Chapter 2
“Grrrrr…”
The cramped waiting room of the animal hospital echoed with the terrifying growl of a wild beast.
Standing behind Jinhyeok was the Blood Manticore.
The monster glared at Vice Guild Master Choi Taesu over Jinhyeok’s shoulder while licking its lips.
Its eyes seemed to say,
“I wonder what that human would taste like.”
“H-Hiiik…!”
The bodyguards in black suits behind Choi Taesu stepped back with pale faces.
They were B-Rank and A-Rank Hunters themselves, but their opponent was an S-Rank magical beast that had nearly wiped out an elite raid team the previous night.
And the manticore wasn’t alone.
A Shadow Wolf emerged from the darkness with glowing blue eyes.
An Iron Bear followed behind it.
This wasn’t an ordinary animal hospital.
It was a den of magical beasts.
No…
It was practically the Demon King’s castle.
Choi Taesu’s face turned red with humiliation.
The Vice Guild Master of the mighty Zeus Guild was being threatened and driven out by beasts inside this tiny neighborhood clinic.
“Kang Jinhyeok! Do you think you’ll get away with insulting the Zeus Guild?!”
“You were the one who started it. Coming into my workplace and causing trouble is considered obstruction of business.”
Jinhyeok lazily cleaned his ear with his finger.
“And your dragon doesn’t have much time left. Instead of wasting time arguing with me, you’d better go prepare an enema.”
“…What? An enema?”
“I’m telling you to leave. You’re making the place stink.”
Jinhyeok flicked his finger.
The manticore raised one massive paw.
BOOM!
It slammed it into the floor.
The entire building shook as if an earthquake had struck.
“Damn it!”
Choi Taesu bit his lip and finally turned around.
Even if he tried to overpower them, he had no chance while those magical beasts stood guard.
More importantly…
The longer they delayed,
the closer Valakas came to death.
“You’ll regret this… You definitely will!”
After throwing out one last threat, Choi Taesu disappeared.
Peace returned to the clinic.
“Good job. Here’s a snack.”
Jinhyeok tossed the manticore a strip of dried meat.
The sight of an S-Rank magical beast happily wagging its tail while chewing jerky…
It was unbelievable.
Jinhyeok finished his now-cold cup noodles and brewed another cup of coffee.
“Alright.
Time to prepare for round two.”
He already knew.
The Vice Guild Master leaving wasn’t the end.
It was only the beginning of the real negotiation.
Exactly thirty minutes later…
A line of luxury sedans stopped outside the clinic once again.
Not one or two cars.
Black sedans stretched from one end of the alley to the other.
A door opened.
A man stepped out.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
A middle-aged gentleman walking confidently with a long coat fluttering behind him.
The No.1 Hunter in South Korea.
The owner of the Zeus Guild.
The Dragon Emperor, Lee Shinwoo.
His arrival alone changed the atmosphere.
The stray cats nearby fled in fear.
Even the magical beasts inside the clinic instinctively stiffened, their fur standing on end.
Lee Shinwoo dismissed his guards.
Then he opened the old clinic door and entered alone.
Ding.
Jinhyeok sat behind the reception desk with his chin resting on one hand.
As if he had expected this visit,
he showed no surprise.
“Welcome.
Are you here for treatment?”
“…”
Lee Shinwoo silently stared at him.
Sharp eyes.
The overwhelming presence of a king who had survived countless battlefields.
An ordinary person would have trouble breathing just from meeting his gaze.
But Jinhyeok didn’t even blink.
Instead, he calmly looked straight back at him.
“Oh?”
Interest flashed across Lee Shinwoo’s eyes.
Very few S-Rank Hunters could face his pressure so calmly.
So this F-Rank veterinarian isn’t all talk after all.
Lee Shinwoo finally spoke.
“I heard one of my men behaved rudely.”
“Yeah.
Other than making me clean the floor again, it wasn’t too bad.”
“I apologize.
I failed to educate him properly.”
The leader of the Zeus Guild bowed politely.
The strongest guild master in the country…
bowing to a simple veterinarian.
That alone showed how desperate the situation was.
“I’ll get straight to the point.
Please save Valakas.”
“Didn’t you already have him examined?
There are plenty of famous healers.”
Lee Shinwoo’s expression darkened.
“An S-Rank healer from the government.
An Archmage.
Even priests we invited from overseas.
Every one of them examined him.
But…
none of them found the cause.
They all said either ‘mana overload’ or ‘natural aging.'”
“So after giving up,
you decided to grab at the last straw?”
“To be honest…
yes.
I’m only hoping fixing that manticore wasn’t a coincidence.”
Jinhyeok smiled.
He appreciated the honesty.
“It wasn’t luck.
It was skill.”
“You’re quite confident.”
“It’s not confidence.
It’s simply a fact.
And your dragon doesn’t have mana overload.
He’s sick because you’ve been feeding him garbage.”
“…His food?”
“You’ve been feeding him only top-grade mana crystals.
Hundreds of kilograms every day.”
“Of course.
Dragons live on magical power.”
Jinhyeok clicked his tongue.
“If a person eats nothing but premium beef three meals a day, they’ll end up with high cholesterol.
Why would dragons be any different?
Mana crystals are extremely high-calorie food.
You keep stuffing him with calories while he barely exercises.
How are his organs supposed to survive?
His mana channels are completely clogged.
He can’t even get rid of his waste.”
“…!”
Lee Shinwoo’s eyes widened.
Not once had anyone suggested such an explanation.
Every expert had talked about curses or mana circulation.
Only this man pointed at…
his eating habits.
And constipation.
It sounded ridiculous.
Yet…
it strangely made sense.
Recently, Valakas had become too lazy to leave his nest.
His stomach had swollen noticeably.
Lee Shinwoo suddenly remembered all of it.
“So…
you’re saying he can be cured?”
“Of course.
We just have to unclog him.”
Jinhyeok answered with complete confidence.
Hope returned to Lee Shinwoo’s eyes.
“Good.
Let’s leave immediately.
If you save him, I’ll give you anything you want.
Money.
Fame.
Even an executive position in my guild.”
“I’ll make plenty of money myself.
And I have no interest in management.”
Jinhyeok opened a desk drawer and pulled out a contract.
The ink was still fresh.
“This will do.”
“…This is?”
Lee Shinwoo read through it.
Medical Treatment Invoice
Transfer ownership of the Zeus Guild’s Second Headquarters building and land in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam.
The Zeus Guild shall permanently protect Arcana Medical Center and never interfere with its medical practice.
No one may question or interfere with the director’s treatment decisions.
Lee Shinwoo raised an eyebrow.
The Cheongdam property alone was worth over 500 billion won.
More importantly…
It was currently being used as Valakas’ nest.
“Don’t you think this is excessive?
You’re asking for 500 billion just to treat constipation?”
“Is a dragon’s life worth only 500 billion?
If Valakas dies,
your guild’s stock value won’t just fall a little.
It’ll be cut in half.”
Jinhyeok pretended to calculate on an invisible calculator.
“And I need the nest because my hospital has to move.
As you can see, this place is too small.
My S-Rank magical beasts don’t even have room to stretch out while sleeping.
After treating your dragon,
he’ll also need a proper place to recover.”
It was shameless.
Yet impossible to argue against.
Lee Shinwoo remained silent for a moment.
Then he burst into hearty laughter.
“Hahaha!
Excellent!
I like you.
Five hundred billion?
If Valakas survives, I wouldn’t even hesitate to pay one trillion.”
He pulled out a fountain pen and signed the contract without hesitation.
“But if you fail…
you’ll pay the price.
You know what kind of person I am.”
“If I cause medical malpractice,
I’ll surrender my veterinary license.
And my Hunter license too.”
Jinhyeok stored the contract away,
picked up his medical bag,
and stood.
“Let’s go.
Time to remove the patient’s…
ahem…
impacted waste.”
Deep beneath the Zeus Guild Headquarters in Gangnam…
inside a gigantic dome-shaped containment facility…
was Valakas’ Nest.
After passing through layers of heavy security,
Lee Shinwoo and Jinhyeok entered.
A wave of scorching heat struck them.
The air felt like molten lava.
In the center of a space as large as two soccer fields,
a gigantic crimson dragon lay curled up.
“Kuuuu…”
Valakas groaned painfully.
He couldn’t even properly open his eyes.
Around him,
dozens of doctors and mages hurried about.
The greatest healers and magic users in South Korea.
“Guild Master has arrived!”
The crowd immediately stepped aside.
An old man wearing an elegant robe embroidered with gold approached.
He was Kim Hyunseok,
an S-Rank healer certified by the government,
and president of the Korean Healers Association.
“Guild Master.
The situation is getting worse.
Lord Valakas’ mana level keeps crossing the critical threshold.
At this rate…
he won’t survive today.”
Kim Hyunseok reported with a sorrowful expression.
Lee Shinwoo nodded before pointing toward Jinhyeok.
“Thank you for your efforts.
From this point onward,
he’ll be performing the treatment.”
“…Excuse me?”
Kim Hyunseok looked at Jinhyeok.
A young man wearing jeans,
a T-shirt,
and an old white coat.
Instead of a holy staff or sacred relic,
he carried nothing but a worn leather medical bag.
“And who are you?
I don’t believe we’ve met.
Are you perhaps a university professor?”
“I’m Kang Jinhyeok.
Director of Arcana Animal Hospital.”
Jinhyeok handed him a business card.
Kim Hyunseok looked at it.
His face immediately twisted.
“Animal…
Hospital?
You’re a veterinarian?”
“Yes.
A dragon is an animal too.”
“Hah!
Unbelievable.”
Kim Hyunseok laughed in disbelief.
The surrounding healers and mages began murmuring.
“Guild Master!
Surely this is a joke.
You’re entrusting Lord Valakas to someone who treats dogs and cats?
This is an insult to the Dragon!”
“Exactly!
Even S-Rank healers couldn’t determine the cause.
What could a mere veterinarian possibly know?”
The protests grew louder.
To them,
a dragon was a sacred being worthy of worship.
Calling it just another animal was unbearable.
But Jinhyeok ignored every complaint.
He walked straight toward Valakas’ enormous head.
Looking closely,
the condition was even worse than expected.
His stomach was swollen tight.
The muscles around his rear were so stiff he couldn’t even lift his tail.
“Move.
You’re making it hard for the patient to breathe.”
Jinhyeok pushed Kim Hyunseok aside.
Kim Hyunseok’s face turned bright red.
“Do you even know anything about mana circuits?
Do you understand how complicated a dragon’s biology is?”
“Complicated?
Not at all.”
Jinhyeok snorted.
“If you were convinced it was mana overload,
why didn’t you use purification magic instead of endless healing spells?”
“W-Well…
Lord Valakas was already exhausted.
We had to preserve his strength first…”
“His strength isn’t the problem.
His insides are completely clogged.
Can’t you see all the gas trapped in his stomach?”
Jinhyeok knocked on the dragon’s belly.
Thump.
Thump.
It sounded like a giant overripe watermelon.
Or rather,
like an overinflated balloon full of gas.
“Hear that?
That’s bloat.
It’s common in cows and horses.
The trapped gas is squeezing his intestines and twisting his mana channels.
Instead of fixing that,
you kept pouring healing magic into him.
That only stimulated his digestive system.
More gas built up.
Nothing came out.
No wonder he’s dying.”
“B-Bloat?
Are you saying a dragon is a cow or a horse?!”
“Every living creature is the same.
They eat.
They poop.
They sleep.
When one of those stops working,
they get sick.”
Jinhyeok opened his medical bag.
He took out an enormous syringe.
A glass bottle filled with mysterious brown liquid.
And…
a Giant Custom-Made Plunger.
“W-What is that?!”
“A…
plunger?”
Ignoring everyone’s horrified expressions,
Jinhyeok looked at Lee Shinwoo.
“Guild Master,
I’m starting treatment now.
This could get messy,
so anyone with a weak stomach should leave.
And…”
He slowly raised the plunger.
It was coated with adamantium,
a professional model with maximum mana conductivity.
“As for you healers…
if healing magic is the only thing you’re good at,
go fetch some water.
We’ll need a lot.”
“Water?
What for?”
“For the enema.
This guy’s probably carrying around ten tons of impacted waste.
We’ll practically need the Han River to wash it all out.”
“An…
enema?”
“He’s insane!
An enema for a dragon?!”
Kim Hyunseok nearly collapsed in shock.
But Jinhyeok had already put on his gloves.
[Skill: Hand of Benevolence (S) Activated]
Target: Fire Dragon Valakas
Procedure: Ultra-Grade Fecal Impaction Removal & Intestinal Massage
Golden mana flowed from Jinhyeok’s hands.
He walked toward Valakas’…
well…
rear.
“Alright, Valakas.
This may be a little embarrassing,
but bear with it.
One treatment,
and you’ll feel amazing.”
Mana poured into the plunger.
Hummm—!
The plunger vibrated,
glowing with blue light.
Thus began…
the first S-Rank Dragon Enema Operation in Hunter history.
Inside Valakas’ consciousness…
It hurts…
My stomach hurts so much…
The mighty Fire Dragon wandered endlessly through darkness.
His pride as the greatest dragon?
Gone.
Only unbearable stomach pain remained.
His belly twisted endlessly.
He wanted to breathe fire.
He couldn’t even open his mouth.
Humans kept shining strange lights on him.
It only made everything worse.
Please stop…
Just let me die…
Then…
a strange voice echoed through the darkness.
“Relax.
Uncle’s going to clear everything out for you.”
It was warm.
Unlike any human he’d ever met.
Others carried fear.
Greed.
Or worship.
This one carried only compassion…
and the sincere desire to heal.
“That’s right.
Good dragon.
Relax those muscles.”
What?
My muscles?
How dare a human speak of the rear muscles of a mighty dragon!
Valakas wanted to roar in anger.
But strangely…
his body relaxed.
Warm energy spread through him.
The enormous blockage inside him slowly began to move.
“One…
Two…
Three!
Push!”
POP!!
Back in reality…
A tremendous explosive sound echoed throughout the dome.
Valakas’ tail shot upward.
“AAAH!”
“Take cover!”
Kim Hyunseok and the healers screamed while scattering in every direction.
Only Jinhyeok remained where he stood.
He activated a mana barrier and tightened his grip on the plunger.
“It’s coming!
Make way!”
The instant he shouted…
An unbelievable amount of gas…
and something else…
erupted from Valakas.
It wasn’t ordinary waste.
It was condensed mana residue.
Unburned fragments of mana crystals.
Years of accumulated impurities exploded outward.
KWWAAAAAA!!
“KRRRRRRR!!”
Valakas finally lifted his head.
For the first time,
his roar was one of relief.
Like someone finally freed from ten years of unbearable constipation.
The entire dome filled with yellow gas.
Even the S-Rank healers covered their noses and vomited.
Even Lee Shinwoo stepped backward, squinting.
Only one person smiled brightly in the middle of the horrible smell.
Kang Jinhyeok.
“See?
I told you.
It was just constipation poisoning.”
He wiped away his sweat as system messages exploded before his eyes.
[Procedure Success!]
[Fire Dragon Valakas’ Intestinal Obstruction has been completely cured.]
[Blocked mana channels restored to 300% efficiency.]
[Valakas now recognizes you as his lifesaver.]
As the gas slowly cleared,
the enormous crimson dragon rose to its feet.
Its once-clouded eyes now shone with brilliant golden light.
Valakas slowly lowered his massive head until it rested before Jinhyeok’s chest.
It wasn’t submission.
Nor surrender.
It was the pure expression of gratitude…
and respect.
“Grrr… (Mom?)”
“…Not your mom.
I’m your doctor.”
Jinhyeok smiled and gently stroked the dragon’s snout.
Looking around,
he saw Kim Hyunseok and the other healers standing frozen with their jaws hanging open.
Jinhyeok simply shrugged.
“See?
Sometimes an enema works better than fancy magic.”
Thus it was proven.
There was no one who could replace him.
The ownership of the Zeus Guild’s headquarters in Gangnam had changed hands.
And before long,
top-ranked Hunters from all over the world would line up outside his hospital…
to cure their monsters’ constipation,
toothaches,
and every other illness imaginable.
