Chapter 19

"Is today the day the Tachun Guild falls apart? There will be a lot of commotion everywhere."

In the four-bed ward, the Tachun Guild members lay side by side. The order was Handonhee, Kangsan, and Chae Seo-won, and the remaining empty bed was where Chae Haya sat.

Chae Haya clenched and unclenched her fist to check if her wrist had properly healed.

"Who should we bill for the treatment? Your vice-guild leader?"

At the chest of the man in a gown, a doctor's ID badge swung.

"Isn't it enough that you removed it from the vice-guild leader's hand?"

Chae Haya's indifferent response made Jo Kyung-min's expression stiffen.

"Patient, why are you acting like this? That's not Oh Gwang-seok."

Jo Kyung-min pointed to a round object placed by the window. The sphere, intricately connected like a neural network, contained the ore removed from Seo-won's hand.

"Will you pay the remaining treatment fees, Mr. Chae Haya? The treatment fees for the four of you amount to 15 days' worth of Oh Gwang-seok for staying in Korea."

Currently, among the Manseongjong, Oh Gwang-seok, which is more valuable than money, is used for gate fees.

"I'll pay for a month, so could you find out what this is?"

"Sir, I'm a doctor, not a researcher of space minerals. But if you increase the residency fee to one and a half months, I can take a part-time job."

"Let's do that."

"I will serve you with all my heart."

Anyway, the top-tier Manseongjong don't know how precious Oh Gwang-seok is. Jo Kyung-min grumbled inwardly.

Before becoming the guild leader of the 'Comprehensive Hospital' guild, Jo Kyung-min was an orthopedic surgeon.

After awakening as a Manseongjong, he manifested in the healing category of the mental realm due to his profession. He understood his universe medically, but no matter how much he explained it, others couldn't understand.

If it were easy to understand others' unique abilities, all Manseongjong would have become the coveted 6th-tier top-tier. Manseongjong, like a school with many students, are divided into upper, middle, and lower tiers.

Jo Kyung-min is one of the healers who can treat injuries inflicted by 6th-tier variants.

Handonhee was injured by Chae Haya, who is almost a 6th-tier, and without Jo Kyung-min, it's hard to say what would have happened. Of course, it was fortunate that Jo Kyung-min was in Seoul at the time. He is the Manseongjong who has resided in Korea the longest.

As much as Manseongjong struggle to obtain Oh Gwang-seok, they often get injured. Jo Kyung-min made house calls even to the Narakga and received treatment fees in the form of Oh Gwang-seok instead of money.

"Are there any other needs 20 minutes before the surgery?"

Jo Kyung-min caught the sphere he had created from his neural network.

"When will they wake up?"

Chae Haya pointed to the people lying side by side on the beds.

"They're like monsters, so they'll wake up quickly after half a day's sleep. But your vice-guild leader was fine except for his arm, so why did he faint?"

"This."

Chae Haya raised her sword and pointed to the ore Jo Kyung-min was holding.

"Even a casual remark is unpleasant, let alone a sword. Only the ore extracted from a fully mutated variant works. The ore extracted before the mutation wouldn't have caused a faint."

"That's not a 100% certainty."

"Are you talking about percentages in front of a doctor? Let's say it's about 89%."

"Give me a discount."

"How can I arbitrarily reduce the probability!"

"It's the treatment fee."

When you asked me to find out about this ore, you didn't even negotiate, but now you want to reduce the treatment fee. At least try to be more considerate. Jo Kyung-min frowned again at Chae Haya's brazen attitude.

"Please quickly take your guild members and arrange for their discharge."

"We don't even have enough money to pay for the theme park."

Chae Haya held her left hand, which had been treated, and observed the movement of the sword.

There are various guilds in Korea, but Tachun is known as a group in a comprehensive crisis, except for the vice-guild leader. The guild would have been in even worse shape if the vice-guild leader hadn't gone into hiding, reducing the guild's size. Otherwise, Tachun would have fallen into the hands of the Narakga.

The upper-tier Manseongjong affiliated with Tachun scattered to other guilds, maintaining a balance.

Before the Narakga existed, Tachun was the top-ranked guild recognized by the Variant Disaster Control Center. However, due to the presence of brutish members, incidents never ceased, and it was also the top-ranked guild that healers avoided.

Thus, Tachun remained a guild with no healers.

Originally, they wouldn't have treated them even if offered a fortune, but Jo Kyung-min's situation changed. Now, he is more than willing to run to the Narakga and treat Tachun guild members if given Oh Gwang-seok.

Despite the reluctance, interacting with Tachun provided new information. It turned out that the three top-tier Manseongjong were school friends.

The one who cut his wrist was absurd, and the vice-guild leader who came in unconscious, holding his wrist, was also not normal. Indeed, green is the same color. Jo Kyung-min clicked his tongue repeatedly.

"Chae Haya, be honest. Did you stab the guild members using the variant as an excuse? It doesn't make sense to be injured like that before the awakening."

Chae Haya only honestly talked about the wrist-cutting incident and lied about the rest, saying it was due to a fight with a variant. Since she experienced hallucinations due to the variant, it wasn't entirely false.

"I removed it before it happened, so I brought the ore."

Chae Haya isn't using informal language, but Jo Kyung-min felt strangely dirty.

It seemed like she was hiding the thought, "Can't you figure it out? Do I have to explain?" Jo Kyung-min continued, thinking it was just a feeling.

"Wasn't this variant expected to be a 3rd-tier by the Control Center?"

"Someone who talks about probabilities with ore, do you believe the Control Center 100%?"

"The information from the Control Center is almost always correct."

"Sorry to the devout believer of the Control Center, but this variant is a 5th-tier. The hallucination spores spread before it happened, causing trouble."

Jo Kyung-min had many points to argue with Chae Haya but held back.

"Hallucination spores? Did they spread through the air? What kind of hallucinations?"

"I don't know."

Chae Haya got up and opened the refrigerator door, taking out a carbonated drink and opening the cap with a snap.

"What did you see?"

"I'll tell you if the treatment and research fees are free."

Chae Haya dragged out her words, indicating she didn't want to talk.

"...Horror."

A heavily muffled voice came from behind. While Jo Kyung-min was surprised and turned around, Chae Haya drank the beverage, having already seen Seo-won open his eyes when she opened the cap.

"It's been a while, Professor Jo Kyung-min. How have you been?"

Seo-won, who had sat up, bowed politely.

***

"The surgery will be performed by a more renowned professor than me."

It was exactly 20 minutes later. Jo Kyung-min preemptively defended himself, fearing Chae Haya might pick a fight.

He only wanted to avoid getting more entangled with Tachun Guild beyond business and used the surgery as an excuse to leave. However, with Seo-won awake, he chose to be brazen.

"So, Seo-won, you think the people intoxicated by the spores experience their own traumas or fears?"

"Perhaps."

Seo-won looked at Chae Haya as he answered.

He still didn't remember how he got to the hospital, only the vivid memory of Chae Haya's sword aimed at his heart. Seo-won looked down at his chest. Even if Jo Kyung-min were an excellent healer, he couldn't have saved him if his heart had been pierced.

So, was Chae Haya's sword piercing his heart just a hallucination?

If the hallucination spores showed horror, it was strange. He had never thought Chae Haya would try to kill him.

"Is the hallucination each person's own fear?"

Chae Haya also looked doubtful. The mole under his eye seemed more three-dimensional.

"Let's see when they wake up."

Seo-won concluded neatly.

"Okay, talking more here would be a waste of time. Call me when they wake up."

As Jo Kyung-min got up, the ID badge around his neck dangled. He didn't forget to take the ore. Since the ore was trapped in the neural network of a top-tier healer, it couldn't escape. Jo Kyung-min's face was filled with curiosity about what would happen to the ore if it couldn't find a host.

Seo-won, who had put his legs out of the bed, also got up. He bowed to Jo Kyung-min, who was leaving, and Chae Haya offered him a fruit drink, even opening the cap for him.

"How did you get to the hospital?"

Seo-won saw Chae Haya and Handonhee fighting and Kangsan acting alone. After that, the hallucinated Chae Haya found a horror mansion.

"Don't you remember? You were thoroughly deceived by the hallucination ore."

He remembered holding the ore but...

"Did you try to stab me?"

"If I had, I would be crying and making a grave for Chae Seo-won by now."

"Can you just cry it off? If you kill me, I'll somehow resurrect and take revenge."

It was a joke, but it was bewildering that it was all a hallucination. His dry mouth tingled from the sour tangerine juice.

"Listen to people until the end? I was planning to follow after making the grave. How did you get there?"

"Oh, I had some resistance."

"What kind of resistance?"

"Before, in the Narakga, I ate some crazy mushrooms... I think that's why I developed resistance."

"Where did your eloquent mouth go? You just ate whatever you found."

Chae Haya laughed as if scolding a naive child.

"Who eats crazy mushrooms knowingly? I was hungry."

Seo-won finished the drink in the bottle in one gulp.

"Will you give the ore to the professor?"

"Since it's an unusual case, it's better for Jo Kyung-min to study it. The rental period will end after the research."

Seo-won nodded at the promise to bring it back.

"But why did you treat us? Didn't you hate our guild?"

"Now, with Oh Gwang-seok, I'll do anything."

Indeed, to live in Korea, Oh Gwang-seok is essential.

Most Manseongjong naturally wanted to escape the Narakga.

"But really, you didn't try to stab me?"

"Yeah, I stabbed you and asked Jo Kyung-min to heal me."

He felt embarrassed for constantly suspecting him.

"I did attack Handonhee and Seo Kangsan, but not you. I was fine in the horror mansion too."

"Chae Seo-won, let's go home together."

Seo-won imitated his tone. The distance between the bed where Seo-won sat and the sofa where Chae Haya was was about three steps. Chae Haya, with his arms on his thighs, tilted his head.

"Is this also my hallucination?"

"That's real. I was intoxicated by the spores as soon as I entered the mansion but quickly regained consciousness."

"How?"

Chae Haya raised his left hand. It didn't seem like he was showing his palm lines; rather, it looked like he had been treated by Jo Kyung-min.

"I cut and removed it with a knife."

"Stupid. What kind of hallucination made you say nonsense about going home?"

"Do you remember how Chae Seo-won made me so disappointed?"

'Chae Seo-won' would be trapped in his own horror.

Perhaps the horror hallucination the messenger mentioned only applied to him. Hallucinations come in various forms.

"What do you mean?"

"You sold me medicine and went to the movies with Handonhee, saying you were studying."

Chae Haya made a mischievous face, squinting one eye. Seo-won's pupils moved upward, wondering what he was talking about.

"Hey, why are you talking about the past?"

Seo-won's eyes, which had recalled the past, turned back to Chae Haya. Blood splattered on Chae Haya's shirt and exposed neck, as if he had performed a performance art with a brush. His face was unharmed, thanks to the mask.

Why did you cover it up?

Chae Haya's bare face was so handsome that the words came out naturally. Moreover, he was a charmer when he smiled, but now, with the mask, it was even more regretful.

"Chae Seo-won, be honest."

"What."

He swallowed, fearing he might ask what kind of hallucination he saw. It was too trivial to be afraid of his father.

"Did you really like Oh Yeon-soo?"

"..."

Seo-won's eyelids trembled slightly twice. It didn't take long for his brows to wrinkle.