Chapter : 07
After bidding farewell to my eccentric but deeply responsible Master, I woke up to find Kim Dae-myung calmly looking down at me.
“You’ve opened your eyes. You fell into a vegetative state, but fortunately, your mother’s surgery was a success.”
Hearing his words, tears streamed down my face.
“Can you hear me? Seeing the tears, I assume you can.”
I wanted to answer. But my stiff tongue still wouldn’t move.
‘Damn it! I am a 3rd-Circle Mage.’
I focused my mind. At that moment, I felt something moving rapidly throughout my entire body.
—When you focus your mind, mana moves.
The knowledge my Master had transferred to me through memory-transfer magic surfaced in my mind.
“Do you really understand what I’m saying?” “Uuuuugh!”
I let out a groan instead of an answer.
“Did you just make a sound?” “I… can… hear… you.”
Finally, the mana moving through my body forced my stiff tongue to function.
“You—you spoke! A man in a vegetative state is speaking! How is this possible?” “I… don’t… know… myself.” “It’s a miracle, a total miracle!”
Kim Dae-myung grabbed my hand tightly.
“Thank… you. For… paying… for my mother’s… sur… gery…”
As I spoke, tears involuntarily spilled over again.
“It was the least I could do as compensation for what happened to you.” “No… it’s not. If… I… recover, I want… to serve you.” “Serve me?” “Yes… You may… already know, but I…” “I know. You were part of the Silver Seven Star Gang. I’ve done my research.” “That’s… right. But… now… I want to live… like a human being.” “Like a human being?” “Yes. I… promised… someone… I would.” “To whom?” “That… is… difficult to say.” “I see. Very well. If you manage to move normally again, I’ll hire you as an employee at Daemyung Construction.” “R—really?” “I mean it. Rehabilitation won’t be easy. Do you think you can do it?” “I… must. Because… now… I have to… live… like a human.” “I give you my word. Don’t give up.” “Yes… I won’t… give up.” “Good. I like the look in your eyes. Contact me when you’ve recovered. I’ll personally arrange a position for you.” “Thank you… so much.”
My eyes welled up with tears.
“Don’t thank me. I’m more grateful to you just for staying alive. I’ll come by again. Get some rest.”
After making that promise to Kim Dae-myung, I resolved to devote myself to rehabilitation. I vowed to live an honest life from now on.
‘Thank you sincerely for giving me a second chance.’
Droplets rolled down from my eyes, dampening the pillowcase.
◆ ◆ ◆
I realized I needed to use the magic I learned from my Master to speed up my rehabilitation.
‘First, I need to check if there’s a Mana Hole!’
I concentrated. Closing my eyes tightly, I turned all my senses inward.
“Ugh, uuuugh!”
I groaned, furrowing my brow. Then, I felt a faint, minute trace of mana.
‘It’s there! It’s really there!’
I rejoiced inwardly.
‘It’s in the center of my body, below the dantian.’
I could feel the Mana Hole. However, I also realized that the mana veins leading to it were completely blocked. They were clogged up like rusted pipes.
‘Regardless, I have to start with Mana Activation. I need to start from a place where the veins aren’t blocked. That place is… the brain!’
The only thing I could move with my own will right now was my brain.
‘What if even the veins in my brain were blocked?’
The doctor would have long since declared me brain-dead, and my body would be lying in a cold morgue.
‘Condense mana in the brain and push it outward.’
A very tiny amount of mana began to gather in my brain. Using that gathered mana, I struggled with all my might to push it into the blocked veins.
‘I have to push it through! Somehow!’
The energy that had felt warm and soft turned into searing pain. Cold sweat beaded on my forehead.
‘Damn it, my brain’s going to cook at this rate.’
But I couldn’t give up here.
‘Even if my brain fries, I must do this.’
Crunch! I clenched my teeth in determination. Zzzzt! Finally, I succeeded in pushing the mana gathered in my brain into the blocked veins.
‘It worked. Now it begins.’
I cheered again internally.
“Uuuugh!”
I groaned once more. My muscles began to move in the direction the mana traveled.
‘It hurts so much!’
Cold sweat poured down my face. Then, I remembered something my Master had said.
‘Master must have gone through this kind of pain too.’
“P—p—pain is just a sensation!”
I shouted, my eyes snapping open. The fluorescent light of the hospital ceiling filled my vision. Using mana, it took only an hour to completely loosen my stiff facial muscles. My cheeks trembled and my lips twitched.
Next, I pushed the mana through the veins connected to my neck muscles.
‘I’ll do it. I’ll at least get this far.’
I struggled to turn my neck. Zzzzt! The mana began to move again.
‘If I can just push the mana into the Mana Hole, it’ll be easy from there.’
Zzzzt! At that moment, I felt a searing heat in my neck. It felt as if I were being branded with a hot iron.
“Uuuugh!”
I shuddered from the incoming waves of pain, but I didn’t stop the mana.
“Aaaaagh!”
I let out another scream. Crack! And slowly, my neck began to turn.
‘As expected, the power of mana is great!’
Crack!
“Uuu… ugh!”
My forehead creased violently as I continued to groan. Crack! It wasn’t until three hours had passed that I was able to turn my neck, though it felt unnatural.
‘Ugh! It worked!’
Finally, my head moved.
‘Well begun is half done!’
“My neck is moving! My neck!”
I saw hope through the pain and shouted loudly in triumph. Just then, a nurse walked in. She froze in her tracks as she opened the door.
“Pa—Patient Kang Do-shik! You can turn your neck?”
The nurse looked on in shock, as if she couldn’t believe her eyes.
“Yes? Yes, Nurse! My neck… it’s moving.” “This—this is impossible!”
The nurse dropped the chart she was holding. It hit the floor with a loud thud.
“Unbelievable… you can even speak.” “That is correct.”
I nodded and gave a slight smile.
“H—how did this happen? You were clearly in a vegetative state…”
The nurse asked with a look of disbelief, her eyes wide as she covered her mouth with both hands.
“I… don’t really know myself.”
I tried to shrug, but my shoulders wouldn’t move yet.
“It—it’s a miracle! This is a miracle!”
The nurse cried out in an excited voice.
“Is it?”
I replied calmly.
“Wait a moment! I’ll call the medical team!”
The nurse hurriedly pressed the call button. Her fingers were trembling.
“Yes, thank you.”
I nodded.
“Oh my, you’re actually nodding!”
The nurse said, surprised once again.
“Yes… bit by bit… I can move.”
I slowly turned my head from side to side to show her.
“Heaven help us… how can this be…”
Tears welled up in the nurse’s eyes.
“Why… are you crying?”
I asked, puzzled.
“No, it’s just… I’m so happy. I’ve looked after you for three months… I never thought you’d actually wake up…”
The nurse said, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand.
“Thank you… for taking care of me.”
I spoke with sincerity.
“No, I just did my job.”
The nurse shook her head.
“Still… thank you.”
I expressed my gratitude once more.
“Patient, are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”
The nurse asked with a concerned look.
“My neck… is a bit stiff.”
I answered honestly.
“Of course it is. You haven’t moved it for three months.”
The nurse nodded.
“I suppose so.”
I gave a bitter smile.
“Would you like some water?”
The nurse asked.
“Yes, please.”
I nodded.
“One moment.”
The nurse carefully brought over a cup of water with a straw.
“Thank you.”
I drank the water she offered. The cool liquid slid down my throat.
“Drink slowly.”
The nurse said gently.
“Yes…”
I swallowed the water slowly.
“Are you okay?”
The nurse asked worriedly.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
I nodded. Soon after, the medical team arrived, rushing into my room. The door burst open, and a doctor along with two more nurses entered.
“Patient Kang Do-shik! Have you really woken up?”
The doctor asked with a look of disbelief, his eyes wide behind his glasses.
“Yes, Doctor.”
I nodded to show him.
“This—this is impossible… You’re moving your neck!”
The doctor shouted in surprise.
“Yes… I can move it… a little bit.”
I turned my head again for him.
“When did you start moving?”
The doctor asked urgently, pulling out a pen to take notes.
“Just a little while ago.”
I replied.
“And you’re speaking… this is truly…”
The doctor trailed off, speechless.
“Is it a miracle?”
I asked.
“I can’t explain it as anything other than a miracle.”
The doctor said, shaking his head. He unconsciously twirled the pen in his hand.
“I see.”
I replied calmly.
“I’ll need to run some tests.”
The doctor said with a serious expression.
“Yes, I understand.”
I nodded.
“Nurse, please check his vitals.”
The doctor instructed.
“Yes, Doctor.”
the nurse moved immediately, wrapping a blood pressure cuff around my arm.
“Blood pressure is normal.”
The nurse reported.
“What about the pulse?”
The doctor asked.
“Pulse is also within the normal range.”
The nurse replied.
“Strange… all the numbers are normal.”
The doctor tilted his head, stroking his chin while looking at the chart.
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
I asked.
“It is, of course it is. But… I don’t understand it.”
The doctor said honestly.
“What don’t you understand?”
I asked back.
“I’ve never seen a case of such rapid recovery from a vegetative state.”
The doctor explained.
“Am I just lucky?”
I asked.
“It’s more than just luck. This… cannot be explained medically.”
The doctor said seriously, pushing up his glasses with a troubled look.
“I see.”
I nodded.
“We’ll need to do a CT scan.”
The doctor decided.
“Yes, alright.”
I replied.
“We’ll proceed with the tests tomorrow morning.”
The doctor said.
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“And… congratulations.”
The doctor smiled, a touch of warmth finally reaching his face.
“Thank you.”
I expressed my gratitude.
“It truly is a miracle.”
The doctor marveled once more.
“It’s thanks to you, Doctor.”
I said humbly.
“No. This is due to the patient’s own will.”
The doctor shook his head.
“Is that so?”
I asked.
“Without a doubt. This kind of recovery… is impossible without a strong will from the individual.”
The doctor said firmly.
“Thank you.”
I expressed my gratitude once again.
“Get some rest. We’ll look at the test results tomorrow and set up a rehabilitation plan.”
The doctor said.
“Yes, I understand.”
I nodded.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
The doctor left the room, followed by the nurses who bowed their heads as they exited.
“Yes, thank you.”
I watched the doctor’s retreating back. The door closed, and silence returned to the hospital room.
‘Does this make me the first case?’
I felt moved in many ways.
And a month later, I was able to stand on my own.
‘There’s a limit to using mana that hasn’t been gathered in the Mana Hole. I’ll stand up using my own strength, no matter what. And from now on, I will live like a human being.’
I clenched my teeth. Sunlight streamed through the window.
◆ ◆ ◆
End Of Chapter : 07
