I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 137

137

“You probably don’t have much experience to begin with, and this is your first time in a place like this, so you must be a little nervous?”

The subtle smile he wore definitely wasn’t one of goodwill.

Frankly, he was looking down on Sung-hyun for being from a small country like Korea and for becoming a top-tier Hunter for the first time.

If Sung-hyun were naive, he might have thought Padron was being considerate of his nervousness, but Sung-hyun wasn’t that kind of person.

‘Ha…’

All he could do was sigh.

If you were to ask Sung-hyun if he had done anything to offend Padron, he could confidently say he hadn’t.

So why was Padron picking a fight like this?

Simply to assert dominance?

‘If it’s not that…’

It might be a stretch, but it seemed like Padron was trying to justify something.

But Sung-hyun didn’t need to bow his head.

“Don’t bother me. I didn’t come here for conversations like this.”

He thought he had made his intentions clear, but Padron, as expected, didn’t back down and instead smiled even more broadly.

“A rookie who just became a top-tier Hunter doesn’t even know his place…”

“Hey.”

“…Hey, hey?”

Sung-hyun’s atmosphere suddenly changed.

There was no visible intent, but the subtle murderous aura made Padron unable to answer properly; he could only stare at Sung-hyun.

“When did we get so familiar? Do you even know me?”

“Wh-what, what did you say? What are you talking about…”

Sung-hyun tapped Padron’s chest with his fingers and continued speaking.

“Do. You. Know. Me. Muscle. Pig. Bastard.”

The other top-tier Hunters who had been watching Sung-hyun and Padron’s conversation from the start froze as if doused with cold water as soon as Sung-hyun finished speaking.

“M-muscle… pig?”

Could they have heard correctly?

Not only was he speaking informally, but he had even used the almost taboo words “muscle pig.”

It was only a fleeting moment, but it felt like an eternity, and the whiskey in the Hunters’ glasses began to ripple subtly.

Perhaps due to Padron’s overbearing nature, a wild and ferocious aura began to build.

“Pfft, hahaha!”

At that moment, laughter erupted in the silence.

Every gaze that had been directed at Sung-hyun and Padron turned towards the source of the laughter.

Even their gazes.

“L-Lich?”

As soon as it was realized that the laughter came from Lich, the wild aura that seemed ready to explode began to subside instantly.

It wasn’t that Padron had withdrawn his magic.

Although the laughter had thrown him off balance, it was virtually impossible for the magic he had already summoned to dissipate so quickly.

If so, then the reason this magic had calmed down so quickly was Lich.

A magic that felt completely out of place for a Necromancer instantly wrapped around Padron’s wild magic, absorbing and erasing it as if it were evaporating.

“Hunter Kim Sung-hyun is quite an interesting person. But I recommend not using that word.”

The first time could be considered a forgivable mistake.

But there would be no second time, and it wouldn’t be allowed.

Of course, Padron had no free will in the matter; it was solely Lich’s will.

“Lich! Did you hear what this bastard is saying…”

“Padron, isn’t that right? There won’t be a second time, will there?”

“B-but…”

Padron clenched both fists and accepted Lich’s words.

Because there was nothing else he could do.

Since Lich, the world’s number one Hunter, was saying this, Sung-hyun decided to let it go at this point.

“Ah, there can’t be a second time, I see. I’ll keep that in mind.”

There was no apology for his initial words.

This was something that not only Sung-hyun and Padron, the parties involved, but also all the Hunters in this place were feeling: Sung-hyun had no intention of apologizing.

“I’ll apologize on his behalf. This kind of thing often happens with Hunters who have newly made a name for themselves as top-tier Hunters. There are no other intentions.”

“…I see.”

As if he had realized that Sung-hyun was considering other possibilities, Lich nipped it in the bud, saying that there would be no such thing.

‘He’s not an easy person.’

The question of how strong he was didn’t matter.

Because Sung-hyun had infinite magic power and superior abilities in all battles, including healing, wide-area attacks, single combat, battles against magical beasts, and personal combat.

But dealing with someone who was also politically savvy was very tiring.

Of course, Sung-hyun didn’t care what other people thought of him, but even a false rumor would be quite troublesome.

Not in any special way.

Just because it was unpleasant.

“Would you like to have a toast, if you don’t mind?”

“Sure.”

After lightly toasting with Lich, Sung-hyun talked with him until the banquet was over.

There were no special questions, and of course, no special answers, just formal inquiries.

But it wasn’t difficult to figure out what kind of person Lich was.

Since Sung-hyun felt that way, Lich probably already knew what kind of person Sung-hyun was.

After the banquet, Sung-hyun went straight back to his room and threw himself on the bed.

“He was a more difficult person than I thought…”

The subtle smile he always wore was perfect for creating the impression of a good person.

His outstanding appearance also played a part, but the atmosphere he exuded was completely the opposite of Padron.

But perhaps because of that, Sung-hyun had a strong feeling that Lich was hiding a lot.

And also, he seemed to know a lot, maybe even everything.

“We can’t be on the same side, but he’s a strange person who doesn’t seem like he’ll be an enemy…”

As Sung-hyun was organizing his thoughts about Lich, he got up from his seat again.

There was something he had to finish before going to bed.

“I need to test my abilities.”

All of his abilities had been enhanced, but among them were three he couldn’t intuitively grasp: Materialization, Summons, and Authority.

“I’ll save Materialization for last. What about Summons and Authority?”

Sung-hyun immediately summoned Number 1.

A shimmer of light appeared in the corner of the room, and Number 1 materialized, kneeling on one knee as always, displaying his loyalty.

“It’s affected by magic stats, huh…”

Sung-hyun’s magic stat was infinite.

How strong would Number 1 become, influenced by that infinite magic?

His appearance hadn’t changed much.

But Number 1 was Sung-hyun’s summon.

There was no way Sung-hyun, the summoner, wouldn’t know Number 1’s level.

“Is he almost 1.5 times stronger?”

He said it casually, but since Number 1 was already strong, a 1.5 times increase was a truly enormous leap.

“Then that means the other summons are also about 1.5 times stronger…”

Taking Inhwan, who could be summoned as an object of faith, as an example, the power of the abilities used and the summon’s magic power had become 1.5 times stronger.

Moreover, summons took the strength of the object of faith as it was.

The final abilities of the summon were always multiplied by 1.5.

“This is an insane ability.”

It didn’t end there.

He had only checked one of the three abilities.

Sung-hyun immediately used Authority in the air to create two swords.

Since the swords moved according to Sung-hyun’s will, combining them into one wasn’t difficult.

“Oh…”

When the two swords were combined, the resulting sword became exactly twice the size.

When he created another sword and combined it, this time it became exactly three times the original size.

He couldn’t test everything in the room, but as the number of swords combined increased, the size and power of the sword also increased proportionally.

“I can use this when I need a single, powerful blow.”

Lastly, Materialization.

This was the ability he anticipated the most.

Recalling the spear that appeared when he tried to materialize equipment before, he remembered that his proficiency was still lacking.

“Now my proficiency has increased…”

There was no need to hesitate, so Sung-hyun immediately used the Materialization ability.

Sung-hyun was trying to materialize a ring containing healing abilities.

Just as he was about to use the ability, a spear appeared before his eyes.

[If you use the Materialization ability with the ring, you will not be able to use Materialization for one month. Do you want to proceed?]

“A month…?”

Clearly, creating equipment instantly was an amazing ability, but not being able to use Materialization for a month was quite a risk.

“Let’s postpone it. There will be many opportunities.”

The abilities he had confirmed were all satisfactory.

If he had to pick the most satisfying growth, it would be Summons.

The original owner of Number 1, whom he mainly summoned, had died, making it difficult for him to grow, but that need was perfectly compensated.

“Now all the confirmations are done.”

All that was left was to rest for the 1st-grade Gate subjugation [A high-level dungeon raid] tomorrow.

Sung-hyun went straight to bed.

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The next day.

Waking up a little earlier than the others, Sung-hyun immediately left his room and headed somewhere.

“Are you awake?”

“Hunter Kim Sung-hyun…?”

The first place he headed was Choi Ki-joo’s room.

Not expecting Sung-hyun’s visit at all, the door opened with a voice full of surprise.

“What brings you here so early…?”

“Take this.”

A small bottle was visible in Sung-hyun’s hand.

“What… is this?”

“You’re not asking because you don’t know, are you? It’s an elixir. It’s better than the ones used by the Association.”

“So why are you giving me this precious thing…?”

“Just in case.”

It wasn’t that he thought they would be injured in the 1st-grade Gate.

However, he didn’t know how the other top-ranked hunters would act, so he was just taking out insurance to avoid unnecessary harm.

“T, thank you.”

Sung-hyun’s visit itself was unexpected, but receiving the precious elixir made Choi Ki-joo feel strange.

“Then, I’ll see you later.”

“Y, yes.”

Leaving Choi Ki-joo, who still had a puzzled expression while looking back and forth between Sung-hyun and the elixir, Sung-hyun headed to the next room.

He handed the elixir to Park Yeon-seok and Lee Soo-jung as well, and they showed the same reaction as Choi Ki-joo.

It wasn’t even the elixir he had made before, so the effect would probably be even better.

As Sung-hyun expected, something would definitely happen during the 1st-grade Gate subjugation shortly.

After returning to his room and spending some time, he heard a voice announcing the start of the 1st-grade Gate subjugation.

“Please come down to the first floor shortly.”

“Understood.”

Now it was really starting.

It was time to head to the Gate where not only monsters but also other enemies coexisted.

Having seen Lich, he was sure that he wouldn’t resort to obvious tricks.

Sung-hyun, who knew better than anyone that the most important thing to be careful of was carelessness, took a deep breath and got up from his seat to go down to the first floor of the hotel.

“The purpose of this subjugation is…”

The Association President was holding a press conference, and all the hunters appeared just before the conference ended.

“Then, let’s depart.”

The luxury limousine that had picked them up at the airport was waiting, and as they got into the limousine, they began to depart for the location of the 1st-grade Gate.