Zero saw his reflection in the mirror inside the bathroom. This was the bathroom inside his wardroom.
Since he was used to the frosted glass in the Netherworld, he was amazed to see the crystal clear reflection of his image from the modern mirror.
"Looks like my soul has really returned to my original body."
There was no mistaking that the half-Asian and half-European face in the mirror was the appearance of his original body. There were no longer any horns on top of his head or tail on the back of his body. Only, his hair had become very long and messy.
'I look like a beggar.'
[Your soul has successfully returned.]
[The information update on your status window is running.]
[Trying to transfer your previous power into your current body.]
[Process failed...]
[Detecting obstacles in your body as well as some other reasons.]
[...Some powers were not successfully transferred.]
[...Some skills were successfully restored.]
[For the time being, your power will be stored in your soul.]
Suddenly, a notification window appeared in front of him.
He had never seen a notification of this length before so he needed a little time to digest the information he received.
The point was his power, which he had accumulated during his two years in the Netherworld, was now gone. Not only the power of the two years in the Netherworld but also the power of his previous life had also disappeared.
"Status window!"
[You can't open the status window yet.]
What a pain in the ass.
He tried several times to activate the skills he used to have, from shouting the names of the skills out loud, posing with his arms spread out, and other strange movements. However, he ended up looking like a madman.
"Umm, sir, have you finished getting dressed?"
Olivia's voice sounded from outside the bathroom.
He forgot that he entered the bathroom because he was told by Olivia to change.
Finished wearing the patient clothes, he came out and was greeted by Olivia and several nurses. Surprisingly they all covered their mouths with their palms, as if they wanted to laugh but they held back.
Then Zero realized that he had just screamed strangely. Sitting on the patient's bed, he felt embarrassed and tried to change the subject, but Olivia managed to move faster.
"Mmm...."
"Ahem, there's nothing wrong with being an otaku or a wibu."
"Please forget that!"
"By the way, do you know how I got admitted to this hospital? If you don't know, I'll tell you."
Olivia received several sheets of paper from the nurse who came with her. She flipped through the papers in front of her large chest for a while. In addition to the medical records, there seemed to be some other information about her.
"Patient name: Ernest Ralstone…."
Zero widened his eyes slightly when the name Ernest Ralstone was mentioned. It had been a long time since he had heard that name. Indeed, Zero's real name was Ernest Ralstone.
'It seems that I'll have to discard Zero's name for now.'
Before Ernest could ask further questions, Olivia immediately continued.
"You were brought to this hospital by someone after you were hit by a truck near Lake Beauty Park. Since then, you've been in a vegetative state."
Actually, Ernest already knew that. Olivia had also given the same explanation in her previous life. It's just that he felt bad if he had to cut off Olivia's words.
"You may have a slight disturbance in your brain because you've been in a vegetative state for two years. So, I'll try to tell you a few things so that you can be more aware of your current state."
According to Olivia's explanation, the hospital called Circle of Hope, where he was currently being treated, was a specialized hospital for people suffering from mysterious diseases. Especially new diseases that emerged after the world experienced The Great Catastrophe related to Mana or Magic.
Although Olivia did not explain what The Great Catastrophe was, Ernest still remembered what the term meant.
The Great Catastrophe is a term to describe an event where the Earth experienced a massive attack by monsters around the early 2000s.
The monsters that attacked the earth came from the Gate, Dungeon, Fracture, and various other magical phenomena.
The human race on Earth had experienced massive depopulation due to the attack of monsters because various human weapons did not work against them.
The death toll from The Great Catastrophe is estimated to be almost equal to the death toll from World Wars 1 and 2.
Luckily, people with superhero-like powers suddenly appeared and eradicated the monsters.
The damage caused by the monsters was slowly repaired.
In the end, the earth became peaceful again. However, a magical energy that people usually refer to as Mana remains on earth.
In a positive context, mana can make people awaken and get superpowers. However, in a negative context, mana can make people suffer from various diseases.
One of the common diseases found is Mana Poisoning.
Mana poisoning is an incident where the patient's body cannot quickly adapt to Mana.
The effect of severity will depend on the person's affinity for Mana as well as the environment in which the patient lives.
"We have been observing your body for these two years. As far as we can tell, your case may be similar to that of a Mana Poisoning sufferer, but a very severe version?!"
"...You're asking?"
"I-I mean ...." Olivia stuttered again and started playing with her glasses.
Seeing Olivia's reaction, Ernest had an evil thought.
"So, can I conclude that you guys have been using me as a guinea pig for the past two years? Before I finally die!"
As Ernest pressed Olivia for an answer, she looked more nervous and scared. He deliberately cornered Olivia.
However, what he didn't realize was that Olivia's reaction still dared to answer with, "Yes." Firmly. She admitted that she had made Ernest a guinea pig.
As if Ernest's hair stood on end, reflexively, he groped his body to check if there were any abnormal parts.
However, just as Ernest lifted his shirt to expose his stomach in the air, Olivia immediately waved her hand and spoke hurriedly.
"D-Don't worry, your limbs are still complete. If you're not sure, let's do some examinations. You don't mind, right? After all, you don't have to pay for the treatment we've done for two years."
"Is that right?"
"It is. I don't know who the owner of this hospital is, but he never demands a penny from patients who meet certain criteria."
"Then, am I one of those patients?"
"That's right. That's why you don't have to worry about us asking for your kidney or other body parts. Of course, that is if you agree to follow our next medical procedure."
Although Ernest was a little uncomfortable with Olivia's words, he no longer denied Olivia's words. Come to think of it, it was fair enough. In exchange for them researching him for two years, they treated him without charging any fees.
Considering that the cost of treating a patient who suffered a mysterious illness to the point of falling into a vegetative state for two years was not cheap, she should even feel very grateful.
In his previous life, he had ignored all sorts of talk from Olivia and rushed out of the hospital without doing any further examination. Let alone being grateful.
But in this life, he didn't want to rush into things.