An F-Rank Veterinarian Physically Heals an S-Rank Magical Beast - Chapter 44
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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 44
[10th Floor: World of Void]
[Hidden Quest: ‘Salvation of the Ailing Tower’]
I rolled up the sleeves of my blood-stained gown and declared solemnly.
“Surgery… commencing. Everyone to your positions. Stay alert!”
My voice reverberated through the white expanse. The patient lying on the operating table was neither human nor beast. It was the [Lower Core]—the system itself of this colossal Tower of Babel.
Viewed up close, the core’s condition was appalling. Neglected for millennia without maintenance, resentment and demonic energy had congealed into a putrid mass, with blackened necrotic tissue reeking of sewage in every corner.
“Ugh, the stench. What was that administrator doing all this time instead of cleaning?”
I grumbled and extended my hand. Yoo Yi-soo swiftly conjured a scalpel from mana and handed it to me. The moment my fingers touched it, the core convulsed in agony.
Kuuuuung—!
The entire Tower shrieked. Simultaneously, the core’s defensive mechanism activated. Black, slime-like antibodies surged from the ground, attempting to engulf me.
“How dare you! I said silence during surgery!”
Clang-clang-clang—!
Yoo Yi-soo’s twin blades danced with precision. She formed a perfect defensive perimeter around me, shredding the incoming antibodies like a blender.
“Director, please focus solely on the surgery. I shall handle these nuisances.”
Baek Mu-young also wielded his blade energy, supporting Yoo Yi-soo.
“Heh, quite a bit of dust here. Let me give it a thorough cleaning!”
Scritch. Scritch.
My hands moved with near-divine precision. This was no mere excision of infected tissue. A grand surgery—extracting the [Twilight Heart] from Floor 9, refining it with the [Zeus’s Brain Lightning] captured on Floor 6, coating it with the [Ancient Magical Incantations] obtained from the 7th Floor Library, then grafting it into the necrotic regions.
“Luna! Check the vitals! Alert me immediately if there’s mana backflow!”
“Yes! Current backflow reading 120%… 150%! This is critical! Blood pressure—no, mana pressure is dangerously high!”
Luna projected a holographic chart, her voice urgent. Beris frantically scribbled with his feather pen beside her, recording every detail of the surgical progress.
“Recording! Recording! ‘At 10:04 AM, the surgeon utters profanities while connecting the nerves’….”
“Hey! Don’t write down the curses! Damn it, this century-old pus is putting up quite a fight.”
Beads of sweat formed on my brow. The transplanted artificial organ was triggering a rejection response, glowing an ominous red. If it ruptured now, not just Floor 10 but the entire lower section of the Tower could be obliterated.
“Yi-soo! Hold on tight! The Tower is glowing!”
The operating table trembled violently.
“Team Leader! Press down! Use all your strength! You ate two bowls of rice earlier anyway!”
“Ugh! Got it!”
Baek Mu-young let out a battle cry and drove his sword into the ground.
[Sword Saint Skill: Thousand-Weight Anchor – Brute Force Suppression]
An immense crushing pressure bore down on the space, forcibly calming the Tower’s rampaging mana. In that moment, Jin-hyuk connected the final nerve bundle.
“Connect…!”
Click.
With a crisp sound, the circuit connected. A brilliant golden radiance erupted from the blackened core. The turbid mana purified into crystalline clarity, flowing through the Tower’s veins all the way to Floor 1. From Floor 1 to Floor 9, every twisted and diseased system normalized in an instant.
[System Notification]
[Surgery Successful]
[Lower Floors Contamination: 0%]
[Tower Functions Restored to 100%]
“Haa… haa….”
I peeled off my blood-stained gloves and collapsed onto the floor. Twelve hours of major surgery. My mental fortitude had been completely drained.
“Is it… over?”
Yoo Yi-soo sheathed her twin blades and approached.
“Yeah. Saved it. Made the thing lively and kicking again.”
I let out a dry laugh.
That’s when it happened. A sound of applause echoed through the empty air—clap, clap, clap.
“Bravo. Truly magnificent. You’ve exceeded my expectations.”
The being known as the Creator God, seated upon the jade throne, had his face unveiled. The cosmos that had shrouded his visage dissipated, revealing the ordinary features of a middle-aged man.
“Since I’ve repaired the lower floors as promised, I suppose I owe you a reward.”
The man snapped his fingers.
Rummmmmble—!
The ceiling of the 10th Floor tore open, and through the vertiginous heights of towering cliffs and clouds, the pillars of the true Tower stretched endlessly into view.
“What… is this?”
“What else? The [real world].”
The middle-aged man descended from the jade throne and stood before Kang Jin-hyuk.
“My name is Demiurge. I am not the master of this Tower, but rather the [administrator of the lower floors (1–10F)]. Everything you’ve experienced thus far has been a [tutorial].”
“…A tutorial?”
Kang Jin-hyuk’s brow twitched. After all the hell I’ve endured—Zeus, the Outer God, nightmare difficulty—it was nothing but a practice game?
“Hey, old man. Are you running a hidden camera prank right now? Where’d you hide the camera?”
Yoo Yi-soo demanded, her voice sharp with accusation.
“Originally, it was supposed to end after you killed a few goblins and orcs. But your husband went and made such a spectacle of things that the system glitched. Who would’ve thought he’d kidnap Zeus and use him as a battery?”
Demiurge answered with shameless candor.
Kang Jin-hyuk stared upward in stunned silence for a moment.
But then his eyes widened progressively, and a grin spread across his face so wide it nearly reached his ears.
‘If the tutorial is this extensive… just how many more suckers—I mean, patients—are waiting in the actual game?’
Kang Jin-hyuk strode purposefully toward Demiurge.
“Administrator, sir. The promise still stands, yes? Ownership of the Tower once it’s repaired.”
“Of course. However, all I can grant is ownership of my jurisdiction—that is, the [lower floors (1–10F)].”
“That’s more than enough.”
Kang Jin-hyuk snatched the golden-gleaming [Lower Floors Master Key] from Demiurge’s grasp.
“Alright, everyone! There’s no clocking out today! Now we begin the real preparations for opening! We’re converting Floor 10 into the [Arcana Hospital Babel Main Branch]!”
A week later.
Floor 10 of the Tower of Babel had transformed into something entirely different. The barren white expanse of the World of Void had vanished, replaced by a colossal [Medical Complex] where cutting-edge medical facilities merged seamlessly with magical engineering.
[Grand Open – Arcana Medical Center]
– Youth is suffering? No. If you’re suffering, you’re a patient. Pay up and get fixed.
– Weapon repairs, curse removal, mental care, relationship counseling (paid service).
The hospital entrance was absolute chaos. And there, the ‘staff’ that Kang Jin-hyuk had recruited were working themselves to exhaustion.
Basement Floor 1, the power plant.
“Aaahhh! Help me! My legs are cramping! Give me something to drink!”
[Power Generation Director Zeus] was running atop a massive hamster wheel, tears streaming down his face. Beside him, [Hera] stood supervising while enjoying the breeze from a fan.
“Stop your whining, honey. This is peak power consumption time. If the voltage drops, there’s no dinner for you.”
“Honey… I’m the king of the gods, and this is… this is undignified…!”
“Quiet. A man who brings home money is the most attractive. Run faster!”
With the crack of a whip, Zeus’s wheel accelerated with a whirring sound.
In the lobby, [Delivery Team Lead Hermes] was flying about in winged shoes.
“Potion delivery to Floor 4 Colosseum! Ink delivery to the 7th Floor Library! Damn, there’s no time to rest! I’m starting a union!”
He climbed and descended the stairs, muttering curses while carrying his delivery bag.
At the entrance, [Accounting Director Mephistopheles] was tapping away at a calculator with a devilish smile.
“Come on, form a line! Cut in line and I’ll book you a one-way ticket to hell! Hey, you there, orc customer! You know medical treatment costs triple without insurance, right? If you don’t like it, hand over your magic stones.”
And in the director’s office, I sat in a plush executive chair, mesmerized by the real-time revenue graph climbing steadily upward.
“Ahhh… this is it. This is the taste of capitalism.”
Knock, knock.
[Executive Secretary Luna] entered.
“Director, the Vice Director who went out on reconnaissance has returned.”
The door burst open, and Yoo Yi-soo walked in, drenched in blood.
“Honey, I’m back.”
“Oh, you’re back? How was Floor 11?”
“Don’t even ask. That place is a complete jungle. Mosquitoes the size of dinosaurs swarm you, and my blade barely pierces them. I got so frustrated I just tore them apart with brute force.”
Yoo Yi-soo tossed a massive mosquito stinger onto the ground as a trophy.
“But Jin-hyuk, starting from Floor 11, the Constellations are apparently fighting for territory directly. Their territorial disputes must be no joke, right?”
“Territorial disputes? How cute.”
Jin-hyuk adjusted his necktie.
“Whether they’re Constellations or gods, if they’re in pain, they’re all my patients. I’ll admit them to my hospital and milk them dry.”
That’s when it happened.
Ding—!
The elevator doors slid open, and Hermes came rushing out, his face pale.
“Director! This is a disaster! No, wait—this is amazing!”
“What? What’s going on?”
“Outside the Floor 1 Entrance of the Tower right now… customers are flooding in like clouds! VIPs from the Human Realm! Men in black suits arrived carrying dozens of briefcases—they’re clearly money bags! I’d estimate they’re in the billions!”
“What?!”
Jin-hyuk’s ears perked up. Money bags? Billions? My reputation has finally spread to Earth.
“Hahaha! Life really does come down to one big moment!”
Jin-hyuk shouted triumphantly at Demiurge.
“You heard that, right? Cleaning up the garbage on Floor 11 can wait. First, I need to secure the cash. Everything up to Floor 10 is mine! Understood?”
“…Do as you wish. You’ll regret it.”
Demiurge shrugged with an enigmatic expression.
“Let’s go, Yi-soo! Team lead! Time to collect payment!”
Jin-hyuk boarded the direct elevator to Floor 1, his white coat billowing behind him.
[Tower of Babel Floor 1 Entrance]
The gate opened, and Jin-hyuk’s group walked out with swagger. Camera flashes erupted everywhere, and men in black suits murmured among themselves.
“Ah, there he is!”
“I’m Kang Jin-hyuk, director of Arcana Hospital!”
I flashed a bright smile and waved my hand.
“Welcome, everyone! Those seeking medical treatment, please form a line….”
“Are you Kang Jin-hyuk?”
A stern-faced middle-aged man standing at the front of the line cut me off and stepped forward. A badge reading [National Tax Service (NTS) – Special Investigation Division] was pinned to his chest, while the foreigner beside him wore a badge that read [World Hunter Association (WHA) – Tax Investigation Division].
“…Yes?”
My smile froze like plaster.
“We’re from the NTS Special Investigation Division, Section 4. We’ve come to execute a [tax investigation] warrant regarding your income over the past six months.”
The man thrust a stack of documents at me.
“Estimated income: approximately 500 trillion Gold. Converting that to Korean won exceeds the hundred-billion range. Yet your reported income is ‘0 won’. This is clear tax evasion.”
“Wait, hold on. This is the Tower. Another world. Doesn’t that mean extraterritorial jurisdiction?”
“You exchange Gold earned in the Tower at exchange offices on Earth and spend it, don’t you? And you’re a Korean national, correct? Under the principle of citizenship-based taxation, you must pay taxes on income earned anywhere in the world—or anywhere in the universe, for that matter.”
The World Hunter Association investigator beside him chimed in.
“Mr. Kang. Beyond taxes, you also face charges for [illegal dungeon occupation tax], [unauthorized creature smuggling penalties regarding Zeus], [unlicensed medical practice fines], and [high-rise building code violations]. We’re demanding a total of 300 billion won in restitution.”
“What, 300 billion?!”
Those dozens of bags Hermes had seen—they weren’t bags bringing money. They were empty bags meant to carry money away.
“You… you bandits! I risked my life saving the Tower, and you’re squeezing taxes out of me? What did you bastards do to help when I was fighting Zeus?”
I bounced up indignantly. Yoo Yi-soo’s killing intent surged as she placed her hands on her twin blades.
“Honey, should we just cut them all down? Civil servants or whatever—if we bury them in the Tower, no one will ever know.”
“Hold it! Yi-soo! If you touch a civil servant, you’ll really be wanted nationwide! The NTS is scarier than the CIA!”
Baek Mu-young also stepped in to stop me, looking troubled.
“Heh… the way of the martial world has fallen to the ground, but crossing swords with the authorities only brings headaches. Taxes are more terrifying than cholera.”
The National Tax Service employee tapped the tablet PC with an expressionless face.
“If you don’t pay now, all accounts and real estate under Kang Jin-hyuk’s name on Earth will be frozen immediately. And you’ll be registered as a credit defaulter, resulting in permanent suspension of your Hunter license.”
“Ugh…!”
Credit defaulter. Hunter license suspended. A life where I couldn’t even order chicken delivery. That was worse than death itself.
“…Fine. I’ll pay! I’m paying because it disgusts me!”
In the end, I extracted gold bars and magic stones from my inventory with tears of blood streaming down my face. As I watched 300 billion won worth of treasure being loaded onto the National Tax Service trucks, I wept, clutching my chest in anguish.
“My money… my retirement fund… the reward for running the Zeus Guild hamster wheel for a hundred years…!”
The truck departed, and only a cold wind blew across the empty Floor 1 plaza. The atmosphere felt like a funeral.
“Director… what do we do now? We’ve become beggars.”
Luna’s face crumpled. Even the hospital’s operating funds had been completely stripped away.
But.
Stocks that hit rock bottom always bounce back. A vicious gleam returned to my eyes.
“No. It’s not over yet.”
I sprang to my feet and drove a sign into the ground at the Floor 1 Entrance with a resounding thud.
[Warning: From here onward is the ‘Abyss Special Autonomous Zone’.]
[South Korean law and tax code do not apply. National Tax Service personnel will be shot on sight.]
“Listen well. From now on, we operate only within the Abyss.”
I declared it.
“Earth? I’m not going. I’m living here. Have my household registration deleted. From now on, I am the lord of the Tower.”
“But how will we make money? We can’t use Earth’s exchange offices.”
Yoo Yi-soo asked.
“We accept currency that circulates within the Tower. We take ‘Coins’ or ‘Ether’ that the Constellations use and handle everything within the Tower.”
I pointed toward the gate leading to Floor 11.
“You said there are ‘remnants of a failed world’ up there, right?”
“Yeah, that’s what I said.”
“Do you know what’s most precious in a failed world?”
Kang Jin-hyuk grinned wickedly.
“A doctor. In a place without law or order, the one who saves lives becomes king.”
Kang Jin-hyuk gave Luna an order.
“Luna, change the hospital sign.”
“Huh? To what?”
“[Arcana Special Cleaning Division].”
Kang Jin-hyuk clenched his fist tightly.
“From Floor 11 to Floor 50. We’re going to clean up that entire garbage heap. Modified humans? Machine viruses? Cursed martial artists? We’ll fix them all and convert them into profit.”
“And those ‘quack doctors’ who are supposedly our competitors—we’re not just going to let them slide?”
Yoo Yi-soo asked while sharpening her blade.
“Of course not. Anyone performing unauthorized modification surgeries in my territory will have their medical license revoked.”
Kang Jin-hyuk headed back toward the elevator. Though he’d been hit with a devastating tax bill and left penniless, his stride was lighter than ever. After all, a man with nothing to lose is the most dangerous kind.
Ding—!
[Moving to Floor 11: Chaotic Martial Realm.]
As the doors opened, the stench of blood mixed with the clash of blades. Masters of lightness martial arts soared through the sky, and among them moved warriors bearing grotesque mechanical arms.
“Well, well, looks like we’ve got patients scattered all over the street.”
Kang Jin-hyuk stepped forward, his white coat billowing behind him.
“Alright, line up! The Arcana Special Cleaning Division is here! Payment upfront—if you don’t have it, you can pay with your body!”
The tutorial was over. And the [Great Collection Era] of a hospital director infuriated by tax collection had begun.
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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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