The beeping of machines and a faint scent of antiseptic filled the air as Kim Suho's eyelids fluttered open. But the world was a blur and the sterile white of a hospital room unmistakable.
"Where…?" Suho mumbled, his voice hoarse. His body felt bruised, as if he had been dragged through a battlefield. Just then, visions of the dungeon appeared in his mind—the statues, the glowing slab, the dazzling light. His heart was racing as he recalled chaos and Sung Jin-Woo standing by his side.
"You're awake," a soft voice said. A nurse in her late twenties stood by his bedside, adjusting the IV drip attached to his arm. She had a kind face, her smile gentle and reassuring.
"Where am I?" Suho asked, trying to sit up.
"Easy there," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder to ease him back down. "You're in the hospital. You were found unconscious with the others after the dungeon collapse. It's a miracle you survived."
Suho's chest tightened. "The others? Sung Jin-Woo—how is he? Did he make it?"
The nurse hesitated, her expression faltering. "He's… alive. But he hasn't woken up yet. The doctors are doing everything they can."
Suho exhaled, relief washing over him despite the lingering worry. At least Jin-Woo was still alive.
"Kim Suho, right?"
Suho turned his head to see Woo Jin-Chul, the sharp-eyed investigator from the Hunter's Association, standing at the door. His suit was immaculate despite the tension etched into his features.
"That's me," Suho replied, his voice steadier now.
Woo Jin-Chul entered the room, with his clipboard clutched under his arm. "I need to ask you a few questions about what happened in the dungeon."
"Of course, but…." Suho weakly waved his hand around the room. "Do I have to do this now? I just woke up."
"I get it, but this was an extremely rare case. We should know as much as we can," Jin-Chul said. He pulled up a chair and sat beside Suho's bed.
Suho let out a deep sigh. "Okay. Whatever you want to know."
Jin-Chul continued flipping through his notes. "You and Sung Jin-Woo were the only survivors of that double dungeon. What do you remember after the main party was defeated?"
His eyes dropped to his hands. "It was a mess. The statues were vicious. We kept following the commandments, but even then. people kept dying. When the slab asked for a sacrifice, I offered. But Jin-Woo wouldn't let me go by myself. We both stayed behind."
"And then?" Jin-Chul pushed.
"There was a flash of blinding light…. It felt like… something entered me. Something powerful." Suho furrowed his brows. "But after that, I blacked out. I don't remember anything else."
Jin-Chul scribbled notes before lifting up his gaze. "You said that something entered you. Can you explain further?"
Suho shook his head. "I want to, but it's hard to put it into words. It felt like a presence. Warm, yet overwhelming."
The nurse returned, this time with her own clipboard, before Jin-Chul could even ask another question. "Sorry to interrupt, but it's time for Mr. Kim's mana retest."
"Mana retest?" Suho echoed.
"Standard procedure," Jin-Chul said. "Anybody who lives through something like that gets reassessed. It's just being cautious."
The nurse drew Suho out of bed and into a wheelchair, much to his irritation. "I can walk, you know," he said, though his legs wobbled when he tried to stand.
"Sure you can," the nurse quipped with a teasing smile. "Humor me, alright?"
As they wheeled him into the testing room, Suho's thoughts drifted to Jin-Woo. Would his friend be subjected to the same tests if he were awake now?
---
The testing room was small and sterile, containing only one device in the middle. The mana measuring device looked like an oversized cylinder with runes etched into its surface and glowing with magic. A technician greeted them with a nod and motioned to Suho, telling him to place his hand on the device.
"Ready?" the technician asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Suho replied, placing his hand on the cold surface, his own hand shaking a little.
The machine whirred to life, strings of numbers flashed glowing brighter as it scanned him. Suho held his breath, his heart pounding in his chest.
After a few moments, the machine beeped, and the technician's eyes widened slightly as he read the results.
"Well?" Suho asked, his nerves fraying.
"Your mana levels are consistent with an E-rank hunter," the technician said.
Suho blinked. "E-rank? Still?"
Woo Jin-Chul had been sitting in the corner, but now he furrowed his brow. "That's… unexpected. Surviving a double dungeon usually results in a rank increase."
"Tell me about it," Suho muttered, jerking his hand back. "I went through hell, and I'm still an E-rank? Talk about a bad joke."
The nurse patted his shoulder. "Hey, at least you're alive. That's what matters, right?"
"Yeah, I guess," Suho said, though frustration laced his voice.
As they were about to leave the room, Suho suddenly saw a blue panel floating in front of him
"What the…?" Suho whispered, his breathing ragged.
"Mr. Kim, are you alright?" Jin-Chul asked, stepping forward.
"I-I'm fine," Suho lied, shaking his head as the voice faded.
He looked at the blue panel in curiosity before shrugging and decided to see it later since everyone seems oblivious about it as if it didn't exist at all
---
Back in his hospital room, Suho sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at the floor. The nurse had visited him several times, offering water and snacks, but he wouldn't even reach for them. His mind kept replaying what he had heard and the glow that had filled him.
As he struggled to understand everything, a pale blue screen suddenly materialized before him, floating in the air.
His breath caught in his throat. He reached out to touch the screen, and it responded to his movements, subtly shifting as his fingers made contact with it.
"What… is this?" he whispered.
The screen flashed up a string of messages:
[Your journey begins now.]
[Quest:??? Monarchs. Reward:???]
"Monarchs? What the hell is going on?" Suho thought to himself.
Just as he was thinking that. The door to his room opened, and Jin-Chul stepped in. "I wanted to check on you before I left. You looked a bit shaken earlier."
Suho quickly dismissed the screen, unsure if anyone else could see it. "I'm fine. Just… tired."
Jin-Chul looked at him for a moment before nodding. "If you remember anything else about the dungeon, let me know. And if you notice any. unusual changes, report them immediately."
"Unusual changes, huh?" Suho said weakly with a laugh. "What, like glowing hands and mysterious voices?"
Jin-Chul raised an eyebrow. "Glowing hands?"
"Nothing," Suho said hastily. "Forget I said anything."
The investigator gave him a skeptical look but didn't press further. "Get some rest, Kim Suho. Something tells me your journey is far from over."
As Jin-Chul left, Suho leaned back against the pillows, his thoughts a whirlwind of questions and possibilities. Whatever had happened in that dungeon, it had changed him. And for better or worse, there was no going back.
---
Suho's fingers fidgeted against the coarse blanket draped over his legs. The hospital room felt suffocatingly quiet after Jin-Chul's departure, but his mind refused to settle. His thoughts kept drifting back to the translucent blue screen that had appeared before him, as if taunting him with its cryptic messages.
"Monarchs? A system? What the hell did I get myself into?" he muttered to himself.
He looked down at his hands, the recollection of the faint golden glow that had coated them still sharp in his mind. Whatever this "system" was, it felt off. Suho had read enough about hunters who went through secondary awakenings to recognize the signs, but this… this was something else.
He lost himself in his train of thought, broken only by the sound of someone knocking at the door. There stood the same nurse, kind and yet somehow inquisitive.
"Mr. Kim? Do you need anything to eat? You haven't even taken a bite off your dinner," she asked.
"No, thank you, but I am fine," Suho said.
The nurse hesitated for a moment before stepping inside with a tray. "You've been through a lot," she said. "Even if you're not hungry, you should try to eat something. Your body needs the energy to recover." She put the tray on the bedside table and smiled at him softly.
"Thanks, but I really—
"Just try the soup," she insisted, cutting him off with a firm but gentle tone. "If you don't, I'll have to call the doctor, and trust me, he's not as nice as I am."
Suho chuckled weakly, the smallest of smiles tugging at his lips. "Alright, alright. You win."
As the nurse continued fussing over his vitals, Suho looked at the bowl of soup. It smelled comforting; it was just a chicken broth, and home instantly came into his mind. He slowly picked up the spoon and started eating; slowly but surely, he was warmed up in more than one way.
"See? Not so bad," the nurse winked as if reading his thoughts.
"Yeah. Thanks," Suho replied, seriously acknowledging her care.
Before she could even respond, the door opened once more, and Woo Jin-Chul stepped inside, his expression unreadable.
"Already back?" Suho asked, setting the spoon down.
"I was about to leave, but something came up," Jin-Chul said, serious. He showed Suho his mana test results on a tablet. "This… doesn't add up."
Suho frowned. "What do you mean? You said I'm E-rank. What's there to add up?"
Jin-Chul put the tablet on the bedside table, tapping the screen to call up a detailed graph. "Your mana levels are consistent with an E-rank hunter, yes, but the fluctuations during the test were unusual. It's as if something was suppressing your mana output."
"Suppressing?" Suho repeated, his stomach twisting.
"Yes," Jin-Chul confirmed. "In all my years of dealing with hunters, I've never seen a result like this. It's almost like your mana is… dormant. Or restrained."
The words hit Suho like a freight train. The system, the glowing hands, the voice—it all started to piece together.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Suho lied, his voice steady despite the storm raging in his mind.
Jin-Chul narrowed his eyes, clearly unconvinced. "If there's something you're not telling me, now's the time, Kim Suho. The Association can help you, but only if we know what we're dealing with."
"I don't know anything," Suho insisted, meeting Jin-Chul's gaze.
After a somewhat tense moment, Jin-Chul sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Okay. But if you feel anything-unusual-anything happen, you call me right away," he said, and pulled out a card, placing it on the bedside table.
Suho nodded. Tightened his fingers on the blanket. "Okay."
Jin-Chul left without further comment, leaving Suho again to his thoughts.
Hours passed by, and the hospital become silent with the deep night. The soft beeping of machines is what would accompany Suho's restless mind. He stared at the ceiling as his body could not sleep, having used up all the worn-out muscles it had for the day.
And then, the screen popped out once more.
[System Notice: Daily Quest Available]
[Quest: Begin Physical Rehabilitation]
[Goal: Do 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, and 100 squats, 10 K/M Run ]
[Time Limit: 2 hours.]
[Reward: Status Recovery, +1 Strength, +1 Stamina, +1 Vitality]
[Extra Notice: Upon failing to complete the quest in the designated time. A penalty will be placed upon the player]
Suho sat up, his heart racing. "What kind of system hands out quests like this?"
The screen remained quiet, its message unyielding. Suho couldn't help but feel that ignoring it would be a bad idea.
Groaning, he swung his legs off the side of the bed. His muscles raged at him, soreness from the dungeon still so raw, but he pushed himself up into standing.
"Push-ups, sit-ups, squats… and even a 10 K/m run? What's more?" he muttered, though his body already felt heavy.
He went down to the floor and started doing his push-ups, with his arms quivering with each movement. With the tenth, his breathing grew labored, but the presence of the screen seemed to propel him forward.
"Come on, Suho. You've been through worse," he encouraged himself.
Then, sit-ups followed. Each of them pulled at his core like a dull ache. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he forced himself through the motions, determination overriding pain.
Finally, he did squats. His legs burned with every rise and fall. He gasped for air by the time he was done, his body trembling from exertion.
When it came to the 10 K/m run, although the nurses objected it. But considering he is a hunter, he was given permission with Notice
After finishing the quest the screen flashed again.
[Quest Complete.]
[Rewards Granted: Status Recovery, +1 Strength, +1 Stamina, +1 Vitality]
As the words faded, Suho felt a surge of warmth spread through his body. The soreness in his muscles eased, replaced by a strange sense of vitality.
"What… is this?" he whispered, his eyes fixed on his hands.
The system wasn't answering anything, but Suho didn't need it. Whatever this power was, he was the reason for its emergence. And when he sat down back on his bed, gasping for his breath, one thing was apparent: That life was never gonna be the same for him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heroines Choice: (Only One)
Cha Hae-in
Sung Jin-ah
Inserts: (I don't know)
????