Chapter 47: Verification Procedure

Just in case, I reached out to the doctor who had treated me before.

I asked if it would be alright to stop by—I had something to ask.

The doctor responded warmly.

Said I could come anytime.

And so, here I was, having arrived at the hospital.

Skipping all the usual complicated procedures, it didn’t take long before I was able to sit down with the doctor.

“Welcome. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Haha………… It really has.”

“So, what brings you here today?”

“Well, there’s something I wanted to ask.

Would it be possible to run a test on my blood?”

“……Your blood?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, I can do that.

By the way, a lot seems to have happened since your last visit.”

“Haha… yeah, things just kind of happened.”

The doctor smiled at my words.

“Well, as long as it’s a good thing, that’s what matters. Anyway, sure. Since it’s been a while, let’s go ahead and run a full checkup along with the blood test.”

“Ah, yes.”

The checkup didn’t take long.

Since my body was already stable, everything came back perfectly normal.

“Well, your body seems to be in excellent condition, right?”

“Yeah. These days……….. I just feel like I’m constantly full of energy?

Honestly, I don’t even really feel the need to sleep anymore.”

“Haha, that’s good to hear. Anyway, the blood test results will be out soon, so we’ll go over them in detail then. But may I ask—why the sudden interest in your blood composition?”

“Well, there’s a vampire near me—her name’s Ha Yeon-hwa…………….”

“Ah, Yeon-hwa. I know her well. She was a patient here too.”

“Really?”

“Yes. She was discharged around the same time as Si-ah.”

“Aha………… Anyway, Yeon-hwa mentioned that my blood might have energizing or even healing effects.”

“……Hm? Is that so?”

The doctor looked doubtful.

Which was only natural.

You don’t just tell someone who’s dedicated their life to medicine that my blood is basically a cure-all~ and expect them to believe you.

It was the kind of thing that went beyond medicine or science.

Maybe even the doctor wouldn’t be able to detect any special properties in my blood.

Still.

At the very least, I needed to confirm that it wouldn’t have any harmful effects on the human body.

“But… what exactly are you planning to use this blood’s effect for?”

“There’s a girl I met recently.

She was caught in an explosion caused by a demon-type mutant and ended up paralyzed from the waist down.

So I thought… maybe, just maybe, my blood could help regenerate her damaged nerves.”

“Honestly, that doesn’t make sense if you’re approaching it scientifically.”

I agreed with the doctor’s words.

He was right.

From a scientific perspective, this was impossible.

But then the doctor added something else.

“But the world has already strayed far from science. Are you certain your blood has that kind of effect?”

“Well…………… I think so. It came to me suddenly, like it’s one of my abilities.”

“Then let’s start by checking the blood test results. And if nothing unusual shows up—then I’ll give it a try myself.”

“Uh—wait, wouldn’t that be dangerous?”

“Well, I’m just personally curious.

And if your blood composition is clean, then chances are high it’ll be safe.

Call it a gamble—but I’ll be the test subject.”

“Um… Doctor, do people ever say you’re kind of reckless?”

“Haha! If I weren’t that kind of person, I wouldn’t be handling mutant cases in the first place. I’ve always had an interest in mythology and legends, you know.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah.

I just happened to end up becoming a doctor, but…

Even now, I’m doing this work because I enjoy it.

It’s dangerous at times, sure—but there’s a kind of thrill in uncovering things others don’t know.”

“Oh, I get that. It’s kind of fun, right? I ended up in the Korean Literature Department because I love myths, legends, and folktales too…”

“Same here. That’s why this current case is actually kind of exciting. There are so many legends in Western lore about dragon’s blood. This might be a great opportunity to see just how close those stories are to what’s really possible.”

After a short while, the blood test results came in.

According to the results—no abnormalities.

Composition-wise, it didn’t differ significantly from typical human blood.

That part was unexpected.

I had assumed there would be something drastically different…………

It only made me think more and more that the blood’s effects were truly magical in nature.

I mean, when you really think about it.

I can breathe fire, summon lightning, and make it rain.

Aren’t those all basically magical feats anyway?

There’s no point trying to force science into something this far beyond reason.

Anyway, since the blood test results showed no abnormalities, the next step was the taste test.

The doctor drank my blood without hesitation.

After drinking it, nothing particularly strange happened.

But then, in a voice full of disbelief, the doctor spoke.

“This is… astonishing.”

“Did something change?”

“Yes. You said the child who needs this dragon’s blood is paralyzed from the waist down, right? I’d say there’s a strong possibility she could recover.”

“How can you tell that?”

“I never mentioned this before, but. During a period of extreme overwork, I lost vision in one of my eyes. But………… that lost vision just came back.”

“……Excuse me?”

“This can’t be real. Ha, haha……………. My god. How is something like this even possible? If the damage to my optic nerve, which was considered completely irreversible, could be healed like this. Then that child definitely has a chance.”

Hearing that, I fell into deep thought.

The power of dragon blood had gone far beyond anything I had imagined.

If this fact were to become public—there would be chaos.

People from all walks of life would beg me for just a drop of blood.

After all, nothing shatters a person’s reason more than the thought of saving their loved ones.

Which means—this must be kept secret.

This would clearly lead to social instability.

If this truth got out, I might even gain power that surpasses that of a nation.

I mean, isn’t this literally a miracle?

I have no desire to become a living embodiment of power.

If that happened, those in the highest positions would start to feel threatened.

“……We need to keep this quiet.”

The doctor also seemed to fully understand my intent.

He must have realized this wasn’t something to be taken lightly.

“I won’t breathe a word.”

“But, Doctor.”

“Yes?”

“If I use this blood… I could save a lot of people, couldn’t I?”

“Probably… yes. Someone who lost their vision could regain it. Someone who couldn’t move their legs might be able to walk again.”

“And even someone paralyzed head to toe… would likely be the same. If the optic nerve can recover, then that means other nerves can too.”

I stayed silent, deep in thought.

How should I use this?

It’s not like I have some grand ideology or anything.

But at the very least, I do have the heart to feel sympathy for people suffering from illness.

And I genuinely hope they can find happiness.

Rather than having people who’ve lived their lives diligently fall into despair because of sudden illness or accidents.

I wanted them to have hope.

And now, I had a brand-new way to give those people hope.

It felt wasteful to just let this power go unused.

But still, this was…

Something to think about later.

For now… yeah.

It was time to see if my blood would actually work for Ha-yoon.

Time passed, and before I knew it, Friday had arrived.

The day I was scheduled to meet Ha-yoon.

I brought a small vial of dragon’s blood with me and headed to her hospital room.

“……Unnie?”

“Hi, Ha-yoon. Have you been well?”

“Yes! I was waiting for you to come!”

Ha-yoon’s face lit up when she saw me.

It was clear she really had been looking forward to our meeting.

“What about everyone else?”

“Both Mom and Dad are busy today…………”

“And the Director said he was busy too, so I guess it’s just you today?”

“Yes.”

Perfect timing.

No need to risk this being exposed to anyone else.

“That actually works out.”

“Why?”

“Because I have something to give you.”

At my words, a curious look appeared on Ha-yoon’s face.

“What is it?”

“A present.”

“A present…?”

“Yeah. A get-well gift.”

As I said that, I took out the vial of dragon blood I had packed in my bag.

“What is it?”

“Ha-yoon. Last time, you said you wanted to walk again, right? You said you wanted to run again, right?”

“I did.”

“If you drink this… you might actually be able to run again.”

But at my words, Ha-yoon gave me a skeptical look.

“Unnie. Do you really think I’d believe something like that? What even is that?”

“It’s blood.”

“Huh? Blood?”

“My blood. Dragon’s blood. It’s called dragon blood—or Dragon’s Blood.”

Ha-yoon’s expression twisted slightly.

It wasn’t a strange reaction.

Even I would’ve been grossed out if someone suddenly told me to drink blood.

“Why would I drink something like that…?”

“Because it works.”

“…What do you mean, works?”

“I have a doctor who’s been checking on me ever since I transformed. One of his eyes had gone blind from overwork. But after drinking my blood, his vision came back.”

For a moment, Ha-yoon’s eyes went wide.

It was the kind of story that’s hard to believe even after hearing it.

“Is… is that really true?”

“I don’t get anything out of lying to you.

It might not heal you instantly, but…

If you drink it, there’s a chance you’ll slowly start to recover.”

“I—I’ll drink it.”

Her attitude did a complete 180 from earlier, when she had been repulsed by the idea of drinking blood.

But really, it wasn’t so strange.

If someone told you that drinking a little blood could help you walk again,

Who wouldn’t take that chance, no matter how gross it seemed?

“I’ll give this to you—but on one condition.”

“What kind of condition…?”

“You can’t tell anyone about this.

Even if someone finds out, let me be the one to say it.

You have to stay quiet. Got it?”

“Why?”

“If word gets out that my blood can heal people… What do you think will happen? It’ll be chaos. The world will go wild. And that’s not something I want.”

“………Oh.”

“So don’t tell anyone. Understand?”

“Yes!”

I handed the dragon’s blood to Ha-yoon.

Without hesitation, Ha-yoon opened the vial and drank it.

She scrunched her face slightly, probably from the metallic taste of blood.

But she didn’t spill a single drop.

She drank every bit of it.

As if she were consuming the water of life.