In the biting cold wind, Sami and his group quickly found a shop that seemed to specialize in collecting exotic goods from overseas. A small bell hanging above the door rang crisply as they pushed it open.
"Welcome! You gentlemen look unfamiliar—just docked with a merchant ship, I presume?"
The shop owner, wearing a thick apron, let the customers browse freely before walking over to greet them.
"Come in and warm yourselves!"
After a few brief pleasantries, Cahero naturally took over the negotiations.
"My good sir, you truly have a discerning eye," he said smoothly. "Take a look at these coral carvings from the West Blue. The color, the craftsmanship—top quality. In the West Blue, these are luxury pieces supplied exclusively to royal families… And these overseas specialties—every one of them brought back at great risk from distant seas…"
In the end, thanks to Cahero's half-truth, half-exaggerated merchant rhetoric, the dozen crates of West Blue crafts and exotic goods were sold for an unexpectedly high price.
Step one completed. Funds secured.
Sami weighed the heavy coin pouch in his hand, then casually tossed it to the captain of the supply team that had accompanied them.
"You guys go purchase the supplies on the list. Remember—keep your men under control. The defenses of this country look serious, so don't cause trouble."
"Understood, Captain!"
The squad leader caught the money bag, nodded, and left enthusiastically with his men.
Once the team departed, Sami turned his gaze toward the town before them—Roberu Town.
"Let's go," he said to the officers beside him. "We'll try our luck and see if we can find a few doctors willing to sail with us."
Roberu Town was even livelier than they had imagined.
Despite the freezing weather, the streets were bustling with people.
What stood out the most was that nearly every few dozen meters there was a clinic or pharmacy. White curtains and medical cross symbols were everywhere.
"Fresh ginger soup! Warms the body and prevents colds!"
"Certified by the Tower of Physicians—our newest cold remedy!"
"Secret family prescription! Guaranteed cure for difficult illnesses!"
"This is ridiculous…" Aldo muttered as he looked at the endless clinics. "How sick are the people here supposed to be?"
Sami randomly chose a clinic and walked in.
Inside, a middle-aged doctor in a white coat was examining a child with a stethoscope.
"Alright, little one. It's just a common chill—nothing serious."
The doctor put away the stethoscope and turned to a cabinet filled with drawers, skillfully taking out several prepared herbal packets.
"Take the medicine on time, drink plenty of hot water, and stay warm. You'll recover in a couple of days."
The child's mother thanked him repeatedly.
"Thank you, Dr. Petersen! We always trouble you—I'm so grateful."
"Not at all. It's my duty."
The doctor looked up and finally noticed Sami's group. Adjusting his glasses, he asked:
"And you gentlemen? Are you feeling unwell?"
Sami smiled politely.
"No, Doctor. We're perfectly fine. We were just wondering—if someone wanted to recruit doctors to accompany a ship at sea, where would be the best place to ask?"
"Recruit doctors?"
The doctor pushed his glasses up and looked them over, slightly surprised. Still, he pointed toward the towering mountains visible through the window.
"You should try the Tower of Physicians on top of Drum Mountain. It's the medical center of our kingdom. Most of the country's doctors and scholars gather there."
"You can take the Drum Cableway outside town to get there."
"Thank you for the guidance."
With a clear destination in mind, Sami and his group headed straight for the cableway station outside town.
Mushroom-shaped cable cars traveled back and forth along the line. The waiting area was packed with people.
Among them were many doctors, but even more patients from all over the world with weary, sickly faces.
"Open your mouth—ahh. Hmm, tonsillitis. Go directly to the ENT department on the third floor once you reach the tower."
"Doctor, I've been taking this medicine for three days. Why isn't it working yet?"
"Don't rush, sir. Chronic illness requires slow treatment. I'll adjust your prescription."
It truly lived up to its reputation as a medical nation.
The atmosphere of medicine here was astonishingly pervasive.
Whether in his previous life or after transmigrating, Sami had never seen a place where healthcare was so widespread. Even while waiting for the cable car, doctors casually diagnosed patients in line.
Soon, Sami and his group squeezed into one of the mushroom-shaped cars with the crowd.
A burly man at the front pedaled like he was riding a bicycle, powering the mechanism. The cable car slowly climbed the steep cableway.
As it ascended, the town below gradually shrank, replaced by magnificent snow-covered scenery.
Before long, the car reached the mountaintop station.
Before them stood a grand castle-like building.
Sami's eyes flickered slightly.
Isn't that the palace that bastard Wapol will occupy decades later?
It seemed that before the original story began, this place had truly been a sacred center of medical scholarship—only later seized by Wapol.
Unlike the empty and desolate castle seen in the future, the castle square now bustled with activity.
Scholars, doctors, students, and patients moved about constantly.
"All visitors must disarm here! Weapons are strictly prohibited within the Tower of Physicians!"
A squad of well-equipped guards stopped them at the entrance.
After surrendering their weapons according to the rules—except Marcus, who refused to part with his newly acquired Ran Ying and chose to wait in the square—Sami and the others entered the castle.
Inside, the academic atmosphere was even stronger than below.
People in white coats or scholar robes hurried through the corridors. The air was filled with the smell of old ink from books, the strange fragrances of medicinal herbs, and disinfectant.
Each floor held enormous libraries, along with countless specialized medical rooms and laboratories.
"So… how exactly are we supposed to recruit someone?" Sami muttered while stroking his chin as doctors hurried past them.
Walking up to someone and saying:
Hello, we're pirates. Would you like to abandon everything here and join our ship?
They'd probably be arrested by the guards immediately.
While Sami and his officers racked their brains atop the mountain for ways to poach doctors…
Down in Roberu Town—
The supply team, having finished most of their shopping, was carrying bundles of goods while chatting on their way back to the harbor.
"The captain and the others went looking for doctors. Think they'll succeed?"
"I doubt it. The doctors here live so comfortably. Who would want to suffer at sea with us?"
"But we still have so many islands ahead. Our ship has nearly 140 people now. If something happens, those three half-baked ship doctors won't be enough…"
Their conversation caught the attention of a passerby.
He appeared to be around thirty years old.
He wore a neat black suit on his upper body and a tall top hat. Under the brim, his hair was styled into three cylindrical tufts—left, right, and back—giving him a rather bizarre appearance.
However, his lower half was dressed only in a brightly colored pair of floral shorts.
The outfit created an absurd contrast with both the freezing weather and his formal upper attire.
"Hey, are you sailors who just arrived?" the strange man asked enthusiastically. "From what I overheard, is your ship recruiting doctors?"
The squad leader was startled by both the sudden conversation and the man's shocking outfit. Instinctively, he classified him as an unreliable weirdo.
"What's it to you?"
"Come on, don't be like that! Fate brought us together!"
The man ignored the cold response and introduced himself enthusiastically.
"My name is Dr. Hiriluk! I'm a doctor! Please let me join your ship!"
"You? A doctor?"
The squad members stared at him in shock, their eyes sweeping up and down his appearance.
"…Why are you dressed like that? Aren't you cold?"
"Hahaha!"
Hiriluk burst into hearty laughter.
"As a doctor, I naturally understand how to strengthen the body and resist illness! This little bit of cold is nothing!"
"So, how about it? Take me with you! I want to sail with your ship! I want to see the vast world outside!"
The team members exchanged glances.
Their captain was struggling to recruit doctors, yet they had somehow run into one volunteering to join them while shopping for supplies.
"You… really are a doctor?" the squad leader asked suspiciously. The man's appearance was nothing like the white-coated doctors in town.
"Of course!"
Hiriluk puffed out his chest, trying to look as trustworthy as possible.
"I'm a doctor from the Tower of Physicians! I just find it boring staying in the tower all day—endless research, research, research!"
"A real doctor should travel the world, treating all kinds of patients and discovering unknown diseases and herbs. That's the romance of medicine!"
"Take me with you!"
His speech sounded professional and passionate enough to convince them.
And the prestige of the Tower of Physicians name was simply too powerful.
The squad's doubts vanished instantly.
"Captain! A doctor from the Tower of Physicians wants to join us! Our luck is incredible!"
"Yeah, Captain, hurry and accept him!"
The squad leader grinned widely, feeling as if he had found a treasure.
"That's wonderful, Dr. Hiriluk! Welcome aboard! Please come back to the ship with us—our captain will definitely be delighted!"
This year, Dr. Hiriluk was thirty years old.
In truth, he had little talent for medicine. In the Tower of Physicians, he was an insignificant figure—often marginalized because of his eccentric behavior and research ideas that mainstream doctors considered unrealistic.
He stubbornly believed that the island simply had too many doctors, preventing his own genius from shining.
Thus he had always dreamed of leaving Drum Island to explore the world.
When he overheard the supply team's conversation, an idea suddenly struck him.
So he boldly lied that he was a doctor—hoping to hitch a ride with them and finally begin his dream of traveling the world.
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