I Became the Only Healer in the Academy - Chapter 9
Upon arriving at the faculty office, Seonghyun lightly knocked on the door.
“Kim Seonghyun here.”
“Ah, come in.”
Inside, a voice much warmer than Seonghyun’s memory could recall came from within, and Seonghyun entered the faculty office to where his homeroom teacher was located.
“Ah, yes. Have a seat.”
The homeroom teacher had evidently prepared in advance, with snacks and drinks ready for Seonghyun.
As soon as Seonghyun took his seat, the teacher gazed at him carefully and asked.
“So… I found out that you’re the Hunter with healing abilities, am I right?”
“…Yes. That’s correct.”
“I knew it! I always thought you were going to be a significant figure!”
He was speaking words that didn’t truly reflect his feelings, and Seonghyun, well aware that they were empty words, gazed at the teacher without showing any change in expression.
“B-But, is it really true about the side effects? It’s not just a fabricated story to protect you, right? Do you actually experience pain when you heal others?”
“Yes.”
“…No exaggerations?”
“I can’t exactly tell how much pain a person feels, but based on my experience, I think they still feel it even after I use my ability.”
Seonghyun’s response, without any hint of doubt, seemed to mildly displease the teacher.
“…I had some expectations. So, is it safe to say that the other is a rather useless ability?”
“Until I started using it, it may have seemed that way.”
“Receiving the pain directly? How great can you heal injured people then?”
The teacher’s expression didn’t reflect any particular expectation.
If he had needed Seonghyun’s ability, he wouldn’t have reacted this way.
‘Must be a reputation-related matter’
“It’s fine. You can go now. It’s time for class.”
“…Yes.”
Seonghyun was a little upset, but he had no way to express it, so he bit his lower lip slightly and left the faculty office.
“Ah, they all react like this.”
When the fact that he had healing abilities became known, they had all approached him as if they could get something out of him, uttering all sorts of flattery. However, their attitude changed when the talk about the side effects came up.
“…Is this ability truly hopeless?”
Even though it was the only one of its kind in the world, right now, the range of injuries it could heal was limited, and even that came with pain.
“I can still grow. I can’t give up.”
Given that his ability manifested and a window showed up with the appearance of the word “Open”, it meant there might be other abilities yet to be unlocked.
Finding those abilities depended solely on Seonghyun’s effort, so what he needed to do now was not lose heart but rather find even the smallest direction.
“I can’t avoid physical training either.”
Classes were about to begin, so Seonghyun headed to the training room.
Until the Academy’s first mission, nothing significant had happened at the Academy.
He attended classes on time and, once the classes were over, he used the free time to deal with monster hunting.
“It happens tomorrow.”
Since Seonghyun had already discussed with the Association, there would probably be people waiting at the gate entrance to prepare for any possible mutations.
Originally, he could have participated with them, but to create an environment as close to a real battle as possible, he chose not to go with them.
There were risks involved, and Seonghyun already knew what kind of threat might come his way.
He wanted to complete the mysterious quest given to him in any way possible before the first mission.
“Now… just one more.”
[Monsters Defeated 99/100]
As midnight was approaching, Seonghyun had left just one monster to defeat for quest completion.
“Dealing with one more shouldn’t be difficult.”
By hunting nearly 100 monsters alone, Seonghyun had experienced significant growth in his physical abilities.
Of course, that wasn’t the only change.
Seonghyun had learned how to handle multiple foes by himself, which movements were the least taxing and the most efficient in conserving energy.
His ability to sense the presence of monsters had become far more sensitive than before, and as a result, the seemingly impossible task of defeating 100 monsters was now within reach.
“…You’re the last one.”
The monster marked the beginning of Seonghyun’s monster hunting, in the same spot, drinking from the same spring.
But Seonghyun was different now.
Back then, he had hidden behind the monster to aim for its neck, but now, he did no such thing.
“Gwargh…?”
The monster, who had been drinking water, looked at Seonghyun with a puzzled expression for a moment, and then the moment their eyes met, the monster rushed straight at Seonghyun.
“Karrg!”
While he had aimed for the monster’s neck from behind on that day, today, he pierced the monster’s neck directly from the front, drawing the blade through and pulling out the essence of the creature.
“100 monsters… done.”
[Monster Defeated 100/100]
[During the quest, you did not use your healing ability.]
[Do you wish to receive the reward ‘A New Path’?]
“Yes, I’ve been grinding for almost two weeks just for this.”
[Reward ‘A New Path’]
[An uncharted path that no one has walked.]
[Do you wish to walk the new path? Once you choose, there’s no turning back.]
“…Does it sound too intimidating? But I’ve already made up my mind.”
[A New Path]
[Neither a Devotee nor a Crusader, you are the only being without faith…]
“The prologue is taking too long…”
It would have been enough to provide information about the new path, but all this explanation made Seonghyun strangely uneasy.
[A New Path is a road that no one has ever walked, and a road that no one has ever walked is a rugged one.]
[Defeat the Goblin Chieftain 0/1]
[Reward: To be revealed]
“…”
Seonghyun felt a bit dizzy as he read the contents of the quest.
“Wait a minute, the Goblin Chieftain?”
[This quest can be completed without going solo.]
[However, you are given a week to complete it.]
[If you fail this quest, you’ll have to start from defeating 100 monsters again.]
[No one has cleared this quest so far.]
In a way, it was a challenging quest. The Goblin Chieftain, as a type of monster, was not the kind that usually appeared through normal gates.
However, this time, the Academy’s mission was heading straight to the place where the Goblin Chieftain was known to appear.
“…Could it be that it gave me this quest because it knows where I’m going?”
As Seonghyun read the quest contents, he had a feeling that someone else had received the same quest but failed to complete it.
This suggested that the Guild might not know Seonghyun’s exact destination.
“Is it a coincidence? Or just luck…”
The real issue was how to handle the Goblin Chieftain.
Seonghyun recalled the events from that time.
He had entered the gate, hunted down about half of the goblins, and was about to leave when the gate closed and triggered mutations.
“I killed about half of them…”
As Seonghyun remembered it, he had dealt with about half of the goblins before the Association’s reinforcements arrived.
Of course, one-third of the Academy’s students had died as a sudden result.
“I’ve changed, so this time will be different.”
In the brief time since he had returned, Seonghyun had made quite a few changes.
That’s why he had confidence in himself.
And he didn’t let arrogance cloud his judgment.
[You have been rewarded for defeating 100 monsters.]
“A reward?”
Seonghyun was about to check what the reward entailed, but it was already close to midnight.
He decided to hold off on the choice for now and stepped outside.
A few minutes later, after leaving the room, Seonghyun immediately checked the window.
[The reward selection timer has expired.]
“…”
It was incomprehensible.
How great of a reward would it be that it gave him so little time?
“I’m supposed to be happy about returning… But why does it seem like I keep getting angry?”
Since this small window was the root of all these issues, Seonghyun let out a deep sigh and then looked at the window again, as a different message appeared.
[You will receive a random reward.]
Seonghyun just accepted this one.
He had worried that it might ask him to do something strange, but thankfully, the window wasn’t so unscrupulous.
[You will receive a Devotee’s Pendant.]
The window disappeared and immediately, a pendant appeared in mid-air and fell into Seonghyun’s hand.
“…What is this?”
[Devotee’s Pendant]
[A pendant that devout believers always wear.]
[Allows the simultaneous use of the healing ability on multiple targets.]
“Oh… this is quite nice, isn’t it?”
Of course, the pain that followed was a problem that Seonghyun had to bear entirely on his own.
Nonetheless, he was quite pleased with the equipment that contributed to the advancement of his abilities.
“So, I only need to prepare for tomorrow’s hunt.”
With a somewhat heavy expression, Seonghyun headed to the pharmacy.
As he left the pharmacy, his arms were filled with painkillers.
“I’ll be back.”
“Is it okay if you don’t eat breakfast?”
“Yeah, they serve breakfast at the academy today.”
Seonghyun deliberately left home without discussing today’s impending mission with his mother.
‘This is probably for the best.’
He knew that forgiveness was easier to obtain than permission, so he planned to return home safe and sound after the mission.
Upon arriving at the academy’s vicinity, preparations for the first mission were already complete.
“Once everyone is here, we’ll depart.”
Looking at the students gathered under the academy building, it felt like a field trip back in elementary school.
Of course, the destination was vastly different.
Soon, all the students had assembled, and their homeroom teacher, Hwang Ki-hyuk, led the way toward the gate with a goblin tribe.
“Remember… don’t underestimate goblins, and don’t get separated. That’s all.”
As soon as Seonghyun arrived, he surveyed the surroundings.
“There they are.”
He saw members of the association waiting in the cafe, just as he had requested.
“I’ll go in first, and you can follow. Don’t be alarmed if your vision blacked out when entering the gate, just stay still.”
Soon, their homeroom teacher entered the gate first, and the students followed.
Seonghyun, positioned as a support, squeezed in the middle of the group and entered together.
As their vision darkened, they felt their bodies suspended in empty space.
When they opened their eyes, they were greeted by a familiar yet unpleasant sight.
It resembled a forest, but the trees were not densely packed.
It was a landscape somewhere between a meadow and a forest.
“Goblin hordes usually consist of a minimum of three to a maximum of ten goblins clustered together. As we discussed earlier, we won’t split into separate teams and move. The rear… shh!”
As if sensing something, their teacher raised a hand, signaling silence, and then whispered softly.
“There are three goblins up ahead. Ranged attackers, initiate the attack first, and if they aren’t all taken down at once, melee attackers follow up.”
Following their teacher’s instructions, several students assumed combat stances and attacked the goblins.
The result was that all three goblins were killed instantly.
“Great! Let’s keep it up this way!”
With that, the students continued hunting with ease, and soon, they gathered at the gate, ready to exit.
“Why… is this…”
They had definitely seen it on the news.
They couldn’t leave until all the monsters inside were dead.
A Gate mutation.
