ocean-life Chapter 38: I am a Saint (2)
Chapter 38: I am a Saint (2)
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
Chapter 38: I am a Saint (2)
"Partner, are you alright?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"You look like you're about to explode!"
Shin Joonseok was visibly nervous.
He hadn't even been able to breathe properly during the conversation between the two, his face pale with anxiety.
"The chairman is expressing his anger out of fear of disappointment."
"That's understandable. After all, every treatment has failed."
"I'm confident in my ability to treat her, so there's no reason to be afraid."
Shin Joonseok was dumbfounded by Yoojin's nonchalant attitude.
"Even I've rarely seen the chairman enraged. Yet you withstood it."
"Well, the pressure from a 7 Star mage is indeed formidable."
With his 2 Star spirit power, he could barely manage to keep his back straight.
Tsk.
Before his return, he'd faced down beings far more powerful than a mere 7 Star Mage without flinching.
〔Khahaha! You held your head high against me, so you mustn't bow to a mere human.〕
'Hearing you say that makes me want to bow to him just once.'
〔Tsk, the way you speak for someone who is supposedly my contractor.〕
‘Shut up, you Incompetent Constellation.’
"The patient is here."
Jin Seonghyun stood in front of a door adorned with antique decorations.
"May we enter?"
"Of course."
Click—
As soon as the door opened, a dense mana washed over them.
[Recovery]
[Mana Rest]
[Damage Recall]
"You personally installed the magic circles, Chairman?"
"Indeed. To invigorate my daughter."
"I apologize, but please remove all of these magic circles."
"Why?"
"In the short term, your daughter's condition may seem to improve, but in the long run, it will only worsen the Muscle Contraction Sclerosis."
The official name of Muscle Contraction Sclerosis.
It's a disease where mana stimulates and contracts the muscles.
Replenishing her vitality with magic and reducing the burden on her body might seem effective in the short term.
'The chairman's high achievement has become a poison.'
Jin Seonghyun glanced at Madam and Yoojin, then with a hesitant look, deactivated all the magic circles installed in the room.
"This is her."
A woman gasping for breath, her body withered.
Perhaps in her early twenties.
Her eyes, visible between her trembling eyelids, flickered with pain and despair.
"D-Dad."
"Seryeong-ah, don't strain yourself speaking, just wait a little longer."
"Th-These, people."
"They are the ones who will treat you. Hyunjeong personally vouched for them."
At the mention of Madam's real name, the woman turned her head with difficulty.
"Uh, Un..."
"Stay still. You'll be alright soon."
As expected, the two were acquainted.
It wasn't strange, considering they both knew the chairman of Seongcheon Corporation.
'She didn't call me here just for the reward, did she?'
It seemed he had one more thing to extract from Madam.
"Oh, come to think of it, I haven't asked an important question."
"Go ahead."
"Healer, I understand that you're a Hunter, but may I know your job class?"
Jin Seonghyun assumed Yoojin was either a mage or a priest class.
He wouldn't be a martial class if he came to treat an illness.
"I am a Saint."
Yoojin stated his job casually.
The room instantly fell silent as if a bomb had exploded.
"A Saint?!"
"P-Partner, you're a Saint?!"
Jin Seonghyun and Shin Joonseok exclaimed in surprise.
Even Madam, although she didn't gasp, couldn't hide her astonishment.
"Which constellation, no... Whose contractor are you?"
"You wouldn't know him. He's a rather insignificant constellation."
〔What! Are you treating me like some backwater goblin?!〕
He ignored Kronos' protest.
‘Well, you are a backwater goblin. From now on, I should call you a backwater goblin instead of an incompetent constellation.'
Yoojin, relishing the thought of Kronos' reaction, continued.
"I swear by the constellation I serve that I will cure Miss Seryeong."
"Thank you."
Jin Seonghyun, who until just now couldn't shake off his skeptical expression, tightly grasped Yoojin's hand.
〔Then why didn't you reveal you were a Saint from the beginning? Why did you wait to be asked?〕
'Announcing myself as a Saint wouldn't have carried much weight.'
Hunters with the Saint class were extremely rare.
It went beyond simply giving blessings to being chosen as a contractor.
Many constellations didn't have Saints because it consumed a tremendous amount of their karma and presence.
"Shall we begin then, partner?"
"Alright."
Shin Joonseok placed four C-rank mana stones at the corners of the room.
Her stimulated muscles repeatedly contracted and relaxed.
The life force he had poured into her permeated her body like a pump, loosening all the stiffened areas.
"Chairman, would you mind using Recovery?"
"Ah, alright."
Magic that restores stamina with natural mana.
Even when it was constantly activated by magic circles, there was no improvement in Jin Seryeong's condition, but this time was different.
Her face was filled with vitality.
A reddish glow appeared on her pale cheeks.
Her dry lips became moist as if she had applied lip balm.
"D-Dad."
"Seryeong-ah!"
Jin Seonghyun embraced his daughter.
Yoojin slowly backed out of the room.
"Partner, should I leave too?"
"If you want to interrupt their reunion, stay as long as you like."
"No, no, that's not what I meant."
Shin Joonseok hurriedly exited, and Yoojin immediately closed the door.
* * *
Returning to the reception room, Yoojin and his party...
"Ugh, I'm exhausted."
A long shadow fell beneath Yoojin's eyes.
He sank into the sofa and massaged his right arm.
'This is the first time I've transferred my life force to someone else.'
He had used Life Drain far more often to increase stats than for healing purposes.
His dantian was always full of life force stolen from monsters.
But to treat Muscle Contraction Sclerosis, he had to use up all the accumulated life force and had to substitute it with his own.
'It is possible.'
Though converting life force into stats or using it for healing was highly effective.
It was a strange divine spell.
Thump- Thump—
Heavy footsteps approached the reception room.
Jin Seonghyun, his eyes red, pushed open the door and sat opposite Yoojin.
"Thank you."
"Your daughter endured well. She must be very weak, so please feed her nourishing food."
"If it weren't for you, Saint-nim, Seryeong would have..."
Jin Seonghyun's eyes welled up with tears.
"I simply fulfilled the request."
"My wife passed away shortly after giving birth to her. If something had happened to my daughter, I wouldn't have been able to face my wife."
Jin Seonghyun spoke to Yoojin with respect.
The savior of his daughter's life.
Perhaps because he hadn't expected it, the impact on his heart was even greater.
'I'm not used to this.'
Yoojin scratched his cheek.
"The reward. Can I receive it immediately?"
"Of course."
Jin Seonghyun held out a briefcase made of black leather.
[Inseolsam]
Rank: Unique
Category: Elixir
Restriction: 4 Star or higher
Durability: 10/10
A ginseng that takes the form of a human. Containing extreme Yin energy, if consumed by someone who practices mana cultivation techniques or possesses related attributes, it can greatly enhance mana and physical abilities.
A ginseng with a faint frost clinging to it.
"It's real."
"No one would gamble with their daughter's life."
Jin Seonghyun closed the briefcase and handed it to Yoojin, handle first.
"I have a proposition."
"About the treatment method for Muscle Contraction Sclerosis?"
"Yes."
"I'm aware there are a few patients in Korea. It would be difficult for me to visit each of them personally."
It wasn't an empty excuse.
He needed Shin Joonseok's assistance to maintain the mana vacuum state.
And he needed to continuously consume potions to endure until the Muscle Contraction Sclerosis was cured.
High-grade elixirs like Inseolsam weren't common either.
'Obtaining what I need in exchange for treatment is also an option, but...'
That would keep him away from the Necropolis for too long.
It would also disrupt Shin Joonseok's research.
Losing sight of the bigger picture wouldn't do.
"I understand. It wouldn't be polite to persuade you further."
"Instead, have Seongcheon create the treatment equipment."
"Would that be alright?"
"Muscle Contraction Sclerosis is a type of mana addiction. The principle is to forcefully stimulate the body by excessively infusing it with life force."
Shin Joonseok's eyes widened.
His gaze questioned why he was revealing such secrets so readily.
"Saint-nim, if we complete the development and commercialization of the treatment equipment, we will give you 10% in royalties."
10% royalties.
Considering production costs and distribution, a significant portion of the net profit from the sales of the treatment equipment would go to Yoojin.
"That's quite a sacrifice for the company, isn't it?"
"I'm not so petty that I can't do that much for my benefactor."
Khehehe.
The Inseolsam was great, but to form a connection with the chairman of a mid-sized company...
Yoojin's mouth widened at the unexpected fortune.
[Translator - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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