- Hm? Where am I? - Voice of Unknown
- What's going on?"
- It's so dark.. I can't see anything.."
- Where am I?"
- Hm? My body?"
- I can't move?"
- I can't feel my body?"
- I can't feel anything.."
- It's cold.."
- Ah.. so that's it.."
- Is this death?.."
- Am I dying?
- Or..
- Have I already died..?"
- What happened to me?"
- Where am I?"
- How did I get here?
- I.. I don't know, I can't remember."
- Why can't I remember?"
- No, that doesn't matter..
- Not now that I'm already dying."
- Death... is something.. well.. lonely.."
- It's dark..."
- And cold.."
- Very cold...
- Hm?..
- Wait...
- Cold?...
- Before I wasn't feeling anything...
- No.. that's not it..
- When I regained my consciousness I was so dazed and numb that I didn't notice..
- So I thought I wasn't feeling anything when I came to.
- But now that some time has passed and I'm thinking better, I'm seeing that I can still feel my body, I can't move.. but without a doubt I can still feel my body,
- Yes I can still feel my whole body..
- and also this extreme cold."
- So I'm still alive?
- But if I'm still alive and I continue like this.. At this rate I'll die soon."
- I don't know where I am or how I got here, but if I can't get out of here soon, I'm really going to die."
- Come on... Come on! Move body!"
- Move fast! Any part! A leg! An arm! A foot! A hand! Anything!"
- Because my body is so cold, I can't move it."
- Come on! Come on! Come on, damn it!"
- A finger starts to move slowly.
- That's it! I did it!"
[I can feel it, it's my right finger.]
- Let's go!"
The other fingers on the hand start to move slowly too.
[That's it! That's it!]
The hand closes.
[I did it! Now I just have to keep opening and closing my hand until I can move it properly.]
Saying this, the hand gradually repeated the opening and closing movements, until it started to move properly.
[Okay, that should be enough, I can feel my arm now too. So all the movement just now helped me regain my senses and body temperature a bit.]
[And this feeling below my hand is… Cold and damp.. Snow? At least it seems that way, since I can't see anything I can't be sure yet and can only guess.]
[But, if it really is… Then am I surrounded by snow?
Given the situation, am I under a large amount of snow then?
Did I end up Buried somehow?]
So that's why I felt nothing but cold when I regained consciousness.
The right arm starts to move slowly.
[Let's see if I can move it to my face… If I can get the snow out of the way.]
Little by little the hand moves the supposed snow out of the way towards the face.
[I'm doing it! I'm very close to my face... I can feel it.]
The hand continued to remove the supposed snow from the path, until one of its fingers touched something firm.
[I did it! I can feel it! It's my face! Now I just need to remove it from in front of me and...]
The hand slowly removes what was on top of his face, until it is completely free.
[Okay, now I should be able to open my eyes.]
With a lot of effort, his eyes slowly open.
[It's very dark and my vision is a little blurry from having been with my eyes closed for so long or maybe it's because I was unconscious.
[Either way, it's still very dark here, but with time my vision will get used to the darkness and I'll be able to see something soon...
While thinking this, he starts to move the fingers of his other hand, while he starts to remove the snow towards his other arm and move it as far away as he can from the rest of his body.
Little by little he removed the snow from his left arm and then pushed away the rest of the snow that was preventing his body from moving.
With the body more visible and apparent, it was possible to see that it was a young boy.
[Well, I'm not completely free here, but now my eyes have adjusted to the darkness and I can see something, and I can see my body properly.]
[Now, dig my way out of here, before I freeze to death.]
The boy begins to dig the snow above him to try to get out of there.
[This is going to be difficult and laborious, but I'm running out of time here...]
Suddenly the boy stops digging.
[What if I'm digging in the wrong direction? I might be going deeper.]
[I need to confirm the direction.
The boy starts to move his mouth with the sling.
[My mouth is so dry I won't be able to gather enough saliva to spit anything out... So I'll have to use my blood.]
The boy bites his hand and looks at the blood dripping down it and sees the direction the drop is falling on the snow.
[Damn... I really was going in the wrong direction, totally the opposite of the one I should go.]
The blood was dripping in the direction he was digging.
[If I had continued digging in that direction I would have gotten even more stuck and ended up freezing to death.]
[Well, now I know which direction I should go so I just have to start digging in the right direction this time.]
[But how did I know that by doing this, I would be able to know which direction to go under the snow?]
[I don't remember, I just knew... No that doesn't matter now, I have to get out of here as soon as possible, my body is starting to freeze.]
He starts digging quickly, his hands were already red because of the cold, even the blood that was dripping before had already frozen, he could barely stand it.
[If I stop for even a moment, I won't be able to get back up, my body is exhausted, heavy and cold...]
[If I stop, I'll lose consciousness and die here, so even though it hurts and is hard, I can't stop no matter what.]
He kept digging without stopping, and after a long time, his left hand reached an open space with no snow.
[That's...]
The boy seemed to notice something and got excited, starting to dig even faster, until he could see outside the snow.
[I can finally see outside... Even though I'm still in a complicated situation, this already cheers me up a lot...] (Boy)
He started to force his way out and after much effort, he finally managed to get his right hand out of the snow.
[Now I just have to pull the rest of my body out..] (Boy)
Forcing his left hand against the snow below him, he pushed his body with all his remaining strength and finally got his head out of the snow.
- Ergh! I'm finally out of the snow.." (Boy)
- Ergh, ah, ah, even so, it's hard to breathe in all this snow and cold..." (Boy)
Barely able to keep a fixed gaze on his right arm that was in front of him, he supported all his weight on it, managing to pull his body a little more to the surface and with that he managed to get his left arm out of the snow as well.
- That's it! Almost there!" (Boy)
Leaning on his two arms, he managed to slowly pull the rest of his body out of the snow, but at the same time he found himself prostrate on top of the snow, barely able to keep his face and chest away from the snow with his weakened arms.
- Damn! That was hard! But I'm finally free!" (Boy)
The young boy was supporting himself with his arms so as not to fall down on the snow.
- I finally managed to get out of all this snow! Finally! I thought I was going to freeze to death." (Boy)
- Come on! I finally got out from under all this snow, I need to get up and get out of here soon." (Boy)
Leaning on his knee with difficulty, he slowly got up staggering and stood up.
That's when he saw in front of him where he was, a huge area where there was only snow as far as he could see and with a forest much further ahead, everything around him was white covered in snow, and apart from this forest he couldn't see anything ahead, while behind him was a cliff.
- Everywhere I look there's only snow and behind me a cliff.." (Boy)
- So where am I? I don't remember this region.." (Boy)
- How did I end up here?" (Boy)
- Did I fall from up there? (Boy)
- What was I doing?" (Boy)
- Hm? I can't remember… What happened?"
He puts his hand on his head for a moment and his expression changes.
- Was I going somewhere? Was I attacked by someone?
- Something?
- Some monster?" (Boy)
- Hm?.. Monsters, right?
- Hm.. It seems like I still remember things in general…
- But..
- Damn, I can't remember what happened.." (Boy)
- No.. Wait.. " (Boy)
- Not just what happened…
- Name? My name?" (Boy)
- Who am I? I can't remember." (Boy)
- No, it's not just that…
- I..
- I can't remember anything, not just about myself.. Where did I come from? What is this place? What was I doing? How did I end up here? I don't remember anything at all.." (Boy)
- What the hell is this? What happened to me?" (Boy)
[Was I going somewhere and I was attacked? Or did I just fall?] (Boy)
- I really can't remember.. Damn it! (Boy)
- As he said this, his eyes began to close for a moment and he began to lower his head.
- Hm? (Boy)
- He staggers and loses his balance, falling to his knees, only holding himself up with his hands on the ground.
- Damn, I can't let myself go, for a moment I started to lose consciousness. (Boy)
It was only then, when he looked at himself, that he realized he was shaking a lot, obviously because of the cold.
- It seems that I am in a much worse state than I thought" (Boy)
Now that the euphoria of having managed to get out of the snow has passed, I ended up calming down a little and started to feel what I was ignoring before.
[If I continue like this, I'm going to end up dying for real now..] (Boy)
The boy staggers to his feet again, struggling.
[So none of this matters now, if I stay here in this state.. It's going to be the end of me for real this time.] (Boy)
[I need to start getting my body moving and get out of here or I'm going to end up freezing to death.] (Boy)
He looks back towards the top of the cliff.
[Maybe going back from where I probably fell is the quickest way to find other people.. But…] (Boy)
[Climbing this cliff is impossible in this state..
While saying this, the boy looks around observing the cliff wall.
And since I can't see the end of this wall in either direction...
Going around or going up seems unlikely too.] (Boy)
[So my only option is to go down the mountain..] (Boy)
[Further ahead all I see is snow, there doesn't seem to be any change in this vast white landscape for miles except for that forest..] (Boy)
[Urgh... my whole body is hurting..] (Boy)
[It's not like I have a choice, that's what my body must be telling me, right?] (Boy)
Then the boy starts to go down the mountain in a straight line.
And after hours of walking he reaches the forest.
[Continuing to walk amidst all this snow in this state is practically unbearable, but even with all this pain and cold, the only thing keeping my body standing is my will to survive.]
- If there's no sign of civilization on the other side of this forest I'll be in a serious situation.
- I'll have to keep walking without stopping until I find something because if I stop I'll freeze to death without a place to warm myself.
- And in the worst case scenario I could end up dying while I'm walking before that even happens.
Hours go by as he continues walking in a straight line through the forest.
[The day is almost over and the sun is barely visible anymore, if it gets dark and I'm still here in the middle of nowhere, my chances of survival have dropped drastically.]
The boy stops and looks back.
[Looking back I can barely see the cliff anymore, being in the middle of these trees also makes it difficult for me to see, but I have to keep it as my reference point so I don't get lost.]
He starts walking faster again.
[Even so, I need to hurry even if it makes the pain even worse.]
The boy starts walking again, and this time faster than before even though it's more painful for him, and after a few more hours of walking.
[Walking is proving to be an even greater challenge, each step now feels like it weighs a ton, my body is heavy, I feel like I'm close to my limit, if I stop for a second, I won't be able to move anymore.] (Boy)
- I can't stop here, die like this, without knowing anything, my life can't end like this." (Boy)
[Keeping this in mind I will continue forcing my body to move forward.. I will continue forcing my body step by step..] (Boy)
Until finally, he saw what seemed to be the first change in the landscape, there were no more trees ahead and there was a decline right after them.
- The exit of the forest? And a decline?" (Boy)
When he reached it, he saw that the decline was a long descent to the foot of the mountain and further ahead, he could see a city.
- A city? It's a city!!" (Boy)
The boy smiles, he could barely contain his euphoria.
- If I can get to her, I'll definitely survive! I just... I just need to get to her!" (Boy)
At that moment, the emotion of having a little hope was so great that he ended up moving his body without thinking and started running down that long descent, at the same time laughing with happiness because he thought that now he would be safe when he got there.
But while he was running, ecstatic with that momentary joy, he ended up losing his balance and ended up falling, which caused him to roll and hit the ground several times until he finally stopped covered in snow.
- Oh, that hurt like hell, I guess I got too excited. (Boy)
The boy starts to lift his head slowly and then he realizes that he was at the foot of the mountain.
- Huh? I rolled all the way here?" (Boy)
- So losing my balance wasn't so bad after all." (Boy)
The boy smiles.
[Well, that said.. My body is probably in a much worse state than before, I can barely feel anything other than pain.] (Boy)
He starts to stand up using his arms when..
- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" (Boy)
A scream echoed from his mouth and at the same time he falls onto the snow again.
[Huh? What happened? All this pain in my right arm wasn't like the pain I was feeling before, it was much more excruciating.] (Boy)
The boy turns around in the snow and raises his right arm with great difficulty towards his face and then sees, it's facing the opposite direction.
[It's broken… It was during the fall… Damn, that hurts so much.. In the end from the accounts it wasn't that much
[luck.] (Boy)
The boy turns around in the snow again, and starts to stand up using only his left arm.
[I should have been more careful, well, it doesn't matter now. I can already see the entrance to the City from here, so I just need to hold on until I get there.] (Boy)
After standing up, he starts walking towards the entrance of the City.
[Walking is getting more unbearable with each step.. Will I be able to make it there? No.. I have to make it.. Or all the pain I've endured so far will have been for nothing... Even if my body breaks down even more along the way, even if the pain only continues to increase, to the point where I can't even think straight anymore because of it... I'll keep walking straight until I get there.] (Boy)
With these thoughts, the boy continued walking straight towards the city gate, and after a few hours, he finally managed to see the gate up close and managed to spot 2 guards at its entrance.
At the same time, one of the 2 guards who were at the gate saw a figure coming towards them from afar.
- Hey, do you see that? It looks like a person coming this way. (Guard 1)
- What are you talking about? There's no way someone could be walking here after the snowstorm that happened earlier... (Guard 2)
While saying this, the guard looks in the same direction as the other and sees the same figure coming towards them from a distance.
- You have to be kidding, a person? Who would be an idiot to go out right after a blizzard? (Guard 2)
- I don't know, but he doesn't seem to be doing very well. (Guard 1)
The boy raises his face a little as he continues walking steadily.
[I can see... I can see the gate to the City entrance, I'm so close... So close that I... I can even see... The guards... Are they coming?.. in that direction?] (Boy)
While thinking this, the boy finally collapses and falls into the snow.
The two guards were already running towards him at that moment, but they didn't arrive in time to stop his fall.
- Hey kid! Is everything okay? (Guard 2)
- Wake up kid! Wake up!" (Guard 1)
- Can you hear us, kid!? (Guard 2)
Some time passes and the boy's eyes slowly begin to open.
[Hm? Where am I? I was walking non-stop towards the City gate until... hm? I don't remember anything else after that..] (Boy)
- Oh, you woke up? (Unknown Voice)
The boy turns his head to the side and sees an older man, who appears to be between 40 and 50 years old.
- Who are you? Where am I? (Boy)
- I'm one of the doctors who works here, and well, you're at the City Post Office where the Deliverers work. (Doctor)
- Post Office? How did I end up here?" (Boy)
- One of the Gate Guards came running to bring you here, they said you fainted while walking towards the City Gate, if it wasn't for them acting quickly to bring you here, you would have died of hypothermia in a few more hours. You can be very grateful to them, after contracting hypothermia if you don't start treating the problem, the person usually dies in 5 hours at most, judging by your symptoms it should have been 2 to 3 hours since then. You really were very lucky." (Doctor)
- Eh? I really should thank them properly later." (Boy)
- Well, don't worry about it now, your treatment will take a while, you were in a terrible state, I treated your broken arm and ribs and the other injuries on your body as well as the one on your head." (Doctor)
- But I can't pay for the treatment, I don't have any money." (Boy)
- I know you didn't, they didn't find any bags with you, but don't worry about that now, I'll take care of the expenses for now, and then we can talk about payment when you're better." (Doctor)
- I understand, thank you very much for your help." (Boy)
- It's nothing, that's what Doctors do. By the way, my name is Jace and what's yours?" (Dr. Jace)
- My name? I... Actually, I don't remember my name.." (Boy)
- Can't you remember your name?" (Dr. Jace)
- Not just my name.. I don't remember anything at all, how I ended up in the middle of that snow, where I came from, what I was doing, family, friends... I don't remember anything about myself or my past, I have no memory of anything." (Boy)
- You don't remember anything, have you lost all your memories? I've seen cases where people forget something after an accident, but nothing like yours where the person forgets everything completely. I don't know what to do in a case like that." (Dr. Jace)
- I understand. If not even Dr. Jace knows something, it's impossible for me." (Boy)
The doctor puts his hand on his chin with a thoughtful expression.
- But thinking about it... It could be that.." (Dr. Jace)
- What?" (Boy)
- I think I've seen something about this type of case in some book, maybe, I still have it at my house." (Dr. Jace)
- Seriously" (Boy)
- I'll look for you when I get there, rest for today, we'll talk about it when I find you." (Dr. Jace)
- Okay, thank you very much again Dr. Jace."
- You're welcome, now just rest." (Dr. Jace)
- Okay, thank you." (Boy)
A few days pass while the boy continues his treatment with the doctor and his nurses in that place, until 3 weeks later, the Doctor returns, and the boy is already able to get up from the bed where he was.
- It took a while, but I found the book." (Dr. Jace)
- Really?" (Boy)
- Yes." (Dr. Jace)
The doctor sits in a chair next to the bed and opens a book.
- According to the book, this specific case is called amnesia." (Dr. Jace)
- Amnesia?" (Boy)
- Yes, that's right, but don't worry, I read in the book that there are ways for you to gradually remember some things and recover your memories." (Dr. Jace)
The boy is happy to hear this and his expression changes instantly.
- Really?" (Boy)
- Yeah, but... There's a problem with that.." (Dr. Jace)
- Problem? What's that?" (Boy)
- Well, it says in the book that only by seeing things you've already seen or visiting places you've already been, or something similar to them, can you remember something and end up having some memory back." (Dr. Jace)
- I see... Since I woke up in the snow outside the city, and I'm not a local, the chances of me seeing anything familiar here are almost zero." (Boy)
- Exactly." (Dr. Jace)
- And to make matters worse, since I woke up in the snow in the middle of nowhere, there's no way of knowing where I was coming from." (Boy)
- I'm sorry, unfortunately that's your current situation, I'm sorry I can't help more." (Dr. Jace)
- No, you've already helped me much more than you should have, I really am very grateful." (Boy)
- I'm glad I could help you even a little." (Dr. Jace)
- Well, what about the payment? You said you would talk to me about it when I was better." (Boy)
- Oh, about that, I needed another assistant and someone to help with the cleaning, these last few weeks I've been very busy attending to several delivery men who arrive injured from their trips." (Dr. Jace)
- Is being a Delivery Man really that dangerous?" (Boy)
- Of course, there are several monsters out there, and during their trips from one city to another they almost always encounter some, it's possible to avoid them sometimes and sometimes not, and that's why many end up injured or dead." (Dr. Jace)
- Monsters huh? I understand, I'll do my best to help you as an assistant until I've paid off my debt." (Boy)
- Thank you, I look forward to having your assistance." (Dr. Jace)
- What day do I start?" (Boy)
- You can start tomorrow. My assistants and I do the services right here at the Post Office Headquarters." (Dr. Jace)
- Okay." (Boy)
The Doctor nods and stands up, preparing to leave. And the boy raises his hand toward him.
- Dr. Jace.." (Boy)
- Hm, what is it?" (Dr. Jace)
- If it's not a problem, could you lend me this book so I can read it? -Boy
- Oh? Sure, no problem, you can return it to me when you're done reading it." (Dr. Jace)
- Thank you very much." (Boy)
And soon after the doctor left, the boy then began to read the book, and so the days went by, the boy helped the doctor as an assistant during the day and at night he went back to reading the book.
On one of these nights while reading the book, the boy comes across something that catches his attention.
- So even if you don't see a familiar place or a place you've already been, as mentioned before, there is still another method, even if the chance of recovery is drastically lower, there have been few reports of recovery through this method, but it is still a valid method. This method is through triggers." (Boy)
The boy's eyes open as he keeps his gaze fixed on the pages of the book.
- Triggers? (Boy)
- Triggers unlike the traditional method where it needed to be something that belonged to you, or where you had been, triggers work even on small objects, and it is not necessary for them to be something that was yours or somewhere you lived, that is, as long as you see an object or somewhere that is at least a little similar to something that was part of your past, it can serve as a trigger to recover your memories, and the more important that place or object was in your past, the greater the chance that this trigger will work." (Boy)
- A trigger huh?" (Boy)
The boy closes the book, and looks seriously at the book and with his right hand he presses the shirt close to his chest.
The next day, during a break while the doctor and the boy were eating, they start talking.
- What do you think of the book?" (Dr. Jace)
- It's very interesting, the doctor who wrote this book is really incredible, he described several very rare cases, as well as their causes, but not only that, he also provided several treatment alternatives for several of thems." (Boy)
- Yeah, he really was an amazing doctor, at least I thought he was.." (Dr. Jace)
- Did you think so?" (Boy)
- Well, I'm not as sure as I used to be if what he said in his books is really reliable." (Dr. Jace)
- Hm? Why not?" (Boy)
- He, Victor Frankenstein, was considered a genius, well, that was before he went crazy." (Dr. Jace)
- Go crazy, you mean he went crazy? Even though he was a genius?" (Boy)
- Precisely because he was a genius, who knows? Maybe he was already crazy from the beginning and all his research was just a representation of his madness, but that's just my opinion." (Dr. Jace)
- Even so, everything he wrote in that book.. It doesn't seem like something a crazy person would write, it all seems to make a lot of sense." (Boy)
- Yeah, that's why I still have his books to this day, even though they called him crazy, I couldn't fully believe what they said and stop admiring him, him and all his research and works, everything he managed to achieve was truly incredible, that's why even after two centuries, even though they called him crazy, his works and research are still used in medical schools." (Dr. Jace)
The boy is startled when he hears this.
- Two centuries? And even though they use his works, they still call him crazy today? Isn't that contradictory?" (Boy)
- Very much so, that's one of the reasons why I can't take all this so seriously." (Dr. Jace)
- That just shows how extraordinary his achievements were, even though they deny it, they still continue to use them." (Boy)
- Extraordinary? That's nothing, according to the stories, before becoming a doctor, he had already achieved the title of Arc Mage, and that was at the age of 15!" (Dr. Jace)
- Arc Mage? What's that?" (Boy)
- Oh, you don't know? It's a title given only to a certain range of Mages, the Mages who guard the city are usually First-Class Mages, right?" (Dr. Jace)
- Yes, I've heard about them here at the Post Office, the one who works here is a Zero-Class Mage, right? But I have no idea why they have these titles." (Boy)
- It's simple really, a Zero-Class Mage is a mage who doesn't master any Elemental magic, a First-Class Mage masters one, a Second-Class Mage masters two, a Third-Class Mage masters three, and an Arc Mage are mages who have managed to master magic from the four Elements, Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind. Arc Mages are already rare, and even when some did appear, they were already very experienced or old Mages, so for a child at that age to have become one... He was a prodigy." (Dr. Jace)
- So he was a genius even before he became a doctor, that's really surprising." (Boy)
- There were reports that he was going to be nominated for the title of War Mage soon too, but he abandoned everything to start studying medicine and become a doctor. And War Mage is the highest title given to Mages on this continent and as the title itself says, it is something given only to those with great proficiency in combat and enough power to change the course of a war single-handedly. Why he abandoned all that to become a doctor is a mystery." (Dr. Jace)
- Indeed, but you still didn't say why he was considered crazy." (Boy)
- It's because you needed to know about it to understand what comes next." (Dr. Jace)
- And what comes next?" (Boy)
- He became a doctor as quickly as he became an Arc Mage, without a shadow of a doubt. But he didn't seem very interested in seeing patients. Soon after becoming a doctor, he immersed himself in studies and research in various areas, even discovering cures for several diseases and problems that had no solution until then. And soon after his publications gained notoriety, he earned the title of Chief Academic Researcher of the Academy of Medicine, it was the greatest honor any doctor could receive." (Dr. Jace)
- That's really incredible." (Boy)
- With that, he received access to all the knowledge of the Academy of Medicine, the archives, books, reports on diseases and even histories of diseases that had already been forgotten. He continued immersed in research while continuing to publish his discoveries... Until one day... He gave it all up, again." (Boy)
- Did he drop out of the Medical Academy too?" (Dr. Jace)
- That's right, and this time, he turned back to magic and began pursuing his own private research, no one knew what he was doing. But he continued to publish his findings, but this time... It was different.." (Dr. Jace)
- Different how?" (Boy)
- His research now had a basis in merging both magic and medicine, while heading towards the field of science." (Dr. Jace)
- And was that possible?" (Boy)
- Well, many said no, but in fact many of his discoveries were put into practice and are still used today, so he managed to prove his point. And that's when he began to be repudiated by the Academy of Medicine, the wizards were already idolizing him as the greatest wizard of the century. Since his research was benefiting them a lot." (Dr. Jace)
- Except for the Academy, everything else seemed to be going well for him, I don't understand what happened." (Boy)
- And it really was, as much as they hated him at the Academy they still recognized his discoveries and achievements, but that was only until he strayed onto another path." (Boy)
The boy's gaze changes, as he seems intrigued by what he just heard.
- What other path? Is there another besides magic and medicine?" (Boy)
- That's... He started doing research and experiments with monsters." (Dr. Jace)
The boy gets scared and moves away from the table.
- Experiments with monsters?" (Boy)
- That's right, and when he was discovered doing this, he was tried, convicted and executed for such horrendous research, they said he even experimented on humans based on the monsters he had captured. According to what they reported, his notes and findings related to these experiments with monsters and humans were too heinous to be made public and were all burned and destroyed. That's when he was declared insane, and all his previous research was devalued and lost almost all of its value." (Dr. Jace)
The boy was pale due to what he had just heard.
- That was much worse than I could have imagined." (Boy)
- Yeah, everything he did was really horrible, it was unforgivable. But... But even so, I prefer to ignore everything he accomplished after leaving the Medical Academy, and stick to what he managed to accomplish before, after all, I am only the doctor I am today thanks to him." (Dr. Jace)
Upon hearing this, the young man's expression changes, and he expresses a slight smile.
- Take a look at the last page of the book." (Dr. Jace)
- Hm?" (Boy)
The boy opens the book and turns the pages until he reaches the last page.
- As a doctor, I will never seek recognition or money, my purpose will always be to help those in need, no matter who they are. Victor Frankenstein." (Boy)
He shows surprise upon reading that and looks at the doctor.
- The fact that he helped me then was..." (Boy)
- Yes, since I became a doctor I have lived by these principles, these words.. It was these words of his that made me the doctor I am today." (Dr. Jace)
- I understand." (Boy)
- No matter what he became later, I will always admire only what he was before. And to me, his words show what he really was." (Dr. Jace)
- We should all live our lives as we think is right, so we don't regret it later." (Boy)
The doctor looks at the young man in surprise after hearing this.
- That's right, it was in the book's index..." (Dr. Jace)
- Yeah, he really said inspiring things, didn't he?" (Boy)
The boy smiles.
- Really..." (Dr. Jace)
The doctor laughs a little.
- When you finish reading this book, if you want I can lend you some more of it, or if you just like to read, even here, at the Post Office Headquarters there is a library with several books too, although most of them are just records of Monsters that were found by delivery men." (Dr. Jace)
- Books with records of Monsters?" (Boy)
- That's something that's been done since the founding of the Post Office, the delivery men who found Monsters and managed to survive to tell the tale, wrote reports describing what the monster looked like and where they found it, over time, they began to name, categorize and record information about all these Monsters, so each registered Monster has information such as its name, its characteristics, customs, habitat... And in some cases, the ones with more detailed records even have its food preferences." (Dr. Jace)
- You seem to know quite a bit, Dr. Jace." (Boy)
- Just a little, after all I need to know what kind of monster attacked my patient so I can treat him in the best possible way." (Dr. Jace)
- That makes sense. Maybe I'll read some of them too when I finish this one, thanks for the recommendation." (Boy)
- Sure, it was nothing." (Dr. Jace)
The days went by, and the boy had finished reading the doctor's book, and so he began to read other books from the Post Office library whenever he could.
A few weeks passed, and when he had recovered enough, he began to assist the doctor in his office.
And when he had finished, he continued to go to the library and read many different types of books until late at night, he did this every day without fail, while he waited for his complete recovery.
So, the days went by, and those days became weeks, and those weeks became months.
Four months had passed, and the boy was finally completely recovered.
That day, like every other day, the boy was reading a book in the library at night, he took a deep breath with a demotivated look and closed the book.
- There really are several different types of monsters, with different characteristics, from monsters that don't show any kind of rational consciousness and act like animals to monsters that can communicate through human language, and there are those that can communicate and even use magic, like dragons for example." (Boy)
The boy gets up from his chair and goes towards the open window, placing his hands on it while looking towards the sky.
- This world is very vast, but at the same time it is very cruel." (Boy)
- Ordinary people like me, without any skills... are just..." (Boy)
The boy grits his teeth, showing frustration on his face as he looks down and begins to grip the edge of the window with his hands where he is leaning.
He gives a slight smile, and as he looks towards the mountains in the distance outside the city his expression changes to a serious and determined look.
- It seems that in the end, I don't have much to do, right?..." (Boy)