Still No Cure

The scan lasted roughly five minutes straight. During that time, everything about Aster's body was completely recorded. From the number of hairs he had on his head to the position of moles all over his skinny body, the scan didn't miss a single detail.

"Good, you can get off the machine and get dressed now!" Dr. Zell announced this as he reviewed the data.

Aster did as he was told and slowly got off the machine. Then he started putting on his borrowed clothes once more. After he was done changing, the doctor still wasn't done with his part.

"Uhmm... Is there something wrong?" Aster asked, seeing the dire expression of the professor.

"Something? Everything is wrong here!" He groaned. "Your muscles have already atrophied, and it's a miracle you can even walk! And your lungs are weirdly strong despite all that!"

He started pointing out mismatching results one after another, making Aster shy away.

"And most of all, this mysterious magic disease! It snatches life energy from you every time you breathe!"

"...!"

Aster gasped as he heard his disease being mentioned. He hadn't told them about it just yet, so their pinpointing its direct effect after that short scan got him curious. "C-Could it be... do you have a cure for that disease, doctor?!"

He leaned closer, asking with bated breaths.

However, the doctor only sighed before repeating his words. "I said [Mysterious Magic Disease], didn't I? If it's got a cure, why would it stay mysterious?"

"..."

Aster's heart sank. He almost thought that, after two thousand years had passed, his disease finally had a cure. However, even now, it remains an enigma.

"Well, it's not like there's no cure." Dr. Zell added as he continued tapping away at his tablet. "If you manage to get a Panacea, then you can cure all the diseases you have and even increase your lifespan by a hundred years!"

"Panacea..." Aster repeated the word. "W-Where can I get this Panacea? And how much does it cost?"

"Huh?"

The doctor stared at Aster as if he were looking at an idiot. To his question, it was the officer who was watching by the side who answered.

"Mr. Aster, Panacea can only be harvested from the 1,000th floor of dungeons. As such, it's extremely hard to come by." He explained.

"To add to that, it only has a shelf life of 1 hour, no matter what method of preservation we use. In short, it's practically impossible to circulate outside dungeons."

"One-thousandth floor... dungeons..." Aster parroted the words, as if unable to understand them.

Slowly, realization hit him as he exclaimed in surprise. "T-There's dungeons in this world?!"

Rather, he felt like he just ignored a few weird words too. Like "mana," "magic," or such. His mind became confused as his vision spun. Fatigue started to catch up on his tired body.

"Oops!"

Officer Helvetica caught Aster's body as he fell forward. He carefully helped him up before having him sit on a nearby chair.

"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.

Although Aster wanted to nod his head, his body no longer listened to his commands. The only thing he could do was breathe.

*Huff!*

"Hmm... He must be tired. Let him rest in one of my patient rooms for tonight." Dr. Zell said before turning to Aster. "Tomorrow, we'll start with fixing up that lanky body of yours."

After hearing him say until that point, Aster's consciousness faded.

---

Morning, May 3, 4533, 6:44 a.m. Sunny.

Aster stirred awake from the gentle rays of the sun filtering through the blinds of the windows. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was the white, unfamiliar ceiling.

"... Where am I?" He whispered as he tried to raise his body.

Soon, he found that he was in a white room, as if a hospital room, with simple furnishings around. There was a white table to his side with a basket of fruits on it, tickling his nose.

*Groooowl!* *Drool!*

The smell of food caused his stomach to raise a voice of complaint as he drooled. He hasn't eaten anything since the day before, after all!

"Right, I remember..." Memories started to stir as he thought back to what happened. "I... woke up from the cryo chamber. Then..."

He looked around once more, finally realizing where he was. "I'm now at the hospital."

*DING!*

Just as he was beginning to wonder what to do next, a short chime echoed, telling him that someone was at the door to his room. Before he could even answer, it had already opened by itself, revealing a dwarf doctor walking in with a checklist in hand.

"Good morning, mister... Aster Mistral? How do you feel?" He greeted with a smile.

Aster looked at himself, noticing that he was no longer wearing the baggy clothes that he borrowed and was instead wearing a white patient's gown, a new one at that. After looking around, he found his borrowed clothes and the scarf a short distance away, folded on top of a chair beside the window.

"Mr. Aster?" Seeing that he wasn't answering, Dr. Zell asked one more time.

"A-Ah, I feel... Weak and hungry. That's all, doctor."

"I see. Then, after you have breakfast, we'll continue with fixing your body as promised." Dr. Zell answered as he wrote down a few things on his checklist. "Then I'll be calling for room service for you. Are there any foods you like, don't like, or are allergic to?"

Aster began thinking for a bit before answering. "Then, something light, please. And I don't have any allergies."

"Noted. Then it should arrive in a minute or two, so wait patiently."

After writing a few more lines, he then pressed a button on the wall before speaking with the hologram that popped out of it. The scene looked so surreal that Aster thought he was still dreaming.

After the doctor left, as he declared beforehand, Aster's breakfast arrived after one minute. A floating dish brought it in while releasing a bluish-white glow.

"Is this a robot...?" He wondered while looking at the strange "object."

After he picked up the tray and placed it over his legs, the robot server moved and placed the plate, glass, and utensils down automatically... Without using robotic hands.

"What the..." Aster stared as if he had just seen a ghost.

Then he suddenly gasped, recalling a topic that he almost missed last night. "Right, magic!" The food server wasn't a robot; instead, it was magic-powered!