NOVEL NEXT Chapter 35
Ah.
I remembered.
Consciousness has returned.
Just woke up from bed, still in a hazy state.
But I remembered.
I can recall the day I opened my eyes in this world.
Up until then, I had a clear goal.
Not that it lasted long.
I did have a goal.
Indeed.
Looking back, I wasn’t just hanging on.
It had been a while since I had crumbled, and I was left with no choice but to stay that way.
There was a clear goal.
Somehow, I needed to make Han Si-Hoo reconcile with Yoo Seo-Ah.
Let’s get back to being friends.
There’s no unhappy past.
Let’s prevent a tragic situation from occurring.
Why do authors kill off the childhood friend so early?
If I had been the protagonist…
If I had been the protagonist, this wouldn’t have happened.
Being the protagonist yet being so incompetent.
If it were me, I could have definitely protected everyone.
That unfounded thought kept echoing.
But what lies before me is a messy, tangled story.
I can’t even remember what the original story was about.
It’s still the early parts of the novel, yet it’s already a complete mess.
But still, I did well.
The fact that Seo-Ah is still alive is something.
[Paused]
Wait, is that really a good thing?
Can simply being alive really be considered a success?
It feels more like it’s due to Han Si-Hoo than anything I did.
But Han Si-Hoo must have paid some price too.
I need to go apologize.
The fact that I don’t need to use medicine anymore is truly a blessing.
Could it be that I can really treat Yoo Seo-Ah now?
“Long time no see.”
Someone is sitting next to the bed.
It’s a familiar voice.
Similar to the one I heard at home.
It’s a doctor.
“Ah…?”
Where am I that there’s a doctor here?
“I heard you tried to kill Han Si-Hoo. Well, unfortunately, you failed.”
“Huh? What?”
How does he know that?
More importantly, where is this place?
Where is this?
“Calm down. This is the Academy Medical Room.”
“……”
Then how did the doctor end up here?
This is hard to understand.
Is this all just a dream?
“That promise. It was a promise that you would provide medicine only after killing Si-Hoo. Naturally, I thought you would remember.”
Even if I used a lot of medicine, I wouldn’t have attacked Han Si-Hoo if it wasn’t the doctor’s promise.
At that moment, all I could think was malicious thoughts, as if my brain had been severed.
To kill Han Si-Hoo.
I kept questioning myself about what the doctor had said.
What did he say? To kill Han Si-Hoo.
Is this some kind of suggestion or command?
“You’ve made an effort.”
He pats my head.
His touch feels oddly comforting.
For a moment, my mind felt at ease and relaxed.
The problems all stem from the medicine the doctor gave me.
So I should feel resentment.
But I have no rebellious spirit or anger toward him.
I just think of him as a good person.
“You should be able to do better next time. I will continue to provide the medicine for free.”
“Medicine? Free?”
“On the surface, it’s labeled as medicine provided by the academy. It’s military-grade, but in the end, it’s prescribed by me.”
I don’t get it.
Why is he speaking as if he’s the one giving the academy’s medicine?
“That’s academy-provided medicine…”
“Of course, that’s not entirely wrong.”
He continues speaking casually.
“As I’m the director of the academy, the procurement of Seo-Ah’s medicine basically goes through me.”
“The director?”
I think Lee Yoo-Ram mentioned getting the medicine from the board.
The board members seem involved somehow.
But I never thought of him as a doctor.
“Anyway, feel free to use the medicine as you wish.”
Like the briefcase Yu-Ram was holding at some point.
It contains several syringes.
“Ah, I don’t need the medicine.”
In the past, I would have gratefully accepted it.
But not now.
“I’m already healed. I don’t need the medicine anymore.”
[Paused]
Time has stopped.
I have no reason to take it.
What’s the doctor’s expression like?
It’s hard to tell.
Isn’t it weird, even with the lights being bright?
The doctor seems to be gazing at me for a moment.
“Is that so? I actually thought you wouldn’t use it. Seems like Si-Hoo resolved everything himself.”
That’s right.
Han Si-Hoo solved everything.
I don’t know how the doctor knows that.
“Yes.”
At that moment, I just intended to stab him.
I still feel quite guilty about it.
I didn’t want to do such a thing.
“So, Seo-Ah has no intention of trying to kill Si-Hoo anymore.”
“Kill Si-Hoo? I would never think of that!”
What a joke.
Kill him?
I wouldn’t do that.
Even if I despised him, I wouldn’t jump to the conclusion of murder.
“He’s a friend.”
If he’s a friend, then even more so.
Only a crazy person would think of murder.
“Then you need to repay Si-Hoo.”
“Yes.”
It’s only right to return the favor.
At least express thanks.
“How would you like to do that? Helping Si-Hoo might be good, but there are limits to what Seo-Ah can do.”
“Hmm…”
“If you’re using the medicine, you could fight like an Awakener, but it would still be difficult. You don’t need the medicine anymore.”
“Still…”
I was never an Awakener.
It’s unfortunate that I can’t fight, but it can’t be helped.
Still, there must be some way to help.
“But it seems Si-Hoo likes Seo-Ah. It would be good to meet him at least once. Having a conversation could be beneficial.”
“I’ll do that.”
The doctor is always right.
That’s the truth.
Even without medication, I know that much.
He won’t force me to take medicine either.
After all, I received the prescription out of genuine pain.
If I don’t need treatment, there’s no reason to push medicine on me.
“Before that.”
The doctor takes my hand.
“Ugh.”
The wound hurts.
It’s painful.
Just a slight touch and it’s already like this.
Since I’m not using medicine, my whole body aches as if it’s breaking.
I’m just holding on.
When using the medicine, I felt dazed because of it.
When I don’t use it, I feel dazed from the pain.
I have no way to deal with it.
“Are you considering treating the wound first?”
The doctor lets go of my hand.
It seems he’s asking if I need the medicine.
[Paused]
But I’m not going to take the medicine anymore.
This is a rare opportunity that Han Si-Hoo painstakingly created.
There’s no way I’m throwing that away.
I will never use the medicine, no matter what.
“I’m fine.”
I’m fine.
My body might feel a bit sore and prickly, but I still don’t need the medicine.
“If that’s the case…”
It seems the doctor is willing to accommodate.
What can he do when the patient doesn’t want treatment?
“Si-Hoo is in the medical room on the lower floor.”
“Yes. I’ll go see Si-Hoo. Thank you.”
The doctor is indeed kind.
He even tells me where to go.
*
Han Si-Hoo opens his eyes.
“The medical room?”
The Academy’s medical room.
It’s where Lee Yoo-Ram is.
The wounds on his body have already healed.
It’s a new feeling.
It’s been a long time since he collapsed and lay down.
[Status Window]
Level: 31
Health: 1381, Magic: 990…
Skills: Swordsmanship X, Purification X, Magic VI…
Purification has caught up to the level of Swordsmanship.
Han Si-Hoo wonders if investing the skill points he had saved up was the right choice.
Nonetheless, he believes saving his friend is the right thing to do.
Status: Purification Penalty (1720 hours)
Looking down, he sees an unexpected number.
“…1720 hours?”
Calculating in his mind, that’s about 70 days.
The last penalty felt bad enough, but this time the unit of measurement is different.
But even so, he can endure that.
It’s just two months; he can tough it out.
“Si-Hoo?”
Someone is here.
“Are you awake? Are you okay?”
The figure that drew back the curtain is Yeon-Hwa.
Han Si-Hoo senses something strange and retraces his memories.
The only person he remembers being with right before he collapsed was Seo-Ah.
“Yeon-Hwa?”
“I found you collapsed. I was waiting for you to wake up.”
“What about Seo-Ah?”
What’s important is what happened to Seo-Ah.
Yeon-Hwa must have chased after Han Si-Hoo during the battle when he disappeared.
“Uh?”
“Wasn’t she with you in the end?”
Indeed, the last memory is blurry.
He lost consciousness at a moment he absolutely shouldn’t have.
He wouldn’t lose his conscience just from being stabbed.
He thinks it was the backlash from the skill.
It seems the Purification penalty amplified.
Since it was level 10 with augmented skill, the Purification should have worked properly.
“…That strange girl? Teacher Yoo-Ram took her away separately.”
“I see.”
Yeon-Hwa decides to ask a question she’s been curious about.
“Why was such a girl at the academy?”
When that girl from Han Si-Hoo’s house showed up last time, it felt like her brain had frozen.
But now she knows.
Han Si-Hoo had some extraordinary circumstances going on.
Perhaps he was looking out for an old friend who became a drug addict, or some context along those lines.
But in the end, he got stabbed by that friend.
Because she’s from the slums.
It’s a dirty place.
If a girl lived in such a place, it wouldn’t be odd for her to do something dirty.
Han Si-Hoo was connected to such a child, but thankfully, that’s all in the past now.
He won’t cover for a girl who doesn’t know gratitude and even tried to kill him.
“It’s my fault.”
Han Si-Hoo replies.
Bringing Seo-Ah to the academy was his fault too.
It’s something he must resolve himself.
In the end, no one can resolve the problems in his place.
So he sought out a way.
He poured all his skill points into Purification.
Now he’s left with nothing but a penalty exceeding 1700 hours.
What worries him is that he still doesn’t know which aspect constitutes the penalty.
This time is different.
He doesn’t hear that voice from before.
He isn’t feeling disturbed in his thoughts.
As long as Seo-Ah is okay, it’s a success.
He needs to find out if the Purification is functioning correctly.
Will everything return to how it was?
Finally?
He doesn’t regret the points he gained from leveling up.
Leveling up further is easy enough; besides, the Purification skill may find more use someday.
“I’m sorry you had to suffer because of me.”
Yeon-Hwa’s face turns red.
“I’m repaying the debt from last time. So don’t worry about it.”
There was a debt that Han Si-Hoo saved her from.
Just delivering a gift felt insufficient.
With that, she felt a sense of relief.
Good, very good.
Yeon-Hwa mutters to herself.
She was happy to have grown closer to Han Si-Hoo.
“…Then I’ll go see Seo-Ah.”
She stands up from her seat.
“Uh?”
Han Si-Hoo realizes there’s something he needs to wrap up.
“It’s dangerous.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s the one who tried to kill you, right? I don’t understand why you want to go.”
“Oh, that. She should be fine now.”
What basis do I have for that?
She’s just a drug addict.
She looked pitiful, shaking at the end.
I remember her gasping for breath.
Syringe, knife, hammer, rope.
Traces of usage.
Bandages.
Even Yeon-Hwa’s fleeting glance looked sympathetic.
Nevertheless, I still knocked her out and sent her to the treatment facility.
“Seventeen hundred, huh?”
Purification penalty (1720 hours)
“Huh? What’s that number?”
Yeon-Hwa asks back.
She can’t grasp the context behind the number.
“It’s dangerous.”
Han Si-Hoo holds his head.
His thoughts are getting tainted.
“…Are you okay? Si-Hoo?”
Silence.
Yoo Seo-Ah is trash.
A fool who only grabs ankles.
A landmine hindering growth.
If I meet her, I feel like I’ll strangle her immediately.
But I won’t kill her.
Never.
The very thought disgusts me.
I won’t kill her.
Then she should feel enough pain; let’s make her pay for what she did.
Shut up.
Han Si-Hoo suppresses the malice bubbling within.
The penalty has begun.
“No.”
I’m not okay.
But if Seo-Ah has improved, then it’s a success.
If I personally verify it, I don’t know what actions I might take with my own hands.
So what should I do?
Someone trustworthy needs to check on Seo-Ah’s condition.
Han Si-Hoo briefly thinks of the friends he has made.
There’s no one as close as Seo-Ah.
But there are a few he can trust.
As he muses over whom to send, someone opens the medical room door.
A familiar figure of a girl.
Stumbling in is Yoo Seo-Ah.
She spots Han Si-Hoo and smiles.
“Si-Hoo.”
Purification penalty (1719 hours)
Just in time, the subject needing purification is right there.