I actually didn't want to get involved because I had to get to my transportation spot before its time limit of ten minutes; not to mention I felt my body has finally given in to the fatigue despite my leveling up already renewed my HP bar. Right after my completion of clearing the Spontaneous Labyrinth, I seemed to have been unconscious right next to the ice rink for at least fifteen minutes. It was a good thing I woke up on time as I heard two men's footsteps while they talked to each other.
The Guideline's notification popped up in my sight with new messages, but I had to quickly (and quietly) leave the theme park. I'm surprised to see everything, which was ruined during my fights against the Beasts, was put back in place and in one piece, including the boat ride which I could see from afar that it was never destroyed to begin with.
The two men, whom I secretly passed by, were likely security guards who were about to start their morning shifts at the theme park soon. I guess I felt relieved to know that whatever has been destroyed in the Spontaneous Labyrinth will not affect the real place where it's designated as its battleground. After I made sure I got out of the theme park’s area, I read the messages that got me feeling surprised once again.
[Name: Kang Joo-yeon]
[Level: 12]
[Title: Memory Reader; Tenacious Slayer; The Unkillable Healer]
[Class: Healer]
[Subclass: Druid]
[HP: 1195]
[MP: 94]
It was an awkward feeling to see my newest title being that named by a teenage kid with “middle-school syndrome”, but the next message had my embarrassment be replaced with feelings of awe that lead to impassioned thoughts within myself.
[You are able to use (Healing Skill - Phase 1).]
[Please continue to level up for this skill to get to the next phase.]
Does this mean my healing magic has improved? Come to think of it, I'm not bleeding at the moment. My bruises and cuts have been healed already. They’re not life-threatening, but definitely not a minor one like the time I healed Gi-young's knee.
“So I can heal myself already?...” I mumbled my astonishment that I can finally use my basic skill properly which I was unable to do so for the past two years. “But that doesn't mean I can heal life-threatening ones…”
As I pondered about what else has been improved by the Guideline residing within me, another notification appeared to notify of my time limit regarding my teleportation spot.
[Please follow the line only you can see to reach the telephone booth that will teleport you back to the hospital.]
[You have 10 minutes to reach your designated destination.]
And so, I obediently followed the line until I saw the telephone booth right near the corner of a building. It felt like I was gonna film an episode of a very famous British sci-fi series. Just a few meters away from the booth, I happened to see the crowded area where many of the Nons there were witnessing an Upsurge being subjugated by a mismatched team of Slayers.
Long story short, I helped them because I didn't want the child to see her mother die in the most violent way. That would be worse than the time I saw my mom get swallowed up by the very first Labyrinth’s gate. It was a relief that I could still endure my fatigue, probably due to my luck stat being high enough that enabled my half-shield to break through the cyclops' defensive barrier. I didn't mind if I had to be weaponless for the time being until I got a notification once I arrived back at the hospital.
[You have earned 12 remnants of Talos the Bronze Titan.]
[Only 3 remnants are needed to craft one bladed weapon.]
[You have the choice in choosing what type of blade you want to craft with them.]
[Please note that the duration to craft your weapon depends on the blade’s length and size.]
[May you choose your blade wisely.]
After some days I needed to think thoroughly along with the online research on all kinds of blades, I finally settled for a rondel blade because 1) I'm not flexible like Chun Sun-woo who's able to swing a huge sword like the claymore with one hand (even though he's the typical lean muscular guy unlike Jung-han's bulky build); 2) I’m gonna rely on speed from now on, but the blade mustn't be too short; finally, 3) I think I'm able to take down my target at a close-ranged distance. And so, I inwardly say [Rondel Dagger] to which the Guideline replied…
[The revisioned Guideline accepts to craft {Talos’ Heating Rondel} for Participant Kang Joo-yeon.]
[Blade length = 25cm]
[Grip length = 10cm]
[Time for completion: 2 weeks]
[Would you like to confirm this blade choice?]
This type of dagger may be suitable for me if a Beast were to attack me at a very close range. I just need to work out to get more points and implement them into my ‘Agility’ stat. Being geared with a dagger made me feel like my subclass would become an assassin instead of a druid. Being one of the stronger types of the rogue class, assassins have the strongest offensive abilities in that kind of class. However, that means they’ve the weakest defensive abilities since they can’t channel their mana output to make a defensive barrier around them. I guess that's why inquisitors are often paired with assassins that leads many people wondering which of these Slayer types would win in a mock combat. Anyhow, I replied without the need to think twice.
[Yes]
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I wish I wasn't talking to a teenage boy who accidentally bumped into me the next morning after my solo raid. Because there was a sudden notification from the Guideline saying…
[Daily Task for Participant Kang Joo-yeon's Physical Strength]
[Kicks - (0/100)]
[Punches - (0/100)]
[Pull-ups - (0/100)]
[(Insert new strength exercise)]
[The participant will receive a necessary penalty if the given task fails to be completed by midnight.]
“I'm sorry, miss! I was testing how fast I could run a 10km route.”
“Running…10km?! Did you lose a bet to be doing this punishment?”
“No, I didn't. I'm preparing for my first marathon next week. Oh! Speaking about it, I had to continue testing. I'm sorry I bumped into you, miss!”
As we waved each other a goodbye gesture, I paid attention back to the Guideline’s digitized window; my face making a complete baffled look while reading the fourth row of my daily task requirement.
[Daily Task for Participant Kang Joo-yeon's Physical Strength]
[Kicks - (0/100)]
[Punches - (0/100)]
[Pull-ups - (0/100)]
[Running - (0/10km)]
“The next time I see you, I'm gonna punch your face, you cold-blooded wizard!”, I grumbled before proceeding to complete my “renewed daily task”.
And now three weeks later, heartless Amergin's “tampering” has made me spend more on new sets of clothes, especially sportswear, for these past three weeks with my doctor's permission to go out of the hospital to do so. Whilst I was shopping for my last set of clothes a few days ago, I coincidentally met Mrs Park and his little son at the checkout counter. As expected, she looked shocked upon seeing me though I can understand that my light brown hair isn't spotting a long straight hairstyle anymore. I assumed she was there to buy a new set of clothes probably for her son. Nobody said anything until her son asked her if I'm her friend. Those innocent words of his caused me to smile fakely while I said these words with ease.
“In fact, your mom gave me the most surprising gift, kid. Ain't that right, Park Sang-mi?”
Surprisingly, I never regret saying those cold words to her back then in front of her son. After my purchase was done at the counter, I left the shop with my memory of her frozen, guilt-ridden face. I was able to hear her son asking why she was looking that way to me before the shop’s sliding door closed behind me. No apology can atone for the sin of her cowardice that led to abandoning not just myself, but Jung-han and Ms Han too. She actually abandoned THREE people on that day.
Regardless, I'm not gonna think about people like her anymore. I think it's a good thing that I've been implemented with the Guideline that keeps me in check to not go into an “emotionally volatile” mode. Another reward for my first solo raid on the Spontaneous Labyrinth is that I've got an upgrade on my healing potion. Or more accurately, a higher grade one. This time, it actually tells me how many I can make if I were to use up all its ingredients.
[You've received ingredients to make a middle-grade Healing Potion.]
[1. Mistletoe]
[2. Windblume]
[3. Lilac]
[4. Aloe Vera]
[The current amount of these ingredients are enough to craft for 6 bottles.]
Is this additional info revealed because I'm now officially an E-rank? I wonder how much more information I'll learn about anything related to the Guideline…starting with Old Man Amergin. I guess I've got another reason to grow stronger. The more specific messages I get, the better I can figure out why that wretched Labyrinth exists in the first place.
I proceed agreeing to the craftsmanship of all of its six bottles alongside another six bottles of low-grade Explosion Potions, which will use up all the kobolds’ blood and scales for good. I think the next time I see a hoard of kobolds, I'll hunt them to make more Explosion Potions but then again, I shouldn’t be going into any Labyrinths from now on.
I'm still a very low-ranked Slayer on the Alliance’s record, and for that reason, they won't let me go inside a Labyrinth all by myself. Going in a group will risk me exposing my “leveling up” powers that'll lead me to be mistaken as a Hidden Ranker, who are a special kind of rogue Slayers that hide their actual mana output on purpose. I've heard Hidden Rankers must be executed even though there are currently more humane plans to disarm this kind of rogue Slayers.
It’s frightening to know that they're able to freely control their mana output, tricking and giving false data on the first-made mana orb so many times. As a result, this act led to so much deception and worst, a massacre towards Nons and Slayers alike preferably done inside a Labyrinth. Now, the latest mana orb, along with special mana crystals given with the orb's energy and placed in a walkie-talkie kind of box, is able to detect a Hidden Ranker within a minute. Hidden Rankers are getting more common to be found given the Alliance has caught and killed twenty for the past twelve years.
“It would be easier and safer if that old man told me everything he knows about this system thing I've got inside of me,” I grumble to myself while I'm almost done with my pull-ups at the hospital’s playground.
[Daily Task for Participant Kang Joo-yeon's Physical Strength]
[Kicks - (100/100)]
[Punches - (100/100)]
[Pull-ups - (100/100)]
[Running - (10/10km)]
I don't know if I'm imagining things, but somehow I'm being stared at so much today. I wonder if I’m exposing my belly too much in my black-and-purple sportswear now. Instead of young children, whom I often get attention from being the only adult woman using the playground, it's mostly young men staring at me; some with their mouths wide open.
I know their stares aren't that of the “sexual harassment” type, but I feel awkward being looked at as if I've Gayoung’s beautiful looks to which I don't. After I drink half a water bottle, I immediately leave the playground and head to my hospital room for a wardrobe change from my sweaty sportswear. I also remember today is the day I'm officially discharged from this hospital.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A male nurse calls my name, knocking on my hospital room’s door before opening it. I’ve managed to wear my long skirt on time. Only my upper body is a bit exposed with my black bra. Sure enough, I’ve made the young man feel uncomfortable seeing how he’s blushing redder than Jung-han’s flushed face from the fevers I've seen of him. I quickly grab one of my T-shirts, which are lying across my hospital bed, randomly. I put on a dark green shirt, covering my upper body’s improperness.
These three weeks also got me noticing more young men are working in a nurse’s uniform. While it's a good thing debunking and defying society's gender-defined jobs, I overheard that these male graduates took the nursing job because of a hot-looking female patient. It may sound trivial, but so far, I've met the majority of them being competent as nurses. I can tell these young men really want the nursing job as their profession.
Besides, I didn't see a female patient who is pretty like Slayer Seo Jae-in during my stay here. I thank the male nurse for his hard work and passing the message from my doctor. As I'm about to leave the room, he stops me with him suddenly calling out my name loudly; both of his hands holding and stretching out his smartphone to me.
“Ms Kang Joo-yeon! Uhm…”
“Woah~ yes, what is it?”
“C…can…can I have your phone number?”
“Phone number? Mine?”
“Yes! I…I wanna…maybe…”
If I'm not mistaken, this man was talking to Doctor Han yesterday. Maybe he wants my contact info to inform me in case my health results seem off to the doctor.
“Alright.”
As I reach out my right hand to take his phone and input my phone number, a familiar voice creeps up behind the male nurse. The voice speaks out a threatening tone in his words.
“Young man~ what are you doing to my niece?”
It's Uncle Seung-min who has come to pick me up and send me straight home before heading back to his part-time job as he's dressed in a deliveryman’s uniform. I can see his closed eyes looking somewhat antagonistic even though he's smiling at the male nurse whose face I can see turned pale after seeing my uncle like that.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
“Is it because I sent you to an all-girls school?”
“What do you mean, Uncle?”
“You see…there are men who like to take advantage of women. Men have an insatiable appetite.”
“But, uncle, he didn't look hungry to me.”
“What?”
“He’s one of the nurses working under Doctor Han. Isn't that the reason why he needs my phone number? So that he can tell me if anything abnormal shows up regarding my health results?”
“Joo-yeon, you…Ha…Promise me you won't give away your contact info like that again. Anyway, Doctor Han has gotten your contact info, right?”
I nod while looking confused about what Uncle Seung-min is implying about men like that shy nurse. I kind of feel bad to see the young man rush out of my room, making a sudden excuse to me before his immediate leaving. I really gotta work on my social cues, especially with men my age though Jung-han is the exception of not feeling uncomfortable with me.
Anyhow, my uncle tells me to wait at the hospital counter as he's been told to go meet with my doctor now. He follows the nurse showing him the way to Doctor Han’s office, and disappears from my sight as they turn right to a corner. I look around in this bustling hospital; my pink backpack feels light on my back despite the many newly bought clothes packed in it.
For a moment, I look at the hospital’s clock showing that it's almost noon. Then, someone with a huge build bumps into me. My eyes automatically close when that happens. I almost lost my balance, which is a surprise to me because I'm scrawny to begin with. I open my eyes to see a tall man in his early-40s spotting a black goatee and curly black hair. He might've towered over Jung-han if he were to meet him.
Then, I make a shocked look not because of the way he glares at me, saying “Hey! Watch where you're going!”. But because there's a familiar blue digital screen appearing in front of his face. It's the Guideline though many words look like they're redacted except these two words that caught my attention.
[ - - - - Trúpa Program - - - - ]