I Became the Only Healer in the Academy - Chapter 25.1
Venturing deeper into the gate, the number of revealed demonic monsters differed, but more formidable ones did not appear.
“Let’s call it a day. We’ve done quite a bit today.”
“Really?”
Seonghyun knew well what awaited deeper inside.
Within this gate resided a solitary mutant monster, one that bestowed curses upon those who crossed its path.
While other monsters that could cast curses were not common, they were not excessively rare either.
What set this mutant monster apart from others was its unique ability to curse hunters to their bloodline.
If the blood belonged to a hunter, there would be some level of resistance, but for an ordinary person, it meant an inevitable death sentence.
Hence, Seonghyun hesitated to dwell any further.
“Why? Isn’t it okay to go a bit deeper?”
Sang-yeon seemed surprisingly enthusiastic.
It had been a while since they engaged in such physical activity, and surprisingly, the synergy between Seonghyun and Inhwan was better than expected.
“No, going any further is risky.”
“…Well, if that’s the case, there’s nothing we can do.”
Without contesting Seonghyun’s firm decision, Sang-yeon followed suit.
“Shall we meet at the same time tomorrow?”
“It’s up to you. We always gather at this time.”
“Alright, got it.”
The three emerged from the gate, making plans to meet again tomorrow.
One man headed toward the deeper parts of the gate.
“It’s a shame that the suppression got canceled today. I was looking forward to it.”
He had been anticipating the hunting he scheduled for today, but suddenly, an order came from the association to halt it.
If it were a prominent guild, they might have proceeded forcibly and faced penalties based on the urgency of the inquiry. However, the guild the man belonged to was not widely known, leaving no choice but to comply with the order.
“The quota for this month must have already been filled…”
To prevent the monopolization of gates by large guilds, the association distributed a reasonable amount of the inquiry suppression rights to smaller guilds.
However, the suppression allocated for the inquiries was now on hold.
“Should I check out a newly opened gate then?”
Money wasn’t a pressing issue for him.
While having more money is always welcome, the man’s financial situation wasn’t so dire that it posed a threat to his daily life. Feeling the preparations he made for today would go to waste, he headed towards a gate.
“What’s this? Why are there no monsters?”
Arriving at a gate where wolf-like monsters typically appeared from the entrance, the man found no sign of them in the area. It seemed that all the demonic creatures had been recently dealt with.
For this reason, the man ventured deeper into the inquiry.
Even deeper, until he could spot them.
Having ventured so far that it was difficult to ascertain how deep he had gone, the man paused for a moment at the sight of a monster before him.
“A spirit-type monster?”
With its translucent form and a floating appearance in mid-air, it resembled the ghostly figures often seen in games or comics.
“It’s my first time seeing one in real life.”
Encountering such a rarely seen demonic monster, luck seemed to be on his side today.
‘Against spirit-type demonic creatures like that, physical attacks usually don’t work well.’
It was common knowledge, and fortunately, the man wasn’t a hunter with physical abilities.
“As rare as it is to encounter such dangerous monsters, their cores are quite valuable.”
The man directed his abilities towards the monster, which he still hadn’t fully identified.
“…?”
However, it seemed like the monster was completely unaffected.
There was either no impact at all, or it appeared as if the monster didn’t even realize it had been attacked.
“What the…”
If that was the case, there was only one option left.
“Do physical attacks work?”
Although he lacked physical abilities, physical training was a fundamental skill for many hunters.
The man cautiously approached the monster, drawing a sword from his side, which he hadn’t used yet, and still couldn’t fully identify its location.
‘Now!’
Swiftly plunging the sword into the center of the monster, the man thought he had found its core.
However, the expected core was nowhere to be seen.
“What’s this?”
As he tried to assess the situation, a piercing scream from the monster tore through the air.
“GAHHHH!”
“Ugh! What, what is this?”
In an instant, the man covered his ears with both hands, tightly shut his eyes, and realized that, apart from his fallen sword on the ground, the monster had already disappeared.
“What in the hell…?”
Staring blankly in his place, the man, seemingly resigned, started to look around as if searching for another demonic creature.
Thump.
“…Huh?”
Thump, thump, thump.
The man quickly scanned his surroundings.
Could the thumping sound he heard indicate the arrival of a large-sized monster?
However, his intuition was completely off the mark.
The cause of the sound was none other than his own heart.
As a hunter with inherent resistance to curses, this curse didn’t affect him significantly. It merely caused a bit of discomfort.
“A monster that casts curses…”
It was somewhat annoying.
Since the pain continued for about a day, it interfered with his efforts on hunting monsters.
“Ugh. I can’t do this. I’ll have to call it a day.”
Considering the inherent variability of pain, the man decisively concluded today’s hunt and headed home.
“I’m home.”
“Oh, son…”
However, the sight of his mother welcoming him was noticeably different from usual.
“Why, what’s wrong? Are you sick?”
“I-It’s just… I suddenly got a severe headache…”
Looking closely, her complexion was considerably dark.
Not only that, but her chapped lips hinted that his situation wasn’t to be taken lightly.
“Did you go to the hospital?”
“Not yet…”
“Come on, let’s hurry.”
“Your father, your father too…”
It wasn’t time for him to finish work yet, but the man’s father was on his way out of the bathroom after just finishing washing up.
He, too, had his hand holding his head, just like his wife.
