Chapter 03 - The Spring of Elixir (2)

When I opened my eyes, it was another strange ceiling.

And two pairs of eyes were looking down at me.

“Ji-han!”

“You’re awake!”

One person was the head of the Haewon Sword Family. In other words, my father.

The other was his wife and the lady of the Sword Family, my mother.

I had lost consciousness while taking the goblin’s head, so I didn't know what had happened after.

Well, Choi Ho-joong must have frantically heaved me onto his back, gotten out of the Abyss, and brought me here to the hospital.

“Are you feeling better now?”

My father, Seo Joon-wook's, restrained voice was strangely similar to that of my biological father.

His appearance and even his aura felt similar somehow.

Perhaps because of that, there was no great sense of dissonance in accepting this person as my father.

“Yes. I feel refreshed after sleeping.”

In fact, my head and body both felt clear.

After pouring out all the mana in my body like this, I would often feel a sense of clarity, as if I had been reborn.

This was one of the characteristics brought about by the Raven family's mana heart technique.

“Why on earth did you go there!”

My mother, Lady Shim Hee-jin, shouted and then hugged me.

I could feel a gentle warmth.

I had only ever heard about a mother's warmth; this was the first time I had felt it directly.

My biological mother, Johan Raven’s mother, had passed away right after giving birth to me.

“I’m sorry, Mother.”

It was funny, but the reaction came from the bottom of my heart.

My mother lightly patted my chest and burst into tears.

Is this what a mother is?

It felt awkward, but not unpleasant.

“I received the report from Ho-joong. You went to the Abyss?”

“Yes, Father.”

“It seems it was harder on you than you let on. I understand. You must have gone there with the feeling of grasping at straws.”

That wasn't it, though.

“But it was a dangerous decision. No matter how well Ho-joong escorted you, the Abyss is a dangerous place for a civilian. Do not go there again.”

“No. After going into the Spring of Elixir, my body feels much better.”

Even though I argued, my father’s eyes looking at me were filled with pity.

Just as he said, he must see it as me grasping at straws.

I know what you're thinking, but that's not it.

“As of this moment, you are forbidden from entering the Abyss.”

“Father!”

“I understand your desire to try anything, but as a father, I have no choice. Think about it. After visiting the Abyss, aren't you now lying in a hospital bed?”

“That’s!”

“And Ho-joong said something strange.”

I could roughly guess what he was about to say.

“That you, Ji-han, personally cut off a goblin’s head?”

“That’s right.”

At my answer, my father let out a hollow laugh.

“It seems you’ve gotten your story straight beforehand, but that’s too unrealistic. Do you want to go back to the Abyss that badly?”

“Honey! Let’s talk about that later! Ji-han just woke up!”

At my mother’s scolding, my father’s expression turned sheepish.

It was a moment that clearly showed who held the real power in this family.

Knock, knock.

Just then, a knock came from outside the hospital room.

The person who entered was my attending physician.

We had met once six days ago, so he was a familiar face.

My mother scurried over to him and asked.

“Dr. Kim! How is our Ji-han’s condition? Is he okay?”

“Well, it’s a bit……”

“Why? What on earth is it?”

“We will have to run some more tests, but……”

The doctor kept hesitating.

“Please tell me quickly! Don’t tell me Ji-han’s condition is critical?”

My mother looked ready to faint at any moment depending on the doctor's answer.

“I’m not sure how to put this, but the test results show that his condition has improved significantly.”

“……Pardon?”

“The cells that were being damaged all over due to the dungeon radiation exposure show remarkable signs of recovery.”

For a moment, only silence filled the hospital room.

Of course, I had expected this result, so I wasn't surprised at all.

“Dr. Kim! Is what you just said really true? I can’t believe it!”

“Ma’am. This is an unprecedented case, so we will need to conduct a more in-depth examination, but for now, that is my finding.”

Even if they ran more tests, the result would be the same.

No, it would probably be a speck better.

Because I was going through hell every day trying to improve this low-quality body.

“Dr. Kim! Is that true?”

It seemed my father couldn’t believe it either.

“I am cautious to say so, but yes.”

My mother stared blankly for a moment, then gripped the doctor’s wrist tightly and began to sob, thanking him.

Mother! You don’t have to thank him, you know?

My father simply patted my back, conveying his unspoken emotions.

No matter how I looked at it, my father, Seo Joon-wook, seemed to resemble my biological father a lot.

“Father. By the way, about that guy. Are you perhaps going to reprimand him?”

“You mean Choi Ho-joong?”

“Yes.”

“That man committed a grave error by failing in his duty to look after you. He is, of course, currently under probation, and you have no need to worry about the reprimand he will receive in the future.”

“No. Ho-joong was only following my orders from start to finish. And.”

“And?”

“Ho-joong has agreed to continue escorting me to the Abyss.”

I looked at my father and gave a wide grin.

***

The Spring of Elixir.

Today, that guy Ho-joong was also soaking in it with me.

He must have been badly shaken by what happened a few days ago, as he was determined to guard me at close range, but today he was overdoing it a bit.

Ever since we entered the Abyss, he hadn’t moved even two meters away from me.

“Ho-joong, aren’t you a little too close?”

“……”

The guy was also unusually quiet today.

“What’s this? You’re not even answering when I ask you something?”

“I will protect you by your side right here, Young Master.”

Choi Ho-joong replied as such and then fell silent again.

“Your breath stinks every time you breathe. So back off a bit. There are no monsters here anyway.”

“From now on, I intend to consider even a one in a hundred million chance.”

He was caught up in useless guilt, and no matter how many times I told him it was okay, he wouldn't listen.

This guy had really committed to his role.

“Anyway, did you get a good look that time?”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“I told you to watch carefully. How I use the sword when I catch a goblin.”

I had hoped that he would see and feel something, even if it was just a little.

Sometimes, one can gain insight from the most unexpected, trivial scenes.

That was the nature of swordsmanship.

“Ah, that……”

“What about it?”

“I saw it well, but I didn’t see it well.”

“What kind of nonsense is this?”

“I definitely watched with my eyes wide open. Because I have to carry out my duty of escorting you, Young Master.”

“And?”

“I think I saw something that wasn’t there. Perhaps because I was so surprised by the fact that you, Young Master, had cut a goblin's neck, my memory became distorted.”

Good grief.

With such a closed-off way of thinking.

“You still have a long way to go.”

Choi Ho-joong continuously shook his head from side to side.

“I still can’t believe that you cut the goblin’s neck, Young Master.”

“You can’t even believe what you saw with your own two eyes. You really live a hard life, don’t you?”

“Because it’s an unbelievable event.”

“Then watch properly today.”

“You can’t! Absolutely not!”

“Why?”

“If I make the same mistake again, I will really be kicked out.”

“I promise. I won’t pass out this time.”

The sound of Choi Ho-joong’s sigh vibrated in the air.

According to my calculations, today I could handle up to two goblins.

My physical condition was much better compared to a few days ago.

But since Choi Ho-joong was making such a fuss, I would just catch one today.

As I was organizing my thoughts, a strange figure emerged from beyond the spring’s fog.

“Huh? Brother Ji-han?”

A face that looked to be around twenty.

Seeing as he called me ‘brother’, he was clearly an acquaintance, but of course, I didn't know him.

“I thought I recognized the voice and came to check, and I find you here, brother?”

If I had to classify the aura this guy was giving off into black and white, it was closer to hostility than goodwill.

My intuition was usually right.

It was strange.

Seo Ji-han had lived his life fighting an illness for a long time, so he shouldn’t have had any reason to make enemies.

“Who are you, by the way?”

“What, you don’t recognize me? You’ve completely lost it!”

I leaned in and asked Choi Ho-joong’s ear.

“Who’s that? Do you know him?”

At my question, Choi Ho-joong made a briefly perplexed expression, then whispered to me.

“That is Young Master Seo Young-joon. The two of you are cousins.”

Since I had already laid the groundwork of having partial amnesia, Choi Ho-joong seemed to accept it.

I had already figured out the relationships within the Haewon Sword Family to some extent.

Two years ago, when my father Seo Joon-wook inherited the position of family head, all the other relatives had withdrawn from the main house.

My father wasn't even the eldest of the four brothers, but the third, so I had also heard there were many complaints from the brothers regarding the successor selection.

After that, it was a common story of blood-related brothers ending up with a relationship worse than strangers.

Come to think of it, wherever people live, things are similar.

Such things were commonplace on the Kalia Continent where I used to live as well.

“I remember now. Seo Young-joon.”

“What, your tone and everything else has gotten weird!”

“Do you have business with me?”

If our relationship was one where we could ignore each other, I judged it would be more beneficial to quickly get rid of him and continue my healing.

“Wow! This is really weird. Do people change when they’re about to die? You’re not even stuttering.”

“Young Master Seo Young-joon! Your words are a bit out of line! What do you mean, ‘about to die’?!”

Suddenly, Choi Ho-joong shot up from his spot.

“What are you!”

“Apologize to our Young Master.”

Hoh.

This guy has some backbone at times like this.

“Ah! I remember now. Your name was Choi Ho-joong, wasn’t it?”

“This isn’t the first time you’ve been like this, Young Master Seo Young-joon. Don’t you think you’re being too rude?”

I was getting the general picture.

How Seo Ji-han was treated among his cousins.

“What’s with that look? Looks like you might take a swing at me?”

“I will say it again. Apologize to our Young Master.”

“Wahahha! This is crazy! Just because you’re some riff-raff working for the main family, you think you can look down on me? Are you ordering me around right now?”

“……”

Smack!

And with Seo Young-joon’s suddenly raised hand, Choi Ho-joong’s cheek turned bright red.

“Say it again! I have to apologize? To whom?”

“Who else would it be? To me.”

And to Choi Ho-joong, of course.

I got up and approached Seo Young-joon.

“Wow, looks like you might take a swing at me too, brother?”

“Yeah, that’s the plan.”

“Pfft! Brother, you really must be on death’s door, huh?”

I didn't care how this guy usually acted toward Seo Ji-han or what feelings he had.

It had nothing to do with me.

But the fact that he had laid a hand on my man, Choi Ho-joong. That was a completely different story.

“If you can lay a hand on my face, brother, I’ll kneel before you.”

I took another step closer to the guy.

“That’s a good idea.”

“You really plan on hitting me?”

Whish!

As soon as I finished calculating the distance and direction, I threw my fist.

There was no need for grand or flashy movements.

It was enough to infuse mana into the fist as a medium and send it to the intended target.

Just a simple tap-and-push, and that would be the end of it.

Smack!

With a crisp sound, a tooth went flying.

Even the Spring of Elixir would be of no help for two missing front teeth.

That was the reason I had aimed for his mouth.

“Heok!”

A groan escaped Seo Young-joon, and immediately after, I kicked his shin from under the spring's water.

Thwack!

Since there was no way he would kneel as promised anyway.

“Heok!”

Along with a second groan, Seo Young-joon’s posture became very polite.

With this, I had exhausted all the mana I had.

In fact, it was hard to even stand.

I had only left just enough to hold onto my consciousness.

“Y-Young Master!”

Choi Ho-joong’s jaw hung open.

I barely managed to squeeze out my voice and spoke sternly.

“Ho-joong, get this guy out of here.”