I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 98

Among the guilds qualified to subjugate a Level 3 Gate, some were large enough to divide their forces, while others struggled with their full power.

Basic allocations existed to prevent large guilds from monopolizing Gates and to encourage the growth of small and medium-sized guilds.

These guilds were the primary customers for mercenaries, and this time was no different.

“Is everyone here today?”

A larger-than-usual group of people waited in front of the Gate, preparing to subjugate a Level 3 Gate located in Gangwon Province.

Unfortunately, the Gate had opened in a remote mountain area. After everyone else avoided the assignment, it was eventually allocated to a small to medium-sized guild.

“Mercenaries, please fill out this form.”

A guild member directed the mercenaries, and Seonghyun, wearing a mask, moved among them.

“Huh? Why the mask…”

“Ah, it’s because of a burn.”

At the mention of a burn, the guild member nodded understandingly.

“I see. You can wait over there.”

“Yes.”

The Gate subjugation was about to begin, and Seonghyun waited with the other mercenaries.

“Alright, let’s go in!”

The mercenaries’ role in Gate subjugation was simple: eliminate monsters.

The crystals from the monsters they killed belonged to whoever killed them, so the mercenaries participated enthusiastically.

For small and medium-sized guilds, hiring mercenaries was essentially free; it only slightly reduced their potential profits, making it a worthwhile investment.

“Hey, masked guy.”

“…?”

As Seonghyun was about to enter the Gate, a middle-aged man called out to him.

“You don’t seem to have much experience as a mercenary. Don’t worry too much. With this many people, we can handle any mutations that occur [unexpected and dangerous changes in the monsters].”

The man, assuming Seonghyun was new because he seemed different from typical mercenaries, gave a thumbs up.

“I see. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. Let’s go! We need to sweep up all the crystals.”

The subjugation proceeded smoothly.

Seonghyun moved just enough to contribute without standing out, justifying the cost of hiring him.

“Well, well, you may not have much mercenary experience, but your skills are top-notch!”

The mercenary who had initially reassured Seonghyun laughed and patted his shoulder.

“Seeing as there haven’t been any mutations after this long, this Gate subjugation will probably end without any problems.”

While the mercenaries kept the crystals they collected, the Gate’s boss could only be taken down by the assigned guild members.

“It’s taking a while…”

The time it was taking to defeat the Level 3 Gate boss was unusual.

They should have finished and returned by now, but they hadn’t. All the other monsters had been dealt with, and the mercenaries were stuck inside, unable to leave or hunt further.

“Haa…”

A heavy breathing sound, out of place in the peaceful atmosphere, came from the front. The mercenaries, who had been chatting, turned their attention to it.

“Something… something is wrong.”

“…What do you mean?”

“It’s definitely a Level 3 Gate boss… and there hasn’t been a mutation, but it doesn’t feel like a Level 3 Gate boss.”

The mercenaries exchanged glances, trying to understand the situation, and then spoke to the guild member.

“Let’s go see what’s happening.”

Following the guild member, they arrived at the battle scene.

“We’ve brought the mercenaries!”

“What’s going on?”

The guild leader, at the forefront, paused to catch his breath and replied.

“The attacks… they’re not working. Not with swords, nor with magic.”

The feeling of an attack being blocked and the feeling of an attack not working at all were distinctly different.

If they felt like it was being blocked, they could try to break through. But since it wasn’t working at all, their motivation was dwindling.

“So, you’re asking for help?”

“…”

The guild leader hesitated to ask for help.

They had left most of the smaller monsters to the mercenaries to focus on the Gate’s boss, so asking for help would mean sharing their profits.

‘But getting through this situation comes first.’

“Help…”

“That’s a special monster.”

Before the guild leader could finish, someone cut him off, drawing everyone’s attention.

All eyes were on the masked mercenary.

His tone suggested he knew something.

That single word, implying he knew the monster’s identity, carried a strange weight.

“That monster’s weakness is its fingers.”

“…Huh? Fingers?”

“Fingers? Did I hear that wrong?”

The guild members and mercenaries buzzed with confusion, looking at Seonghyun strangely.

“Can you take responsibility for that statement?”

“Why should I take responsibility?”

“…What? Of course, since you provided the information, you should be responsible.”

The guild leader looked displeased and questioned Seonghyun.

“The choice is yours, Guild Leader. You can trust my words and subjugate it yourself to claim the spoils, or receive our help and share the spoils.”

“…”

“To help you make a choice, the weakness I just mentioned was heard by the other mercenaries here as well.”

If the boss was too strong to even attempt, Seonghyun might have offered to take responsibility.

However, the boss only seemed to have outstanding defense, and asking Seonghyun to take responsibility was passing on the minimum responsibility the guild leader should bear.

“I understand.”

In any case, the guild leader had no choice.

The monster wasn’t overwhelmingly strong, and if Seonghyun’s words were true, they could protect their spoils.

Besides, Seonghyun had nothing to lose.

In fact, Seonghyun was putting himself at a disadvantage by saying that.

Judging from how clearly he drew the line on responsibility, he wasn’t stupid.

“Everyone, attack the fingers!”

The guild members looked reluctant, but it was the guild leader’s order, and they couldn’t afford to share any more spoils with the mercenaries, so they obeyed.

Seonghyun quietly watched the battle.

“Hey, masked friend. Are you sure the fingers are the weakness?”

“Yes.”

“You have an interesting ability, don’t you?”

If they had kept it to themselves, they could have shared in the reward, but the man laughed as if he didn’t care and watched the battle with Seonghyun.

“Fingers, fingers are the weakness!”

Seonghyun’s words were true.

They hadn’t succeeded in landing accurate attacks yet, but every time an attack headed towards the fingers, the monster flinched, indicating a vital point.

Once they identified the opponent’s vital point, the attack became much easier.

Easy enough to handle it alone.

“…”

The Level 3 Gate subjugation ended anticlimactically.

“Alright, everyone, you’ve worked hard!”

There were no mutations to worry about, and no further distribution of spoils to worry about even more.

For the guild leader, it was a perfect day.

“What, is the guild leader just leaving like that?”

The mercenary who had been talking to Seonghyun frowned and approached the guild leader.

“Hey, Guild Leader.”

“What is it?”

“Shouldn’t there be a distribution for that masked friend at least?”

“Ah… yes, well. I understand.”

Although he looked reluctant, the guild leader knew that without Seonghyun’s advice, he would have had to distribute more spoils to the other mercenaries.

“Your name was… A, right? How should we distribute it…?”

“Do it according to the rules.”

“I understand.”

He had cautiously expected Seonghyun to refuse, but there was no chance.

“Everyone, let’s go out! The Gate will close soon.”

On the way out, the middle-aged mercenary spoke to Seonghyun again.

“Masked friend, I thought you were just good at fighting, but you know how to take care of your share?”

“Didn’t you take care of it for me?”

“Haha! You’re good at social life too!”

After laughing, the man extended his hand to Seonghyun as they exited the Gate.

“My name is Kim Cheon-joong… What’s your real name? Ah, you probably used the name A because it would be difficult to reveal it.”

“Kim… Cheon-joong, you said?”

“Huh? Do you know me?”

Even until right before Seonghyun regressed [returned to an earlier point in time], Kim Cheon-joong had lived his entire life as a mercenary.

But he wasn’t just any mercenary.

He had overwhelming power, earning him the title of Mercenary King, and his friendly and cheerful personality seemed perfectly suited to the mercenary lifestyle.

Befitting his job, he was a wanderer who traveled not only around Korea but all over the world.

‘For such a person to be here now.’

It was an unexpected encounter he hadn’t even imagined.

He wasn’t someone Seonghyun would normally meet, so he hadn’t even considered his existence.

“No. It’s just that the name is similar to someone I know.”

“That’s boring. But when did you start working as a mercenary? According to your profile, you used to work as a mercenary and just changed your name… I’ve never seen a mercenary like you before.”

Kim Cheon-joong had a friendly smile, but Seonghyun could instinctively sense his wariness.

“Does that matter?”

“…What?”

Kim Cheon-joong was taken aback by Seonghyun’s confident answer.

Then he laughed and said.

“Haha! That’s right! That’s not important. Because we are mercenaries.”

Kim Cheon-joong, thinking that Seonghyun’s current appearance might be the most suitable for a mercenary, turned and said.

“Let’s see each other again if we have the chance. But I think we will see each other again soon.”

“Yes.”

It would have been good to get close to someone like Kim Cheon-joong, but Seonghyun acted as if he had no regrets.

‘He’s the kind of person you can’t get close to unless you do this.’

Kim Cheon-joong wasn’t someone you could get close to by being friendly or considerate.

He was someone you could get close to by stimulating his curiosity.

It seemed like he was already halfway there, so Seonghyun finished the distribution and left.

It was the first day in a long time that Seonghyun’s original ability had been useful.

“So, there are 18 Gates left like this.”

[Place connected to an unknown force 2/20]

The Gate didn’t mutate today, but he didn’t know what would happen next.

“Let’s go back now.”

The upcoming subjugation schedule was quite tight.

It was what Seonghyun wanted, so the manager had set up a very demanding schedule.

There was a Level 3 Gate subjugation almost every day.

He didn’t know what would happen, so he had to prepare as much as possible.

Seonghyun headed straight home and began making potions with Materialization [the ability to create objects from nothing].

‘There might be situations where it’s difficult to use them during battle.’

The maximum number he could make was about 100 bottles.

He could only make them again after a 2-hour break.

“If I keep making them, there won’t be any space left.”

The closet that already took up one side of Seonghyun’s room was full of potions.

As he was about to make 100 more potions and put them in the last remaining closet, a window appeared.

[Materialization proficiency has increased.]

[Materialization usage count is doubled.]