2 Frosty Heart

Whitehaven Special Seeker Hospital.

The hospital's main patients are Seekers who have been severely injured and people who contracted diseases that have connections to the dungeons.

In one of the rooms of the hospital a little girl was sitting up while smiling and talking to a young man. The little girl seemed young, about ten years or so years of age however, despite her young age the little girl already knew that death was coming for her.

"Big brother, did you see big sis Freya off? She's my future sister-in-law so you better care for her deeply, hehe."

This young girl who's plagued by the unknown and strange disease of [Frosty Heart] was known as Yin. She may look happy and cheerful at the moment but her body can die off in a heartbeat if something went wrong.

"Don't worry about it you little rascal, I saw her off before she entered the dungeon, but it seems like your big brother will have to stay home by myself again."

Zen showed a saddened face when talked and in response, Yin pouted and puffed her cheeks.

"Don't worry about that big brother, you can just stay here and watch me sleep, besides a lot of missing low-rank Seekers have been missing for unknown reasons right?"

Zen looked at Yin and said;

"Where did you hear that?"

"Doctor Mist told me about it, she told me that you're too weak to even slay an F-rank monster so I got worried."

Zen smiled and puffed his chest.

"Don't worry about me, I'm not so weak that I can't even protect myself you know? Besides, you may not know it but I'm only keeping my strength hidden for the final battle."

Zen jokingly said as he tried to calm Yin's mind.

"Just take care of yourself big brother and that will be fine for me, you and big sis Freya are the only two families I have left so please don't leave me."

Yin's eyes started turning red and a single teardrop on the floor but when it did instead of hearing a silent dripping sound what was heard was a tak*.

Tak!

It reverberated in Zen's ears as he listened to the drop of his sister's frozen tears. This frozen tear was nothing but a side effect from the continuous torment that she feels every waking hour.

The Frosty Heart may sound like it came out straight out of a fantasy novel but it was real for Yin. Continuously tormenting the patient with biting cold from within, it turns blood solid if not monitored and eventually it kills the patient if not remedied by a special medicine specifically made for the disease.

"Yin that's enough for now, your check-up has already been completed so get some rest. I still need to talk to the doctor after this. Stop crying, your big sis is a strong person and I'm here for her too you know?"

He leaned over to her pale and cold body to help her lay down he gave her a warming kiss on the forehead but Yin didn't seem to like that and pouted as she said.

"Stop that big brother, do that to sister-in-law, not me. I'm going to sleep, I feel tired already and don't act too tough for your own good big sis will scold you."

Yin teases before proceeding to close her eyes she then put into a deep sleep that she won't be waking up for not until after a week.

"Sweet dreams Yin."

He softly spoke as he gave her another kiss on the forehead before heading out so he can meet the doctor. His mind was clouded with thoughts about the future but at this point, he could only think of how he could earn more credits.

His little sister laughs and is trying to act tough despite her constant suffering Zen wanted to do something about her situation but the only thing he could do at the time is to silently watch over her and pray for the best.

[Mission Reminder: Die inside a dungeon]

Just as he was walking to the doctor's office the reminder once again pop up from out of nowhere. Seeing the reminder appear once again Zen knew that it had been with Yin for over three hours.

'This thing is really only ever useful as an alarm.'

He stated to himself as he continued walking after he swiped the panel away. This panel has been with him for two and a half years already after he awakened as a Seeker this [System] has been with him.

In books and novels, the system helps them level up fast leading them to a brighter future but from the first time, it appeared it had been asking the same thing till now and that would be his death.

At first, he thought that he had just been hallucinating but after a few times it had popped up with the same interval Zen finally understood that it was real

However, although he awakened as a Seeker the only thing that was slightly enhance was his strength and a little bit of magic, his strength was also only enough to let him pick up and walk with his giant backpack in tow, but he couldn't enhance it any further.

The reason why he can't become a Seeker was that he didn't have the ability to grow stronger than he already is, except for his strong regenerative capabilities and slightly higher strength Zen was a long shot from being a high-rank Seeker.

This system was nothing but a burden to him.

'I wish I awakened as a normal Seeker than this, even without a [Unique Attribute] I would have been happy.'

There were two types of Seekers, first would be [Physical Seekers] and the other would be [Magical Seekers] and Zen was in the middle of these two categories.

He has a little amount of magic but his body was also enhanced, he treated the system as his Unique Attribute before but because he can't meet the instruction of dying for the last two years, Zen's ability had always been limited.

No one knew of his 'unique attribute' not even Freya and Yin knew of it mostly because even he himself didn't know what it is. Besides even if he wanted to know there's only one instruction and that is to die.

'The Guild Master of the Devil Rose controls monstrous plants and make them fight for her while Freya has overflowing magic, SS-rankers are too powerful.'

In a way Seekers are all System users, they have their own skills they can learn if they meet certain conditions, support type magic users can learn buffs and healing skill, making them a healer while some learn skills that use brute strength making them a warrior.

There's plenty of other ways on how a Seeker can learn a skill but the most natural way would be to learn it instinctively and even create their own skills, Zen could learn some skills that are teachable but that also cost a lot of money.

There's also different kind of artifacts, weapons as well as armor that could help him improve his combat strength but all of that idea needs money to be made possible.

Thinking of misfortune with his so-called unique attribute Zen had unknowingly reached the doors of Yin's assigned doctor he took one more step and the door automatically opened.

"Good evening, Doctor Mist."

Inside the room was a woman around in her twenties, she was wearing a lab coat and a pair of thick glasses she was taking a sip of the coffee on her when Zen entered.

"Oh, Zen is Yin already sleeping? Come sit down, I have to talk to you about something important….."

Her voice was weak and under her eyes were deep eye bags that had been formed from countless sleepless nights, however even with her haggard look she still looks like an exotic beauty.

Doctor Mist, full name Juliet Mist specializes in treating people who contracted strange diseases that have any connection with the gates and the dungeons, and she's the one who monitors Yin's condition.

"You should get some sleep doctor, every time I see you the bags under your eyes seems to be getting worse."

Zen said with an apologetic smile.

Mist only looked at him in the eye and stood up, she took another round of coffee from her coffee maker before sitting down once more, after taking another sip of her new mug of coffee Mist started talking once again.

"Do you really think I don't want to do that? I think it has been a week since I last got some sleep or even some quick naps but I'll be going home after this one so you better not make any unnecessary comments like last time."

Zen made an apologetic smile and kept his silence.

Mist took a stack of papers from underneath her desk and place it on top, on the top spot of the paper there was a paper that has every information about Yin, from when she came to this country, her first symptoms, birthday, what type of Seeker she is and many more.

"Okay let's start with this month's information… I really want to tell you that she's getting better by the day but the truth is that her attacks are getting more frequent as the day pass.

"Ever since you took her here two years ago the intervals between her attacks are getting more frequent, you already know it but she had an attack three times this month alone and I fear that if there's no cure after three to five months the best we can do for her will be to k…"

"That's enough doctor… please don't continue anymore."

Zen stop doctor Mist's words because he wouldn't be able to take it. He and Yin were only saved from that hell three years ago because of their parents' sacrifice by holding the tide of the Ice monsters back and the oath that he swore of keeping his sister alive is one of the few things keeping him going.

Even to this day he would frequently that dreadful day with his dreams, that day when the S-rank dungeon evolved into an SS-rank gate and started swarming the whole place.

"Isn't there any other way to cure her? Isn't there any kind of item from the dungeons that can cure her!?"

Zen was desperate hearing his younger sister will die after some few months was something that's even worse hearing that he will die tomorrow.

"No there isn't any, anything that have the slightest hope of curing her is something can only be used for weapons and armors, and don't even start with the possibility of getting the artifact [Phoenix Heart] from the [Heroes Guild], even if we offer half of the Whitehaven country to them it wouldn't be enough and don't forget who's the one paying for Yin's medical bill."

Mist didn't mince her words, she was direct and she was brutal with her choice of words everything she had said was meant to bring Zen from above the clouds, after all, false hope is much more painful than the truth.

Zen could only keep his head down from the shame he was feeling right now. His sister could only live because Freya was helping him and even if he didn't have any shame on his body, his conscience alone was something that's holding him back.

"Thank you for today doctor, I'll come again after Yin wakes up again, also please call me if anything happens… I'll be on my way now."

Mist watched as Zen leave her office and took a sip of her coffee, she was glad that the meeting today can end earlier so she can go back home to her family but seeing someone like Zen leave with such downcast expression still left a bad taste on her mouth.

"Stay strong kid, life is much more brutal than that."

****

Zen walked away from the hospital carrying his backpack with him.

"Yin's only hope is the Phoenix Heart... I need to make money fast. How much can I earn for if I were to sell my organs? Sigh, even if I am to sell them, I don't think it will help much."

He sighed before continuing to head home

The place where he and Freya were staying was only a thirty-minute walk so he chose to go on foot to head home.

He had taken the path countless times so he had memorized the road like the back of his hand but today something weird happened.

While he was walking home his mind somehow became muddy and cloudy making him a little wobbly and unsteady. Feeling this way he had the intention of stopping and taking a break but before he could even realize it he had wandered off and had taken a wrong turn.

There were no street lights and if it wasn't for the moonlight he would not be able to see anything at all.

Zen didn't know where he is nor did he know what kind of place he had stumbled in but he didn't have any intention of staying.

Walking away Zen took out his [Holo] from his pocket in order to check for his current location on the map.

However, when he wanted to open it the usual light didn't open, then as he was just about to walk away a red light flashed and by the time it disappeared Zen had already disappeared from that dark place.

****

[Notice: You have entered the wandering A-rank Dungeon]

[You may kill yourself now.]