I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 263

263

While the guild members sparred with Pelian’s personal guard, Seonghyun delved into the details of Pelian’s life and reign.

His country, his character.

“There are remarkably detailed records.”

Given that it’s the history of the first founding emperor, some embellishment is expected, but it’s enough to distinguish fact from fiction.

Ar-oh’s claim that Pelian faced 10,000 magical beasts with 2,000 magic soldiers seemed plausible, so Seonghyun examined the records with that in mind.

“His abilities were specialized for war, not just battle.”

Battle and war are distinctly different.

You might win a battle, but losing the war signifies defeat.

Pelian, in that sense, was a leader who endured for three years, focused on the broader war rather than individual battles.

“Different from me.”

One could try to find common ground, but Pelian and Seonghyun were fundamentally different.

The times they lived in, their backgrounds—everything was different. However, a common thread could be found: being the strongest in their respective eras.

And the purpose behind confronting magical beasts was clear. Whether Pelian aimed for their extinction was unknown, but he was undeniably more hostile toward them than anyone else.

“Comparing Pelian and me, what do I lack?”

Seonghyun’s magic power was undoubtedly superior, and perhaps other aspects were as well. If he had to identify a disadvantage, it would be his perception of magic power and his skill in commanding troops.

“Tactics for handling soldiers… I can summon entities, but that’s just one facet.”

He felt like he was beginning to grasp the overall picture.

However, even using all his abilities individually, Pelian’s magic power, confined to one corner, remained dormant.

“Could it be that I can’t activate it with just this?”

Perhaps other conditions were necessary to unlock Pelian’s magic power.

“Usually, in this situation, I should seek out a place connected to Pelian.”

Seonghyun immediately inquired with Ar-oh about such locations.

“There are a few related places, but don’t get your hopes up… First, here’s a map. I’d offer to guide you, but given my position…”

“A map will suffice.”

“Ah, and though it’s unlikely anyone wouldn’t recognize you, here’s my token, just in case.”

Seonghyun accepted the token bearing the Pelian imperial family’s crest and immediately headed to the location marked on the map.

Most of the locations were within the palace, suggesting that only remnants from the kingdom’s founding remained.

“Is it a temple or something?”

Its purpose was unclear due to its dilapidated state, but its age lent it a profound atmosphere, suggesting it was indeed a temple.

A place unguarded and seemingly forgotten.

He pushed open the temple’s dusty door, which creaked with the sound of grinding stones, revealing sunlight streaming through a hole in the ceiling.

Nothing else was visible, as if nothing remained.

“Something… feels familiar…”

The scenery was unfamiliar, but the atmosphere resonated with him.

As if confirming Seonghyun’s intuition, a voice echoed.

“[It’s been a while.]”

“It’s been a while… you say?”

This voice was unmistakably the one he’d heard in the one-person-only gate, the Forgotten Temple.

“Who are you?”

“[It seems you’ve already reached a conclusion.]”

“Could it be… Pelian?”

“[That’s right. The atmosphere will be a little different from then.]”

So, the temple at that time was Pelian’s temple?

“What on earth…”

“[You protected the temple that day, and thanks to that, my fragmented consciousness reunited and returned here. My homeland. To my land.]”

The Forgotten Temple he cleared was a place where Pelian’s consciousness was torn and trapped.

He was a diminished being who could only manage brief conversations even when exerting all his strength, but thanks to Seonghyun’s protection, he was able to return.

Even without Seonghyun’s intervention, he would have eventually returned, but the completeness of his consciousness would have been severely compromised.

Without that protection, he likely would have returned in a far weaker state.

Pelian’s tone was unchanged, yet filled with profound gratitude.

“Do you also know that your descendants have entrusted the legacy you left behind to me?”

“[Haha. It’s obvious, given how clearly my magic power is felt.]”

“Then what should I do with this magic power?”

“[You will naturally understand when this conversation concludes, so be patient. Pelian’s hero.]”

Seonghyun didn’t have many questions left.

He had already asked almost everything.

“Honestly, I don’t have any more questions now.”

“[Is that true?]”

“Yes.”

“[Interesting, you don’t even know what I’ve seen or what I know.]”

“That means…”

“[It’s not difficult to tell the hero who inherited my legacy and protected this land. How about it, would you like to hear it?]”

“I’m willing to listen.”

Pelian’s faint laughter echoed, as if he were pleased with the conversation.

“[There is one unrecorded history. I ventured into another dimension where magical beasts reside.]”

“Another dimension. I do that often too.”

“[No. What you do is within passages created by another dimension. Strictly speaking, it’s a boundary line.]”

“You completely crossed over?”

“[Yes. And I also encountered the owner of that dimension.]”

This was the most crucial information for Seonghyun right now.

Invaluable knowledge he couldn’t obtain elsewhere.

Pelian knew that.

“[The world you inhabit, the world I inhabited, and the world where magical beasts dwell—besides these, many other worlds exist, but these three are the only ones capable of interfering with each other.]”

“Interference is possible… so you can create passages.”

“[Yes. I met the owner of my world and, by receiving power from that entity, managed to drive out the magical beasts.]”

“Is the record of magical beasts and mutants false?”

“[Well… it wouldn’t be entirely wrong.]”

Pelian’s following words were somewhat shocking.

“[The owner of the dimension I lived in isn’t the same as a human being, so he can only be seen as a magical beast.]”

“Is he a descendant of the owner?”

“[The owner of the dimension, my father, gave me a choice: to become the owner after him or to live as a human being.]”

“Did you choose to live as a human there?”

“[No. I wanted to be the successor. I wanted eternal life.]”

An unexpected answer.

Looking at Pelian, who died and disappeared, it meant there was a problem with the result of that choice.

“[To succeed my father, I needed the consent of at least one other owner. But the owner of the dimension where the magical beasts appeared naturally did not agree, and the remaining one was the owner of the dimension where you live now.]”

“But the fact that you remained human like this…”

“[Yes. The owner of your dimension is dead. To be exact, he has entered eternal rest.]”

“If the owner had to enter eternal rest, it means he suffered a great wound…”

“[The culprit was the owner of the dimension where the magical beasts appeared.]”

It was a significant piece of information that allowed him to understand the existence called the owner of the dimension.

The fact that they entered eternal rest meant that they also had a limit to their power.

“[I tried to kill the owner of the magical beasts, but I failed. And this is what happened.]”

“What happens to the magical beasts if you kill the owner of that dimension?”

“[The magical beasts who have lost their owner will run wild… but they’re just fleas when they run. Especially for you.]”

“That means they won’t appear anymore.”

With this, Seonghyun’s goal became even more firm.

A huge motivation was given to the already firm goal.

“[They each called them this: the owner of the first dimension, the owner of the second dimension, the owner of the third dimension.]”

“The second dimension…”

This was the content Seonghyun discovered after dealing with the owner of the Level 2 Gate.

‘If the owner of the second dimension finishes restoring his power, the tragedy of the past will be repeated.’

Could the tragedy of the past that came out of there be the great war that broke out between the owners of the dimensions?

“[It seems like the mismatched puzzles are fitting together.]”

“Thanks to you.”

“[One thing is certain: the owner of my dimension and my father that I met was the owner of the third dimension.]”

He had just heard from Pelian that there were only three dimensions, so in the end, the dimension Seonghyun lived in was the first or second dimension.

‘The note at that time clearly said to proceed with the plan for the first dimension quickly.’

“How much can the owner of this dimension interfere in other places?”

“[If it’s a dimension that has entered eternal rest, it can interfere quite deeply, but since then, the owner of the dimension where the magical beasts live has been the owner of the dimension with the strongest power. Interference won’t be easy.]”

“I see.”

With this, all the answers were given.

The place where Seonghyun lives is the first dimension.

The place where the magical beasts live was the second dimension.

“[You have a lighter expression than before. It doesn’t seem like you have anything else to ask.]”

“The legacy you passed on to me…”

“[It shouldn’t be there. I can’t hold on any longer.]”

“What?”

“[This seems to be the first time I’ve had an interesting conversation since my father. I hope you achieve what you want. What you want is what I want.]”

“Pe, Pelian!”

Nothing had changed.

Even the surrounding air and the subtle flow of magic power.

But he could feel very well that Pelian could no longer answer.

“I got an unexpected harvest.”

He was simply trying to find out how to use the legacy he left behind, but Seonghyun obtained the information he so desperately wanted.

In great detail too.

There were still more things he wanted to ask, but if he organized his thoughts, they were questions that seemed to have roughly the same answers.

“More than that, you said I’d know when the conversation was over…”

As if waiting for Seonghyun’s question, a window appeared in front of him.

“[The legacy of the demigod is about to bloom.]”

“The legacy of the demigod. The name is quite fancy.”

“[The will of the demigod is imbued in the legacy. If you leave this gate, the legacy of the demigod will bloom.]”

A simple condition that only requires him to leave.

Compared to the 8 hours he wasted in consciousness, it was almost non-existent.

Perhaps because of that reason, he couldn’t help but feel a little less anticipation, but Seonghyun was satisfied that he had gained one more ability that he could use and turned around.

“Ah.”

Pelian, who left Seonghyun with new abilities and even more important information.

“I’ll replace my greetings like this.”

Seonghyun broke off a flower outside the temple and brought it inside.

Then he threw it in the place closest to where he heard the voice.

He didn’t know if his body was here or if there was a grave, but it didn’t matter because it was the place where his will remained, the place where he returned.

“I hope you’re watching from somewhere.”

Seonghyun bowed deeply to express his gratitude and left the temple.