The S-Classes That I Raised - Chapter 455: I’m Hospitalized (2)
“When you say cult, the first things that come to mind are people on the street asking if you know the Way, or saying your aura looks pure.”
Yerim, who had agreed to be my bodyguard today, said this while unwrapping a hamburger. On the table were cola, fries, and a wing bon. Sadly, I had to fast. S-Ranks were scheduled to visit the hospital in sequence: Noah tonight, Yuhyun tomorrow, Moon Hyun-ah tomorrow night, and Seong Hyunjae on the last day. If the schedule shifted, replacements would be Kim Seong-han or Evelyn.
It really was a luxurious security roster.
“Before the regression, should we eat in the next room?”
“No, it’s fine. Eat here.”
I must have stared absentmindedly.
“I was just wondering if it’s okay to make this a meal. We could order hospital food too.”
“Hamburgers are surprisingly complete meals. And tasty. Also, pricier than you’d think.”
“Still, how much?”
“12,500 won for a set.”
Whoa. Food prices had risen since the dungeon appeared, but still—that was expensive. A neatly plated bossam set with stew was only 10,000 won. 12,500 won would have bought two bowls of gukbap back in the day.
“I never had to buy them before. Expensive. Thought it’d be cheap. It’s fast food, after all.”
Convenience store hamburgers were about 3–4 thousand won. Add fries and cola, maybe 4,000 more? Then a single burger would be about 8,000 won. Bigger than the convenience store version, at least. Yerim took a big bite of the hamburger.
“Want some?”
Gyeol hesitated, then climbed onto the table. He picked up a fry.
“Yeah, you can.”
Being a small fairy dragon, the fry looked like a giant baguette in his hand. He opened his mouth and bit the end.
“Do you want ketchup?”
Gyeol tried the fry with the ketchup Yerim had torn off for him, didn’t like it, and just nibbled on the fry as-is. He seemed pleased, settled in, and grabbed a second fry.
He was still young by birthdate—was it okay to feed him fast food already? Babies were supposed to be careful, even if not human.
“I don’t know much about dungeon-worshipping religions. There used to be many small factions. Some argued that dungeon explosions were right, others advocated monster rights, some were apocalyptic, and many preached salvation.”
“Isn’t it just that current cults adapted doctrines for dungeon-related beliefs? They still preach apocalypse and salvation, and some even believe in aliens rather than monsters.”
“Maybe when their influence was weaker, it was similar. They committed acts of terror, though.”
The problem now was that S-Rank Hunters were also involved. And the deity they worshiped was real and directly intervened—not exactly God, but it would feel like one.
“There are a lot of strange people in the world. Why do they do this, hurting people when dungeons explode?”
“Because their beliefs are more important than human life. Not just zealots; wars happen for similar reasons.”
Many humans harm others for personal gain; others risk their lives for others.
“The real issue is the blind masses. S-Ranks are connected to the filial types, so they’ll behave for a while. At worst, it’s like last time when shots were fired?”
“That wasn’t exactly well-behaved.”
“They can’t risk their lives. But devotees not directly connected to transcendent beings have no restrictions.”
Thinking about it was troublesome. Luckily, firearms weren’t easy to bring into Korea; overseas, there might have already been machine-gun fire and bombs at the nursery. Damage to buildings is one thing, but the nursery and other buildings had non-awakened inside. Just thinking about it made me frown.
“We’ve issued body armor and low-level defensive items.”
Several mid-to-high-grade hunters stayed at the nursery and building. One or more A-Rank hunters would be stationed permanently with Seok Hayan’s team. Still, concerns remained.
“Thought stopping the dungeon was enough, huh?”
“Worrying is enough for now. Your surgery is tomorrow.”
Ppiyak flapped over the table as if responding, then stared at the changeling. Gyeol tilted his head.
Gyeol picked up another fry and offered it to Ppiyak, who tried to grab it with tiny wings…
Struggling, but it was impossible to catch.
Flapping indignantly. Ppiyak… birds usually use their beak and feet instead of hands. You do it all the time.
“It’s inconvenient without fingers, I guess.”
Yerim said while finishing her burger. Ppiyak continued squeaking, and Bellare climbed onto the table.
They got along very well.
Then a doorbell rang. Opening it with the remote, Teacher Ho-yeon entered in a white coat, followed by a middle-aged man who appeared to be a doctor.
“Hello, doctor.”
“Oh, hi.”
…Wait? That was Korean.
“You speak Korean?”
“A little. Awkwardly.”
Ho-yeon replied, mixing some Chinese, claiming to have learned it before.
“This is Kang Kyungho, Orthopedic Department Head.”
“Pleased to meet you, Director Han.”
The doctor greeted politely, bowing as we shook hands.
“Thank you. Are you an awakened?”
“Yes. Mainly support skills rather than direct healing.”
He had acquired skills useful for surgery. Apparently, quite a few active doctors had similar abilities. Overseas, some had skills resembling CT scans. In their free time, they scanned passersby to detect and report ailments—a remarkable hobby.
“To minimize potions and healing skills, Mr. Kang is ideal.”
“You flatter me.”
“…That sounded like Chinese just now. Do you speak Chinese?”
“Only enough to understand.”
Impressive abilities. And they seemed close despite having met recently.
“Since awakeneds appeared, many have taken interest in Oriental medicine. They think ‘qi’ may correspond to magical energy.”
Makes sense. Ho-yeon examined me and talked about pulse and qi flow.
“I’ll handle anesthesia, and Mr. Kang will perform the surgery. I’ll assist. I’ll use some internal healing skills but suture normally externally. You’ll need crutches briefly.”
Ho-yeon said there would be a scar. Scars didn’t bother me anymore. Bones would heal completely, so no aftereffects. The skill was impressive; previously, perfect bone repair after major injury was impossible.
After explaining tomorrow’s schedule, the two left. Yerim looked sorry upon hearing about the scar.
“Sir, you can’t keep using potions?”
“My mana inscription has stabilized more than before, but it’s better to minimize usage. So what if a scar forms? Before dungeons, it was common.”
“But still…”
Damn. I need to avoid injury as much as possible, but it’s not entirely controllable.
In the evening, Noah visited with Myeong-woo. His under-eye circles looked bad.
“You’re admitted, so why do you look worse?”
“From the last dungeon… huh, a lot happened.”
He had been hidden in the forge all night.
“I’m getting a sense of the dungeon creator’s domain. I want to control the forge as my territory, but it’s not easy.”
“Uh, okay.”
“Even though I’m the owner, someone else made it. I need to fully understand the space, but I’m stuck here… so I’m disassembling and reconstructing it gradually. It’ll take a while.”
Not just disassembling the building, but the space itself.
“With the newbie’s help, control over the forge space improved. The Ice Tree Spear should upgrade to SS-rank advanced.”
“Really?”
It was supposed to be an SS weapon using SSS-grade magic stones. They said it would at best be mid-level, but advanced SS-rank now.
“Yerim will love this!”
“Don’t tell her yet. The SS-grade stones from Japan might allow making items beyond SS weapons.”
Ah, that’s why senior training is important. Though Myeong-woo struggled…
“You have surgery tomorrow, right? Hope you recover safely.”
Noah’s eyes were concerned.
“It’s a non-life-threatening area, so don’t worry.”
“You must be hungry…”
Oh, did my stomach growl? Myeong-woo looked sympathetic.
“They’re not using anesthesia, right? Can you eat?”
“I’m not sure, but it’s similar to anesthesia. Also, they said magic flow should be left fasting for a day.”
“Oh, the flow is slightly different whether you eat or not.”
Acupuncture is a type of skill, I guess. Still hungry.
“By the way, this is the changeling, Hangel.”
Myeong-woo hadn’t seen him. Pretending not to speak, Gyeol stood and bowed.
“Hi.”
“Nice to meet you, Hangel.”
“Like a favor, maybe. A beast I created.”
“Then two more might be born.”
Quite knowledgeable. Somehow, I might end up with three kids without ever having a relationship.
Noah stayed to guard me; Myeong-woo left. Even though I told him to rest properly, he just smiled, which worried me slightly. Always nagging me to be careful.
The next morning, Yuhyun visited.
“Hyung…”
Her eyes were full of pity seeing me starved since yesterday.
“After surgery, you can eat whatever you want for a day.”
“Thanks.”
“And we’ll exercise. Definitely.”
She grabbed my wrist, saying I looked even thinner than before. No difference at all.
“Basic fitness is important. Take care from your twenties.”
“I’ve been fine until thirty.”
“We should live long together.”
Rin crawled up my hand, circled, and paused, staring at the changeling sitting quietly beside me. Gyeol blinked, lifted his hand, and waved.
…What? Rin calls me hyung, but… Gyeol flattened his ears and frowned.
Between spirit eggs and Diarma, Diarma probably lived longer. That dragon species wasn’t exactly young either; Seong Hyunjae in the past would be considerable. Rin fussed while disassembling, then ran to Yuhyun. Gyeol glanced at Yuhyun, then confidently lifted his head again.
Well, a little.
I calmed my sibling, who wanted to starve with me, fed lunch, and shortly after, Ho-yeon and Kang Kyungho arrived at the room.
“Please take care of him.”
Yuhyun bowed politely. Gyeol, though silent, mimicked. Anyone would think a life-or-death surgery was about to happen. It was just a leg.
“S-Rank Hunters seem so stiff,”
Ho-yeon said, looking at Yuhyun.
“Even advanced ones. Even asking for family treatment, acted like a metal rod was in their neck. Your sibling is really kind.”
“Right. My little brother has been considerate since childhood.”
“Close your eyes briefly; it’ll be over soon. Don’t worry.”
“I’m not worried.”
She said that, but my heart raced slightly. Without fear resistance, it might have been ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) a little scary. Even if it’s like anesthesia, surgery without it… well, it’s a little unsettling.
Soon, I was moved to the operating room and, as Ho-yeon instructed, closed my eyes. My consciousness blurred briefly, and when I opened them, I was back in the hospital room. Wow. This was real.
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