Ch.8383. Legendary Healer Kim Soo-hyun

A healer is an extremely important position in a hunter’s party.

In dungeons where you can’t afford to chug recovery potions that cost hundreds of thousands of won each time you get hit, healers serve as human potions who can restore life force. But as important as they are, finding healers isn’t easy.

Healers are nobility.

Why else would recovery potions trade at such expensive prices? If every party had a healer who could provide consistent healing in every dungeon, recovery potions would become no different from energy drinks, demand would fall, and prices would naturally drop.

Not only are hunters with healing abilities rare, but among those with healing abilities, the number who possess skills that can restore life force is even smaller. Why this is the case, nobody knows. When asked why, if various abilities exist, their numbers aren’t proportionally balanced, there’s no one who can provide an answer.

What can you do? The limited supply must be shared. That’s why healers command high prices. Even low-ranked healers get snatched up by top guilds or major hospitals as soon as they enter the job market. Average hunters can’t even catch a glimpse of healers’ backs without connections. It’s no wonder healers are considered the number one choice for marriage partners.

Healers rarely die and earn a lot of money. Not just healers who enter dungeons, but those working in university and private hospitals earn more than doctors. In these cases, they need skills that cure diseases rather than simply restore life force. Particularly for the extremely rare skills that can solve certain diseases that modern medicine cannot, healers literally rake in money. Since this was discovered, awakening as a healer who can be both safe and wealthy has become quite popular.

Of course, just because you hope for it doesn’t mean it happens, so stories of life-changing success aren’t common.

Anyway.

That’s the kind of skill this [Purification] is.

“Healing is healing, but what the heck is purification?”

I suddenly felt proud that I had chosen close-combat weapons and ashamed of my past self who thought close-combat weapons were the strongest.

Fine.

It’s a good ability.

I still believe that close-combat weapons can extract powerful and stable strength to the extreme in the early stages. I just completely threw away the idea that close-combat weapons are vastly superior to other abilities after seeing these two SSS+ grade divine magic skills.

SSS+ grade was a tier where you could attach any term like “ridiculously overpowered” or “insanely broken” and it would be appropriate. It wasn’t just about close-combat weapons being more efficient. It’s just a difference between what’s easier to use now versus later.

“What kind of efficiency is using 5 divine power to recover 90% health for 20 people…?”

The more I look at it, the more absurd it seems, and I can’t help but laugh. If you asked healers about this, they’d definitely respond with “Huh?” They’d counter with: “It takes 5 divine power to use the most basic healing skill?”

My divine power is S+. Because I’m a character from the Rift Dimension, I have more divine power at 20, but ordinary healers typically have between 5 and at most 10 divine power.

Even the healer known as the Holy Maiden is speculated to have divine power between 10 and 20.

Using 5 divine power at once? A healer who can use healing 4 times with skills recharging every 2.5 minutes would think the efficiency of an SSS+ grade skill is extremely poor. I initially thought it was a bit expensive too.

But after seeing the description of the SSS+ healing skill enhanced by the +100% divine magic effect from [Divine Bestowal], I realized that 5 divine power wasn’t expensive at all. Just like when I first saw [Leap Slash] and thought, “Hmm, isn’t this a bit expensive for a movement skill?” It was just my initial prejudice from seeing it for the first time. The efficiency is incredible.

For my immediate use, there will be wasted healing since I’ll be using it alone. But looking at the performance itself, there’s no denying it’s overpowered.

And then there’s the purification skill that makes even that healing skill seem ordinary.

It cures all diseases.

With this alone, my choice to invest an SSS+ ability selection right into divine magic was 100% correct.

“Maybe I’ll retire and open a hospital.”

If I had to pick just one skill truly worthy of the SSS+ grade name, wouldn’t it be this? In a world where ignoring the laws of nature and resolving nonsensical situations under the name of “mana” is taken for granted, if there’s one thing that hunters, skills, and abilities have failed to conquer, it’s disease. Hundreds, thousands of diseases. Numerous cancers that have evolved alongside human history.

Similarly, healers with purification-type skills have been able to solve some diseases that are difficult to cure with modern medicine using the power of mana, or rather, divine power, but that’s all. Many people have benefited, but many still visit hospitals for illnesses.

People who would burn through billions to be healthy are everywhere in the world. Even hunters get sick. Even with superhuman bodies that can beat monsters with their bare hands, when their insides rot from disease, they either seek help from doctors or die if it’s already progressed too far.

This can solve that.

“Assuming it works as promised…”

Well, even though I say this, I obviously don’t plan to throw everything away and retire just because of this one skill. It’s just a passing thought. If I were going to retire, I would have done so already, growing Sunro mushrooms or retiring after unlocking the hair growth formula recipe.

Besides, this ambiguous term “all diseases” with no defined scope needs experimentation. One might say, “What limits could there be to ‘all’?” but there are frequent cases where such promises turn out to be deceptive. Until I finish testing it myself, it’s just an ordinary purification skill in my skill window. In reality, excluding its effectiveness, healing is a much more useful skill for me right now than purification.

To use purification, I’d need to be poisoned or afflicted with a status ailment, which would mean I’m facing an enemy I can’t handle. Well, if I’m lucky, purification might give me a chance to escape.

“So is oppa a healer now? Or a damage dealer?”

With two main abilities, my position is ambiguous. From a solo player’s perspective, it might not seem important, but I’ll sometimes enter dungeons in reality and team up with other hunters, so defining a main ability would make party composition easier.

“I’ll do both jobs.”

“Hmm… I guess. What kind of party would an SSS+ grade need? Everyone else would just be baggage.”

“The monkeys should be arriving soon, right?”

“Yes, why?”

“When they arrive, gather them all for me.”

Although I finished confirming the SSS+ ability, it seemed a waste to just read about an SSS+ grade ability without testing it. So I decided to experiment.

——————

“Kiki… What’s going on… kiki.”

“Chief. You called us.”

The Black Monkeys who came here are the 30 lowest-ranked ones. I asked for only 20 of the Black Monkeys who had gathered in 10 rows to come forward.

“Hmm. Why do you think you’re in the bottom 20?”

“Kiki… Because we’re weak.”

“We are weak.”

“Yes, because you’re weak. I’m going to make you stronger.”

“Kiki?”

I took out a wooden sword instead of the sewer sword. Not the basic D+ grade sword I got here, but the wooden sword I used when fighting Team Leader Kim Jin-hyeop in reality. The one with +1 attack power. Then I told the Black Monkeys to stand still and hit each one once.

“Kieeeeek!”

“Kiyaaaak!”

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

It took less than three seconds to hit each of the 20 Black Monkeys on the head with the wooden sword. The Black Monkeys clutched their heads, writhing in pain. I wondered why they were making such a fuss when they wouldn’t die from one hit with the sewer sword, but then I realized it was because my strength had become S+ grade and my agility SS- grade due to the [Corrupted Ring]. Well, at least they didn’t die.

The remaining 10 Black Monkeys looked at me with surprised eyes, while the 20 who were hit complained of unfairness.

I immediately stretched out my hand.

“Heal.”

As I used the skill, 5 divine power drained from me, and a white light permeated the 20 Black Monkeys I focused on. It felt like white rain falling on their heads. The Black Monkeys who had been complaining of pain mysteriously looked puzzled as they turned their now painless heads.

“Ki? It doesn’t hurt.”

“Kiki! I’m healthy!”

“The chief has made us stronger!”

“The effect is killer.”

“Wow… What the… That’s awesome.”

“Amazing! Master!”

As expected. The difference between reading a description and using it in practice is this significant.

“Call me Hua Tuo from now on.”

“Kiki! Hua Tuo!”

“What’s a Hua Tuo? Kik!”

“Umhahaha!”

Is this how healers feel? Seeing the monkeys get all excited from my healing makes me feel like I’m something special.

“Now go back to work.”

I sent the monkeys off to work and called for Kim Su-jeong next.