Chapter 20

Chapter 20

[Skill name: Medical Billing Lv.1]

[It automatically activates when you have successfully completed treatment for a patient. You can extend your expected lifespan by receiving a certain proportion of lifespan that has increased due to your treatment. This settlement rate will increase as the skill level rises. (The lifespan being settled is not deducted from the patients expected lifespan, but is an additional bonus lifespan.)]

[Current settlement rate = 2000 : 1]

Huh?

Raciels eyes grew wide with astonishment as a message abruptly materialized before him. Its contents surpassed his wildest imaginings and took him completely by surprise.

What is this?

While attempting to comprehend the message, an onslaught of additional messages continued to materialize before him.

[Medical Billing (Lv. 1) skill is activated.]

[The patient Theodore Palermo Magentano has benefited from an extension of 0.5 days of his expected lifespan through your hangover treatment. Accordingly, you will receive a bonus lifespan equivalent to 1/2000 of 0.5 days.]

[The calculated lifespan is too small.]

[The minimum unit of lifespan that can be compensated is 1 day.]

As Raciel witnessed the steady stream of messages, he began to grasp their overall meaning, albeit in a broad sense. Despite this, he remained overwhelmed and stunned by their contents. Suddenly, a realization dawned upon Raciel as he discerned the messages true significance.

Am I receiving a lifespan as compensation? By treating patients? The patients expected lifespan increases through my treatment, and my lifespan also increases at a certain rate?

Moreover, the lifespan was not subtracted from the patients expected lifespan. It was claimed separately as a bonus.

So I no longer need to struggle with self-treatment?

A gradual realization swept over Raciel, slowly illuminating the tremendous implications embedded within. The weight of this newfound understanding caused Raciels lips to tremble involuntarily.

Nice. Seriously nice. I was running out of Mahuang Fuzi Xixin Decoction anyway. I was continuously pondering how to write other prescriptions. No, I was skeptical whether I could extend my expected lifespan.

In all honesty, an overwhelming sense of fear gripped Raciels being, intensifying with each passing moment. As the physical vessel of the Crown Prince, Raciel bore the weight of an ominous curse, with a mere few months remaining in his expected lifespan. Every day brought forth a profound weakness that permeated his entire being, leaving his body in a state of disarray. Despite tireless efforts, the cause eluded him, shrouding his deteriorating form in an impenetrable mystery.

Each part of Raciels body felt irreparably damaged, as if it had been destined for an inevitable demise, beyond the scope of any remedy.

Even after repeated treatments it felt like pouring money into a bottomless bank account.

Regardless of the copious amounts of Mahuang Fuzi Xixin Decoction he diligently supplied to his body, or the periodic adjustments made through acupuncture, Raciel couldnt shake off the realization that these measures were merely temporary solutions. In fact, he began to perceive a diminishing effect over time, as if his body had adapted to the decoctions ingredients.

This realization fueled his worry. Could he truly continue extending his lifespan? How much longer could he endure in this manner? Was survival even possible, defying the narrative laid out in the novel?

Doubts gnawed at him, and anxiety swelled within his being. Perhaps, in a bid to distract himself from the fear induced by these uncertainties, he threw himself even deeper into preparing for the upcoming duel, immersing himself in the tasks at hand.

But that worry is solved, with this.

He no longer needs to struggle to treat his poor health without medicine.

He just has to treat others.

Help those who are ill.

Take care of those who are injured.

And if he treats patients this way?

I receive a bonus lifespan equal to their increased lifespan.

With determination coursing through his veins, Raciel tightly clenched his fist. In that moment, he caught sight of a new path, shimmering before him like a beacon of light. A flame of hope, unlike any he had ever experienced before, suddenly ignited within his heart. However, that was not the only source of hope that graced his presence.

Medical Billing I remember seeing it in the initial skill activation list.

It was certainly so.

It was during the first skill activation. There was a Medical Billing skill in the list of skills that could be activated at that time. But he had chosen the Palpation skill. The reason was simple.

I thought Medical Billing was nothing special.

To be completely frank, Raciel initially dismissed the notion of the Medical Billing skill, perceiving it merely as a means to collect medical fees. Being the Crown Prince, financial concerns held little weight for him, and he deemed it unnecessary to give the skill a second thought.

I thought it was unnecessary to receive pennies for medical fees from others. But the medical fees werent money.

Little did Raciel anticipate that the seemingly mundane Medical Billing skill held a remarkable secret. Unbeknownst to him, its true nature entailed receiving bonus lifespan as compensationa concept that had never crossed his mind. The realization hit him like a wave, and he couldnt fathom the profound sweetness and significance that lay within this skill. It offered him the precious gift he desired most desperatelyan extension of his dwindling lifespan.

What about the other skills?

Raciels mind retraced the memories of the skills that had been presented to him on that fateful list.

The things I saw then Palpation, Acupressure, Cupping, Moxibustion, Decoction Preparation, Herb Identification, Herb Exploration, Tincture Brewing, Medical Billing, Asrahan Core Technique things like that, I guess.

Among these, he had acquired Palpation, Medical Billing, and the Asrahan Core Technique.

What about the remaining ones?

They wont just be the common Acupressure, Cupping, and Moxibustion I know. Just look at Medical Billing. I suspect the remaining skills I havent activated yet have sweet features that I cant even imagine now.

That seemed likely.

Ill activate one whenever I get the chance.

Raciel meticulously organized his thoughts, mapping out his future plans and reigniting his determination to excel. However, his introspection was abruptly interrupted by a commanding voice that reverberated through his ears, demanding his attention.

Why arent you responding?

The weighty, dignified tone snapped Raciel back to reality, pulling him out of his thoughts as he lifted his head. Before him sat the Emperor, resolute and poised on his throne, with a slightly elevated chin and a penetrating gaze that bore into Raciel, laden with countless inquiries.

Did you employ the Asrahan Core Technique during the recent duel?

I will heed your words, Your Majesty, Raciel replied, his voice filled with compliance.

With his punishment delivered, the Crown Prince withdrew.

Tsk, the Emperor clicked his tongue, alone in the aftermath.

He was far from satisfied. Above all, he detested the desperate mindset Raciel had displayed during the duel.

If you rashly use it with an unprepared weak body, there could be a big accident. Tsk tsk!

Why was his eldest son so desperate? And what was that mana outburst that defied common sense?

I hope he isnt misusing the technique, the Emperor mused, plagued by constant worry. He knew he had to take action.

A visit to the Star Palace was imminent. He would personally examine his condition, paying careful attention to every detail.

Then perhaps he would find some solace.

Really. Hes such a weak fellow, the Emperor muttered, closing his eyes tightly. But even in the darkness behind his eyelids, the image of his sons desperation remained vivid. It felt as if those images were constantly pelting his ironclad heart with small pebbles of hope, each one causing a sting.

A child who had lost his mother moments after birth.

A child plagued by illness throughout his life.

Is such hope in vain? the Emperor whispered, shaking his head on the throne.

The sigh that escaped the Emperors lips was not just that of a ruler; it was the sigh of a father.

My father also had a stroke.

The sound of the carriage reverberated as it made its way back to the Star Palace. Raciel sat in silence, gazing out of the window, although the emerald glass obscured his view, reflecting only his own unfamiliar face. Memories began to resurface, fragmented and relentless. Among them was a glimpse of his high school days.

Skipping evening self-study to hang out with friends.

Receiving a sudden call from his mother.

The memory of racing desperately to the hospital.

Why couldnt you quit smoking

With a sigh, Raciel dispersed the fragments of those memories. He adjusted his future plans in his mind as the carriage finally arrived at the Star Palace.

Welcomeee-!

Ah, geez. That surprised me.

Gardin greeted him with the most exuberance (?) as soon as he stepped off the carriage. Raciel scowled.

Youre doing this on purpose, right? Hmm? To scare me. Right?

No, Your Highness! Why would I do that? These are tears of genuine joy!

Oh my, the way you defeated the second prince I truly didnt expect it sob!

How difficult it must have been for you. How challenging it must have been. Your Highness, you are truly remarkable.

Your Highness?

Thats enough. Im tired. I need to rest. I have a lot to do starting tomorrow.

Huh? You have a lot to do?

Im going to collect a hefty medical fee.

..Pardon?

Gardin tilted his head in confusion.

Of course, he wouldnt understand the meaning behind those words.

Raciel planned to utilize the medical billing skill to earn a significant bonus lifespan. At this point in the novel Devil Sword Emperor, there is a patient whom he can undoubtedly treat. Furthermore, that patient is so young that the extension of their expected lifespan is bound to be tremendous.

Do you happen to know someone named Demian?

Demian Is that a persons name?

Yes.

Im sorry, Ive never heard of that name before.

Gardin furrowed his brow.

A name so insignificant that it meant nothing to him.

Of course, you wouldnt.

A faint smile graced Raciels lips.

Gardin and the others in this world would not know. But he knew. He had encountered the name Demian Cayenne hundreds, thousands of times while reading the novel Devil Sword Emperor.

Demian Cayenne.

He was the original protagonist of this novel.