I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 99

99

“So, I can make 200 potions then?”

After making the remaining 100 potions and filling them, Seonghyun paused, about to make more after two hours.

“…If I can make equipment later, will I be able to make 200 pieces of equipment then too?”

Of course not.

The magnitude of power one can wield is different.

Therefore, the standard of 100 potions wasn’t just because he could only make potions, but because the amount of power he could use was equivalent to 100 potions.

Seonghyun created the 100 potions he could newly make and waited anxiously for two hours.

The waiting time felt incredibly long, and Seonghyun took a deep breath before focusing his mind.

‘A ring imbued with healing power.’

“…”

But nothing happened.

Once again, a window appeared, indicating a lack of proficiency.

[Your Embodiment skill is slightly lacking.]

However, the message was slightly different.

The word ‘slightly’ wasn’t there before, but this time it was clearly written.

“So, if I increase my proficiency a little more, I can make equipment too…?”

It was a slightly different kind of ability than crafting equipment, but if Seonghyun could create equipment imbued with his healing power, and then create all other abilities like Stigmata [marks resembling crucifixion wounds, often associated with religious experiences], Summoning, and so on?

It wasn’t just a matter of creating equipment.

“Let’s think about it later. I’m not planning on mass-producing equipment anyway.”

There was no need to think too deeply.

For now, he could just be satisfied that his Embodiment skill had improved.

“Let’s prepare for the subjugation tomorrow.”

——————————————–

Until the subjugation of the four Tier 3 Gates, nothing particularly noteworthy happened.

He didn’t encounter Kim Cheon-joong, and despite the strangely high frequency of mutations, no mutation occurred.

[Connected to an unknown force 6/20]

And so, the seventh Tier 3 Gate subjugation.

The name A was starting to become familiar to the guild leaders.

He wasn’t showing exceptionally outstanding performance, but he had established an image of at least being able to do everything he was supposed to do.

“Please sign here.”

Just as he was worrying whether a mutation would occur again today, a familiar voice came from behind.

“Well, well, if it isn’t my masked friend?”

“I do have a name, A, you know.”

Seonghyun, who had already sensed Kim Cheon-joong’s presence, replied without turning around. Kim Cheon-joong laughed heartily and took a seat next to Seonghyun.

“Haha! What does that matter? It’s not your real name anyway.”

“Then keep calling me A.”

“So stiff. By the way, your reputation has been rising quite a bit lately.”

“If I just do what I’m supposed to, wouldn’t it naturally rise?”

Seonghyun’s answer seemed to please Kim Cheon-joong, who smiled and said,

“You never lose an argument.”

“We’ll be departing soon. Mercenaries, please follow from the rear.”

There weren’t many people today.

However, it seemed they judged that even if a mutation occurred, they could handle it since it was a fairly large guild with skilled members.

“Tsk, if they’re going to put us at the very back, why even hire mercenaries?”

Kim Cheon-joong spat on the ground, expressing his dissatisfaction with the guild’s instructions to minimize resource allocation.

Although he had no choice but to follow.

Upon entering the Gate, the mercenaries were just acting as porters at the very back.

“Seriously, as soon as they have a little bit of size, they act like this.”

Carrying nothing but mana stones and following behind the guild members, he seemed quite annoyed.

After 10 minutes, then 20 minutes, the subjugation was almost complete, and they were waiting in front of the entrance to leave when the color of the entrance began to change.

“…Mutation!”

Confirming the mutation, Kim Cheon-joong wore a berserker-like smile and passed the mana stones to the mercenary next to him as if dumping them.

“Haha! It’s a mutation!”

The other mercenaries’ reactions were no different.

The Gate’s mutation was a crisis, but for them, it was an opportunity.

“Everyone, prepare! It’s mutated!”

At the same time as the raid leader’s shout, mutated Tier 3 Gate monsters began to pour out from all directions.

“…”

“…”

They had been strengthening their defenses, but for some reason, the monsters weren’t visible.

Whether they were invisible or they just couldn’t see them, they didn’t know.

“Everyone, be careful!”

“Stay alert!”

The only two who noticed the monsters’ presence were Kim Cheon-joong and Seonghyun.

Seonghyun and Kim Cheon-joong, who spoke at the same time, looked at each other.

“Huh, as expected.”

Truly, a figure who deserved the title of Mercenary King more than anyone else.

Befitting that title, he was sensing the monsters’ presence.

Kim Cheon-joong also seemed convinced that his eyes hadn’t been wrong when Seonghyun noticed the monsters’ presence.

“Hey, masked friend. Seems like you’re a bit more capable than I thought?”

“You too.”

“Haha! Looks like the other poor fellows haven’t even figured it out…”

“Indeed.”

“Shall we bet on who hunts more?”

“Are you confident?”

“Of course.”

Seonghyun, adjusting his mask, drew the sword he hadn’t even bothered to take out until now.

“…You’re a sword user?”

Kim Cheon-joong, who always had a cheerful smile, couldn’t hide the stiffness on his face this time.

He hadn’t used a sword when they had encountered each other before.

Even so, he had shown the ability to handle Tier 3 Gate monsters, but it turned out he was a hunter who used a sword.

‘So, until now, he’s been hunting with pure strength without even using his abilities?’

He hadn’t seen anyone like this among the mercenaries recently.

Those with this level of skill hadn’t remained as mercenaries.

They had joined guilds long ago, where they were guaranteed stable income and safety.

“Shall I go first?”

And above all, that confidence.

As if he could handle these monsters in an instant, Seonghyun began to head towards the place where he sensed a presence first.

“I can’t lose either.”

Soon, Kim Cheon-joong also wore a smile on his stiff face and headed towards the presence he felt on the opposite side of Seonghyun.

These were the mutated Tier 3 Gate monsters that Seonghyun had first hunted at the association.

Stealth was their main ability, and befitting their ability, they were monsters specialized in one-on-one combat.

And there were dozens of those monsters, not just one.

“I, is it stealth?”

The raid leader, who had a good sense, identified the monsters’ identities.

“Everyone, hold your ground! They are monsters with stealth abilities. If you scatter even a little, you will be attacked!”

At the raid leader’s words, the guild members huddled together and guarded all directions.

Because that was all they could do.

The raid leader also only vaguely felt their presence but couldn’t pinpoint it.

Like the other guild members, they just huddled in one place and watched Seonghyun and Kim Cheon-joong hunt.

“H, how can a mercenary…”

He himself needed basic skills to be recognized as the raid leader in the current guild, but he couldn’t even sense the monsters’ presence.

Moreover, those two hadn’t just sensed their presence.

“R, raid leader… those two… are they really mercenaries?”

“Y, yes…”

He hadn’t been to a Tier 2 Gate yet, but if they could handle mutated Tier 3 Gate monsters to that extent, it seemed like they could handle Tier 2 Gates as well.

Every time Seonghyun and Kim Cheon-joong swung their swords, the monsters that had been hiding began to reveal themselves.

Spraying red blood,

The hunt continued for a while.

The monsters seemed to have identified who they should deal with first, and they didn’t attack the raid party at all, focusing all their efforts on Seonghyun and Kim Cheon-joong.

However, the result didn’t change.

Except that the monsters that disappeared one by one with each swing began to disappear two at a time.

He didn’t know why these people didn’t join a guild and were doing mercenary work, but if it weren’t for these two, everyone in this place would have died without even knowing which monster they were dying to.

Not much time had passed, but the monsters’ corpses began to increase, and soon Seonghyun and Kim Cheon-joong’s movements stopped simultaneously.

“Hey! You there!”

Kim Cheon-joong took a deep breath and shouted at the guild members.

“Y, yes!”

“How many?”

“…Excuse me?”

“The ones I killed. How many are there?”

“Ah, th, that’s…”

The guild member who immediately checked the numbers replied.

“There are 17!”

“Hmm… what about over there?”

The guild member who checked the numbers where Seonghyun was also replied.

“Th, there are also 17…”

“What? Are you sure?”

“Yes, yes! I’m sure.”

As if he couldn’t believe the guild member’s words, Kim Cheon-joong compared the number of monsters he had dealt with to the number Seonghyun had dealt with.

“Tsk, it’s true.”

“Hoo, it’s a shame we tied.”

“You should be glad, masked friend.”

“If just one more had come to my side, I would have won.”

“…I could say the same!”

Everyone was dumbfounded, listening to their conversation in disbelief.

They were in a life-or-death situation, but for them, it was just a game, which slightly hurt their pride.

“Hey, raid leader.”

“…Yes.”

“We’re taking these mana stones, okay? Like gentlemen.”

“…Understood.”

Kim Cheon-joong began to tear apart the monsters’ corpses with rough hands to extract the mana stones, and Seonghyun used just the necessary amount of effort to extract all the mana stones.

“Are you finished?”

Seonghyun, who had taken the mana stones first, turned around and asked, and the answer came back that he was.

“Then let’s go.”

A strange situation occurred where Seonghyun and Kim Cheon-joong took the lead, and this strange situation continued until they left the Gate.

“Yes, yes.”

“The subjugation is over, so I’m leaving now, okay?”

Kim Cheon-joong waved his hand without waiting for an answer and quickly left the scene.

“Now there are 12 places left.”

With about a month and a half left until the academy’s opening, he had plenty of time.

If possible, he needed to increase the proficiency of his current abilities or develop new ones during that time.

“From the next subjugation, I should use all the abilities I can.”

Since he had decided to cover his eyes and act, he was going to use his power to his heart’s content.

Except for healing.

And so, Seonghyun used all the abilities he could during the remaining Tier 3 Gate subjugations.

He summoned 1 and went very comfortably, using Stigmata from time to time to gradually increase his proficiency.

Of course, during that time, people had thought that the mercenary A was a close-combat-specialized hunter who used a sword, but as he summoned strange beings and went around, more and more people began to question A’s identity.

As the number of Gates subjugated one by one increased, the curious gazes towards the unidentified mask only increased.

Of course, there were many guild members who tried to talk to him first, but his cold and stiff answers made them feel like he was going to attack them, so they couldn’t talk to him anymore.

After subjugating about 10 Tier 3 Gates as a mercenary, Seonghyun had become even more famous in the industry as the mercenary A.

Now that his overwhelming performance in mutated Gates had been proven, the number of requests coming to Seonghyun whenever he proceeded with the subjugation of Tier 3 Gates changed.

It started to come in up to 2 per day.

Thanks to this, the manager was so busy coordinating Seonghyun’s schedule all day that he couldn’t do anything else.