I’m Not a Healer, Okay?

CHAPTER 1: The End and the Beginning (3)

According to the analysis of many experts after his death, the gate Min Hajun had cleared before his passing contained toxic spores floating in the air.

The monster he fought wasn’t a poison type, and there were no visible injuries, so no one suspected anything. When his condition suddenly deteriorated, it was attributed to overwork, so he took a day off without participating in the next gate attack. If he’d only continued resting, he probably would have recovered.

But of all times, at that very moment, a gate suddenly opened on a busy street—a rare, evolving-type gate at that.

Believing fewer lives would be lost if he personally intervened, Min Hajun ignored his poor condition and rushed into the gate without knowing what awaited him.

Thus, South Korea lost its strongest fighter without any chance to do anything.

‘How could such a situation even happen?’

There were likely many reasons for this. Evacuating civilians caught in the chaos, protecting the inexperienced hunters who rushed in, and dealing with the monsters simultaneously must have been no easy feat.

But if it were the usual Min Hajun, he likely would have handled it without a scratch.

‘I heard he even cleared an SS-grade gate alone once.’

It’s generally impossible for a person to clear a gate of a higher rank alone, yet he had managed to do so. He was said to be a genius in combat, a hunter capable of utilizing his abilities beyond 100 percent.

But even he couldn’t clear this dungeon alone in his poisoned state.

The spores’ toxins spread faster the more mana was used, likely worsening his condition during battle. His vision blurred, his body slowed, and no matter how long he endured, reinforcements never arrived.

And so, Min Hajun left the world in a meaningless way. And he probably didn’t know how deeply people felt about his absence.

Min Hajun wasn’t just the strongest awakener but also an excellent leader. I heard countless stories about him. Moreover, since the second and third-ranked hunters despised each other, they couldn’t establish a new leadership in his absence.

In the worst situations, people often said, “If only Min Hajun were alive…” Even I, who had never seen him alive since becoming a hunter, thought things might have ended differently if he were still here.

“How did you do that?”

I woke up from my thoughts to the sound of his voice and raised my head. The blood on his face remained, but his expression was much brighter.

“…It’s my skill.”

Though I didn’t give a detailed answer, he seemed to accept it with that explanation alone. He indeed had a polite attitude.

“Thank you. I feel much lighter now.”

I just nodded my head slightly.

I had achieved my initial goal. I wanted to leave this place as soon as possible, but it was also unsettling to leave Min Hajun behind in this ominous place. Who knew what unforeseen events might occur if I left the person who had died here behind?

‘Besides, he would’ve caught that dragon even if I hadn’t come.’

Though he would have struggled a bit, and a few hunters behind him might have been sacrificed.

This meant that the one who killed Min Hajun might not have been the dragon from earlier.

“Are you going to continue clearing the gate?”

“Yes, I have to close it before it grows any larger.”

“Then, I’ll help you.”

At that, a look of discomfort crossed his previously gentle expression.

“I appreciate the offer, but…”

As expected, he was about to refuse, so I simply cut him off.

“I won’t get in your way.”

* * *

“Behind you!”

I shouted after spotting a monster approaching suddenly, but the woman turned and dealt with it before my words even reached her. Her precision was incredible. Her hat flew off in the attack, revealing short hair that fluttered in the air.

The irritating strands poking her eyes seemed to annoy her as she roughly brushed her hair back.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve felt this relaxed.’

I was so accustomed to being at the center of gate strategies that having idle hands felt strange. While I always fought alongside reliable teammates, the feeling was different. “Being assisted” and “fighting as equals” are two different things.

It seemed my teammates were also used to formulating strategies with me at the center, so this individual combat style was something I hadn’t experienced in a long time.

Moreover, she wasn’t using particularly strong skills or high levels of mana, yet her combat prowess was exceptional. With her handling things so well, I had the rare opportunity to observe her fighting style more closely.

‘She’s moving with minimal effort.’

If she’s not exceptionally powerful in terms of stamina or mana, this is an efficient strategy. There was no wasted movement. Given she was fighting for her life, one might expect fear or hesitation, but she didn’t show any emotional vulnerability.

Her attacks targeted only vital points, and when dodging, she moved swiftly with bursts of power. She didn’t look like a hunter who had just awakened.

‘But how did I not know about someone of her skill level until now?’

My mind was filled with questions. A fighter with that level of skill would have stood out regardless of their ranking…

Min Hajun watched her lightly land after tearing the wings and cutting off the head of an insect-type monster, and he completely dismissed his worries.

Actually, there were many questions he wanted to ask her. She acted as if she knew his physical condition beforehand, helped him with some unknown skill, and participated in the gate attack as if she had been waiting for it.

I thought it was a simple matter of poor condition… but it seems like it was more than that. Even though I received treatment from the guild, my body still hadn’t improved, but now it felt incredibly light.

As soon as I thought about it, the sensations from back then came rushing back vividly.

The feeling of a strange energy stirring inside his body wasn’t unpleasant. On the contrary, it was warm and…

‘It felt good.’

Yes, it felt good, like gentle sunlight caressing his body.

‘And now, I feel better than ever.’

It’s beyond mere recovery. I haven’t felt this refreshed since my awakening. Great power comes with side effects, after all.

I was so focused on managing my overflowing mana that headaches became a daily occurrence. Even the sound of the wind brushing past would leave me unnecessarily exhausted.

My personal estate, which no one could enter, often dropped below freezing point at night. I was always tense, worried that letting my guard down even slightly could cause harm to my surroundings.

But now, with the headaches and fatigue gone, his vision was clearer, and he felt more at ease. Right, this is how the world was before his awakening.

“This is bad…”

The world he had just briefly experienced was far more pleasant than he had imagined.

* * *

After finishing off the last monster, I looked around.

No matter how much I thought about it, something felt strange. This was the last one, so the clear notification should have appeared by now. But there was no sign of it. Was there something else left?

‘Well, there’s no way Min Hajun would have died from just this.’

Of course, judging by the number and caliber of monsters so far, the gate was undoubtedly S-class. Even the dragon Min Hajun defeated at the beginning must have been S-class as well.

I couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling, like the calm before the storm.

Turning my head, the Min Hajun in question still looked relaxed. He was casually standing there, melting the ice on the ground. It seemed odd that he was bothering to remove it when it could have melted on its own soon enough.

“Ah, it might be inconvenient to fight later if we leave it as it is.

I must have been staring too blatantly. I quickly turned my head and checked my own condition.

My mana was almost depleted.

“Well, sometimes the clear notification takes a while to appear. This might have been the last one.”

While I was worrying about my precarious mana levels, a voice suddenly spoke right next to me. Startled, I looked up to see Min Hajun smiling brightly. I hadn’t noticed him approaching at all. His eyes crinkled as he smiled, looking much more alive than when we first met.

‘He really is something.’

Even though we cleared the gate with just the two of us after sending everyone else out, the fact that I was still without a single injury was largely thanks to Min Hajun.

Despite facing an absurd number of monsters, he still managed to support me whenever necessary. Every time dangerous moments arise, his ice spikes would fly by immediately.

As he said, the surroundings were already a mire of melted water and blood. My shoes were ruined, caked with sticky sand. My clothes weren’t in much better shape either.

Even if we escaped safely, there was no way I’d make it back unnoticed looking like this.

As I glanced down at my own state, Min Hajun opened his mouth with a hesitant expression. But at that moment—

BOOM!

A deafening sound erupted nearby, coming from an entirely different direction.

The moment he heard the loud sound, Min Hajun conjured an ice spear and casually rotated his wrist, saying:

“I guess that was just wishful thinking.”

“Looks like it.”

At my calm response, he glanced at me curiously.

“Did you know this would happen?”

“No, I’m just used to the worst-case scenarios.”

The first part was a lie, but the second part was true.

You have to subtly mix them up to avoid being noticed.

“You still look young… But I guess hardship knows no age these days.”

I didn’t respond, unsure of what he was thinking.

Min Hajun nodded to himself as if convinced of something, then turned away.

“I’ll go check it out on my own, so stay here.”

“…No, I’m coming with you. If something happens to you, I’m as good as dead anyway.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t go down that easily.”

Do you think I’m crazy enough to leave you all alone after coming this far?

I silently took the lead. Thankfully, he didn’t seem so intent on forcing me to stay, and after trying to dissuade me a few times, he eventually walked beside me.

Though the distance wasn’t far, he kept talking to me along the way.

“You know, I’m not the type to go down so easily.”

“…”

“It’s been ages since I’ve been this injured, too…”

“…”

“Of course, seeing it in person would be much more convincing…”

I quietly muttered to myself that he was far more talkative than I had expected. As expected, rumors can’t be trusted, especially when they’re about someone like him, the legendary “the S-rank hunter who sacrificed himself to protect everyone.” Until now, I had imagined Min Hajun as a man of few words: calm, righteous, and strong—essentially, the epitome of all positive traits.

“Ah, looks like we’ve arrived.”

After walking for a few minutes, a massive edifice came into view.

‘…A pyramid?’