Chapter 4
[Patients Waiting: 452]
[Current Wait Time: About 3 Weeks]
The Zeus Medical Tower, standing in the middle of Gangnam.
The lobby of the enormous building looked more like a battlefield field hospital than a medical center.
But unlike a bloody battlefield, the atmosphere here was completely different.
Instead of tension, the place was filled with a strange mixture of excitement and awe.
“Hey, look over there. Isn’t that the guild master of the Rank 7 guild, ‘Iron Fist’?”
“No way… Even he’s standing in line. I heard his pet is a Flame Lizard.”
“Keep your voice down. Those people over there are executives from Japan’s Genji Guild.”
Top-ranked Hunters from all over the world had gathered here.
Normally, they walked around with unmatched confidence.
But inside this building, every one of them behaved like obedient sheep.
The reason was simple.
Curled up beside the giant screen in the middle of the lobby was the hospital’s “guard dog.”
“Ruuumble… Fwooo…”
The Fire Dragon Valakas, who had come up from the underground floor, had claimed one corner of the first-floor lobby and was taking a nap.
Every time he breathed out, the temperature of the lobby rose and fell by nearly two degrees.
Whenever he smacked his tail in his sleep—
Bang!
Cracks spread across the marble floor.
A hospital guarded by an S-Rank Dragon.
Who would dare cut in line or cause trouble here?
To make it even more ridiculous, a name tag hung around Valakas’s neck.
[Head of Security]
Ding!
A pleasant notification echoed throughout the lobby.
“Waiting Number 1. Mr. Seo Jihoo. Please enter the examination room.”
The noisy lobby instantly fell silent.
Seo Jihoo.
Ranked fourth among Korea’s Hunters.
Known throughout the country as the Ice Emperor.
The greatest ice mage in Korea stood up with a nervous expression.
In his arms was a drooping penguin.
About one meter tall, with smooth feathers that looked like a tuxedo.
It was an S-Rank magical beast—
Glacial Emperor Penguin.
Seo Jihoo opened the examination room door with a determined look.
“Welcome. Patient Number One.”
Jinhyuk greeted him without looking away from his monitor.
Seo Jihoo awkwardly sat down.
On the battlefield, he could freeze thousands of monsters with a single blizzard.
But here…
He was simply a worried owner whose family member was sick.
“Doctor… my Pengsoo…”
“Pengsoo is acting strange.”
“So its name is Pengsoo?”
“What a creative name.”
Jinhyuk chuckled and turned his chair.
The penguin lying on the desk definitely didn’t look healthy.
Its eyes were half-open.
Its beak hung open as it panted heavily.
Its wings dragged limply across the floor.
“What symptoms?”
“It hasn’t been able to summon ice for a week.”
“It used to freeze everything around it just by breathing…”
“And it won’t eat.”
“It just keeps sleeping…”
Seo Jihoo’s voice trembled.
This penguin wasn’t just a pet.
It was his partner.
The companion that amplified his ice magic.
His family.
He had already visited every famous veterinarian and healer.
But every diagnosis had been the same.
Mana exhaustion.
Or…
Old age.
“Let’s take a look.”
Jinhyuk put on his gloves and examined the penguin’s armpits and stomach.
It was hot.
No—
It was burning.
“Its body temperature is too high.”
“…What?”
“That’s impossible!”
“It’s an ice-type beast.”
“It’s always cold.”
“Exactly.”
“That’s the problem.”
“You neglected it and gave it heatstroke.”
“…What?”
Seo Jihoo thought he had heard wrong.
A penguin that lived in places colder than Antarctica.
Raised by the Ice Emperor himself.
Had…
Heatstroke?
Jinhyuk clicked his tongue.
“Mr. Ice Emperor.”
“You live in a luxury penthouse with air conditioning, don’t you?”
“…Yes.”
“And in winter, you turn on the heater because it’s cold.”
“Well… humans can’t stay cold forever.”
“That’s exactly the problem.”
Jinhyuk tapped the chart.
“The ideal habitat for a Glacial Penguin is minus forty degrees Celsius.”
“Korean winters only reach about minus ten.”
“And indoors?”
“It’s over twenty degrees.”
“B-But I always surround myself with an ice aura…”
“I thought that would be enough…”
“Your aura is magical cold.”
“Not environmental cold.”
“To the penguin…”
“It’s like making someone wear a fur coat inside a sauna.”
“If you lock it inside a steam room twenty-four hours a day, of course it’ll get sick.”
“…Ah!”
Seo Jihoo felt like someone had hit him with a hammer.
The comfortable indoor temperature he had created for himself…
Was hell for his partner.
The creature he claimed to love…
He had unknowingly been torturing it.
“I…”
“I’m so sorry…”
“I was so ignorant…”
“Pengsoo…”
“I’m sorry…”
The mighty Ice Emperor hugged his penguin with tears in his eyes.
Jinhyuk sighed and stood up.
“Crying won’t help.”
“Move.”
“It’s treatment time.”
Jinhyuk pressed a button on the wall.
A hidden section opened.
Inside was something resembling a massive cryogenic capsule.
Originally, it had been a hyperbaric oxygen chamber for treating Hunters suffering from frostbite.
Jinhyuk had modified it himself.
“I call it…”
The Extreme Cryo Sauna.
“It rapidly cools the body to minus one hundred degrees.”
“We’re going to remove all the trapped heat.”
He placed the penguin inside.
Then turned the cooling valve.
Hissss—
White freezing mist filled the capsule.
Any normal creature would have frozen solid instantly.
But the penguin…
“Ki…”
“Kiirook!”
Its eyes flew open.
Then—
Like an old man sinking into a hot spring—
It showed the happiest expression imaginable.
As the accumulated heat left its body…
Its feathers regained their beautiful blue shine.
[Treatment Successful!]
[Patient: Glacial Emperor Penguin]
[Body temperature has returned to the normal range.]
[Condition restored to peak health.]
Ten minutes later…
The capsule door opened.
The penguin proudly waddled outside.
It politely bowed to Jinhyuk.
Then…
It created a tiny ice flower with its wing and handed it over.
“Oh?”
“A gift?”
“Thanks.”
Jinhyuk accepted the ice flower.
The penguin happily ran back into Seo Jihoo’s arms.
Seo Jihoo hugged it tightly.
“Thank you!”
“Thank you so much, Director!”
“I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you…”
“Just pay the medical bill.”
“It’s not covered by insurance.”
“So it’s a little expensive.”
Jinhyuk handed him the invoice.
Treatment Fee: 100,000,000 Won
Plus: 1 × Glacier’s Tear (S-Rank Material)
The Glacier’s Tear was one of the rarest alchemy materials in existence.
Money alone couldn’t buy it.
But Seo Jihoo didn’t hesitate for even a second.
He took a glowing blue jewel from his pocket and placed it on the desk.
“Here.”
“You saved Pengsoo.”
“This is a small price to pay.”
“And…”
“I’d like your hospital to take care of every magical beast in my guild from now on.”
“Get in line.”
“You’ll have to make a reservation.”
“I’ll register you as a VIP.”
Jinhyuk casually pocketed the jewel.
Seo Jihoo bowed repeatedly before leaving.
His footsteps were a hundred times lighter than when he had entered.
The consultations continued like a war.
Patient No. 2
A Griffin with Acrophobia.
“You’re afraid of flying?”
“Then run instead.”
Prescription:
3 hours on a treadmill.
VR flight simulation therapy.
Patient No. 3
A Werewolf suffering from hair loss.
“Stress-induced alopecia.”
“Did you change its food recently?”
“I told you not to feed it cheap stuff.”
Prescription:
Black bean protein shake.
Manual scalp massage.
Patient No. 4
A Nightmare (Dream Demon) with insomnia.
“A creature that lives by eating dreams…”
“And it can’t sleep.”
“No wonder it’s going crazy.”
“Sleeping pills won’t work.”
“Sing it a lullaby.”
Prescription:
432Hz healing frequency music.
The magical beasts suffered from the strangest diseases imaginable.
But before Jinhyuk’s Eyes of Divine Medicine and his bizarre treatment methods…
Every illness was cured.
Every Hunter who left the examination room wore the same expression.
“…That doctor…”
“He’s the real deal.”
“I thought he was a fraud.”
“But everything gets better the moment he touches it.”
“Who cares about the money?”
“Our partner recovered.”
The rumors spread like wildfire.
Social media exploded.
#GangnamMiracleAnimalHospital
#GodJinhyuk
#HospitalGuardedByDragon
All became trending hashtags.
The stock price of Zeus Medical Tower skyrocketed day after day.
Before long…
The sun set.
The day’s appointments were finally over.
“Director.”
“We’ve finished all scheduled patients.”
Park Cheolwoo—
Former vice guild master of Zeus Guild and now the hospital’s head nurse—
Reported with an exhausted face.
Even an S-Rank Hunter like him was physically drained by the workload.
“Good work.”
“Everyone go home.”
“Aren’t you leaving, Director?”
“I still have something to do.”
After all the employees left…
Silence filled the hospital.
Jinhyuk remained alone in his office.
The brilliant night view of Gangnam glittered beyond the glass windows.
He slowly opened the deepest drawer of his desk.
Inside was a small safe.
It required fingerprints.
Retina recognition.
And even mana pattern verification.
Click.
The safe opened.
Inside…
There was no money.
No jewels.
Only an old photograph.
And a ring.
In the picture…
Jinhyuk smiled brightly.
Beside him stood a woman making a V-sign with her fingers.
She had sharp eyes.
But the warmest smile.
The strongest Hunter in Korean history.
The Sword Queen—
Yoo Isu.
His wife.
“…I’ve earned plenty of money.”
Jinhyuk gently stroked the photograph.
Three years ago…
To close the Abyss Gate that threatened the world…
She had entered it alongside an elite strike force.
The gate closed.
But…
She never came back.
Everyone believed she had died.
They called it a heroic sacrifice.
Built a memorial.
And moved on.
But Jinhyuk knew better.
She was still alive.
[Marriage Vow (S)]
The bond created by the System had never been broken.
It was faint.
Almost impossible to sense.
But…
Her life force still remained.
“When you come back…”
“You promised you’d become my househusband.”
“At this rate…”
“I’ll end up richer than you.”
He smiled bitterly while turning the ring in his fingers.
The reason he desperately earned money…
Built connections…
Expanded the hospital…
Was never luxury.
He was preparing the road…
For her return.
Reopening the Abyss Gate required unimaginable amounts of mana stones.
And the cooperation of countless S-Rank Hunters.
Back when he had been nothing more than a porter…
It would have been impossible.
But not anymore.
The leader of Zeus Guild.
The Ice Emperor.
And countless top-ranked Hunters now owed him favors.
His wealth continued to grow.
His influence reached the heavens.
Just wait.
Even if I have to shake down all of Korea… no, the entire world…
I’ll come bring you home.
Jinhyuk closed the safe with determined eyes.
Just then—
Bzzz…
His phone vibrated.
Caller ID: Hidden.
He frowned and answered.
“Hello.”
“The clinic is closed.”
“…Are you Director Kang Jinhyuk?”
The voice had been electronically altered.
Yet the urgency behind it couldn’t be hidden.
“I heard the rumors.”
“They say you can heal any magical beast.”
“Make a reservation.”
“No.”
“This patient cannot make one.”
“And…”
“It isn’t something human medicine can cure.”
“Not interested.”
“I’m hanging up.”
Just as Jinhyuk was about to end the call—
“The patient is poisoned…”
“With Abyss Poison.”
His hand froze.
Abyss Poison.
A deadly toxin that never appeared in ordinary Gates.
It existed only inside the Abyss Gate where his wife had disappeared three years ago.
His voice turned icy.
“…Who are you?”
“If you want to save the patient…”
“Come to the coordinates I’m sending.”
“As payment…”
“We’ll give you traces of Yoo Isu.”
Click.
The call ended.
A message immediately arrived.
A set of coordinates.
An abandoned factory district on the outskirts of Seoul.
It could easily be a trap.
But once Yoo Isu’s name had been mentioned…
He couldn’t ignore it.
Jinhyuk immediately stood up.
“Chief Park!”
“Have you gone home?”
“I’m in the parking garage…”
“Get the car ready.”
“And contact Basement Level Five.”
Jinhyuk threw off his white coat.
He put on a black tactical coat.
Then picked up his medical bag.
“Wake Valakas.”
“We’re making a night house call.”
One hour later.
An abandoned chemical factory on the outskirts of Seoul.
A black sedan stopped in front of the eerie building.
As Jinhyuk stepped out…
Dozens of armed men emerged from the darkness.
They weren’t ordinary Hunters.
Their equipment bore the insignia of the government’s secret agency—
Hunter Management Bureau – Inspection Division.
“Director Kang Jinhyuk.”
“We’ve been expecting you.”
A woman stepped forward.
Cold eyes.
Neatly cut short hair.
She was the leader of the Inspection Division—
Lee Soyoon.
“The Inspection Division?”
“Seems awfully serious for calling an animal hospital director.”
“The situation is… unusual.”
“Please come this way.”
She led Jinhyuk inside the factory.
Deep within…
A quarantine room had been built inside a huge shipping container.
And lying on the bed…
“…This is…”
Jinhyuk’s eyes widened.
It wasn’t a magical beast.
It was…
A young girl.
But her body was horribly deformed.
Her right arm and leg were covered in dark blue scales.
Grotesque wings protruded from her back.
She was undergoing—
Demonization.
A rare and horrifying curse in which a human slowly transformed into a magical beast.
“…She’s my younger sister.”
Lee Soyoon bit her lip.
“There was an accident at a Gate byproduct research facility.”
“She was exposed to an Abyss Fragment.”
“Every healer gave up.”
“They said…”
“As she’s transforming into a magical beast…”
“Healing magic only speeds up the transformation.”
The girl groaned in agony.
Her cries sounded more like those of a beast than a human.
Neither human.
Nor magical beast.
Something trapped between the two.
Jinhyuk hesitated.
He didn’t treat humans.
That had always been his rule.
But…
This girl was already half magical beast.
And she was connected to the Abyss.
He couldn’t simply consider her an ordinary human anymore.
“Doctor…”
“I heard you understand the biology of magical beasts better than anyone.”
“If anyone can save someone becoming a magical beast…”
“It has to be you.”
“…”
“Please.”
“Turn my sister back into a human.”
“If you succeed…”
“I’ll hand over the classified records the government concealed regarding the Abyss Gate operation three years ago.”
Jinhyuk looked at the girl.
By his own rules…
He never treated humans.
But this girl was already halfway to becoming a magical beast.
And she was connected to the Abyss.
Most importantly…
She might lead him to his wife.
He placed his medical bag on the floor.
Then slowly put on his gloves with a faint smile.
“You’ve heard, haven’t you?”
“I don’t accept human patients.”
His cold voice echoed through the room.
Lee Soyoon’s face was about to sink into despair.
Then—
“But…”
“Turning a magical beast back into a human…”
“That’s exactly my specialty.”
Jinhyuk’s eyes glowed blue.
Eyes of Divine Medicine activated.
He could clearly see the Abyssal poison raging inside the girl’s body.
It would be difficult.
But…
Not impossible.
“Get everything ready.”
“This surgery…”
“…is going to hurt.”
Jinhyuk drew his scalpel.
The days of simply running an animal hospital were over.
Now…
The real battle would begin.
And with it…
The first piece of the puzzle leading to his wife.
