Tokyo General Hospital smelled like rubbing alcohol and expensive despair.
I pulled my cap lower, trying to hide my face. The automatic doors slid open, and I stepped into the lobby. It was packed. Hunters with missing limbs, civilians with dungeon-sickness, and doctors running around with clipboards like chickens with their heads cut off.
I checked my phone.
09:30 AM.Time remaining: 11 hours 30 minutes.Current Balance: 15 Gold.
"I need a whale," I muttered, scanning the room. "A rich, desperate whale."
I bypassed the general reception. General admission patients paid in insurance co-pays. I needed raw, liquid cash. I headed straight for the elevators marked VIP / HIGH PRIORITY.
Two security guards blocked the hallway. They were huge, wearing C-Rank armor.
"Restricted area," one grunted, eyeing my torn shirt and the dried Minotaur blood on my sneakers. "Deliveries go to the back."
"I'm not a delivery boy," I said, trying to summon the confidence of a man who didn't live on instant noodles. "I'm a... specialist."
"Specialist?" The guard scoffed. "You look like you specialize in dumpster diving. Get lost, kid."
I retreated around the corner. Typical.
"Okay," I whispered, leaning against a vending machine. "Plan B. Brute force entry? No, Titania is asleep. Stealth? Roxanne is in Slot 4, but I don't know her personality yet. She might stab the guards."
I looked at the Inventory list.
Slot 3: Elara (Saintess of Life) [STATUS: BORED]
"Elara," I murmured. "Time to go to work."
I tapped the screen.
[EQUIP: SLOT 3 - ELARA]
The air around me shifted instantly. The smell of hospital bleach vanished, replaced by the overwhelming scent of fresh lilies and holy water.
A warm, golden light erupted from my chest, wrapping around my skin like a second layer of clothing. My fatigue washed away. My back straightened involuntarily. My eyes, usually a dull brown, began to glow with a faint, unnerving gold.
[PASSIVE ACTIVATED: "AURA OF THE SAINT"][EFFECT: CHARISMA +500%][EFFECT: PEOPLE TRUST YOU IMPLICITLY. DEMONS HATE YOU.]
"Oh," I gasped. My voice sounded different. It resonated. Like I was speaking inside a cathedral.
I walked back around the corner.
The guards looked up. Their jaws dropped. They didn't see a dirty F-Rank Porter anymore. They saw something... radiant.
"Sir?" The guard who had told me to get lost stepped aside, bowing his head. "I... I apologize. I didn't recognize you. Please, go right ahead."
"Bless you, my child," I said.
What? Why did I say that?
[SYSTEM NOTICE: ELARA'S PERSONALITY BLEED-THROUGH: 15%]
I clamped my mouth shut and hurried past them before I started baptizing people.
The VIP waiting room was silent, save for the soft weeping of a woman in a Chanel dress.
In the center of the room, surrounded by state-of-the-art machinery, lay an old man in a bed. He looked like a dried prune wrapped in silk sheets. Standing over him was a man in a white coat with the emblem of the "Asclepius Guild"—the top healer guild in Japan.
"I'm sorry, Madam," the doctor said, shaking his head. "The Necrotic Poison has reached his heart. Even with my B-Rank 'Purify,' I can only buy him a few hours. Chairman Sato is... beyond help."
The woman wailed. "We'll pay anything! Ten thousand Gold! Fifty thousand!"
My ears perked up. Fifty. Thousand.
That wasn't just debt money. That was 'buy a house and retire' money.
I stepped forward. The golden light radiating from me caught everyone's attention.
"Dr. Aris," I said, reading the nametag on the shocked doctor's chest. "Step aside. You are blocking the light."
Dr. Aris blinked. "Who are you? Security! How did this—"
He stopped. He looked at me. He felt the Aura.
"Who..." he stammered. "What Rank are you? That mana signature... it's blinding."
"I am merely a humble servant," I said, the words flowing out of my mouth without my permission. "The Chairman is not dead. He is merely... dirty."
Dirty? Elara, please chill.
I walked up to the bed. The old man, Chairman Sato, looked terrible. His skin was purple. Dark veins pulsed on his neck.
"Boy," the woman in the Chanel dress whispered, staring at me with wide eyes. "Can you save him?"
"Save him?" I smiled. It felt benevolent and terrifying. "Madam, death is a disease. And I am the cure."
I placed my hand on the old man's chest.
[ACTIVE SKILL: "HAND OF THE GODDESS" - INITIATED][COST: 500 MANA/SECOND]
WHOOSH.
A pillar of white light exploded from my hand. It was so bright the windows rattled.
Dr. Aris screamed and covered his eyes. "Impossible! That output! Is that... S-Rank? No, this feels ancient!"
Inside my head, I heard a voice. Gentle, soft, and utterly arrogant.
"Oh my. This mortal is absolutely filthy. Look at all this corruption in his arteries. Disgusting. I shall scrub him. I shall scrub him until he sparkles."
"Just heal him!" I thought frantically. "Don't scrub his soul!"
"Silence, Master. Cleanliness is godliness."
The purple veins on the Chairman's skin didn't just fade; they were obliterated. His skin turned from grey to a healthy, youthful pink. His breathing, which had been a death rattle, became deep and steady.
Then, he sat up.
"I..." Chairman Sato blinked. He looked at his hands. He looked at me. "I... I'm hungry. I want a steak."
The room went dead silent.
Dr. Aris dropped his clipboard. "He... the necrotic tissue... it regenerated? In ten seconds?"
I pulled my hand back. The light faded. I felt a wave of dizziness hit me. My mana bar was empty.
[MANA: 0/500][WARNING: HOST FATIGUE CRITICAL.]
I swayed, grabbing the bed rail to stay upright.
"It is done," I wheezed, trying to maintain the mystique while fighting the urge to vomit. "The filth is gone."
The woman threw herself at my feet. Literally. "Thank you! Thank you, great healer! Who are you? Which Guild? We will transfer the funds immediately! Fifty thousand Gold!"
"Fifty thousand," I repeated, drooling slightly. "Yes. That sounds... acceptable."
"Transfer it now!" she screamed at a terrified assistant in the corner.
Ding.
[ACCOUNT BALANCE: 50,015 GOLD]
I did it. I was rich. I could pay the debt. I could buy a penthouse. I could—
GRRROOOOOWL.
The sound was louder this time. It shook the floorboards. The assistant looked around in panic. "Is... is there an earthquake?"
I looked down at my chest. The golden light of Elara hadn't faded completely. It was pulsing.
[SYSTEM ALERT][ENTITY: ELARA (SLOT 3) IS SATISFIED WITH THE "CLEANING."][HOWEVER...]
[ENTITY: ELARA REQUIRES "TITHES" FOR HER SERVICE.][AUTO-DONATION PROTOCOL: ENGAGED.]
"No," I whispered. "No, no, no."
[DETECTING NEARBY CHARITY: "ORPHANAGE OF THE HOLY MOTHER"][DONATING 90% OF EARNINGS TO CHARITY.]
"Don't you dare!" I screamed aloud.
- 45,000 GOLD.
[TRANSACTION COMPLETE. BLESS YOUR GENEROSITY, MASTER.]
I stared at the notification. Everyone in the room stared at me.
"He..." the woman gasped, tears streaming down her face. "He just donated almost all of it? Without hesitation?"
"A Saint!" Dr. Aris fell to his knees. "He is a true Saint! He cares nothing for worldly wealth!"
"I care!" I wanted to scream. "I care so much!"
But my account balance mocked me.
[ACCOUNT BALANCE: 5,015 GOLD]
I had enough. Barely. Just enough to pay the debt. But the fortune? The penthouse? Gone. Donated to orphans who probably didn't even have SSS-Rank appetites.
"I must go," I choked out, tears of genuine pain welling in my eyes.
"Wait!" Chairman Sato grabbed my wrist. His grip was surprisingly strong. "Young man. You saved my life. You are a man of unearthly virtue. Please, take this."
He pulled a card from his pajama pocket. It was black, made of metal.
"The Sato Corp Black Card," he said. "It has no limit. Use it for... whatever your holy mission requires."
I looked at the card. I looked at the System.
[SYSTEM CHECK: IS THIS "INCOME"?][RESULT: NO. THIS IS A "GIFT."][AUTO-SPEND PROTOCOL: BYPASSED.]
I grabbed the card with the speed of a striking cobra.
"Bless you," I said, and this time, I meant it.
I turned and walked out of the VIP room, the Aura of the Saint fluttering behind me like a cape. Dr. Aris was still on his knees. The guards were saluting.
I reached the elevator, pressed the button, and the doors closed.
The moment I was alone, I slid down the wall and curled into a ball.
"Unequip," I sobbed. "Unequip right now."
[ITEM UNEQUIPPED: ELARA][SLOT 3 STATUS: SMUG.]
I looked at the Black Card in my hand. I had survived the Dungeon. I had survived the Guild. I had survived the Hospital. And now, I had a credit card with no limit.
"Okay," I whispered, wiping my eyes. "Now we play the game."