Nothing Is Free in This World (2)

I placed the Bijeongmudan elixir I'd received from the association president into Gyeo-ul's mouth first. The elixir didn't need to be chewed. The moment it touched saliva it melted like water and was absorbed.

The reaction was immediate. The mana that had been devouring Gyeo-ul's body suddenly ran wild. At that instant she lost consciousness. She couldn't even draw breath. For all intents and purposes she was dead. But I had known this would happen.

I pressed the top-grade mana stone I'd already taken out against her solar plexus. Using the stone as a medium, I began to control the mana the elixir had forced into overdrive.

Blood streamed from her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠nose and eyes. None of this process was automatic. The corrupted mana was lodged like thorns in every single cell. I had to hunt each one down and extract it. Naturally, forcibly removing mana that had fused with the cells would cause those cells to collapse. That was the main reason Awakening Disease had been considered incurable.

But if I filled the emptied space with pure mana at the exact moment I pulled the corruption out, the cells didn't break. They grew healthier. Stronger.

The elixir wasn't only there to drive the corrupted mana into a frenzy. It also shielded her weakened body, keeping the flame of life from guttering out.

"Manager! You're bleeding!"

"Stay back."

I shoved Kim Yeo-ul away as he approached with a towel. I should have warned him not to touch her earlier, but I must have been more tense than I realized.

Good. The critical part is over…?!

While I stripped the corrupted mana from the surface, I sensed something impossible. Ordinary hunters wouldn't know it, but mana had different natures. And what I felt inside Kim Gyeo-ul right now was the absolute worst kind.

I had detected Dark ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mana.

I had no idea how something like that had gotten inside her, but it was a variable. A filthy, dangerous one.

The moment I noticed the Dark Mana, it noticed me. As if it were alive, it immediately attacked. Blood surged up my throat. The blow twisted my organs.

This bastard?

The Dark Mana was cunning. I'd tried to pull it into my own body to kill it, but it struck me without ever leaving hers.

It's even threatening me now?

It hovered near Gyeo-ul's heart, taunting me. The message was clear: if I didn't respond, it would rip her heart apart.

Fine. Let's finish this.

I steadied my breathing. This wasn't simple inhalation and exhalation. It was the internal cultivation method Clear Mirror, Still Water. Most people only knew it for its pure, refined mana, but that wasn't its true power. Its real purpose was the annihilation of evil.

The pristine inner energy of Clear Mirror, Still Water swallowed the Dark Mana whole.

A shrill scream seemed to echo in my mind. I didn't relax. I kept pressing, driving it back.

Suddenly there was a wet, violent sound. Black liquid erupted from every pore in Kim Gyeo-ul's body.

This son of a bitch is making things as difficult as possible until the very end.

Right before it was extinguished, the Dark Mana scattered its power throughout her entire body. The amount was tiny, but the fact that it had spread everywhere meant I had to gather every last trace using the difficult-to-handle energy of Clear Mirror, Still Water.

"Haa… haa…"

My breathing turned ragged. Sweat soaked me from head to toe. My eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds, but I kept concentrating. I bit my lower lip until it bled. The pain cleared my head a little.

Ten minutes? An hour? I wasn't sure anymore. But I succeeded in removing every trace of Dark Mana from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Kim Gyeo-ul's body. In its place I left the inner energy of Clear Mirror, Still Water. The top-grade mana stone settled into her heart. It would become her artificial mana core.

Do your job, you worthless heart.

I stimulated the dead organ. At first there was no response, but after a few more nudges it began to twitch. Then it beat. Thump. Thud. Thump. Thud. The rhythm grew steadier, stronger. Warmth slowly returned to her ice-cold body. That was the last thing I felt before I passed out.

"I'm back!"

Lee Min-ji burst through the door carrying enough food to hide her entire body. The stench that hit her the moment she stepped inside made her pinch her nose.

"Ahjussi, did you shit yourself?"

When no one answered, she shoved the mountain of takeout aside and entered the room.

"Whoa, what the hell happened here?"

Kim Gyeo-ul and Kim Yeo-ul were gone. Only Chae Mu-jin lay sprawled on the floor. The source of the rotten smell was the bed. The mattress where Gyeo-ul had lain was completely coated in something pitch-black. Water was running in the bathroom.

"Yeo-ul, is that you in there?"

"Y-yeah. Just wait a second. I'll be right out."

"Ahjussi isn't dead, right?"

"N-no! He's alive!"

"Hmm."

Lee Min-ji squatted beside the unconscious Chae Mu-jin. She checked his breathing with a finger under his nose. He was definitely alive.

"…When he keeps his mouth shut like this, he's actually my type."

His eyes snapped open.

"Kyaaak!"

Lee Min-ji fell backward in shock. Chae Mu-jin sat up, clutching his throbbing head, and looked down at her.

"What are you doing?"

"…Can you please stop scaring people?"

"Where's Yeo-ul?"

"Bathroom."

"This stench is killing me. Open the window… oh, right, there isn't one. Leave the front door open and haul this bed outside. Throw it somewhere far away."

"Me?"

"You want me to do it? Can't you see I've been bleeding?"

"What even happened? You guys did something without me again."

"Kids get hurt when they know too much."

"Tsk…"

Grumbling the whole way, Lee Min-ji still dragged the ruined bed back to the surface. While she was gone, Chae Mu-jin checked his condition.

"I got hurt, but it's not serious."

He had simply fainted after exhausting every last drop of stamina, energy, and mana. Honestly, he still wanted to sleep for a week. But something felt strange, so he opened his status window. Sure enough.

"My mana… what the hell? Why did it rise?"

This wasn't the first time he'd cured Awakening Disease, but it was the first time his own mana had increased. And not by a little. It had doubled.

For a supporter, mana was the core stat. Doubling it was the same as multiplying his overall combat power by six.

"I can maintain buffs for twenty-four hours now."

He had only done it to put Kim Yeo-ul in his debt, but an unexpected windfall had come his way.

"They call this a blessing in disguise, I suppose."

Even though the Dark Mana had nearly killed him, overcoming it had brought this kind of reward.

Still, I don't want to do it again.

He had no proof, but his gut told him repeating the procedure wouldn't raise his mana a second time. Intuition was usually right about these things.

The bathroom door creaked open. Kim Yeo-ul stepped out and immediately dropped into a full bow, forehead pressed to the floor.

"Thank you! Thank you, Manager!"

"Go ahead and thank me all you want. I earned it."

"…Um."

A clear, refreshing voice made him turn. A girl was peeking shyly from the bathroom doorway. Her hair and eyes had once been a pale ash-gray. Now they shone a vivid sky-blue.

Gyeo-ul murmured, cheeks flushed.

"Th-thank you."

"How do you feel? Any pain?"

"No…"

"Can you move on your own?"

"I think I could even run."

"That's a relief. Come here. Just to be safe, let me check you over."

"J-just a second."

"What is it? Does something hurt?"

"N-no, that's not it."

She ducked back into the bathroom. He could clearly hear her take a deep, steadying breath.

"…C-can I come out now?"

"I'm not going anywhere."

Kim Gyeo-ul emerged cautiously. She was still thin, but a healthy, vibrant energy radiated from her entire body. She walked hesitantly, then stopped again at the threshold.

"You have to come closer. My arms aren't that long."

"Y-yes."

She crept forward until she stood right in front of him, then squeezed her eyes shut. The sight was so adorable that Chae Mu-jin reached out and gently stroked her hair.

"You did well holding on. Good job."

"N-no, it's not like that. Oppa told me. You were coughing up blood while you saved me… Thank you. Really. Thank you so much."

She dropped down beside her brother, both siblings now prostrating themselves. Looking at them, Chae Mu-jin felt less satisfaction than guilt.

"Enough. I didn't do it for free, you know. Get up, both of you."

He was forcing them to their feet when the messages appeared.

I had completely forgotten about my Seizure skill for a moment. In exchange for saving Gyeo-ul, Kim Yeo-ul's Grace Points had shot up to nearly five hundred thousand in one go.

Even saving someone's life only used to give ten thousand points.

To Kim Yeo-ul, his sister's survival must have felt like having his own life saved fifty times over.

And Yeo-ul wasn't the only target that had updated.

What? Eight ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hundred thousand at once? Are you kidding me?

Even though he had saved her life, 800,000 seemed excessive even to him. That was close to the one million points needed to seize an S-rank ability. It was enough to take eight A-rank skills. Such an enormous jump couldn't be explained by simply saving her life.

It's individual variation. The way Grace Points accumulate differs from person to person.

The secret behind Grace Points had finally revealed itself. In retrospect it was obvious. The same favor could make one person deeply grateful and another indifferent. Grace Points worked the same way. The only difference was that the Seizure skill forcibly accumulated a certain baseline amount even if the target felt no gratitude.

But the real shock was only beginning. The fact that she had become a seizure target meant she had awakened. When Chae Mu-jin saw the list floating above Kim Gyeo-ul's head, his eyes widened.