Crown Prince Sells Medicine
Chapter 3

[Your lungs have awakened.]

[Your lungs send you a thumbs up.]

[Your lungs have donated 100 HP to you.]

[Current HP: 100]

“….What?”

Raciel accidentally blurted out a question after having inserted a needle into his central vein on his own. 

Suddenly, a peculiar message appeared in front of his eyes.

‘What is this? I haven’t taken any drugs.’

Despite his attempt to avert his gaze, he was unsuccessful as the message followed his every movement, resembling an experience within a virtual reality game.

Despite his confusion, Raciel’s doubts dissipated upon hearing the concerned voice of Gardin.

“Your Highness? Are you alright?”

As he turned around, he saw Gardin’s already pale face. It resembled a worried mother hen who had placed her chick in water.

‘Is he really that concerned?’

Raciel chuckled softly.

“I’m fine. I told you, it’s nothing.”

“But Your Highness, the needle…”

“Shh. Let me complete what I was doing.”

“… “

Raciel silenced Gardin with a simple gesture and proceeded to pick up the second needle. 

He found the precise location just above the central vein within his collarbone and took aim without any hesitation. 

With a swift motion, he pierced the needle.

Thunk.

A sharp sensation reached the Unmun acupoint (雲門穴), the second point along the bronchial and lung meridian. Simultaneously, Raciel observed the new message materializing before his eyes.

Ding-dong!

A crisp and melodic sound echoed as he punctured the Unmun acupoint. Soon after, a series of messages emerged in front of him, one following the other.

[You have accurately stimulated the Unmun acupoint.]

[Your bronchi received a refreshing stimulus.]

[Your symptoms of bronchial asthma have slightly eased.]

[Your chest tightness has slightly relieved.]

[Your lungs look upon you favorably.]

[Your lungs have donated 100 HP to you.]

[Current HP: 200]

As expected, another message appeared before Raciel’s eyes.

“… … .”

Curiosity now outweighing his initial surprise, Raciel wondered what this new message could possibly mean. His interest piqued, he picked up the third needle and took aim.

“Next is the Tianfu acupoint.”

Located on the upper forearm, three inches below the elbow crease, and on the outer corner of the biceps brachii muscle, was the Tianfu acupoint. Raciel poked the acupoint to a depth of 5 pu.

Thunk!

“… Ugh.”

Raciel’s eyebrows twitched as he recalled the sensation of poking his own forearm with a needle while sober. Despite the discomfort, he couldn’t help but notice the appearance of a new message before his eyes.

Ding-dong!

[Your cough symptoms have slightly subsided.]

[Your lungs exhale in joy.]

[Your lungs have donated 100 HP to you.]

[Current HP: 300]

Once again, another message appeared before Raciel’s eyes, confirming his suspicion that it was neither a delusion nor a hallucination.

‘Well, if it means something, let’s keep stimulating and see. We might be able to replace out the more accurate meaning of this message and use it in some way.’

Afterward, Raciel began to concentrate more on the sensation and poked the Xiabai acupoint with a sense of achievement.

Thunk!

This acupoint is commonly stimulated when experiencing chest pain, nausea, difficulty breathing, or coughing. 

As expected, when Raciel stimulated the acupoint, the tingling sensation in his throat began to subside slightly. However, there was one issue that still troubled him.

“Gardin?”

“… … .”

Raciel turned his head to the side and noticed Gardin kneeling down and muttering something fervently. He wondered if Gardin was praying.

‘… Let’s continue with the stimulation.’

Thunk!

Without being deterred by Gardin’s worry, Raciel proceeded to poke the Chize acupoint. This acupoint is situated between the elbow crease and the biceps brachii tendon, within the hollow between the folds on the inside of the elbow when it is bent.

“Agh.”

The pain this time was truly intense, causing Gardin to grimace in discomfort. Feeling a tinge of guilt, Raciel asked, “Huh? I poked myself, why are you the one feeling pain?”

“W-well, I was just watching…”

“Instead, can you sterilize the needle tip that I’ve chosen with a candle instead of praying?”

“Y-yes, Your Highness.”

As Gardin stumbled to sterilize the needle using a candle flame, Raciel continued to poke the Gongzui acupoint.

Thunk! Thud! Thunk!

However, he didn’t stop there and swiftly proceeded to poke several more acupoints in succession, including the “Lieque” (列缺穴) acupoint where the tendon of the thumb passes on the lower arm, the “Jinggu” (經渠穴) acupoint near the radial artery on the wrist, the “Taiyuan” (太淵穴) acupoint on the wrist, and the “Yuzhe” (魚際穴) acupoint on the outside of the base of the thumb. Raciel’s accuracy was impeccable as he made no errors in his poking. 

Finally, after a long time, a message appeared before his eyes.

Ding-dong!

[Your skilled acupuncture is providing stimulation to various acupoints.]

[Your lungs have relaxed comfortably.]

[Your lungs are looking for a massage chair.]

‘What the fuck? Why are you looking for a massage chair? And why isn’t it giving me any HP this time?’

Feeling a sudden surge of anger, Raciel grabbed the eleventh needle with precision and took aim at the Shao Shang acupoint. This acupoint is situated 0.1 cun outside the base of the thumbnail on the exterior side of the thumb. 

To put it simply, this is the well-known spot that grandmothers press when someone has an upset stomach.

Thunk!

It was at that moment…

[You have successfully completed the appropriate acupressure technique for your left lower abdomen and reproductive system.]

[Your lungs perform a tap dance of cheers.]

[The rhythm of the tap dance awakens your large intestine, the conductor of the conduction system, in sync with your lungs.]

[Your large intestine makes a pleasant grunt in rhythm.]

[Your large intestine donates 100 HP to you.]

[Your lungs donate 200 HP to you.]

[Current HP: 600.]

“Hmm?”

‘In addition to the lungs, the large intestine too?’ 

One message after another kept appearing, indicating that they had donated HP to Raciel. However, the influx of messages didn’t stop there.

[You have reached the HP threshold required for skill activation.]

[You can now select/unlock your first skill.]

[The available skills are based on your current knowledge/abilities in the field you possess.]

[Would you like to view the list of available skills?]

[YES / NO]

“… … .”

Raciel was taken aback and blinked in surprise and amazement. It was a strange situation to receive points from his own organs and use them to unlock a new skill. Despite this awkwardness, Raciel managed to keep his composure.

‘Well, if you think about it, becoming a character in a novel is already like the end of the game.’ 

Realizing that he should not be surprised by the level of strangeness anymore, Raciel made a decision to take advantage of his time wisely. 

With this determination, he selected “YES.”

[The list of available skills is being displayed.]

The message expanded like a scroll in front of him.

<List of Available Skills>

1. Palpation

2. Acupressure

3. Moxibustion

4. Cupping

5. Decoction preparation

6. Herb Identification

7. Herb Exploration

8. Tincture Brewing

9. Medical Billing

10. Asrahan Core Technique

“Phew.”

To Raciel’s surprise, the list was indeed real. Moreover, there were more skills listed than he had expected, causing him to burst out laughing involuntarily. 

‘These are all things I used to do for a living in Korea, except for one.’ 

His eyes landed on the bottom of the list, where a skill named the “Asrahan Core Technique” caught his attention. Suddenly, memories from the novel “Devil Sword Emperor” flooded his mind. The Asrahan Core Technique was a powerful technique that was exclusively passed down to the direct descendants of the Magentano royal family. Legend had it that it was jointly created by the renowned grandmaster “Javier Asrahan” and his disciple “Lloyd Frontera” around 300 years ago.

‘Well, now I’m a prince, so I must have learned the Asrahan Heart Method when I was young.’ 

Unfortunately, Raciel’s poor health due to illness prevented him from utilizing the technique, and thus, it made sense that the skill was merely listed as available to him.

‘But now is not the time to choose that skill.’

Raciel shook his head. The Asrahan Core Technique was for combat purposes, and he had no need to fight anyone at the moment. He needed to choose his skill carefully because his opponents were diseases, not people.

After a deep consideration, he made up his mind. 

“Number 1, Palpation.” 

The foundation of any treatment is diagnosis, and its accuracy is crucial in prescribing and treating patients effectively.

[You have selected Skill Number 1, Palpation.]

[Skill Activation Cost (1st time): 500 HP]

[500 HP will be consumed.]

His HP was greatly reduced, and messages continued to appear.

Ding Dong! 

[Your knowledge and experience in Palpation have been unlocked as a skill.]

[Skill Name: Palpation Lv.1]

[Diagnoses the rough health condition by touching the subject’s pulse. The pulse results can be easily verified through the ‘Basic Comprehensive Medical Examination Form.’]

‘Okay. Basic Comprehensive Medical Examination Form?’ 

Raciel moved his right hand to check his pulse on the left wrist. He focused, and then the skill was activated automatically.

Ding Dong!

[Starting Palpation.]

[Scanning…]

[3… 2… 1…]

[Palpation results are out.]

[Please refer to the <Basic Comprehensive Medical Examination Form> below.]

Raciel followed the instructions and a simple form appeared in front of him.

[Basic Comprehensive Medical Examination Form]

[Subject: Raciel Adria Magentano]

[Race: Human]

[Gender: Male]

[Age: 21 years old]

[Height: 176.2 cm]

[Weight: 53.3 kg]

[Blood Type: Rh+ O]

“… … .”

‘This body is worse off than I imagined.’ 

Raciel felt a sense of despair as he looked at the examination form.

As the skill level is still low, the results of each item are displayed briefly.

[Cardiac Function: F]

[Pulmonary Function: F]

[Liver Function: F]

[Spleen Function: F]

[Renal Function: F]

[Overall Five Organ system Function: F]

[Stomach Function: F]

[Small Intestine Function: F]

[Large Intestine Function: F]

[Urinary Bladder Function: D]

[Meridian Function: F]

[Overall Six Bowels Function: F]

[Conclusion: Severe prognoses were identified in all items. Signs of multiple organ failure, acute pneumonia, and myocardial infarction were found. There is a detected risk level of immune deficiency. The patient has a serious nutritional deficiency. No nutrients are currently being absorbed. It is recommended to consume food that is not hard on the digestive system.]

It was an enormous result in many ways, but it wasn’t the end of it. Looking at the bottom of the examination form, Raciel’s mouth went dry as if his saliva was twisting.

[Expected lifespan: 91 days]

‘…Fuck.’

Swearing involuntarily, Raciel looked at the countdown timer in front of him. Rather than feeling fear or despair, seeing the actual number made him even more determined.

‘I’m not going to die that easily. Me, who even met and tested negative for COVID-19 with two confirmed patients at the clinic,’ he grumbled.

With a sharp exhale, Raciel made up his mind and proceeded to remove the needles one by one from the 11 acupuncture points on his left clavicle, arm, and thumb using his right hand. 

He did so in a deliberate and precise order.

‘I’ll survive. I’ll definitely survive,’ he thought, determined to enjoy the sweet life of being a noble to the fullest. He burned with the resolve to do everything in his power to live. Finally, as he removed the last needle,

Ding-dong.

As if responding to his determination, a message appeared:

[Your expected lifespan has increased by (+)1 day.]

TRIVIA:

1. The characters Javier Asrahan and Lloyd Frontera are characters from the author’s previous work “The Greatest Estate Developer.”

2. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the term “six bowels” refers to the six fu organs. These organs include the gallbladder, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, bladder, and the San Jiao (Triple Burner), which is considered a functional organ that regulates the circulation and distribution of fluids in the body.