I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 150

150

“Hey, Padron. Good work.”

“…”

“I’m counting on you tomorrow too.”

Sung-hyun left after saying just that.

“Padron, what were you thinking, attacking like that?”

“Well, I had to gauge his level properly. I just didn’t expect him not to budge at all.”

The power Padron displayed while subjugating the Rank 2 Gate today was a one-time-use ability.

The ability itself wasn’t limited, but generating that kind of power required an unimaginable amount of mana.

“So, did you figure it out properly?”

“…I’m not sure. That bastard wasn’t just standing still. He wasn’t using any mana at all. You saw it and felt it yourself, Lich, didn’t you?”

“I had a hunch, but I think it’s confirmed now.”

“What, what is it?”

I thought about it quite deeply.

From the moment I first met Sung-hyun, or rather, from the moment I heard the news that Sung-hyun had made a name for himself as a top-tier Hunter.

‘He’s definitely hiding something.’

Of course, this assumption still remained an unresolved question.

However, from when we first met at the airport, when we subjugated the Rank 1 Gate together, and today.

Lich had been watching and observing Sung-hyun continuously.

The result was that his mana level itself wasn’t that high.

“As you felt, Hunter Kim Sung-hyun’s mana…it’s just at a moderate level.”

“I agree. And now that we know his mana level…”

“Right. I don’t know what hidden card he has, but the foundation of a Hunter is mana. Since the amount of mana isn’t outstanding, his power can be estimated.”

The swords made of mana were quite interesting abilities, but there would be a limit to their power and number.

“So, is your position still the same as before?”

“My position, you say…”

“You said it before, that he’s someone who seems like he won’t become an enemy or an ally.”

I had such thoughts right after the banquet.

However, if you ask me if I still think the same way, I probably wouldn’t nod.

“No. It’s changed.”

“Huh, for Lich to change his mind, something quite significant must have happened, right?”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

Padron clicked his tongue at Lich’s unchanging, inscrutable appearance.

“I’m leaving. Are you going to keep showing up whenever that guy subjugates a Rank 2 Gate?”

“If Padron comes out?”

“Tch, looks like I’ll be seeing him every day.”

“Guild Leader!”

It was then.

The vice guild leaders of Lich and Padron’s guilds were rushing over, calling for their respective guild leaders.

“What’s wrong?”

“What is it?”

Since they were the vice guild leaders who practically managed the super-large guilds in the United States, they wouldn’t show such urgency for anything less than a significant event.

In other words, something truly unusual had occurred.

“Y-you must see this at once!”

Lich immediately received the tablet and checked the video.

The video itself wasn’t anything special.

A very short video of about 10 seconds.

The title of the video was SOON.

Upon playing it, the first screen was filled with only a black background.

Then the screen changed, and a world map appeared.

The map was visible for a few seconds, and then someone used their ability to burn the map to ashes in an instant.

Finally, the same black background as the beginning appeared, and the word SOON, the same as the video’s title, appeared in the center.

“This is…”

Of course, there were similar videos, and even more extreme videos were naturally all over the place.

But there was one difference between them.

It was the world map that appeared in the video.

The world map wasn’t just a map showing geography.

Even within one country, there were countless dots of different colors as if marking something, and there was only one place that used this map.

“Have they revealed themselves?”

“We are investigating, but it’s not easy, as expected.”

“…”

It was a map used only by a group that considered ordinary people without abilities as insignificant beings, and further, thought of them as pests.

This map was probably created by them.

Comparing it with the data identified in the past, it was clear that the numerous, diverse dots indicated how many Hunters were in that location, what their level was, and how many ordinary people they considered pests were living there.

“Ha, does that mean preparations are all complete?”

“It…seems so. Unlike before, this time they appeared with a world map instead of a map of one country.”

I was paying attention, but as I was managing a guild, I couldn’t pour all my strength into this.

“Assign personnel right away.”

“Understood.”

Until now, they hadn’t actively done anything.

But there was a reason why Lich was so wary.

First of all, the problems were that several top-tier Hunters were joining this force, and that they were operating like a cell organization with roots all over the world, making it difficult to grasp their true nature.

They held all the tricky elements, and even their ideology was extremely unpleasant.

Decisively, it had already been quite some time since they started expressing such ideologies.

In a word, they had used that long time solely for preparation.

“What about the Association?”

“They have immediately started deploying manpower. And they are speculating about the commonalities of the dots shown on the map and what SOON means, and they have started a meeting to determine where they might move if they show any movement.”

“Keep only the minimum number of personnel with Hunter Kim Sung-hyun, and reduce the number of Gates to subjugate for the time being. Allocate all available personnel to this.”

“Yes, understood.”

The vice guild leader slightly bowed his head and immediately ran back to the guild.

Of course, unfortunately, no more information about them could be obtained.

The address that posted the video was also traced, but the end was in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

For nearly a week, Sung-hyun cleared a total of nine Rank 2 Gates during this time.

Padron and Lich were with him for all these clearances, but the problems from the first day did not occur.

With both of their attention focused on that organization, they didn’t seem to have much interest in subjugating Rank 2 Gates.

Of course, Sung-hyun had also seen the video.

But he didn’t pay much attention to it.

‘Either way, it’s not the time for them to show themselves yet.’

Recalling his memories from before the regression, there was still quite a bit of time left before they would be active.

The only reason they revealed themselves now was to see how far their abilities could reach when they directly showed themselves.

Since they even uploaded a video like this, the declaration of war was almost over.

So it was a kind of test to see how much they could find out.

“Hey, Kim. Today’s the last day, right?”

“Yeah. It’s over now.”

Padron, who initially called him a son of a bitch, then an Asian, and now at least calls him Kim, took a deep breath as if relieved and turned away.

“Now get the hell out of here to your country. Don’t pollute American soil.”

“We’ll see.”

“Tch, you never give in.”

Still, Padron, who had countless conversations with Sung-hyun for a week and had developed some resistance, no longer directly expressed his anger.

“Thank you for everything, Lich.”

“You’re welcome.”

In fact, it was Lich and Padron who had blocked the complaints coming out of the United States.

Padron didn’t even know he was playing such a role, but Lich already knew everything and acted accordingly.

What fearless place could raise an objection to a subjugation accompanied by the strongest Hunter in the world?

“Then, I’ll be going now.”

“Thank you for everything.”

Lich turned away without regret and left, and Sung-hyun watched his back.

“Haa…now there’s only one Rank 2 Gate left before the owners of the Rank 4 and Rank 3 Gates appear.”

There are now a total of 5 Rank 2 Gates left in the United States.

One of these Gates must surely exist.

If there was enough time, I would have tried to deduce it, but recalling the memories of that time, it was almost time for the article to be published.

“In the end, I have to pick one out of five…wait a minute.”

The interview in Sung-hyun’s memory.

The interviewee was an ordinary Hunter with no name.

How could such an ordinary Hunter with no backing clear and discover a Rank 2 Gate?

“A Hunter who wasn’t particularly skilled…and nothing has been revealed about what he received after clearing the Gate.”

It’s just a hypothetical situation, but what if he transferred that power to someone?

And the fact that the results after the clearance haven’t been revealed means that the person who received this power is an unknown person?

Following this speculation, thoughts continued to snowball, and in the end, there was only one thing.

“That organization.”

Of course, nothing was certain.

In addition to the memories from before the regression, which I don’t even remember well, even those were just things fitted to the situation.

But in the current situation, they were the only ones who seemed suspicious.

If so, how did they know about the existence of that Gate?

“Or is it a coincidence?”

I had quite a few thoughts, but now wasn’t the time to think about their intentions.

“If I were them, where would I have gone?”

The first place that came to mind was a guild of mediocre size.

Wouldn’t it be the least risky to plant someone in that guild and move?

“…No.”

They were now in a situation where they were confident enough to openly release videos.

Since they had been hiding for quite some time, it naturally meant they had confidence.

Where does that confidence come from?

It comes from the information they have.

“There was no reason to go around clearing Rank 2 Gates in the first place.”

If Sung-hyun’s prediction was correct, a large guild like Lich or Padron would soon schedule a Rank 2 subjugation.

“Participate in that subjugation, or if I can preempt it…”

Either way, there’s only one chance left.

Rather than entrusting that one choice to a 1/5 probability, I wanted to entrust it to the results I directly judged and inferred.

“Let’s wait and see for a few days.”

As if to instill confidence in Sung-hyun’s decision, he confirmed that a Rank 2 Gate subjugation schedule was set for the very next day.

The place that scheduled the subjugation was none other than Lich’s guild.

Having Lich’s direct number, Sung-hyun immediately contacted Lich.

“Hello?”

“It’s me, Kim Sung-hyun.”

“Ah, yes. Hunter Kim. What’s the matter?”

“I’m calling because I saw that you registered a Rank 2 Gate subjugation schedule this time.”

“Are you planning to go together? We also set a schedule in a hurry…”

“No.”

“Then…”

“Please give it to me.”

“…Pardon?”

It would be a difficult thing to accept easily.

To suddenly ask to transfer the subjugation rights of the Gate.

“Elixir. I’ll give it to you.”

“Understood.”

Seeing the answer coming back as soon as he brought it up, it seemed like he thought it was a very satisfactory deal.

“Instead, when you proceed with this subjugation, please hire me as a mercenary, and I will be the only one to enter the subjugation.”

“As a mercenary? You can just take the subjugation rights and go alone…ah, you want to make it appear that my guild is subjugating it on the surface.”

“That’s right.”

As expected, Lich was quite quick-witted.

He immediately grasped what Sung-hyun wanted.

“It’s not difficult. I won’t ask the reason.”

“Thank you. The elixir…”

“Give it to me when the subjugation is over.”

“I will.”

With this, the preparation was all over.

I hoped that the Gate was the Rank 2 Gate Sung-hyun was looking for.

And I hoped that I could easily deal with the owners of the Rank 4 and Rank 3 Gates that would appear after clearing this Rank 2 Gate.