The first thing Haruki felt was a bone-chilling silence seeping into his mind.
When he finally forced his eyes open, the bloody horror of the dungeon was gone. He found himself within the sterile whiteness of a hospital room. By reflex, he immediately checked his right arm. It was there. His shoulder, his chest... there wasn't a single scar on him. Those moments when the Nine-Tailed Fox had torn him apart felt like nothing more than a horrific nightmare. But the memory of that pain was still fresh, still agonizingly real.
"He's awake!" Hana's trembling voice echoed in the room.
As Haruki turned his head, he saw three people standing by his bed. His friend Ren, the Level 19 Tank, was looking at him with a gaze full of guilt. Beside him stood Hana, the Level 22 Healer, her eyes red from crying. But the true master of the room was the man standing rigidly by the window: Seo-Jun.
The right hand of Association Chairman Akira, a Level 78 Knight, Seo-Jun fixed his sharp gaze on Haruki. "You're lucky to be alive," he said, his voice resonating through the room. "Based on a report from someone watching Kenji's stream, we dispatched the nearest recovery team. They found you unconscious in the dungeon. What's strange is that although the stream showed you being gravely wounded, there wasn't a single scratch on you when you were found."
As Haruki attempted to speak, Ren immediately cut in. "Don't push yourself, man. Kenji and that sly Liam are finished. The Association accepted the stream footage as evidence; they're likely on their way to prison right now."
Hana approached Haruki, clutching her staff tightly. Her face was tense with worry. Just then, the door opened and a nurse entered, giving a gentle warning: "Don't overwhelm the patient; he might still be in post-awakening shock."
"I have to head out," Seo-Jun said, moving toward the door. "Take care of yourself, Haruki. You have a strange constitution." Ren also noticed the way Hana was looking at Haruki and gave a small smile. "I should probably leave you two alone. See you later, buddy."
When Hana and Haruki were left alone in the room, the girl's shy yet sincere anger finally burst forth. "Please!" Hana sobbed. "Don't go into such dangerous dungeons anymore! Do you have any idea how scared I was of losing you?"
Haruki looked at this girl who was scolding him but clearly cared for him more than anyone else, and he gave a soft smile. "I'm okay, Hana. Look, I'm perfectly fine. Call the nurse so we can handle the discharge. Shall I buy you some ice cream?"
Hana wiped away her tears and managed a smile. "You're such a blockhead, Haruki. But I won't say no to the ice cream."
After the discharge papers were finalized, they walked under the evening sun, eating their ice cream. There was a sweet atmosphere between Hana's shy demeanor and Haruki's distant yet protective stance. After dropping Hana off at her home, Haruki went to his own small 1+0 apartment.
As he lay on his bed, the darkness of the room took his mind back to that moment once more. "System... open panel."
As the blue screen appeared before him, Haruki held his breath.
[USER STATUS]Name: Haruki
Class: Anatomist (Level 1)
Level: 12
[PASSIVE SKILL ACQUIRED]Skill: WEAK TISSUE ANALYSIS (Level 1)
Description: The user perceives the biological structure of any living being or object with surgical precision. Critical points, nerve endings, and the weakest tissues are perceived as glowing targets.
Haruki raised his hand and looked at his fingers. For a moment, his vision shifted. He began to see the bones beneath his skin, the muscle fibers, and the rhythm of his flowing blood. He was no longer an "Assassin." He had transformed into a monster who possessed the most dangerous map in the world: anatomy.