CHAPTER 15**

015 - A Fierce Chemical Reaction

Jinwoo was taken to the emergency room and subsequently admitted to the hospital.

Diagnosis: two weeks of recovery. It wasn't a minor injury, but considering the battle he had just fought, getting away with only two weeks was a blessing.

Jinwoo was placed in a six-person ward. Even with money, he couldn't get a private room. The opening of the 0th Floor had resulted in a surge of injured Hunters, and all the hospital rooms were completely full. He was only able to get a bed in a six-person ward instead of a cot in a temporary shelter thanks to the Bureau arranging it for him. It seemed Mayor Ma Doo-sik's directive to look after Jinwoo was working well, even in these small ways.

He focused on recovering in the hospital, enjoying a leisurely period for the first time in a while. In a hospital room with little to do for entertainment, there was plenty of time to think, and he spent much of it reflecting on recent events.

‘The inventory is working properly now.’

After his treatment was finished and he had regained his senses, the first thing Jinwoo checked was his inventory. The inventory that had refused to open, as if broken, now worked perfectly. The items inside were all there. The white jewel sword, the standard-issue iron sword, and the tooth daggers were all intact.

‘Why didn't it work on the 0th Floor? Was there some kind of spatial interference field around the Elven mansion?’

Otherwise, there was no reason for his inventory to fail only in that specific place. It was a mystery, but he had no way of verifying it. Re-entry into a forfeited trial was impossible, and the same trial would never be given again.

While he was relieved that it was working again, he was also incredibly disappointed.

‘That was so much money…’

He was kicking himself for not being able to collect a single one of the numerous werewolf corpses. If he had brought them all back, he could have easily made billions, but he had left it all behind.

He had killed so many monsters, yet his profit was zero. He had obtained no monster corpses, no magic stones, no amazing items, and no exceptional skills.

But.

He had still gained a great deal.

‘The flame inside my body has grown.’

First, the size of the Blue Flame burning within him had grown to a point where it was incomparable to before. It had expanded by absorbing the flames of hundreds of werewolves and their leader. It felt like it had at least doubled in size.

If asked what he could do with this larger flame, he didn't know yet… but it wasn't a bad feeling. The vitality coursing through his body felt much greater than before, and his condition was at an all-time high. Aside from being stuck in a boring hospital for two weeks due to his injuries, he had no complaints whatsoever.

And next, he had become even more familiar with the sword.

‘When I first awakened my sword skill, I thought I was already used to it.’

From that moment on, holding a sword had felt natural, as if it were an extension of his own arm. So he thought that was the skill: the ability to handle any sword as if it were a cherished weapon he had wielded for years, even if it was his first time holding it. Whether it was a longsword or a dagger, even a kitchen knife he picked up to fillet a fish felt perfect in his hand, so it was a reasonable assumption.

He had thought he couldn't get any more familiar with it, but after his trip to the 0th Floor, he felt he had grown even closer to the sword.

The old saying that there is no end to learning was truly correct. Until now, he had focused only on training and mastering the techniques he possessed, but there was still plenty of room for the techniques themselves to evolve.

There was no end to the way of the sword. Realizing that fact might have been the biggest gain from this Gate.

A few days passed like that.

Focusing on his recovery, Jinwoo spent his time lost in thought. He was never bored. He had swung his sword to his heart's content on the 0th Floor, and simply reviewing those moments made the time fly by.

Just then, he heard a small commotion in the hallway.

—M-Mr. Mayor!? What brings you here…

—An acquaintance of mine was injured, so I came to visit. Is room 304 this way?

—Yes, yes! I'll show you the way.

Soon after, a nurse entered the room, escorting Mayor Ma Doo-sik. With the small-statured nurse beside him, Ma Doo-sik looked even more conspicuous.

"The M-Mayor?"

"Is that really the Mayor?"

The other patients in the room whispered among themselves, their eyes wide. They were shocked to suddenly see a man they had only ever seen on TV in a hospital.

As if accustomed to such stares, Ma Doo-sik politely greeted the other patients before approaching Jinwoo. He pulled out the chair from under the hospital bed and plopped down.

"I heard the news. They said you were badly hurt."

"It's nothing serious. The wounds will all heal."

"Hmm? Hahaha. I suppose a wound that leaves no aftereffects or permanent disabilities isn't a big deal. How is your recovery coming along?"

"The doctor says I'm doing fine."

They had originally planned to meet for a meal around this time. He was supposed to be treated at Jeongun, a particularly famous restaurant in Seoul, but the plan was canceled when the 0th Floor opened and Jinwoo was hospitalized.

"We're still on for that meal, right? It wasn't canceled, was it?"

"Of course not. After you're discharged, the next Gate will probably be opening around then. I'll treat you after you get back from that. We certainly won't be short on things to talk about."

After a trip to a Gate, there would be plenty of stories to share over drinks. And there was no way they could go to a restaurant like Jeongun and not have a drink.

After confirming their plans, Ma Doo-sik asked, "How was the 0th Floor?"

"I failed. It was pretty tough."

Jinwoo shrugged as he spoke, and Ma Doo-sik laughed heartily.

"That can happen. The 0th Floor is especially difficult, and many people fail, so don't be disheartened. Besides, Hunter Kang Jinwoo, your specialty is in exploration. It would naturally be a challenge for you to subjugate a monster nest on your own."

Ma Doo-sik offered words of comfort, but the "toughness" Jinwoo spoke of had a completely different meaning.

The trial itself wasn't difficult at all. The mission was to subjugate an Elven mansion, but the mansion was already burning down from a werewolf attack. All Jinwoo had to do was kill the last remaining child. No, even if he didn't kill her himself, if he had simply stood by and done nothing, the trial would have been cleared.

It was an easy task, but also the most difficult one.

"What was the trial's target? For novice Hunters, it's most often a goblin tribe."

"It was something similar. Not goblins, though."

Jinwoo gave a vague answer to Ma Doo-sik's question about the trial. How could he possibly explain that the target was an Elven mansion, that it was already being burned down by werewolves, and that he had ended up killing the werewolves and saving the target Elf instead?

"I see. In any case, I'm glad to see you're healthy. Let's plan on visiting Jeongun after you return from the next Gate."

"I'll be looking forward to it."

He wasn't just being polite; he was genuinely looking forward to it. After seeing Ma Doo-sik off, another visitor arrived the next day.

This time, it was Chartia.

At the appearance of a woman so beautiful it made their eyes pop, the men in the room held their breath. Though they varied in age, they were all men, and they couldn't stop themselves from sneaking glances at Chartia. The hospital room, which had been filled with the smell of antiseptic, suddenly felt as if it were filled with the fragrance of the forest.

"How are you feeling? Looks like you had a rough time on the 0th Floor."

"It was hell."

Chartia smiled at Jinwoo, who sighed and spoke dramatically.

"Still, what matters is that you're safe. Can you tell me what happened? If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine too."

"It's a bit crowded here. Shall we go up to the roof?"

"Are you allowed to move around?"

"I'm almost fully recovered, so it's fine."

Jinwoo led Chartia up to the hospital rooftop. The rooftop had a small walking path and a garden, creating a space where patients could get some light exercise or relax.

They sat on a bench together, and this time, Jinwoo took a can of coffee from his inventory and handed it to Chartia.

"Thanks."

"Actually, I met an Elf on the 0th Floor."

"Oh, really?"

"The subjugation target was Elves. There was a large mansion interwoven with the forest, and I was told to destroy it."

"No wonder you failed."

To be told to subjugate an Elven mansion was a trial of absurd difficulty for the current Jinwoo. Chartia nodded in understanding, agreeing that it was only natural for him to fail.

But Jinwoo shook his head.

"Actually, the Elven mansion was already under attack. A horde of at least several hundred werewolves was burning the mansion down and killing all the Elves."

"Hmm."

A rather gruesome scene formed in her mind, and Chartia winced slightly. She remained silent, prompting him to continue.

"At first, I planned to just stay put, but then I saw a child who looked about four or five years old. I ended up grabbing her and running away."

"If she looked four or five, then she must have been about fifty in Elf years."

"I suppose so. Anyway, I ran off with the kid, and that's how I failed the trial."

"Did you manage to escape?"

"I did. But it cost me two weeks in the hospital."

Chartia let out a sigh of relief. "That's a relief." Failing the trial didn't matter. It was the trial of the 0th Floor; not only novice Hunters but even high-ranking Hunters failed it quite often.

The top priority had been to escape without any major injuries. While Jinwoo had been hurt, the wounds weren’t serious enough to leave lasting effects, so he was fine.

“By the way, can I ask you about an Elvish word?”

“What is it?”

“What does ‘& @ #’ mean?” Jinwoo asked, suddenly remembering something he’d been curious about. It was the word the injured child had kept searching for.

“It means ‘Mom.’”

“From your expression, it doesn’t sound like you heard it in a very happy situation.”

Jinwoo gave a bitter smile, feeling a pang of sympathy that his guess had been correct. He silently drank his canned coffee. Unlike the one he had given Chartia, his was a chilled iced coffee.

“Jinwoo. Since we have the chance, would you like to learn Elvish from me? I learned it naturally when I awakened my abilities, but it seems you haven't recalled the language yet.”

“Elvish? I’d love to.”

Chartia was firmly convinced that Jinwoo’s past life had been an Elf. Jinwoo, on the other hand, was fifty-fifty. Given his connection to Elves, it was a possibility, but he couldn’t be sure.

That made her offer to teach him Elvish all the more welcome. He would inevitably run into more Elves as he continued to enter Gates. There was a significant advantage in being the only one who could understand the enemy's language.

“Great. Then I’ll teach you whenever we have free time for a while.”

“But don’t you need to go back to New York?”

“Oh, I’ve decided to naturalize. I’m a citizen of Seoul now.”

“I see… Wait, what? Naturalize?”

Jinwoo was stunned by the sudden bombshell.

Naturalize? Did she mean she was changing her citizenship completely? From New York to Seoul? An S-class Hunter?

“As a new neighbor in the same city, I look forward to getting along, Jinwoo.”

“Ah, yes. Welcome, Chartia.”

“There’s a lot I don’t know about Seoul, so please teach me. I’ll teach you Elvish in return.”

“Of course.”

They shook hands, sealing the promise in a bit of a daze.

An S-class Hunter naturalizing was an issue with massive repercussions.

Every single S-class Hunter was a priceless strategic asset and human resource, their value beyond imagination. It was one thing for them to accept a request and carry out a mission in another city, but changing their citizenship entirely was a different story.

• [BREAKING NEWS] New York S-Class Hunter Chartia Announces Naturalization.
• New York's "Druid," Chartia, Reveals Her Intent to Naturalize.
• Chartia: "I Found Great Charm in Seoul."

As if on a pre-arranged signal, a flood of articles poured out all at once.

Naturally, the internet descended into a state of near chaos, and the real world was no different.

“Mr. Jinwoo, Mr. Jinwoo. Isn’t that Chartia girl the same young lady who came to visit you in the hospital a while back?” asked the old man in the bed next to Jinwoo’s.

“Yes, that’s her.”

“Well, I’ll be damned, that lady was an S-class Hunter. I knew she had a special kind of aura. Right, dear?”

“You were just gawking because she was pretty, what are you talking about an aura for…”

“I’m telling you, it’s not like that!”

As the old man and woman bickered, another patient in the room asked Jinwoo questions. Was she really an S-class Hunter? What was their relationship? An S-class Hunter naturalizing in Seoul was incredible, and so on.

It was only this restrained because they were in a hospital room; right now, the outside world was in an uproar over the news.

Anywhere people gathered, they were talking about Chartia.

An S-class Hunter, and the one known as the "Druid" at that, was moving her citizenship to Seoul. It was impossible for it not to become a hot topic.

When he turned on the hospital TV, the news was in the middle of a segment on Chartia. An interview with her was playing, where she explained her reasons for choosing to naturalize in Seoul.

—That’s right. I was already thinking of leaving New York and had been looking at several cities, but Seoul caught my eye.

—As a citizen of Seoul, that’s something I’m very proud to hear! If you don’t mind me asking, what parts of the city caught your eye?

—Well, first of all…

She listed a few reasons, but to Jinwoo, none of them sounded particularly convincing. She was probably hiding the real reason. He was curious what it might be, but he knew it would be rude to pry into something she was deliberately concealing.

As the interview continued, the reporter praised Chartia’s appearance and achievements with exaggerated reactions. The praise for her looks, in particular, seemed filled with genuine awe and admiration. If even the female reporter was saying as much, it seemed there truly was an extraordinary mystique to an Elf’s beauty.

The entire city of Seoul was swept up in a festive, buzzing atmosphere. Not just any S-class Hunter, but the Druid herself.

Experts and ordinary people alike were busy speculating about the immense benefits she would bring to Seoul.

However, it wasn't all good news. Like two sides of a coin, every event has a front and a back.

—New York City Hall and Hunter Management Bureau express "deep regret."
—Tokyo, an ally of New York, issues fierce condemnation. They even used the bizarre phrasing that "poaching an S-class Hunter is a breach of international ethics..."
—Beijing: "Whatever Seoul promised, we will offer three times as much. Come to Beijing..."

Like a violent chemical reaction, responses erupted from all over the place.