Chapter 42. What Should Not Be Seen
My whole body ached. A headache pounded in my head as if my memories were scattered, and I slowly opened my eyes.
“Ah…”
The first thing I saw was the ceiling of a building adorned with antique patterns. Unlike the single rooms in the Association-run hospital, this was a level of luxury in a hospital room that was far beyond comparison.
Then, memories started coming back. I had cleared the dungeon and passed through the portal, where I lost consciousness as soon as the tension dissipated.
The last thing I remembered seeing was the crowd gathered in the VIP room.
“Is it… over?”
Ugh.
As if as a price for pushing past my limits, muscle pain struck my entire body. I forced myself up despite the pain. In the spacious hospital room, only my sister and I remained.
I moved my creaking body towards the capsule to check on my sister’s condition.
I had wanted to check before, but there hadn’t been any opportunity.
The Eye of the Sun descended upon me. When my eyes, now turned red, focused on my sister, things I hadn’t been able to see before began to reveal themselves.
『Status Window
Name: Shin Yu-ah – Awakening in progress…
Title: X
LV 0 (0%)
Status
X
Remaining Points: 0
Unique Ability
[??? – Awakening in progress…]
Skills
X』
The first thing that caught my eye was my sister’s status window. And I saw it.
“…Awakening?”
My sister was awakening. It was something I had anticipated. The words of Gi So-young, the guild leader, still lingered in my mind.
The reason my sister had been unconscious for over five years was simply because her body couldn’t bear the strain of power.
What kind of formidable power was she trying to awaken…?
I should have been surprised by the fact that she possessed a talent vastly superior to mine, who had struggled as an F-rank. But I couldn’t just be relieved.
I was worried.
What if her body continued to be unable to withstand the power?
Wouldn’t she remain in this state forever?
In the past, even after 10 years, hadn’t my sister failed to wake up?
I needed to understand this awakening in greater detail.
The Eye of the Sun consumed more mana and began fiercely analyzing my sister’s information. The arrogant eye that looked down from the highest place activated with full power.
〚Awakening in progress…〛
〚Awak@#ening!@#$…〛
〚!@#$!@#$!…〛
Something was wrong. But by the time I realized it, it was too late.
Shudder!
Something pierced through me. It was a gaze—black as ink, sharp as a legendary blade, and savage like a monster.
It couldn’t see me, but I saw it.
“Ahhh!!!”
The price for seeing it was steep. A scream burst from my mouth as the pain of my eyes being seared overtook me, and blood began streaming from them.
As the pain poured in and my reason started to dull, paradoxically, my mind remained cold and rational, analyzing the current situation.
I was lucky.
The other side had noticed my gaze but seemed unable to go further, as if unable to recognize me.
I, on the other hand, had perceived and seen something I wasn’t permitted to see, paying a significant price for forcefully crossing that barrier.
It was like looking over a giant wall to glimpse what lay beyond.
“Patient Shin Juha! Get a hold of yourself!”
“What the hell! His eyes are bleeding! Call a healer ranked 2 or higher now! I’m not enough!”
Healers who had rushed in upon hearing my screams quickly lifted me and started moving me, but I didn’t resist. My reason slowly started shutting down, unable to bear the pain.
Amidst the chaos, I replayed the scene I had just witnessed, trying to grasp the source of the strange sense of familiarity.
And I finally realized it. That dark, sharp, ferocious gaze—it was my sister’s eyes.
***
“So, as soon as he woke up, he looked at his sister, used some skill, started bleeding from his eyes, and then fainted in pain?”
“Yes. It was all confirmed on the CCTV. We also conducted a thorough inspection skill check and found no issues with his body or eyes. His mana levels dropped a bit, probably due to the skill use. Aside from muscle pain, there were no abnormalities. Ah! We didn’t treat the muscle pain on purpose. It looks like his body underwent rapid changes, and the muscle pain seems to be stabilizing those changes. We were worried intervening might cause complications.”
The assessment was accurate. Though minor, Shin Juha had undoubtedly gone through a physical transformation, adapted to it through intense exertion, and the muscle pain was balancing out the remaining effects.
Gi So-young nodded approvingly at the response.
“When do you think he’ll wake up? We need to talk to him. The other two still haven’t regained consciousness either.”
“Yes. Min Chorong has no physical issues and just collapsed from mana exhaustion, so we only used basic supportive magic and left her to recover. Gundan sustained significant injuries, and although you treated him personally, Guild Leader, he still hasn’t regained consciousness.”
She sighed. Gundan—he was a guild member whose name she hadn’t even heard before.
He wasn’t someone sent from the Dangun Guild, nor was he an official member of Miracle Guild. Yet he had demonstrated divine power and joined under her leadership as a hunter.
“It’s my responsibility. I should have paid more attention.”
She had been ignorant. She should have been meticulous, worrying over every little detail. If only she had provided even a small piece of protective equipment to guard against unforeseen threats… they wouldn’t be in this situation.
A sigh escaped her, but Gi So-young’s eyes soon changed.
“Have you looked more into Hunter Gundan?”
“Yes, as you mentioned, we found traces of recovery from something. However… the level is extraordinarily high. It’s as if a god had healed him. I’m sorry, but we couldn’t even dare to analyze it.”
Gi So-young nodded. She had been utterly astounded when treating Gundan; even with her legendary-level healing abilities, it was a miracle so profound that she couldn’t comprehend even a fragment of it.
It was the kind of miracle she would give anything to learn if only someone could teach her.
“Oh! You mentioned his divine power had significantly increased?”
“Yes. It seems that he has fully awakened his ability. Based on the reports, his unique ability was insignificant before, but obtaining such immense divine power suggests… he’s awakened to a power beyond imagination.”
“Ha…! Such a treasure buried in the mud, unable to shine. What were our guild scouts even doing?”
In other words, it was impressive enough that Shin Juha managed to clear a dungeon with a guild member so insignificant that the guild leader didn’t even know his name, and even awakened his potential.
“Report to me the moment Hunter Gundan regains consciousness. I need to attend to some final matters.”
Gi So-young stood up. Yes, it was time to settle things.
The major incident had been half-mitigated thanks to Shin Juha, Min Chorong, and Gundan’s capabilities, so it was time to handle the rest.
That included punishing those responsible for the incident, formally protesting to the Dangun Guild for their negligence, and assessing the compensation due to Shin Juha.
Of course, the first priority was punishment.
Gi So-young, an A-rank top-tier hunter, once a contender more powerful than the now-deceased first-generation British Saint and known as the Celestial Monster, unsheathed her metaphorical sword.
She intended to cut down those who had put her only remaining blood relative at risk.
“…Understood. I’ll be on standby.”
The second-rank healer watching her quietly bowed as she left, inwardly cursing the foolishness of those who would face her blade.
***
How much time had passed? When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw again was the familiar antique ceiling.
And then…
“You’re awake?”
The face of a woman appeared in my vision. She had a small, delicate, and endearingly charming look that made her likable at first glance.
“Yes, I’m awake.”
It was Min Chorong, the candidate for Saint who was fated to die tragically a month from now.
‘She went through hardships because of me.’
Although she was supposed to die a month later, she could have been swept up and killed by the Curse of Misfortune targeting me.
If that had happened… it would have been unbearable.
‘I’ll repay her by saving her.’
After all, the reason for this dungeon’s black hole phenomenon was due to the Curse of Misfortune being involved. It meant I was the primary cause.
Groaning, I lifted myself up from the bed. It seemed I had been unconscious for quite some time, as the muscle pain had completely vanished. Instead, my body, strengthened through elixirs and transformation, had fully adapted.
I still felt faint pain in my eyes, but it wasn’t enough to worry about. It was just the price for seeing something I shouldn’t have seen, and I had to endure it. It would fade within a day or two.
‘To think it was my sister.’
What was it exactly? What did I see?
The first thing that came to mind was that I might have seen the future, considering the price I had to pay.
That seemed the most likely answer.
“Sigh… I don’t know.”
Whether it was the future or something else, one thing was clear.
‘I need to grow stronger and obtain ownership to secure the elixir.’
That was the most perfect way to wake my sister. Of course, it wouldn’t be easy.
“What don’t you know?”
Min Chorong, seeing my puzzled expression, handed me a piece of apple she had awkwardly carved with a fork. I took the fork and put the unevenly carved apple into my mouth.
“Oh! My aunt asked me to let her know when you woke up!”
Min Chorong struggled to put down the bowl of apples and picked up her phone to call Guild Leader Gi So-young. Not long after, Gi So-young entered the room.
“You’re awake. I was really worried when I heard you fainted with blood streaming from your eyes.”
“Oh! That was because I used a new skill, and it backfired.”
“Heh, I figured. You must have failed while trying to observe your sister. I knew it wasn’t an ordinary power… for it to nullify even observation. It seems to be a fairly high-grade ability.”
Technically, it wasn’t nullification. And it wasn’t even a failure.
The power was simply too great, and its performance too exceptional, resulting in a price for seeing what I shouldn’t have.
Of course, I didn’t mention that. I didn’t feel the need to. It wouldn’t have mattered to someone who couldn’t help heal my sister, no matter what I saw.
Sensing my reluctance, Gi So-young didn’t probe further. Instead, she bowed her head respectfully, with a mix of regret and gratitude.
“I am truly sorry. It pains me that our Miracle Guild, especially to someone of VIP status, has caused such an incident. We will provide ample compensation both as a guild and from me personally. But…”
“You want me to keep quiet about this incident?”
I knew what she wanted even before she said it.
It wasn’t just any building, nor a regular room, but a VIP hospital room where this incident had occurred. Moreover, the guards responsible for managing and monitoring the suppression devices had passed the duty down and slacked off.
If word of this incident leaked even slightly, the resulting fallout would be entirely on Miracle Guild.
A top-tier hospital in Korea unable to properly guard its patients?
Who would trust this hospital then?
Their reputation would plummet, operational management would be jeopardized, and most importantly, the guild’s honor would be tarnished.
And the key to all that was me. Gundan and Min Chorong were guild members and would remain silent, but I was the victim and an outsider.
Ensuring my silence was paramount for them.
And I…
“Understood. Just make sure the compensation is satisfactory.”
I would stay silent. Honestly, this incident was largely my fault, and it was better to have Miracle Guild on my side. It wasn’t a loss at all.
“Thank you! Then, I’ll handle the rest quickly and return with a follow-up report and your compensation. Please take care and rest well!”
I watched Gi So-young leave with those words and smiled, lying back down.
It had been an eventful ordeal. It was time for some rest.
—
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