I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 289

The air crackled with anticipation, the intent to delay no longer palpable.

I couldn’t be sure if the monsters had completed their preparations, but their confidence in victory was undeniable.

Not only Seonghyun, but also the hunters stationed before the six second-class gates, stood ready before the ominous, moon-like red gate.

The gate neither expanded nor exhibited any visible changes, yet everyone instinctively sensed its significance.

There would be no further alterations to the gate.

Either the monsters would emerge, or we would be forced to venture inside; one of the two outcomes was inevitable.

This gate represented the final stand.

Department Head Cha, now acting as the Deputy Association Head, was also present, overseeing the situation.

“Hunters are gathering,” he announced, his voice grim.

Hunters from every corner of the nation converged.

Regardless of their strength, all available hunters were assembling to confront this single second-class gate.

Each individual was positioned according to their unique abilities, forming distinct combat roles.

Divided into close combat, ranged, support, and so on, they prepared for the coming onslaught.

The same scene unfolded across the globe.

Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and countless other nations deployed stealth and escape specialists at the first-class gates while massing their forces before the enlarged second-class gates.

Again, irrespective of individual power, everyone instinctively understood that this battle could signify the end of everything.

“Everyone, maintain the minimum safe distance. There’s no guarantee the gate won’t explode,” came the order.

“Understood,” the response echoed.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl.

The hunters gathered before the colossal, crimson gate resembled moths drawn to a deadly flame, oblivious to their impending fate.

How many would truly be able to effectively utilize their abilities?

Thanks to Seonghyun’s Sanctuary [a safe zone or buffing area], their levels had improved, but that was only a marginal advantage.

From the outset, their gathering was solely due to Seonghyun’s influence.

Frankly, their levels were insufficient to confront a second-class gate, let alone the potentially mutated monsters within.

However, Korea’s second-class gate was situated in the heart of the capital city.

Civilians were being evacuated, but it was impossible to evacuate the entirety of Seoul in a single day.

They might lack the power to eliminate the monsters, but they were at least capable of withstanding an initial assault.

Were they aware of this reality?

The second-class gate loomed large, a stark reminder of the danger before them.

“How much time remains for the evacuation?”

“All public transportation is dedicated solely to evacuation efforts, but it’s still insufficient. More time is needed.”

“Hunter Kim Seonghyun?”

I was in conversation with the Deputy Association Head when a familiar voice hailed me from behind.

“It’s been a while, Headmaster.”

“Indeed. You graduated early and haven’t visited since.”

“I’ve been preoccupied. More importantly, what brings you here…?”

“This is the last gate remaining in Korea… I couldn’t simply stand idly by.”

The Academy served as the final line of defense.

A last resort in the event of the worst-case scenario.

The fact that the Academy had mobilized not only the Headmaster but also the students filled me with apprehension.

The Headmaster seemed to notice Seonghyun’s worried gaze towards the students waiting behind him and sighed deeply.

“Do you believe I desired to bring them? I attempted to send them back, even resorting to threats of suspension, but they refused to listen. I believe you need to speak with them, Hunter.”

“…”

“The young students of the Academy… It won’t happen, but if something unmanageable occurs, we’ll be sacrificing the future in a futile attempt to protect the present.”

“I understand. I’ll speak with them.”

In truth, I wished to exclude not only the Academy students but also all young and promising hunters from this battle.

As the Headmaster stated, it would be akin to investing in the present by mortgaging the future.

I approached the area where the Academy students were gathered.

The second and third-year students, veterans of numerous subjugation missions, displayed a mixture of determination and tension, but the first-year students presented a different picture.

Some possessed confident gazes, perhaps fueled by their self-assuredness, while others exhibited excessive tension and fear.

However, that fear stemmed not so much from the prospect of death as from the uncertainty of the unknown.

‘Amazing.’

A determination that seemed to prove they had all come voluntarily. They looked older than their twenty years.

“I appreciate you all coming, but go back.”

“…”

“If something happens to you, we lose our pillars [future leaders and protectors of humanity].”

A look of incomprehension.

It was understandable, considering the strongest pillar was saying this.

“We… want to help too.”

Ha-yeon was representing the students.

She was an object of faith and someone who should have been competing in the upcoming Academy Tournament.

“But…”

“We are hunters before we are students.”

Enrolling in the Academy was just a stop along the way.

No one aimed to make graduating from the Academy their ultimate goal.

Their ultimate goal would be to join a large guild or create one.

Or to have their name among the top hunters.

Seong-hyeon, who had been an Academy student, knew this better than anyone.

He had dreamed of the same goal before his regression [reincarnation or time travel].

That’s why he wanted to stop them even more.

Because dying here meant nothing.

If humanity survives in the future, they will remember today’s events, but not each individual who sacrificed themselves.

“…I understand.”

Ha-yeon, filled with faith, refused Seong-hyeon’s words.

Of course, there was no mandatory relationship, but this alone showed how desperate they were.

“Thank…”

“Instead, focus on the safety of those who couldn’t evacuate rather than combat.”

“Yes, I will.”

Wasn’t this a reasonable compromise?

“Hunter Kim!”

Just as the conversation with the Academy students was ending, the Vice-Chairman’s urgent voice was heard.

“Has there been a change?”

“In Russia… monsters have appeared.”

They had prepared and braced themselves so much, but these were the things they hoped would never happen.

Monsters began to flood from Russia, where the color had changed first [a sign of impending danger or a monster outbreak].

————————-

Padron, who had been waiting in front of the gate, was the first to notice the change appearing in the center of the gate.

“What… is that?”

It seemed like something was forming, but then again, it looked like a gap was opening in the gate, showing the other side.

The change that had been appearing little by little from the center of the gate soon began to expand its area up and down.

“Padron… that’s…”

“Yeah, it looks like an eye.”

The gate transformed into the eye of a giant beast.

The black cracks that had formed above and below soon began to tear left and right.

That torn little gap.

Just like the level 3 gate that had exploded recently, what caught Padron’s eye first was none other than the monster’s eye.

“No way…”

Was it going to explode again?

But it was okay now.

He had already distanced himself appropriately in preparation for the explosion.

The monster’s eye that could be seen inside, unlike back then, was clearly smiling.

However, unlike then, it was similar to the eyes of a beast that had found prey after a long period of starvation.

“…Is it smiling?”

Was it looking at him, of all people, as prey?

He was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t even speak properly.

“You crazy son of a bitch.”

More than anything, Padron felt an unbearable sense of shame at being seen as prey.

Perhaps because of that, he reached into the still not fully opened crack and grabbed the arrogant monster’s eye that he had seen before.

Other monsters’ hands began to cling to Padron’s hand.

Some reached out to remove the hand, others to attack it, but of course, they couldn’t even make a scratch.

Padron pulled the monster’s eye out, blew it up until not even dust remained, and then pulled his hand back out as if nothing had happened.

“There’s nothing like this to start a battle.”

A battle that begins with the eye of the monster at the vanguard of the enemy as a sacrifice.

As Padron pulled his hand out, the crack, about the size of an arm, began to tear open at a rapid pace.

The opening didn’t feel like someone was opening a door, but like it was being forcibly torn open because it couldn’t handle the magic beyond.

Padron’s senses were not wrong, and soon, through the fully opened doorway, he saw the endless march of monsters.

Could that really be the main base of the monsters?

Or just a part of it?

The sheer number was enough to make Padron, who liked to subjugate monsters more than anyone else, momentarily distracted [잡념 – japnyum, a fleeting thought] right before the battle.

No wonder, there were a total of six enlarged level 2 gates, and it was dizzying to think that this was happening in all six places.

‘Hoo… that’s not like me.’

In the most 자신답게 [jasindapge – like myself] way.

Just enjoy the battle with the monsters.

Because he had always won when he enjoyed it like that.

Unlike Padron, who was burning with fighting spirit, many other hunters were losing their will to fight.

The hunters gathered here weren’t just from Russia.

They were hunters from the regions where Padron was central.

Places where the level 3 to level 5 gates had disappeared, and the gates to be monitored had vanished.

The number of those hunters was similar to the number of monsters seen beyond that gate.

Also, each of those monsters possessed the power of at least a level 2 gate monster.

Since there were a similar number of monsters that required at least three hunters to deal with, their will to fight was understandably low.

“Hahaha!!”

It wasn’t to tell them to come to their senses, nor was it to say they could do it.

Just a hearty laugh.

A laugh that sounded like he was enjoying the situation.

And at the same time, the sound of monster bodies exploding echoed.

Thud, thud.

The bodies that had been stiffened by a bit of fear and an overwhelming feeling.

As Padron’s laughter rang out, something began to fall on his face.

“…?”

Is it raining?

He looked up at the sky without realizing it, but the sky was terribly clear.

Then what the hell fell on his face?

When he wiped it with his hand, the dark red blood of the monsters 묻어나왔다 [묻어나왔다 – mut-eo-nawatda, was smeared] on his hand.

The blood and flesh of the monsters.

The blood that had cooled in the air began to scatter, and thanks to that, the stiffened bodies began to come to their senses.

“Everyone, to your positions!”

To think he would feel what he felt from Seonghyun again here.

Padron didn’t have the ability to heal others, but another belief began to arise.

That he might be able to create a situation where treatment itself is unnecessary.

The forefront of the battlefield.

Padron fought the monsters alone.

It was almost as if he was isolated, but for Padron, this was not isolation.

It was a battlefield where he could show all his strength without worrying about getting caught up in it, and it was a stage.

The bodies of the monsters exploded every time he swung his fist.

Blood and flesh flew through the air, obscuring his vision, but this was nothing more than 축포 [chukpo – celebratory gunfire or fireworks] for Padron.

A beautiful battle that satisfies the eyes and ears.

But Padron’s fist, which had been massacring the monsters, suddenly stopped in mid-air.

“I wondered why I couldn’t advance… it was you.”