abcnovels
Chapter 143
Chapter 143
Chapter 143
Se-Hoon woke up early in the morning to an excruciating pain that felt like he was being slashed across his whole body. Wincing, he read the notification message before him.
“Rebirth, huh...”
From its content, he was able to guess the decision In-Cheol had made. He dismissed the message.
If he chose it himself, then that's that.
Full atonement wouldn't be easy, but as long as he was alive, he could repent as many times as needed to wash away his sins. Now, there was nothing more Se-Hoon could do for him.
Organizing his thoughts about In-Cheol, Se-Hoon looked around.
Come to think of it, it’s been a week since I lost consciousness.
It could be seen as a short or a long period, depending on how one looked at it. But regardless, it would have been quite the chaotic week considering the scale of the recent incident.
Wondering how everything had been settled, he picked up his phone, which he hadn't touched since yesterday's examination.
Vrrr!
His phone buzzed madly upon turning on, notifying him of all the messages he had received. Most of them had arrived last night, many asking about his condition; it seemed news of him regaining consciousness had spread.
Scrolling through them all, one message stood out to Se-Hoon.
Yeom Sung-Ha: When are you planning to settle the accounts?
Se-Hoon made a dissatisfied expression at the dry content of the message. It showed all Sung-Ha cared about was settling the pile of bills he had accumulated.
“This guy... sigh, forget it.”
He hadn't expected anything from Sung-Ha in the first place, so he wasn't particularly disappointed.
Shaking his head, he replied to everyone—minus Sung-Ha—that he was fine, and then checked the news of the past week on the internet.
“A Futile Security System. Is Babel's Security Okay as Is?”
“Chairman Ludwig: ‘This was an unusual incident involving multiple evil forces. It's time for humanity, not just Babel, to pay attention.’”
“UD Group CEO Wurgen: ‘The Emperor of Ascension must learn how to align himself with others as not doing so will eventually be of greater harm to humanity.’”
Despite a week having passed since the incident, the situation hadn't been resolved; in fact, it had become more chaotic since people were tossing the blame among themselves. Naturally, the main target was Babel, which had failed to prevent the incident.
“What a mess...”
He scrolled some more news articles.
They handled it well though... given the circumstances.
The incident had involved Tuner, Puppeteer, and the Dream Demon—three of the Ten Evils. And within Babel itself, Dawn and Offering collaborated. The former three were strong adversaries that any hero would struggle to deal with unless they were Perfect Ones, and the latter two had utilized infiltrators planted long ago, making it challenging for anyone to respond.
If such an incident had happened in any other city or educational institution, the casualty count would have easily been in the thousands. The fact casualties had been limited to a few dozen was purely due to Babel's effort.
It looks like Wurgen is stirring things up.
Wurgen Kruger, the CEO of the UD Group and a Perfect One like Ludwig, was seizing the opportunity to bring down Babel. As a subtle competitor for influence on the hero industry, it was the perfect chance for him.
Still, with how well we handled the incident, it shouldn’t have been easy to push Babel this hard...
If one were to look back on the incident from an unbiased perspective, it was clear it wasn’t an incident that could have been prevented in advance and that Babel had done its best to manage despite that. What justification could there be for the media offensive against Babel?
Curious about the answer, Se-Hoon looked through the most-viewed news articles and quickly found it.
The damage from this incident was only reduced thanks to the weakening of the Demon Force’s barrier. It was revealed that this was done by a single person, a third-year student, in fact...
The ones who subdued the Vermillion Bird in the exhibition hall were two students! Where was Babel’s staff amidst this mess...?
It was easy to tell that the press was focusing the spotlight on the staff’s faults throughout this incident.
Can this be... my fault? he thought with a grimace.
The students present at the scene quickly grasped the situation and responded swiftly, successfully minimizing the damage—at first glance, it was just a remarkable story about a few students. However, when considering Babel’s status as an educational institution, the narrative changed quite a bit.
Students, who should have been the most important ones to protect after normal civilians, had handled the whole incident by themselves, while the staff, the ones who should be protecting everyone as active-duty heroes and educators, did nothing.
It didn’t matter if Sung-Ha had strength comparable to an A-rank hero or if Luize had her unique Incantation Magic; others would only see how incompetent Babel was in this incident.
I never expected this...
To think his secret preparations to lure in enemies and prevent information from leaking had ended up being the angle people exploited. All he could do was make a bitter smile.
As he read through more articles and the public’s reactions, he heard a light knock on the door.
“May I come in?”
After a moment, Jung-Wan entered the room.
“Did you have a good sleep?”
“Ah, yes, sir.”
It was a bit painful when he woke up, but it wasn’t intolerable.
Jung-Wan nodded in relief upon seeing Se-Hoon’s nonchalance.
“I'll just do a quick check-up, so relax.”
Holding a small handheld diagnostic device, he approached Se-Hoon and placed it on his body. Soon, the device's readings appeared on the screen in his hand.
[Recovery Rate: 580%]
“...?”
It was a puzzling result.
Recovery rate was calculated based on data from others with similar physical abilities. In other words, Se-Hoon’s recovery rate of 580% meant he was healing more than five times faster than others with similar physical capabilities.
“Did you... take any elixirs yesterday?”
“Huh? No, I’ve been sleeping all this time.”
“...”
Picking up his device, reviewed the information on it and then curiously examined Se-Hoon.
There’s no sign of elixir use... is his natural recovery rate that high?
Even the delicate parts of his body like his internal organs, blood vessels, and mana circuits, were healing at such an extreme rate. And while such a recovery rate itself was surprising enough, the neatness of the recovery was even more remarkable.
With such fast recovery, misalignment is likely to happen during the healing process, and yet...
Though recovering faster was a good thing, when the speed exceeded the body’s control capabilities, it would lead to many complications that could even worsen into mana impairment if not carefully managed. However, Se-Hoon's body showed no such signs.
If he can handle that recovery rate, he might fully recover in two months... maybe even earlier.
Thinking that Se-Hoon’s significantly improved physical condition since his last hospitalization was admirable, Jung-Wan considered various different factors and then gave his diagnosis.
“Your condition is much better than expected, so you are to do light walks or rehabilitation exercises. From today onwards, start by moving carefully and then make it regularly.”
At the surprisingly positive diagnosis, Se-Hoon cautiously asked, “Then, how long will I need to be hospitalized?”
“If things continue like this, you won’t need to stay the full three months. However, if there are any signs of deterioration, I will be extending your stay so try not to push yourself.”
“Understood!”
“Also...”
Pausing his inputting of the examination result into his device, Jung-Wan looked at Se-Hoon.
“...what do you want to do with the visitors? If you want to rest quietly, I can keep refusing them for a while longer.”
“Hmm... I think it’ll be okay to let them in. Everyone seems quite worried.”
Checking his own condition, Se-Hoon thought he was well enough to see visitors. He had wanted to find out what had happened while he was unconscious anyway.
There must be information that wasn’t covered by the news.
Jung-Wan nodded at Se-Hoon’s response.
“Alright. I’ll set it to require approval for now so that you can just meet them when you feel up for it. You can use the device on the table to manage the visits.”
“Understood.”
Done with the brief explanation, Jung-Wan left the room. When the door closed, Se-Hoon got out of bed and picked up the device on the table.
“Visitor requests, huh...? I guess there are quite a few people waiting to meet me.”
He could tell that Jung-Wan had intentionally switched his visitor system to an approval-based one. It was likely that allowing them all at once would cause some problems.
I wonder how many people are waiting down there.
Curious, Se-Hoon quickly booted up the device to accept visitor requests.
And then, after a short while—
Ding, ding, ding!!!
“...Huh?”
Hundreds of notifications poured in immediately.
***
As one of the top three medical institutions in the world, the lobby of Askus was usually bustling with people, but the current atmosphere was distinctly different.
A few hundred people—made up of students, government officials, employees, media personnel, and stakeholders related to the hero industry—were scattered throughout, all casting wary glances at one another.
The students were diverse, coming from different grades and departments, and the visitors from outside Babel were all exceptional.
Yet, strangely enough, they were all fixated on their phones. The scene of hundreds doing the same thing was quite bizarre.
“Are we going to get nothing again today...?”
“If only they would give us a clear answer...”
They were all anxiously staring at their phones.
Then, shattering the tense atmosphere, a student suddenly shouted in surprise, “It’s up...!”
Everyone scattered in the lobby immediately rushed toward the information desk.
“I'm Manager Ko, dispatched from the Heroes Association. I'm here to request a visit with Lee Se-Hoon...”
“I'm from UD Industries. I would like to request a visit with Lee Se-Hoon, and please make sure to mention our company's name...”
“Please note that I brought a small gift too...!”
Everyone was eager to leave their names, affiliations, and even the gifts they brought, creating a scene reminiscent of an auction.
And there was a straightforward reason they were all acting so bizarrely.
We must secure the method to mass-produce sword aura at all costs!
If we fall behind now, we'll lag behind for years...
Even though mass-producing sword aura equipment, a task once deemed impossible, still had its uncertainties, it was a groundbreaking invention that could shape the future of the hero industry. Hence, everyone moved quickly to secure anything related, naturally focusing attention on its developer, Se-Hoon.
I heard that the Demon Force was targeting the mass-produced sword aura technology and Lee Se-Hoon in the recent incident.
It seems Inoue Erika and Jake Myers thwarted an attempt to steal the technology during the incident...
Anyone who still treats him as just a student must have some problem with their head.
Just one hospital visit would likely determine who would stay ahead and who wouldn’t in the race to maintain a leading position in the hero industry. Therefore everyone was eager to get in first, meaning all eyes were on the most likely candidate.
“...”
Sitting on a sofa with an uncomfortable expression, the blonde Jake glanced at the bag of bread in his hand.
Maybe I should've come some other time...
Jake had come to visit upon receiving a message saying it was okay, only to find the lobby's atmosphere far more intense than he had expected.
Awkwardly scanning the room under the watchful eyes of others, he noticed a girl sitting a little distance away.
“...”
He watched Erika sitting perfectly still, staring straight ahead for a moment. Even from where he was, he could feel an indescribable sense of pressure emanating from her. It kept people from even glancing in her direction, let alone getting near her.
Maybe I should just go back home.
Then, just as Jake planned to leave, feeling slightly nauseous, his phone buzzed briefly.
Buzz-
Instantly, all eyes in the lobby turned to him.
Startled by the overwhelming attention, Jake looked at the message on his phone.
Lee Se-Hoon: Is it a mess down there?
Peeking his head up to glance around him, Jake replied: It's a complete mess.
There was no other way to describe the current situation.
Hitting the send button, Jake let out a sigh. It was at this moment that he felt a strange gaze from beside him that made him turn his head.
“...”
Erika was staring at him intently with her doll-like face and deep, sunken eyes. He involuntarily swallowed dryly and then quickly sent an additional message: It looks like you’re going to be busy today, so I'll come another time.
Since Se-Hoon seemed to be in good health, Jake decided it would be fine to visit him later, when Se-Hoon had more time.
With the message sent, Jake swiftly made his exit, leaving behind the warzone-like lobby he couldn’t adapt to.
That's better, Erika thought, her lips curling into a slight smile as she watched him leave.
If he had stayed, he would likely have been called in first to discuss the mass-produced sword aura equipment with Se-Hoon. Now, without Jake, Erika believed she was the most likely candidate.
Feeling confident that she would be summoned soon, she quietly waited, clutching the gift she had brought for the visit.
“Is Dean Ryu Eun-Ha here?”
“Yes.”
“Please step inside.”
Unfortunately for Erika, Eun-Ha, who had been sitting in the corner, entered the ward first.
“Mr. Lee will not be accepting any more visitors today, so please leave if you have made a request.”
“Damn it...”
“As expected, Dean Ryu gets...”
Annoyed by the staff member's announcement, the waiting visitors clicked their tongues and left, quickly turning the lobby quiet.
Left all alone, Erika looked down at her gift package.
“...”
She fiddled with the wrapping paper, looking utterly crestfallen.