Level Up Chapter 18

Ryu Hye Yeon was definitely not a player.

 

Hyun Seok couldn't check the information of other than the players.

 

That was the case until now.

 

However, at this moment, he could clearly see a name emerging on Ryu Hye Yeon's head.

 

Hyun Seok then went further ahead as he focused on the name while accumulating more mana while looking into her eyes.

 

Then, the information about her flashed in front of him as if a window had been unfolded.

 

[Ryu Hye-yeon]

 

[Title: Addicted to Mana]

 

[Level: 0]

 

[Magic: 25]

 

[Strength: 2]

 

[Agility: 1]

 

[Stamina: 3]

 

[Intelligence: 9]

 

[Mental Strength: 4]

 

 

Hyun Seok's eyes sparkled as more and more information came forth under her name. After all, this could only happen if one becomes a player.

 

'If I set her level to 1, would I wake her up as a player?'

 

Hyun Seok looked satisfied as he confirmed that his guess was right.

 

Ryu Ji Hye, who misunderstood the expression, cautiously asked, “How's it going? Are you okay? Do you think you can fix it?”

 

Hearing her voice, Hyun Seok came back to his senses. He looked at her with a smile as he nodded.

 

“Of course. It's simple to fix, but I'll have to check on a few things, so please wait.”

 

Fixing mana addiction was actually very simple. All he had to do was to get rid of the excess mana.

 

However, it is better not to strain the body in the process. The key was to extract mana cautiously and carefully.

 

In Hyun Seok's 'past', which was about 10 years from now, various medicinal herbs were used to gradually extract the mana, while protecting the body at the same time.

 

However, Hyun Seok didn't have to do such a method. He was excellent at controlling mana and he even won the title 'Master of Mana'.

 

He could easily pull out the mana as much as he wanted. The only problem was that he'd have to touch the patient's body.

 

Hyun Seok wasn't really focused on having a title. Still, there's still a difference between those who have it and those who don't.

 

In fact, even Ryu Ji Hye, who had a very high level, didn't have any title.

 

'Well… I don't think the title 'Addicted to Mana' would be very useful.'

 

[Addicted to Mana: A title acquired by an unawakened person who had been contaminated by mana. Awakening can be achieved once the special conditions are met.]

 

As he confirmed the title, Hyun Seok's eyes sparkled. Again, this was under his expectation.

 

It was worthwhile to come all the way here to check her in person. But he still had to figure out what those special conditions are.

But it was not as difficult as he imagined.

 

'This… It feels as if a quest was prepared for me.'

 

Mana flows through a special pathway in the player's body. The reason why ordinary people couldn't accept mana is that the pathway is blocked or had not yet developed. In other words, finding out whether there was a way or not, was essential to the standard process of awakening as a player.

 

The path was natural. Meaning, someone cannot force it.

 

'So… it means that Ryu Hye Yeon had the talent to awaken as a player in the first place.'

 

In fact, if she doesn't have such potential, mana addiction wouldn't have happened in the first place as mana could only stimulate ordinary people, but never stays in their body.

 

Hyun Seok, who had been organizing his thoughts up to this point, glanced at both Ryu Ji Hye and Ryu Hye Yeon alternately with a serious look, which caused the sisters to gulp nervously.

 

Hyun Seok looked pleased for the moment.

 

Though Hyun Seok's apparent age is 21, his soul was already over 40.

 

The sight of two young women looking at him with such seriousness had created a bubble of joy in him.

 

“Hmm, now, listen to me very carefully as I explain. It's time to make a choice.”

 

“Time to make a choice?”

 

Hyun Seok stepped back a bit and stood straight.

 

Then he looked around and said, “There are two ways.”

 

Hearing the words, 'two ways', Ryu Ji Hye and Ryu Hye Yeon intently focused on him.

 

“First, there's medication.”

 

The sisters nodded at the same time. It was under their expectations. However, their fate would depend on how expensive or precious the drugs are.

 

“There's nothing to worry about. They are neither expensive nor hard to get. It's just that the process would be quite tedious.”

 

Basically, it would take a long time to gradually pull out the mana without putting any strain on the body.

 

“And the other?”

 

“…is that all?”

 

Ryu Ji Hye panicked. That can't be the end, it just can't. She didn't even know the cost of his consultation yet.

 

“You don't want to be overcharged, right?”

 

Hyun Seok smiled. Anyway, he didn't want to get paid for this. All he wanted was to gather new information by checking the poisoning caused by mana addiction.

 

“Now, let's talk about the second choice.”

 

“Oh, you did say we had that…”

 

Hyun Seok nodded and looked at Ryu Hye Yeon.

 

“Did you say that your name is Hye Yeon?”

 

Ryu Hye Yeon slowly nodded her head as she glanced up to him with her doe eyes.

She looked cute.

 

“The second way is for Hye Yeon to be awakened as a player.”

 

As soon as he said this, heavy silence lingered in the room for quite some time.

 

Then, the silence was suddenly broken by their piercing screams.

 

“What? Player?”

 

“What the hell does that mean?”

 

Hyun Seok decided to skip further details as they were not very important. He just calmly spoke to them while prompting the sisters to make their choice.

 

“Just choose between number one or number two!”

 

Ryu Hye Yeon asked Hyun Seok while clenching her fists with a determined look.

 

“Really… can I really be awakened to be a player if I want to?”

 

Hyun Seok nodded in a nonchalant manner as if this matter wasn't anything big at all.

 

“Well, then I'll do it.”

 

“Hye Yeon! No!” Ryu Ji Hye hurriedly stepped forward to oppose Ryu Hye Yeon's decision.

 

“But sis!”

 

“You don't need to jump into this dangerous place. No, you shouldn't!”

 

“But… do you want me to leave you alone in such danger?”

 

Ryu Ji Hye softly smiled and touched Ryu Hye Yeon's hair.

 

“Don't worry, I'm not in danger. I don't do anything dangerous. So you don't have to worry.”

 

Ryu Hye Yeon shook her head.

 

“If I stay like this, I'll end up holding you back. I… I can't live in the house forever.”

 

Ryu Ji Hye's mouth was shut as she heard the remark.

 

Her eyes shook with emotion. She had never thought about it. She didn't really know how her sister felt.

 

So, instinctively, she tried to stop her younger sibling from doing something so dangerous.

 

But looking at Hye Yeon's eyes, she couldn't deny it anymore.

 

She was shining so brightly. She looked so beautiful, making Ji Hye think if her sister was always this pretty.

 

Looking at her sister, Ji Hye knew that she couldn't stop her anymore.

 

So, in the end, Ryu Ji Hye stepped back. She no longer said anything, but that action was enough.

 

Ryu Hye Yeon quickly and tightly hugged her sister.

 

“Thank you, sister. I'll be really good. I won't make you worry…”

 

Ryu Ji Hye held her sister still and patted her on the back.

 

“Come on, why don't you sweet talk later and let me finish the work first? I will have to go back soon, just so you know.”

 

At Hyun Seok's words, the two fell into silence and blushed slightly.

 

Ji Hye was a little embarrassed because she had shown him something no one had ever seen her do.

 

“Come on, let's do this. And by the way, it'll hurt a little, so you have to hold on. You can do it, right?”

 

Ryu Hye Yeon nodded with a determined look on her face. She had endured pain for a long time because of this disease, she didn't mind experiencing pain for a bit longer.

 

“You might throw up some blood, too. But don't be surprised, it's part of the process.”

 

Ryu Hye Yeon again nodded. Then, suddenly remembering something, she tried to ask Hyun Seok, but soon closed her mouth.

 

'What's your relationship with my sister? I don't think he's just a colleague…'

 

Ryu Hye Yeon was not fully aware that Hyun Seok had been speaking informally to her so far. She took it so naturally because she felt like an adult was talking to her.

 

Anyways, while her mind was floating on such useless thoughts, Hyun Seok had already placed her back on the bed and inserted his mana on her.

 

As Ryu Hye Yeon was about to say something, a tremendous amount of pain pierced through her whole body like waves.

 

Her eyes and mouth wide open, but no scream could be heard. She was in so much pain that she couldn't even let her voice out.

 

Though she expected it to be painful, this sensation was beyond anything. Just as she was about to give up and reconsider, the pain disappeared.

 

Hye Yeon threw up black blood out of her mouth. Hyun Seok then skillfully turned her face to the side so that the blood would fall on the floor.

 

The dark coloured blood gushed out of her mouth.

 

Watching it, Ryu Ji Hye's face turned pale. In horror,  she closed her mouth with her hands.

 

However, Hyun Seok continued to push his mana into Ryu Hye Yeon's body without changing a single expression.

 

To control another person's mana, double the amount of mana is consumed.

 

That's exactly what he's doing now.

 

Hyun Seok casually said something to Ryu Hye Yeon.

 

“Now, the first step is over. It was bearable, wasn't it? However, it will hurt much more, so bear with it.”

 

Ryu Hye Yeon was shocked to the core when she heard him speak. The words “I quit” were there at the end of her throat, but she couldn't spit it out.

 

It was so painful that she was unable to speak up. And it would be wasteful if she gave up now, so she endured.

 

But the biggest reason was Ji Hye who was still looking at her with a worried look on her face.

 

Ryu Hye Yeon clenched her teeth and held on.

 

But as soon as the pain entered her back and spread all over, her determination was easily crushed.

 

It felt as if something had pierced her veins and was going around her whole body, causing excruciating pain.

 

Her consciousness grew faint but the pain didn't diminish.

 

 

“Um.”

 

Ryu Hye Yeon opened her eyes with much difficulty and was welcomed with a familiar ceiling.

 

She shuddered the moment she woke up, making her come back to her senses.

 

And as soon as her head was cleared, the first thing that came to her mind was that terrible pain.

 

“Ahhhh!”

 

Ryu Hye Yeon immediately rose up from her bed.

 

While looking around the room, she saw no one.

 

“So, did I fail?”

 

Hye Yeon looked at her body with an anxious look. She seemed to be perfectly well and her body felt incredibly refreshed.

 

For the first time in her life, she felt as light as a feather. Then she realized that her whole body was full of energy.

 

It was indescribably delightful.

 

“I've made it!”

 

Once she becomes a player, she would be able to use her mana. The same mana which was the cause of her disease would now be her strength.

 

Ryu Hye Yeon jumped up, moved her body around, stretched her limbs, and finally sat down on the bed.

 

Although she became a player, she realized that she had absolutely no idea what to do next.

 

Soon, the door had opened slightly and Ryu Ji Hye came inside.

 

“Sis!”

 

Seeing her elder sister, she was suddenly moved to tears as she was so thankful.

 

Ryu Ji Hye approached her crying sibling and quietly consoled her.

 

Now, all she needed was to grow step by step.

 

'This sister will help you from scratch.”

 

Ryu Ji Hye, who made such a commitment, remembered what Hyun Seok had said a few hours ago.

 

“She has tremendous talent and potential? My sister Hye Yeon?”

 

Ryu Ji Hye had never been so surprised as much as she was today. She thought that perhaps, for the time being, nothing could ever be as surprising as this.

 

Recalling how Hyuk Seok had left hurriedly as soon as his job was done, she muttered softly.

 

“Soon, let's meet again.”

 

She wasn't interested in other things, but she really wanted to repay him for saving her younger sister. No, she really wanted to.

 

Both siblings flashed a determined look on their faces.

Chapter end