Chapter 56 -----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Healer and Healer (1)
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Safe Dungeon, the Association-operated rest area located in the northwest, 'Cloud Bridge'.
Inside the rest area, where a cloud-shaped structure was displayed at the entrance, Awakeners gathered in small groups, eating food or taking breaks.
At a corner outdoor table, a woman in a Nano Suit was sipping an iced coffee.
With her cold, chilly gaze and expressionless face, the woman, from whom a frigid aura seemed to emanate from her skin, was Shin Chaeyoung, the healer of the Special Response Team.
"Should I head home?"
Shin Chaeyoung, who had been gazing at the sky reflected in the energy barrier, stood up.
The bizarre appearances of Hidden Monsters that had occurred recently were gradually dying down, and the dungeons had regained their peace.
It seemed like there wouldn't be any incidents today either.
'No, I can't say there aren't any.'
Yes. For Shin Chaeyoung—no, for the Special Response Team—there was always one unresolved issue. It was dealing with the unregistered Awakener called the Heavenly Demon who lived next door.
'The team leader aside, Eunho and Manjae oppa have completely fallen for him…'
While Shin Chaeyoung was lost in such thoughts after finishing her coffee.
Thud.
At that moment, a dull sound rang out, followed by the murmur of people at the rest area entrance.
Rushing quickly toward the entrance, she saw Awakeners collapsed on the floor, writhing in agony and trembling.
"Urghhh."
Pushing through the murmuring crowd, she saw men groaning in pain.
Judging by their work clothes stamped with a round mark rather than combat Nano Suits, they appeared to be Awakeners employed by a company that harvested dungeon materials.
"Damn it, the medicine isn't working!"
One of the fallen Awakeners tossed aside the medicine bottle he was holding, his face contorted in pain.
Recovery potions and treatments from Awakener shops were scattered all over the floor, suggesting they had sustained severe injuries.
"Does anyone have a healing skill?"
Unable to stand by any longer, one of the rest area staff shouted, but the surrounding Awakeners only glanced at each other's faces.
Healing-related skills manifested very rarely. That was why healers were the most sought-after when recruiting team members.
"I can do it."
Shin Chaeyoung stepped forward without hesitation.
Healing skills were classified into various types, such as fatigue recovery, wound repair, detoxification, and vitality enhancement.
But Shin Chaeyoung was a super top-tier healer who could use the S-grade Healing Factor, a skill exceptional in all fields.
"Where are you injured?"
As she examined the injured man and prepared to activate her skill, a puzzled look flickered in Shin Chaeyoung's eyes.
No matter how closely she checked, there were no wounds at all, nor any signs of poisoning.
"W-wound?"
The man barely opened his eyes at her question.
"There's no wound."
"Where does it hurt? I'll treat you."
The man, who had been gritting his teeth to endure the pain, began trembling violently.
"T-treatment?"
"Yes."
"Don't do it."
"Pardon?"
"I'd rather just… die. Dying is better."
The man suddenly started spouting nonsense, then began foaming at the mouth again.
"I don't want any treatment!"
Trembling as if in a seizure, the man passed out before he could say more.
With no other choice, Shin Chaeyoung injected her Healing Factor, which had powerful vitality enhancement effects, into the collapsed man.
'He's perfectly fine.'
But no matter how much she poured in, the Healing Factor had no effect. In other words, the man's body was in an utterly healthy state.
"Ugh… kill me. Kill me."
"Excuse me. The skill isn't working. You're in perfect condition right now."
"Don't make me laugh. I'm dying right now."
The man rambled incoherently and writhed in agony once more.
As Shin Chaeyoung blinked in confusion at the incomprehensible situation, one of the onlookers clicked his tongue.
"Looks like… that's happened again."
Turning her head, Shin Chaeyoung locked eyes with a man who had his long hair tied back in a ponytail.
"What?"
"That quack clinic that was on the news a while back."
"Quack… clinic?"
"You know, some crazy guy handing out weird drugs that drove Awakeners insane."
At that moment, Shin Chaeyoung recalled the incident that had caused a huge stir among Awakeners for a time.
A figure in a bizarre mask had suddenly appeared and distributed recovery potions to injured Awakeners, but they were actually drugs that turned people berserk.
As a result, countless Awakeners had turned into berserkers, turning the dungeon areas into chaos for a while.
"There are rumors that the lunatic has shown up again recently. Apparently, he's tormenting people to death under the guise of treatment."
At the ponytail man's words, a cold glint poured from Shin Chaeyoung's eyes.
'I need to catch him!'
Seeing the states of the writhing Awakeners, it was possible the culprit hadn't left the Safe Dungeon area yet.
Turning around, Shin Chaeyoung injected her Healing Factor into the fainted man. But this time, instead of healing, she pushed in its powerful anesthetic effect.
"Gasp."
In an instant, the pain and fatigue vanished, and the Awakener who had passed out snapped his eyes open.
"Wh-what happened? The pain suddenly…"
"Where is that person?"
"P-person?"
"The one who left you like this."
At Shin Chaeyoung's question, the man answered with a bewildered expression.
"Near the Dummy Dungeon to the southeast…"
Without even hearing the full story, Shin Chaeyoung kicked off the ground and dashed away.
Just as Hidden Monster appearances had quieted down, now some bastard was spreading fake drugs to sow chaos among Awakeners.
If she didn't catch him this time, the Safe Dungeon area would plunge into chaos again at any moment.
Whoosh.
With every stride, the hem of her clothes fluttered as if about to tear.
Though a healer, Shin Chaeyoung's physical awakening was 3rd Grade. Each step propelled her forward like an arrow slicing through the air.
Far ahead, in front of the pitch-black Dummy Dungeon shaped like a scarecrow, a shadow wearing a rabbit mask was crouching.
'That's the one.'
The rabbit-masked figure was extremely emaciated, with hair spilling out from under the mask.
Seeing the bedding and medicine bottles placed on a small table in front of them confirmed to Shin Chaeyoung that this was the culprit behind the incident.
"Wait. Hold it!"
Leaping into the air, Shin Chaeyoung swiftly cut in front of the rabbit mask like a hawk snatching prey.
"You're the one who ran that quack clinic before, right?"
"Yes?"
It seemed a speaker was attached inside the mask, as a clear woman's voice mixed with mechanical tones emerged.
"Quack clinic?"
"You know, the one wandering dungeons in a kettle mask, handing out weird drugs."
At Shin Chaeyoung's interrogation, the rabbit-masked woman shook her head.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Don't lie. I just heard it from an Awakener who survived your hands."
"What on earth are you talking about?"
How brazen, after bringing people to the brink of death.
"You've threatened the safety of multiple Awakeners in the dungeon and committed illegal acts."
Raising an eyebrow, Shin Chaeyoung pulled out her ID from her pocket.
"I'm Shin Chaeyoung of the Korean Awakener Association's Special Response Team. Under the Awakener Special Act, I'm placing you under emergency arrest."
"Me? Why?"
"You just attacked those male Awakeners here."
"No. I treated them."
"Under the pretext of treatment, you harmed them."
"Harmed them?"
An aggrieved voice leaked from behind the rabbit mask.
"Those people were attacked by Mystic Scorpions. Two were poisoned, and one had bones dislocated all over their body."
Lifting her head, the rabbit-masked woman stared straight at Shin Chaeyoung.
"Is treating the poisoned and realigning the dislocated bones a crime?"
Suddenly, Shin Chaeyoung recalled the states of the Awakeners at the rest area. They had been in extreme pain, but there were no poisoning symptoms, and their lives weren't in danger.
"Stop lying. They had no poisoning symptoms, and their bones were fine."
"I realigned the bones myself and administered an antidote for Scorpion venom."
"An antidote?"
"It's the principle of fighting poison with poison. I couldn't make a proper antidote on the spot, so I injected a corresponding poison."
Analyzing poison on the spot and injecting a counter-poison? Was that even possible?
Shin Chaeyoung's raised eyebrow twitched with disbelief in her eyes.
"You made a poison to counter the poison right there?"
"Yes."
Even with advanced medicine, no doctor possessed such a technique. Did that mean this rabbit-masked woman was an Awakener with a skill to neutralize poisons?
"Are you a healer too?"
"No, I'm not."
"Then do you have a medical license?"
"No."
"Then it's unlicensed medical practice."
The rabbit-masked woman spoke without a shred of shame.
"I just treated people who were dying from critical wounds. Is that a crime?"
If what the rabbit-masked woman said was true, it might violate medical laws, but she had only saved dying lives.
Considering the urgency and justification, it could even be socially acceptable.
"I have a duty to prevent dangers and chaos in dungeon areas."
But Shin Chaeyoung's gaze and voice remained unchanged.
"Even if everything you've said is true, that doesn't change the fact that you broke the law."
"If saving dying people is illegal, then I'll break the law a thousand times over."
Though wearing a ridiculous mask, her voice was infused with strong conviction.
'She's crazy. Or…'
Judging by her attitude, she wouldn't be persuaded easily and would resist fiercely. Shin Chaeyoung subtly pressed the emergency button on her phone and spoke again.
"What exactly did you do to make people suffer like that? The Awakener who came to the rest area was on the verge of death."
"Realigning bones and removing poison isn't easy. It comes with tremendous pain."
"And the incident before that… what was your intent?"
"What previous incident?"
"The fake drug case. People went berserk because of the stimulants you handed out."
The rabbit-masked woman firmly shook her head.
"It wasn't stimulants. I just made and distributed elixirs that recover fatigue and unleash potential abilities."
Pride filled the voice coming from the speaker attached to the rabbit mask.
"Thanks to that medicine, countless Awakeners who entered dungeons saved their lives. But… the backlash from unleashing that potential caused some Awakeners to lose control of their overflowing power."
As if recalling that time, the rabbit-masked woman shook her head.
"So I stopped distributing the drugs and went back to treating the injured. Is that wrong?"
Shin Chaeyoung coldly shook her head.
"I told you. It's unlicensed treatment."
"But I…"
Just as the rabbit-masked woman opened her mouth to speak.
Rumble!
The ground suddenly shook as if an earthquake had struck. At the same time, a massive shadow rose amid clouds of dust near the western sky.
"That's…!"
Seeing the Gigant Pep-like monster, Shin Chaeyoung's eyes widened.
It was Gigant Pep, a Hidden Monster with a danger level nearing 10,000.
* * *
Safe Dungeon area, southeast C-grade dungeon 'Drum Can'.
A shadow carrying a large sack on its back charged forward, stirring up a storm. It was the Heavenly Demon.
"Strange. Didn't they say Hidden Monsters manifest under specific conditions?"
Standing on the rooftop of an abandoned building overlooking the Drum Can Dungeon entrance, the Heavenly Demon gazed at the Gigant Pep striking down Awakeners. He stood rigidly upright.
"You're saying pulling that wide flower made it pop out?"
The sack on the Heavenly Demon's back was stuffed full of heart-shaped flowers.
These 'Hula Hula Flowers,' known for their sour citrus scent and special efficacy against neuralgia, only bloomed near the Drum Can Dungeon.
The Heavenly Demon had come to pick them when Gigant Pep suddenly appeared, forcing him to flee here.
[Probably… that Gigant Pep seems to be a pair with the one Heavenly Demon-nim killed before.]
Nameless, perched on the Heavenly Demon's shoulder and looking up at Gigant Pep, spoke.
[It's just a guess, though.]
"A pair?"
[When Heavenly Demon-nim dealt with Gigant Pep before, it seems a pair appeared, not just one. Otherwise, why would a suddenly appearing Hidden Monster pursue only Heavenly Demon-nim so obsessively?]
The Heavenly Demon clenched his fists, staring at the distant roaring Gigant Pep.
"Either way, I'll handle it."
[No, you can't.]
"Why not."
[Gigant Pep is already fighting the gathered Awakeners. Stepping in would draw attention.]
At the unexpected response, the Heavenly Demon couldn't hide his surprise. Nameless, who always prioritized Awakener lives even if it meant certain death, was now advising against intervening?
Sensing the Heavenly Demon's inner thoughts, Nameless continued.
[Heavenly Demon-nim usually finishes things in one blow, right? Most Hidden Monsters so far appeared because of Heavenly Demon-nim's single strikes.]
"Hmm."
[Honestly, I'm afraid that if Heavenly Demon-nim mishandles Gigant Pep here, an even bigger Hidden Monster might emerge.]
It was as Nameless said.
Strangely, whenever the Heavenly Demon got involved, unheard-of rare Hidden Monsters appeared.
Moreover, the area around Drum Can Dungeon was full not only of Awakeners raiding monsters but also delivery workers specializing in harvesting dungeon materials.
"You want me to just leave?"
[Yes. Looking at the Awakeners in combat, they seem capable of winning without major casualties.]
The Heavenly Demon looked back at the Awakeners fighting Gigant Pep. Indeed, with multiple Awakeners combining their strength, the power was formidable.
That was why Awakeners formed teams: diverse skills united to amplify power and lead battles advantageously with varied tactics.
"Hmm."
As the Heavenly Demon turned with a resigned expression.
"Aaack!"
Several in the group of battling Awakeners were struck by Gigant Pep's arm and fell like dominoes.
It seemed this number of people wasn't enough for the Awakeners to take down Gigant Pep.
[I'm sorry. Seeing Heavenly Demon-nim eliminate them so easily, I miscalculated.]
Nameless, buzzing softly, sneakily glanced at the sack on the Heavenly Demon's back.
[I'm sorry, but did you bring the disguise you bought before by any chance?]
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