UNLOCK: I CAN SEE MY STATS

chapter 6 : Under Watchful Eyes

Lorana, Eastern Camp on the Ironland Border | Medical Tent

Because of the night’s darkness, the flickering oil lamps cast swaying shadows across the drooping canvas, illuminating the pale faces of soldiers suffering from various degrees of injury.

In front of one of the beds stood a boy no older than fifteen. His black hair was messy, laced with a fine layer of dust.

He wasn’t tall or broad, but his alert eyes scanned the soldier with a missing arm with intense focus.

He wore a brown leather armor, worn at the edges and pulled tight across his chest.

At its center was a distinctive emblem: twelve dots encircling a bronze star.

Marcus removed the armor, identical to his own, from the injured young soldier’s chest. His brows furrowed as he noticed the spread of thick, purple bruises across the ribcage.

He placed his right hand on the soldier’s chest. The young man let out a soft, unconscious groan of pain, but Marcus ignored it. Instead, he channeled Eternal Energy through his body and began weaving a series of hand signs swiftly with his left hand.

∆ Third Eye medical Technique ∆

A faint, violet flame-like aura formed around his hand and slowly sank into the soldier’s body.

The Third Eye was a D-rank medical technique. Its learning requirements weren’t particularly high, but its function was vital.

It allowed the user to scan a body using Eternal Energy. Its mechanism was nearly identical to that of a sensory technique.

Though the technique wasn’t listed in his panel, Marcus successfully activated it on the first try, thanks to his vast medical experience.

Sure enough, his panel flickered briefly. In the skills section, a new technique appeared:

- Third Eye medical Technique D : Level 0 ( 50 )

Marcus ignored the panel and focused on what the scan had revealed.

His expression deepened into a scowl.

He stopped the technique and lifted his hand off the soldier’s chest.

"Hm. Three fractured ribs… significant blood loss..."

While muttering under his breath, he pried open the soldier’s dazed eyes.

"As I thought. A minor concussion caused the unconsciousness..."

"What do you think you’re doing?!"

A sharp female voice cut through the silence of the tent.

Marcus blinked, then turned calmly to face the voice with an expression void of emotion.

A young woman, likely between sixteen and eighteen, stood there. Her long black hair was tied tightly in a bun. She wore a brown leather armor bearing Lorana’s crest. Over the right side of her chest was a red cross, marking her as a member of the medical team.

"Hm... a medic then," Marcus thought, studying her.

"What do you think I’m doing?" he replied, his tone cold and edged with sarcasm, gesturing to the half-dead soldier in front of him.

"I saw that you weren’t doing enough. You’re not doing your jobs properly, so I took it upon myself to step in and handle it."

Tina's brows furrowed into a deep frown. She approached him in quick, sharp steps, her voice laced with restrained anger.

"Enough with the arrogance. This isn’t a place for your experiments. Step away from the patient. Now, or—"

"How dare this brat question my work," she thought, seething. "I haven’t slept in two days because of this damned job..."

Unbothered by Tina’s growing frustration, Marcus narrowed his eyes at her. His voice dropped lower, laced with a hint of killing intent. He hated being threatened, especially by someone weak. And as it happened, Tina fit that description perfectly.

"Or else... what exactly?"

Tina didn’t answer. Instead, she raised both hands and swiftly wove a series of hand signs, channeling energy to her right fingertips.

∆ Energy Scalpel Technique ∆

A thin thread of violet light formed at her fingertips, shaping into something like a blade sculpted from pure light.

With that glowing scalpel of Eternal Energy, she glared into Marcus’s eyes, searching for fear or hesitation, but all she found was mockery, indifference, and cold amusement.

That look in his eyes made her feel like a child waving a weapon at an adult.

Frowning, she glanced at the injured soldier, wondering if Marcus had been trying to harm him.

"I’ll treat him myself. If you come any closer, I’ll assume you’re threatening a patient under my care."

Marcus watched her in silence. He didn’t look afraid, but he knew things were beginning to spiral.

He sighed and softened his voice.

"I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone. I was trying to help. I have medical experience. I trained as a medic before joining the unit, and..."

He paused, then added more calmly,

"I understand you don’t trust me. That’s fine... I’ll step back."

He began to move away from the bed, intending to return to his cot on the other side of the tent. But Tina stepped forward and raised the glowing scalpel to block his path.

"Not so fast. Not until I’ve confirmed the soldier’s condition."

She studied his face for a long moment, looking for any flicker of deceit. She found none.

Before Marcus could respond, the tent flap flew open. A man in his mid-thirties entered with confident, purposeful strides.

He had short blond hair, a light beard, and piercing, disciplined blue eyes. He wore the armor of the Lorana state with both the medical insignia and a black badge marked with a single letter: W.

He moved quickly into the tent, eyes flicking between Marcus, Tina, and the soldier lying on the bed.

He narrowed his eyes at Tina, clearly recognizing her.

"Hm. I saw your profile in the files... You’re the trainee medic, Tina, correct? I see you’ve finally arrived."

"Now then," he added, voice low and weary.

"What exactly is going on here?"

Tina turned to the doctor, her voice strained.

"Dr. Naral Hays... you’re finally here..."

She immediately pointed at Marcus with suspicious eyes and added,

"This boy, I don’t even know where he came from… I found him tampering with a patient in critical condition."

Her voice rose, sharper and more accusatory.

"He claimed we weren’t doing our jobs and that he would handle it himself. He said he was trying to save the patient, but who knows? He could be poisoning him, or trying to settle a grudge. Maybe he’s... a spy from an enemy force!"

"Damn it..." Marcus thought, grinding his teeth.

"This bitch is accusing me of being a spy? Seriously?"

He glanced at the insignia on Dr. Hays’s armor.

"Hmm... a W-level badge. That makes him a Warden-class Eternal Fighter. There’s no way I could beat him without using All for One..."

Then he froze.

"Wait... why am I even thinking about how to beat him? Damn it, those hellish years in my old timeline really made me overly cautious..."

Marcus’s thoughts drifted momentarily, but he quickly snapped back to the present.

He took a deep breath, choosing not to lash out. His voice calm, he exhaled and said:

"A spy? I’m Marcus Abomarian, member of the 19th Squad under the Recon Division. I was injured while on a mission behind enemy lines and brought here for treatment...."

He slowly reached for the small pouch at his right hip. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Tina tense up.

A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Relax. I’m not here to hurt anyone..." he said smoothly, thinking wryly,

"Tch!! ... is she stupid? As if I’d try anything with a Warden-ranked eternal fighter right here."

He looked away from her and pulled out a metal ID tag, tossing it toward Dr. Hays without another word.

Dr. Hays caught the tag, scanned the information quickly, then looked back at Marcus with a thoughtful expression.

"Huh ! Abomarian ... I see . So he’s from that clan. The ones with unmatched seal techniques... I didn’t expect to see one of them here."

He looked at Marcus again, eyes lingering on his forehead.

"No clan insignia... hmm. If it weren’t for the aura on this tag matching his body’s, I’d have thought he was a spy ..."

"Still, even if he was... what kind of idiot spy pretends to be from the Abomarian Clan, of all people? Especially with that mark on their foreheads..."

"But , Over ten years old, and no signs of the Seal Body awakening... a flawed condition," Hays finally concluded.

While the doctor was lost in thought, Marcus added coldly,

"If I wanted him dead, I wouldn’t be standing here explaining myself."

Tina didn’t reply, but her face remained distrustful.

Marcus let out a short breath, then continued after a pause.

"Look... I don’t want to argue. Let me treat the soldier. Right here. In front of both of you. Every step under watch. If I do anything wrong, anything at all, I’ll take full responsibility."

A heavy silence followed.

At last, Hays emerged from his thoughts and spoke.

"You’re confident, Abomarian... fine. Let’s see what you can do."

He turned to Tina and added in a lighter tone,

"Miss Tina, he’s your responsibility now. Keep a close eye on him and record every move. If you see anything suspicious, stop him immediately."

Tina looked at the doctor, then at Marcus. She sighed tiredly, nodded, and replied curtly,

"Understood."