I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 119

119

The man’s torture continued, but they couldn’t extract any information.

He was subjected to starvation and thirst once a day, but he never uttered a word.

As the days passed, the time approached for Seonghyun to accompany the Academy’s subjugation mission.

“Today’s subjugation will be overseen by Hunter Kim Seonghyun.”

He was now an honorary student, similar to Seonghyun in name, and received the same treatment.

“However, he will not directly intervene. He will only treat students who are seriously injured, so please disregard his presence and focus on the subjugation.”

This was the first subjugation exercise where both 1st and 2nd graders participated together.

The subjugation took place at a 3-star gate.

The mutation frequency of the 3-star gate, which had been steadily increasing, was nearing 80%.

Despite this high mutation rate, the Academy sent the 1st and 2nd graders to the 3-star gate because they had a reliable support in place.

That support, of course, was Seonghyun.

“Waaaaah!”

Even the Academy professors, who had conducted numerous subjugations, were taken aback by the students’ high morale.

However, excessive morale can be detrimental.

The students lacked experience and seasoning.

Moreover, they had only recently unlocked their abilities and were eager to put them to use.

‘I’ll have my work cut out for me today.’

The 3-star gate’s monsters would pose a significant challenge for the 1st graders.

It was likely that even a group of five wouldn’t be able to defeat a single monster.

“Don’t worry. The 1st grade classes were divided into groups to practice teamwork, so they won’t break down easily.”

“I understand.”

Still, since all the 1st graders had been training in groups leading up to the subjugation, they would perform much better than the previous year’s cohort.

“Still, the fact that we’re able to go to the 3-star gate this time is largely thanks to Hunter Kim Seonghyun, so please take good care of us.”

“Of course. Don’t worry.”

Seonghyun smiled faintly and responded to the words that seemed to genuinely express concern for the students.

As they spoke, they arrived at the 3-star gate.

The professor standing in front of the gate’s entrance adopted a stern expression and announced.

“Recently, the mutation frequency of this 3-star gate is approximately 80%. In other words, there is a very high probability that this gate will mutate further. If the gate mutates, gather in one place immediately and refrain from any rash actions. That is all.”

The 2nd graders, who had prior experience with subjugation, appeared slightly nervous, while the 1st graders were visibly excited at the prospect of using their abilities to their heart’s content as they entered the gate.

The interior of the gate resembled a forest.

The forest was entirely covered in snow, and it was constantly snowing.

“Such an extreme environment…”

It was the worst possible scenario.

They hadn’t made any preparations to cope with the intense cold.

“Students who possess fire-based abilities, please create a fire to maintain the class’s body temperature from this point forward.”

Fortunately, unlike the previous year, the professor had taken appropriate precautions, and as a result, everyone huddled together and moved deeper into the forest without encountering any major problems.

Only the sound of their footsteps crunching on the snow echoed through the trees for several minutes.

“Ambush! It’s an ambush!”

Simultaneously with someone’s shout, arrows began to rain down from all directions.

They were significantly larger than normal arrows.

“Defense ability users, to the front!”

There were some injuries, but thanks to the professor’s quick detection of the arrows, they managed to avoid significant casualties.

Moreover, the number of people who entered the gate was far greater than that of a typical raid team.

‘I’ll have to move from the start.’

He didn’t really intend to do anything.

He simply had to heal.

Now, thanks to Demarge’s equipment [likely a device or artifact], he could emit an aura with healing properties, eliminating the need to cast healing spells.

Before the groans of the students injured by the arrows could be heard, the sound of admiration at the disappearing pain and wounds grew louder.

“Everyone, focus! The enemy is an intelligent group!”

Even though the gate hadn’t mutated yet, the monsters possessed intelligence and had even set up an ambush.

As soon as the professor finished speaking, arrows flew again from all directions.

But an ambush that has already been detected is no longer an ambush.

Of course, there were no casualties, and the enemy seemed to have realized this and began to reveal themselves.

“Snowmen! They’re snowmen!”

Enormous snowmen began to emerge.

“Form groups and have each group take charge of one snowman!”

As they had practiced countless times in advance, the 1st and 2nd graders moved in an orderly fashion according to the professor’s instructions and positioned themselves to engage the snowmen one by one.

“Kuaaaa!”

With the roar of the largest snowman, the snowmen began to charge, creating a ground-shaking rumble.

Each of the snowman’s attacks carried considerable force.

To the extent that it was difficult for the 1st graders to withstand.

Each of them possessed strength comparable to a goblin tribe leader, but they lacked the intelligence and awareness to effectively utilize that strength.

Each group consisted of the minimum number of people required for a raid team.

Each group of five comprised two defense ability users, and one student each with close-range, long-range, and support abilities.

With the assistance of the support ability, the two defense ability users were able to block each of the snowman’s attacks, and in the meantime, the rest unleashed their attacks, making the task of attacking the snowman seem easier than anticipated.

Moreover, thanks to Seonghyun’s aura, even minor wounds would quickly heal, preventing them from becoming fatigued and creating openings.

“Good! Everyone, maintain your focus!”

The situation the professor had been envisioning.

Academy 1st graders battling monsters from a 3-star gate.

“There aren’t many snowmen either…”

Just as he was beginning to hope that they could subjugate the 3-star gate without Seonghyun’s intervention, he noticed the gate mutating behind them.

“…Mutation! The gate has mutated!”

However, his words didn’t seem to register with the students who were engaged in a fierce battle.

They were gradually gaining the upper hand against the snowmen, the monsters of the 3-star gate, and their greed was taking over.

“Everyone, gradually retreat the front lines!”

The 2nd graders heard the command and began to pull back, but the 1st graders didn’t seem to be retreating, perhaps because they were eager to finish off the tired and wounded snowmen.

As a result, the 1st graders were positioned further forward than the original front lines, and just then, the ground began to tremble, and more snowmen began to emerge.

“T, this…!”

The professor tried to intervene urgently, but it was already too late.

Seonghyun stepped forward first.

‘Authority’

Dozens of swords made of light began to pierce the chests of the snowmen that the 1st graders were originally fighting.

“…”

The excitement of gaining the upper hand was short-lived.

“Retreat! Retreat!”

“Y, yes!”

Thanks to that, the 1st graders who had regained their senses also began to retreat, and the newly appeared snowmen stood there motionless, as if they had no intention of attacking at the moment.

As if waiting for something.

“It’s coming.”

“Yes?”

As soon as Seonghyun finished speaking, the ground began to shake.

The vibration was so rhythmic that it seemed to be synchronized with each step.

“T, that’s…”

Behind the snowmen, something enormous began to appear, knocking down the lush trees.

“Ugh!”

As if they had forgotten that they were in the middle of a battle, the snowmen began to prostrate themselves, looking in that direction.

Even though it was simply walking, it exuded an aura of murderous intent.

“Professor! We’ll try to fight it once!”

“That’s right! We can do it too!”

A request from the 1st graders, not the 2nd graders.

The professor was naturally inclined to ignore it, but Seonghyun stopped him and said.

“Let them be. They need to experience this now to save their lives later.”

“…I understand. Everyone, only fight the rest except for the largest snowman!”

The 1st graders engaged the newly appeared monsters in the same way they had fought the snowmen earlier.

‘If I’m going to make them understand, I have to make them understand properly.’

In the meantime, Seonghyun stopped using Demarge’s equipment.

Now, the wounds would no longer heal automatically, and even a small wasted movement would eventually take its toll.

“Keuk!”

Unlike before, sounds of struggle began to be heard here and there.

From the beginning, it was a mutated gate’s monster, so it was on a different level from the snowmen from before, and everyone was gradually getting tired of the wounds that didn’t heal.

“Huff, huff…”

The sound of heavy breathing began to fill the gate, and now there were even gazes directed at Seonghyun.

“Kuaaa!”

It seemed impossible to endure any longer.

Every time the Snowman King roared, the other snowmen became more violent and stronger.

“Keheok!”

“Keuek!”

Soon, one or two people began to get injured and fall.

“H, Hunter Kim Seonghyun?”

“Yes.”

With a single gesture from Seonghyun, numerous swords began to appear in the air.

“Wow…”

“T, that’s a top hunter…”

As if they had witnessed something sacred, the eyes of the 1st and 2nd graders even began to be filled with reverence.

That wasn’t all.

It felt somewhat futile.

They had struggled so hard, even forming groups, and were barely able to block one, but with a single gesture from Seonghyun, the snowmen began to fall.

“Kuaaa! Human! Fight me!”

There was no way the Snowman King, who had witnessed this scene, would remain still.

“You’re asking for a 1:1 [one-on-one fight]?”

It was absurd, ridiculous, and infuriating.

Just, just a mutated 3-star gate’s monster is asking for a 1:1?

“If your goal was to annoy me, you’ve succeeded.”

The swords of light created by Seonghyun’s Authority would trigger a stigma [a mark or sign of disgrace] on the target from the beginning.

It meant that they would feel pain even before the sword pierced their body.

“Kuaaa! What trickery is this!”

Hearing the word trickery, his pride was wounded for no reason.

Even in the days when he didn’t possess Authority, he wouldn’t be a match for a mutated 3-star gate’s monster.

“…That’s right, if you die like this, you’ll think you died in an unknown pain, right?”

It wasn’t that he had fallen for the provocation.

Seonghyun knew better than anyone else the level of the monster in front of him, so this wasn’t arrogance, but余裕 [composure;余裕 is a Japanese word meaning surplus, allowance, margin, time to spare].

In fact, it wasn’t composure, but just a small amusement to move his body directly after a long time.

“I’ll kill you!”

The Snowman King began to charge towards Seonghyun without hesitation.

As a result, the ground began to rumble even more, and the 1st graders were unable to stand up because of the vibration.

Seonghyun, who had drawn a sword with a black chain, stepped to the very front and began to walk towards the Snowman King.

Many gazes were felt from behind.

Gazes mixed with worry and concern about not using his abilities, and expectations of witnessing the power of a top hunter were following him.

The Snowman King was rushing as if he would destroy everything in front of him.

The regular and heavy footsteps changed irregularly the moment Seonghyun took his feet off the ground.

A sound and vibration that were subtly different from the sound of footsteps spread, and the 1st and 2nd graders, who were watching it without knowing why, couldn’t close their mouths after confirming the identity of what had fallen in front of them.

“C, crazy.”

“This is… a top hunter?”

The head of the monster that was the Snowman King was separated from its body and fell in front of them.

Judging from the angry expression, it seemed that he didn’t even realize that he was dying until the moment his head was severed.

“It’s over now.”

15 minutes after entering the gate and starting the subjugation, and 15 seconds after Seonghyun stepped in, the joint subjugation of the 1st and 2nd graders came to an end.