HIF 69

Just For a While.

As I agreed to the text on the Status Window, an azure light spread widely around Yeon Seo-ah. The pitch-black areas staining her skin gradually diminished. Then, as the azure light surged into me, she became completely clean.

I leaned down and pressed my ear to Yeon Seo-ah’s face; I could hear the sound of steady breathing. Seeing that her complexion had returned, it seemed she was fully healed. If there were no problems, she would wake up soon.

Turning my body, I reached out without hesitation toward the child sitting in the chair. Grabbing the child’s small ankle, I thought about using another reward.

“Mister? Why?”

The Status Window popped up in front of the child’s voice.

The cluster of light that had spread across the child’s ankle entered me, and the black area vanished without a trace. I didn’t feel any discomfort, but was everything really okay? Just as I was about to pull up my clothes to check my ankle—

“…Ugh, cough.”

I covered my mouth with my sleeve. I tasted something metallic. I hadn’t dirtied the floor, but how long had it been since I used Clean magic? My sleeve was already being stained red.

But what did ‘Bringing’ have to do with coughing up blood? As if responding to my question, the Status Window appeared immediately before my eyes.

「’Intermittent Hemoptysis’ penalty is being applied.」

No… what? Stop joking. You’ll scare the kid. I didn’t want to show him me coughing up blood twice. Tears were already filling the child’s round eyes.

I let out a deep sigh. If the System truly was the power of a god, then god might be a very heartless being. How could it give such a penalty in front of a child? Is this really because of the penalty? Given the situation, it felt a bit unsettling.

“Mi… Mister.”

“It’s okay. …Just a moment.”

I peeked under my clothes to check, and the area around my ankle was stained pitch black. From there, a circular white light fell outward, and the black area gradually shrank until it disappeared completely. I rotated my ankle, and it seemed there was nothing wrong.

‘This wasn’t a wound serious enough to kill me.’

And yet, it healed on its own. Moreover, unlike before, the light was white. It was possible that the reaction was different because magical energy had directly seeped into my body.

I didn’t know when the penalty would stop, and I couldn’t just keep spitting blood in front of the child, so I barely caught my breath and spoke.

“That Mister… did this. You’ll keep it a secret, right?”

“Yes, hic, yes!”

As soon as I finished speaking, the child nodded vigorously. Good, he was trustworthy. I tried to stand up, but I realized something hard was caught in my clothes.

Right, there was the candy I received earlier. I pressed the lollipop, which was as large as the child’s face, into his small hand and hurried out of the house. Now that the person coughing up blood had disappeared from his sight, I hoped he wouldn’t cry.

Click.

I heard the sound of the door closing behind me. The world was still peaceful. As if nothing had happened, the yellow sunlight wrapped around my body softly.

I walked blankly into a side path. Between the lush trees, I could hear the zzzz sound of insects crying. Heat rose from the parched dirt ground.

‘I have no rewards left now.’

My mind was complicated. Now, I could no longer heal people other than the Heroes. What would I do if something like this happened again? What more could I do?

My heart beat anxiously. I crouched down on the spot. Ants, like tiny dots, were crawling in a line across the dirt. Around them, blood from my mouth dripped, drop by drop.

I stared at it for a long time before shaking my head.

‘Get it together.’

For now, I just had to do my best with what I could do. And if I did my best, a new solution would emerge for a new situation. Since the penalty had almost stopped, I used Clean magic to tidy my clothes and surroundings and started walking again.

‘I have to go back and tell everyone about this.’

The child said there were no more people in this village with wounds stained by magical energy. However, there was a possibility that there were situations the child didn’t know about. I needed to check for sure.

As if reflecting my restless heart, my footsteps felt unsteady. Walking like that, I soon arrived in front of the wooden building.

Creak.

I opened the door and went inside. I felt like I had already become a bit familiar with this place. Entering the familiar space made everything I had just experienced feel like a momentary dream. Too many things had happened.

I went up to the second floor and knocked on Min Joo-hyuk’s door. This time, the door opened immediately without him telling me to come in. It seemed Min Joo-hyuk’s Mana had recovered to some extent.

Min Joo-hyuk was lying on the bed with his arm under his head, gesturing in the air as if sketching something. Then, seeing me enter, he bolted upright and spoke.

“Hey, you took a long time. Did you look around the village well… uh…?”

I was glad to hear Min Joo-hyuk’s voice. Just being here with him seemed to ease my tension a bit.

As he continued speaking, Min Joo-hyuk’s expression stiffened. He stood up from the bed and strode toward me.

“What’s with your face? Did something happen?”

What’s with my face? Other than being a bit red from the heat, there was nothing wrong.

“It’s just the heat. Anyway, they say there are no buildings here to pray to god.”

“Ah… I figured there wouldn’t be any buildings.”

Min Joo-hyuk flicked his fingers slightly. A cool breeze wrapped around my body, making the hem of my clothes flutter.

“Is it okay for you to use magic now?”

“I’m fine for now. But seriously, what happened, Seon Yi-han?”

“Nothing happened.”

I flopped down onto Min Joo-hyuk’s bed. I felt my body sagging. Seeing how exhausted I was, I wondered if I lacked not only physical strength but mental fortitude as well.

“I have something to tell you once the older brothers all get back.”

I spoke quietly while staring at the ceiling. It was better to talk when everyone was gathered. I needed time to organize my thoughts before speaking, and it would be too hard for Min Joo-hyuk to handle alone.

How painful would it be to hear that someone suffered despite all their efforts? When I brought up the fact that young children were suffering because of the Monsters, my heart felt heavy thinking that they might feel guilt.

‘No one did anything wrong.’

Nevertheless, everyone is suffering. The Heroes are constantly throwing themselves into danger, and yet, there are still people who suffer. Suddenly, the world felt overwhelmingly burdensome.

The bed sank. Min Joo-hyuk sat beside me and gently brushed back my hair. Then, he spoke in a light voice.

“What is it? Tell me now. I’ll listen.”

I rolled my eyes to look up at Min Joo-hyuk’s face. Perhaps because of the cool breeze surrounding me, Min Joo-hyuk’s brown hair, as he sat close to me, was fluttering. Suddenly, I remembered the sight of Min Joo-hyuk’s back that I had seen in the Future Sight.

I felt a sense of tenderness, and perhaps a fluttering in my chest. I felt this way not only for Min Joo-hyuk, but for everyone. Park Yul, Song Ha-gyun, and Raen. When I thought of them, I sometimes felt this way.

I wanted to do whatever I could for them. I wanted to save them.

This wasn’t a feeling of wanting to give back as much as I had received. It felt like something larger than that. I didn’t know exactly what kind of feeling it was, but…

“Min Joo-hyuk.”

“Yeah.”

“Stay with me. Just for a while.”

“Why ‘just for a while’?”

Min Joo-hyuk grinned and continued.

“I’ll stay with you always.”

“Promise. Make sure to tell me whenever you go somewhere.”

“…Something definitely happened to you.”

Min Joo-hyuk slowly brought his face closer to mine, as if trying to examine my complexion. Just then, I heard the sound of someone stepping heavily up the wooden stairs outside the room.

“Huh? There’s no way the older brothers are back already.”

Min Joo-hyuk stood up. And at that moment.

Bang bang.

The sound of someone knocking violently on the door echoed. As Min Joo-hyuk waved his hand, the door flew open instantly.

A middle-aged man stood at the door, his clothes completely disheveled. He was breathing heavily. Then, seeing us, his eyes widened for a moment.

“I heard there was one person here.”

Min Joo-hyuk had already stepped in front of him and spoke in a lowered voice.

“Who are you?”

“Ah, my apologies, I’m late with my introduction. I am the village representative. Are you the Hero?”

“I am. Why have you come so urgently?”

The village representative wiped the sweat from his face, caught his breath, and hurried to continue.

“This is no time for that. Haven’t your fellow Heroes gone to the valley? There is a place you must know about. It is a dangerous place. You must stop them before they reach that area.”

“What do you mean by that?”

The village representative waved his hand slightly, creating a map in the air. He pointed to one part and spoke rapidly.

“Here. You must leave immediately. If they have already gone there, they will need support. I will lend my strength as well. Let’s go.”

“Please calm down first. Even if we go, we need to know exactly why it’s dangerous to respond properly. You must explain in detail.”

Min Joo-hyuk’s voice grew faster. He seemed to be trying to speak calmly, but he looked flustered. I was the same. The village representative continued urgently, pouring out words as if he had no room to breathe.

“There is a place where Monsters are clustered. It’s different from other places. From afar, it looks like an ordinary white cloud, but as you approach, it instantly turns black and attacks people. By the time you realize it, it’s too late.”

Min Joo-hyuk stiffened as if he were tense. The village representative’s words continued.

“It’s been a long time since I last went there, so the situation must have become more serious as time passed. I only just heard the news that the Heroes had arrived, so I came in haste.”

As I saw Min Joo-hyuk clench his fist tightly, my heart also beat violently.

“First, we must check if the Heroes are near that location. And if they aren’t there, we must tell them to be cautious of that place.”

Desperation was felt in his voice, giving me the illusion that the village representative was stomping his feet even though he was standing still.

“Hurry, Hero. They are your precious comrades; there is no time to stay like this. The more you delay, the more dangerous it becomes, so you must hurry. I will go with you.”

Suddenly, my breath hitched.

I slowly turned my head back. It felt as if a rusty sound, creak, came from my neck.

Through the window, I saw the round, vivid sun. It was a burning red. The sunset was slowly descending. Now I knew. The room was stained with a pale sunset glow.

Damn it. Don’t tell me the moment I saw in the Future Sight is right now.