Chapter 3

The Returning Archmage Is a Max-Level Player Chapter 3

____________

Jung Woojin was a sixteen-year veteran of hospital work even before he was the doctor in charge of Kim Dohyun.

He could react calmly to most things.

After all, in the current world, all manner of superhumans collectively known as Awakened existed.

A patient who had been in a coma for a long time suddenly opening their eyes one day was something that occasionally happened in the medical field.

In fact, there had been quite a few such cases he had studied during his residency, and he had personally encountered similar cases several times after entering the field as well.

But this time was different.

‘...Can this really happen?’

Jung Woojin’s brow furrowed as he checked the examination results.

Because Kim Dohyun’s physical condition was astonishing.

Of course, saying that it was good would not be entirely accurate.

Having lain down for such a long time, much of his muscle had atrophied, and the range of motion in his joints was also far below normal.

Objectively speaking, it certainly could not be called good.

However.

Compared to other patients, it was a different story.

In the case of patients who had been in comas for similar periods of time, most of them were unable even to sit up on their own after waking.

Even those of the martial combat type.

Even Awakened who primarily relied on their bodies required at least two weeks of rehabilitation to recover after lying down for a long period.

Yet this patient had gotten out of bed by himself, opened the hospital room door, and walked out into the hallway.

Immediately after waking up, no less.

“To be honest, in my sixteen years of experience, this is the first time I’ve seen someone like you.”

Jung Woojin set down the chart and looked at Kim Dohyun.

“You Awakened, didn’t you?”

It was a direct question, but he had no intention of prying.

Kim Dohyun nodded instead of answering.

That was the end of it.

Jung Woojin did not press any further either.

Awakened did not carelessly reveal their abilities in the first place.

Because the abilities they possessed were no different from their wealth and their lives.

That much was common knowledge.

“Congratulations. It seems you’ve gained an incredibly outstanding ability.”

It was a sincere remark filled with congratulations and admiration, but Kim Dohyun could not give any response.

He simply continued thinking silently.

‘This isn’t good.’

The condition of his body when he first opened his eyes.

And Jung Woojin’s current reaction.

Putting the two together led to one conclusion.

‘It seems I was in a coma for quite a long time.’

Worry surged up, and Kim Dohyun cautiously opened his mouth.

“If you don’t mind, may I ask one question?”

“Yes. Feel free to ask.”

“What year, month, and day is it right now?”

“It’s July 28, 2048.”

A brief silence passed.

‘...Three years.’

The hand resting on the bed unconsciously clenched the sheet.

“Patient? Are you all right?”

“...Yes. I’m fine.”

In truth, he was not fine.

But there was no reason to show agitation in front of the doctor.

‘It’s exactly three years later than the point I intended.’

It was an error that had occurred in the process of turning back space-time.

Both Isabel cutting through space-time with her sword and Kim Dohyun sustaining the gap with his magic circle had been perfect.

But interfering with space-time itself was something beyond common sense, so he knew that this degree of error was unavoidable.

‘...This is irritating.’

That was how he honestly felt.

Mages were beings who calculated and predicted.

Even a tiny variable could inevitably become a great source of stress.

And yet a variable of no less than three years had occurred.

It was an unwelcome situation, but there was nothing else he could do.

‘It’s already happened.’

He would not dwell on it.

He had to do what needed to be done right now. And what he was capable of doing.

Complaining would not turn back time anyway, would it?

And above all.

“We contacted your family. They said they’re coming straight to the hospital.”

Nothing had happened to his family.

That meant he could still set things right.

A gap of three years.

It was by no means insignificant.

But there was still a chance.

The feelings he had failed to convey to his family. The mistakes of his immature past.

He could set all of them right.

_______________

Additional examinations were conducted.

To prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, the hospital carried out every test possible without exception, from blood tests to detailed imaging.

The results showed no abnormalities.

No, if anything, he was healthy.

It was hard to believe these were the examination results of a patient who had been in a coma for three years.

It was right after several more rounds of commotion had passed.

Bang-!

The closed door was flung open in a hurry, and a middle-aged man and woman looked around the hospital room while breathing heavily.

Then.

The moment the middle-aged man, Kim Taesu, caught sight of Kim Dohyun on the bed.

Kim Taesu practically flew over and grabbed Kim Dohyun’s hand.

“Dohyun!”

The warm heat transmitted from that large hand.

At that moment.

His mind went blank.

The thoughts that had never stopped moving for fifty years came to a halt.

Calculation, analysis, judgment. Everything that made him an Archmage became meaningless before this warmth.

Only.

‘...Father.’

That single word filled his mind.

In the past, the father in his memories had been the very image of a typical head of the household.

He was somewhat blunt and did not outwardly express himself much, so back then, it could not be said that he and his father had a particularly good relationship.

There had even been times when he had been dissatisfied with his father’s decisions and argued with him.

But now he understood.

It was not that his father had chosen not to show it.

He had been unable to.

Because he thought everyone would become anxious if he showed weakness. No matter how difficult or exhausting things were, he had no choice but to silently keep moving forward.

‘Responsibility. It must have been unavoidable as the head of the family.’

If anything, he had been far more responsible and warmhearted than Kim Dohyun himself, who had only ever pushed forward recklessly.

He had always tried to talk with his family and spend time with them.

In fact, during dinners when everyone was together, he had carefully listened to what his family had to say, and if they had concerns, he had always tried to resolve them in his own way.

All while neglecting himself.

He had been forced to endure silently with no one to rely on.

How difficult must that have been?

Kim Dohyun could not even begin to imagine it.

His chest ached, but Kim Dohyun did not cry.

Because he wanted every moment of daily life with his family to be filled only with joy and happiness.

And so.

Feeling Kim Taesu’s gaze carefully checking his condition, Kim Dohyun smiled brightly and spoke.

“Don’t worry too much. I’m really fine.”

“Are you really all right? If anything hurts, don’t hide it. You have to tell us.”

At the following question from his mother, Yoon Seoyoung, Kim Dohyun lightly raised both arms and answered.

“I’m completely fine. Even the hospital said it was like a miracle.”

Only after seeing the relief finally appear on his parents’ faces did Kim Dohyun’s gaze turn toward one place.

The entrance to the hospital room.

A girl standing silently behind his parents.

“Kim Haeun.”

“...What?”

“Your older brother woke up after three years, and you’re still going to stand that far away?”

Kim Haeun’s eyes shook greatly.

It was obvious that she was extremely flustered because she did not know what to say.

It was a natural reaction.

Even in his memories, Kim Haeun had been particularly bad with words. She was a child who very rarely showed her emotions.

So he approached her first.

“Have you been doing well?”

“...More or less.”

“You must be a senior in high school now?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re still good at speed skating?”

“I’m just maintaining my level.”

“If you’re maintaining at your level, you should be able to get into the university you want without much trouble.”

“...I’m thinking about whether to go to university.”

“Why?”

“Just because.”

Kim Haeun spoke in an indifferent voice.

It really seemed as though there was no major reason.

However, Kim Dohyun did not miss the brief tremor in Kim Haeun’s eyes.

‘That’s a lie.’

It did not make sense in the first place.

Kim Haeun’s talent for speed skating was tremendous.

Even before he had fallen into another world, articles had already been written calling her a genius. She had skated simply because she loved it, and her results had merely followed naturally as a byproduct.

And that Kim Haeun was suddenly going to quit skating?

He would sooner believe that dwarves had given up alcohol.

It was easy enough to guess why she was making such an absurd excuse.

‘It must be because our family isn’t well-off.’

Sports and the arts cost a great deal of money.

Equipment maintenance, ice rink fees, travel expenses for competitions. None of them were cheap.

And Kim Dohyun himself had spent three years lying in a hospital bed in a state no different from a vegetative state.

Their family had never been wealthy to begin with, so their livelihood must inevitably have become precarious.

She had been forced to give up because she was worried that simply attending university itself would burden their parents.

Although he understood those feelings, Kim Dohyun did not say anything in particular.

She had inherited an unbelievably stubborn streak from someone.

No matter how much he told her right now that it was fine for her to continue speed skating, she would not listen.

“Later... if you change your mind, tell me again.”

Kim Dohyun carefully raised his hand and stroked Kim Haeun’s black hair.

“Don’t. I’m not a little kid.”

By Earth’s reckoning, he was twenty-eight, but he had lived for fifty years on the Rodinia Continent.

It was only natural that Kim Haeun felt like a very young child to him, and her thoughts made him feel both proud and sorry.

Was that why?

Even at Kim Haeun’s grumbling, he continued stroking her hair with a smile.

“...You’re strange. It feels like you’ve become a completely different person. Are you really all right?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You act completely differently now.”

“Do I?”

“Yeah.”

Thinking about it, that was only natural.

Considering everything he had experienced on the Rodinia Continent, his words and actions must have changed considerably.

But explaining all of that would clearly make the atmosphere strange, so Kim Dohyun lightly brushed it aside.

“It’s just that I had a strange dream.”

“A dream?”

“Yeah. A very long dream.”

Yoon Seoyoung, who had been quietly watching, joined in.

“It must have been a very unusual dream. Enough to change our son by one hundred and eighty degrees.”

“That much?”

Kim Dohyun was slightly shocked.

He had been a little immature, but he had thought he had lived a reasonably ordinary life.

But Kim Haeun’s response was merciless.

“Of course. You were a complete troublemaker.”

Kim Dohyun looked at his parents in disbelief, but their answers were no different.

“Your father agrees.”

“Mom agrees too.”

“Why?”

At Kim Dohyun’s question, Yoon Seoyoung answered immediately as though she had been waiting for it.

“When you were little, you nearly burned down the house because there was something you wanted to experiment with. And then...”

As more dark memories from his past were about to pour out, Kim Dohyun hurriedly cut her off with a cough.

“Ahem... Couldn’t we just say I had a strong sense of curiosity and inquiry and leave it at that?”

At Kim Dohyun’s somewhat shameless response, Yoon Seoyoung burst into laughter.

“Seeing you again, you really are our son.”

“No doubt about it.”

Kim Taesu also nodded with a smile on his lips.

“You’re saying I was this shameless and brazen? No way.”

At the sight of Kim Dohyun denying his past, Kim Haeun nodded and declared with certainty.

“Now I’m sure. You really are my brother.”

“That’s right.”

“Absolutely.”

His parents agreed.

Even under the combined attack of his entire family, Kim Dohyun did not feel offended.

Instead, he smiled brightly.

It was the familiar, harmonious everyday family conversation he had missed.

“I’m a patient who just woke up, and this is how you’re treating me?”

“Don’t you remember when my appendix burst and you came to my hospital room and teased me while eating fried chicken?”

A memory from the past suddenly flashed through his mind.

Kim Dohyun finally raised both hands in surrender.

“Fine. Everything was my fault. It’s all my karma.”

At Kim Dohyun’s exaggerated declaration of surrender, laughter burst from his family all at once.

“Puhaha!”

“Hoho!”

“This is a hospital. A hospital. You have to be quiet.”

Kim Haeun cautiously admonished her family.

“Heh.”

After a short while, the loud laughter gradually died down.

It was an insignificant conversation.

One could even call it trivial.

But the warmth contained in the gazes they exchanged now made one corner of his chest feel warm and overwhelmingly full.

Faced with emotions that could not possibly be described in a single word, Kim Dohyun became certain.

‘I really did make the right choice coming back.’

To Kim Dohyun, life with his family was something precious that could not be exchanged for anything.

______________

After spending a happy reunion with his family, a week passed in the blink of an eye.

Before long, Kim Dohyun, having completed his discharge procedures, pushed open the hospital entrance doors and stepped outside.

“Ahhh...! This feels good.”

Kim Haeun stood beside Kim Dohyun as he stretched his body.

Unfortunately, Kim Taesu and Yoon Seoyoung could not be there for his discharge.

On the first day, their son had awakened, so naturally they had abandoned what they were doing and rushed over, but they could not do that every day.

Their livelihood was so strained that it could not be helped.

In fact, the reason Kim Dohyun had used Recover whenever he had the chance and hurried his discharge as much as possible was because of his family’s poor financial situation.

‘I’m not even sick. There’s no reason to stay hospitalized while paying money.’

Thanks to consistently using Recover, he had regained the condition of an ordinary adult man.

To Kim Dohyun, this was only natural, but Kim Haeun standing beside him wore a considerably surprised expression.

“Oppa. Are you really someone who was lying down for three years?”

It was a natural reaction.

He had been lying down for three years. Normally, his muscles should have stiffened to the point that even ordinary daily activities would have been difficult, yet after only a week, he was walking around perfectly fine.

Naturally, questions were bound to follow.

“Oppa. Did you perhaps... Awaken?”