Chapter 8
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Fairy Aroma Oil
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I spread a towel over the examination bed the moment I entered the clinic room.
Joo Seon-yeong's condition was critical enough to require immediate treatment.
Just three days ago, before she got caught in that magi storm, her Magi Contamination Level had been near zero. And now it was already at 26%.
Her breathing was fine, her skin looked normal, but the faint navy-blue traces in her eyes clearly showed she was rapidly succumbing to magi addiction.
"What do I need to do?"
Joo Seon-yeong, who had followed me into the clinic room, asked cautiously.
She had come here trusting Yang Deok-chun, but suspicion still filled her eyes.
It was only natural.
This wasn't some major hospital in Seoul, and it probably didn't even look like a proper clinic.
Sure, it might look dingy on the outside, but the director's skills were the real deal.
'Still, she's from the top guild.'
To be precise, she had been a dedicated hunter mental specialist.
That meant no one in the country could surpass me when it came to magi or hunter conditions.
"Take off your clothes and lie face down."
"T-take off my clothes?"
She covered her chest defensively.
"Even so, this doesn't feel right."
Her voice dripped with distrust.
I had suddenly told her to come into the clinic room alone and now to undress, so her reaction was understandable.
"It's not what you think. This is strictly part of the treatment."
"B-but..."
Who did she think I was, some pervert?
I had no intention of doing anything like that.
I had only told her to lie down because this was the most effective way to remove the magi.
"Don't want the treatment?"
"...There's no guarantee I'll get better from treatment here."
"Didn't the big hospitals in Seoul already say there's no hope?"
No response.
She had already undergone surgery at a Seoul hospital and come here.
They had made it clear that was the limit.
Treatment beyond that point was impossible.
Joo Seon-yeong knew it too.
She knew it was hard to hold onto any more hope.
Yet she was refusing treatment.
She had come this far out of loyalty to Yang Deok-chun, but now that she was in the clinic room, she was hesitating.
She had no confidence in me.
"You haven't even examined me."
Suspicion and distrust.
I used to get those looks a lot back in the day.
When I first joined Celestial Guild, when I first stood before them as their mental coach.
They all reacted the same way.
-How can we trust you?
-You have skills? You think regular techniques work on hunters?
-Treatment is for the weak.
It took a lot of hardship and trials to earn their recognition and become a hunter mental specialist.
"I don't need to look to know. Magi storm, Acute Magi Addiction, the hospital said your Mana-Way is too weak for more surgery, and you're even thinking of retirement. You've already given me plenty of hints."
"..."
There were various types of magi addiction.
The most common was the chronic kind, where magi accumulated in the Mana-Way over long dungeon raids, sticking like glue.
If mishandled, the entrenched magi could rampage and turn the hunter into a villain.
As long as it didn't exceed a certain level, regular maintenance kept it from causing major issues.
On the other hand, Acute Magi Addiction from sudden exposure to intense magi caused buildup in the dantian or key Mana-Ways, disrupting mana flow.
Unlike chronic addiction, where magi adapted to the user's mana and altered the Mana-Way, leading to villain transformation, this showed different symptoms.
The alien magi blocked activation in the dantian and Mana-Way, and in severe cases, the natural mana flow hardened like stone, rendering the hunter powerless.
Once mana solidified like that, even I couldn't do anything about it.
"Nothing dumber than asking more about a condition I've already diagnosed."
"..."
She stared at me, speechless.
I needed to earn her trust.
At least explain what the treatment would involve.
"You still don't believe me, so let me explain briefly. I'm going to do aroma massage therapy. I'll apply aroma oil infused with melted mana crystals to draw out the magi from your dantian through your skin."
"Th-that can't possibly..."
"Joo Seon-yeong, I have no reason to waste time with a patient in front of me. If you want to grasp this last thread of hope, follow my instructions. Otherwise, just leave."
She clenched her fists as she looked at me.
Countless thoughts flashed in her eyes.
"...I'll do it."
Her answer came after a brief hesitation.
I handed her a cloth to cover her chest.
"Change into this."
"Ah..."
It was clothing that fully exposed her abdomen and waist.
Those were the areas around her dantian that I needed to massage.
We had no choice if we wanted to target the magi there intensively.
"There's a changing room next to the clinic room. Change there and come back."
"Yes."
Having decided on treatment, Joo Seon-yeong followed instructions more obediently than expected.
While she changed, I pulled out a mana crystal.
It was the S-rank one I'd gotten from Choi Su-ah.
I sliced off a piece the size of my pinky nail from the blue-glowing crystal.
Whoosh!
The cut section glowed brightly.
This illness stemmed from the magi storm in an S-rank dungeon.
To cure it reliably, I needed something this potent.
I ground the sliced crystal into fine powder.
Scrape, scrape.
Like when making mana incense, rubbing it against a rough plate turned the blue crystal into fine powder.
With prep done, I took out the aroma oil stored in the clinic drawer.
-Fairy Aroma Oil.
It wasn't ordinary aroma oil.
Made from nectar extracted in the caves of fairies that appeared in dungeons.
Just applying it improved skin beauty and prevented aging, so it was popular among female hunters and civilians alike.
'But it has an even greater effect.'
Fairy nectar had extremely high mana receptivity.
It could absorb mana from even high-purity mana crystals intact.
No matter how much mana the crystal held, the nectar absorbed it all.
Once it absorbed beyond a certain amount, the nectar's properties changed.
'Gaining the power to purify surrounding magi into natural energy.'
That was the key to purifying all the magi embedded in Joo Seon-yeong's body.
I sprinkled the finely ground mana crystal into the oil.
The sparkling blue powder dissolved, turning the oil a translucent blue.
A faint mana scent rose from the oil.
Just inhaling it refreshed the mind, and the corners of my mouth lifted.
"Perfect."
At that moment, Joo Seon-yeong emerged from changing and gaped at the aroma oil I'd made.
"Wh-what is this...?"
"Lie down."
"Isn't this high-purity mana crystal? S-rank, top-grade even among S-ranks."
"You recognized it right away."
As expected of an A-rank.
She had a keen eye.
"Y-you're going to put this on my body?"
"Yes. It's essential for extracting magi from an S-rank dungeon."
She blinked, clearly caught off guard.
"Isn't it expensive? Our guild is made of A-rank hunters, but we don't have the funds to cover something like this."
"Don't worry about the cost. It's not as pricey as you think."
"..."
She hesitated for a different reason but finally lay on the examination bed.
"I'll pay the full amount."
Her voice carried resolve.
"We'll talk after the treatment."
With the oil fully infused with the mana crystal prepared, I checked Joo Seon-yeong's status one last time.
It had risen another 1% during my brief prep.
Hesitation would only make treatment harder, so it was time to hurry.
I looked at her exposed abdomen.
Taut abs from daily maintenance.
Her lower belly, where her dantian should be, was stained navy-blue, like a bruise.
A discoloration from the magi taking hold.
The stigma left on hunters who retired from Acute Magi Addiction.
I'd heard some couldn't bear seeing it daily and took extreme measures.
'Preventing that future is my role.'
No room for error from here on.
For her sake.
For mine.
"Let's begin. It might feel cold."
I drizzled the aroma oil onto her exposed abdomen.
"Hiss!"
She flinched as the cold oil touched her skin.
But I didn't stop.
I applied more, coating her entire belly thickly.
This aroma oil was a special solution made with fairy nectar and mana crystals to purify all the magi.
More oil was better.
"A-aren't you applying too much?"
Startled by the cold, she asked cautiously.
"You're distracting me. Stay quiet."
"Ah... Yes, sorry."
Once she committed to treatment, Joo Seon-yeong followed my words better than expected.
I'd worried she might resist if something felt off during, but this was a relief.
The translucent blue oil turned pale green upon contact with her lower belly.
A sign the ingredients were working properly.
"Now for the massage."
It was a strange treatment.
That's what Joo Seon-yeong thought.
Treatment with aroma oil?
She'd never heard of such a thing.
Some folk remedy?
Still, if Deok-chun had seen results, he couldn't be a quack.
'He's not one to exaggerate.'
She was suspicious, but she couldn't just leave.
As Kim Jinwoo said, there were no other options.
She had come here seeking one last method.
So she decided to follow along.
While changing, she looked at the navy-blue bruise on her lower belly.
Proof the magi had taken root.
A dark omen of the tragedy awaiting her.
Since it appeared, her lower belly always felt stuffy.
Her mana, once flowing freely, felt blocked.
Like severe constipation, the stuffiness lasted all day.
The opposite of when she first sensed mana.
Back then, she felt like she could fly to the heavens.
Now, she felt so listless she wanted to lie in bed all day.
No matter how deeply she breathed, the stuffiness wouldn't lift.
Was this how she would live from now on?
She'd told her guildmates and vice guild master she was fine.
'Am I really?'
She didn't know.
How to endure a life staring at that scar, reminiscing about the past.
She lacked confidence.
That's why she came to this clinic, grasping at the last straw.
Half-resigned, she watched Kim Jinwoo prepare the aroma oil.
Blue-tinged aroma oil.
She couldn't operate mana anymore, but she could still sense it.
The refreshing touch on her skin told her the powder in it was no ordinary stuff.
'Maybe...'
It could work.
He might actually cure her.
The moment Kim Jinwoo spread the oil.
"Eek!"
She flinched briefly at the unfamiliar touch of a man's hand on bare skin.
"Huh?"
But then she felt her stuffy lower belly cooling, refreshing.
The heavy weight, like a stone lodged inside, lightened bit by bit.
"Wha...?"
Forgetting the man's hand caressing her belly, she blinked in surprise.
What was happening?
As she startled and tried to look down.
"Look at the ceiling and stay still. You're in the way."
"Sorry."
His firm words made her lower her head again.
She felt an oppressive pressure not to defy him.
'Huh?'
Joo Seon-yeong was shocked she obeyed without a peep.
She was a warrior who led the front lines, cutting down foes.
An undefeated warrior who never feared or retreated from any enemy.
She rarely reacted so meekly to anyone.
The aura from him felt akin to an S-rank hunter.
'Feeling S-rank hunter-level power from this clinic's director?'
What was this man's true identity?
The cooling sensation grew stronger.
But so did the vivid feel of.
"Hngh!!"
Kim Jinwoo's hands kneading her lower belly like a massage.
Each time his hands moved upward, Joo Seon-yeong held her breath.
Worried they might go higher.
She held it until.
"Hoo."
His hands went down again, and only then did she exhale.
"Good. When my hands go up, hold your breath like that. Exhale when they go down."
"Yes."
She didn't question why.
She felt it in her body.
The moment his hands rose.
The hardened mana in her Mana-Way felt like it was rising.
Then, following his hands, her mana descended again.
The solidified mana was moving with his touch.
Starting with tiny amounts.
"Hoo, haa."
With each breath, the moving mana increased.
Hope appeared.
Real hope that she could recover.
No time to marvel.
She focused on his hands on her belly and the mana circulating her body.
The more his touch continued, the more mana she could move.
How long did it repeat?
Her solidified dantian melted, mana flowing through the entire area.
Like a long-stuck belch finally bursting free.
But then.
'The amount of mana in my body increased?'
She knew from daily mana practice.
The mana flowing now was different from before.
Vastly more mana coursed through her body.
The question was fleeting.
"The magi was purified by the aroma oil into natural true energy. Your body accepted it. Fully assimilate it, and it'll all become your power."
Kim Jinwoo's voice rang out.
"Focus on making that mana yours."
She couldn't reply, busy controlling the rampaging mana.
A fated encounter.
A miraculous chance that could upend one's ordinary life.
Something few ever experience.
Joo Seon-yeong realized this moment was her precious opportunity.
The wall to S-rank she'd always felt as an A-rank hunter.
She stood at a point where she might surpass it.
If she seized it.
She glimpsed hope of reaching the realm she'd only dreamed of.
She never imagined, mere days ago when she just prayed not to lose her powers, that she'd see such hope.
She closed her eyes.
Focused her mind.
Poured all her spirit into the mana flowing through her body.
She devoted everything to integrating the natural true energy—formerly magi—into her.
This inner battle was far harder than any fight she'd waged.
About 40% of the natural true energy integrated; the rest dispersed into the air.
But that was enough.
She'd gained unimaginable power.
"..."
Joo Seon-yeong opened her eyes.
Her body felt light.
Refreshed, like when she first awakened.
She looked at Kim Jinwoo, organizing notes on the clinic computer.
"You're up?"
"How long was I lying there?"
"About three hours."
Three hours?
It had felt like less than three minutes.
"Congratulations. Recovery exceeded expectations. All magi is gone, and your Mana-Way is much sturdier now. You might even rank up as a hunter."
Kim Jinwoo spoke calmly.
This was a miracle.
Even Seoul's renowned hospitals deemed it impossible, yet this man succeeded.
He'd even given her a path to a higher level.
Yet such a nonchalant reaction.
As if it were routine, leaving her unsure how to respond.
A master.
An absolute expert hiding his true nature.
Of course this was normal for him.
She was convinced.
Nothing else explained today's events.
Rising from the bed, Joo Seon-yeong knelt before Kim Jinwoo.
"I'll serve you as my lifelong benefactor!"
She resolved to dedicate her life to him.