It's an unfamiliar ceiling. (Actually, no)
It's an unfamiliar ceiling. (Actually, no)
"Ugh..."
The intense searing pain in my eyes caused them to slide open on their own.
"Gguueuk..."
Although the searing pain in my eyes was the greatest, lessening the pain elsewhere, I also felt as if every bone in my body had been shattered.
"In the end, I didn't die... Or didn't I actually die?"
I forced my body, which felt like it was about to crumble, to sit up and looked around. The goblins' corpses and the pools of green blood flowing from them filled the floor. Among them, the largest corpse, the Goblin King,
[Tutorial Clear]
[Difficulty : Impossible]
[Reward : ???]
"What's with the reward being question marks? After all that suffering..."
[Rewards are issued upon exiting the Tower.]
[Information on items obtained within the Tower is disclosed after exiting the Tower.]
[Forced expulsion from the Tower in 2 hours]
"So that means there is a reward, right? Two hours... Then there's something I have to do,"
The easiest and most reliable way to earn money in the Tower: Magic Stone collection. Regular Hunters and Tower climbers include someone to handle resource collection in their party, but since I'm alone, I have to do everything from combat to the end by myself. I search through the corpses littering the floor to collect Magic Stones.
"Ugh..."
I gagged. I never got used to seeing something living die. Especially if it was in a state with broken bones sticking out and guts spilling. It was even worse.
Of course, in a situation where I had to rummage through about thirty corpses to find Magic Stones the size of a thumb, such things inevitably felt irrelevant. No, I knew well that even if I spent all day in a corner vomiting and despairing, it wouldn't solve the problem, since I had to do it anyway.
"Sigh... In games, when you kill these things, they just drop items and disappear."
I continued to thrust my broken longsword into the goblins' chests, tearing and twisting to pull out Magic Stones. It probably took nearly an hour and thirty minutes to collect about 36 Magic Stones, weighing around 2.6kg.
"Now, what about that one..."
I felt troubled looking at the Goblin King's corpse. Could I even dissect that bastard whose hide wouldn't even get scratched by a normal sword and strength?
Clatter—
A clattering metal piece made a sound. It was the longsword in my hand, shattered into pieces, with only the hilt, cross guard, and a tiny bit of the blade remaining. The blade was in a state too embarrassing to even call it a blade; it was completely wrecked.
"...Do you think they'd refund the money if I brought this back too?"
Knowing it was an utterly pointless thought, I threw it far away. Then I approached the Goblin King's corpse. Its flank was completely sliced in half; it was dead.
"Tsk... No choice, I guess."
I thrust my hand into the Goblin King's flank. Then I rummaged around; a disgusting feeling washed over me all at once.
"Ugh... Uck..."
An unbearable urge to vomit, but since the chest area was still quite far in, I had no choice but to shove my arm in up to the elbow.
"Wehek... Hek..."
Unable to withstand the urge to vomit, I finally threw up. Since I hadn't eaten anything, only transparent, slightly white gastric juice came out.
"Fuck..."
My hand touched a Magic Stone.
"Ugh... Just a little more..."
I grabbed the Magic Stone and pulled it out. A Magic Stone the size of a fist—no, larger than a fist—came out along with green blood.
"Even after it's dead, it's a fucking piece of shit..."
I roughly stuffed it into my pocket. Due to the weight, my tracksuit top sagged heavily.
"And then..."
The Goblin King's sword caught my eye. It was big, long, thick, and had an edge on only one side.
Yeah, that was a sword... No, it was too huge to call it a blade. It was incredibly big, thick, heavy, and crude. It was literally a mace. It wasn't much different from the one at the weapon rental shop.
"Should I take this too..."
I picked it up for now. Even with the increased strength after awakening, I could only lift it; I didn't think I could actually swing it.
[Forced expulsion from the Tower in 20 minutes]
"20 minutes... Is there anything else left?"
Imagining my bank balance, it was obvious I had to grab whatever else I could.
"First, the place that looks like it has the most stuff..."
Naturally, the Goblin King's throne, which was the most eye-catching, came into view.
Normal kings usually hoard their own personal wealth... If I search it, wouldn't something come out?
I looked around near the throne to see if there was anything.
"...Just as I thought!"
A large box decorated with dark blue iron and what looked like gold or brass came into view.
Thump, thump,
Tapping it lightly, it seemed like wood wrapped in iron.
"Hmm... Could it be a trap?"
I began to wonder whether I should open it or not...
"Don't know, just open it."
Clunk,
When I opened the box, a blindingly bright light poured out.
"Ooh..."
The light faded, and inside the box was
a single scabbard.
"What is this, a scabbard?"
It was designed with an unfamiliar pattern and had a rectangular shape that made it unclear what kind of sword it was meant for.
"...Is this something worthy of being in such a fancy box?"
...I took it for now.
[10 minutes remaining until forced expulsion.]
I stuffed the large number of Magic Stones into my pocket, gripped the huge sword in one hand, and held the scabbard in the other.
"...Let's get out."
[Would you like to exit the Tower? Y/N]
I pressed Y.
[Exiting the Tower.]
"Ugh..."
My vision brightened, and I reflexively closed my eyes.
...
Feeling my vision darken, I opened my eyes. Familiar skyscrapers came into view. The soldier who had let me in earlier also came into sight.
"Student, are you alright?!"
The soldier runs towards me, worried.
"It's a person..."
The relief of being outside made me feel how much my body hurt.
"Ah, this feeling."
I fainted again.
...
...
I opened my eyes. A plasterboard ceiling with tons of worm-like things drawn on it came into view. A round light was attached in the center too.
"...An unfamiliar ceiling."
Actually, I know it's probably a hospital ceiling.
A nurse saw that I had opened my eyes.
"Professor-nim! Patient Cheon Hye-ryeong has opened her eyes!"
She calls for the professor, and soon the professor arrives. He was wearing his professor ID around his neck, so I could tell at a glance.
For some reason, he had greyish-white hair tied in a slightly long, short ponytail, a hairstyle that contrasted with his handsome and young appearance. He looked somewhat thin but had a decent build, exuding an indescribable charm. He probably was popular among young female nurses, residents, and interns.
However, to me, it didn't feel like a charm that evoked liking or love, but more like a charm that drew people in. I could see a strong-willed personality from his expression.
"This is the National Hunter Hospital. Do you remember how you got here?"
The professor began bombarding me with questions, perhaps to check if my memory was accurate.
"I cleared the Tower tutorial... and I remember exiting the Tower and collapsing right after."
The professor made a slightly surprised face, then seemed to think for a moment before opening his mouth.
"Are you sure it was the tutorial? These are absolutely not injuries you can get from a tutorial. You have a segmented fracture in your left upper arm and cracks in bones all over your body. It's like you were hit by a car. Are you really sure it was the tutorial?"
Since it wasn't the level of injury you'd normally get from a tutorial, he seemed to think there was something wrong with my memory, asking me questions using professional terminology.
"As you can see from my Hunter license, today was my first time in the Tower. The reason I got these injuries... is probably because the difficulty was Impossible Difficulty."
The professor, of course, and even the resident, intern, and nurse beside him showed surprised expressions. They probably thought I was delusional.
"I wonder what appears in Impossible Difficulty?"
"How would we know? Only those who've been there would know,"
The interns spoke as if chatting idly.
"Quiet,"
The professor scolded them.
Even people who clear the Hard difficulty tutorial are rare worldwide, and the Impossible Difficulty I went to can be counted on one hand. Since the tutorial can only be entered by one person, it's natural that for Hunters who basically form parties to climb the Tower, the tutorial—where you go in knowing and having nothing—feels the most difficult.
"Ah, by the way, where are my belongings?"
No matter how much I looked around, I couldn't see my clothes and the belongings I had brought out.
"Your belongings are being stored in the basement floor 1 warehouse. You can retrieve them when you're discharged."
That means this is a hospital room... then...
"How many days have I been hospitalized?"
A natural thought to have,
"It's been 3 days as of today. Considering the physical load, fatigue, and Mana shock you endured, waking up in just 3 days is quite remarkable."
The resident next to the professor suddenly praised me.
But the National Hunter Hospital... I think people always said you should absolutely not get treated at the National Hunter Hospital, saying it's no different from a military hospital, and that it's better to find a private Healer instead.
"By the way, what department and what professor are you at the National Hunter Hospital?"
I thought I should at least learn the name.
"I am Baek Sin-hwi of the Healer Department at the National Hunter Hospital."
I think I've heard of him. The first Healer in Korea to clear the Chaos difficulty tutorial, the one called the Angel of Death for single-handedly tearing apart and killing over twenty goblins in the tutorial, the one they absolutely bring along when breaking the highest floors in South Korea.
Come to think of it, I remember people saying that when getting treated at the National Hunter Hospital, the Healer Department is alright.
It's the most recently established department, and awakened Healers with specialized medical knowledge use their skills for treatment, so there are fewer aftereffects compared to private Healers, or so the story goes.
"First, I personally used my healing skills to treat your bones and muscles to minimize aftereffects as much as possible, but I couldn't do anything about the Mana shock that occurred in your eyes. I'm sorry."
An intern brought a small hand mirror.
Receiving the mirror and looking at my face,
My eyes were glowing red.
"It's a Mana shock phenomenon that occurs when you forcibly break through and use Mana operation that has reached its physical or psychological limit. Mana shock itself is not a common occurrence, and it most often occurs in the arms, legs, or chest. This is the first time I've seen it appear in the eyes."
The professor continued the explanation.
"The melanin pigment in the eyes has been completely burned away by Mana, so the iris appears red due to the blood vessels behind it. However, the fortunate thing is that it didn't reach the pupils, as the pupils are still fine. That means there's a possibility that vision loss won't occur. How... are you experiencing any discomfort seeing?"
He was saying something at length, but I didn't really understand what he meant. It seemed like he was asking if I could see well, though...
"Yes, I can see well."
I answered honestly for now.
"Alright, then let's proceed with your discharge,"
Huh? Right now? Now?
"Now?"
"Yes, with my healing skills, you shouldn't have any pain now, and you said you can see well, so I think you can go through the discharge procedures right away."
It didn't seem like a strong-willed personality; it just seemed thoughtless.
"Okay,"
I'm not the type to get upset about that either. On the contrary, it's better for me if I get discharged quickly.
"Please handle this person's discharge procedures,"
"Yes,"
The nurse gives me a signal to follow.
"Ah, and Patient Cheon Hye-ryeong?"
Professor Baek Sin-hwi suddenly calls out to me,
"Yes,"
The professor suddenly holds out his business card,
"This is my personal phone number. If you ever have any problems or abnormalities with your vision later, please contact me right away."
I took the business card and gave a slight nod.
Hospital 1st floor desk. Perhaps because it's a recently built building funded by rich folks, even though it's a hospital, it felt like I was at a hotel front desk.
"Hospitalization fee is 300,000 won, plus... consultation fee and item storage fee bring it to 650,000 won total. Ah, you can pay with 32g of Magic Stone."
...It's expensive. They say the National Hunter Hospital is 50% cheaper than general hospitals, so if it were a general hospital...
"...I'll pay with Magic Stones."
Following the hospital staff's guidance, I headed to the basement floor 1 warehouse. The basement was wider than the ground floor, with the warehouse composed of cabinets, iron cages, and containers.
My belongings were stored in an area enclosed by iron cages, about 1 pyeong in size. After entering the password the staff told me into the padlock, I checked if my things were all there.
"My clothes... I can't wear these anymore... My phone... Is it okay aside from the cracked screen? That's a relief, at least."
All the items I brought out and the Magic Stones were properly there. Well, who would dare mess with a Hunter's belongings knowing what could happen to them.
Looking at my phone, there was a missed call from an unfamiliar number. After a moment's thought, I try calling back.
Trrrrr— Trrrrr—
It rings about twice before it's answered.
"Student, are you alright?"
A voice I'm hearing for the first time... no, not the first time.
"...The soldier ahjussi from in front of the Tower?"
"Ah, you remember. Seems your head's working fine."
A tone that sounded somewhat relieved came through.
Well, from his perspective, my body looked like it had no intact parts from whatever happened, I was covered head to toe in green goblin blood, had blood-red eyes, and was even holding a giant sword in one hand. Anyone seeing that would have a hard time guessing what happened. At most, they'd think I had a huge fight and got seriously hurt.
Since he wouldn't know how or to what extent I was hurt, he was probably worried... but...
"How did you get my phone number?"
"You collapsed right after exiting the Tower, and when I took you to the hospital, the doctor there gave me your number. Nowadays, if you look up a Hunter license, the phone number comes up,"
Ah, through that route...
"Ah... then... what should I call..."
"Ah, call me Park Han-sol,"
The soldier introduces himself as Park Han-sol.
"Are you busy right now? Could you do me one favor?"
"No? Not really, I'm off duty, and today's not even my shift. Why? What is it?"
Hmm... what I need most right now,
"Could you buy me some clothes? Anything is fine. I'll give you the money."
"..."
The phone is quiet.
"Hello?"
"...It's the National Hunter Hospital, right? I'll be there within an hour."
I felt a bit astonished... a slight feeling of 'look at this kid's audacity?'
"Thank you."
When I expressed my thanks, the call ended.