Chapter 34

Episode 34 Possession (1)

Leaving the patient's mother's gratitude behind, I stepped out of the counseling room. It felt as if every single drop of energy in my entire body had been completely drained. On my way back to the station, I leaned against the hallway wall and closed my eyes for a moment. My head spun. It felt like my brain was about to burn out from overload.

‘Right, after throwing such a massive fuss... I should at least check the reward.’

The sole reward granted to me in this hell-like life. My only indicator of growth. Barely holding onto my tattered mind, I opened the blue interface in my mind. A fair amount must have come in from the myocardial infarction case, and since I also just successfully performed an intubation a moment ago... at least a few hundred points should have accumulated.

With half expectation and half resignation, I pressed the shop icon to check my retained points. The moment I saw the number flashing on the screen, my brain ceased all activity.

[Retained LP: 5,021]

…?

..?

I blinked. Did I see it wrong? Was I seeing things because I was tired? I rubbed my eyes and looked at the screen again. The number didn't change. It was shining vividly and clearly.

Five thousand twenty-one.

“…I gathered all 5,000?”

It was a relief no one was around. Otherwise, I would have looked like a crazy bastard talking to himself in the void. No, maybe I already looked enough like a crazy bastard.

“When did it gather like this?”

My mind became full of confusion. What did I even do? The tonsillar bleeding patient from a moment ago. Intubating and saving them right before airway obstruction. That must have been pretty huge. On top of that, the small change I earned while acting as a human Up-to-date piled up bit by bit...

“Let's just go to the shop.”

I opened the shop list and scrolled all the way to the bottom. There it was, the final destination of all my hardships, radiating an overwhelming aura incomparable to any other item.

[Possession]

[Price: 5,000 LP]

I pressed the purchase button. Then, a warning window popped up in the center of my vision.

[Would you like to purchase the Possession skill? Price: 5,000 LP. Cancellation is impossible after purchase.]

[ Y / N ]

Y or N.

Y. It was unconditionally Y.

[You have acquired a new skill, Possession!]

[To use the skill, you must designate a target to possess.]

Mes of the God (Trauma Surgery / Thoracic Surgery / Specialty: Abdomen, Chest, Blood Vessel, Trauma)

Cardiology Ghost (Cardiology / Specialty: EKG, Echocardiogram, Intervention)

Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine / Specialty: Airway Management, Pain Control, Critical Care Management)

Latte is Mine (Gastroenterology / Specialty: Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal Disease)

Hippocrates' Descendant (Infectious Diseases? / Specialty: Unclear. Miscellaneous.)

Bone Nerd 88 (Orthopedic Clinic / Specialty: Fracture, Bone Marrow Disease, Sports Medicine)

…

“…It's done.”

Standing alone in the empty hallway, looking at the list unfolding before my eyes, I shivered. This was my new weapon. Ghosts from all sorts of miscellaneous fields. Now, no matter what kind of patient came in, I wasn't afraid.

If someone was brought in with their organs ruptured from a traffic accident, I could just call Mes of the God. If a worst-case scenario where airway management is impossible strikes like a moment ago, I could just descend the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine into my body.

My hands are garbage? My skills are trash? It didn't matter. Because from now on, my hands were no longer mine!

Muhahaha.

I slowly scanned down the list. I engraved each and every name and specialty into my brain. It was a bit bothersome that Hippocrates' Descendant's specialty was listed as 'Unclear. Miscellaneous,' but whatever. They'd probably play a joker-like role.

With my chest swelling, I closed the window of the skill tab. Now, I was no longer a half-baked doctor. I was...

‘Ah, right. The penalty.’

At that moment, the final line of the skill description came to mind.

[Upon using the skill, you will fall into a state of severe, full-body muscle pain for 12 hours.]

The excitement that had been boiling up until a moment ago cooled down instantly. Right, nothing in this world is free. This didn't mean I had become stronger. I had merely put a powerful weapon in my hand. If I had to compare it to a game, it felt like a bazooka that could only be used once.

I stared into space. Mes of the God, Cardiology Ghost, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine... an army of crazy ghosts whose names alone were reassuring—no, whose mere thought made my blood pressure rise.

‘Will the day to actually use this ever even come?’

Just thinking about it made me dizzy. One of those crazy bastards entering my body? Horrible.

But at the same time, a bizarre sense of stability that hadn't existed before washed over me. It felt like I had gained a ultimate stronghold, a final emergency escape hatch.

…Come to think of it, shouldn't I let those gentlemen know about this fact?

Of course, it was my skill and I bought it with my points, so it was only right that I used it as I pleased. But if I stayed quiet and suddenly went, 'Hey, you're being possessed starting now,' and forcibly summoned a ghost who was chilling in the afterlife back to the living world, how absurd would that be? Showing minimum manners—no, giving a minimum notification—was definitely the proper duty as the leader of this crazy study group.

This was manners. It was absolutely not because I was curious about their reactions or because I wanted to brag about obtaining such a cheat-like skill. Not at all.

Rationalizing it that way, I opened the familiar blue interface.

Title: Hey, anyone want to sightsee the living life?

Author: Korean Slave 1

There was a skill called Possession, so I bought it. Just letting you know so you won't be startled if you suddenly get possessed. So I came to tell you.

A brief silence ensued. Then, the gallery exploded far more violently than I had expected.

ㅇㅇ (210.94): ?? What kind of bullshit is this?

The first comment was concise and powerful.

Latte is Mine: ????? Possession? Are you kidding me right now? Are you saying you became a shaman or something?

Operating Room Ghost 3: This bastard has finally gone crazy lmfaooooo. Everyone, this is how overwork ruins a person's brain lmfaooooo.

Bone Nerd 88: Possession? Me? Is it possible? For real? No, but what does this even mean?

Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine: If you're tired, just go to sleep. Stop talking nonsense.

I sighed and left a comment to provide further explanation.

ㄴ Korean Slave 1: No, there's a system shop that's only visible to me, not you guys. It's a system where I gather points called LP from there and buy skills. So I'm letting you know in advance so you won't be surprised if you suddenly open your eyes and find yourself in my body, you gentlemen.

At my detailed explanation, the atmosphere of the gallery began to shift subtly.

ㄴ Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine: What is that shop? Are you talking about what you posted last time, asking if a shop is visible?

ㄴ Korean Slave 1: Yeah, that's right. I'm telling you, the shop is visible to me.

ㄴ Latte is Mine: ? That really existed? You weren't joking?

The mockery and ridicule cleared out, and in its spot, intellectual curiosity and confusion flooded in.

Hippocrates' Descendant: To think it is a system of trials and rewards permitted only to the living! LP? Is that a value that quantifies medical achievements? Deeply interesting!

Mes of the God: Wait. Let's organize this. You bastard receive something called LP every time you save a patient or pull off a difficult diagnosis, and you pay that to purchase items from the shop. But you mean we are included in that shop's item list?

As expected of Mes of the God. That person was incredibly fast at grasping the situation.

ㅇㅇ (118.235): Wow, fuck. Then are we like items?

Hematoma is Hell: Bullshit. Why am I an item? Am I your card?

Cardiology Ghost: I see. The privilege of the living, is it.

The ghosts huddled together and began to debate the essence of this bizarre system among themselves.

Latte is Mine: To think that after dying, I end up having my name listed on the skill list of a brat who is barely a 2nd year. The world is truly fucked up.

Operating Room Ghost 3: But isn't this kinda awesome? It means we can directly enter that guy's body and do surgery! Can I hold a scalpel again? What about endoscopy? Laparoscopy? I'm getting a bit thrilled right now.

ㄴ Korean Slave 1: If I try to do laparoscopy with my body, a disciplinary committee will be held immediately.

Bone Nerd 88: How much is my possession? How many points do you need to use me! A talented individual like me will definitely be expensive. Right?

I watched the ghosts' debate with the feeling of popping popcorn. The complaining guy, the excited guy, and even the guy curious about his own price tag. They showed all sorts of reactions, but the conclusion was converging into one. The ghosts accepted this situation.

Hippocrates' Descendant: Everything has become clear. O living one, thou art the sole agent to manifest the knowledge and experience of us dead in the present world. And possession must be the ultimate form of that agency. Very well. I accept it.

Mes of the God: My eyes were right on the verge of rotting away from being unable to watch those pathetic hands any longer, so this is actually for the better.

Just like that, under the conclusion that it was a privilege of the living, the ghosts came to terms with the fact that they had become my skill. Some complained, but most rather seemed to enjoy the situation.

Seeing the loud debate draw to a close, I quietly closed the gallery window. My mind was complicated. It felt like I had gained reliable allies, but it also felt like I was shouldering a bunch of time bombs that didn't know when to explode.

Looking at the ceiling, I muttered softly.

“Even so, well, there won't be many occasions to use the possession skill under normal circumstances.”

This was a final stronghold. How many moments requiring such a final stronghold would there even be in my doctor's life?