Crown Prince Sells Medicine

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What defines a miracle? Is it an outcome gifted during moments of desperate hope? Or perhaps it’s the unexpected hope found on the brink of despair, defying all odds.

Ding dong!

The sound resonated fiercely in Raciel’s head, accompanied by a breathless message that popped up before his eyes. But there was no time to read it.

“Mooooo!”

A scream echoed, an outcry of danger.

A gigantic fist came crashing down.

“…!”

Was this the end?

Instinctively, Raciel tightly shut his eyes and raised his hands in a futile attempt to protect himself from the inevitable. And then something incredible happened – he blocked the Minotaur’s colossal fist.

Thump-!

“…Huh?”

An immense shock surged through his arm. His shoulder joint nearly dislocated. It felt as though he had used his arm to stop a massive club, causing a painful sensation that could have easily resulted in a severe injury or, at the very least, a bruise.

“…”

But wait a second. Did he just block the descending fist of the Minotaur?

‘Am I already dead?’

Was this a bewildering mix of sensations experienced in the moment of being punched to death? Or was he hallucinating as his life slipped away?

However, reality proved otherwise.

“…Huff?”

The King Minotaur, Uruus, snorted loudly, and his hot breath hit Raciel’s cheek. Raciel winced in response and opened his eyes. What he saw astonished him.

“…Huh?”

Uruus’s massive face was right in front of his nose, glaring at him while snorting roughly. Again, the beast’s breath enveloped him in its pungent odor.

‘Ugh, the smell.’

An intense stench overwhelmed Raciel. There was no doubt about it – this sensation was definitely not a hallucination or a misconception.

“Huff! Huff!”

Thud! Thud!

Uruus, panting heavily, pressed down with his fists.

“Ugh!”

The raised arms were straining under the tremendous weight. It felt as though a massive rock was bearing down on him. But what he was holding up with his arms was…

“Huh?”

Uruus’s fists. Raciel was indeed blocking Uruus’s fists with his arms. However, something else seemed off.

‘Did this Minotaur shrink?’

Uruus’s fist had been as large as a rock before, unquestionably bigger than Raciel’s body. But now, it looked no bigger than a well-ripened melon.

Not only his fist. The massive figure standing over 7 meters tall? No, it was now just slightly taller than Raciel, with a back that wasn’t significantly larger.

In other words…

‘The size difference… it’s gone.’

What just happened? All Raciel did was struggle to survive and attempted something desperate – consuming the red sunflower seed, exclusive to the Phantom Beasts.

‘But the Minotaur that was trying to kill me has shrunk to a size similar to mine? Does that make any sense?’

The first thought that came to mind was that this event was strange and impossible. But at that moment, it became evident that Uruus was not pleased with Raciel’s stunned reaction.

“Huff! Mooooo-!”

Uruus unclenched his fists, swiftly extending his palm to grab Raciel’s collar. In an instant, he lifted him effortlessly and flung him around like a ragdoll.

“…Ugh!”

Boom-!

The impact of Raciel hitting the ground resembled that of an overturned dump truck. Not only that, half of the previously intact ship hull was now completely crushed beneath his back!

‘What just happened?’

Raciel was baffled by the sudden turn of events. Uruus now appeared to be of similar size to him, but when he fell, his back crushed the ship’s hull. This realization led him to an astonishing thought.

‘Did I grow?’

With urgency, Raciel raised his head and gazed at the night sky with the fleeting moon, the approaching Uruus, and something in between – a red warning message.

“…”

Recalling the earlier ‘ding dong’ notification, Raciel quickly scanned the message’s contents.

[WARNING!]

[You have unauthorizedly ingested the Red Sunflower Seed for Phantom Beasts!]

[The Red Sunflower Seed can cause extreme and sudden side effects on the human body. If ingested, please consult with a doctor, pharmacist, or oriental medicine doctor.]

‘…But I’m in the wilderness?’

His shoulders tensed unconsciously, but he forced himself to focus on the message.

[The red sunflower seed you consumed has triggered an unstable gigantification effect.]

[You are not a Phantom Beast, but a human.]

[Therefore, the gigantification effect is limited to 3 minutes.]

[Serious side effects will occur after the termination of gigantification.]

[You will fall into a coma for 120 hours (5 days) after the end of the gigantification.]

[Current remaining gigantification duration: 2 minutes 37 seconds]

“…….”

Putting the pieces together, Raciel came to a realization. Thanks to the red sunflower seed, he had grown to a size similar to that of the Minotaur for about 2 minutes and 30 seconds. But when that time ends, he would fall into a coma for 5 days.

‘If I can’t deal with the Minotaur within the next 2 minutes and 30 seconds, I’m done for.’

In this chaotic situation, he would become utterly powerless. In other words, he was facing a 100% chance of death.

“Aah!”

The realization spurred him into action. Raciel forced himself to rise from the ground, enduring the pain from the earlier punch. He noticed that his increased size seemed to be protecting him from fatal injuries.

‘It hurts, but I won’t die from this!’

Previously, even a slight touch from Uruus could have meant certain death or severe injuries. Now, even if he got hit, he could withstand the impact.

‘I remember high school!’

There was a time when he stood up to bullies. He asked them why he had to do as they ordered. He got beaten up quite badly. The feeling of confronting Uruus now forcibly recalled that past memory(?).

‘This will give me PTSD, for sure!’

‘Huff! Huff!’

Raciel stood up, facing Uruus at their now similar eye level. The Minotaur looked bewildered, and the flow of its Qi, visible through the Meridian Scanning option.

‘Now!’

Time was running out, and there was no room for hesitation. With approximately 2 minutes and 20 seconds remaining, Raciel swiftly lunged forward, bending his body to pick up the dropped thorn of Kozumi. Uruus responded with a resounding “-Moo!” and lowered his body, preparing for a headbutt.

‘A headbutt!’

Realizing the Minotaur’s intent, Raciel swiftly jumped off the deck and propelled himself into the air, avoiding the oncoming charge.

Crash-!

As fragments of the splintered deck flew around, Raciel soared over Uruus, who was charging with his horns forward, and reached out to grab its tail. He landed and clung onto the rampaging beast from behind.

“Moo!”

Uruus retaliated, swinging its elbow towards Raciel’s face. The blow connected, causing a flash before Raciel’s eyes, and he tasted the metallic tang of blood.

‘Blood from my nose?’

Seems like his nose was bleeding. But there was no time to wipe it.

‘The remaining time is…… 2 minutes 10 seconds!’

Raciel hung on to the rampaging Uruus from behind. And he raised the hand that was holding the thorn. He thrust it down with all his might.

Thump!

Maybe it was because he had gotten bigger and heavier. The thorn pierced through the tough hide! It hit the hollow part behind the sternocleidomastoid muscle, diagonally cutting across the neck, right by the side of the throat, accurately hitting the Tianyou acupoint.

“Huff!”

…But it was too shallow.

He could see the flow of mana passing through Uruus’ Tianyou acupoint via Meridian Scanning. The tip of the thorn did not touch that flow. The reason was simple.

‘Damn, this crappy physical strength!’

Despite growing in size and weight, his naturally weak muscular strength did not allow him to drive the thorn in deep enough.

“Moo!”

Uruus, feeling the sting of the thorn, began to struggle violently. But Raciel was determined to survive and refused to give up.

He climbed onto Uruus’s back, straddling him, and wrapped his legs around the Minotaur’s waist, holding on tightly like a rodeo rider.

“Demian!”

Raciel called out to Demian, the only one who could assist in the current situation. Demian responded to the cry and came running. Raciel quickly instructed him:

“Come! Woah! This thorn! Back! Hit!”

Uruus continued his wild rampage, and Raciel desperately clung to his back, still holding the thorn to the celestial artery.

Had he understood his intention? Demian came running with a limp. He threw himself.

Whoosh!

The sword in his hand shone coldly. He hit hard on the backside of the thorn Raciel was holding.

Crack!

The impact drove the thorn about 10 centimeters deep into Uruus’s thick cowhide. Finally, it properly pierced the Minotaur’s celestial artery.

“……Muooooo!”

Uruus’s writhing intensified. But Raciel had no intention of stopping the procedure. Because he had to survive. Because he had to stop Uruus’s rampage. Therefore, he first had to calm this guy down.

‘I need to incapacitate him. Killing him? No. That’s impossible for me. Although the size is similar, I am still frail. Because this guy is stronger than me. I’ve just managed to pierce the skin with the thorn.’

So, killing him would be tough. Especially, it’s absolutely impossible to kill this guy in about 2 minutes left. So, the remaining method is?

‘I have to calm him down. Paralysis? No. It’s impossible because he is so excited and running wild. I don’t have the poison I used for the procedure on Anise’s tail. So, the best thing I can do now is… to calm down his excited state and end the frenzy. Then I have a chance. Even if I faint, the remaining Demian and the rest of the guards will be able to stand up somehow.’

He repeatedly made a cool calculation. In doing so, he saw the point. Demian and the guards, special duty guards, who are now watching him with shocked eyes on the other side. Thanks to him who bought time while wrestling with Uruus, they seemed to have somewhat recovered from the hit.

That’s enough.

If he calms the Uruus down, if he ends the frenzy, then they can take care of the rest.

‘I need to calm down the excitement of the nervous system. Let’s reduce the excitability of the sympathetic nervous system and activate the parasympathetic nervous system.’

With a clear conclusion in mind, Raciel knew what he needed to do.

“Kozumi! Thorn!”

Holding onto Uruus, he called out, and Kozumi responded promptly.

“Koooo!”

Pop! Pop!

Kozumi pulled out thorns one after another and threw them one by one at Raciel. As he caught them, Raciel swiftly stuck them into Uruus’s body.

“Cheonlyo-hyeol (天髎穴)!”

The thorn was carefully placed into the hollow area at the highest point of the shoulder bone, near the superior angle of the scapula.

“Demian!”

Without hesitation, Demian leaped into action. He swung down his sword with force, striking the thorn like a hammer. Thanks to his swift action, the thorn penetrated through the tough cowhide.

“Muooooo!”

Uruus’s wild rampage intensified, but Raciel didn’t stop there.

“Gye-maek-hyeol (瘈脈穴)! Demian!”

Crack!

Another thorn was mercilessly stuck in a point diagonally down from the back of the ear, where Gye-maek-hyeol was located. Raciel saw the acupoint briefly glow as he continued to stick the thorns following the Hand Shaoyang Sanjiao Meridian’s acupoint flow.

“Yepung!”

Boom!

The next thorn found its place a little below Gye-maek-hyeol, and the following one was placed just above the auricular apex.

“Gakson!”

Crack!

“Muooooooo!”

Did he feel that he was doing something? Uruus’s rampage became even rougher. But Raciel also clung desperately. And he repeated to himself as if brainwashing himself.

‘This guy is a patient. A child patient who is throwing a tantrum because he doesn’t want to get a shot. But the child is just a bit too robust. That’s all!’

This mental reframe bolstered Raciel’s confidence, and a professional sense of duty emerged within him.

“Stay still and I’ll give you candy!”

Thunk!

The last thorn was aimed at Imun-hyeol.

Following the direction from the ear to the face, Raciel fiercely stabbed the thorn into the hollow place right in front of the supratragic notch, where two ear creases meet to form a valley. With a strong strike from Demian, the thorn was firmly pushed in.

The effects were evident.

“……Muuo!”

Uruus’s rampage came to an abrupt halt. The bloodshot lines in his eyeballs faded, and his previously rapid breathing, muscular tension, and internal movements all became calm. His heart rate, too, slowed down.

Thump-! Thump! Thump…….

As Uruus’s cardiovascular system, previously partially blocked by a blood clot, began to undergo changes, its coronary artery dilated, and the stagnant myocardial blood flow improved. The myocardium’s oxygen demand significantly decreased, and the excruciating pain that had gripped its heart vanished as if washed away. Uruus’s once fiercely gleaming eyes transformed into a state of calm.

“……Mu, Muuuo?”

The intense glare that Uruus had directed at Raciel, akin to that of an enemy, now slowly and surely softened into the gaze of gratitude, recognizing Raciel as its ‘benefactor’ for treating its ailment.

(To be Continued)

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