An F-Rank Veterinarian Physically Heals an S-Rank Magical Beast - Chapter 4

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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 4
[Patients Waiting: 452]
[Estimated Wait Time: Approximately 3 weeks]
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The Zeus Medical Tower, erected in the heart of Gangnam. The sprawling lobby of this colossal structure resembled a field hospital on a war-torn battlefield.
Yet the atmosphere differed starkly from a blood-soaked warzone. What filled this space was not tension, but rather an enigmatic sense of anticipation and reverence.
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“Hey, look over there. Isn’t that the guild master of the Fist of Flame, ranked 7th?”
“Insane, even he’s waiting in line. I heard his pet is a flame salamander—guess it’s true.”
“Keep it down. There are executives from the Genji Guild over there, visiting from Japan.”
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Elite rankers from across the globe had converged here. These individuals who ordinarily carried themselves with swagger and pride became docile as lambs within these walls.
The reason was simple: a “security guard” crouched beside the massive screen in the center of the lobby.
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“Kuuuu… Pyuuuu…”
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Balakas, the fire dragon that had ascended from the basement, occupied a corner of the first-floor lobby, dozing peacefully. Each time he exhaled, the lobby’s temperature fluctuated by two degrees. Occasionally, when he thrashed his tail in his sleep with a sharp crack, fissures spiderwebbed across the marble floor.
A hospital guarded by an S-rank dragon. Who would dare to cut in line or cause trouble here? Balakas even wore a name tag reading [Security Team Leader].
Ding dong—
A clear chime resonated through the lobby.
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“Patient number 1. Seo Ji-hoo. Please enter the consultation room.”
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In that instant, the murmuring lobby fell silent as if doused with cold water. Seo Ji-hoo. Ranked 4th among Korean hunters, the man known as Bing-je. A master of ice-attribute magic rose from his seat with a tense expression. Cradled in his arms was a drooping penguin. Roughly a meter tall, with sleek feathers resembling a tuxedo—an S-rank magical beast, the Glacial Emperor Penguin.
Seo Ji-hoo opened the consultation room door with solemn determination.
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“Welcome. Patient number 1.”
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I greeted him curtly without lifting my eyes from the monitor. Seo Ji-hoo hesitantly settled into the examination chair. On the battlefield, he was the one who summoned blizzards and froze thousands of monsters in their tracks. But now, he was merely a parent worried about his ailing child.
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“Doctor… my Pengsu… something’s wrong with Pengsu.”
“Pengsu? That’s quite a name.”
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I chuckled softly and swiveled my chair. The penguin placed on the desk certainly appeared unwell. Its eyes were half-lidded, its beak hanging open as it gasped for breath. Its wings hung limply, dragging across the surface beneath it.
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“What are the symptoms?”
“For the past week, he hasn’t been able to summon ice. Normally, just breathing would freeze everything around him… but now he won’t eat, and he just keeps trying to sleep.”
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Seo Ji-hoo’s voice trembled. This penguin was no mere pet. It was his partner, the amplifier of his cryogenic magic, and like family to him. He’d visited every renowned veterinarian and healer he could find, only to receive diagnoses of “mana depletion” or “old age.”
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“Let me take a look.”
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I pulled on a pair of gloves and gently palpated Pengsu’s armpits and belly. The warmth was unmistakable—almost scorching, like touching a burning coal.
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“Your body temperature is quite elevated.”
“What? That can’t be right! This creature possesses ice attributes. It’s supposed to maintain a perpetually cold state…”
“Exactly why it’s a problem. You’ve mismanaged its care, and now it’s suffering from heat exhaustion.”
“…Heat exhaustion?”
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Seo Ji-hoo’s ears refused to believe what they’d heard. A penguin that dwelled in regions colder than Antarctica itself—and more than that, a penguin under the care of the Ice Sovereign—afflicted with heat exhaustion?
I clicked my tongue disapprovingly.
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“Listen here, Bing-je. You live in a penthouse with the air conditioning cranked to maximum, correct?”
“Well, yes, that’s true…”
“And during winter, you crank up the boiler and heaters because you can’t stand the cold.”
“That’s because… humans can’t tolerate freezing temperatures.”
“That’s precisely the problem.”
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I tapped the chart sharply with my finger.
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“The optimal habitat temperature for a glacial penguin is minus forty degrees Celsius. Yet Korea’s winters, harsh as they seem, rarely dip below minus ten. And indoor temperatures? They exceed twenty degrees Celsius. Constantly.”
“But… I always surround myself with a cold aura, so I thought it would be fine…”
“Your aura produces magical cold, not environmental cold. From the penguin’s perspective, you’ve dragged it into a sauna while wearing a padded coat. How could it not fall ill, trapped in a bathhouse for twenty-four hours wearing a fur coat?”
“Ah…!”
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Seo Ji-hoo felt as though struck by a hammer. The indoor temperature he’d adjusted for his own comfort had become nothing short of hellfire for his companion. Under the guise of love, he’d been inflicting abuse.
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“I’m… I’m so sorry… I was ignorant… Pengsu, forgive me…”
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The legendary Ice Sovereign embraced the penguin, his voice trembling with tears. I sighed and rose from my seat.
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“Stop crying and move aside. It’s getting too warm. I’m beginning treatment.”
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I pressed a button on the wall. A section of the examination room’s wall slid open, revealing an enormous capsule-like device. It was a hyperbaric oxygen chamber originally designed for treating frostbite in hunters—one I’d personally modified.
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“Behold the [Ultra-Low Temperature Sauna]. It’ll rapidly cool to minus one hundred degrees Celsius, extracting all the accumulated heat from the body.”
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I placed Pengsu inside the capsule and turned the cooling gas valve.
Hisssssss—!
White frigid vapor filled the capsule. A temperature that would freeze any ordinary creature solid in seconds. Yet the penguin inside the capsule…
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​”Kee-kee… kee-rook!”​
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Its eyes snapped open. With an expression of pure bliss—like a middle-aged man sinking into a hot spring—it fluttered its wings. As the fever that had plagued it for so long drained away, a brilliant blue luster began to return to its feathers.
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[Procedure Successful!]
[Patient ‘Glacial Emperor Penguin’s body temperature has returned to normal range.]
[Condition fully restored to optimal.]
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Ten minutes later, as the capsule door slid open, Pengsu waddled out with vigor. It bowed respectfully toward Jin-hyuk—where it had learned such courtesy, I couldn’t say—and presented a delicate ice flower that bloomed from its wing.
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​”Oh, a gift? Thank you.”​
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As I accepted the ice flower, Pengsu wobbled straight into Seo Ji-hoo’s embrace. Seo Ji-hoo hugged the penguin with overwhelming emotion.
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​”Thank you! Thank you so much, Director! I don’t know how I could ever repay this debt···.”​
​”Just pay the medical bill. Fair warning—it’s a non-covered procedure, so it’s rather expensive.”​
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I handed over the invoice. It read: [Treatment Fee: 100 million won + Glacier’s Tear (S-rank Material) x1]. Glacier’s Tear was a premium alchemical ingredient so rare that even money couldn’t easily procure it.
Yet Seo Ji-hoo didn’t hesitate for a moment, producing a brilliant blue jewel from his pocket and placing it on the desk.
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​”Here it is. You saved Pengsu’s life—this is the least I can offer. And… I’d like to entrust all of our guild’s magical beast care to you going forward.”​
​”You’ll need to get on the waiting list for that. But I can register you as VIP.”​
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I coolly pocketed the jewel. Seo Ji-hoo bowed repeatedly as he left the clinic, his footsteps a hundred times lighter than when he’d arrived.
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The consultations continued like a battlefield after that.
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Patient number two: a griffin with acrophobia.
​”Afraid of flying? Then we’ll make it run instead.”​
-> [Prescription: 3 hours on treadmill + VR flight simulation therapy]
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Patient number three: a werewolf suffering from hair loss.
​”Stress-induced alopecia. Did you recently change its food? I told you not to feed it cheap garbage.”​
-> [Prescription: black bean smoothie + scalp massage (physical therapy)]
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Patient number four: a nightmare creature with insomnia.
​”A creature that feeds on dreams can’t sleep—that’s maddening. Sedatives won’t work, so I’ll sing you a lullaby.”​
-> [Prescription: 432Hz healing frequency music therapy]
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Bizarre maladies afflicting mystical beasts—yet before my [Divine Eye] and [Eccentric Prescription], they all crumbled to dust. Every hunter leaving the clinic wore the same entranced expression.
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​”That director… he’s the real deal.”
​”I thought he was a quack, but a single touch and it’s healed?”
​”Who cares about the cost? Our beast got better.”
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The rumors spread like wildfire. Social media exploded with hashtags—#GangnamMiracleBeastClinic, #GodJinHyuk, #DragonSecretaryWorks—dominating real-time trends. Zeus Medical Tower’s stock price skyrocketed with each passing day.
Before long, the sun dipped below the horizon, and the clinic’s closing time arrived.
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​”Director, we’ve seen all scheduled patients for today.”
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Park Chul-woo, hired as head nurse and former Vice-Commander of Zeus Guild, reported with an utterly exhausted face. That an S-rank hunter like him was struggling physically spoke volumes about how grueling hospital work had become.
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​”Thank you for your hard work. You’re all dismissed.”
​”Aren’t you leaving, Director?”
​”I have some matters to attend to.”
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Once the staff had gone, silence blanketed the hospital. I remained alone in the empty clinic. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, Gangnam’s glittering nightscape sparkled like scattered diamonds.
I opened a deep drawer in my desk. Inside lay a small safe—one requiring fingerprint recognition, retinal scanning, and mana pattern verification to unlock.
Click.
The safe door swung open, revealing not stacks of money or jewels, but a worn photograph and a ring.
In the photo, I beamed at the camera while a woman beside me flashed a V-sign. Her eyes held a cool, piercing quality, yet her smile radiated warmth—Yoo Yi-soo, the Sword Saint, once called Korea’s strongest hunter in history.
And my wife.
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​”…I’ve earned plenty of money.”
​
I traced the contours of her face in the photograph. Three years ago, she entered the Abyss Gate with elite operatives to seal the rift threatening the world. The gate closed, but she never returned.
People said she was dead. They erected monuments to her heroic sacrifice and gradually forgot her. But I knew the truth. She was alive.
​
[Spousal Oath (S)]
The system-forged bond connecting us remained unbroken. Though faint, I could still sense her life force.
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​”You promised to make me a cameraman when you came back. Looks like I’m becoming richer than you, you fool.”
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I smiled bitterly, turning the ring over in my fingers. The reason I clawed my way to wealth, built networks, and expanded this hospital—it wasn’t for comfort or luxury.
​
It was to forge a path for her return. Reopening the Abyss Gate would require astronomical quantities of mana stones and cooperation from S-rank hunters—impossible for the porter I once was.
But now everything had changed. The Genji Guild Master, Bing-je, and countless rankers owed me debts. Capital accumulated, and my reputation pierced the heavens.
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‘Wait for me. I’ll strip Korea bare—I’ll strip the entire world bare if I have to, just to bring you home.’
​
I closed the safe with a look of firm resolve. That was when it happened.
Bzzzzzz—.
My smartphone on the desk vibrated. Caller ID restricted. I furrowed my brow and answered.
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​”Hello. We’re closed for the day.​”
—[···Is this Director Kang Jin-hyuk?]
​
A distorted mechanical voice. Yet beneath it lay an unmistakable urgency that couldn’t be hidden.
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—[I heard rumors and called. You said you could cure any beast, didn’t you?]
“Make an appointment and come in.”
—[This patient cannot make an appointment. And they’re a being that human medicine cannot cure.]
​”I’m not interested. I’m hanging up.​”
​
Just as I was about to end the call.
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—[The patient is poisoned by Abyss Venom.]
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My hand froze. Abyss Venom. It was a deadly toxin that didn’t appear in ordinary Gates. A substance found only in the Abyss Gate—the very place where my wife had vanished three years ago.
My voice turned cold and sharp.
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​”Who are you?​”
—[If you want to save them, come to the coordinates I’m sending now. As compensation, I’ll provide you with traces of Yoo Yi-soo.]
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Click.
The call ended. Simultaneously, a message arrived with coordinates. An abandoned industrial zone on the outskirts of Seoul.
It could be a trap. But the moment the name Yoo Yi-soo was mentioned, I couldn’t ignore it. I shot to my feet.
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​”Manager Park! Have you left for the day?​”
​”Ah, yes. I’m in the parking garage, but···.​”
​”Have the car ready. And contact Basement Level 5.​”
​
I stripped off my coat and threw on a black tactical jacket. My hands tightened as I grabbed my medical bag.
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​”Wake up Balakas. We’re making a house call tonight.​”
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An hour later. An abandoned chemical factory on the outskirts of Seoul. A black sedan pulled to a stop in this desolate place shrouded in ominous silence.
As I stepped out of the car, dozens of armed men emerged from the darkness. They weren’t ordinary hunters. Their equipment bore the insignia of the Hunter Management Bureau Surveillance Division—a covert government agency.
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“Director Kang Jin-hyuk. We’ve been waiting for you.”
​
A woman who appeared to be the leader of the group stepped forward. Sharp features, hair cut with surgical precision. She was Lee So-yoon, the team leader of the Hunter Management Bureau Surveillance Division.
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“The Surveillance Division? Quite the intimidating welcome for a veterinary clinic director.”
“The situation is rather unusual. Please, come this way.”
​
Lee So-yoon guided me deeper into the factory. Inside, a massive container had been converted into an isolation chamber. And within it…
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“This is…”
​
My eyes widened. Lying on the bed wasn’t a demonic beast—it was a person. A very young girl, at that.
But her condition was far from normal. Her right arm and leg were covered in dark blue scales, and grotesque wings were sprouting from her back. Demonization in progress. A rare and horrifying curse disease where humans transform into demonic beasts.
​
“She’s my younger sister.”
​
Lee So-yoon spoke through gritted teeth.
​
“There was an accident at the Gate Byproduct Research Institute. She was exposed to fragments from the Abyss Gate. All the healers have given up. Since she’s in the process of transforming into a demonic beast, applying healing magic only accelerates the demonization.”
​
The girl whimpered in agony, emitting bestial cries. An existence caught between human and monster.
I paused to consider. I don’t treat humans.
That was the principle I’d upheld until now.
But with information about my wife Yoo Yi-soo, and a girl caught between human and demonic beast…
She couldn’t be considered purely human. My resolve wavered.
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“I’ve heard that you understand the biological structure of demonic beasts completely. If you’re a doctor who heals demonic beasts… couldn’t you also heal a human becoming one?”
“…”
“Please restore my sister to her human form. If you succeed… I’ll hand over the records the government concealed from the Abyss Gate operation three years ago.”
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I looked at the girl. In principle, I don’t treat humans. But she’s half-demonic beast now. Moreover, there’s a clue connected to the Abyss.
More than anything, this is a chance to find traces of my wife.
I set my medical bag on the ground. As I pulled on my gloves, a faint smile crossed my face.
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“You haven’t heard? I don’t treat humans.”
​
My voice was cold and cutting.
Lee So-yoon’s face was about to crumble into despair when—
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“But turning a demonic beast into a human? That’s my specialty.”
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My eyes glowed a brilliant blue with the [Eye of Divine Will]. I could see the abyssal toxin raging within the girl’s body. Tricky. But not impossible.
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​”Prepare yourself. This surgery is going to hurt.”​
​
I drew out my scalpel. The simple games of pretend were over. Now came the real thing—a gamble with life itself, and the moment to fit the first puzzle piece into place on my journey to find my wife.

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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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