episode_0050

“Ha-yul?”

A voice that helped me when I was pondering what to do at the gate terminal.

Elia Slayde. A woman compared to a chick. Someone who has helped me a lot in the past month.

I hesitated for a moment.

I was about to throw a punch, but the moment I realized it was Elia, my fist lost its strength.

There’s a reason. This is a tower where competition among rookies is allowed, and there’s a massive score of 1000 points hanging around my neck, and I am currently in a blank state.

There’s no reason not to fight. Whether we’re in the same rookie class or not, this is a space created for us to fight each other.

Collaboration is not uncommon, but my value as a rookie is meaningless while I am in a blank state. Therefore, collaboration is also meaningless.

The most sensible action for Elia to take here would be to shoot magic at me and eliminate me.

The most sensible action for me to take is to attack first before the magic erupts.

I couldn’t do it. Elia suddenly approached and reached out her hand. A hand imbued with magic approached.

“Wow. What is all this…”

It was a hand imbued with healing magic. As I felt the amplified senses and the gentle touch of her hand on my cheek, an unfamiliar sensation pierced my mind.

‘…Hng!’

I almost screamed. No, rather, it was a kind of sensation that I had never imagined in my life, so I couldn’t even scream.

The magical power seeped into my cheek.

It was different from the clumsy healing magic I had cast.

A healing ability unique to the healing category, magical power transformed by its influence and specialized healing magic that assists the unique ability.

At this moment, where I perceive the world through magic, it all felt fake. Energy seeped through the wound. A radiant energy spread throughout my body, healing the wound.

The energy split into two branches and seeped into my body.

One energy settled in the wound, boosting vitality and leading my inherent healing ability, while the other energy led the regeneration of the injured flesh.

Unique Ability “Recovery Melody”

A unique ability that allows for the appropriate division and use of two types of recovery: immediate recovery that burdens the patient and slow but less burdensome recovery amplification.

Depending on the owner’s skill, it allows for precise manipulation, wielding a healing ability that welcomes any challenge with open arms.

“This is all from the wounds? Oh my…”

Elia sighed with pity. As a result, the output of her unique ability increased slightly. The energy seeping into the wound intensified.

‘Ugh… Wait a moment.’

– Flinch.

“Ha-yul, please endure a little even if it hurts.”

“No, it’s not the pain…! Huh!”

It was too, too ticklish? Gentle? What should I call it? It was closer to ticklish, but it was a sensation too stimulating to be ruled by mere ticklishness.

I desperately suppressed my body to prevent a scream from bursting out. Even so, my body still trembled.

“Right, just a little more…”

The wounds gradually improved. It wasn’t at full recovery yet, but it had reached a level where basic combat was possible.

I focused on immediate healing. I was conscious of my trembling hands. The warmth of the wound gradually diminished.

The wounds I received were diverse.

The most common were wounds from Kanggi. I was slashed by a sword containing Kanggi, stabbed by a spear, hit by a mace, and even had arrows stuck in me.

There were also wounds from magic and wounds from special unique abilities.

I used all means to avoid, block, and dodge vital points, but the wounds accumulated.

A transcendent being is different from an ordinary human. Their recovery ability surpasses normal levels. Wounds heal faster, and even wounds that cannot be healed recover.

However, what has increased is not only the ability to recover but also the ability to inflict wounds.

Ordinary wounds might not be known, but when the mana of another supernatural being, another ‘uniqueness,’ disturbs the wound, recovery becomes slower. In severe cases, permanent damage can occur.

The pouring energy stopped. Elia, who exhaled a sigh tinged with faint weariness, lowered the hand that was soothing the wound.

“I’ll stop here for now. Pushing further will be too much for recovery.”

Understood?

The conversation ended there. As if in response to a demanding tone, I struggled to breathe through the sensation and hesitated to speak.

‘Uhh…’

It was difficult to say anything. I couldn’t speak because of the curse, and I didn’t even know what to say.

As I hesitated, Elia seemed to hesitate to say something to hear the answer.

After that, primitive treatment continued.

After roughly handling the herbs and applying them to the still raw wound, a soft material similar to a bandage was wrapped around it. My body twisted at the intermittent contact.

I felt a strong sensation without a doubt.

“Oh, stop moving. I can’t do it if you move.”

Unable to resist, I flinched like a fish as Elia spoke in a stern voice. It was a tone as if scolding a child.

It was absurd, but I couldn’t resist it at that moment.

How long did I endure? When my breathing became rough, the treatment finally ended.

The wound was somewhat healed. Suppressing groans and a trembling body, I felt dizzy.

As I lay on the floor panting, a gentle hand touched my head.

“You endured well. Good job, good job…”

A voice as if talking to a child. At the same time, as the gentle hand continued to stroke my head, I felt like a child.

Over time, I gradually adapted to it.

At first, it was exhilarating and ticklish, but now it felt even more comfortable than before, melting into my skin.

As my mind was still foggy due to the bleeding, I continued to be stroked, and drowsiness gradually crept in.

‘No, this won’t do.’

Tap, tap. I patted my cheeks with both hands.

Fortunately, thanks to Elia’s healing, my life was prolonged. Since I wasn’t eliminated, I could now consider the future.

I still felt half-asleep. As I was about to pat my cheeks again, a cautious hand intervened with my right hand.

The culprit was Elia. For some reason, she was gently stroking… more precisely, the area under my arm.

“Are you okay, Halyul?”

What does it mean to be okay… Ah, my right hand?

I tentatively touched my right hand. The bare skin… felt uncomfortable in many ways.

The uniforms provided by Siyol here were not damaged, but casual clothing could be removed. It seemed like my sleeve had slipped down while applying the ointment.

Is that a burn mark?

I hesitated to speak, discreetly observing Elia’s reaction.

I was worried she might find it repulsive.

I wanted to ask, but my mouth was in no condition to speak. Besides, I didn’t have a smartwatch.

It was endlessly frustrating.

I furrowed my brow slightly, then, out of caution, I withdrew my hand from the stroking hand.

Then, I alternated the movements of my hands and gestured in the air.

Sign language… or is it called sign language nowadays?

Anyway, I learned it for a reason. It was knowledge I had picked up and forgotten after my throat was healed, but now I tried using it just in case.

When I first came to this world, I wondered if I would have to use sign language again, but thanks to the smartwatch and holograms, I had retained that knowledge in the back of my mind.

There was no response from Elia. It seemed she didn’t understand. I wasn’t disappointed by that.

I didn’t expect to understand everything from the beginning. It was just an impulsive attempt out of frustration that suddenly surged.

There might be parts that I had learned and forgotten a long time ago.

In the original world, sign languages differed from country to country. With such a different world, it could be a completely different system.

I fell into contemplation again. How can I express my thoughts─

“It’s okay now… right?”

Ella tilted her head with a smile.

Unconsciously, I turned my head towards Ella. I never thought she would understand.

A worry that I might have guessed right.

I moved my hand again.

“Do you understand… Yes, I know. How do you know… I see. That’s interesting.”

Cross-validation complete. She was reading the sign language.

As I expressed my surprise, Ella chuckled. She explained that the Tower translates even sign languages included in languages.

I was puzzled by what kind of structure the Tower was to make such a thing possible.

“But if you don’t know sign language at all, it’s not very effective. I have a younger sibling in my family who was physically weak.”

Oh, damn. Stepped on a landmine.

My face stiffened. I touched on a sensitive topic.

“Don’t make that face. She’s much better now. Besides, it was only for a short time, and now she has a smartwatch, you know?”

Seeing my frozen expression, Ella reassured me.

Judging by her reaction, the burn scars didn’t seem to be repulsive. Or maybe she was just not showing it.

“I have three younger siblings, and among them, the youngest sister was born weak. She couldn’t see well, had a weak voice… and her hearing was bad too.”

Ella continued.

“So until she received treatment, it was really dangerous. Fortunately, she received good treatment, and now there are no more problems. She’s still getting better.”

While saying that, she caressed my right arm.

“Um… So, Hyul was kind to her because she resembled my sister. Being physically weak, curling up like a wet puppy when left alone, not knowing what to do when helped, liking to be petted like this… most of all, being cute.”

She listed the reasons one by one. But hearing it made me feel extremely embarrassed.

“So I treated Hyul like my sister. If it made you feel bad, I’m sorry.”

I immediately shook my head. Why would I feel bad? I should be grateful for the consideration.

Upon hearing my response, Ella sighed as if relieved.

After that, I chatted with Ella to regain my strength.

The incident where my sensing ability was turned off when I first entered, being chased for over a day by chance, falling asleep in a tree and almost falling off…

It was more like killing time with the use of clumsy sign language, rather than progressing the story. Just a way to pass the time.

And then, it happened. Besides Ella’s breathing next to me, the only thing I heard was the sound of raindrops falling in my ear.

It started to rain beyond the cave. What started with a few drops soon turned into a downpour.

“It’s suddenly pouring.”

Ella, who occasionally touched my head and chatted, looked puzzled as she raised her staff. The arranged magic was set up at the entrance of the cave to prevent water from coming in.

“Still, luckily, if it rains heavily like this, many trackers would give up.”

No matter how powerful a superhuman may be, they cannot completely ignore the natural environment. It’s natural that it’s harder to track someone down on a day when it’s pouring rain like this, rather than on a sunny day.

I felt somewhat relieved by the rain. Since it was raining, I could worry a little less about being pursued…

– Thud

Just as I was thinking that, someone in the distance started approaching, making the sound of footsteps.

“…Hayul?”

Even Elia, who saw my frozen face, showed a tense expression.

The footsteps came closer and closer to the entrance of the cave. It was a somewhat familiar sound.

And it was a chilling and cold magic power.

“Knock, knock~”

A clear voice, different from the footsteps, came from beyond the curtain that covered the entrance of the cave.

“Want to make a snowman together~?”

A random remark.

Elia, who had been visibly tense, tilted her head and whispered to me. The warm breath on my ear sent a shiver down my spine.

“Isn’t that a line from a movie during the Selekkiwon era?”

…In the first place, the Selekkiwon was a natural occurrence.

I nodded my head, hiding my uneasiness.