Chapter 437

'No matter where you go in the universe, overwork in the research field is the same.'

At that moment, the alien standing before the hospital bed slowly closed his eyes, as though accepting an immutable law of nature.

'Wait a second. What did you just say? So you're saying... your illness is cured? No, no—no matter how much you want to reassure someone, that's not the kind of lie you should ever tell...!'

By now, thanks to all the modifications, his eyes no longer dried out easily. But the reason the blond awakener closed his eyelids at a moment like this was quite simple.

***

'I need to organize my thoughts.'

Noisy.

'No matter what... even so, that's the kind of lie you should never...'

While Jung Haseong kept talking beside me, I quietly gathered my thoughts with my eyes lightly closed.

'Why did I heal my lungs? Well, that part is actually easy to explain.'

If I tell him to be quiet now, that black-haired S-rank will probably make an even bigger scene—maybe even launch into a 365-minute lecture about the sanctity of life. How on earth am I supposed to sit through that in silence?

'But how I solved the problem is a little difficult to explain to an Earthling.'

When I opened my eyes, the hospital room came back into view. I glanced out the window. Beyond the clear glass lay the streets of South Korea—now so familiar that they had almost become boring.

Come to think of it, just yesterday I had set foot on Western soil while approaching the [Elixir] Gate. Yet somehow, seeing this familiar scenery stirred me more than the emerald-colored coast of that foreign land. It suddenly occurred to me that perhaps my settlement on this planet had gone better than I thought.

'Hmm, still, I did prefer the palm trees over there a little. They really gave off an otherworldly feeling, so that was unique.'

Then I decided to put the jet lag from my overseas trip behind me.

First of all, as I had just thought, the reason I removed the tumor from my lungs was something I could tell anyone.

O (From a mage's perspective) the available fuel was always in short supply.

O Thanks to pain immunity, I can ignore the pain, but the body is still sick and suffering.

O There is hope that, with gradual upgrades, even the primitive creature's characteristic glass body will improve.

Disease treatment. Originally, this decision had been driven by those three reasons, but to an Earthling, it would ultimately be interpreted like this.

O To stay healthy!

Much better phrasing. Of course, since I had brushed the matter aside before and avoided doing anything about it, it was only natural that someone might ask why I had suddenly changed my mind...

'It's up to the patient to decide whether to treat their illness.'

So what? I could easily explain the timing of the treatment as well.

'No, I mean, how on earth did the cancer disappear before awakening? I'm sorry for questioning you like this, but until now, there hasn't been a single case like that...'

And while that black-haired human was still reeling in shock, there had actually been plenty of evidence all along that my lungs were fine. For example, let's recall what happened when I obtained the [Elixir].

'Come to think of it, how did they create an environment like that and expect mammals to awaken?'

Certain gates were, quite literally, completely underwater. Yet I had managed to cross that otherworld, filled from end to end with water, entirely on my own.

Ah. Additionally, the monster that appeared in that gate really was a genuine B-rank [Black Trumpet Snail] from the historical records.

'If anything, it was so thoroughly adapted to water that I can't even imagine how it could have functioned on land.'

But that isn't the important part.

'Ah, right. Come to think of it, that's true too. Their ranks were completely different—so why on earth were the Earthlings fooled by a mimic creature...?'

Since there had never really been anyone to tell, I had kept it to myself until now. But in truth, I had recently undergone this sort of modification.

####################

[Changes in 3.4.111]

• The Third Breakthrough

: I gained the ability to influence the vertebrate-specific airways connecting the lungs and the back of the throat using spatial magic.

####################

Is it just my imagination, or does revealing an Alphauri's research log always make everything sound unnecessarily complicated? To put it simply, it means this.

'I no longer have to rely solely on the passage through my throat in order to live.'

This was easy enough to understand from the way I had hunted [Inevitable Malice]. Even if the ordinary terrestrial respiratory passages were damaged, I could continue breathing without any problem. And by making use of the Alphauri's characteristic spatial awareness, it was also entirely possible to create air pockets and remain underwater for extended periods.

'I didn't think there was any need for that.'

That was why I had been fine even after spending several hours underwater alone. Now, even if organs in my face, such as the nasal passages, were attacked, I could continue breathing without issue. Of course, by utilizing the Alphauri's characteristic spatial awareness, I could also create air pockets and stay submerged for long periods.

'All of this is ultimately proof that I've consistently paid attention to my "respiratory system."'

Study, study, study.

Since I had never let go of Earth's anatomy books, the results were good. After all, constant effort had produced the results I have now, but...

'The problem is the method I used to cure this disease—the lung tumor.'

Unfortunately, Alphauri-born mages had never been particularly skilled at manipulating genes. Without the proper experimental environment, there was very little they could do. Mages, by nature, made their living by borrowing the power of mana, but asking it in its natural state to "rearrange the genome sequence this way or that" simply didn't work.

'Unless you meticulously adjust the spell, it won't function properly.'

To put it simply, this was what I did. I painstakingly searched for every abnormal cell in my body and removed them one by one. Then I manually cleaned up the empty spaces left behind and restored the tissue...

'Brutal manual labor.'

Besides, in Earth's slang, there was an even simpler way to put it.

'Damn it, if I'd known it would come to this, I should've just reincarnated as a whale. Tumors don't seem nearly as deadly to those guys—kind of like Alphaurians.'

The more terrifying part was that even after suffering through this for two whole months, I still hadn't managed to deal with the metastasized cells. But... let's put that aside for now.

'Reincarnated as a primitive person, and what on earth am I suffering like this for?'

I finished sorting through my thoughts. Then, lightly spreading my arms, I began speaking in as human a manner as possible.

'If you want, we can just run a CT scan and check!'

'Yes?'

'You can check my lungs if you want. We're already at a hospital.'

'R, really?'

'Honestly, Jung Haseong, you act like you respect people, but you're the most suspicious of them all, aren't you?'

'Gasp! I'm so sorry if I made you feel that way!'

As you can probably tell from everything so far, the fact that Alphauri technology had been used to restore my lungs to their original state remained a secret.

'But it's just that my humble knowledge couldn't comprehend it.'

'Humble, you say.'

'Medicine has advanced so much, and yet treating a pre-existing disease before awakening has always been a major challenge. I—I've never once heard of a successful case like that before!'

Jung Haseong then fired off one question after another. Had I gone to the United States for surgery? Or perhaps met some extraordinary doctor over there, someone capable of performing miracles?

'Uhm.'

I listened to his questions and thought to myself. Perhaps somewhere on Earth, medicine really had advanced that far. But when it came to [Magic Addiction]—that was a disease no one could promise to cure.

'Why do you think I kept quiet all this time, even though I knew all about Jung Haseong's situation?'

You might say, "What can't an alien who crossed the universe do?"—but this really was an exception. To put it in terms mammals could understand... it was like an obligate anaerobic microbe born on a low-oxygen Earth suddenly saying, "I want to breathe oxygen too."

'Just hearing that gives me a headache.'

By the time I was born, Alphauri was already a planet that had completed its adaptation to magic long ago. Problems this primitive were so outdated that no scholar had ever even bothered to consider them.

'I couldn't even imagine it. This is the first case of Mana Evolution failure I've seen since coming to Earth. Seriously.'

Of course, since I'm something of a genius, even a problem like this could probably be solved—given enough time.

'It's just not efficient.'

As time passed, this transient disease would rapidly become rarer anyway. There was no way I could stake my lifespan on researching it. No matter how I looked at it, it would only be a waste of precious effort. In the end, the only thing I could do was hand over the single bottle of panacea I had obtained.

'Hmm.'

But well—it's not as if that's a bad thing. Human lives are short. I've experienced that truth firsthand, living in a mammalian body and feeling it in countless ways. So now, at the very least, I want the few people within my sight to spend the days they have left in happiness.

'Gasp!'

All the better if I can accomplish that simply by handing over an item.

Ssshk.

It happened immediately afterward. I finally took out the high-grade loot I had carefully stored in my item box.

Elixir. Elixir. Or perhaps—the panacea.

Still, I couldn't help wondering. Just what kind of extraordinary substance could cure every illness without exception?

'Well, if something seems strange, nine times out of ten it turns out to be related to magic anyway.'

The liquid in this vial could also be described another way—a literal wish potion.

Simply put, it was a potion that granted the drinker's deepest wish, in the broadest possible sense.

'When you put it like that, it does sound pretty impressive.'

But come to think of it, is this really the only thing in the world that can do that?

Magic. Those particles scattered throughout the air aren't all that different in the end. They, too, obey the words of a mage.

So when you really break it down, the Elixir isn't some impossibly rare treasure. It simply happens to be an item with a few distinctive advantages.

####################

(O A liquid that allows even a novice mage with little knowledge—or an animal of very low intelligence—to wield the same kind of magic equally.

O However, it should be noted that most animals harbor an unconscious fear of illness and aging. Unless a proper approach has been prepared in advance, the potion ultimately directs its power toward making the drinker's body as healthy as possible.)

####################

If Earth's specialists in emotion were to write it out in prose, the instructions would probably read something like that.

'Anyway, for an archmage who knows how to handle magic in a modern way, this isn't really a necessary item.'

A potion made by intricately mixing otherworldly substances to concentrate mystical power to its utmost limit. I stared at the pearly liquid for about three seconds. Naturally, I had analyzed its components as well. Its composition wasn't something that could be mass-produced. And with such a small amount, it wouldn't be particularly effective even if used offensively. Besides, unless someone happened to have a pre-awakening disease like lung cancer, most Awakeners were unlikely to suffer from any serious illness for the next sixty years.

So the calculation was simple.

'In a place like Earth, where bodily restoration magic hasn't advanced, this is the best we can do.'

I approached the pristine white hospital bed to hand over the potion.

'Wait a minute!'

But then, suddenly, the Earthling beside me shouted.

'B, but still. Are you really saying you'll give something like this to my family?'

The black-haired mammal broke out in a cold sweat as he tried to stop me. A moment later, he shouted with all the force his conscience could muster, warning me not to make an irreversible decision on impulse.

'Yeah.'

But no matter how he reacted, I had no intention of changing a decision I had already made.

'Anyway, it's divine punishment I received despite not doing anything wrong, so if things happen to work out by chance, there's nothing strange about that.'

Tak!

First, I removed the mammal's oxygen mask. Then I poured the entire contents of the [Elixir] into the open mouth before me.

'H, huh?'

Pouring the potion into the mouth of an unconscious patient without hesitation seemed to leave the Earthling quite bewildered.

'Is he worried she'll choke?'

But this alien mixture had the characteristic of evaporating very quickly.

Whoosh.

Blue smoke suddenly began to rise. I lightly spread my hand over it to prevent the potion's components from dispersing too far. Then, as I held my hand over the patient's mouth to buy a little time, the hidden final advantage of the [Elixir] gradually revealed itself.

'The effect is fast.'

Flutter. Flutter.

The first thing I observed was a faint twitching of the eyelids. Then the patient's breathing gradually became steadier. Little by little, everything that had been thrown out of balance began returning to normal.

'Is it done already?'

The treatment ended faster than expected. The middle-aged woman lying in the hospital bed opened her eyes in less than a minute. It wasn't immediately obvious from her appearance, but the potion had probably improved her overall physical condition as well.

'It's fascinating even to me, since I've never seen this phenomenon before.'

I witnessed with my own eyes a rare case of [Magic Addiction] being cured.

But at that moment...

'M...'

Naturally, the man who had been standing awkwardly in one corner of the room rushed forward.

'Mo...?'

Jung Haseong first murmured the family title in a voice that suggested he still couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. Then he knelt down to meet the patient's gaze, since she had not yet fully sat up. Struggling to bring his eyes level with those of his family, he finally seemed to accept that this was real—and reacted with overwhelming emotion.

'Mom!'

The nation's hero shed clear, transparent tears. By the time his fully conscious mother began calling his name, Jung Haseong had lost control in the opposite direction, sobbing loudly.

Like a child who had just awakened from a terrible nightmare.

Who would ever have imagined that the normally composed pyromancer could pour out all his emotions so helplessly?