Outside of the operating room, where cool air circulated, Jeong Pan-ho waited impatiently, gnawing his finger-nails and pacing back and forth. His face was a collage of anxiety. Seats were provided, but the thought of sitting made his bones tingle restlessly. Images of his younger brother flickered ceaselessly through his thoughts. Blood oozed out of the edges of his over-bitten nails, but the bitter physical pain seemed to detract from the mental anguish for a second.
"Please...please Jeong Pan-soo, you must survive this."
When he got struck by the Transcendental Death Knight, he thought his son's life was over. He should have died immediately, but thanks to Kang Min-hyuk, that wasn't the case. Upon departing the dungeon, Jeong Pan-ho ran to the hospital with Jeong Pan-soo. Modern medicine had to develop quickly, under the threat of monsters, to the point where anybody with a pulse could be saved...that may have been something of an exaggeration, but the essence was true. Major surgery was required to save Jeong Pan-soo. Time passed quickly.
Jeong Pan-ho was yet to resolve the fatigue of battle, and as he stood outside of the operating room, he had the sensation that his blood was drying up in his veins. When the door finally opened to reveal a weary-eyed doctor, Jeong Pan-ho was jolted back into the physical realm with a start.
"Doctor!"
The man smiled faintly at Jeong Pan-ho in response to his thousand questions.
"It went well. Jeong Pan-soo's condition was so dreadful that we weren't sure he'd make it...it was touch and go for a while, but the operation went as smoothly as we could hope. It wouldn't have been possible at all without effective immediate action, though...I heard that the wizard used medical magic? Without that, your son would have certainly bled out and died. The blood-flow needed to be stopped quickly...don't worry, Guardian. Jeong Pan-soo survived."
"Ah."
Dump.
The Tiger of the Gate couldn't hold himself up; he sat on the ground, legs loose with relief.
"Thank you...thank you so much."
"It's the wizard who deserves most of your gratitude. Without his medical magic, we wouldn't have had time to operate at all. He must be a great friend. You said he developed medical magic himself? In the future, there will be big changes in modern medicine as well. If you actively use medical magic in the field and the operating room, there will be a significant decrease in deaths."
Many patients couldn't be saved by modern medicine alone. It wasn't as though a medical professional could run onto the battlefield, scalpel in hand, to proceed with surgery. In that respect, the birth of medical magic was excellent news. Pan-ho filtered out the Doctor's small-talk. All that he could think was that if it weren't for Kang Min-hyuk, his son would have died.
Jeong Pan-soo moved to the recovery room, and Jeong Pan-ho stayed with him all night. The operation ended well, but Jeong Pan-soo didn't regain consciousness for a few more days. When he awoke and struggled to call his father's name, Jeong Pan-ho wept and wept with pure relief.
While the two had been in hospital, a lot had happened outside.
The Latecomers video was released, and Kang Min-hyuk gave his shocking presentation. Thus, the magical revolution began.
The aftermath of that day gave reason to hold an emergency meeting at the Guardian Gate. Jeong Pan-ho was told that he didn't have to attend, but he wasn't the kind of man who put grace to one side. On the same day as the call came, his son awoke, and the shackles holding Pan-ho's ankles were released.
"Let's go to Suhomun."
* * *
Kang Min-hyuk's magical revolution shocked the Guardian Gate as much as it did the rest of the world.
"How has Min-hyuk developed so rapidly? I can't believe it. I've watched and rewatched the video to find some fault or to allow my mind to accept it, but it makes no sense to me either way!"
"I feel the same. Min-hyuk is the same child who swung his sword here just a few months ago. Now he's making medical magic?! The press is already in a riot. They call him the underdog who was abandoned by the Guardian Gate! They're saying that the Guardian Gate had forced Kang Min-hyuk the wrong way. I'm glad that we defeated the S-class Dungeon, but all of the credit has gone to Kang Min-hyuk!"
It was a difficult situation. Despite the achievement of subjugating Dark City, the guardian gate did not receive the spotlight. The annual event, which was held to prove the soundness of Suhomun, instead became a stage for Kang Min-hyuk. Kang Deok-cheol's gaze turned then, toward Jeong Pan-ho.
"Elder Jeong Pan-ho. What do you think of Kang Min-hyuk? Having experienced it first-hand, I'm curious about your thoughts."
Jeong Pan-ho began as if he had been waiting, "People here know well that I don't know much about magic. I have always seen magic as a weak force, unworthy of the role it plays in society. I was the one who took the lead in rejecting wizards and their craft. However, after seeing Kang Min-hyuk's magic, my thoughts changed completely, and now I see that magic is a science with endless possibilities. I think that the medical magic announced by Kang Min-hyuk and the power that saved my son proves the potential of magic."
Jeong Pan-ho knew to defend Kang Min-hyuk. Even if his peers ridiculed him for his dramatic shift in perspective, it didn't matter - he had to say something.
"The Kang Min-hyuk I fought alongside was a magical genius. The media say we're in the midst of a magical revolution, and I agree with them. I think that magical academia will face many immense changes due to Kang Min-hyuk. Lord Moon. We must not overlook him. He defeated A-class monsters with magic, and he saved my son with magic. A new era is upon us. In a world where the value of magic will be recognized, Kang Min-hyuk will be an - if not the most integral player. People will call him a pioneer, and his name will be passed down through the annals of time."
Hmm.
Hmm.
Some of the men were taken aback by the unexpected words of Jeong Pan-ho. A moment of silence followed his input until Kang Deok-cheol opened his mouth, "I agree. A new era has already begun. The guardian gate will not cling stubbornly to a changing world. We must change with it. We'll accept the things that we accept and leave behind those that we don't. We must remain relevant if the Guardian Gate is to have a bright future."
As Kang Deok-cheol's gaze glanced over the center of the crowd, the guards showed that they agreed by bowing their heads.
"Please contact Kang Min-hyuk right now."
The reason the Guardian Gate had been successful throughout history was just as much due to their flexible attitude in embracing change as it was their brute strength.
* * *
When Kang Min-hyuk arrived and was seated, the meeting commenced once more.
Kang Deok-cheol immediately spoke, "You made the right choice. We have decided to acknowledge your power through a meeting, and if you wish, we will allow you to create a magic unit at the Suho Gate. You will have our support; I promise you that. The choice is yours. Will you return to Suhomun, or will we maintain the relationship we've had recently?"
There was no apology, no mention of a successor, just a to-the-point confession that Kang Min-hyuk was right. That was just the kind of person Kang Deok-cheol was. He made an unconventional choice to recognize magic's potential but saw no reason to apologize for the past.
Kang Min-hyuk would never have made a suitable warrior due to his lack of mana talent. The successor of the Guardian Gate must eventually prove his worth by the blade. Lee Jun-ho's performance in the S-class dungeon Dark City was tremendous, and he would continue to be the successor.
Kang Deok-cheol's proposal (for it was as formal as that) was to share power. He would gain an incredibly gifted magician, and Kang Min-hyuk would benefit from the environment of Suhomun. If he accepted the offer, Kang Min-hyuk's power would grow significantly. Even if the tower was erected right now, not many people could tackle the Guardian Gate's backdrop; they dominated the world.
However, Kang Min-hyuk's answer was decided before the question was put to him.
"I will refuse."
"Why?"
It was the fortified warriors who led the world. The wizard had received enough praise, and it would have been arrogant of him to thirst for more. The reality was unmoving. Even with three wizards as skilled as Kang Min-hyuk, would they have been able to defeat the Transcendental Death Knight? Or the Dark Lich? Or any other Epic Monster? No...it was impossible. But Kang Deok-cheol, Lee Jun-ho, and Jeong Pan-ho were able to conquer the Dark City - they were the real power. No matter the destructive power of magic, in the end, a reinforced warrior would always be required to handle the situation head-on. Unless a wizard can learn to fight the front-line with the grit of a swordsman, the hierarchy will never truly shift.
"I attended this event to clarify our future relationship. I am not the successor to Suhomun. I ended my relationship with Moon Joo-nim and left all the benefits of Suho Gate. In fact, there was no such thing as a benefit...! endured dire days every day to meet your expectations. I hope you don't hear about the past at Suho Gate. I can't guarantee that it will be the future, but I have no intention of establishing a relationship with Suhomun."
He drew a line.
One of the vassals responded to his cold tone.
"I understand your feelings, but didn't you talk about coexistence with reinforced warriors?"
"Yes, I did. Why does that have to imply coexistence with the 'Suhomun'? There are many fortified warriors in the world."
Kang Deok-cheol knew his son well enough to have considered the possibility of his reaction. Whatever attitude Kang Deok-cheol had shown so far, he was a person who would accept changes to strengthen the Guardian Gate, but his principles would never change. Even if he respects magic, in the end, the core of the Guardian Gate would belong to the warriors, and Kang Deok-cheol would always judge people with the 'logic of power.' His son received no special treatment.
"This is the last time I'll visit Suhomun as the Kang Min-hyuk you knew. Remember the value of a wizard, and if a moment strikes in which you require magical assistance, then politely bow your head and ask for it. Offer a clear price from the standpoint of proposing a deal, rather than raising a past relationship. That will be the basis of my link with Suhomun in the future."
Kang Min-hyuk rose from his seat. On his way out, he looked back to say,
"It's over now, running to the words of Moon Ju-nim."
He left a room heavy with silence.
The guardians gazed at the place where Kang Min-hyuk had stood without a word.
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