Chapter 4

Episode 4 Urgent Quest (3) (1)

It wasn’t a disaster.

This was the greatest opportunity of my life.

I chuckled, staring at the blue interface floating in the void: the [Dead Medic Gallery]. A laugh burst out of me like a crazy bastard. The clamor of these dead doctors could become my ultimate textbook and weapon. Dozens, hundreds, perhaps even thousands of ghosts from every medical field imaginable—I could now access a lifetime of their accumulated knowledge and experience in real-time through an internet community.

Calming my mind, which was trembling with excitement, I started analyzing the Gallery interface in more detail. The bulletin board list, the writing window, the search bar… everything that should be there was there.

Then, my eyes locked onto a tiny icon in the absolute top right corner of the screen. Looking closer, it was the faint shape of a shopping cart, glowing dimly.

‘A shop…?’

Why was I only seeing this now? Or was it not there before?

Mixed with confusion and curiosity, I willed myself to click the shopping cart icon. Instantly, the drab blue Gallery screen smoothly transitioned, and a completely new interface unfolded before my eyes.

[Possessed LP: 100]

LP? What is this? Legend Points? The moment I tilted my head in confusion, a small pop-up message surfaced underneath.

[Reward for first successful Rare Disease Diagnosis! 100 LP has been awarded.]

“Crazy….”

There was even a reward system. Swallowing my dry spit, I slowly scrolled through the shop’s item list.

[Fatigue Recovery Potion (Low-grade)]

Price: 50 LP

Description: A special drink that makes you completely forget all fatigue for 3 hours. It is also excellent for curing hangovers.

[Concentration Enhance Potion (Mid-grade)]

Price: 200 LP

Description: Keeps your brain in peak condition for 6 hours. Use it when writing a thesis or conducting complex surgery.

[Palace of Memory (One-time use)]

Price: 800 LP

Description: Perfectly recalls everything you saw and heard over the past 24 hours like a photograph. Find the clues you missed.

“Wow….”

My jaw dropped. Each and every item was like rain during a drought for me right now. Especially that Fatigue Recovery Potion.

However, I stopped myself from pressing the purchase button and scrolled down further. I had a gut feeling that there would be something even more tremendous. And my intuition wasn't wrong.

Near the very bottom of the list, I discovered an item radiating an overwhelming aura that couldn't even be compared to the others.

[Possession]

Price: 5,000 LP

Description: For 30 minutes, a designated Gallery user can possess your body or float in the void beside you to guide you in real-time.

Penalty: You will fall into a state of severe, full-body muscle pain for 12 hours after using the skill.

“…….”

I stopped breathing. I rubbed my eyes and looked again.

Possession. Possession? The possession I knew?

My mind went completely blank. The price tag of 5,000 LP didn’t even register. A dead doctor entering my body for 30 minutes? Just imagining it gave me goosebumps all over. It was quite literally a cheat skill.

‘…or float in the void beside you to guide you in real-time.’

If possession felt too burdensome, it meant I could receive ghostly tutoring instead. I could have a transparent master by my side, guiding me step by step.

Granted, the penalty was horrible. 'Severe, full-body muscle pain.' But if 12 hours of pain allowed me to borrow God’s Hand for 30 minutes, there was no better deal on earth.

The problem was the price: 5,000 LP. I had barely received 100 LP for solving a single VEXAS case.

Calming my pounding heart, I grabbed onto the reins of my reason once more.

‘Let’s calm down. First, let’s verify.’

This shop, this LP system—was it something only I could see? Or was it shared by all the ghosts in this Gallery?

I cautiously opened the Gallery writing window. After a brief deliberation, I typed out a single sentence.

Title: Just asking a question

Author: Korean Slave 1 (Male)

Do you guys have a shop icon in the top right corner?

The moment I willed myself to hit the register button, the comment notifications began to ring like crazy in less than a second.

ㅇㅇ (210.94): So are you saying you're actually alive or what!!!

Pediatric Ghost 77: Hey! Answer me! Are you really a practicing doctor? Are you in the ER right now?

Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine: A shop? What kind of bullshit is that. Are you talking about changing the Gallery skin?

Operating Room Ghost 3 (Male): Stop talking nonsense. I asked what laparoscopy machine you guys use. Answer quickly.

ㅇㅇ (1.234): This bastard only says what he wants to say. What year are you? Which hospital?

Hippocrates' Descendant: There is no such thing as a shop. You are firmly gripped by a delusion.

ㅇㅇ (118.235): There’s no such thing. Stop seeing things and tell us your specs. Which med school did you graduate from?

Bone Nerd 88 (Male): What shop? I can't see anything except my beautiful bone collection.

The comment section instantly became a scene of pure chaos. However, amidst that chaos, I was able to get a single, clear answer.

‘There’s no such thing.’

Nobody could see it. Not a single soul knew about the shop’s existence.

…It only shows up for me.

I realized the rules of this crazy world once again. The [Dead Medic Gallery] was a discussion forum for everyone. But the [Shop] and [LP] were privileges permitted only to me—the sole survivor of this world, the living player.

“Alright, then how do I earn 5,000 points?”

I sprang out of bed and stretched. The fatigue weighing down my shoulders felt like it was lifting slightly, replaced by a sense of achievement and excitement.

What should I do now? Should I run to the Emergency Room immediately and look for a patient who's hard to diagnose? Or should I just spend 50 LP to down a Fatigue Recovery Potion first?

Just then, a bright red warning window flashed across my vision, which had been directed toward the void.

『Urgent Quest triggered!』

『Save the patient's life and prove your qualifications!』

“…?”

A quest?

[Urgent Quest (3): Hidden Shadow]

Objective: Find the neglected patient and save their life.

Time Limit: 00:59:58

Success Reward: 1,000 LP, [Hidden Trait Unlocked]

Failure Penalty: None

Save a life? What the fuck does that mean.

Without even having time to digest the contents of the Quest Window, I bounced out of my seat. The time limit was one hour. Though it said there was no failure penalty, the rewards—1,000 LP and the ‘Hidden Trait Unlocked’—flickered before my eyes.

I urgently kicked open the Duty Room door, sprinted out, and rushed toward the Emergency Room in a flurry.

‘A dying patient. Right now, where?’

If it was the ER, it had to be the Severe Zone. Running like a madman, I burst into Area A, the severe patient zone, first. But all that met my eyes were neatly arranged empty beds and silent monitors. It was empty.

“Dammit!”

Then was it the Resuscitation Room? The place everyone ran to when a cardiac arrest patient arrived. I immediately pivoted and headed toward the Resusc zone. Looking through the glass doors, Resusc rooms 1 through 6 were all completely empty.

Was it the Isolation Room?

Clinging to my last shred of hope, I ran toward the isolation area. I peered through the thick glass window of the Isolation Room, but no, it was empty here too.

“What the fuck is this, seriously.”

My breath caught up to my throat. In this massive Emergency Medical center, I had checked every single place where a dying patient could possibly be.

But there was no one. Absolutely no one.

Did the system glitch? Or did it mean the patient was in some other place I didn’t know about?

Clutching my confused head, I approached the central nursing station. The nurses were busy looking at monitors or walking around holding papers. But they didn't look frantic. It was just the usual daily bustle.

I looked around the station, trying desperately to grasp the current situation.

In the middle of the station, Senior Choi Sumin—a 3rd-year resident in Emergency Medicine who was known as the angel of the ER—was calmly receiving a handoff. Beside her, Teacher Park Se-young, an Emergency Medicine fellow, was glaring at a stack of charts with a frown. A perfectly normal scenery.

And then, my heart dropped at the sight of the man standing behind them.

‘Oh fuck me, why is the Section Chief here again?’

Section Chief Park Woong. Why on earth had the guardian of the conference room, the living disaster himself, descended upon the middle of the ER at this hour?

Please don’t look at me. Please.

I am an invisible man. I am air.

The moment I offered a desperate prayer in my heart, the Section Chief’s head slowly turned toward this direction.

Ah, fuck. Our eyes met.

Section Chief Park Woong tilted his head and stared at me for a moment. Then, as if remembering something, he pointed a finger at me.

“Oh! Right, right. Are you that… Dr. Han?”

Dammit. If you can't avoid it, enjoy it? No, if you can't avoid it, crawl.

I moved my body at a speed that was closer to a spinal reflex.

“YES!!!! SECTION CHIEF!!!!!!!!!! I AM INDEED!! HAN!! HYEONJAE!!”

Along with an answer that was almost a roar, I bowed at a 90-degree angle. Whatever. Let's just suck up to him and get through this crisis first.

Whether he was satisfied with my thunderous response or just found it absurd, the Chief let out a cleared throat before speaking.

“Haha, right. I received a call from Rheumatology earlier, and they were absolutely singing praises about how much our Dr. Han usually studies.”

I couldn't exactly say, ‘No, I just cheated using a Gallery,’ so I activated the only survival skill a 1st-year slave in social life had mastered. I squeezed out the voice of a passionate, academically driven rookie filled with deepest gratitude.

“YES!!!! THAT IS CORRECCCCT!!!!!!! I BELIEVE IT IS A DOCTOR'S NATURAL DUTY TO ACQUIRE THE LATEST KNOWLEDGE NIGHT AND DAY FOR THE SAKE OF THE PATIENT!!!!”

My adulation, pulled from the absolute depths of my soul, split the cold air of the Emergency Room. I could see Senior Choi Sumin's shoulders trembling violently, while Fellow Park Se-young buried his face into his charts. You guys are definitely laughing right now, aren't you?

The Chief blinked his eyes wide and stared at me blankly before he couldn't hold it in anymore and burst into a roaring laughter.

“HAHAHAHA! Look at that spirit! Hahaha!”

The Chief’s heavy hand thumped against my shoulder. I kept my back bowed, waiting for this jovial storm to pass.

But where on earth did the Urgent Quest trigger? My head was filled with nothing but that thought.

Where was the patient?