Chapter 13

Chapter 13

One day, when dungeons and monsters suddenly appeared in the world, people discovered countless unknowns they had never encountered before.

And among these “countless unknowns” was a rare disease first discovered about three years ago: mana rejection syndrome.

“I overheard your call unintentionally… Is there a child you sponsor who has a rare disease?”

“I’m not sure if ‘sponsor’ is the right word… It’s more accurate to say she’s like a younger sister to me, not by blood. I haven’t been able to see her often since I awakened, for various reasons.”

The child Yoon Juyeong was talking about was none other than a twelve-year-old girl named Lee Yujin, who had followed me like an older sister back when we were at the orphanage.

And well… as you could probably tell from him bringing up the rare disease in front of me, Yujin was a child suffering from “mana rejection syndrome,” a rare disease with fewer than ten recorded cases worldwide.

“It was about three years ago… Yujin suddenly started complaining of breathing difficulties and a burning pain at random times. Naturally, the director and I took her to the hospital.”

“So that’s when she was diagnosed with the rare disease.”

“Yes. The diagnosis was mana rejection syndrome.”

“Mana rejection syndrome… I’ve heard that name on the news a few times. If I recall, it causes various symptoms when you go to a place with dense mana or come into contact with concentrated mana……”

“You know your stuff. That’s right. Yujin’s case was severe—she would have attacks frequently even during everyday life.”

At first, no one could properly diagnose Yujin’s symptoms, so we went in and out of every hospital imaginable. We visited not only nearby hospitals but also every well-known hospital in the area, and it wasn’t until we finally went to a nearby university hospital that we got a proper diagnosis.

Mana rejection syndrome. It was a disease that tried to push nine-year-old Yujin—and now the current Yujin—into terrible pain.

“Getting a diagnosis and getting treatment were two different things, so for a while, we searched far and wide for someone who could treat Yujin. Then, just in time, a top specialist in the field contacted us.”

Thinking back, we were really lucky. That an American doctor happened to be in Korea for a lecture, that our news reached him, and that he expressed a desire to meet us in person—all of it could only be called sheer fortune.

Recalling that time, I rested my chin on the table and blinked.

“Of course, I took Yujin to him right away. And… fortunately, he was someone who could perform the necessary surgery for this disease, and he said he would operate.”

“…So it sounds like things were resolved back then.”

“Yes. There was a money issue, but I happened to awaken around that time… so I immediately moved up to Seoul and went through all kinds of dungeons.”

Even with the doctor’s sympathetic contribution, national health insurance, and government support funds for dungeon-related victims, the surgery cost for treating mana rejection syndrome was a huge sum that was hard for a poor private orphanage like ours to handle.

What should we do? Should we take out a loan? The director and I put our heads together, agonized for a long time, and finally, just as I was gripping the phone to contact a loan company out of desperation—

I don’t know what triggered it, but I awakened.

It was a sudden awakening with no warning, but it was definitely a stroke of luck. I packed my bags and moved up to Seoul right away.

Yujin’s scheduled surgery was in January of the following year, and the time left until the payment deadline was eight months. And eight months was just enough time for a C-Rank hunter’s earnings to cover Yujin’s surgery costs, provided I took some risks.

‘Well… I did go all out trying to save on eating, sleeping, and even using the bathroom, to the point where I collapsed once.’

Still, thanks to the kind-hearted lady next door and the good coworkers I met along the way, I managed not to starve to death.

Oh, right—I need to buy a new ladle to return to that lady next door… I’ll have to take care of that soon.

“Fortunately, I managed to raise the money for Yujin’s surgery. The surgery was a success too. But……”

“Did the disease relapse?”

“It’s not exactly a relapse… or maybe it is? The root cause isn’t the disease itself. The problem is that an unexpected constitution suddenly manifested.”

“A constitution… Don’t tell me.”

“Looks like you have an idea?”

“I was wondering if a mana-absorbing constitution might have manifested……”

I’d vaguely thought this before, but Yoon Juyeong seems to know a lot about many things. I bet he was pretty good at studying back in his school days.

“That’s right. From what I heard… it seems Yujin has a congenital constitution that absorbs mana from her surroundings. But until now, it was apparently at a very weak level, and it suddenly manifested.”

“Don’t tell me he underwent an awakening?”

“It’s not quite an awakening. An awakening is, after all, about blooming an existing constitution, talent, or trait… In Yujin’s case, it’s more like that constitution was always there, and it’s just gotten stronger recently.”

If it had been a real awakening, the situation might be a little better than this. Then he could have registered as a hunter and gotten hunter-specific medical insurance, so the financial burden would be lighter.

‘But that doesn’t mean I’d ever pressure Yujin into awakening just for that…’

If anyone could awaken just by wanting it, there wouldn’t be a single non-awakened person in the whole world. Of course, awakening doesn’t magically make your life bloom overnight, but still, going through an awakening has a lot of advantages in itself.

“Anyway, now that it’s come to this, we need some kind of equipment that can interfere with or completely block the flow of mana…”

“And the price is the problem, I take it.”

“Well, yeah. It’s not like some simple option like increased physical ability — if it deals with mana, the baseline is a thousand, right? And on top of that, considering the options and effects Yujin needs right now…”

It’d probably be at least 2,000 to 3,000. And if there’s no stock available, it could even go over 4,000. No matter how low the options are, as long as it’s related to mana, it starts at a thousand, so there’s no helping it.

‘Best case, two to three thousand — worst case, if there’s no stock, four thousand… And the government subsidy coming out this time will be about 2,000 total.’

On top of that, all my household goods were wrecked by the sudden dungeon creation, and the savings I’d put aside barely add up to a thousand. No, wait — if the government subsidy comes through, I might just barely scrape past a thousand.

‘Yujin’s surgery costs, the orphanage support… there’s so much money going out here and there… Ugh.’

So, assuming good luck, I’d need at least 1,000 to 2,000 won. If luck is bad, I’d have to brace for 3,000 to 4,000 won.

‘…Is that the only way, after all?’

Just as I was starting to think about the newly created dungeon, Yoon Juyeong’s fingertips gently tapped the back of my hand. Only then did I snap out of my own thoughts and lift my head to look at him.

“Ah, sorry. I got lost in thought and unintentionally ignored you. Sorry.”

“No, there’s no reason for you to apologize to me. Rather… given the level you’re talking about, I think I might be able to help.”

“Huh?”

“I have some savings I’ve put aside, and as an S-Rank hunter, I’ll earn additional income from clearing dungeons in the future. If the money issue is what worries you, I can—”

“Uh, hold on. Juyeong. Hold on a second.”

What is this guy saying right now? I quickly grabbed his hand to stop him from talking.

Yoon Juyeong blinked quietly, staring at me as if my sudden interruption was strange.

“I’m really grateful, but I absolutely have no intention of taking your money.”

“…But solving my master’s difficulties is—”

“No, no. Because you’re saying that right now, I’m even less willing to take it.”

If Yoon Juyeong were in his right mind, if he had voluntarily offered to lend me money, I would have bowed my head and gratefully accepted his help.

Honestly, I don’t want to solve my problems by borrowing someone else’s money, but Yujin’s condition is urgent. So if Yoon Juyeong, in his right mind, truly intended to help me — if he meant to offer help — I would have gratefully accepted and paid it back steadily with interest later.

But the Yoon Juyeong right now is definitely not in his right mind. I don’t mean to disparage his mental state, but regardless, he’s currently under the influence of my skill, practically bound to me.

Taking his money in that situation is no different from coercion. I shook my head, putting on the firmest expression I could.

“If there really was no other way but to accept your help… then maybe I would have. No, I would have. Because Yujin’s condition is urgent. But luckily, I have a new way to get the money.”

“…You mean the dungeon?”

“Yes. Normally, a C-Rank hunter like me wouldn’t even dare to dream of a dungeon at that level… but this time, I’ll have an S-Rank and an A-Rank accompanying me. I’m sure it’ll be safe.”

Of course, I couldn’t be completely certain it was safe. There was no guarantee the Administrator hadn’t planted some trap, and setting all that aside, there was the recent tragedy in that low-difficulty dungeon I’d just barely survived.

Dungeons always threw unpredictable variables at us, and those variables always meant a crisis for our lives.

But still, it was clearly a good opportunity. It was my last chance to resolve Yujin’s situation without borrowing money from someone who was completely subjugated to me under the influence of my skill.

“So… I have absolutely no intention of backing down on this, Yoon Juyeong. I don’t plan to take your money.”

“But—”