I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 102

102

Sung Hyun carefully picked up the purple crystal.

The purple crystal, which he had never seen even before his regression, was too beautiful to believe it had been held by a monster.

“Shall we go now?”

“Seriously, what are you…”

Kim Chun-joong looked at Sung Hyun with an unreadable expression.

*Who on earth is this Hunter?*

How could he have been so oblivious until now?

He had thought that reaching the top in the mercenary world meant he could make a name for himself.

Even that friend from the Association knew him.

But the more he saw, the more he realized that his thinking was a huge delusion.

“Let’s take care of the guild members first.”

The guild members were still unconscious.

The poison itself was potent, and they had lost consciousness even with brief exposure.

Kim Chun-joong slung one guild member over his shoulder and carried two more, one in each hand.

“Let’s go quickly.”

When they brought all the guild members outside, not only the Association personnel but also reporters were waiting.

The reporters, who had been eagerly waiting for the hunters to emerge, started snapping photos and firing questions as soon as Sung Hyun and his group appeared.

“They’re out!”

“Hunter! What happened inside?”

“The door turned purple. Did you notice anything else?”

Amid the relentless barrage of questions, Chief Cha glanced at the hunters from the Association who had arrived and gestured subtly.

*Handle it yourselves.*

“These are the individuals who just exited the gate. We will hold a press conference to address today’s events, so please disperse for now.”

Due to the Association’s restrictions, the reporters had no choice but to comply.

Of course, the camera shutters aimed at Sung Hyun and his group didn’t cease clicking.

“Hunters, please accompany us to the Association for a debriefing.”

Leaving behind the reporters, who could only watch due to the Association’s restrictions, the three moved to the Association headquarters.

The Vice-Chairman greeted them.

“You’ve arrived.”

“Oh, long time no see, Park Chun-bae.”

At the mention of the name Park Chun-bae, the Vice-Chairman momentarily furrowed his brow and gritted his teeth.

“…I told you I changed my name. Are you going senile already? At your age?”

“Haha! Of course, I know. But what can I do? This name just feels more natural to me.”

The Vice-Chairman composed himself, took a deep breath, and got straight to the point.

“Hoo… So, Chief Cha? What happened?”

Chief Cha recounted everything from the moment they entered the gate and the sky began to turn purple.

He omitted the part about Sung Hyun dealing with the monster.

“Wow… This is quite a situation. To think that an old hypothesis would be proven true. More importantly, how did you manage to deal with that monster?”

Chief Cha looked at Sung Hyun, signaling him to explain.

“That monster…”

In reality, there wasn’t much to explain.

He had simply dodged a few attacks and finished it off using purification.

“It’s a great relief. If it weren’t for Kim… I mean, Hunter A, to be frank, all the hunters inside would have perished.”

Kim Chun-joong couldn’t deny that.

Evading was possible, but without the ability to attack, they would have eventually succumbed to exhaustion.

Moreover, this gate was unlike ordinary mutated gates; entry from the outside was impossible.

Either the raid team would be annihilated, or the monster inside would be eliminated; one of the two outcomes was inevitable.

“We will disclose the information to the media appropriately. The hunters who cleared the gate have already been photographed by reporters today, so we can’t avoid publicizing it, but we will divert attention to the newly discovered gate as much as possible.”

“Understood.”

With Sung Hyun’s agreement, the business was concluded, and the three promptly left the Association.

“Hey, Association man. Shouldn’t you be on duty?”

“I’m on fieldwork.”

“You’re such a rigid friend. But, Mask… are you really a summoner?”

Kim Chun-joong still wore a look of bewilderment.

Even tracing back through hunter history, there had never been a hunter quite like this.

“Well… I’m not sure myself.”

Even Sung Hyun himself was starting to question his own identity.

Was he a healer, a summoner, or a hunter specializing in close combat?

Or perhaps a hunter who wielded the curse known as Stigmata [marks resembling the wounds of Christ].

“But what does it matter? As long as we can beat the monsters.”

“Haha! A wise answer. That’s right. As long as we can beat the monsters, what does it matter if it’s the power of a demon?”

Kim Chun-joong, who hadn’t found the answer to his question but had arrived at his own conclusion, waved his hand and departed.

“So, what are your plans now, Hunter Kim?”

“I have to keep clearing 3-star gates.”

“…I see.”

Before meeting Sung Hyun today, Chief Cha had formulated a plan.

It was somewhat impromptu, but after being assigned to oversee Sung Hyun, he had intended to spar with him to assess his true strength.

A first-year student who had defeated his younger sibling, the representative of the Academy’s third year.

The one who had thwarted China’s scheme with brute force and was tearing through 3-star gates.

But after today’s subjugation, the desire to spar completely dissipated.

To be precise, the thought of trying to gauge his strength through sparring completely vanished.

*He’s several levels above me.*

Now, instead of trying to measure his strength, he wanted to learn from him.

“I don’t have any subjugation schedules today, so I’m heading home. Are you interested in coming over?”

“Originally, I should be in the vicinity around that time, but if it’s inconvenient for you, I’ll adjust my location as needed.”

“I would appreciate that.”

——————————————–

That night.

News announcing the emergence of a new 3-star gate was broadcast on all TV channels.

There was mention of Sung Hyun and his group who had cleared the gate, but due to the perception that it was merely a 3-star gate, it didn’t attract significant attention.

All eyes were focused on the newly appeared 3-star gate.

What if the same mutation appeared in a 2-star gate?

What if it appeared in a 1-star gate?

Faced with a terrifying phenomenon that they didn’t even want to contemplate, not only South Korea but also other countries began sending urgent requests for detailed information sharing from South Korea.

At this moment, Sung Hyun was able to temporarily evade their scrutiny.

The emergence of a new type could pose a significant threat, so their eyes and attention were entirely directed toward the new gate.

Of course, no one knew how long this reprieve would last.

In the meantime, Sung Hyun was concentrating all his efforts on completing the homework assigned by Chang.

There were many days when he subjugated two gates a day, and he eventually succeeded in subjugating nearly 20 gates in two weeks.

“Is this the last gate now?”

A total of 20 gates that Chang had specified.

And Sung Hyun confirmed the notification that appeared before his eyes.

[Connected to an unknown force 19/20]

Finally, the last subjugation schedule was set for the following day.

But there was one slightly problematic situation.

*Hunter Kim… the requests, the requests are overwhelming…*

The manager he had met a while ago grabbed Sung Hyun’s hands with a haggard expression and pleaded.

The name A, along with the mystery it evoked, and the skill and judgment that matched that mystery, had spread rumors that he possessed skills comparable to Kim Chun-joong in that short amount of time.

Moreover, when it was revealed that he didn’t exhibit much greed for the spoils from the subjugations, guilds began sending dozens of requests a day, and some guilds even visited the manager directly to request a meeting with A.

Some of them even requested the subjugation of 2-star gates.

It seemed to be more of an attempt to assess the skills of the mercenary A directly rather than a genuine lack of manpower.

So, now that things had progressed this far.

It didn’t seem like a bad idea to work as a mercenary until school started.

However, one question lingered.

Would this unfriendly Chang provide him with the answer immediately upon completing all 20?

Would it reveal the identity of the unknown force, or would it provide him with the means to uncover it?

“I suspect it’s the latter.”

Sung Hyun had grown accustomed to this level of unhelpfulness.

Regardless, he would know everything tomorrow, so Sung Hyun went to sleep to prepare for the final subjugation.

The last subjugation also proceeded very smoothly.

However, one slightly unusual aspect was that Sung Hyun was the only one hired as a mercenary.

Was there a malicious intent behind this?

Was it to dispel any suspicion that they were trying to uncover the identity hidden behind the mask by hiring only Sung Hyun?

He had been slightly apprehensive throughout the subjugation, but the gate was cleared without any incident, to the point where it felt somewhat anticlimactic.

The guild leader, who led a small to medium-sized guild and also served as the raid leader, immediately approached Sung Hyun, bowed his head, and greeted him.

“Thank you for your hard work! Mr. A!”

“Yes. Good work.”

“I’m, a fan!”

A word popped out that made him wonder if he had misheard.

A fan.

“I was worried about what to do if you didn’t come to our subjugation today, but I’m so glad you did!”

The guild leader’s eyes sparkled as he spoke, reflecting the vibrancy of the newly formed guild.

“No. I know it’s a new guild, but there are quite a few skilled individuals.”

“It’s, it’s an honor!”

Sung Hyun stopped the guild leader, who was about to bow deeply.

“You don’t have to go to such lengths for a mere mercenary. You’re the guild leader.”

“Ah…”

Since the guild members were watching, he refrained from the excessive greeting, and the guild leader seemed to understand the intention and gave Sung Hyun a grateful look.

“Then I’ll be on my way.”

“Yes! Please be safe on your way!”

With that, Chang appeared in front of Sung Hyun, who had subjugated the last of the 20 gates.

[Connected to an unknown force 20/20]

[You have cleared all places connected to an unknown force.]

[Exceeded the expected speed.]

Perhaps Chang hadn’t anticipated him subjugating 20 3-star gates in such a short time, as it disappeared for a moment before reappearing.

[Advance the scheduled time.]

[Exceeded the allowable limit for advancing.]

[Reallocate to the nearest time.]

“…What? What’s going on?”

Then Chang vanished again.

He thought it would reappear if he waited a little, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

Until now, Chang had been unhelpful, but it had always provided answers on the spot, but this time, even that was gone.

“I thought it was just unhelpful, but it was incompetent.”

How much stress and frustration had he endured from this unfriendly Chang until now?

This time, he hadn’t received any answers at all, but he couldn’t help but smile as it felt like he was returning some of the suffering he had experienced so far.