EP.5 I Came to Get Treatment from the Guild Master

“Ta-da! This is my private treatment room. It’s a place that no one else can use except me.”

Inside the spacious room, there were two large hospital beds placed in opposite corners.

Next to them, I could also see advanced diagnostic equipment, like those found in hospitals, as well as basic treatment tools such as bandages and disinfectant alcohol.

Although it hadn’t been built long ago, there seemed to be a faint hospital smell already.

“Well, first of all, I need to check your mana circuit. Can you lie down over there?”

When one awakens as a hunter, mana is generated within the body and the path through which this mana flow is called the mana circuit.

Being unable to use mana usually means that the mana contained in the mana circuit has disappeared or is not circulating.

I remembered that the hospitals I had visited for treatment had, naturally, explained that this was the first place to check.

“Is it this machine?”

“Oh, you know it well? Yes, that’s the one.”

The machine had a long space for one person to lie down on, and a large disc-shaped object floated in the air above it.

It was a familiar machine since I had visited various hospitals for treatment.

It wasn’t a machine that gave me good memories, as most of the time after the examination, people would either have a bad expression or look puzzled.

As I lay down on the machine, Choi Soo-jung glanced at me and said,

“Oh, you’ll need to take off your top. If my guess is right, the problem is with your upper body.”

‘Take it off?’

I started to wonder what I should do about Choi Soo-jung’s casual comment.

I wouldn’t have thought much about it before this, but now I felt self-conscious as the events that had just taken place came to my mind.

“Other hospitals didn’t do that; do I really have to do it?”

I tried to raise a minor objection first.

“This is a new machine recently imported from abroad, and it allows for more detailed examinations. The base procedure involves undressing for the examination.”

Choi Soo-jung nonchalantly replied without looking at me as she operated the machine.

Feeling slightly oversensitive, I tried to accept it as a simple treatment process.

I took off my worn-out hoodie and thin shirt and put them aside. Choi Soo-jung seemed to have finished setting up the equipment and turned her eyes to look at me.

I felt her gaze sweep over my body.

“As expected, you have a great body, maybe because you’ve been training consistently.”

“Haha…”

Feeling embarrassed, I just laughed, wanting to move past this moment quickly.

Then, Choi Soo-jung chuckled and approached me, asking,

“Are you embarrassed to show yourself to me? You didn’t fall for my temptation earlier and refused right away.”

“Let’s start the examination.”

Anticipating a potentially awkward atmosphere, I cut it off in advance.

“Hehe, you’re so cute, trying to subtly move on. Alright, please stay still for a moment.”

Choi Soo-jung covered her mouth with her hand, laughing, and then happily hummed a tune as she returned to the machine.

It was somewhat embarrassing to be called cute by a girl who had just turned 20, but I just wanted to finish this quickly, so I laid down without hesitation.

Hum…

As the machine started making noise, the large disc spun around, emitting light towards me.

In the meantime, when I glanced over at Choi Soo-jung, she was now focused on the mana circuits being displayed on the machine, her lips tightly pursed.

Whir.

The machine stopped making noise, and the light went out with a sudden ‘pop.’

Choi Soo-jung, who had been examining my mana circuit, looked at me and said,

“Based on the machine, everything seems clean. I can’t figure out the cause at all.”

Choi Soo-jung’s words were the same as those I had heard at previous hospitals.

I felt slightly disappointed, as it seemed to be such a complex issue that even an S-rank couldn’t figure it out, despite her being so confident before.

However, her following words immediately dispelled that thought.

“I guess I’ll have to use my unique ability and examine you thoroughly by touching you directly.”

Astonishment and bewilderment filled my mind.

If I hadn’t misinterpreted her words, she was definitely saying she would touch my bare body with her hands.

“Do you really have to do that?”

As I quickly objected, Choi Soo-jung shook her head from side to side.

“It’s absolutely necessary if I want to use the treatment method I have in mind. I need to pinpoint the exact location where the issue with the mana circuit is.”

“It is part of the treatment process, right?”

I couldn’t help but doubt her slightly, given the seductive Choi Soo-jung I had seen earlier in the guild leader’s room.

“Of course! I’m not the kind of person who would take advantage of the weakness of someone I love just to satisfy my selfish desires.”

‘Selfish desires?’

Something about the nuance of the sentence seemed strange.

Although I felt suspicious watching Choi Soo-jung speak confidently while puffing her chest out, I decided to accept it for now, thinking that there was nothing I wouldn’t do as long as I got treated.

“Then, let’s get started.”

After saying that, Choi Soo-jung moved closer to me as I was lying down and reached out her hand.

Her slender fingers, with the index and middle fingers together, shimmered with a golden light, and they slowly moved towards my shoulder.

Her fingers gently brushed my shoulder, following the line down and carefully touching my arm and wrist.

Her fingers felt cold overall, but her fingertips were warm, giving an odd sensation.

As she reached the wrist area, her expression was slightly distorted, and she leaned closer to me than before, reaching out to check the other side as well.

Squish.

The fragrance I smelled in the guild leader’s room and the soft yet not unpleasant weight on my chest.

I felt as if all the nerves in my body were drawn to my chest.

At that moment, I wanted to say something, but Choi Soo-jung was so focused on the examination that I couldn’t bring myself to speak.

It was obvious that if I brought it up now, she would tease me, calling me a pervert.

In the meantime, the weight pressing on my chest disappeared as she seemed to finish checking the other side.

I only had an inexplicable sense of sadness left.

“Hm, please lift your head up slightly.”

Following Choi Soo-jung’s instructions, I raised my head, and this time her fingers moved ticklishly around my neck, seemingly flowing down my collarbone.

“Uh-uh…”

“Please bear with it just a little, even if it’s ticklish, Mr Won-woo.”

‘I’m going crazy, seriously!’

Although it was just an examination, I felt goosebumps, and my heart was pounding heavily.

Choi Soo-jung’s face, focused on the examination, was right in front of my nose.

Her smooth forehead and large eyes.

Her closely arranged nose and lips.

And her slightly plump yet clean-looking pink lips that had touched my cheek just a moment ago.

It would be strange if I were completely fine with Choi Soo-jung, someone I would never have encountered in my life, sticking close to me and touching me while I’m undressed.4

“Hmm, fortunately, there’s nothing here. And this part…?”

Her hand had reached my chest, and she began to focus on examining the area around my heart where I had been injured during the Gate incident, drawing circles with her fingers.

‘I wonder what’s wrong.’

For a very brief moment, Choi Soo-jung’s face contorted as if she were angry and then relaxed.

Feeling suddenly more alert at the change in her expression, I began to feel slightly anxious, wondering if my condition was that bad.

“Is my condition too severe to be treated?”

I asked, unable to hold back my curiosity.

At those words, Choi Soo-jung paused the examination, showed a strangely sad look in her eyes, and then turned her gaze away as she spoke.

“No, I’ve already identified the cause for sure. It’s what I expected, so treatment is possible. I’m just checking to see if there are any other issues.”

Unexpectedly hopeful news.

I almost misunderstood her just by looking at her facial expression.

“Oh, I thought something serious had happened because of the severe expression on your face.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I sometimes get like this when I’m focused and tired. I’ll continue.”

Afterwards, she lifted my arm with her other hand and brushed her hand along my side, waist, and stomach before finally withdrawing her hand as if she were done.

“Okay, we’re done. Please get dressed, and I’ll explain.”

‘Phew, you held up well, Lee Won-woo!’

I couldn’t help but praise myself in this situation. If I had experienced any physical changes here, I might as well die of embarrassment.

I quickly got up and hurriedly put on the clothes that were beside me. Choi Soo-jung spoke as if she had waited,

“Your mana circuit, as expected, had no problems at all.”

“Really? That can’t be.”

I questioned Choi Soo-jung, who had reached a completely different conclusion than what I had previously thought.

“It’s true. I deliberately infused a bit of my healing mana into your mana, but instead of recovering, it only resisted because it was fine.”

“So, such an examination method is actually possible.”

Normally, if someone else’s mana enters one’s body, it will inevitably resist due to different properties.

If there’s a problem with the mana circuit, there would naturally be no resistance.

However, using this method recklessly is dangerous, as the recipient’s mana circuit can be damaged by receiving someone else’s mana.

It’s a miraculous technique that can only be done with minute mana control and the unique characteristics of a healer.

Perhaps Choi Soo-jung was the only person in the world who could do this.

“Then why can’t I use my mana?”

“During the examination earlier, I found that something artificial is blocking the flow of mana around your heart and both wrists.”

“Artificial. Does that mean someone did this to my mana circuit?”

Choi Soo-jung nodded slightly.

It was a shocking revelation as if I had been hit hard in the head.

The reason I couldn’t use mana all this time had nothing to do with the injury I received during the Gate incident.

I thought it was my fate to accept, as I had chosen this sacrifice myself, but that wasn’t the case.

“Why didn’t the hospital doctors or healers know?”

“It’s probably too small to detect with machines. At most, an A-class healer would have difficulty detecting it. I only found it by personally examining them one by one.”

It was unbelievable to think that something that could only be found with S-rank mana detection was embedded in my body.

I had no idea who planted this in me or for what purpose.

But for now, that was a problem for later.

“So, can this be treated? Can it be removed?”

“Didn’t I say I suspected this? I’ve seen someone around me go through a similar situation.”

At her words, I reached out and held both of Choi Soo-jung’s hands and said,

“Please, I beg you to help me.”

Now, I could trust her words unconditionally that she could treat this.

Until now, I had thought I should be able to use mana, but it felt like something was completely blocked.

Her diagnosis pinpointed that accurately.

That’s why I was desperate.

I tried not to break down, but in reality, I was getting closer to my limit.

The thought of retiring from my hunting life had been haunting me.

If it weren’t for this woman standing in front of me right now.

Choi Soo-jung suddenly trembled, let go of my hand, and hugged me tightly, whispering sweetly in my ear.

“I already said I was yours, didn’t I? I’ll do anything you want. So, you don’t have to ask like that.”

An unexpected, lethal temptation suddenly came my way.

However, I felt an inexplicable chill in her voice.

I pushed her away gently and looked at her, and I saw Choi Soo-jung’s face, which was flushed red like when I saw her in the guild master’s room earlier.

She sat down on a chair nearby and crossed her slender legs, as if to show them off, and said,

“But you have to do as I say, at least for today.”

“Alright.”

But now that I’ve started to trust her abilities, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse.

Moreover, I had already come too far to turn back.

“So, what do I need to do?”

“Well, you’ll have to share a bed with me tonight.”

As I listened to Choi Soo-jung’s words, a word came to mind—a very accurate expression, although I don’t know who coined it.

Brain freeze.

Choi Soo-jung just lifted the corners of her mouth, seemingly amused by my speechless confusion, and wore a captivating smile.