I Became the Only Healer in the Academy - Chapter 13.1
“Cough, cough…”
The man grasped the space where his arm used to be with his trembling hand, as if he were insane.
No, he grasped the space where his arm used to be.
‘In a place like this…’
Deeper within the opened gate, there were monstrous beings beyond his ability to confront.
If there was any consolation, it was that these creatures seemed to have satisfied their hunger after tearing the man’s arm and had ceased chasing him further. That, at least, was the most hopeful outcome.
‘…Or not.’
Monsters have an innate ability to sense the scent of blood.
However, at that moment, the man was not just shedding blood but seemingly spewing it out.
They had even severed the Achilles tendon of one of his legs, as if intending to prevent him from fleeing far.
The man had always lived as a weakling.
But becoming not just weak but a blood offering brought a whole different level of wretchedness.
“Haah… Haah…”
Emotions being felt for the first time.
Starting from the moment the gate opened, today was filled with unfamiliar things.
Among those unfamiliar things, death was also included.
“My… daughter…”
Even in a situation like this, the only thing flooding his mind was his daughter’s face.
A high school student who, despite being a bit scatterbrained, had always been more considerate of him than anyone else.
“Kreuk…”
However, the monster seemed to have no intention of allowing him the comfort of those thoughts. Slowly, it was advancing towards the man lying down.
“Ha, haha…”
The man chuckled softly.
Until now, he believed that the most frightening thing was money.
But with death right in front of him like this, thoughts of things like money didn’t come to mind at all.
Is there anything more frightening than this impending tragedy?
Moreover, as this calamity approached, with no existence of the future in that moment, the man tightly shut his eyes against a fear more significant than pain.
“There aren’t many people around.”
There weren’t as many hunters as usual.
It wasn’t even close to the 15th when the magical energy intensified, yet today, there were noticeably fewer people.
Although he saw a few hunters around the gate, their lack of wounds rendered them insignificant, which was the most crucial thing.
“Should I go deeper?”
Seonghyun pondered for a moment.
Whether he could confront the creatures dwelling in deeper places at his current level.
And whether there was any guarantee that other hunters deeper inside, possibly injured, would be there.
“There’s nowhere else to go but here.”
As the other open gate was a bit of a distance away, Seonghyun ventured deeper inside.
After about five minutes, faint moans echoed from within.
“A person?”
Occasionally, there were creatures among the monsters that imitated human voices to seek help and then attacked. So, Seonghyun cautiously headed toward the source of the sound.
“Heuk, heuk.”
Upon closer inspection, there was a middle-aged man making strained gasping sounds nearby, saturated with pain.
“Hey, hey!”
Seonghyun immediately rushed to the man, clutching onto one of his arms.
“Wh-who…”
The man’s voice no longer contained vitality.
The man was dying, to the extent that even someone like Seonghyun, who was seeing him for the first time, could sense it instantly.
“Are you okay?”
“…”
With an urgent gaze, the man looked at Seonghyun, clutching his sleeve before losing consciousness.
“…The wound is deep.”
It wasn’t just deep; as Seonghyun pried the blood-soaked hand gripping his sleeve away, the arm that should have been on the other side was nowhere to be seen.
“You came too far into the gate.”
Seonghyun cautiously placed his hand near the man’s nose.
Fortunately, the breathing pattern seemed normal. Before checking the man’s condition, Seonghyun surveyed the surroundings.
“Ha… yeah, they couldn’t possibly allow it.”
Sure enough, smelling the blood, several monsters were approaching Seonghyun and the man.
“Can I handle them?”
Seonghyun had two choices.
One was to stand and fight against the monsters here, doing his best to heal the man.
The second was to leave the man right now, accepting the penalty for the day and escape.
Of course, even if he stayed, there was no certainty that he could handle the monsters.
“No need to think too much.”
Seonghyun forcibly inserted the painkiller he always carried into the man’s mouth and drew the sword from his side.
“Stay alert.”
The approaching monsters were not the usual dog-like creatures often found near the gate’s exit.
They were larger than wolves, and their projecting fangs made it clear they were not going to be easy opponents.
At that moment, a voice from behind spoke.
“What’s this, a wolf-type creature?”
A man appeared before Seonghyun, one eye covered with a bandage, holding a long, blood-stained sword over his shoulder, approaching confidently.
“Who…”
“It doesn’t matter who I am. Is that man dead?”
Despite the distance between them, the man swiftly approached Seonghyun and briefly checked the fallen man by his side.
“Is he your companion?”
“Yeah.”
At Seonghyun’s informal response, the man chuckled mischievously and gestured soon after.
“Hurry, take him. You don’t need to see this.”
“…Thank you.”
“Just find your way back.”
Finishing his words, the man swiftly ran forward, and in an instant, he severed the throats of two giant creatures.
“…Incredibly skilled.”
The man then ventured deeper into the forest, while Seonghyun turned his attention back to the fallen man.
Feeling a hint of concern, Seonghyun checked the man’s condition again. His breathing sounded somewhat unstable.
“I need to administer first aid.”
Taking a moment to assess, Seonghyun noticed that the Achilles tendon of the man was already in a severely damaged state.
“That’s why… he couldn’t escape properly.”
The severed arm was something beyond Seonghyun’s ability to rectify.
However, the damaged Achilles tendon seemed within the realm of possibility for healing.
“Firstly, I need to remove the scent of blood.”
If he foolishly healed him right here and now, he wouldn’t be able to assist the injured man if the monsters reappeared, just like the man who had helped them earlier.
“Materialization.”
With his decision made, Seonghyun promptly created several potions.
