I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 222

Seonghyun released the Sword, letting it fall without resistance.

He didn’t make any dramatic moves.

As Seonghyun prepared to leave, he noticed the book Sword had taken out earlier. He settled into the seat Sword had vacated.

‘I wonder what’s written in this book?’ he mused.

Sword clearly anticipated Seonghyun’s curiosity, leaving the book behind as he departed.

“A book with no title,” Seonghyun observed.

He opened the cover to the first page. Inside, like a diary, was a record of the day Sword first received his revelation.

[Around 8:30 PM, a tremendous amount of magical power suddenly began to drain from my body. I worried I might have contracted some rare disease, but the sight that unfolded before my eyes indicated it was not a disease, at least.]

The handwriting was detached, as if the writer hadn’t yet grasped the magnitude of his ability.

[I must have lost consciousness, and I had a very disturbing dream. It was the first time I remembered a dream so vividly, but I suppose that was due to the magic power being consumed.]

The first day’s entry focused on emotional reactions – why he had such a dream, why it was a nightmare, and so on.

It was mostly personal impressions; the detailed content began the next day.

[Today, like yesterday, after 8 PM, I felt all the magic power in my body draining away. Having experienced it yesterday, it wasn’t painful, but the sensation of magic power being forcibly extracted was still unpleasant.]

With brief reflections, he detailed the dream’s contents.

[The dream I had today was the same as yesterday. The same nightmare. When you have the same nightmare repeatedly, it’s hard to dismiss it as coincidence. The dream’s content was dark and bleak.]

[The dream began in a barren wilderness. The excessively empty and vast landscape felt primordial, as if it had been desolate since the beginning of time. It took me a while to process this.]

The handwriting conveyed the impression of describing something directly observed.

Given that the first entry was dated eight years prior, it seemed credible.

[Since it was a dream, I simply walked. In a dream where I didn’t know when I’d wake up. As I walked aimlessly, I began to see familiar things. Not things I recognized, but buildings that were half-collapsed, their original forms only imaginable. These structures were scattered at intervals.]

Seonghyun, engrossed in the text, began to feel drawn in.

What did Sword witness in this place that compelled him to write these words?

[Between those buildings, a figure appeared. Despite the sturdy back, the figure sitting on the floor in frustration seemed out of place. Why did I feel this incongruity? To understand, I needed to examine the person sitting down.]

[I slowly approached and called out to the man, but he didn’t respond. He was too still. I was shocked to see the man’s face. It was me, aged considerably. This eliminated the sense of incongruity, but a new one arose. The stillness, the lack of movement, gave the impression that time had stopped.]

[Looking around, the feeling of incongruity solidified. Time had stopped. As soon as I recognized this, the man who hadn’t moved – the future me – looked at me and said, “The first future you see is your future.”]

That concluded the second day’s record.

The subsequent entries weren’t significantly different.

The third day, the fourth day, followed the same pattern.

But according to Sword’s earlier statement, his revelation granted him the ability to alter the future.

Surely, as he turned the pages, the content would diverge.

It didn’t take long to find the changes. The content began to shift subtly from the fifth day onward.

This marked the day Sword first attempted to change the future through revelation, and the day he began to see the altered landscape as a result.

[Today I killed someone. It wasn’t intentional. We entered the gate for subjugation, and one of them simply died. But the things I saw in my dream today seemed slightly different. The building I saw on the first day had returned to its state before collapsing. And there were people inside that building I had never seen before. Other than that, nothing had changed.]

And again the next day.

[I wondered if there was any connection to the dead friend, so I investigated him thoroughly. I discovered he used to sell drugs. Just in case, I also looked into his customers and saw the faces of the strangers in the building from my dream. Did that building return to its original state because that friend died? And the people inside it?]

From this point, Sword seemed to realize his actions had consequences.

For several days, the same changes repeated.

[It’s been a year since I started having dreams. The dream came to me every night, and I decided to call it a revelation. Today’s revelation was special. For the first time, I, who had never shown any change, started to speak as if conversing.]

[He asked me: What kind of future do you want? And I answered: I hope the current peace continues. Then he replied: Such a future does not exist.]

Sword gradually lowered his expectations for the future, but the man shook his head each time, saying it was impossible.

[Tired of the same answer, I asked the man: Which future is closest to the future I want? Then he replied: All beings with weak magic power must die. Otherwise, there will be no one left on this land.]

Who were these beings with weak magic power?

Ordinary people without abilities.

And even among hunters, those with limited magical power.

[From this point on, I created a small group – a group that excludes ordinary people and considers hunters superior. I considered informing people of my ability and gathering those who shared this belief, but it was virtually impossible. The ability to change the future didn’t exist in the world’s understanding.]

So, he chose to create a group based on hunter supremacy.

[If you can’t be good, you have to be evil. Of course, this is a fact only I know, but there was no other way.]

“…”

Seonghyun understood Sword’s position.

He had also considered informing the association when he first gained his healing ability.

His healing at that time had side effects and wasn’t particularly powerful.

The exact borderline where other countries had no reason to take Seonghyun even while putting their relationship with Korea behind.

But Sword’s ability was different.

It had no side effects, and the ability to communicate with his future self meant he could alter the future in specific situations.

The moment he revealed it, Sword would become subordinate to the government and the association, constantly threatened by those seeking to exploit him.

That’s why Sword chose the only, and best, way to protect himself and spread his will.

Of course, for many, that method was the worst.

“Did he say he knew of my existence when I met Envy in China?”

Seonghyun decided to read the rest of the diary slowly, searching for the most crucial moment.

The time when he encountered himself, the only invisible being.

[Today was a special day. Someone interfered with the plan in China, but even with yesterday’s revelation, the plan would have succeeded. The man’s name is Kim Seonghyun. He was a hunter with a unique ability like me. But uniquely, Kim Seonghyun could not be seen with revelation. However, since the future itself did not change, I decided to observe further.]

From Sword’s perspective, Seonghyun was a significant variable.

The only invisible figure in a situation heading towards the best outcome.

Even if no immediate consequences arose, it was unknown when he might act as a variable.

[I made the deputy chairman of the United States our person. I left it to his discretion what action he would take against Kim Seonghyun, but the result was, of course, a failure.]

“Kim Seonghyun… Hunter?” Chief Cha asked, startling Seonghyun.

“Ah, yes.”

He had been so engrossed in the book that he hadn’t noticed Chief Cha’s arrival.

“How was it?” Seonghyun asked.

“There was a bomb installed, but it seems it was placed a long time ago,” Chief Cha replied.

“Is it all removed?”

“Yes, it wasn’t a large amount, so I removed it quickly. However, given how long it’s been, it’s questionable whether it would have reacted to the detonator.”

“I understand.”

Seonghyun leaned back in the chair, a complicated feeling in his heart.

What should he do about Sword?

Sword only wanted an ordinary future.

But the path to that future was terribly unhappy.

‘It’s something only I can do,’ he thought.

The only person invisible to Sword’s revelation.

He was a variable that could be a hindrance, but also the only hope for a better future.

After reading this diary, he could understand Sword’s last words.

‘The only future where I die is the future where humanity is destroyed.’

When he finished reading this diary, would he not only understand Sword’s last words but also sympathize with them?

“Are you going to Korea?” Chief Cha asked.

“No. If you’ve removed everything, there’s no need to go.”

Seonghyun rose, holding Sword’s unfinished diary.

‘Is there no reason to work as a pilgrim anymore?’

The primary reason he worked as a pilgrim was to counter Sword’s group’s actions.

Also, the reason he came to Russia had been addressed by Sword.

Since the banquet he attended as a pilgrim, the Russian countries had been rapidly expanding the educational facilities of the new system as Seonghyun wanted.

Significant funds and manpower had already been invested, and they had realized the necessity of this system. Abandoning it now would be a mistake.

The flow had changed, and since he had grasped the purpose and identity of the last biggest variable, Seonghyun’s plan also had to change.

“Let’s go back to Russia first. I’ll explain at the hotel.”

“I understand.”

Soon, Chief Cha opened a gate, and they returned to the front of the hotel in Russia.