Chapter 114

A Sudden Windfall

People tend to think death is something dramatic.

Something meaningful.

An old person breathing their last while surrounded by everyone they love, having achieved accomplishments they can proudly boast of.

That's probably the image most people have of death.

There's a reason the phrase a blessed death exists.

Spend enough time among the groaning and dying, and you'll come to your senses.

Even though Shin Nain and I had separate rooms, we could still hear the groans and ragged breathing coming from beyond the hallway.

Rattle.

Whenever wheels rolled across the floor, medical staff voices followed.

“Pupils constricting. Heavy secretions. Oxygen saturation above eighty.”

“Any ICU beds available?”

“Equipment shortage. Decontamination comes first...”

As the voices gradually faded away, I was once again reminded how exceptional we Supreme Mages were.

In this era, arriving at the hospital, getting fully decontaminated, completely treated, and then resting comfortably was a privilege.

Already changed into hospital gowns, Shin Nain and I merely shrugged at one another.

I'd more or less expected this outcome from the moment they mentioned gas.

Gas mask filters weren't permanent.

The longer operations lasted, the more exposure was inevitable.

Personnel rotations weren't easy, and chemical protection gear was being distributed across the entire blockade line.

Even if stockpiles existed, consumption must have been enormous.

Death came like this.

Ignoring dreams.

Ignoring determination.

Arriving without even a scent.

Stealing away breath.

Those who believed death must always be meaningful were arrogant.

The complacent and privileged were silenced before the atmosphere of death hanging over the hospital.

Death came quietly for Shin Nain and me as well.

In the form of bland, awful hospital food.

Clack.

I set down my spoon and smacked my lips.

“I bet even a columbarium is more cheerful than this place.”

“Mr. Jemin. It would be far more solemn and reverent.”

“At least the people in the photographs are smiling.”

Sometimes I think the world is too harsh.

I'm just a kind, scholarly man who wants to learn magic, live however I want, and occasionally throw my weight around.

Why is the world so cold and violent?

Everyone dresses it up in polite words, but they all want to throw their weight around too.

So why can't I borrow things indefinitely and flick people in the forehead when they annoy me?

“The fact that we can restrain such base desires is what makes us human.”

“Isn't wanting to enjoy heaven without effort less ambitious than wanting to throw my own punches?”

“You must not be consumed by violence. Demons tempt us toward the easy path. And what do you mean, effortless? The gates of heaven only open to those who faithfully follow the Lord's teachings and live sanctified lives. Those who justify harming others for personal gain are the ones seeking easy rewards.”

Spoken like someone who had no problem finding reasons to shoot people.

Arguing would only result in me being framed as the asshole again, so I let it go.

Instead, I grinned while reflecting on the magical progress I'd gained during the battle.

The most satisfying reward was undoubtedly Stage 2 Heart: [Physical Enhancement].

I alternately raised both arms and examined them.

The difference was obvious.

Recovery speed.

The right palm that had practically been flayed raw already had healthy new flesh growing over it.

If I'd still been a non-mage, I'd have needed a respawn.

I would've stared at the morgue through fading vision before sticking out my tongue and croaking.

At least all those tasteless hospital meals disguised as “light and healthy” food had been worth it.

Of course, my tongue still hadn't healed enough to properly test the original magic.

“Mr. Jemin. Let me warn you now. Unless you want to gargle pure Albothyl, stop whatever you're thinking.”

“Holy shit.”

A medicine that had effectively legalized torture under the guise of treating mouth ulcers.

And apparently the stuff sold commercially was diluted.

Military hospitals used the undiluted version to accelerate recovery.

The thought of gargling pure Albothyl if I hadn't acquired Stage 2 Heart sent chills down my spine.

Still, the fact that Stage 2 Heart also improved recovery was incredible.

The shallow remnants of my former non-mage self still whined that it wanted to throw a Fireball someday.

But my reason and emotions had already shifted.

A mage who shoots guns and flies around is better than a mage who throws Fireballs and burns to death.

Still...

Just sitting around was boring.

I looked for something entertaining to do.

Then I noticed the braised black beans sitting on my tray.

Being hospital food, they somehow tasted like both the sweetness and saltiness had been rinsed off with water.

I'd barely touched them.

This might work.

“Mr. Jemin, stop. That's disgusting—”

I picked up the bowl with my left hand.

As someone who once dreamed of becoming a martial arts master through countless books and movies, I remembered the excitement I'd felt watching masters perform impossible feats with chopsticks.

For that younger version of myself, I decided to dedicate this moment.

I couldn't simply ignore the fact that I'd acquired Stage 2 Heart.

That would be betraying the Baek Jemin who'd spent three whole days dreaming of becoming a martial arts master.

Hoooo...

A deep breath escaped me.

My entire body filled with tension and excitement.

Before the beans hit the floor, I'd catch every single one with my chopsticks and return them to the bowl.

Impossible before Stage 2 Heart.

Possible now.

“Hup!”

The bowl flew upward.

The beans scattered in every direction.

I saw everything.

Even without Eye magic.

My enhanced body.

My enhanced reflexes.

Nothing escaped my notice.

By concentrating as hard as I could, I almost replicated the slowed perception of [Cognitive Distortion].

Even while extending my chopsticks toward the floating beans, I felt overwhelmed with emotion.

This...

This was Stage 2 Heart: [Physical Enhancement]!

Snap!

I moved faster and more brilliantly than at any point in my life.

Afterimages of my chopsticks pierced the air.

An impossible spectacle unfolded before me.

Everything solid could be broken.

Only speed remained absolute.

The chopsticks in my hand leapt like salmon swimming upstream.

They slid gracefully like eels writhing through mud.

Snap-snap-snap-snap-snap!

This was the proudest moment of my life.

If a non-mage witnessed this, they'd clutch their cheeks, scream in awe, fall to their knees, and begin praying.

Eventually I completed the performance.

The finishing touch.

Tap.

I struck the hospital tray with my chopsticks.

Perfect.

Beautiful.

Even I had to admit it was unbelievably cool.

Rattle-rattle-rattle!

Surely after witnessing such dazzling chopstick mastery, nobody would even notice the beans rolling across the floor.

I turned toward Shin Nain with a triumphant smile.

Look at that, you Christian fanatic.

This is the power of magic.

Instead, Shin Nain bit her lower lip and glared.

“Mr. Jemin. Let's start by teaching you how to use chopsticks properly.”

At that moment, a fly arrived, attracted by the scattered beans.

Shin Nain hadn't noticed.

The fly buzzed around the ceiling light, waiting for an opportunity.

A fly inside a hospital was unpleasant enough.

But my irritation ran deeper.

A fly was enjoying the beans I'd rejected as tasteless?

Whirl—

The chopsticks spun once in my hand.

I instinctively assumed a familiar stance.

With a slight twist of my wrist, I launched them.

THUNK!

Only then did Shin Nain look up.

The chopsticks embedded in the ceiling trembled slightly before coming to a stop.

Like an arrow lodged in an ancient tree.

And hanging from the chopsticks was a fly pierced clean through the abdomen.

Instant death.

For the first time, Shin Nain looked at me seriously.

“How is this different from Sejun or Ryeoha?”

I rubbed my hands thoughtfully.

Lee Sejun.

A textbook case of raw strength enhancement.

His movements had improved dramatically, and judging by how he avoided every hit in close combat, his reflexes were outstanding.

Recently he'd started carrying machine guns and pouring out firepower.

A very soldier-like application.

Goryeoha.

He's harder to figure out.

Considering the versatility of Hand magic, combining it with the Heart lineage should allow for terrifying techniques.

Was it a lack of creativity?

Or was he intentionally holding back to appear weaker?

Then I remembered our first meeting.

Back then he'd demonstrated deadly skill and incredible awareness.

But during the Flesh-Leech extermination, he hadn't seemed nearly as impressive.

Had he been limiting himself because it was a military hospital?

Now that I'd awakened Stage 2 Heart myself, I finally understood.

Goryeoha was definitely restricting how much of his magic he used.

“People underestimate the Heart lineage because Sejun just uses it to carry heavy gear with brute force. What I just did with the chopsticks? It's almost identical to what Master showed me in Anyang.”

“Almost identical?” Shin Nain asked.

“Master was launching things like bloodstained rocks and bottle caps. The power behind those was way more overwhelming.”

“No... more importantly, when did he suddenly become your master?”

“Tsk.”

The hell am I supposed to do if he beats me up?

Affection naturally develops through everyday interactions.

Goryeoha's mentality had softened after I'd fed him a little dose of reality, and I figured that if I earned some points now, maybe he'd overlook it when I acted like an asshole later.

“That is called grooming and gaslighting, Mr. Jemin!”

“Hey. That's a serious accusation. It's not like I'm dragging him into bed.”

“Haa... Mr. Jemin, you've always been unusually open about your libido. Later, I'll persuade people to donate Heart remains to you, so why don't you reach Stage 3 Heart and replace your sex drive?”

Naturally, Shin Nain and I had to argue.

Why couldn't this guy let go of his non-mage mindset?

The New Normal had arrived, and he was adapting far too slowly.

Clicking my tongue, I immediately dismissed his pathetic argument.

“Replace a desire that's solved by rubbing one out? Why? Replace something else.”

“Wow...”

“More importantly, you said you'd help me get Stage 3 Heart.”

“If you aren't replacing your libido, I'm selling it to a sponsor.”

I raised a middle finger inside my mind.

Fuck you.

Having a penalty that let him hear people's inner thoughts made things convenient.

Shin Nain clearly knew I'd flipped him off mentally, but since I'd never actually said anything, all he could do was grimace.

“More importantly, didn't you reach Stage 3 Ear?”

“No power-leveling. Looks like you can't jump more than one level at a time. Whether it's possible but comes with horrible side effects, or whether there's a hard limit, or whether it's just an experience requirement issue—I can't tell. So for now, I'm assuming it's impossible.”

“That's unfortunate. If we'd both reached Stage 3 Ear, we could've listened to the voices of the dead together.”

Come to think of it, Ear magic had pretty nasty penalties.

You had to listen to terrible things.

Thinking about it, I'd barely used Ear magic lately, and because my aptitude was low, I hadn't heard Lee Sejun's horrifying inner thoughts.

No wonder life had felt so peaceful recently.

Still, since I had a high-level Ear mage nearby, I decided to test Stage 2 Ear: [Monster Mind Reading].

If monster noises could be heard inside Seongnam Military Hospital, that would've meant everything had already gone catastrophically wrong, so I wasn't expecting anything.

The purpose of the experiment was simply to determine my aptitude.

Because my Ear aptitude was poor, even Stage 1 didn't function as true mind-reading.

At best, it let me judge hostility by hearing something like a babbling stream.

I wanted to see if Stage 2 worked similarly.

And if there were any additional benefits beyond telepathy.

As a result, I learned quite a lot about my Stage 2 Ear.

“I'm hearing something... wet and squishy. Footsteps? Like somebody stomping through mudflats.”

“I sent that to you. Interesting. You hear it differently from me. There's an amalgam near Bokjeong Station, beyond northern Seongnam.”

“You can hear that far?”

“If I stay somewhere comfortable and focus completely, yes. I had nothing else to do in the hospital, so I experimented.”

Stage 2 Ear mages could transmit sounds they'd heard to one another.

Previously, telepathy had felt like text messaging.

Now it felt like sending audio files.

My own Stage 2 Ear couldn't distinguish monster species.

And if there were too many, their footsteps overlapped and became difficult to separate.

At the very least, I'd learned that Shin Nain's talent for Ear magic was absurdly broken.

Come to think of it, she'd never studied mystical knowledge.

She just hunted monsters and her Ear magic kept growing.

According to information from Goryeoha, Ear aptitude was tied to certainty in one's destiny.

“Hey, Shin Nain. What destiny are you so certain about that your Ear magic grows this fast?”

“Share some tips.”

Shin Nain didn't answer immediately.

He rubbed the headset hanging around his neck with a finger and looked away.

“When you checked the original Holy War Ritual's performance before... didn't you hear my past with Stage 1 Ear?”

“No. I saw your future.”

What's so interesting about another man's past?

Besides, I, Baek Jemin, am a cultured gentleman who respects other people's privacy and life stories.

I'm curious about how people will end up.

Not what they used to do.

Shin Nain turned back with a surprised expression before shrugging.

“I'm certain that one day I will die.”

“Faith in death...”

That definitely gave me a lot to think about.

At the same time, I reflected on myself.

Perhaps Baek Jemin lacked sufficient certainty that he would become an Archmage.

Clearly, I needed to work harder.

It was at that moment that Pastor Park entered the room.

He carried a plastic bag containing canned food and bottled sports drinks.

“What are you two making so much noise about? Looks like you've been entertaining yourselves while I was at City Hall.”

He glanced around before noticing the chopsticks embedded in the ceiling.

His tongue clicked immediately.

“Why are those stuck up there?”

“I was picking up beans, saw a fly, and threw them.”

That was one hundred percent the truth.

Yet all I received was a cynical laugh.

“Baek Jemin, you get crazier every day. Here. Spam.”

“Oh?”

After distributing the supplies, Pastor Park threw himself onto an empty bed.

He kept glancing at me expectantly until I finally asked.

While placing the luncheon meat on top of my bowl of black beans.

“The people at Seongnam City Hall are doing okay?”

“Hmph... I was going to tell you anyway. A few drones and attacks came their way too, but suddenly the enemy started holding back.”

Pastor Park tossed me a can.

I caught it immediately.

Perfect timing. I was sick of hospital food—

“Pastor, this is luncheon meat.”

“If it comes in a can, it's Spam. Here, Nain. That drink. The thirty-percent-short version. Apparently they discontinued it and reintroduced it under a new name. The doctors said a little is fine. Just don't overdo it.”

“Thank you, Pastor.”

Considering how vicious the Yellow-Bandage deserter and Sergeant Velcro had been, there was no way they'd simply retreat.

Both Pastor Park and Shin Nain seemed to understand that.

The atmosphere became strangely tense.

“Nobody knows the exact reason, but everyone's assuming they're planning something. They're sending recon drones and search teams, but... after what Gangnam Clairvoyant demonstrated, people can't help feeling intimidated. For now, command seems determined to stay cautious until Baek Jemin recovers.”

“Why not just send the trio?”

“Baek Jemin, you idiot. Do you think Lee Sejun, Ryeoha, and Hamza can be trusted? Well... maybe you'd trust them. But from the military's perspective?”

Thinking about it carefully...

No.

If Hamza wasn't around me, there was a decent chance he'd try to run.

And if he had soft-hearted fools like Lee Sejun or Goryeoha with him, he might start begging to be sent back to Pakistan.

If you've set foot on the Korean Peninsula, you're Korean.

I refuse to let Hamza return to a land ruled by poverty.

Shin Nain added her own opinion.

“Besides, a heretic is useful when making strategic decisions. Rather than sending him directly to the front lines, it's more beneficial to keep him in the rear and use his judgment. From a broader perspective.”

“But your thigh's injured. You can't even run.”

After realizing how convenient life became with Shin Nain functioning as a human detection system, I couldn't give him up easily.

Without him, I'd have to do way too much work myself.

That would leave only Pastor Park, Lee Sejun, and Goryeoha.

...

“I'm staying too.”

“Why?!”

“Less resting, more medical support. Healing. Prayer. Since Nain's injured anyway, I figured I'd help with recovery and see whether my magic works on the soldiers too. The command staff seems curious about it. Worth testing. There are a lot of wounded people out there. Besides...”

Face buried in a pillow, Pastor Park muttered:

“It's better than killing people.”

“Hmm.”

I understood.

And at the same time, I shuddered at the unimaginable party composition awaiting me.

“Just send a two-man team.”

Me.

Lee Sejun.

Goryeoha.

I am absolutely not confident I can survive that disaster of a party composition.