"Aaaah—!!!!"
A queen's roar, loud enough to blow the roof off and filled with endless killing intent, instantly drowned out all the noise at the clinic's entrance.
Elizabeth's exquisite face was slightly distorted with rage.
She glared fixedly at the translucent ghost who dared to spray 'vomit' onto her face, her red eyes burning with a flame that seemed almost physical.
"You... shall... DIE!"
She forced the words through her teeth one by one. The blood mist surged around her as a terrifying pressure instantly enveloped the entire area.
The monsters in line were so frightened that they retreated three large steps in unison, not even daring to breathe.
It was over.
This sightless ghost was dead meat.
Of all people to provoke, why choose this mercurial financial manager who valued gold coins more than life itself?
He would likely have his soul sucked dry and turned into a ghost-fire lantern to hang by the door.
"Urgh—!"
However, faced with the blood queen's killing intent—enough to make even a dragon tremble—the ghost captain didn't beg for mercy. Instead...
He threw up again.
Though he tried his best to turn his head this time, the white mist composed of spiritual matter still scattered everywhere.
"S-Sorry, beautiful lady..."
The ghost captain clutched his mouth, his face (already pale and blue) looking even worse. His voice was as weak as a leaking wind.
"I... I didn't mean it... I really... couldn't hold it back... blegh..."
"I'll kill you!!!"
Elizabeth went completely berserk.
The blood-colored energy at her fingertips had already condensed into claws, and it looked like a restricted-rated scene of 'tearing a ghost apart' was about to unfold.
"That's enough, Elizabeth."
A calm voice, like a bucket of cold water, extinguished her soaring fury.
Victor had stepped out at some unknown point.
He handed Elizabeth a wet wipe and pointed toward the nearby restroom.
"Go wash your face."
"As a professional medical worker, how can you lose control of your emotions just because a patient spat some... saliva on you?"
"That wasn't saliva!" Elizabeth screamed.
"It's all the same."
Victor waved his hand with an unquestionable tone.
"Go. And don't forget to come back and calculate the bill. Mental distress fees plus cleaning fees—charge him five hundred gold coins."
At the mention of 'gold coins,' the fire in Elizabeth's eyes instantly died down by more than half.
She gave the still-retching ghost a vicious glare before turning to walk toward the restroom.
Only then did Victor turn his gaze toward this peculiar 'patient.'
He looked the fellow up and down—the tattered captain's uniform, the translucent body, and the feet that didn't touch the ground.
【True Sight Eye】 activated.
【Patient: Ghost Captain Vander Decken】
【Race: high-tier earthbound spirit】
【Danger Level: B+ (Currently in an extremely weakened state)】
【Preliminary Diagnosis: Persistent nausea, vomiting, and dizziness of unknown origin.】
Victor frowned as he watched the captain look as if he were about to fall apart from misery.
"Are you a sailor?"
"Y-Yes, Lord Doctor."
The captain replied weakly. He had heard that here, calling the man in the white coat 'Doctor' was the right way to go.
"I am the captain of the Flying Dutchman, Vander Decken."
"Then why are you..."
A strange expression appeared on Victor's face.
"Seasick?"
"I don't want to be, Doctor!"
At the mention of this, the captain was practically in tears.
He floated in front of Victor and began to pour out his grievances.
"I, Vander Decken, was the greatest navigator on the seven seas when I was alive! I once piloted my beloved ship through the Sea of Storms and challenged world-ending whirlpools! I didn't even blink!"
"But... but..."
The captain's voice took on a thick sob.
"Ever since I died and was cursed to be bound to my ship forever as a ghost... everything changed!"
"What happened?" Victor asked curiously.
"I... I started getting seasick!"
The captain clutched his head in despair (though it was just a phantom image).
"Whenever the ship sways, I feel like my soul is swaying with it! The world spins, and my insides feel like they're being churned upside down!"
"For centuries, I have vomited more ectoplasm than the rum I drank in my lifetime!"
"I really can't take it anymore! I heard this place is a divine temple that can cure any disease, so I came here with a final shred of hope!"
The captain complained with tears and snot running down his face.
The monsters waiting in line looked at each other in bewilderment.
A ship captain who gets seasick?
That was even more ridiculous than a chef being allergic to cooking fumes.
Victor, however, did not laugh after listening.
He stroked his chin and fell into deep thought, his face showing the excitement a scholar feels when encountering a rare case.
"Interesting... very interesting."
He walked around the captain twice, as if observing a rare specimen.
"Not seasick while alive, but seasick after death... that doesn't follow the laws of physics."
"But if explained from the perspective of 'soul dynamics,' it makes sense."
"Soul... dynamics?" The captain looked completely dazed.
"Exactly."
Victor pushed up his glasses and began his 'science lecture.'
"You see, when you were alive, you were a living person with flesh and blood, weighing at least a hundred and fifty pounds. Your body was like a ship's 'ballast,' helping you counteract the turbulence of the waves."
"But now?"
Victor pointed at the captain's translucent body.
"You've become a ghost without a physical form. Your 'soul weight' is almost zero."
"Your body is like a small sampan without any ballast. When the waves sway just a little, don't you go spinning along with them?"
"Huh?!"
The captain froze. He felt like what the other party said seemed... very logical?
"And the reason humans—and most creatures—can maintain balance is because of an organ in the ear called the 'vestibule.'"
Victor continued to explain.
"It acts like a built-in gyroscope, responsible for sensing direction and acceleration."
"Your vestibular system was very developed when you were alive, so you didn't get seasick."
"But after you died, your physical body was gone, and your soul's vestibular system became disordered due to energy instability."
"To put it simply..."
Victor closed the medical record book and gave the final diagnosis.
"This isn't seasickness, nor is it a curse."
"What you have is—"
"Severe Soul Vestibular Imbalance."
【Ding!】
【Diagnosis correct!】
【Triggered S-rank treatment mission: Repair the ghost captain's balance system.】
【Mission reward: Clinic points +2000, unlock new map 【Mist Sea】.】
"Vestibular... imbalance?"
The captain chewed on the high-end-sounding term, a spark of hope igniting in his eyes.
"Doctor! Then... can my illness be cured?"
"Of course."
Victor smiled confidently.
"It's a small issue."
"I just need to install a 'balance stabilizer' in your disordered 'soul vestibule.'"
"Or, in terms you can understand..."
Victor pulled a set of extremely precise alchemy tools made of crystal, mithril, and gears from his toolbox.
"I need to install a 'soul gyroscope' in your ear—on the soul level."
"A gyroscope?"
"Exactly."
Victor picked up something that looked like a tuning fork and waved it next to the captain's translucent ear.
"The surgery process is simple and the risk is low."
"I only need to use 'high-frequency soul resonance' to recalibrate your soul's frequency, making it 'synced' with the fluctuations of the ocean."
"Though the process might be a bit... itchy."
The captain looked at those shimmering tools, which appeared finer than embroidery needles, and then at Victor's face full of confidence.
He hesitated.
On one hand, he was intimidated by this divine-sounding theory.
On the other hand, he remembered the terrifying legends about this doctor.
Chainsaws, hammers, impact drills...
"Uh... Doctor."
He asked cautiously.
"Will this surgery... require a hammer?"
"No," Victor shook his head.
The captain breathed a sigh of relief.
"Then... a chainsaw?"
"Not that either."
The captain felt completely at ease.
"That's good! That's good!"
"Doctor, please go ahead! As long as you can cure this damn seasickness, I'll do anything!"
"Very well, your word is enough."
Victor nodded with satisfaction.
"Elizabeth, take him to operating room three."
"Alice, prepare the 【Soul Frequency Calibrator】. "
"Mia... go close the door. Don't let the outside noise affect my surgery."
...
Half an hour later.
When Ghost Captain Vander Decken floated out of the operating room again.
His entire ghostly being had been sublimated.
That world-spinning dizziness that had tortured him for centuries had vanished!
He felt as if his soul had grown roots, firmly planting itself into the ground.
Forget ocean waves—even if the sky collapsed, he felt he could stand perfectly straight!
"A miracle!"
The captain was moved to tears—though what flowed out was ectoplasm.
To verify the treatment effect, he even performed fifty high-speed spins on the spot in the clinic hall with an extremely flamboyant posture.
Then, he stopped steadily.
No dizziness, no blurred vision.
He even felt like doing another fifty spins!
"Steady! I feel as steady as a rock!"
The captain shouted excitedly.
The monsters in line broke into thunderous applause and cheers at the sight.
"Divine doctor! As expected of the divine doctor!"
"He can even cure a ghost's illness! Is there anything he can't treat?"
"I want to book a specialist appointment! No! I want the director's special needs appointment! My herniated disc is saved!"
Victor stood to the side, hiding his merit and fame.
He looked at the ghost captain who was still spinning in circles, a kind smile appearing on his face.
"Captain Vander Decken, was it?"
"Since the illness is cured..."
"Should we... talk about the medical fee?"
Rate on N.U.
