As soon as I sat down, the corpse caught my eye.
The person appeared to be around 30 years old, male.
His muscles were quite developed, suggesting he had endured hard labor. At the same time, his body fat was low, and to someone like me, well-versed in anatomy, it was immediately clear which muscles were which just by looking.
'His stomach is quite protruding... Hmm... There seems to be something pathological here.'
If I were a forensic examiner, I would have continued pondering this. But I was a doctor. Well, strictly speaking, I wasn't even a doctor yet.
Yet, before me was Robert Liston, surrounded by reporters.
Not only that, but students from our school were also present, especially the seniors who were seething with jealousy after being surpassed by me.
'Let's not worry about unnecessary things.'
I started by putting on gloves.
A few of the seniors sneered at this.
They probably thought I was being cowardly or doing something pointless. Honestly, in an era where touching a corpse bare-handed was considered bravery, it was truly a barbaric time.
"Hmm."
Anyway, even Dr. Robert Liston put on gloves, and the sneering stopped. The reporters, witnessing a dissection for the first time, didn't react much to the gloves. Some even averted their eyes, which said it all.
A 21st-century dissection room would be horrifying enough for the average person, but this place...
"Give me the knife."
I reached out to Joseph, trying to channel the atmosphere of an operating room.
He looked at me as if confused but eventually handed me the knife. It was large, and he handed it to me blade-first, nearly cutting me. If I had been cut here, it would have been as good as dying, so I made a mental note to call them aside later for a proper lesson.
"Shall we start with the arm?"
Dr. Robert Liston wanted to begin with a verified area.
No, he probably only wanted to focus on that area. He needed to leave a deep impression on these people, and in a very positive way.
I felt the same, so I made the first incision.
*Sssk.*
Since the body was relatively fresh, the sensation of cutting into it wasn't much different from cutting into a living person.
"....."
"Hey, bring a bucket."
"Yes."
At the same time, one of the reporters started gagging.
The cleanliness of the floor was questionable, but still... Dr. Liston's request prompted the students to quickly fetch a bucket.
"Ughhh."
And so, I continued the dissection with this strange background noise.
Well, the incision was done, and now it was time for the dissection.
*Tap tap.*
I used the knife to separate the white connective tissue between the fascia and subcutaneous tissue.
"How is it... that there's no blood?"
"Because he's dead."
The reporters, who seemed to have strong stomachs, started chattering among themselves.
'These kids...
I could do this to a living person too.'
Separating the connective tissue, or dissecting, wasn't much different between a living and a dead person. Of course, there might be minor bleeding, but it was truly minor.
*Thud thud.*
While thinking this, I continued the dissection with precision.
As the muscles were revealed, it must have been a very unfamiliar experience for the reporters.
"Wow..."
Even the medical students were impressed.
I glanced around and saw some of the seniors who had sneered earlier now with their mouths agape.
'It's too early to be this surprised.'
I was about to show them something more when Dr. Robert Liston suddenly stood up.
Only then did I remember that his observation of my dissection ended here.
"From here on, it might get a bit gruesome."
Dr. Liston's large frame blocked the view of the corpse and me.
He turned his back to me and continued speaking to the reporters.
"It's better for you to stop here."
"Is it worse than this?"
A reporter, who already felt like he was in hell, asked.
"This is nothing. Should I open the stomach? From there, it's no joke."
"Ah."
Dr. Liston pointed to a corpse somewhere in the lab.
Perhaps because the person who opened it had zero understanding of anatomy, or because decomposition had progressed, the sight was truly horrifying.
It was hard to look at from a distance, let alone up close for reporting.
That was just too much.
"Then we'll take our leave."
"Alright. Write a good article. He's a truly promising young man. And don't forget to write about me too."
"Of course. It's hard to judge his skill based on this alone, but we can see he's no ordinary person."
"Good, good. And remember, I know where you live."
"Uh... yes."
Dr. Liston had already taken off his gloves.
Some fists only look impressive with gloves on, but his didn't need them.
Moreover, the marks from beating up some nameless thug at the bar we visited were still fresh on his knuckles.
The reporter couldn't even bring himself to properly look at the sheer size of his fists, the fresh wounds, or the old scars.
"Alright. We've wasted enough time."
With that, the rest of the reporters left.
Some even took the buckets with them. I doubted they'd write a proper article after that.
But I could bet money they wouldn't write anything negative.
How could they, when this guy knows where they live?
"Everyone, take a seat. From today, for a while, I'll be partnering with Dr. Piyoung here. If you want to see a sample, come here. Each of you will have a corpse to dissect. If you're struggling, just call me. Don't ruin it."
"Yes!"
"Yes."
Dr. Robert Liston patted my shoulder and continued.
The guys who had been gaping earlier now bowed their heads.
Well, their mouths said "tch," but the sound that came out was "yes."
I guess that's what happens when you've been around Professor Robert for a long time.
"Alright, let's continue."
"Ah, yes."
I wanted to observe the face a bit longer, but Dr. Liston sat down, so I did too.
"Now, cut here."
"Huh?"
Then, the professor pointed to a strange spot.
'That's... between the biceps?'
Was he telling me to split the muscle in half?
I couldn't dare to question him, so I hesitated, but he continued.
"Be careful when cutting. There's a blood vessel here. An artery."
"Ah, yes."
Why was he stating the obvious?
I wanted to just neatly separate the biceps, but I couldn't disobey him right in front of everyone.
At least, not yet.
'When I become a doctor...
I'll do as I please.'
I decided to endure for now and picked up the knife.
Of course, that didn't mean I'd do a sloppy job.
...
'Cutting along the fascia would be much easier...
But this isn't my first time cutting muscle.'
Cutting open the stomach also involved cutting muscle.
Of course, the goal was to make a vertical incision to minimize damage to the muscle fibers, but that wasn't always possible.
*Sssk.*
I focused and made the incision.
The knife was unnecessarily large, making it a bit awkward, but that didn't affect my skill.
As I cut, something different always emerged, whether in appearance or sensation.
'Hmm. Here.'
That's how I identified the end of the muscle.
Below this was a different area.
So then...
"Forceps."
"Forceps?"
"Yeah. Forceps."
"Uh... that's usually used in surgery."
I had been so focused that I ended up asking Joseph for something excessive.
Joseph looked at me as if I were ridiculous.
Even Dr. Liston seemed puzzled.
Not so much ridiculous, but more questioning.
"Why?"
"To hold this and cut it. That way, the structures underneath won't get damaged."
Honestly, it was me who was being ridiculous.
What I was saying wasn't even medical knowledge, just common sense.
"Of...!"
But to them, it seemed like a new discovery.
Well, it wasn't that surprising.
The only time these people used forceps was when amputating limbs and tying off blood vessels.
In other words, they had never used forceps to avoid damaging something.
"You're truly a genius. Your thinking is completely different!"
Dr. Liston laughed heartily and stood up.
"I should've shown this to the reporters! You always exceed my expectations! Hahaha!"
He then hurried off somewhere.
I wasn't sure if it was to assist me or for some other reason, but he still held the dissection knife.
'Is he bringing them back?'
It seemed like he was going to fetch the reporters.
To show them this too.
But a moment later, Dr. Liston returned with a bag of surgical tools.
'Ah, right. He's not a Viking.'
Right, he's a doctor.
As I thought this, he handed me the forceps.
"Take these. I'll just get a new pair."
Oh, a gift.
"Th-thank you."
"No need. This idea of yours is the best gift. Protecting what's below... Good, very good."
He nodded with a strange look as I thanked him.
He kept saying it was good, which made me nervous.
When this type of person says something is good, it usually doesn't end well for anyone but them.
'He's not going to start cutting open stomachs right after anesthesia, is he?'
That would be a real disaster.
These thick gloves aren't suitable for surgery.
Then I'd have to go bare-handed, and no matter how much lime chloride or disinfectant is used, hands can't be completely sterilized.
I wasn't even sure if they'd sterilize the tools and hands properly.
It's not like I'm with this guy 24/7.
"Go ahead."
"Ah, yes."
Of course, such worries were irrelevant to my current situation.
So I decided to just do as I was told.
Very well.
In other words, I used the forceps to hold the muscle and made the incision.
With a *snap*, the biceps split open, revealing the blood vessel underneath.
It wasn't the red vessel most people would expect.
Well, they had probably drained the blood.
"Ha... This makes it so much easier to cut. I've always relied on luck before..."
While I was lost in my indifferent thoughts, Dr. Robert Liston and the medical students around me were in awe.
It was no coincidence that some of them began to look at me with admiration.