Eldritch Horror? No, I'm A Doctor
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Hello everyone! I've seen a lot of feedback about the chapter length, and I really appreciate all your comments and support.
Starting from this chapter onward, each release will be between 1,800 to 3,500 words to give you more story per update. However, the release schedule will now be one chapter every two days to balance quality and pacing.
Thank you so much for reading and sticking with me, your feedback truly helps me improve!
The weight of cosmic responsibility settled over the room like a heavy blanket, making the air feel thick and difficult to breathe. Ren sat in his chair, processing the magnitude of what he had just learned, when he opened his mouth to ask another question.
"Then, Mr. Warwick, I need to—"
"Please call me Levi," the librarian interrupted gently, his voice carrying the same warm tone but with an underlying note that suggested they had moved past formal titles into something more significant.
Ren blinked, momentarily thrown off by the casual nature of the request given the cosmic weight of their conversation. "Then please call me Ren as well."
"Of course, Ren." Levi's smile was small but genuine, creating a moment of human connection in the midst of universe shattering revelations. "Now, what were you about to ask?"
"Okay, Levi." The name felt strange on his tongue, too informal for someone who casually discussed cosmic entities and universal laws.
"What laws do I possess now, other than skin? And how many are there in total?"
Levi's smile became lighter, almost amused, as if the question was both expected and somewhat endearing in its directness. He leaned back in his chair, his fingers drumming once against his teacup in a gesture that had become familiar.
"You possess four laws in total," Levi said, his voice taking on the tone of someone delivering information that was both important and dangerous.
"Plague, Skin, @#$%^&, and #$%$^."
"Huh? What did you say?" Ren's eyebrows shot up as the last two words came out as nothing but garbled noise, like static on a radio or the sound of a computer glitching. His ears felt strange, as if they were trying to process sounds that weren't meant for human perception.
Levi shook his head lightly, his expression showing a mixture of sympathy and resignation. "How much could you hear clearly?"
"Plague and skin. Only those two." Ren touched his ears unconsciously, wondering if something was wrong with his hearing.
"Then the other two are major laws," Levi explained patiently, his tone carrying the weight of cosmic truth, "and you are not strong enough to know about them yet. Your mind literally cannot process the information safely."
Levi's expression grew more serious, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees as he continued.
"You're lucky that I said this in my domain, within the boundaries of this bookstore. If I were to say those names outside, in unprotected space, your brain would have burst into a pile of meat paste by now. The knowledge itself would have killed you instantly."
Ren felt a chill run down his spine that had nothing to do with the temperature. The casual way Levi discussed the potential for his brain to explode was somehow more terrifying than threats of physical violence. This was cosmic law protecting him from information that could literally destroy his mind.
A familiar frustration began building in his chest, the same feeling he had experienced countless times since arriving in this world.
"Why are there so many things that I don't know about myself? Why do I keep discovering that I'm involved in cosmic events I can't understand or control?"
His voice rose slightly, carrying months of accumulated stress and confusion.
"Am I really that weak?"
"Yes," Levi replied without hesitation, his tone matter of fact rather than cruel.
"You are weak. For now."
"For now?" Ren latched onto those words like a lifeline, desperate for some indication that his current powerlessness wasn't permanent.
Levi's expression softened slightly, though his voice maintained its serious tone.
"Yes, for now. Don't you remember that you were chosen by the One Above All? That selection wasn't random, Ren. It comes with implications that stretch far beyond your current understanding."
He paused, seeming to choose his words carefully.
"Those who possess a system are fated to accept heavy responsibilities. It's more like a curse than a blessing, if we're being honest about it. The path ahead will make you face so many moments that leave your body close to death. There will also be times when your mental health and willpower will be destroyed and broken as well."
The weight of Levi's words pressed down on Ren's shoulders like a physical burden. He could feel his breathing becoming shallower as the full scope of what lay ahead began to sink in.
"But," Levi continued, his voice taking on a note of encouragement that somehow made the previous warnings more bearable,
"Those who can overcome the trials and their own weaknesses are fated to become great beings. The curse and the blessing are two sides of the same coin."
Levi's words hit with the weight of prophecy, each syllable carrying implications that stretched beyond Ren's current comprehension. The room seemed to pulse with cosmic significance, as if the universe itself was listening to this conversation and taking notes.
Ren felt his body go numb. The sensation started in his fingertips and spread inward, a creeping paralysis of shock and overwhelm. He was a human being, a normal person until just a few months ago. He had been a medical resident struggling with student debt and sleep deprivation, worrying about patient outcomes and board exams. Now he was being told that responsibilities at the level of gods had fallen upon him, a mere mortal who had always tried to run away from responsibilities much smaller than cosmic law.
The irony wasn't lost on him. He had spent his first life avoiding commitment, dodging the emotional weight of long term relationships, keeping his distance from anything that might require him to be accountable for consequences beyond his immediate control. And now he was responsible for laws that affected entire galaxies.
Levi seemed to sense his emotional state, and when he spoke again, his voice carried the gentle warmth of someone who had walked a similar path.
"Ren, you are like a blank slate right now. Use your mind to steer your path. The blank slate can become anything if its owner has great imagination and the will to shape it."
The librarian leaned forward slightly, his dark eyes reflecting depths that seemed older than his youthful face.
"And about willpower and mental strength, aren't you the person whose will to survive was so strong that you decided to devour human souls just to keep going? You crazy bastard." There was affection in the insult, the kind of rough fondness that spoke to shared understanding of desperate choices.
"You even developed a Mental Resistance skill. That thing can erase your fear of blood and gore, allow you to function in situations that would break normal minds."
Despite everything, Ren found himself smiling. It was a small expression, barely visible, but somehow he felt like he had gained a little bit more willpower to continue. Levi's words reminded him that he had already survived impossible situations, had already proven his ability to adapt and persist when faced with cosmic horror.
But the questions remained, burning in his mind like persistent flames.
"I can't help but ask, Levi. Why have I been chosen? What is it about me specifically that made the One Above All decide I should carry these responsibilities?"
Levi's expression became heavy, his features taking on the weight of knowledge that was clearly difficult to share. The warmth in his eyes was replaced by something that looked almost like regret.
"Do you really want to know, Ren? This will be a really heavy hit. I suggest that you keep your curiosity contained and focus on growing stronger first."
Ren looked Levi directly in the eyes, his gaze filled with the kind of determination that had carried him through medical school, through his death and resurrection, through transformation into cosmic horror and back to humanity. "Please tell me."
Levi let out a heavy sigh, the sound carrying the weight of someone who had delivered difficult news many times before. His shoulders sagged slightly, as if he was taking on additional burden by sharing this information.
"You know what? Never mind the gentle approach. I'll tell you directly." His voice took on the tone of someone who had decided to rip off a bandage rather than peel it slowly. "Let's start with this fundamental question."
Levi's gaze became intense, focused with the kind of attention that made Ren feel like he was being examined under a microscope. "Ren, how much do you know about your past?"
The question seemed simple enough, almost insultingly basic. "Well, it's my life, so I know everything about it. I lived it, after all."
"No, that's not it," Levi said quietly, his voice carrying a note of sympathy that made Ren's stomach clench with sudden dread.
"Think carefully, Ren. Really focus your mind and try to remember. What did your father and mother's faces look like?"
"Well, they..." Ren's voice began confidently, then faltered as he tried to actually visualize the faces that should have been the most familiar to him in the world.
The words got stuck in his throat as realization hit him like a physical blow. He could remember facts about his parents, remember conversations and events, remember their voices and mannerisms. But when he tried to picture their faces, there was nothing there. Not even blurred images or half-remembered features. Just an empty space where the most important faces from his childhood should have been.
His hands began to tremble as the implications crashed over him in waves. "Why... why can't I recall them?"
The question came out as barely more than a whisper, filled with a terror that went beyond physical fear into something more fundamental. If he couldn't remember his parents' faces, what else about his past might not be real? What else might have been altered or erased?
The room seemed to spin around him as the foundation of his identity began to crack, and Levi watched with the patient expression of someone who had guided many people through this particular revelation.
The silence stretched between them, heavy with implications that Ren wasn't sure he was ready to understand.