An F-Rank Veterinarian Physically Heals an S-Rank Magical Beast - Chapter 13

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 13
Even in The Abyss, morning arrives. Though a blood-red moon shines in place of the sun, growing only slightly brighter, the body’s circadian rhythm does not lie.
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​”Ugh… my back…”​
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Ma Dong-tak, ranked second in South Korea and known as the Destruction King, rose like a zombie and stretched.
He picked up what appeared to be hair tied around a skeleton’s spine—a familiar tool—and began sweeping the hospital courtyard.
He was clearing away the entrails and stones that the demonic beasts treated yesterday had left behind as tokens of gratitude.
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​”Lee Shin-woo! Wake up, sir! It’s time to fetch water!”​
​”Mmm… five more minutes…”​
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Lee Shin-woo, ranked first in South Korea, had pulled a mammoth-hide blanket over his head entirely.
Seo Ji-hoo was already awake in the corner, extracting mana to create ice—essential work for drinking water and operating the refrigerator.
A sight unimaginable on Earth. S-rank Hunters reduced to janitors, water carriers, and ice makers. This place was the Arcana Medical Center – Abyss Branch.
And on the second floor of the hospital, in the director’s office that doubled as a VIP patient room, I sat beside the bed with a serious expression, filling out a medical chart.
Yoo Yi-soo lay on the bed. After several days of warm meals and deep sleep, some color had returned to her complexion, but her condition remained like a time bomb.
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​”You’re awake?”​
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I adjusted my glasses and asked.
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​”Yeah…”​
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Yoo Yi-soo opened her eyes weakly. She tried to sit up but clutched her chest and groaned.
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​”Ugh…”​
​”Don’t move. If your heart rate spikes, those things will act up again.”​
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I laid her back down. My gaze turned to her chest, toward the gap where her armor had shattered.
The skin near her heart had become transparent, and within it, dark veins writhed. They were not ordinary veins. They were Chains of Restraint—connected to the depths of The Abyss.
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​”We’re doing a detailed examination today. Prepare yourself mentally.”​
​”An examination? What kind of examination can you do here? There’s no MRI.”​
​”I’m the MRI.”​
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I stood up and drew the curtains. Then I opened the door and shouted.
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​”Lee Shin-woo! Ma Dong-tak! Seo Ji-hoo! Everyone come up! Set up the operating room!”​
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Moments later, all the hospital’s personnel—three Hunters and Balakas in miniature form—converged in the patient’s room.
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​”Director, something feels off about this situation,” Lee Shin-woo asked tensely.
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I donned my coat with grim resolve.
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​”I’m about to conduct a comprehensive diagnostic on Yoo Yi-soo’s condition. This won’t be a simple examination—I’ll be dissecting her magical circuits from the inside out.”
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I drew a magical circle around her bed using crushed mana stones, my movements deliberate and solemn.
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​”Seo Ji-hoo, maintain her body temperature. If it drops even one degree, she’ll go into shock.”
​”Understood. [Warm Temperature].”
​”Ma Dong-tak, grip the bed frame firmly. She may convulse during the examination.”
​”Don’t worry. I’ll hold her so she can’t move an inch.”
​”Lee Shin-woo, establish a spatial barrier. Not even a trace of external toxins can enter.”
​”Roger that. [Absolute Barrier].”
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With every preparation in place, I took a deep breath and placed my hand over Yoo Yi-soo’s chest.
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​”This will hurt a little. Bear with it.”
​”…Okay.”
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Yoo Yi-soo gripped my hand tightly. My eyes blazed with azure light—not merely an A-rank skill, but one evolved to S-rank and beyond: absolute insight incarnate.
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[Skill: ‘Divine Eye – Deep Analysis Mode’ Activated]
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A resonant hum filled the air.
My vision inverted. Skin, muscle, and bone became transparent, revealing only the flow of magical energy and the essence of life itself.
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​”…What the hell.”
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A curse escaped my lips. I’d anticipated something was wrong, but the reality was far more horrifying than imagination could conjure.
Yoo Yi-soo’s heart was no longer human.
It had transformed into something like black crystal, and from it sprouted thousands of black roots that had fused with her entire nervous system.
Those roots pierced through the ground itself, connecting directly to the [Core of the Abyss] thousands of meters below.
Like an IV line inserted into a vein, the Abyss’s Core was draining her life force while simultaneously injecting its own malevolent magic into her body.
She wasn’t a person anymore—she was a living cork, plugging an enormous dam.
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​”Do you see it?”
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Kang Jin-hyuk asked the Hunters.
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​”No, sir… We can’t see anything…”
​”Balakas, can you see it?”
[…I can see it. That woman has become the land itself right now. The moment you sever the connection, she dies.]
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The dragon’s telepathy carried a grave tone.
Kang Jin-hyuk broke into a cold sweat. If I forcibly sever this connection? Yoo Yi-soo’s heart stops.
But if I leave it as is? She’ll be completely assimilated into the Abyss and become a monster. Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.
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​”Ugh… Aaaagh!”
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As the examination deepened, the Abyss’s core began to reject it. Yoo Yi-soo’s body arched like a bow. Black veins erupted across her skin like worms writhing beneath the surface.
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​”Hold her down! Ma Dong-tak!”
​”Ugh! The strength is incredible! Is this even human power?!”
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Even S-rank Hunter Ma Dong-tak was being pushed back by the monstrous force. A bestial growl erupted from Yoo Yi-soo’s mouth.
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​”Grrr… Get out…”
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It was the will of the Abyss. Kang Jin-hyuk didn’t retreat—instead, he poured his magical power in even stronger.
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​”Who gave you permission to squat in my wife’s body?! Did you pay rent?!”
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[Authority Activated: ‘Absolute Medical Authority’]
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A golden radiance burst from Kang Jin-hyuk’s hands, crushing the black roots beneath it.
Like a doctor controlling a patient, the raging Abyss energy was forcibly subdued.
Yoo Yi-soo collapsed, breathing heavily.
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​”Haa… Haa…”
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Kang Jin-hyuk withdrew his hand and staggered. His mental strength had been carved away in chunks. But the diagnosis was complete.
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​”The results are in.”
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Kang Jin-hyuk wiped the sweat from his brow and stood before the blackboard (a bone plank marked with charcoal).
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​”Diagnosis: [Abyss Assimilation Syndrome] – Terminal Stage.”
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He drew a diagram on the blackboard—Yoo Yi-soo’s heart connected to the core beneath the earth.
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​”Currently, Team Lead Yoo’s heart is synchronized with The Abyss’s core. In simpler terms, Team Lead Yoo is both the ‘key’ and the ‘lock’ that seals The Abyss’s gate.​”
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​”So… she can’t return to Earth?​”
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Lee Shin-woo asked grimly.
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​”If she just leaves, the gate opens and Earth is destroyed. Team Lead Yoo’s connection severs, and she dies instantly. Like a fetus with its umbilical cord severed.​”
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The atmosphere grew heavy. Even the S-rank Hunters fell silent. They would charge at an enemy they could fight and defeat, but this was a structural problem of life itself. Yoo Yi-soo turned her gaze toward the window, her eyes resigned.
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​”That’s why I told you to go… there’s no way around it.​”
​”Who says there’s no way?​”
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I struck the blackboard with a sharp crack. Every eye turned toward me.
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​”There’s a way. A very certain way at that.​”
​”What? What is it?​”
​”Change the lock.​”
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I grinned wickedly.
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​”Your heart is acting as the lock right now, which is why you can’t move. So all we need to do is install a ‘replacement’—something sturdier and more powerful than that lock. Something to press down on the core in place of your heart.​”
​”A replacement? Where would we find energy capable of pressing The Abyss’s core? Even dumping S-rank magical stones by the truckload wouldn’t be enough.​”
​”Magical stones alone won’t work.​”
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I unfolded a map.
Not a map brought from Earth, but a leather map the hyenas had delivered yesterday.
A crude map depicting the entire Demon Realm.
I circled four locations on the map in red.
East, West, South, North. Four colossal power domains ruling each cardinal direction.
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​”To replace The Abyss’s core, we need the power of beings possessing ‘authority’ equivalent to it. For example… the essence of a [Demon King].​”
​”A… Demon King?​”
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The Hunters gasped in shock.
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​”That’s right. The big shots running this neighborhood.​”
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I pointed at each one with my baton.
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​”The Plague King to the north.”
​”The Frenzy King to the west.”
​”The Gluttony King to the south.”
​”The Phantom King to the east.”
​”If you extract their hearts or magical cores and fuse them together… you can create an artificial Abyss Core. Then we implant it in place of your heart. After that, you’re free.”
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It was insane. A Demon King wasn’t something a single S-rank Hunter could face.
Each of them was a calamity-class monster, beings akin to gods ruling entire regions.
And he was asking me to hunt four of them and extract their hearts?
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​”Director… aren’t you basically telling me to go get myself killed?”
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Seo Ji-hoo asked with an exasperated expression.
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​”Who said anything about fighting?”
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I gave him a bewildered look.
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​”What are we? Medical professionals.”
​”Sir?”
​”We go provide medical treatment, and we collect the treatment fees. You think they don’t get sick? The bigger they are, the more ailments they tend to have.”
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My eyes gleamed.
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​”The Plague King? He definitely has skin conditions and hygiene issues. The Gluttony King? One hundred percent obesity and diabetes. The Frenzy King? Anger management disorder, obviously. The Phantom King? Mental illness for sure.”
​”······.”
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The Hunters were at a loss for words. In the entire universe, there was probably only one doctor—Kang Jin-hyuk—who would treat the lords of the Demon Realm as “general hospital patients.”
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​”Besides, the timing works out perfectly. We’re getting a visitor from the east who heard about our hospital’s reputation.”
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I pointed out the window. Beyond the distant wasteland, through the hazy mist, someone was approaching. Orderly hoofbeats. And a subtle aura of magical power spreading outward.
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​”It’s the Phantom King’s forces from the east. Let’s go greet them.”
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In front of the hospital. I and the guard unit stood in formation.
The mist cleared, and what emerged was a cavalry unit of about fifty riders.
But it wasn’t mere words. Dark-skinned elves riding two-headed black panthers.
They were [Dark Elves].
Leading their formation was a female warrior clad in ornate armor.
Kayla, the Third Legion Commander of Phantom King’s Legion. She gazed down at Jin-hyuk from atop the black panther with undisguised arrogance.
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“Is it you? The human who dared to nest here without understanding your place?”
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A killing intent so sharp it cut the air. Ma Dong-tak moved to raise his shield, but Jin-hyuk stopped him.
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“Welcome. Do you have a reservation?”
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Jin-hyuk flashed a business smile.
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“A reservation? Ha! How audacious. I have come as the representative of the great Phantom King himself. This territory belongs to his majesty. For the crime of constructing buildings without permission and bewitching the demonic beasts, I shall make you pay with your life!”
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Kayla raised her whip. The situation teetered on the brink of combat.
But Jin-hyuk didn’t even blink. Instead, he sniffed the air, his expression darkening.
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“Excuse me, Commander.”
“Die!”
“It itches, doesn’t it?”
“…What?”
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The whip that was about to strike froze mid-air.
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“Your groin, your armpits, and the nape of your neck. Unbearably itchy, right? Bleeding from scratching every night, unable to sleep.”
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Kayla’s pupils trembled.
How did he know?
It was a chronic affliction of the Dark Elf race—a shameful secret.
[Demon Realm-type Athlete’s Foot and Fungal Dermatitis], caused by the humid toxic miasma of the Abyss.
No amount of washing cured it, and even potent magical salves only provided temporary relief—an infuriating curse.
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“I can see you’re dying to scratch right now, but you’re holding back for the sake of dignity. The sweat makes it worse, doesn’t it?”
“S-shut your mouth! What do you know!”
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Kayla’s face flushed crimson. He had struck a nerve.
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“What would I know? I’m a doctor.”
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I pulled a small tube from my pocket.
It was a special ointment I’d concocted by mixing [broad-spectrum dermatological ointment with steroids] that I’d brought from Earth with [Abyss medicinal herbs] that the hyena had given me yesterday.
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​”Just apply this once. The moment you do, you’ll be in heaven.”
​”Don’t be ridiculous! Human poison!”
​”Why don’t you apply it and decide for yourself? It’s a free sample.”
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I tossed the tube. Kayla caught it reflexively.
She considered throwing it away, but even now, her armpits itched like mad.
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‘Just once…’
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She removed her gloves and applied the ointment lightly to the rash on the inside of her wrist. Three seconds later.
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​”…Ah!”
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An exclamation burst from Kayla’s lips. The burning heat vanished, replaced by a soothing cooling sensation. Most importantly, that terrible itch that had tormented her for a hundred years disappeared as if it had never existed.
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​”This… this can’t be…”
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Kayla rubbed her wrist. Smooth. The redness had faded. Was this magic? No—it was a miracle that even magic couldn’t achieve.
She lifted her head and looked at me. The human before her no longer appeared as an ‘intruder.’ He was a savior.
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​”Do you… have more of that medicine?”
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Kayla’s voice trembled.
I grinned wickedly.
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​”Plenty. Very plenty. But we don’t give freebies.”
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I made a gesture of tapping a calculator.
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​”Not just the legion commander, but all your subordinates in the back are scratching too? We welcome group treatment. Payment in kind, of course. And one more thing.”
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My eyes gleamed sharply.
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​”Once you’ve all received treatment, guide me to your king. He must have something ailing him too, right?”
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The conquest of the Demon Realm… no, the monopolization of the [Demon Realm medical market] had begun with its first button fastened.
In that moment, I had brought a legion commander to her knees—not with force, but with a single ointment.
This was the Kang Jin-hyuk way of conquering dungeons.
The beginning of [give medicine, steal treasure (or rather, plunder)].

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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