I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 42

Even after facing 4th-grade magical beasts multiple times, I didn’t feel particularly tired or exhausted.

After dealing with 4th-grade magical beasts a few times, Hayeon and Seongwook finally arrived.

“W, what on earth is this?”

“T, that’s a 4th-grade gate’s magical beast, isn’t it?!”

Seonghyun, realizing they had arrived, quickly dispatched the 4th-grade magical beast and turned to Inhwan and Sangyeon, saying,

“Hurry up and take care of them. They’re here.”

“Okay!”

“Alright.”

No sooner had Seonghyun’s words fallen than the two swiftly dealt with the 4th-grade magical beasts. Together with Seonghyun, they removed their bracelets and headed towards Hayeon and Seongwook.

“You’ve arrived?”

“S, Seonghyun, what is this place…”

“Well… it’s a long story, but…”

Seonghyun briefly explained to Hayeon and Seongwook why the subjugation request hadn’t been approved, along with the secrets of this place.

“This machine can summon up to 2nd-grade magical beasts. But since we can’t hunt 2nd-grade gate magical beasts, I was thinking of hunting 3rd-grade gate magical beasts…”

At the mention of 3rd-grade gate magical beasts, Hayeon and Seongwook could only stare at Seonghyun with their mouths open, unable to say a word.

“3, 3rd-grade…”

When the gate grade changed, only the numbers 5, 4, 3 changed, but the level of the magical beasts within showed a significant difference.

The reason Seongwook was so surprised just now was that there was a huge difference between 4th-grade and 5th-grade gate magical beasts.

“First, Hayeon, could you tell me about your detailed abilities?”

“Ah, yes!”

Usually, students inside the academy had one or two more abilities besides those that were generally known.

“It’s known that I just take a lot of damage at the front, but actually, my ability is damage sharing.”

“D, damage sharing?”

“Yes, I reduce the total amount of damage the team members receive and divide it among us.”

In a way, it was an ability that Seonghyun could relate to.

‘So that’s why she was so proactive back then.’

Now Hayeon’s actions at the mutated gate made sense.

She had saved his life once before, but she had been unusually proactive, and there was a reason for it.

“Seongwook, don’t you have any other abilities?”

“W, well…”

Seongwook looked like he was having trouble speaking.

He had no problem telling Seonghyun, but it felt like he was a little reluctant for others to hear.

“They’re all trustworthy people, but if you’re uncomfortable, you don’t have to.”

“Ah, no! I’ll tell you.”

Seongwook trusted Seonghyun, and he trusted those Seonghyun trusted, so he slowly continued.

“I can… temporarily seal the opponent’s abilities.”

“Seal abilities?!”

At Seongwook’s words, not only Seonghyun but also the others were surprised, unable to say anything other than exclamations.

“Actually, it’s hard to use in actual combat… I need prior preparation, and the time I can actually seal it isn’t long, and I can only seal the abilities I’ve identified.”

It was an ability with many conditions, but sealing abilities was an ability that created tremendous variables.

Seonghyun’s team had the ability to fully meet those many conditions.

“Wait, wait, doesn’t this mean our team balance is almost a golden balance?!”

Inhwan said with an excited voice.

As Inhwan said, Seonghyun’s subjugation team was showing an overwhelming balance than any other subjugation team.

“Tsk, is that thanks to us? Think about who’s on our team.”

Sangyeon clicked his tongue as if he was pathetic, and Inhwan didn’t refute this time.

“Well, Seonghyun is the center of that completion.”

“Then… does Seonghyun have other abilities too?”

Seonghyun had more than one ability he hadn’t revealed.

His known ability was only healing, but he had hidden many abilities such as stigmata [marks resembling the wounds of Christ] and purification.

‘…I don’t need to tell them everything.’

Purification could be passed off as being included in healing later, so after thinking for a moment, Seonghyun decided to reveal just one.

An ability that Inhwan and Sangyeon already knew.

“I also have an ability called Stigmata.”

“St… Stigmata?”

Hayeon and Seongwook recalled the meaning of the word stigmata.

A sacred mark.

It was quite an abstract word to be the name of an ability, and the two waited for Seonghyun’s next explanation.

“It’s the ability to inflict as much pain on the opponent as I can heal.”

“N, no way…”

Hayeon couldn’t continue speaking after that.

If there were no lies in what Seonghyun was saying now, it was truly an ability that existed above any combat ability.

“Are there any restrictions…?”

At the slightly sharp question, Seonghyun hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell everything.

“Um… there aren’t any.”

“I, it can’t be…”

It even felt a little eerie.

“So that’s why Hwang Ui-hyun was like that back then!”

Only then did Seongwook realize why Hwang Ui-hyun had collapsed on the floor that day.

‘Wait a minute, Hwang Ui-hyun definitely has the ability to convert pain into power…’

That meant that the pain Seonghyun gave him exceeded Hwang Ui-hyun’s limit.

Hwang Ui-hyun’s ability was definitely an amazing talent, but Seonghyun’s ability was far superior to the point of completely overwhelming such an ability.

“Hehe, look at those two’s expressions. Don’t they look like us when we first heard it?”

“…I didn’t look that dumbfounded.”

“Whatever, you were just staring blankly into space with dead fish eyes.”

“…Shut up.”

Seonghyun ignored their reactions and changed the subject.

“Enough with the chatter, let’s get started. First, the Rank 4 monsters.”

Seonghyun explained everything to Hayeon and Seongwook, from how to use the equipment to the variables the secretary had mentioned, and how he became the solution.

“We have less than two weeks until the inter-grade competition, so let’s focus on responding to the variables as much as possible.”

Seonghyun didn’t just spend time fighting monsters.

They had a full team of five, and everyone had different kinds of abilities, so it was perfect for sparring.

Of course, Seonghyun had to agree not to use his stigmata [a mark of disgrace or a supernatural sign], and since everyone knew Seonghyun’s movements from the competition, Seonghyun’s team always sparred with two people against him.

The result of the sparring was always in favor of the team Seonghyun was on, so later on, they even sparred without Seonghyun.

“How about trying it this way in this situation?”

As the days passed, Seonghyun spent more time watching the other four spar and giving advice than actually hunting monsters or participating in sparring himself.

‘…Is this right?’

He had some doubts, but it was also an opportunity to look at combat from a broader perspective, so Seonghyun diligently carried out his assigned task.

The Association wasn’t just lending them the place.

It was a bit of a sorry situation for Seonghyun, but the Association had never directly confirmed Seonghyun’s combat abilities, so they thought this was the best opportunity.

“Huh…”

The Deputy Association Head stopped the tea he was holding in mid-air, looking at the screen as if he was dumbfounded.

The screen showed Seonghyun, Inhwan, and Sangyeon hunting the Rank 4 gate’s monsters with movements that made it seem like they were playing with toys.

“How many first-year students at the Academy can hunt Rank 4 gate monsters like they’re playing with toys?”

In a 1:1 situation, students with abilities specialized for combat might be able to hunt them, but there wouldn’t be many who could toy with them like that, deliberately exchanging attacks and defenses as if they were warming up.

“…Deputy Association Head, those movements are definitely…”

“Yes, I know.”

Movements that didn’t fit the words ‘healer’ or ‘combat support’.

Inhwan and Sangyeon also looked quite relaxed, but Seonghyun, in particular, was on a different level from the others.

“This is…far beyond our expectations. It’s as if he has another ability…”

“We can suspect it enough…no, we can almost be certain.”

They didn’t intend to pry into this part of Seonghyun’s life.

However, Seonghyun had often shown a tendency to hide something in his actions.

It was Seonghyun’s freedom to hide it, and it was the Association’s freedom to find it out.

The Association had no intention of revealing what they had found out to Seonghyun.

“You’ve recorded everything, right?”

“Yes, I’ve recorded everything without missing a thing.”

The Deputy Association Head nodded and continued to stare at Seonghyun on the screen.

“The inter-grade competition is next week, isn’t it?”

With only a week left until the inter-grade competition that would determine the Academy’s representatives,
Seonghyun attended classes at the Academy for the first time in a while to check the atmosphere.

“So, the impact that the appearance of monsters themselves has on us…”

After focusing solely on developing and expanding the limits of his abilities every day, listening to these theoretical aspects made him feel calmer.

Sitting comfortably and listening to the class like this reminded him of his daily life before the regression [returning to a previous state].

Even in these ordinary classes, the professors relentlessly threw questions at Seonghyun.

As if to make an example of him.

It didn’t matter whether he answered correctly or not.

He was just a toy for the professors.

The jeers of the classmates that followed him every time were now hard to find.

Besides, today was just a day for theoretical classes, so it seemed like a good idea to take a break from his usual routine and refresh himself.

“Seonghyun, when are you going to the Association?”

Inhwan didn’t seem to like this peace very much.

“Yeah, it doesn’t seem to be of much help anyway…”

And Sangyeon felt the same way.

“Shall we go after lunch then?”

“Yeah! The Academy’s food is good, so let’s eat lunch and go to the Association.”

“That sounds good.”

The three of them headed to the Academy cafeteria together for the first time in a long time.

Even before entering the entrance, the fragrant smell of food wafted out, and Inhwan’s eyes lit up as if the smell had made him forget about going to the Association, and he entered the cafeteria.

Other students from other classes had already arrived in the cafeteria.

By now, everyone in the first grade knew about Seonghyun’s team, or at least about Seonghyun’s existence.

“Let’s eat quickly and go. We’ve matched our teamwork enough for a week, so I want to hunt a Rank 3 gate monster quickly.”

“I agree. At our level…we should be able to handle a Rank 3 monster without much difficulty.”

“That’s right. I was planning to hunt a Rank 3 monster today anyway. But let’s eat a hearty meal first.”

The three of them sat at a table and began to eat.

‘…Hmm?’

But today’s Academy meal was a little different from usual.

He wondered if he was misremembering the taste because it had been a while, but no matter how he thought about it, that wasn’t the case.

“It’s a little…strange?”

“Huh? Why? Is it not good?”

“Hmm, I can’t feel anything different.”

Seonghyun’s ability didn’t enhance his sense of taste.

And the sour taste disappeared as he ate, so Seonghyun thought it was just a simple misunderstanding and continued to eat.

“Everyone’s done eating, right? Let’s go quickly!”

Inhwan ate the fastest and urged the other two, and Seonghyun had some doubts about the meal, but he didn’t think it was necessary to pay much attention to it, so he followed Inhwan’s words and headed to the Association.