HIF 13

Nonexistent

After calming down a bit, I felt a little embarrassed about what had just happened.

However, the person involved shouldn’t show it, especially in situations like this. As I acted nonchalant and a bit shameless, everyone naturally started eating. It was a relief.

I took a spoonful of porridge and put it in my mouth. A savory aroma rose. It was delicious. The word ‘delicious’ wasn’t enough to describe it. Park Yul was good at cooking.

“It’s delicious, Yul-hyung.”

“Okay. Eat slowly, as much as you want.”

Park Yul, speaking with a voice tinged with laughter, turned his head towards Song Ha-gyun.

“Ha-gyun-ah, I didn’t even get to see your face after you came back yesterday. You worked hard.”

“…Yeah. And, Park Yul-hyung.”

Park Yul nodded. He seemed used to listening to Song Ha-gyun’s slow words patiently.

“Seon Yi-han healed the injury from last time.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Park Yul seemed to freeze for a moment. Then, he quickly turned his head towards me. Park Yul’s eyes, meeting mine, seemed to darken momentarily, as if wary.

Or was it? Maybe it was just my imagination. Unlike Raen, Park Yul’s suspicion quest didn’t appear.

Park Yul slightly narrowed his eyes and smiled brightly again. Then, he opened his mouth in a gentle voice.

“Is that so, Yi-han-ah?”

Come to think of it, I should have told them earlier that I could heal. But I hadn’t had a proper chance to wake up until now, so there hadn’t been time.

If Raen heard later that I was a Healer, wouldn’t he ease his suspicion a bit? Then, wouldn’t I be able to finish that quest?

Just as I was about to answer, the dining hall door opened. Red hair sparkled in the sunlight. Raen, wearing a Robe loosely, quietly closed the door and walked in.

Raen, meeting my eyes, quickly approached me.

“Yi-han. How’s your body? Are you okay?”

“Yes, Raen-hyung. I’m fine.”

“I’m sorry. You must have been very surprised. I should have been more careful with my words.”

“No, it’s really okay. It’s not because of you, but…”

“…Raen.”

Song Ha-gyun quietly called Raen from the side. Then, he slowly continued.

“Seon Yi-han used healing magic.”

Raen lightly stroked my hair once and sat gently next to me. Then, he continued in a clear voice.

“What do you mean?”

“…The injury from last time, it’s all healed.”

“Ha-gyun, healing magic doesn’t exist. You know that.”

“But now, it does exist.”

Of course, to be precise, it wasn’t healing magic. It was an ability that arose thanks to the System.

Raen thought for a moment, then opened his mouth in a troubled voice.

“Is there a possibility it’s Divine Power…? No, I’ve never heard of Divine Power being able to heal either.”

“…Yeah. And Raen, you said you saw Mana too.”

Raen was right about what he knew. Divine Power couldn’t have a big impact on the human world. I hadn’t learned the detailed reasons, but it seemed to be in the same vein as things that shouldn’t be said when seeing the future.

Should I just say it’s Divine Power instead? Couldn’t I just insist a little? While I was thinking that, Raen, who had been talking for a while, looked at me as if he had agreed to some extent and continued.

“Yi-han. Then, the different form of Mana could be because healing magic is possible.”

If Raen somehow understood, there was no need to correct him. Since it was the power of the System, not magic or Divine Power, both were untrue anyway.

I nodded to Raen. Of course, the Status Window indicating that I had succeeded in the quest didn’t appear.

It seemed that I had to resolve Raen’s suspicion more firmly in order to meet the System’s criteria. It seemed that I still had a long way to go before succeeding in the quest.

◇

After that, Raen called me to his room whenever he had time.

In Raen’s room, small objects were placed everywhere. Each one was so mysterious that they caught my eye every time I saw them.

A dreamcatcher with several large feathers of a strange color, a transparent hexagonal pillar-shaped sculpture with a golden flower inside, and a round crystal ball that seemed to have the sea inside, rippling.

In front of me, sitting in a soft velvet chair, Raen used magic.

“Yi-han. Tell me if there’s anything wrong with your body, even a little bit.”

Raen had confirmed that I had Mana, but he said that my Mana was different from the usual, so it would take a little time. If someone without Mana was heavily exposed to magic, it could put a strain on their body, so he added that it was necessary to make sure that it was okay to use magic next to me, thinking that what I had was also normal Mana.

‘Amazing.’

Magic that floated objects in the air, magic that warmed the surroundings, magic that created light on the palm of the hand. All the magic that Raen chanted was something I had never seen before, and it was so amazing that I stared blankly.

“Raen-hyung. Did you become a Hero because you’re good at magic?”

“No. Ah, haven’t I told you this before?”

Raen, looking at my expression, raised his eyebrows and smiled awkwardly.

“I guess I haven’t. I’m sorry, you must have been curious.”

“No, I just remembered.”

I quickly shook my head. Raen, gently patting my shoulder, flicked his finger in the air. A cluster of yellow light gathered and then coalesced into one. It was a star shape.

“First of all, Leader-hyung… Park Yul-hyung was chosen as a Hero. And we…”

Raen circled his finger around. Three circles of light formed around it. Then, each extended a line to the star shape in the center.

“We made a Hero’s Oath with Leader-hyung, who was chosen as a Hero.”

What was a Hero’s Oath? While I was thinking that, Raen continued slowly, as if lost in thought.

◇

Raen recalled that day.

‘About three years ago from now.’

Yes. It was then. On the first day of the new school year, there was news that shook the entire academy. It was the story that the Hero of this era had been chosen from the academy.

But the heat that shook the academy subsided in less than a day.

Everyone seemed to have lost interest and didn’t even mention it, but for some reason, that event kept lingering in my head. Perhaps it was because I was the top student of the year, so I had a vague sense of responsibility to help.

I went into the next classroom and looked for the familiar purple hair. Song Ha-gyun was always sitting quietly by the window, looking outside. I went up the carpeted stairs and sat in front of Song Ha-gyun.

“Ha-gyun. Did you hear about it? The story that there’s a senior who was chosen as a Hero.”

I told him that I was going to find that senior because I might be able to help. Song Ha-gyun quietly nodded.

“Uh, is that it?”

Song Ha-gyun, who had been silent for a moment, continued.

“…You will be a great asset.”

“That’s not what I meant by telling you that. I just thought you would ask more or stop me.”

“I thought you had already made up your mind.”

That was true. Actually, I started the conversation to ask Song Ha-gyun if he wanted to go with me. I asked Song Ha-gyun that, but the reaction was lukewarm. I couldn’t tell if he liked it or not.

I was used to Song Ha-gyun being like this. I didn’t want to force him, so I went to find that senior alone.

The first time I met Senior Park Yul, he was a friendly person. He was two grades above me.

“Hello. You’re Raen.”

Senior Park Yul, looking at my name tag, smiled brightly. It was a soft voice. Senior Park Yul stared at my eyes and opened his mouth.

“…Yeah. I see. Thank you for coming, Raen-ah.”

When I asked if there was anything I could do to help, Senior Park Yul explained the Hero’s Oath to me.

There was nothing special. Senior Park Yul said that if I decided to become a Hero, I just had to go to the temple with him and make an oath. He said that he had already confirmed it, so there was no need for a separate verification.

When I said that I would make a Hero’s Oath, Senior Park Yul nodded. Then, he continued calmly.

“But, what about that friend? The one with the purple hair, tied long to the side…”

“Um, Song Ha-gyun?”

“I think so. Do you know where he is?”

“I know, but… What’s going on? I told him I was going to see Senior, but he didn’t seem interested.”

“Is that so?”

Senior Park Yul just smiled.

I didn’t know why he was looking for Song Ha-gyun, but in the end, I walked with him to Song Ha-gyun. And Senior Park Yul asked Song Ha-gyun if he would make a Hero’s Oath. It was a calm tone, as if the money transaction had already been completed and he was just coming to pick up the promised item.

“…Yes.”

That was the end of Song Ha-gyun’s answer. No, was it okay to decide so easily? He didn’t seem so interested earlier.

After Senior Park Yul left, I asked Song Ha-gyun.

“Ha-gyun, you didn’t go with me earlier.”

“…Yeah.”

“Weren’t you reluctant? You might not be able to attend the academy properly for several years.”

“It doesn’t matter much.”

“No, it’s okay if you have an ambiguous reaction to my work. But what if you do that to your own work…”

Song Ha-gyun looked at me with blank eyes, as if wondering what the problem was. That expression was the problem.

Anyway, that’s how I and Song Ha-gyun made a Hero’s Oath with Senior Park Yul.

◇

Raen’s explanation, which I had been listening to with nods of agreement, ended.

“Raen-hyung. Then what about Min Joo-hyuk?”

“Joo-hyuk didn’t tell me how he made a Hero’s Oath.”

Well, that could happen.

The process of becoming a Hero was amazing. I felt like I knew why Raen called Park Yul Leader-hyung.

There was one more thing I was curious about. The System said that the Heroes were sacrificing themselves for the world…

“What do you do when you become a Hero? Do you save the world?”

“Um… To put it grandly, yes.”

Raen, looking at me, smiled slightly and continued.

“To be exact, we deal with Monsters and close Rifts.”

Raen pulled a white pillow from the bed and floated it in the air. Then, he drew a line from top to bottom with his hand. The pillow tore with a ripping sound, following his gesture.

“This is a Rift. Monsters flow out from inside.”

Raen swirled his finger around. Clumps of cotton wool flowed out from inside the pillow. It was pitch black.

“Oh, are Monsters this color?”

“That’s right. And if you deal with all these Monsters…”

The cotton wool, which had been frozen in the air, turned gray. Then, it scattered and disappeared without a trace.

“If all the Monsters that flowed out of that Rift disappear, the Rift closes.”

Raen snapped his fingers lightly. The torn part of the pillow was stitched together roughly. Raen floated the pillow back to the bed and placed it neatly.

My curiosity was roughly satisfied. Thinking about what the System had told me, fighting Monsters might be very dangerous. I needed to be on my guard.

◇

After that day, Raen gradually used higher-level magic so as not to strain my body. During that time, I worked hard to dispel Raen’s suspicion.

“Raen-hyung. There are so many kinds of magic, but is there no healing magic at all?”

“Yes, no one has used it so far. They couldn’t even use it. Except for Yi-han.”

“…I see.”

“Um, it’s not something to be discouraged about. Cheer up.”

Raen spoke quickly and summoned a square caramel in the air. Then, he used magic to bring it to me. I unwrapped it and put it in my mouth, and it was sweet and delicious.

Of course, apart from the sweetness, my mouth felt bitter when I thought about Raen’s quest that I hadn’t succeeded in yet.

“Yi-han. Is there anything uncomfortable right now?”

“I’m fine.”

“Even Summoning magic is okay.”

A pen moved smoothly on the paper floating in the air. Raen, looking at it, said casually.

“It’s not that healing magic is bad, but it’s better not to use it too often.”

“Why?”

“Just as there is a reason for everything that exists in the world, there is also a reason for what doesn’t exist… There is a reason for everything.”

It was a tone filled with a strange conviction. Raen met my eyes straight on. My figure was completely reflected in his shining golden eyes.