks are safe?”
“It was. Until yesterday. But the mana stabilization potion they used didn't fill as much as the standard recovery amount. They were used to the existing mana stabilization potion and miscalculated the mana... somehow they managed to settle it though.”
I asked with a "No way, no way" heart.
“That potion, where is the supplier from?”
“It's a place Park Jin-soo newly contracted after you left, Manager Jang. Simply because the supply unit price is 10% cheaper than the existing company.”
The thing I had been blocking all this time.
What was bound to happen finally happened.
< Small Miracle > END