HIF 1

–The Only Healer in the Hero’s Party–

After waking up from a long bout of illness, hazy shapes floated in my blurry vision. In the pitch-black room, a thin, rectangular object glowed with an alien blue light.

I wondered if my fever was still making me delirious, but upon closer inspection, I saw neat letters written on it in black ink.

“Save the world! Welcome, Seon Yi-han.”

Uh… I am Seon Yi-han… but what is this? Is this a dream?

“A long, long time ago, there was a peaceful world.”

“But! Evil things began to cross over one by one from the cracks in the world.”

Even the written words changed. As if reading my thoughts, the next sentence was newly inscribed as soon as I scanned the sentence with my eyes.

“People wailing, the comfortable everyday life slowly falling apart…”

“Children learn to cry silently before they learn to walk,”

“The dirge that continues from dawn rings louder than the rooster’s crow that greets the morning,”

“The age of darkness has arrived.”

Hmm? As I watched quietly, it just kept spouting nonsense.

Even if the world is sometimes harsh and tough, it doesn’t feel like such a ruined wasteland. Rather, you could say it’s a peaceful world.

“Oh, no? This world is peaceful now?”

…Indeed, I don’t know what it is, but it must be able to read my thoughts.

“That’s right. It was a story from another world.”

“But don’t be relieved yet. Cracks are opening in this world too.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry too much about that.”

“Because there are heroes who sacrifice themselves to protect this peace.”

I was caught up in the conversation-like, yet strangely one-sided monologue, and before I knew it, I was focused on reading the text.

My eyes felt hot and my head heavy, as if the fever was rising again. Still, I couldn’t take my eyes off the sentences that flickered, disappeared, and were newly inscribed.

“But is that sacrifice justified?”

“Well. At least it doesn’t seem obvious.”

“Now that we know, we can’t just stand still like we used to!”

“Get up! Run and share the heavy burden!”

“Because you have the ability to do so, Seon Yi-han.”Are you serious?””

“Huh…?”

The last letter that appeared was strange. I was so flustered that the voice came out first.

Si, jak… hagi…? Before I could even understand what that meant, the letters flickered and a new sentence appeared.

“Acceptance complete! Starting .”

Wait? I never accepted anything…? Could it be that even the exclamation of embarrassment, “Uh,” counts as an answer?

Regardless of my bewilderment, my vision gradually blurred. I don’t know if it’s because of that “memory retrieval” or because my physical condition was originally bad.

My head throbbed as if someone was pounding on it. In the midst of it, I thought I heard the sound of a door opening with a bang.

I lost consciousness immediately after, so I can’t be sure.

◇

The only person he could see lost consciousness, but as if not caring, black letters flickered on the blue window, creating new sentences.

“Resetting title.”

“Restarting system.”

“Save the world! Welcome, Seon Yi-han, the only healer in the hero’s party.”

“Heal the hero’s party while adjusting penalties, and reach □□□ □.”

“The □□ to save the world is there.”

◇

I had a dream.

It was a white space with nothing in it. I couldn’t hear any sound, and I couldn’t feel my feet touching anything. I couldn’t even tell if time was passing or if I was breathing.

My head was blank. I might have lost my sight. Or I might have gone deaf. Or there might be something wrong with my mind.

Anyway, what was certain was that I might really go crazy if I stayed like this.

Rustle.

Then, a gust of wind gently brushed past me from somewhere.

I turned my head so urgently that I heard a crack from my neck. In the direction the wind was blowing, I saw the back of a child crouching far away.

Neatly cut black hair on a round back of the head swayed gently.

The wind was getting stronger and stronger, making it hard to keep my eyes open. Still, the child just sat there as if in another world.

“Huff…!”

Something seemed to be carried by the wind and flying towards me. I reflexively inhaled. I squeezed my eyes shut and awkwardly bent my arms to block the front.

Contrary to my great tension, nothing happened. However, I felt something thin and soft tickling the back of my hand.

The thing that flew was probably not a hard object. That was a relief. I was newly ashamed of acting like a coward even though I was seventeen years old. I slowly opened my eyes as if nothing had happened.

‘Sky-blue flower?’

I held the thing that was touching my hand and swaying in my hand and stared blankly at it. It was a transparent, water-colored flower. The light color resembling the blue sky stood out clearly in the all-white space.

The flower, which had fallen off whole like a camellia, seemed neither withered nor damaged.

It was somehow a familiar flower. I was trying to remember where I had seen it when the child who had been sitting still far away suddenly stood up. And slowly turned towards me.

The small arms held a pile of flower heads without stems or leaves. It was the one that flew to me. Round eyes facing me blinked slowly.

It was a frighteningly black pupil without a single point of light, not knowing what he was thinking. Facing those expressionless eyes, I thought.

‘Maybe, I might have eyes like that too.’

My body staggered as if it would be thrown out by the strong wind. I thought I caught a glimpse of the scent of flowers in the wind. My vision spun around. Everything I saw melted away blurrily.

Again, I fell into a deeper dream.

◇

It was a very long dream.

I was watching that child in my dream. A child with black hair and black eyes.

The world the child lived in was strange and unfamiliar. Big buildings, fast-rolling wheeled things, pictures on small screens, and nights that shone more brilliantly than stars, all of them.

But soon I was able to adapt. Because I could know how the child lived and what he thought. I could know everything about the child even though I was someone else.

Like peeking into someone else’s memories.

I went to school, studied, went out to play, and met people. Surprisingly, I could feel every emotion of those moments.

The memories that passed quickly were like old movie film, or like faded bookshelves. Loud noises echoed and faded repeatedly.

As the child grew up and became a boy, I realized.

‘It’s similar.’

That boy had the same face as me.

In the flow of time that rushed by, many years passed, and before I knew it, the boy was much taller than me.

Suddenly, the speed of time slowed down. Every moment in front of me came vividly. As if suddenly canceling the fast-forward button.

The boy was standing straight in a spacious auditorium. People wearing the same clothes as the boy were lined up around him.

A faint smell of wood. Small dust particles shone in the air in the sunlight coming through the window.

Amid the low murmurs, the sound of tapping the microphone echoed. The auditorium, where a brief mechanical sound of beep passed, became so quiet that even breathing could be heard.

Breaking through that silence, a calm voice carried by a large volume echoed.

[Congratulations on graduating from high school.]

Whack.

The boy took off his mortarboard and threw it up. Energetically, as if it would touch the ceiling. Everyone else next to him was also raising one hand up. Numerous mortarboards were tangled in the air.

Now I could see. Everyone was holding a bouquet of colorful flowers over their black gowns. The stinging applause grew louder and louder. Voices filled with excitement slowly filled the space.

Everything that was rising was complete happiness.

‘I’m jealous.’

Suddenly, I had that thought. Is this what it’s like to be an adult?

My heart was beating so hard that it hurt with intense and unfamiliar emotions. It was the emotion he was feeling. A heat spreading from deep within my heart, so breathless.

If the moment of becoming an adult is so brilliant, I wanted to reach adulthood quickly too.

The boy… no. He turned his head with a bright smile. The sunlight coming through the window touched his face head-on.

‘…Are you happy?’

Did I not only think but also speak out loud? I don’t know.

In that moment, I thought his black eyes turned towards me.

All the sounds that had been ringing in my ears stopped in an instant.

All the scenes in front of me were frozen.

The dream ended there.

◇

I opened my eyes. It was a dark room.

Everything was quiet. Now it was really reality.

I am now lying on the bed. A lukewarm towel was placed on my forehead.

It was obvious who it was. There was only one person who could do this kind of thing. Thanks to that, my fever seemed to have almost gone down.

Good. Everything is good.

…Actually, it’s not good. My heart was still pounding as if the aftermath of the dream was still there, but there was a reality that was pushed in before I could even think about the meaning of that dream.

The letters in front of me flickered as if mocking me.

“Tutorial, complete! Rewards will be given.”

“Rewards can be checked on the ‘Status Window’ screen.”

Yes. I knew what this was now. I had seen something similar in the dream that had just passed.

This is, well,

“…System?”

The blue window rippled once as if to affirm.

Ah, that’s right. This was similar to the screen that appears when playing a game. But now, why is this in front of me…?

I cut off the following thoughts. There was no answer even if I worried about it. I got up and sat leaning against the head of the bed. I took a deep breath. The confused mind calmed down a little.

‘But this can’t be inside a game right now.’

Am I, who has lived for over ten years, just a game character? Is this world just a game? That couldn’t be. It wasn’t a guess, it was almost a certainty.

All the things I’ve experienced. Greetings that don’t get a response, a table without a bowl for me, eyes that pretended not to see the hand I offered, memories of being so lonely that I quickly erased the option of asking for help in a fever that I couldn’t even control my body, and just listening to my fading breath, still came to my mind vividly.

Yes, even if it’s in a game, what does it matter? I am the one who is alive and breathing here now. This is reality to me.

** Sudden! Quest ** Complete the ‘Future Sight’ training.

Time required: 6 days

Success: Acquire ‘Future Sight’ Beginner

Failure: Failed to acquire ‘Future Sight’ Beginner

…Damn reality.

At the same time as the quest appeared in front of me, the door opened with a creak.

Outside, it was already the middle of the night. The shadow of the person standing under the full moon stretched out long towards me.

That person opened his mouth in a stiff, low voice.

“Seon Yi-han.”