How to Survive as a Genius Spy in the Game Chapter 253 - Divine Doctor (3)

“You had two souls. Now they’ve merged together.”

“…”

He must be referring to me and Carlyn, the original owner of this body, when he says two souls. I couldn’t deny it given how he phrased it. It was already too late.

How could he see that? I couldn’t understand. Was it possible to sense souls through mana?

Cedric took the mystic of healing. The divine doctor’s mystic was clearly different. When I first learned there was a divine doctor, I thought it just meant exceptionally skilled medicine.

But seeing him change appearance in person, that wasn’t it. Even if it wasn’t the “body manipulation” mystic I had imagined, could it really be possible to sense souls?

I was very surprised and felt a bit of fear towards the incomprehensible divine doctor. What was this person? How on earth could he know that?

Even the devil who stabbed darkness into my body hadn’t noticed anything about my soul.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m neither a ghost nor a devil, nor a god – just a person. I merely spoke what I saw and felt.”

It’s true that I had thought something like that deep down. That the divine doctor might be a god-like being who brought me to this world. It was the natural conclusion after hearing him speak of souls.

But that couldn’t be. The gods believed in by this world’s religions don’t exist. There’s no such thing as divine power either.

‘Ines’s prophecies are amazing, but they don’t feel like something shown by a god.’

Of course, that’s just my perspective, but if Lu Anuma really existed, shouldn’t he demonstrate his power against the devils?

Moreover, if the divine doctor were truly a transcendent being like a god… he would have known before examining my body.

“I don’t know the circumstances, but your usual poor physical condition is the result of the disharmony between your two merged souls.”

“Then, on the occasional days when I’m in good condition…”

“Just because souls have merged doesn’t mean they’re fixed in place. It’s simply that moments of harmony occur by chance amidst the flow of disharmony.”

Hearing that, I felt like I understood something. Come to think of it, on evenings before days of peak condition, I did tend to feel a sense of comfort.

Though feeling comfortable didn’t always lead to good condition, it was invariably present on the good days.

It made me think that, just as the divine doctor said, it might be because the souls within me came into harmony.

“Can you treat it?”

The divine doctor silently looked at me. I couldn’t read any thoughts from his expressionless face.

“Then what can you do for me in return?”

“Pardon?”

Honestly, the divine doctor’s words were startling. I knew the divine doctor doesn’t take payment when he wanders around treating people.

Of course, that wasn’t why I was surprised. I thought an agreement had already been reached with Duke Brusek. Still, if he asks for something, I’d have to give it.

“Is there something you desire?”

“Well. I don’t particularly desire anything. I just asked. I always ask, even when I don’t take anything in return. It’s a small amusement. Moreover…”

The divine doctor smiled meaningfully.

“I can’t help but be curious when Carl Schurtafen, the knight most favored by the empire’s emperor, is before me.”

“…”

“It’s quite surprising that you’re connected to Haisen’s Chief of Intelligence as well. People would faint if they knew.”

The divine doctor shrugged. He didn’t seem to be trying to blackmail me with that. He was speaking his genuine thoughts.

“How did you know?”

Though inwardly surprised once again, I maintained my composure. It was habitual calmness, perhaps because it related to my identity.

Inwardly, I wondered how he recognized me right away despite my disguise. But soon I thought I knew the reason.

“Is it because of the winds?”

“That’s right.”

Quite a bit of information was revealed when the false accusations against me were cleared. The winds were a given. The divine doctor who recognized my soul would have sensed the winds from me.

If I had maintained my cool, I would have realized it right away, but I must have been quite flustered by the talk of souls.

“If there’s anything you desire, I’ll give you whatever I can within my means.”

“That’s enough. I was merely curious how far the emperor’s most favored one could go.”

“I see.”

“As I said earlier, I ask everyone this, so don’t worry too much. The emperor said he’d give anything except the empire. Though I didn’t want to become a king.”

Right. Even the emperor sought out the divine doctor when he was suffering from a chronic illness. He has the ability to give away a kingdom or so.

“Of course I can treat it. But I’m not sure if you can endure the pain.”

The divine doctor said that while clicking his tongue.

“If it weren’t a soul issue, I could make it painless, but your case is slightly different.”

“I’m confident in my ability to endure.”

Among the things I learned under Duke Brusek, it wasn’t just about getting stronger. To be useful in the intelligence agency, training to withstand torture is also essential.

Of course, torture training doesn’t create perfect resistance to torture.

Whether starved for days or disguised as if captured by the enemy, the human body tends to forget quickly and tolerance for pain gradually decreases.

Moreover, no matter how realistic the torture training, it can’t become a prolonged battle. Meaning you don’t receive torture for nearly a year.

The story digressed a bit, but anyway, I’ve received torture training and can endure most pain. However, the divine doctor scoffed at my words.

“I doubt it. It’s incomparable to physical pain. It’ll be a process of tearing apart the merged souls and reattaching them in harmony.”

“To be honest, I don’t quite understand.”

“That’s natural. Just know it’s not something to decide lightly. Even I have never tampered with merged souls before, though I’ve breathed strength into weakened ones.”

Right, no matter how divine a healer he is, he wouldn’t have met someone with merged souls before. By the way, hearing the divine doctor speak like that made me a bit worried too.

“The moment I touch your soul, you can’t undo or stop the choice. If you can’t endure the pain, you’ll certainly go mad or die.”

The divine doctor handed the choice over to me. There were two options given. Either maintain the current situation without risk, or take the risk and become stronger.

To be honest, I wanted to choose the first option.

Just because I have better pain tolerance than others doesn’t mean I want to feel pain. I’m not a masochist.

But I had to think big picture. The situation given to me wasn’t all that good. Even if it’s better than any time I’ve experienced, a bright future isn’t guaranteed.

If I hadn’t really seen something related to the Great Devil in the east, I would have chosen the first option.

But I couldn’t do that. It takes three Sword Masters to catch one devil. How many would it take for a Great Devil? I didn’t know. I had never properly faced a Great Devil in the game.

‘Thinking of the founding emperor’s writings, it’s pessimistic.’

I heard that in the distant past, five Sword Masters couldn’t even properly wound a Great Devil. Only the founding emperor, who had reached the realm above Sword Master, Sword Lord, drove away the Great Devil with Teme’s Spear.

Of course, there could be exaggeration mixed in to elevate the founding emperor’s own achievements, but…

There was a need to think conservatively about this kind of problem. In other words, I needed to become as strong as I could.

Especially to avoid regrets at crucial moments. Ines’s words that it wouldn’t be easy also came to mind.

‘There’s an immediate risk of death, but dying now or later is the same.’

I’m excluding the thought that I could drive away the devils without treatment. They are trying to summon a Great Devil. Being fully prepared isn’t enough.

It’s not that I’m taking the current danger lightly. After all, I’ve been fighting devils for survival.

But I’ve risked my life for the future many times. In this world, it was impossible to prioritize my life above all else and hope for survival.

It was the same now. I considered it a moment when I had to risk my life in order to live.

To be honest, there was also a part of me thinking somewhat positively. After all, Ines did say that meeting the divine doctor would be a good thing.

I made up my mind and nodded towards the divine doctor.

“It’s fine. Please do it.”

“You’ve got guts.”

The divine doctor breathed mana into my shoulder.

“Then we’ll begin right away.”

What? I wanted to question, but words wouldn’t come out of my mouth. My vision was tinged gray. The edges were red, as if blood was spreading.

Death Avoidance’s warning. However, it wasn’t Death Avoidance that prevented me from speaking.

Agony, extreme pain beyond words, had arrived. My eyes widened as much as they could and my mouth hung open blankly.

I could say it was by far the worst pain I’d experienced in my life. Didn’t he say he’d tamper with my soul? Yes, it hurt as if my soul was being torn apart.

To express it more intuitively, it felt like parts of my body were being torn off one by one in real time, without cease.

And then…

My thoughts were cut off for a moment. Everything before my eyes was black, and I seemed to hear a ringing in my ears. What awakened my thoughts again was the divine doctor’s voice.

“Don’t let go of your mind! You’ll go mad the moment you do!”

Hearing those words, I desperately tried not to faint. No, rather than fainting, I tried to maintain my current train of thought.

Of course, rational judgment was impossible. I struggled to think of something.

Amidst many faces flashing by, Erendil’s image appeared. It was the moment just before departing for the southwest.

-Schurtafen, it may not be such a dangerous place and you might find it tedious, but you must come back alive.

-Don’t worry.

It was what I’d been hearing lately whenever I left Erendil’s side, so honestly, I thought it was needless worry.

I didn’t think the southwest was that dangerous, and I didn’t expect the divine doctor’s treatment to be this dangerous or painful.

It was arrogance. The ringing in my ears intensified as if it would burst my eardrums, and the pain remained the same. If the same pain was being inflicted, I would develop a tolerance, but since that wasn’t the case, it was clearly getting worse bit by bit.

I don’t know how much time passed like that. There were times when I nearly lost consciousness, but I endured with desperate determination.

And at some point, tranquility arrived. All the pain and ringing in my ears disappeared. My blackened vision regained light from the edges, as if streetlamps were turning on in the distance.

It was night outside the window. Since I had met the divine doctor in the afternoon, at least 4 hours must have passed.

“Phew.”

The divine doctor behind me exhaled deeply and handed me a clean piece of cloth. I took it and wiped my face first.

Of course, saliva and mucus had come out of my open mouth and nose, and I was drenched in sweat. Since Mysophobia hadn’t been cured, I was acutely feeling the unpleasantness.

“Well done. It would have been difficult even for me to endure such excruciating pain.”

“Not at all. I’m grateful, if anything.”

Having experienced it directly, I knew it wasn’t as bad for him as it was for me, but it must have been no small ordeal for the divine doctor who treated me for the same amount of time.

However, it was hard to pay attention to the divine doctor’s side. I was amazed at my body’s condition now that the Worst Condition had disappeared.

‘Is this what I’m like when normal? It’s beyond imagination.’

I had regained twice my usual condition, no, my original body condition. It couldn’t compare to peak condition, but the world just felt pleasant.

Honestly, I do miss the peak condition, but I might have been thinking wrong.

If I had been in this state from when I first entered this world, I felt I might have developed even further.

It felt like I had been at a disadvantage in life, you could say?

Right. Being normal usually is better than being good once or twice a year. I might have been deceiving myself, thinking I couldn’t change the penalty trait.

That aside… I glanced at the divine doctor. It was becoming hard to endure.

“Um, I’m truly grateful and sorry, but could I wash up first?”

The divine doctor nodded with a slight smile.

“Go ahead. The smell is torturous for me too, so you don’t need to apologize.”

The divine doctor’s words didn’t sound unpleasant. My changed body condition was good, but I was also holding back nausea.