Prelude: A Broken Spirit

At the Grand Hospital,

A beautiful female doctor, who many male doctors and patients had dreamed of, was now talking to a middle-aged man.

Though the man’s actual age was forty-five, he looked like he was in his thirties. He had a clean-cut hairstyle, short beard, and was wearing a neat outfit.

The guys surrounding these two had eyes filled with envy toward this man. They were all trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.

This female doctor’s name was Panhathai. This name was very suitable for her. She truly was like a heart to many of the men here. The fact that she was only in her late twenties but didn’t have a boyfriend yet caused many men to think they still had a chance.

T/N: Panhathai means ‘like a heart’ in Thai.

Even though they felt that way, no one would dare injure themselves enough to be treated by her, since she was an orthopedist. By the way, the conversation of these two wasn’t flirtatious at all. It was focused solely on a particular patient.

“Doctor, Sila has been in the hospital for more than a week. Why is he not getting any better? His wounds are all gone, aren’t they? So why can’t he walk yet?” the man anxiously asked.

“Mister Rashane, you first need to understand that, for physical therapy, an external wound is not the major concern. It’s the internal one that—”

“Internal wound? Does that mean his internal organs are damaged? If that’s the case, how long will it take for him to recover?” Rashane inquired with great care.

“No, I mean his spirit. Sila himself is not willing to recover. He doesn’t even want to perform physical therapy. If he isn't willing, the medical treatment won’t be effective.” The doctor replied with regret.

Rashane fully understood the reason why Sila had no will to recover. Sila was his close friend’s, Mora’s, main disciple, and at the same time Mora’s adopted son.

Mora was the owner of a martial arts dojo, he had adopted him when Sila was a child. For Sila, Mora was his teacher, his father and his only friend.

Not many days ago, Mora had disappeared without a way to contact him. Meanwhile, there had been a letter from Sila’s competitor threatening him to give up in an upcoming duel if he wished to see his teacher again.

His opponent in the duel, Montra, was a champion of many competitions, and the son of a very famous martial arts dojo master.

Sila didn’t give up after being threatened by the letter, though he couldn't concentrate in the duel, resulting in his loss. He had ended up badly injured, to the point that he had to be admitted to the hospital.

The worst part of these events was, that although the duel had ended in Sila’s loss, Sila’s teacher was still not coming back.

With the teacher having disappeared and the main disciple utterly defeated, the other disciples decided to resign from the dojo. Thus, now his dojo business was completely ruined.

Although Rashane was not directly involved, he had known Sila ever since he was a child and saw him as his own son. Because of his relationship with Mora, he decided to help by paying the medical fees and looking after Sila since that incident.

“So he should at least perform physical therapy, huh?” Rashane murmured and let out a sigh.

“He doesn’t even need to have serious physical therapy. That’s because, for Sila’s body, the injuries he received are not considered fatal.”

“He doesn’t have to have serious physical therapy? What do you mean?”

“First off, have you heard of a brain scanner?” the doctor asked with a smile.

“I have. I even have one at home. It’s a device that gives us access to the virtual system directly via brainwave while we’re sleeping, isn't it? Time in the virtual system is slowed by five fold. It’s a pretty convenient tool for work. Though, recently, my daughter is the one who constantly uses it for playing games.”

“That’s the one. Our hospital has the policy to use brain scanners for treating the patients who have mental damage rather than physical. The patients will get access to beautiful and relaxing scenes such as mountains, rivers, waterfalls, or the sea to calm their mind.”

“That sounds good. Then why hasn't the hospital used this method on Sila yet? Is it because I need to buy one myself? If so, I have no problem with that. Please just tell me the expenses. I will pay,” proposed Rashane.

Panhathai hurriedly waved her hand. “It’s not about expenses. I have already told Sila about it, but he has declined.”

“Is that so...?”

Rashane felt very hopeless.

‘Wait. What did my daughter tell me before?’

The man thought of something. Suddenly, he smiled; he just got an idea to motivate Sila to use a brain scanner.

“Doctor, I have a plan. I will contact you later with more information. Please pardon me as I leave. I will be back soon.”

Rashane ran off as enthusiastic as a kid.

“Y-Yes.”

Panhathai was a bit confused.

Rashane hurriedly left the hospital, so he didn’t get to hear the upcoming words of despondency from the female orthopedist.

“Hahh... He already left. It’s regretful that I got to talk only about the patient... A handsome widower with decent age. He is exactly my type.”

The light complaint from the female doctor gave the other eavesdropping guys the resolution to not cut their beard in the future, in the hopes of having a better chance of winning the doctor’s heart someday.

***

Three hours later, the door of room 303 was opened.

A man in a patient outfit was lying down on the bed. His messy dark brown hair was being blown by the wind from the windows. His body was a little malnourished but still looked decently muscular. His deep brown eyes looked vacantly through the windows until the sound of the door made him turn his head to look at two familiar figures.

“Hello, Uncle Rashane.”

The man put his palms together to greet the visitor.

T/N: As you may know, in Thailand, putting one’s palms together is an act of paying respect. Usually performed by a younger one toward his respected person. It’s also an act of formally greeting and saying goodbye to another person.

“Hi, Sila, How are you? Feeling any better?” asked Rashane while putting the box he carried onto the floor.

“So-so, sir”

Rashane lightly nodded, “I bought something for you today.” He then started to unpack the box.

“You don’t need to. Just paying for my medical fees has made me wonder how I can ever repay your kindness already.”

“If you truly want to repay my kindness then get better. Nevertheless, you don’t need to be so concerned. I think of you as my own son.”

“Thank you, uncle.”

The box was finally opened. Inside was one of the recently released brain scanners. This was the result of Rashane consulting with the doctor; she had told him that the hospital's brain scanners had fewer functions and were shared with the other patients. When Rashane told her his plan, she had suggested he buy a personal one instead.

“What is it?” Sila curiously asked.

A brain scanner consisted of two parts. The first part looked like a hair band with an electronic monitor on the front of it. This part was called a brain scanning device. The user had to wear this part to use the brain scanner. The other part was the central processing unit called a brain-wave controller. It looked kind of like a laptop, but its functions were much more complex and versatile.

Despite these two parts being with wireless, they still had to be within a ten meters radius to be effective.

“A brain scanner,” said Rashane, “And it’s the most recent one.”

Sila could guess Rashane’s intention. He released a sigh.

“Thank you, uncle Rashane. But I’ve already told the doctor that I won’t—”

“Just listen to me first, Sila. I have something to tell you. If you listen to all this and still don’t want to use it, I will then accept your decision and won't bring this topic up again.”

Sila stayed silent after hearing this. So Rashane took it as a sign to continue.

“This brain scanner is set up to access a game called Monster Soul Online which is very popular right now. My daughter is also playing it. In this game, users will get to experience a virtual reality world. Pain, hunger, taste, smell, and emotion will all seem real.”

Rashane paused for a moment as if he was hesitant to tell Sila the next sentence.

But finally, he sighed and continued.

“Sila, what do you think about... ermm... Montra?”

Suddenly, Rashane changed the topic.

Almost at the exact same time as Rashane had ended his sentence, Sila’s eyes were filled with vengeance. His hands squeezed heavily on bed’s edge.

Sila spoke with very a cold tone, “…I want to chop him into pieces.”

Hearing this, Rashane felt regretful that he had to use this method. But if this was the only way that will make Sila willing to use the device, then he must do it.

“Why did you suddenly bring up Montra?” One could easily tell that Sila’s voice was full of suppressed anger.

“I want to tell you that; Montra is also playing this game.”

“What!?”

Sila was so shocked to the point that he exclaimed unconsciously.

“I heard it from my daughter; his name seemed very familiar so I did some research. His game character is very well-known inside the game. He is among one of the top players, regarded as part of the Four Emperors, and even among these four, he is known to be the strongest. He uses his real name and real face for his character. He even has many fans. Right now he is the leader of the Heavenly Dragon Guild, which is the biggest and most influential guild of Monster Soul... What I want to say is this: the game is very realistic. If you want to meet Montra again, it may not matter whether it is in real life or in-game.”

The room fell into silence. Then, a reply could be heard from Sila’s mouth.

“How quickly can this device be operated?”

This reply made Rashane and doctor feel happy and worried at the same time. Both of them felt happy that Sila was finally willing to use the device. Meanwhile, they were also fully aware that the reason for him using the device was not a good one—seeking his revenge.

‘Hopefully nothing bad will happen,’ thought Rashane.