Chapter 29 - Sub-dimension Management System
Translator: Roshi
'Sub-dimension Management System?'
I already understood, at least roughly, that this space was called a "Sub-dimension."
The alarm that had gone off when the intruder, no, when Serintia visited.
I'd seen the term "Sub-dimension Intrusion Prevention System" there.
'Just looking at the features like the Access Permission List and banishment alone....'
The tutorial had given me a full day to explore and experience the inside of the Sub-dimension.
Now it seemed I was being given an official system to manage the place.
Ding!
[Various features for managing your current Sub-dimension will be unlocked sequentially.]
[The Sub-dimension Shop has been unlocked.]
[The contribution point system linked to the user's abilities is now open.]
[You may now earn Restoration Points.]
[You may also earn General Points by selling resources.]
[As a first-time unlock reward, you have earned 1,000P.]
[Would you like to view the shop listings?]
Management features, a shop, contribution points....
It was all terminology I was seeing for the first time.
But as the saying goes, seeing is believing.
'Let's just take a look.'
Ding!
[Sub-dimension Shop]
-Dimension Remodeling Shop
-Plant Shop
-Locked
'Dimension Remodeling?'
It seemed like the Sub-dimension Shop had several categories within it.
The ones available right now were the Dimension Remodeling Shop and the Plant Shop.
I opened them one at a time.
<Dimension Remodeling Shop>
-Space Expansion
-Locked
<Plant Shop>
-Ordinary Weeds
-Locked
Oho.
I had a rough idea now.
'Space Expansion is literally a feature that lets me expand the space of this Sub-dimension.'
During yesterday's first-day experience, I'd learned a few things about this Sub-dimension firsthand.
First, the only way to enter this Sub-dimension was through the entrance.
Trying to get in from outside the hospital through a window, the back door, or any other method was useless.
It felt like being blocked by an invisible wall.
The doors and windows couldn't be opened.
And the inside couldn't be seen from outside either.
It was as if the entire building had been remodeled into a Sub-dimension.
'Hm, good thing I bought the building.'
What if it hadn't been my building?
I might have gotten in trouble for suddenly and illegally remodeling someone else's property without a word.
On top of that, even if the building owner asked me to leave, I had no idea how to revert the Sub-dimension back to normal.
Thanks to buying the building right away with the money I got from Raymond, I'd spared myself a lot of headaches.
I should treat Jickan a little better.
Anyway.
The second thing I'd learned about the Sub-dimension.
It was that while this place looked like an endlessly stretching expanse, it was actually quite limited in size.
I'd discovered this last night when I went out for an evening stroll, running across the field with Cer under the bright moonlight.
Cer was clearly running toward the far side of the field, but I got the feeling he wasn't actually getting any farther away.
When I tested it, I found that trying to go beyond a certain distance was like running on a treadmill, just jogging in place.
The same thing happened if I threw something like a disc.
It looked like it was flying through the air, but it ended up right where it started.
'Way better than smacking into an invisible wall and getting hurt, though.'
When I looked closely, the boundary appeared as a red line.
In other words, the area inside that red line was the Sub-dimension's actual space.
The "Space Expansion" in the Dimension Remodeling Shop must be a feature to expand that boundary.
[Would you like to purchase Space Expansion?]
[1-side, 1-unit expansion: 1,000P]
[All 4 sides, 1-unit expansion: 4,000P]
'Of course it costs points.'
[Current points: 1,000P]
[Current Restoration Points: 0BP]
According to the messages from earlier, points were divided into two types.
General Points, earned by selling resources.
Restoration Points, earned by performing treatments.
General Points were primarily used for purchasing items from the shop.
Restoration Points seemed to be used for unlocking things that were still locked.
'Well, treating patients is something I always do whenever they come in. But what does selling resources mean?'
[You may sell Mana Stones or rare metals, among other things.]
Aha.
'Mana Stones, huh.... So from now on, it might be better to sell the Mana Stones Cer gets from hunting to the shop.'
It didn't seem like a bad idea to stockpile them and sell the rest to the management bureau once I had enough points....
"Ssaem! Your patient is coming in!"
"Coming!"
Park Ji-yeon's voice called out just then.
I'd been so busy browsing the shop that treatment hours had already arrived.
'Patients come first.'
I closed the shop and took a long sip of my morning Americano, watered down from the melted ice.
Kkiing! Is it time to work?
Cer sprang to his feet, gently set his Comfort Toy down on the cushion, and headed out through the back door.
It looked like he was going out to guide the visitors again today.
Such a good boy, our Cer.
I'd leave that to him.
"Hello, Doctor...."
The guardian who came in was carrying a cage, but for some reason looked extremely timid.
Even though we hadn't started yet, they could barely make eye contact and kept glancing around nervously.
"Hello. What brings you in today?"
"Well, it's...."
But even without an answer, I could tell soon enough.
HISSSS!!
The cat inside the cage took one look at me and went on full alert, hissing like its life depended on it.
Fur standing on end, looking ready to scratch and bite the moment anyone came close.
Its eyes were filled with wariness and fear.
"Our Watson.... Even though he's in pain, he gets this scared whenever we go to the hospital and scratches the doctors and nurses like crazy."
"Ah, that's perfectly fine."
I had Absolute Shield, after all.
But the problem didn't seem to end there.
"Th-the thing is, the scratching is one issue, but Watson gets so stressed out.... If we take him out of the cage and hold him down, he starts throwing up. Could you maybe be a little gentler.... No, I'm sorry...."
The guardian hung their head low, eyes downcast, gaze shifting restlessly.
They'd come in for treatment but had a lot of requests, and they were clearly worried about looking like a difficult customer.
I looked at Watson.
HISSSS!!
Watson had retreated almost to the very back of the cage, firmly declaring his refusal to come out.
'I've seen cats like this even before I awakened.'
It wasn't the most common case, but there were cats with such high sensitivity that they became extremely agitated in unfamiliar environments.
In severe cases, just having a stranger approach could make their breathing quicken, and being forcibly held down could make them faint....
Normally, I would have had no choice but to reach in and use Restoration while saying "Just hang in there for a second! I'll make you feel better in no time!"
'But since it's come to this, I should test the performance of my new technique.'
Armed with 10cm Remote Restoration and fearing nothing, I strode confidently toward the cage.
"Could you hold the cage for me, please?"
"Oh, yes!"
HISSSS!!
As I approached, Watson pressed his rear end almost flush against the back of the cage.
I used that moment to place my palm against the back of the cage and quickly activated my skill.
"Restoration."
And then.
Flash!
Whoooosh!
'Oh! It works?'
The light from my hand passed straight through the cage wall, ignoring it entirely, and seeped into Watson.
Ding!
[Remote Restoration has been used.]
[Restoration Rate: 100%]
[EXP increased by 1.]
[Due to the effect of Restoration Lv.10 (Stage 3), EXP gain has slightly increased.]
[An additional 0.15 EXP has been earned.]
[10BP of Restoration Points have been earned.]
'Restoration Points are coming in too?'
Along with EXP, I'd also earned 10BP.
I'd expected it to be 1BP at a time, so what was this?
At this rate, I could accumulate them pretty quickly.
'And just as I thought, ordinary animals can be fully treated with Remote Restoration alone.'
Just like when I'd restored plants, the Restoration Rate was 100%.
Watson, who had been hissing inside the cage moments ago, now pushed his face toward the cage door as if nothing had happened.
When I brought my finger close, he gave it little licks.
The guardian's eyes went wide as saucers at the sight.
"W-Watson's never licked someone else's hand before...! Th-thank you so much!"
"Haha, don't mention it. His kidneys and digestive system weren't doing so well. Has he had a sensitive stomach since he was young?"
"Yes.... He's always been a pretty picky eater."
"I see. Then you'll just have to be careful in daily life. I know it's a hassle, but try to feed him things that are easy on his stomach, and if he gets sick again, don't hesitate to come back anytime."
My heal could cure any injury or illness.
But there was nothing I could do about parts of the body that were inherently weak.
So the only option was to manage things carefully on a regular basis and come back for treatment when things got worse.
But most guardians were more than happy with just that.
"I understand. Really, thank you so much.... Thank you...!"
As if they didn't know what else to do besides say thank you, the guardian bowed their head repeatedly before leaving.
Moments like these always felt so rewarding.
'Still, I can't believe Remote Restoration actually works through a wall.'
I had no idea how it was even possible.
But if it worked, it worked.
Better than it not working, right?
This meant that even though the range was only 10cm, its utility had already expanded by one more application.
"Next patient, please come in!"
"Okay!"
I welcomed the next patient with a much more relaxed state of mind.
*
"Gah! It's quitting time!"
Kkiing! It's quitting time!
Today, Cer came in right at closing time and cheered along for the end of the workday.
"You worked hard today guiding everyone, Cer."
Kkiiing!
When I showered the good boy with pats, his tail wagged like a propeller.
'Work definitely got a lot easier.'
With Remote Restoration, there was no need to open the cage and pull out the sensitive ones.
For the calm or friendly ones, I could just pet them and treat them at the same time.
How convenient was this!
My quality of life had already gone up a whole level.
"Ssaem, are you going to stay and play with Cer again?"
"Yes. You head out first!"
I sent Park Ji-yeon home first.
The sun was still reasonably bright.
I came out to the field with Cer.
"Cer, I'm going to check the shop for a bit. Can you play on your own?"
Kkiing! Yep!
Cer bopped the bouncy ball with his mouth like he was kicking a soccer ball, then chased after it, dribbling as he played.
I opened the shop.
[Points: 1,000P]
[Restoration Points: 1,870BP]
The points were the same as the ones from the initial unlock bonus.
Restoration Points had already climbed to nearly 2,000.
Something I'd learned from today's treatments.
Each successful treatment earned 10BP.
And a bonus of 100BP was given for every 10 successful treatments.
I'd thought the base BP per treatment was generous enough that there wouldn't be a bonus.
But getting 100BP on top of that was a pleasant surprise.
'Let me hold off on the Dimension Remodeling Shop for now.'
The space wasn't that cramped, and it wasn't quite time for an expansion yet.
'What I need right now are plants.'
Especially now that the 10-treatment bonus had increased my EXP gain and I was earning Restoration Points with every treatment.
The easiest target for farming both EXP and points was plants.
'At first, I thought I could just keep restoring the grass here in the field whenever it wilted and copy EXP endlessly.'
But surprisingly, the grass currently planted in the Sub-dimension showed no signs of wilting or deteriorating whatsoever.
Even when I tried grabbing a leaf and giving it a light tug, it was no use.
It seemed like the default grass was purely decorative and for providing a soft, cushiony feel.
Which meant I had to purchase plants if I wanted to cultivate my own garden.
[Plant Shop]
-Ordinary Weeds (100P): Weeds that grow well.
-Locked
'Weeds, huh....'
If I was going to plant something, I'd rather plant pretty flowers than just mass-produce weeds like a factory.
Ding!
[Displaying the list of plants currently available for unlock in the Plant Shop.]
-Sunset Flower (seeds): 3,000BP
-Moonpowder Flower (seeds): 4,000BP
...
'Hmm. The minimum is 3,000 Restoration Points.'
It was a shame, but there was nothing I could do about it.
Besides, even if I unlocked one, if the purchase cost was over 1,000P, I couldn't afford it anyway.
Should I at least buy some weeds for now?
'Weeds, pur....'
Ding-ding!! Ding-ding!!
"Gah, that scared me!"
Kkiing?! What's going on?
The emergency alarm went off again.
What now? Serintia had already visited yesterday, and I'd added her to the Access Permission List.
'Ah, don't tell me!'
[Sub-dimension Intrusion Prevention System active]
[Blocking access and verifying information....]
[Information verified.]
[Descendant of the Otter Clan, Dimensional Explorer "Yom" is requesting access along with a companion (1).]
[Will you accept?]
Yom, who had left home, was back.
And with someone else.
*****
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