Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 270
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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 270
Ratu led me into the inner chamber and seated me in the tea room.
“Well… then I shall explain the fundamentals of sorcery.”
Even as he spoke, Ratu harbored thoughts in a corner of his heart.
‘No matter how talented one is, doesn’t proper sorcery require at least ten years of cultivation? What good is learning haphazardly for a few days here…’
Well, from his perspective, it hardly mattered.
After all, the fist was always nearest.
I listened to his explanation with eyes gleaming blue, repeatedly asking questions whenever I encountered something I didn’t understand.
“Then this is strange. What purpose do the dancing and singing serve?”
After grasping the fundamental operating principles of sorcery, no matter how I thought about it, the dancing and singing seemed entirely unnecessary.
“Ah, that was to pray for the patient’s spiritual comfort. Hehehehe! You see, when patients feel spiritually at ease, they bring more customers.”
‘…Could it have been a performance all along?’
As I regarded him with suspicious eyes, the sorcerer Ratu let out an awkward cough.
“Ahem! A patient’s faith amplifies the efficacy of treatment. Great Hero!”
‘So if one dances well, it appears more effective?’
It didn’t seem entirely wrong.
‘Sorcery is powerful in effect, but it carries proportionally severe side effects. Each time, they attributed it to divine will. For it to truly become divine will… one must persuade through faith as the foundation. And for that, appearing more miraculous would certainly help.’
Ultimately, statistically, there will inevitably be patients who die.
Even the Third Prince’s parasites grew abundantly, did they not?
‘Yes. The visuals were truly impressive.’
“Then I shall teach you the basic rhythm of the dance. Great Hero.”
Ratu bowed respectfully, then prepared to sway his hips in a rhythmic motion.
“No, that won’t be necessary!”
I quickly stopped him.
If dancing and singing weren’t necessary, this was a significant advantage.
Rather, it was fortunate.
After covering the basic theory, Ratu spoke.
“Now I shall determine whether you possess talent for sorcery.”
I answered with eyes of blue light.
“Yes. Like the martial arts of Gangho, sorcery also seems to depend on constitution. Since you mentioned utilizing something called sorcerous force within the body, is it determined through blood?”
“Ah… yes… you’ve guessed exactly right. Great Hero.”
My absorption was so rapid that I began predicting what came next.
It felt as though I was forming hypotheses before Ratu even finished explaining, then continuously verifying whether my hypotheses were correct.
‘Or perhaps it’s like foreseeing the future…’
That couldn’t be.
Divination typically foresees the future through stars or talismans, not through such methods.
‘And most people give up on sorcery here.’
This esoteric sorcery requires far more talent than martial arts.
Those without aptitude simply cannot succeed, no matter how hard they try.
In most cases, even if a hundred people attempt it, not a single person with aptitude emerges from this field.
“Let me draw a sorcery formation first.”
Ratu was certainly a capable sorcerer.
Using chicken blood, he drew the formation on the ground in an instant.
I didn’t hesitate to prick my finger slightly and let a drop of blood fall.
The moment my blood touched the chicken blood, it glowed and vaporized.
Thoom—
Rather than an explosion, it sounded like a drum being struck.
I asked.
“Didn’t you say it would make a popping sound?”
“Ah, no… that shouldn’t be possible.”
Watching the flustered Ratu, I thought to myself.
‘Do I lack talent? If so, I wouldn’t mind kidnapping Ratu to use at the Baekrin Medical Hall headquarters.’
Someone this polite would surely adapt well even in the Confucian Central Plains.
Just as Eun Wang-ya eyed kidnapping me, I began to consider kidnapping Ratu.
Ratu spoke.
“Well… sorcery judges by blood, not by character.”
“I’m already aware of that.”
“This reaction is unprecedented, so I’m flustered, but you certainly don’t lack talent. However, I have no idea what this blood reaction signifies.”
“….”
I looked down at the wound I’d just made by pricking my finger.
‘If you don’t know, then I know even less.’
Ratu asked back.
“By any chance, do you have ancestors with connections to sorcery?”
How would I know that?
All I knew was that when I possessed this body, it had suffered a head injury and died once.
That it had no connections to anyone.
That it was heading toward the Demonic Sect.
An extra who died early in the novel without even a single line of text.
When I attempted a complete transformation to save my Master, the Baihui acupoint was already mysteriously open.
From Seo Baek-ryong to Baek-ui Sinryong.
Even after winning the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering and becoming this well-known, not a single relative appeared.
‘If I’d just been living in some remote countryside, that would make sense. It’s not like we have television here.’
These days, portraits of me made by the Geumhyeol Pavilion were selling like hotcakes.
It might be possible if it were a place the Geumhyeol Pavilion couldn’t reach.
But how could a countryside child possess a body like this?
And would it make sense for such a child to be heading toward the Demonic Sect?
Nothing ever came to light.
I could only stare at my own palm.
“I… I’m not entirely sure either. It doesn’t seem like I come from a particularly distinguished family.”
“Haha, I see.”
Did I perhaps offend Baekui Gwangryong’s sensibilities?
Ratu awkwardly changed the subject.
“Regardless, the reaction is certainly unusual, but it’s clear you have talent for sorcery! If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have such a reaction. Perhaps the Great Hero is a genius in this field!”
He rubbed his hands together earnestly, exerting himself to lift my spirits.
“Wow, how impressive! You’re exceptional with the sword, and now exceptional with sorcery too. Truly the Baek-ui Sinryong! I, Ratu, am moved!”
‘…Why are you so afraid of me?’
Was bending and straightening a coin really that provocative?
Or had he heard something about the Baek-ui Sinryong’s reputation? This fellow?
His courtesy seemed excessively overdone, which made me slightly skeptical, but it hardly mattered.
It was best to use whatever could be used.
“I’m glad you have talent!”
“Indeed? Hehehehe, now you just need to learn the next stage of sorcery!”
“Is that incantation?”
“Yes indeed. Just as you wield a sword with swordsmanship, you manifest incantations through blood. Two things are necessary: the sorcerer’s will and precise ancient words that resonate with the sorcery. With this, you can save people or kill them.”
I answered with cold eyes.
“I only need to learn medicine.”
“O-of course. Why would the Great Hero learn curses? You’ve set down the sword. Curse sorcery is far less efficient than swordsmanship anyway.”
What rumors had Ratu picked up?
I wanted to ask, but I held back.
Ratu continued speaking.
“The sorcery words are called ancient language, passed down from antiquity! If they’re not correct, even with will, the sorcery won’t manifest.”
‘So that’s the system.’
Yeo Ha-ryun would smash any sorcerer’s head in a three-second cut whenever he saw one, so I never had time to gauge the enemy’s strength properly.
Humans die if their necks are cut even halfway through, so wasn’t sorcery far slower than martial arts?
“The foundation of sorcery begins with gathering sorcerous power. And to gather it, you must carve the ancient words that gather sorcerous power into your body as a basic practice.”
‘Ugh…a tattoo?’
As my expression grew uncomfortable, Ratu quickly continued.
“N-no, of course you don’t have to get a tattoo. You can draw it with ink or blood each time. However, since you must draw it every time you practice gathering sorcery, it’s bothersome… but yes, no problem!”
Saying so, he showed me the simplest ancient characters.
They resembled both Chinese characters and Sanskrit.
I drew the character on the back of my hand and recited the sorcery words Ratu taught me.
Then something began to take hold.
‘Qi…is it? But it’s denser and stickier in nature than what usually gathers.’
This must be what they call sorcerous power.
Yet to my keen senses, this also seemed to be qi of a different nature.
The qi that gathered during breathing exercises was light and pure, like wind or mist, but this was like mud or heavy water.
* * *
I began gathering sorcerous power indiscriminately.
There was no need to mix two qi of different natures in the dantian.
I began the work of storing sorcerous power separately in my solar plexus.
Right after that, I received instruction in the Healing Spell and the Purification Spell.
“Is there nothing more beyond this?”
“That… Have you already mastered it?”
I immediately demonstrated both the Healing Spell and the Purification Spell before him.
‘Since I’m using the sorcerous power I gathered today, it must seem rather laughable from a professional’s perspective.’
I thought it was embarrassing, but there was nothing I could do about it.
“….”
Ratu, observing this, spoke.
“That… Great Hero.”
“Yes.”
“…Would you have no interest in partnering with me? With your outstanding appearance and such talent at five-star level, you would surely become a renowned figure beyond the world.”
It was the tone of a talent agency head-hunter extending a business card to a future idol.
“So I do have talent after all?”
“…No… you’re mastering everything in just one day and demonstrating it, yet you ask if you have talent.”
‘Is it because of the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong?’
Ratu spoke with desperate urgency.
“I’ll take five parts… No, I’ll take four parts.”
“Since you’ve mastered it, I’ll be going.”
“Great Hero, Great Hero! I’ll take just three parts. Please take seven parts, Great Hero!”
“….”
As I stood up, brushing off my robes, Ratu hurriedly spoke.
“Great Hero! I, I can take just one part. Great Hero!”
Ratu’s desperate voice echoed loudly through the house.
* * *
A week had passed.
With time to spare, I eventually learned the theory of Curse Sorcery.
Though I didn’t go so far as to practice it in actual combat, it seemed I would be sufficiently capable of countering curses.
After completely mastering the theory down to its foundations, I reached a point where I could use it whenever I wished, without even needing to practice before Ratu.
During this time, a letter arrived.
It was from Jeon Seo-gu, stating that the Buntta Medical Staff had prepared surgical tools and equipment and departed.
It appeared the departing caravan was from Eun Wang-ya’s side, and they would meet with the Third Prince’s caravan midway to exchange horses and continue running.
This way, they could maintain travel speed without resting the horses, moving like an express courier service.
“I intend to remain here until the surgery is complete. There are many things that need to be handled anyway.”
Was this a measure to prevent war?
In this Wannung, I still felt no subtle current of war that would be palpable.
‘But who knows. After all, in this era, war is decided by those above.’
I decided to do what I could in the meantime.
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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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