Chapter 166

A man named Park Joon-sang glanced at Ha Yul and then opened his mouth.

“But… is this the patient I need to see?”

Ha Yu-ri grabbed Park Joon-sang’s hands tightly and pleaded with a desperate face.

“Please… please take good care of her. Please check on my sister’s condition…”

“…I will do my best. First, can you roughly tell me what condition the patient is in?”

I answered his question.

“She’s in a coma. Probably a positive coma.”

“A positive coma? Do you… happen to know about medicine?”

“No. I can’t explain the details, but I only know that she’s in a positive coma. I don’t even know exactly what a positive coma is.”

“Hmm…”

Park Joon-sang didn’t ask how I knew Ha Yul was in a positive coma.

But he seemed to be thinking something when he heard the term “positive coma.”

“Alright, I understand. May I check the patient’s condition now?”

“Of course.”

After that, Park Joon-sang began examining Ha Yul’s condition.

At first, he checked if she opened her eyes or responded to sounds, then he seemed to be checking the reactions of her pupils and muscles.

After a long and thorough examination, he opened his mouth.

“…First, I think I should tell you this. I’ve done all the tests I can, but my judgment might not be accurate.”

“Huh? What do you mean…”

“Actually, to accurately determine a coma state, medical equipment is needed. Normally, a precise diagnosis is made through brainwave tests or imaging tests.”

In fact, it’s a natural thing to say.

After all, a coma isn’t a physical defect, and there are limits to diagnosing it based solely on external reactions.

“Therefore, I can’t say my diagnosis is accurate. I apologize in advance for this. You might feel like I’m avoiding responsibility, but…”

“No, I understand.”

Park Joon-sang’s face looked genuinely apologetic.

Seeing his troubled expression, it was clear that the environment wasn’t ideal for making a diagnosis.

“First, it seems like the positive coma state you mentioned is correct. More precisely, it’s likely a preservation coma.”

“Can you explain what a positive coma and a preservation coma are?”

“Of course. First, if we broadly classify coma states, they are divided into positive and negative comas. Negative comas are states where there’s almost no brain activity, and the chances of recovery are almost zero.”

“…So, does that mean a positive coma has a chance of recovery?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Although brain activity is slowed, it’s still active.”

At Park Joon-sang’s words, Ha Yu-ri teared up and sighed in relief.

“And a preservation coma is a state where the eyes don’t open, and there’s no conscious response, but bodily functions like breathing and heartbeat are working normally.”

“Then…”

“Yes, although it’s a coma state, it’s one where the worst has been avoided. In fact, it’s the coma state with the highest chance of recovery.”

“…That’s really a relief.”

“Yes, actually… in cases of non-preservation comas, since bodily functions aren’t working normally, in a place like this, not on Earth, it’s practically considered death. There’s no medical equipment here.”

Ha Yu-ri wiped her tears and asked Park Joon-sang.

“Thank you, doctor. Then, what should we do to help my sister recover?”

“Hmm… actually, the biggest problem right now is the means of recovery.”

“…Huh? But you said the chances of recovery are high…”

“The high chance of recovery is a term used on Earth. In Eras, there’s no professional treatment equipment, so it’s impossible to continuously perform brainwave tests or blood tests, and periodic consciousness recovery experiments are also impossible.”

“Ah… I see…”

Park Joon-sang bowed his head with a look of shame.

“…All I can do is this level of diagnosis. Although it’s fortunate that the patient is in a preservation coma, I can’t help with the recovery.”

“…..”

Honestly, I had expected this. Even on Earth, recovering from a coma requires a lot of effort and time, so I didn’t expect it to be easily treatable in Eras.

But I wanted to ask for his opinion on a method I had thought of.

‘At least an expert’s opinion would help me.’

“Doctor.”

“…Yes.”

When I called him, he answered with a tense face, probably thinking I was going to get angry.

The emotions on Park Joon-sang’s face were tension and regret.

The tension came from the fact that the person who called him here was Ha Yu-ri.

The regret was something he knew too. In a way, this incident was an opportunity for him.

An ordinary player rarely gets a chance to connect with the master of one of the three major clans.

If he could have treated Ha Yu-ri’s sister, he would have essentially become her benefactor.

So, he seemed to regret not being able to seize this opportunity.

“I have one treatment method in mind, and I’d like to hear your opinion on whether it would work.”

“…Excuse me, but you’ve thought of a treatment method?”

“Yes. But it’s not a scientific treatment. It’s in the realm of mental magic.”

“Ah… could you explain in detail?”

I told Park Joon-sang about the method I had thought of. Using Charis’s abilities to enter Ha Yul’s subconscious and wake her up.

After hearing my explanation, he had a complicated expression and pondered for a while.

“Hmm…”

As I waited for his answer, I couldn’t help but feel quite anxious.

‘Well, if this method doesn’t work, then I really have no other options.’

Honestly, it would be better for me if Ha Yul regained consciousness.

It wasn’t that I didn’t have a pure desire for Ha Yu-ri’s sister to wake up, but there was also a calculative side to it.

‘She’s practically a top-tier powerhouse.’

Of course, without her own strength…





Clearly, it won’t reach the ranker level because it doesn’t know how to do anything.

But in terms of stats, it has the abilities of a strong player.

Thanks to Ray Hakter’s modifications to Ha Yul’s body, her stats have skyrocketed in an unconventional way.

If we can just restore Ha Yul’s consciousness, it’s like adding another strong player to our side.

“…I roughly understand the method you mentioned. I don’t know much about magic, but it doesn’t seem entirely impossible.”

Park Joon-sang’s words were good news for both me and Ha Yu-ri. It wasn’t a definitive positive answer, but it wasn’t negative either.

“Trying it doesn’t seem like a bad idea. After all, the cause of the patient’s coma is psychological shock. Since her breathing and heart rate are normal, attempting it won’t put too much strain on her body.”

“I see. Thank you for your response.”

“Not at all. I’m actually sorry that I couldn’t think of a treatment method myself.”

‘He seems like a decent guy.’

Maybe it’s because Ha Yu-ri is next to me, but I quite liked the man’s attitude.

Seeing him regret missing an opportunity, someone might call Park Joon-sang an opportunist, but to me, it’s a natural human reaction.

The reason I felt Park Joon-sang was a good person was when he examined Ha Yul’s condition earlier.

At that time, his eyes were focused on accurately assessing the patient’s condition, not on any opportunity.

It felt more like he genuinely wanted to save the patient rather than just doing it because she’s Ha Yu-ri’s sister.

‘Being a doctor isn’t for everyone, after all.’

“Where are you staying? Do you have any affiliations?”

I casually asked, thinking if he had no affiliations, I might consider bringing him into the clan.

At least based on my unique traits, he seems to have the specs of an average player.

“Ah… well… I was actually thinking of applying to join the Brother Clan. I used to be in a clan, but it disbanded recently…”

“Ah… I see.”

‘The Brother Clan, huh…’

If handled well, I might be able to help him.

‘He seems like a good person, and our Seok-ho is kind too.’

There’s no need to bring him into Eternity, but helping him join the Brother Clan seems fine.

“If you’re planning to apply to the Brother Clan, I might be able to help.”

“…Really?”

“I know Kim Seok-ho, the master of the Brother Clan. I’ll put in a word for you.”

“Ah, no, you don’t have to go that far…”

‘I know it’s just a polite refusal.’

I could tell just by his expression. Of course, he seemed a bit burdened, but from Park Joon-sang’s perspective, joining the Brother Clan would at least secure his future.

It’s not as prestigious as Madan or Eternity, but the Brother Clan is still a good clan.

“Haha, no. Your input was very helpful. I should at least do this much for you.”

“…Thank you.”

“Alright, you’ve worked hard today. I’ve prepared a generous compensation.”

He kept bowing as he received the payment.

‘Well, I did put in quite a bit.’

It’s not my money; it’s coming from Ha Yu-ri’s fortune.

It shows how serious she is about recovering her sister.

******

We’ll enter Ha Yul’s subconscious for treatment in a week.

There’s still some time left.

“Ah, hyung.”

“What’s up, did you finish training and shower?”

I ran into Hyeon-jin, who had just finished showering, as I was heading downstairs.

“Yeah. Well, it’s part of my daily routine now.”

“You’re working hard.”

As I was about to head down, Hyeon-jin stopped me.

“Ah! Hyung, are you going to eat now?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“How about eating together? I was planning to have a meal with Lee Seo noona.”

“Sure.”

It’s been a while since we ate together, so I agreed. It’s also good to bond with clan members regularly.

When I went downstairs with Hyeon-jin, I saw Kang I-seo already sitting there.

“Oh, what’s this? You’re coming down with Hyeon-jin?”

“Ah, Hyeon-jin asked me to eat together.”

“Good thinking. Both of you, sit down.”

After getting some food and sitting down, Hyeon-jin started talking.

“Hyung, by the way, why didn’t you come with Ho-yeon noona?”

“Ah… she said she had some cleanup to do and told us to eat first…”

Originally, I planned to eat with Wi Ho-yeon, but she insisted we eat first.

“Ah… I see. Hmm…”

“What’s up? Why are you acting weird?”

Hyeon-jin’s reaction was strange.

“Well… hyung, honestly, since Ho-yeon noona isn’t here, I can say this… don’t you think she’s been acting a bit different lately?”

“Different? What do you mean?”

“Ah… you know… how do I say this… something like…”

When Hyeon-jin seemed to struggle with his words, Kang I-seo blurted out.

“What do you mean? She’s got a fucking aura now.”

“Pfft!”

I couldn’t help but spit out the water I was drinking.