I Became the Only Healer in the Academy - Chapter 8
[According to information released by the Association, it is said that healers with the ability to heal have side effects.]
[What kind of side effects?]
[As stated by the words of the ability holder, they fully experience the pain of the one they heal.]
“…What?”
As Hayeon, who was about to drink coffee, stared at the screen, frozen in the same posture.
“They feel the pain directly?”
Even the mere act of granting the gift of healing is already considered a blessing, but the fact that they also fully experience the pain was something that anyone would naturally be wary of.
“If it’s a healing ability, it’s completely understandable that there would be such side effects.”
There are doctors and hospitals dedicated to Hunters, but the difference in standards wasn’t significant, as it was only divided because of the large number of patients.
The injuries inflicted by monsters were not just simple tearing and bursting.
Bodily parts being severed was the norm, and getting hit by demonic energy to the point where one’s body rots away was not uncommon.
Of course, after the appearance of the Gates, humanity had removed all restrictions for humanitarian reasons.
However, completely restoring the severed body parts had its limitations, and stopping the decay that had set in by the demonic energy was the current boundary.
In such dire situations, the emergence of a healing ability holder meant much more than just an elevation in the nation’s status.
The endless battles with the monsters that had continued until now, never-ending conflicts.
To put it a bit dramatically, it was like breathing new life and hope into humanity, which had grown weary.
“Now that I think about it… I was still clutching my arm even though there were no visible wounds.”
Every detail pointed to Seonghyun being the healing ability holder.
All that remained was verifying this certainty.
Seonghyun had been hunting monsters right up until the day before the start of the school year.
“Phew…”
From the moment he woke up in the morning until just before midnight, apart from meal times, he hadn’t skipped a single hour without hunting, as the monsters became more active.
[Monsters Defeated 63/100]
The numbers weren’t just a little short, it was a long way off from clearing the quest.
“Hunting alone is incredibly tough.”
He thought he’d easily achieve it because they weren’t particularly strong monsters, but there were far too many of them that had been attacked by other hunters.
“I’ll need to slowly catch the remaining 37.”
He had also put constraints on the use of his abilities, so he didn’t expect to achieve it easily.
But it didn’t mean he hadn’t gained anything.
“My body feels much lighter, but is it just my imagination?”
Comparing his current physical condition to right before his return, there was a noticeable difference.
Even compared to his physical condition just before his return, he felt much lighter and stronger now.
“…It’s almost like it was planned.”
Receiving the quest to defeat monsters and imposing limitations on his abilities, it didn’t seem like they did it just to increase the difficulty.
“Could it be that it’s trying to enhance my physical abilities?”
The more he thought about it, the more it seemed to be the case.
Healing abilities, often referred to as healers, share a common trait: their ability to preserve their own bodies is significantly inferior to others.
“Regardless of the intent, I understand that these are for my benefit, for now.”
He wasn’t sure what it might demand from him in the future, but currently, the content was solely focused on Seonghyun’s development, so he decided not to question it.
“Tomorrow marks the start of the academy.”
Thinking about returning there, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of levitation in thin air.
Admitted for his talent but ironically rejected for having no talent in the end, the place where he had to dedicate everything, rather than receive support.
“I’ll make it work somehow.”
Now that it was getting late, and having just returned home from hunting monsters, Seonghyun closed his eyes and fell asleep.
***
“I’ll be back. And take it easy with your work, though you don’t need to go out now.”
Before heading to the academy, Seonghyun expressed his concern to his mother in a slightly worried tone.
“If I don’t do that, I’ll just get bored. Now, hurry up and go. Don’t be late.”
“…I’ll be back.”
Without leaving any more words, Seonghyun left the house as it was.
The distance from his home to the academy was only about a 5-minute walk at most.
The academy building, which he hadn’t visited since his return, welcomed Seonghyun, and there were quite a few other students heading to school.
“Hey, did you see the news?”
“A healing ability user?”
“Yeah, maybe South Korea’s reputation will rise now. We’ve always been lagging behind.”
“If one has a healing ability, of course, Korea’s reputation will rise, but the side effects…”
Not only this group but also other students were discussing the healing ability of users.
‘A lot of talk about the side effects as expected.’
“But if there are such side effects, would you even use the ability? To receive the pain, I mean, for me, it’d be quite a big… “
“Moreover, they say the user can barely handle a big injury, so then wouldn’t it be used just to boost the country’s status?”
As the news report on side effects and limitations concluded, there weren’t many positive reactions, as expected.
However, Seonghyun didn’t pay much attention to it.
What he needed to do now was to train to minimize the side effects of his ability.
‘Is it this way?’
Seonghyun headed to his classroom based on his memories.
Perhaps it was because Seonghyun arrived a little earlier than usual, but there weren’t many students in the classroom.
As soon as Seonghyun entered, everyone’s attention briefly focused on him, but they soon dispersed to continue their usual activities.
‘Is it possible that no one here knows me?’
If that were the case, it might actually be a good thing.
He wouldn’t have to attract unnecessary attention, and if the people who mattered recognized him, that would be enough.
Seonghyun returned to his seat and started preparing for today’s classes.
“Has everyone arrived?”
Not long after, a familiar face entered the classroom.
He was Seonghyun’s homeroom teacher during his first year and the professor who graded students based on their abilities, Hwang Ki-hyuk.
Thanks to this homeroom teacher, Seonghyun’s first year of high school was a complete mess.
He still couldn’t forget the words the teacher had said to him on the first day of school.
‘Identifying vital spots? Ha… How insignificant.’
The gaze that looked down on Seonghyun in front of everyone, as if he was someone unworthy, remained as an unforgettable trauma for Seonghyun.
Since that day, Seonghyun received the lowest scores every time.
No matter how hard Seonghyun worked or what kind of achievements were made, it was not important to the homeroom teacher.
After all, it was not an ability that was useful in battles in the first place, and it would become utterly useless once information on monsters piled up.
But now, the homeroom teacher was just blatantly staring at Seonghyun.
As if discovering something remarkable.
Having made eye contact with Seonghyun for a brief moment, the homeroom teacher quickly averted their gaze and pointed to the screen.
“…Today, we’ll start the briefing on the new gates that have appeared this week.”
The Academy was just a name, in reality, it was more fitting to call it a military institution, as the curriculum mainly focused on combat and tactics rather than school lessons.
“This week, in the metropolitan area, there is one Grade 4 gate and five Grade 5 gates that have emerged. Among them, the gate we need to eliminate is a Grade 5 gate.”
At the Academy, it was common practice for each class to form an assault party and go out to eliminate gates.
In this context, Seonghyun’s role was naturally that of a buffer/debuffer positioned in the center of the assault party, utilizing his existing ability, the Vital Spot Detection.
At most, Seonghyun’s job was to identify the vulnerable spots of monsters and fill in empty spaces behind the front lines.
“Wait a minute, a Grade 5 gate?”
Seonghyun quickly recollected his memories.
The incidents that occurred after his admission to the Academy were unforgettable, and the memory of the first assault mission after the beginning of the school year was part of those significant incidents.
The Grade 5 gate, which was the destination of this mission, was the habitat of goblins.
Dealing with goblins, known for their tendency to be troublesome when faced alone, would have been challenging.
However, the Academy itself was considered an appropriate location for the first mission, as it was the Academy’s unified assault party.
“…In this mission, one-third of the students died.”
Sometimes gates could cause mutations, and errors in gate classification were not uncommon.
As luck wasn’t in the air for them, the hopeful first assault mission of the Academy’s first-year students turned out to be an unprecedented event with the least likely outcome—an incident involving mutations.
The results were grim.
When the assault team entered the gate, it triggered mutations among the goblins, making them even stronger.
The goblin habitat had transformed into the epicenter of a massive goblin tribe, ultimately leading to a war instead of a simple assault mission.
Originally, there should have been only goblin warriors, but due to the mutations, a goblin chieftain emerged. In a situation where there wasn’t a significant difference in physical abilities, the tactics of the goblins led by their newly appointed leader overwhelmed the assault party, resulting in a crushing defeat.
If the Association hadn’t intervened upon recognizing the mutations, it might not have been one-third but only the entire party that faced annihilation.
‘I can’t change the schedule.’
It wasn’t something that could be resolved by throwing a tantrum.
To change the Academy’s schedule, appropriate evidence would need to be presented, and there was no way to provide evidence for events that hadn’t even occurred yet.
“I need to go directly to the Association before the assault.”
The only thing he could do was request support from the Association beforehand.
Luckily, given Seonghyun’s current position, he was in a situation where he could make such a request.
“The first assault mission is scheduled for next week. Until then, we will focus on classes related to enhancing basic combat abilities and lessons on ability utilization. Concentrate on absorbing them all.”
The homeroom teacher spoke as they gazed intently at Seonghyun before leaving the classroom.
“If you have anything to say, come and see me.”
Despite his words, his gaze implied that he had something to say, as if he was instructing Seonghyun to come to the staff room.
‘I was planning to go anyway.’
Since there were tasks he needed to make clear with the homeroom teacher, Seonghyun proceeded straight to the staff room without hesitation.
***
‘He’s… in the same class?’
Hayeon’s gaze remained fixed on Seonghyun from the back row.
While she knew he was an Academy student, it had never occurred to her that he might be in the same class.
‘Why didn’t I know…’
Even excluding his healing ability, with Seonghyun’s level of talent, it should have been apparent.
Of course, she hadn’t directly witnessed any combat scenarios, but considering the circumstances, it was clear that Seonghyun had single-handedly taken down the goblin hordes chasing her.
The fact that Academy entrance requirements were solely based on talent was common knowledge among the public.
However, because the abilities manifested at the age of 20, Seonghyun’s ability to utilize his powers and combat sense lagged significantly behind other Hunters.
‘I want to investigate further, but…’
Delving any deeper here wouldn’t be respectful to the one who saved her life.
She only needed to figure out who he was and whether he was being treated unfairly.
After watching Seonghyun heading to the faculty office, Hayeon headed to the training room for her class.
