Doctor Jo, who had returned from his day off, was in a foul mood from the morning. It was because he had heard that Zhuge Yeong-yeong had come and gone on his day off, of all days.
After Doctor Yang, the disciple of the Medical Saint, joined the Luoyang Medical Ward, Doctor Jo was pushed down to the number two position. However, Doctor Jo's pride lay in the fact that he had made a good impression on the upper echelons of the Murim Alliance, thereby securing more distinguished patients.
This was only possible because Doctor Yang was not sociable when dealing with people and only focused stiffly on treatment.
'Although more patients flocked to Doctor Yang, my income from receiving more distinguished patients is nothing to scoff at.'
Having recently taken a new mistress, he poured his heart and soul into maintaining his current income.
He knew well that while losing one regular patient like the Murim Alliance's Chief Strategist wouldn't be a major blow, losing them one by one like this would eventually add up, like getting your clothes soaked in a drizzle.
So, he visited the eleventh examination room to give the newcomer, Baek Yuseong, a warning.
Of course, Yuseong was not such an easy person to deal with, and it had escalated to a shouting match.
"If you think it's an obvious prescription, why are you asking about it? And going so far as to come find me on purpose."
"Didn't I tell you? The Murim Alliance's Chief Strategist is my patient. Naturally, I need to know so I can refer to it the next time the Chief Strategist comes to me, don't I? To be blunt, if the Chief Strategist's condition worsens because of some strange prescription, will you take responsibility?"
Doctor Jo's words weren't entirely wrong, but his attitude was the problem. He kept talking as if it were a foregone conclusion that Zhuge Yeong-yeong would go back to him.
Just as Yuseong was about to retort, Doctor Cha, who had heard the loud voices and rushed over from the next room, interjected.
"I came because there was a commotion, but I see Doctor Jo is here."
"Ahem. What commotion? I was merely bestowing some teachings upon Doctor Baek."
Doctor Cha knew Doctor Jo's personality well. He hated having his patients taken away and didn't hesitate to keep others in check.
Doctor Cha acknowledged Baek Yuseong's skill and character, so he decided to help him by changing the subject.
"Ah, Doctor Jo, you were off yesterday, weren't you? Have you perhaps heard about the 'Heart Compression Secret Technique'? With the secret technique Doctor Baek taught us yesterday, he even saved someone whose heart had stopped, can you believe it?"
"Hah! Heart Compression Secret Technique, you say. Do you just attach the word 'secret technique' to any old treatment method? From what I heard today, it wasn't even a special method, was it? If I had been there yesterday, I naturally would have thought of heart compressions as well. Don't make such a fuss over nothing."
Yuseong was dumbfounded.
Like Columbus's egg, it might seem obvious once you know the principle, but how could he say it so easily?
However, to say 'you wouldn't have been able to do it' about something that didn't happen would just make him the same kind of person.
Yuseong no longer wanted to deal with Doctor Jo.
"In any case, since you came to hear about the Chief Strategist's prescription, I will tell you. She had a headache, so I performed acupuncture on her."
"Acupuncture, you say? You did something useless that wouldn't even be effective. She always takes a generous supply of medicine with her; did you prescribe any?"
"No. She was greatly satisfied after the acupuncture, saying her head no longer hurt."
"Hmph, even if you succeeded in temporarily managing a headache caused by accumulated fatigue with acupuncture, it's useless if you don't eliminate the root cause. When the effects of the acupuncture wear off, won't she have to visit again as soon as tomorrow? For someone so busy, should she have to go through such trouble? Don't you understand that prescribing a generous supply of medicine was done with all those circumstances in mind?"
"We'll know if she comes back tomorrow, a week from now, or a month from now by waiting and seeing."
"Hah!"
"Oh my! Doctor Baek, that's enough. Doctor Jo, please calm down as well. What's the point of us talking amongst ourselves here? We'll find out who was right when the Chief Strategist visits again, won't we? Now, now, it's past closing time, so let's hurry up, tidy up, and go home."
Sensing that the confrontation between Yuseong and Doctor Jo was about to drag on, Doctor Cha quickly wrapped up the conversation.
Nothing good would come from a rumor spreading that the doctors were fighting amongst themselves.
Doctor Jo also backed down at Doctor Cha's words.
'Right, we'll find out when the Chief Strategist visits again anyway. She struggles terribly without her medicine, so by my reckoning, she'll be back to get more by the day after tomorrow at the latest.'
The next day, Doctor Jo showed a blatantly uncomfortable demeanor towards Baek Yuseong, and the other doctors also learned of that day's events through their servants.
"Tsk, a doctor just needs to treat patients well. What does it matter which doctor the patient prefers?"
While Doctor Yang showed such an attitude, the other doctors showed interest in the rivalry between Doctor Jo, who had been the number two until now, and the newly rising Baek Yuseong.
Just sitting in the well-organized Medical Ward and treating patients was a rather tedious job.
"Still, aren't you curious? Logically, Doctor Jo is right, but since Doctor Baek has an extraordinary side to him, I don't know who the Chief Strategist will seek out."
***
Zhuge Yeong-yeong had a deep sleep last night for the first time in a long while.
Even when she took the time to circulate her energy, the throbbing headaches made it feel as if she hadn't slept at all. But last night was so comfortable.
The faint dark circles under her eyes had noticeably lightened. This deep sleep had relieved not only the fatigue built up in her head but also a good deal of her body's fatigue.
'I'm so happy. He said I can just come back if the headache returns. I didn't know my work efficiency would increase this much.'
With more free time than expected, Zhuge Yeong-yeong decided to start studying today and picked up an old, worn-out book.
The cover read [Comprehensive Guide to Astronomical Formations].
The formations contained in the book were ones that had displayed great power in the past War of Righteousness and Evil, left behind by one of her ancestors.
The difficulty of the formations was so high that in the current generation, not a single person in the Zhuge family, known for their intelligence, had properly mastered even one.
Most gave up after a short while, complaining of severe headaches and shaking their heads.
However, Zhuge Yeong-yeong was a genius acknowledged by the family elders. She felt it was worth a try.
'If I succeed in mastering this, it will be a great help in any future conflicts that may arise.'
As Zhuge Yeong-yeong opened the book and began to read voraciously, a blue, haze-like energy rose from the book like smoke and burrowed into her mind.
However, she did not notice the blue energy at all.
Some time passed.
Thud-
Closing the book, Zhuge Yeong-yeong couldn't hide her bewilderment.
She hadn't had any headache at all before reading the Comprehensive Guide to Astronomical Formations, but now her head was suddenly throbbing.
'My fatigue is gone and I slept soundly, so why does my head suddenly hurt? I was feeling proud because I was understanding it surprisingly well.'
The time she had focused on the book was short, so it wasn't accumulated fatigue. If so, could the act of reading this book be what was causing the headache?
After trying to read the book once more, she realized the headache was getting worse and she couldn't focus on the content, so she stopped.
'There's something about this book!'
Suddenly, a mysterious anecdote about the ancestor who wrote the Comprehensive Guide to Astronomical Formations came to mind.
'My ancestor, who was not particularly outstanding within the family, enjoyed observing the heavens. Then one day, while watching the sky, he suddenly created ten formations. Since then, renowned geniuses have attempted to learn the formations, but they only managed to understand one or two, and every single one of them complained of severe headaches.'
There was another mysterious thing. No one had been able to learn the formations from a transcribed copy.
The fact that the original book was in her hands was a decision made by the family elders.
The next day, Zhuge Yeong-yeong decided to visit the Luoyang Medical Ward again, just two days after her last visit.
***
Jong Hak-jin, who triaged patients at the Luoyang Medical Ward to determine if they were emergency cases, was chatting with a colleague next to him during a brief lull.
"It's already the second day today. I haven't known the Chief Strategist for long, but I've never seen her with such a relaxed expression. She must be completely cured. You brought the money, right?"
"No, I thought Doctor Jo would naturally be right. Logically, how much medical skill could Doctor Baek have learned? On the other hand, isn't Doctor Jo from a family of doctors who received early education since childhood?"
"Hey, how can you judge a person's talent by their age? By that logic, does it make sense for Doctor Yang's skills to be superior to Doctor Jo's?"
"That's a different story, isn't it? Isn't Doctor Yang a disciple of the Medical Saint? Doctor Baek, on the other hand, is someone with an unclear background..."
"Hey, what are you going to do if someone hears you? Why do you keep saying 'Doctor Baek, Doctor Baek'? Where did you drop the honorifics?"
"What does it matter? There's no one else listening but you. Anyway, can't we call off the bet? Thinking about it, I feel like I made the bet a bit rashly... Huk! Chief Strategist, you're here!"
As his colleague shot up from his chair, Jong Hak-jin also stood up in surprise.
Zhuge Yeong-yeong, her brow slightly furrowed, had entered the triage room.
'She's holding her head! Damn it, Doctor Jo was right! My money!'
As his colleague, his face beaming, quickly ran over to start the triage, Jong Hak-jin thought it was all over.
Doctor Jo had said that treatment with acupuncture had clear limits and the Chief Strategist would soon return to him with a headache in the near future, while Baek Yuseong had said the headache would be completely gone.
With Zhuge Yeong-yeong showing up so soon, the bet seemed to be a victory for his colleague, who had bet that Doctor Jo was right.
However.
"Pardon? The symptom is a headache, but you want to be treated by Doctor Baek, no, Doctor Baek-nim?"
"I think there's some misunderstanding. Doctor Baek-nim's treatment was perfect. This headache seems to have a different cause, so I just need treatment again. Is there a problem?"
The colleague glanced at Jong Hak-jin and replied.
"A problem? Not at all. Then I will guide you to Doctor Baek-nim."
After the colleague had a servant in the waiting room guide Zhuge Yeong-yeong, the two of them had a serious conversation.
"So who won the bet?"
"She said she came for a headache. Doctor Jo-nim was right, so it's my win."
"Nonsense. The Chief Strategist herself said that the headache was completely cured and this is a new one from a different cause! Since she chose Doctor Baek-nim, it's only logical that I won."
The two, bickering over the winner of the bet, only focused on their work after another patient entered the triage room.
***
One of the joys of gaming, Yuseong thought, was accumulating experience points to level up and obtaining appropriate rewards befitting that level.
In that sense, the work of a doctor couldn't be anything but enjoyable, as the results of his Divinity increasing were immediately visible after treatment.
If he was lucky, he could even increase his Divinity as if auto-hunting, thanks to people expressing their gratitude towards him even after all the consultations were over.
As he was excitedly seeing patients, Zhuge Yeong-yeong, her brow slightly furrowed, appeared in front of his examination room.
Yuseong's heart sank.
'It's only been two days and she's already back? Does the healing skill work differently from how it did in Virtual Fantasy? Don't tell me... it's a complaint?'