"Quite a wonderful party you got there."
The doctor had entered my room. I figured he would show up after they left since he had not made it to my room earlier. He pulled out his stethoscope and listened to my lungs.
"The damage to your lungs seems to have mostly healed for now. We will have to have another healer repair the lasting damage from the poison. The ability to regenerate cells is the only reason you are still here."
"I know. However, I will not change my mind about being a hunter. It is something I must do."
The doctor sighed and wrote some things down on the chart in his hands.
"Take less risks with your life then. You will be released in three days. If I have to admit you again I will keep you in here for a month out of spite."
"Doctor shouldn't you be happy that hunters quell the monster waves?"
"I will never be happy so long as I have patients to treat."
"Then you would be out of a job."
"Good. Then I could take up a hobby like fishing."
There was no way that fishing would be able to compare to treating patients. I did appreciate his dedication, but it was strange to see someone so against allowing hunters to do as they please when it came to diving into the towers.
"Instead of going to the physical therapy room tomorrow, a healer will visit you. It is gonna be extremely painful so you may have pain medicine before your treatment."
"No, thank you."
"If you insist. However, you will be required to drink a few potions after the treatment. Thanks to the poison you ingested you should see some form of poison resistance in the future, but to be sure I want to at least run a few more tests before you leave."
I nodded to the doctor. He could do whatever he wanted so long as it wasn't actual torture and I could leave at the end of the three days. The doctor paused as he rifled through some papers.
"Was there something else, doctor?"
"No, it is nothing. We have noticed changes in your cellular structure since your last visit. Other hunters have experienced these changes as well. If they continue to mutate you may experience a change in your outer appearance as well. Things such as skin tone, eye and hair color, and other things such as height. We can monitor things at the regular clinic with a monthly health checkup."
"The towers are changing people's DNA?"
"The short answer is yes. However, it is more like the human genome is being slowly invaded by an outside source and being replaced."
Did that mean I was becoming less human? Or was this like some kind of virus that was infecting hunters?
"Is it harmful?"
"As far as we know it improves the hunters' condition so that they are better able to survive in the towers. We have not been able to pin down any causal relationship though. I will let you know if anything changes drastically for you."
"I understand."
However, I didn't understand at all. The doctor left my room, but I was filled with a sense of panic. This was the first time I have ever heard of such a thing. The scientists had taken a lot of blood from me in the past, but they never mentioned such a thing.
Or could it be because I was stronger this time around? Did the amount of skills and power you received from entering the towers directly influence how much you changed? My head began to hurt trying to think about it.
The fastest way to figure it out is to see if the system would answer me. Though Amo typically butted in when I wanted to ask the system something and make unreasonable demands. For now I was stuck in the hospital.
The next day I underwent the treatment from the healer. The only way I could describe the hell was to imagine trying to breathe in fire or molten lava. The memory of it all made me flinch.
I did not accept visitors that day. Surprisingly, Mat and Callie did not take it well. Their immediate response was to message me repeatedly to ask if I was okay.
[Callie: Are you okay? They said we could not visit you today.]
[Mat: Are you sure your treatment went all right? I could spend the night if it hurts too much.]
[Kai: Honestly, I just need to rest today. No need to worry. No spending the night. I will see you two tomorrow. I'm being released the day after tomorrow anyways.]
[Callie: <3 <3 <3]
[Mat: Send me a message at any time if you change your mind.]
I wanted to turn off my phone, but I decided that actually answering the messages would be best. The nurse told me they had called three times already. After I sent the last message, I let out a painful gasp in relief.
It was easier if they didn't see the pain I was in. The nurse came in and looked at me with pity. She handed me the oxygen mask and we proceeded with the breathing treatment that was supposed to help me recover faster.
I gasped in the air that forced my lungs open and tears came to my eyes. The nurse simply rubbed my back in circles as I struggled to breathe in one lungful of air at a time. When the doctor told me I was going to be treated he neglected to tell me that they would completely destroy my old lungs and rebuild them.
It was probably the shock factor. It was going to hurt if I knew or not. To be fair he did tell me it would be painful. If we had been in the world before I would have needed a transplant. I would have never been able to hunt again. I guess almost dying successfully this time had its cost.
I gripped the side of the bed as a wave of nausea swept over me. My head felt dizzy and the room seemed to move unnaturally. Cold sweat dripped down my back and I knew before the black dots clouded my vision I was going to pass out.
"Hold on a bit more. This is the worst part."
The nurse urged me to keep breathing, but I wanted to give up. Dying was easier than this. Just as I had made up my mind to let the black dots win, I remembered Kei and how he was waiting for me.
I tightened my grip on the bed and took in another lungful of air. Gradually, breathing became easier. Before I knew it the hurdle was over. The nurse took away the machine and another one came in to help me clean up and change out of my sweat soaked clothes.
I felt miserably weak, barely able to lift a cup to drink water. I stared at a smudge on the wall and counted to hold myself together. It probably wasn't the best way to deal with pain, but it gave my body an objective. It was my way of stepping forward.
Eventually, in that state, laying on my side I slipped into a dreamless sleep. The next morning I felt better. My chest felt lighter and I actually felt like eating my breakfast.
When I looked in the mirror I was still pale and the shadow of the horror I had experienced the day before was clear to see with the dark circles under my eyes. I splashed cold water on my face and waited for the report from the doctor.
"I had my doubts that you would actually be ready to be released tomorrow, but it seems you have an excellent recovery skill."
"I definitely don't feel like I should be released now."
"You will feel out of it for the rest of today. I increased your calorie intake today to account for the energy used to regrow you a set of lungs. Feel free to gorge yourself to recover your lost stamina."
"Thanks, Doc."
"Your countenance is a little pale. I'm gonna order an IV and some vitamins. Then we shall see how you feel tomorrow morning."
The doctor signed one last document and left my room. The doctor seemed happy with my progress, so I should feel happy as well. However, I had another breathing treatment, so they'd have to forgive me for not feeling optimistic.
They wheeled in the large machine and I placed the mask on once more. They attached an IV to the line in my arm with a secondary bag tied into it. I guess those were the vitamins he was talking about.
"This is the last treatment. You should feel slight irritation, but no pain like last time. Now take a deep breath."
I pressed the mask to my face and took in a deep breath. Tiny prickles filled my esophagus and lungs. It felt like one of those itches that you could not scratch. Part of me never wanted to use poison again.
The doctor did say I might have some sort of poison resistance in the future. So maybe I won't have to deal with this sort of extensive care if I get poisoned again.
I wonder if Clay knew that he was dealing with such a deadly poison. I hope he didn't get cited by the association for this. I needed to see him once I got out of here. I hope he was taking the appropriate precautions while working with such chemicals.
The treatment was over quickly and I was able to greet Callie and Mat with a smile on my face. Mat's gaze lingered on my face, but Callie was so happy that she could visit again that it was quickly brushed aside.
Mat you are too perceptive. Callie took my hand and chatted about a new eatery that had opened up just recently that used monster meat. She said that some of the meat had special effects on hunters.
"We should go there to eat after you're released."
"Sounds like fun."