I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 171

171

As the man instructed, the managers used their connections to bring in people from the press. Each of them wore an expression of disbelief, yet they couldn’t deny the unfolding events.

There was no loss for them anyway.

They didn’t even need to consider how to make the articles more sensational.

“Then, I’ll leave it in your capable hands.”

The initial goal was merely to ascertain if the Pilgrim was indeed another healer, but as things unfolded, there were quite a few additional benefits.

They handed over money for more information about the Pilgrim and arranged meetings with people of higher status.

“Right… I can’t stay in this wretched village forever.”

Thus, the man pondered.

How could he savor these newfound pleasures for longer?

“Release information bit by bit?”

If so, he might enjoy it longer, but the information wasn’t originally his, and the amount was limited, so it would only be a temporary fix.

And even if he had a lot of information, this place was the Pilgrim’s first stop, not the last, making it even less meaningful.

There were no reports of the Pilgrim appearing in other villages yet, but he could appear again at any time, and then that village would also have information.

“Someone come in here.”

“Why?”

Only one manager came in at the man’s call, but it didn’t matter.

“Where are the others?”

“I don’t know, they’re probably all out scouting other villages.”

“Contact them and tell them to stay put. Tell them to contact me immediately if they see anyone who looks like the Pilgrim.”

“Understood.”

“Wait for the right moment to either persuade or kidnap him, but until then, don’t interfere.”

First and foremost, locating him was the priority.

And the moment it’s revealed that the Pilgrim isn’t Kim Sung-hyun, the plan begins.

“Well, until the Pilgrim appears, this is our world, so let’s enjoy it as much as we can now.”

“Heh heh, right.”

——————————————–

Meanwhile, Sung-hyun had briefly returned to Korea.

Originally, his academy schedule was flexible enough that he didn’t need to return now, but In-hwan requested that he accompany the guild members on a subjugation mission just once.

“That aside…”

One question had been on Sung-hyun’s mind as he ventured out.

Originally, he hadn’t intended to heal the entire village.

He was worried that the number of worship subjects would increase, and a window related to the next owner of the gate would appear.

But this process was necessary to answer this question.

‘Those who don’t know of Sung-hyun’s existence do not gain faith.’

There were only a few hunters in that village, but hunters certainly existed.

Some hid their powers, while others used them to gain other powers.

Sung-hyun wrote the words ‘Pilgrim’ and ‘First’ on the ground and then did nothing.

He didn’t go to the next village and just watched.

As a result, Sung-hyun’s worship subjects didn’t increase.

They were more desperate than anyone else, so he didn’t think they wouldn’t have faith.

Given their situation, he thought they would have had faith even before the criteria for having faith were lowered.

The conclusion was that those who didn’t know of Sung-hyun’s existence could have faith, but Sung-hyun wouldn’t be notified.

The Pilgrim and Sung-hyun were the same person, but they only remembered the name and appearance of the Pilgrim and had faith in that.

“Things are going to work out better than I thought.”

Now that the most unique variable had been confirmed, Sung-hyun left with a light heart to accompany the guild members on their subjugation mission.

“It’s Hunter Kim Sung-hyun!”

“Hunter Kim!”

But reporters were camped out in front of the guild building.

“What’s going on?”

“H-Hunter Kim! You need to see this article.”

The reporter, with a serious look as if something that shouldn’t have happened had happened, showed Sung-hyun an article.

[Another Healer Has Appeared?]

“Oh ho…”

“It’s not ‘Oh ho.’ Hunter Kim. You know better than anyone what this means, don’t you?”

“Of course. I know very well.”

The reporters were speechless and just stared blankly at Sung-hyun, who was so calm that he seemed pleased.

“Is there anything else?”

“T-The other countries that have seen this article have requested that Hunter Kim Sung-hyun’s location be disclosed.”

“They’re trying to figure out if that Pilgrim, or rather, that man, and I are the same person, right?”

“That’s right. So, even now, you should hide for a while…”

“Put it on the front page. I’m in Korea.”

“…”

The reporters had expressions of disbelief.

This was a huge loss from a national perspective, as the emergence of another healer was a major setback, but it was also a major variable and loss for Sung-hyun.

“D-Do you have a plan? Hunter Kim? Hunter!”

Sung-hyun left the reporters, who were calling out to him desperately, and entered the guild building.

‘This… I don’t know who it is, but they’re deliberately helping me?’

It was one of the things Sung-hyun had been aiming for, but he didn’t expect the results to appear so quickly.

There were no guild members inside the guild building.

“What’s going on? Weren’t they asking for subjugation support?”

Originally, they should have been busy preparing for subjugation by now.

As Sung-hyun looked around with a puzzled expression, In-hwan appeared.

“You’re here?”

“Yeah, where are the guild members?”

“They went on a subjugation mission.”

“…?”

“Let’s go to the room. I’ll explain.”

Following In-hwan to the room, an article about Sung-hyun’s activities in the area was displayed on the screen.

“It’s an obvious question, but that other healer. It’s you, right?”

“Of course. That’s a really obvious question. More importantly, weren’t you asking me to come because of subjugation support?”

“Of course not.”

At Sung-hyun’s expression that he needed an explanation, In-hwan sat down first and said.

“Do you know when that article came out?”

“When was it?”

“That afternoon.”

“Afternoon? They published such a large-scale article in such a short time?”

“It’s far away, and there aren’t any people there, so I couldn’t find out, but someone must have used their power.”

“Hmm…”

A rough picture formed in his head.

He couldn’t know exactly who wrote the article, but if they proceeded so quickly, it was probably one of the people in that village.

“And the fact that they published the article like that means they want to confirm it too.”

“Right, they wanted to be sure if that Pilgrim was me or another hunter.”

He didn’t know what attitude that person had towards Sung-hyun yet, but one thing was certain: they were quite proactive.

“So I deliberately called you. That you’re here in Korea.”

“…What. You know me so well?”

“Of course. How long have I been with you?”

The reason In-hwan called Sung-hyun was to let them know that Sung-hyun was in Korea.

If he hadn’t, Sung-hyun might have stayed there a little longer and then returned to Korea, and then they would only have had suspicions, not evidence.

But now that Sung-hyun had returned to Korea, they had already obtained evidence.

“What are the reporters outside saying?”

“They were worried? Saying that another healer might have appeared, so I should hide for now.”

“Heh heh, so?”

“I just told them to put it on the front page. That I’m here.”

“Wow… I should have seen the reporters’ faces. What are you going to do now?”

“I’ll watch the reactions for a while and then go back to working as a Pilgrim.”

They won’t be recognized as worship subjects, but the number of worship subjects will increase.

Then, the moment Sung-hyun reveals his identity later, everyone will be recognized as subjects.

‘The moment I reveal my identity means the preparations are complete.’

“Are there any hunters with the ability to change faces?”

“I’m sure of it. There aren’t. They can change their own faces, but…”

“It’s a shame, but it doesn’t matter. I’ll have to cover my face thoroughly.”

In-hwan soon took down all the articles about Sung-hyun that were displayed on the screen.

“If anything similar happens in the future, I’ll contact you to help the guild members with subjugation like this time.”

“Okay.”

“How about it, are you going to stay longer and then leave?”

“How’s the guild doing? Not many injured, right?”

“Yeah. Everyone’s level is rising day by day. Professor Sung is teaching the guild members first, and well, it feels like the system is getting a bit more organized? They’re following along well.”

“That’s a relief. Please continue to coordinate well in the middle.”

“Who do you think I am? Don’t worry.”

In-hwan answered as arrogantly as he could.

“Yeah. I trust you. Who do you think you are.”

Sung-hyun lightly tapped In-hwan on the shoulder and left the guild building.

Walking down the street as if to show off.

It was only a matter of time before an article was published that Sung-hyun was in Korea.

Even though the reporters of Korea had never shown such a united front, the reporters of other countries in Korea had no choice.

[Hunter Kim Sung-hyun. Shopping in his own country?]

[From the Only Healer to Two Healers]

All sorts of articles began to line up from overseas, and the media companies of Korea began to publish articles with a reluctant heart.

It didn’t take long for this to happen.

Sung-hyun moved to meet In-hwan at exactly lunchtime.

Sung-hyun walked down the street as if to show off after finishing his meeting with In-hwan, and as a result, articles began to appear overseas that evening.

Eventually, articles were published in Korea the next morning, and now the fact that another healer besides Sung-hyun had appeared was recognized worldwide.

Sung-hyun continued to walk around outside until the day the Korean articles were published, giving them the conviction that he was still in Korea.

The rest was simple.

The DNN [Defense Network News], the Association [Hunter’s Association], and the Academy would take care of Sung-hyun leaving Korea anyway, so Sung-hyun headed back to where Katman was.

“Doesn’t seem like anything special.”

Looking at the village from a distance, there was nothing different from before, but one suspicious thing was visible.

“People keep coming and going.”

And they don’t seem to live in this village.

As Sung-hyun expected, one of the villagers must have used their power or reported it to publish this article.

“Whatever the intention, it helped me this time, so I’ll let it go.”

With this level of proactivity, he would definitely meet them someday when Sung-hyun was touring the village as a Pilgrim.

It wouldn’t be too late to decide on the disposition then.

“Hmm… then I don’t think I need to move urgently.”

Since the first goal had already been achieved, Sung-hyun didn’t need to move urgently right now.

“Still, the number of unrecognized worship subjects is increasing, so should I go back?”

In the meantime, he just needs to avoid being caught as the Pilgrim.

Sung-hyun, who had been contemplating these two options, came down from the hill overlooking the village as if he had finished his 고민 [Korean word meaning ‘worry’ or ‘contemplation’].