I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 6

“Fewer and fewer people,” I thought.

As evening approached, the area near the gate thinned out.

After rechecking his gear, Seonghyun headed for the gate entrance.

“Going in at this hour?”

The Association guard, watching over the gate, asked Seonghyun with a hint of concern.

“Yes, I’ll be fine.”

“You have to be out before midnight. You know that, right?”

“Yes.”

At midnight, magical beast activity peaked, so even in the shallower areas, stronger beasts emerged.

“Then, good luck.”

“Thank you.”

With the guard’s farewell, Seonghyun stepped through the gate.

Instantly, his vision blurred, and he felt a sensation of floating. Then, a scene utterly unlike the one he’d just seen unfolded before him.

Lush bushes and trees greeted Seonghyun, as if he had entered a dense forest.

“The magical beasts here are mostly just goblins, and not even strong ones at that…”

Goblins weren’t particularly powerful individually.

Their trickiness came from their habit of moving in groups.

“Hoo…”

Having hunted for a while, Seonghyun took a deep breath and slipped into the undergrowth, carefully concealing his presence as he moved.

“…There it is.”

Beside a small pond, a hellhound [a magical beast resembling a dog] was lapping up water.

It looked like an ordinary dog at first glance, but getting too close would reveal its true, monstrous nature. It would reveal its teeth as a magical beast.

‘Its weakness is the head. Obvious enough, I guess.’

Thanks to his innate ability to identify vital points, he immediately knew the beast’s vulnerability. Seonghyun carefully drew the sword he’d received from the Association, staying hidden.

Reaching the closest bushes, Seonghyun crept toward the hellhound, which was still drinking.

‘Now!’

Despite its canine appearance, its senses were far sharper than a dog’s, but hunting it wasn’t too difficult.

Seonghyun thrust the sword into the back of the hellhound’s neck, grimacing as dark red blood spurted out.

“Gotta grab the core quickly and find another one.”

Seonghyun cut open the dying beast’s chest near the heart, reached inside, and pulled out a cloudy gray core.

Then, the hellhound’s corpse turned to dust and vanished into the air.

Putting the core in his pocket, Seonghyun washed his face in the pond to clean off the blood.

As he stood up, he sensed a presence nearby.

*

“Haa… haa…”

Hayeon, clutching her remaining arm with trembling hands, stumbled toward the pond.

‘I was careless…!’

She’d been separated from her team, and with magical beasts blocking the path, she couldn’t reach the gate. She was trapped.

‘I need to wash off the blood.’

Magical beasts were highly sensitive to the scent of blood.

The reason for immediately extracting the core was to eliminate the corpse and the scent.

“Keuk…!”

The deep wound on her arm continued to bleed.

She’d torn off a piece of cloth to try and stop it, but it wasn’t working well.

‘They’ll definitely track me.’

With night falling, her best bet was to reach the gate quickly or find other hunters, but finding other members wouldn’t be easy.

Hayeon hurriedly sat by the pond and washed the wound.

The stinging sensation felt like a warning of the danger she was in.

“Haa… I need to move…”

Having mostly washed away the blood, she needed to avoid the magical beasts and head for the gate.

As she stood, a wave of dizziness hit her, and she sat back down.

“…Huh?”

A chilling sensation washed over her, and her hands and feet began to feel numb.

“No, could it be…!”

Hayeon remembered the date.

August 14th.

‘Of all days…!’

The fifteenth of each month was when the magical energy inside the gate intensified.

This energy didn’t affect the beasts’ strength, but it affected everything else inside.

Like the pond where she’d just washed her wound.

Simple contact wouldn’t matter, but direct contact with an open wound allowed the magical energy to seep into the body, causing gradual paralysis.

It wasn’t life-threatening, but if the paralysis progressed, she’d lose consciousness, which was as good as dead.

“No… way…”

The hand clutching her wounded arm went limp, and her vision blurred.

“Keureuk!”

She heard the sounds of magical beasts nearby.

“Not… here…”

Just as she was about to succumb, something flickered in front of her eyes.

“…Who…”

Hunters targeting the wounded inside the gate were common.

And this person was touching her, seemingly searching her pockets.

“Ba…d…”

She wanted to curse, but she couldn’t keep her eyes open. Hayeon closed her eyes and lost consciousness.

*

“Ugh…”

Seonghyun frowned at the pain in his arm.

“Ha, why does my ability have to be like this?”

Barely suppressing the urge to curse, Seonghyun picked up the unconscious Hayeon and hid in the bushes.

“Haa… Thanks to you, I’m only getting one core today.”

After the resentful remark, Seonghyun began to treat Hayeon’s wound.

The pain in his arm was intensifying.

It was almost unbearable, even worse than the original wound.

Wiping away the cold sweat, Seonghyun peeked out of the bushes.

“Keureuk, keureureuk!”

Goblins were following Hayeon’s scent, confused by its disappearance at the pond.

‘Alone, I could handle them, but…’

Hayeon was unconscious, and his arm was throbbing.

Fortunately, goblins weren’t particularly perceptive, so they’d pass by if he stayed quiet.

“Ugh…”

Of course, things never went as planned. Hayeon groaned, and Seonghyun quickly covered her mouth, but it was too late.

“Keureuk!”

The goblins were approaching the bushes.

“…Haa…”

Seonghyun took a deep breath, drew his sword, and stepped out of the bushes.

“Since I have healing, I won’t die, right?”

Luckily, the goblins didn’t seem to notice Hayeon.

‘Use the pond.’

The goblins were naturally approaching Seonghyun around the pond, and Seonghyun stood with his back to the pond, as far from the bushes as possible.

He had to ensure Hayeon remained hidden.

As he prepared to fight, a window appeared before his eyes.

[Crossroads]

“Cross…roads?”

[Devotee: Healing becomes an area effect. The pain you receive remains the same. Your future path is determined.]

[Paladin: Healing can be used on targets without wounds. You can create wounds up to the limit of your healing ability. Overall physical abilities are increased.]

“Just choose?”

It wasn’t an easy choice.

Devotee and Paladin both had their advantages.

“First, the goblins…”

As expected, the goblins charged, giving him no time to decide.

“Even if I’m at the bottom of the academy…”

He wasn’t about to die to goblins.

‘My body is a bit sluggish from lack of training.’

He’d have to endure some minor wounds.

And minor wounds could be healed quickly, so it wasn’t a problem.

“Keureuk!”

The goblins surrounded Seonghyun, looking for an opening, then charged recklessly.

“Too predictable.”

Seonghyun twisted to avoid a spear aimed at his heart, and with that momentum, he swung his sword, cutting down the nearest goblin.

The goblin’s vital point, according to his ability, was the neck.

As expected, the goblin, with its neck half-severed, dropped its spear, clutched its neck, and collapsed.

‘Five left.’

Two goblins had been on the side where he’d just killed one.

Seonghyun charged toward the remaining goblin.

‘…A bit slow!’

His lack of training hindered his burst of speed. Seonghyun avoided a spear from behind by falling forward, and in that motion, he swung his sword, taking down the remaining goblin.

“A scratch?”

He hadn’t completely avoided the spear, and blood trickled from his forearm.

“The rest won’t be easy.”

Seonghyun, feeling his blood pumping, grinned and charged at the remaining goblins.

*

“Hoo, feeling better.”

Seonghyun put the goblin cores in his pocket and healed his wound.

As he finished, a voice came from the bushes.

“Wh-who…?”

“A hunter.”

Hayeon looked around, assessing the situation.

The goblins were gone, and she was in the bushes instead of by the pond. The man had saved her.

“Th-thank you. I thought I was going to die…”

“It’s nothing. More importantly, you’re heading for the gate, right?”

“Yes, I have to go now. It’ll be midnight soon…”

Hayeon checked her belongings.

‘Something’s missing…’

Something was different.

‘…Why don’t I feel any pain?’

Hayeon quickly checked her arm.

There should have been bloodstains, but there were none.

‘Just a slight ache.’

She wondered if the man had a healing ability, but that was impossible.

“Thank you again. May I ask your name…?”

“Kim Seonghyun.”

“I’m Lee Hayeon.”

“Shall we head for the gate?”

“Ah, yes!”

Together, Seonghyun and Hayeon headed for the exit.

‘Right, Crossroads!’

After the battle, Seonghyun checked the window again.

“What…?”

“Is something wrong?”

“Ah, no.”

The window seemed to be mocking him.