I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 2

“I, I’m okay. I’m alright.”

Sung-hyun rose from his seat as if nothing had happened, trying to reassure his younger sister and mother.

‘What on earth… I should have died for sure?’

It wasn’t just any death.

He had been pierced through the heart by a monster and had certainly died.

That terrible memory and vivid pain could never be a lie.

“But Oppa, where are you going this morning?”

“Where am I going? Of course, to work…”

Sung-hyun, about to say he was going to work, stopped himself as if he realized something.

At those words, the sound of chopping from the kitchen ceased.

“…Sung-hyun-ah. Work? What are you talking about?”

“Yes? Ah, no, I mean… I, yes. I’m going on a trip with friends.”

“…Is that so?”

His mother had always hated Sung-hyun working.

‘Was it during summer vacation of my first year in the Academy?’

When he first told his mother that he would work during the vacation, she had firmly said there was no need.

“The semester starts in just a few days; you should rest enough before going back.”

“…Yes.”

Sung-hyun bit his lower lip.

His mother had always been like this.

She was the type who thought sacrificing herself was natural.

“Daughter! Can you bring in the laundry from outside?”

“Ugh… Okay.”

Soon, his younger sister went outside, and Sung-hyun was about to go to the bathroom to clear his head when a small groan was heard.

“Ugh!”

“Mom!”

He knew very well that it was nothing, but his body reacted first.

Sung-hyun immediately went to his mother and grabbed her hand, which had been cut by the knife.

“It’s okay. It’s nothing.”

Far more calluses than Sung-hyun remembered showed how his mother had been living.

‘…Did I really do my best?’

Suddenly, the things before he came back flashed through his mind.

Had there ever been a time when he blamed his surroundings, hearing that he was always at the bottom?

Had he really worked hard enough not to be ashamed of anyone?

“This kid… I said it’s okay…”

His mother, trying to pull her hand away, suddenly realized that she couldn’t feel any pain at the tip of her finger.

“Huh…?”

And it was the same for Sung-hyun.

The blood that had been flowing from her finger had stopped.

It wasn’t just that the bleeding had stopped.

The slightly cracked wound had closed as if it had never been there, disappearing without a trace.

“Sung, Sung-hyun-ah. What is this…!”

“I, I don’t know…”

Sung-hyun and his mother stared at the wound with wide eyes.

Looking at the situation, it was clear that Sung-hyun had healed her.

Just then, his younger sister’s presence and voice were heard from outside.

“Mom! Do I have to fold all of these?”

“Huh? Ah, yes! Can you fold them all?”

His mother pulled her hand away from Sung-hyun and looked at him.

“Mom doesn’t know anything.”

“…”

“The choice is yours. Got it?”

“…Yes.”

Sung-hyun’s mother knew very well.

That in this country, no, in this world, the ability Sung-hyun possessed was unique.

It was something that often appeared on TV.

Many researchers had been studying for quite some time why healing-related abilities were not being developed among the many abilities, but of course, there were no results.

This ability, which so many people longed for, had manifested in Sung-hyun.

But Sung-hyun was not at all happy with the ability he now possessed.

Rather, he resented it.

Why give him such an ability?

With the ability Sung-hyun had now, he couldn’t protect anyone.

It was an emergency ability that only made the situation from the worst to the second worst when he failed to protect them.

As he looked in the bathroom mirror and only sighed, an unidentified window appeared in the air.

[A New Beginning]

[You have gained a new life! Are you going to stay like this?]

Sung-hyun stared blankly at the window with content like an advertisement.

“…Am I going crazy?”

[One Who Pioneers the Past]

[Open: Healing]

[Healing: Heals the target. Small wounds can be restored to their original state without a trace.]

Considering what had just happened, it didn’t seem like he was seeing things.

And the source of that ability was probably this unidentified window.

“So, I can heal small wounds instantly.”

Frankly, it was still a meager level.

Seeing that concepts like levels, which he was familiar with, were not present, he wondered if it was even an ability that could grow.

“I need to check it properly.”

Sung-hyun immediately picked up a razor.

Then, he cut his finger with the blade.

At the same time as the stinging sensation, blood began to flow, and soon Sung-hyun looked at his finger.

“Do I just have to think about it?”

Surely he didn’t have to shout, “Heal!”, so Sung-hyun focused on his finger and had the thought of healing.

Then, as before when he healed his mother’s finger, the blood that had been flowing instantly evaporated, and the wound that had opened healed as if it had never been there.

“I’m curious about how much damage is possible…”

But he couldn’t cut off his finger to the point where it was dangling, so he decided to find out later.

“What should I do with this ability?”

If he had obtained an ability related to combat, not the ability to heal, he could have used his strength without much worry, but this ability was not like that.

If this fact became widely known later, it was obvious that countless political figures from various countries or top-tier Hunters [individuals with superhuman abilities] who were injured would come rushing in for treatment.

‘And if I refuse… they might try to eliminate me.’

Just as not all countries can be on good terms, not all Hunters can have strong relationships.

If he tried to heal an opponent they had barely caught, Sung-hyun could become the target.

“But… there’s no choice.”

Sung-hyun had to survive in the Academy.

He had to achieve top grades, not just barely scrape by.

To do that, he had to reveal the healing ability he had now obtained.

And if that happened, what Sung-hyun needed most was at least enough strength to protect himself.

He needed the strength to protect at least his family.

“Haa… it’s frustrating.”

The period left until the Academy’s opening was only about a week.

It was virtually impossible to gain great power within that time.

“In the end, there’s only one option.”

He had to figure out how far the newly acquired healing ability could go and whether there were any restrictions on the number of uses.

“Oppa! The food’s ready, are you still not done?”

“Ah, I’m coming out.”

Sung-hyun, who opened the bathroom door, couldn’t easily take his feet off the sight that unfolded before his eyes.

A scene he thought he would never see again.

Kimchi stew, which he used to eat whenever he felt like it before returning, was placed on the table.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you sitting down?”

“…Yes.”

Sung-hyun barely moved his feet, which wouldn’t fall, and sat down.

“Thank you for the meal.”

Sung-hyun, holding the spoon with a slightly trembling hand, forcibly pushed down something that kept welling up in his chest and began to eat.

“I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Be careful.”

Sung-hyun went outside for a while to soothe his complicated mind.

“I have to decide.”

After the Academy’s opening, if he voluntarily reported the development of a new ability, there would be support depending on the value of that ability.

In fact, when someone who had barely entered the Academy before caused a re-emergence of their ability, the Academy began to provide full support.

“If it’s a healing ability, I’ll be able to receive support too.”

Of course, there were also inconveniences.

There were cases where he had to move for the powerful figures who supported the Academy.

“Okay, let’s aim to graduate from the Academy safely and in the top ranks for now.”

As he finished his decision and was about to leave, he heard a whimpering sound from somewhere.

“What is it?”

He headed to where the sound was coming from, and it was coming from the bushes.

When he rummaged through the bushes and went inside, there was a dog lying on the ground with an injured leg, and a puppy was whimpering and licking it next to it.

“Oh dear…”

Looking at the condition of the fallen dog, it didn’t seem like a minor injury.

The way it was breathing heavily, it didn’t seem strange if it stopped breathing at any moment.

“I don’t have the money to send you to the hospital…”

Sung-hyun, about to leave with a pitiful expression, paused for a moment.

‘Wait, can I use my ability?’

Sung-hyun immediately headed to the fallen dog.

The puppy seemed to sense that Sung-hyun had no malice, and it didn’t show any signs of wariness, but looked at Sung-hyun with pleading eyes.

“Hoo…”

Sung-hyun placed his hand on the fallen dog’s body.

Then, he started healing as he had done in the bathroom.

Not long after placing his hand, the small breath of the dog, which had been heard heavily until just now, gradually became stable.

The swollen belly had subsided, and the leg that had been bleeding was clean as if nothing had happened.

As if knowing that its mother was getting better, the puppy wagged its tail and circled around its mother.

“It doesn’t seem to take long.”

The healing seemed to have been easier than he thought.

No, it seemed like that.

“…Huh?”

At the pain he felt in his chest, Sung-hyun grabbed his chest and collapsed on the spot.

“Cough…! Wh, why…!”

He tried to heal himself as he had healed them before, but unfortunately, it had no effect at all.

“Whine…”

The dog, which had recovered quickly, was already up and licking Sung-hyun’s shoes next to him.

As if worried.

“I, I’m okay.”

Sung-hyun stroked the dog’s head, slowly took a breath, and got up from his seat as the pain subsided.

“What on earth is this…”

In front of Sung-hyun, who was confused because he couldn’t grasp the situation, the window that had been seen in the bathroom earlier reappeared.

[Open: Sacrifice]

[Sacrifice: You feel the pain felt by the target you healed as it is. This pain is not affected by healing.]

“…Ha.”

It was absurd.

He was given an unwanted ability, and then there was a restriction on that ability, a huge restriction.

“This is like telling me not to use the ability…”

Come to think of it, when he healed his mother earlier, he felt a slight tingling sensation at the tip of his finger, and it seemed to be because of this.

“Come to think of it, does this window only appear when I recognize something has changed?”

The same was true of the window related to healing, and it was the same now.

It seemed that the window only appeared when Sung-hyun recognized that something had changed.

More than that, he didn’t know that the pain this little dog felt would be so great.

“…You’ve been through a lot too.”

Sung-hyun stroked the dog again and came out of the bushes.

“Although it’s not good news… I got information about the ability.”

Well, there was no way he would be given such an ability so easily.

Since there were no potions or anything like that, Hunters had been receiving the same treatment as ordinary people.

“Rather, this is more comfortable.”

If he had been given this ability without any restrictions, he would have been more anxious.

He had checked what kind of side effects there were, so he had gained quite a big harvest.