The Late Game Healer Is Way Too Strong – Chapter 206

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟔: 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 2

Lee Ye-ji let out a sigh.

She was overwhelmed by the magnificent existence standing calmly on top of the ruined building.

“How can I possibly defeat it?”

A sacred bird with brilliant five-colored feathers, the head of a chicken, the neck of a snake, the tail of a dragon, and the wings of a phoenix: the Vermilion Bird.

She focused her mind to assess her opponent.

The rank of the summoned beast was so high that just looking at it made her magical power waver.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘚-𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘵. 𝘈𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘪 𝘐𝘭-𝘭𝘺𝘦𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘰-𝘥𝘢𝘮.’

Lee Ye-ji let out a low groan after grasping the Vermilion Bird’s abilities.

First of all, it was expected to be a considerable battle of attrition because the amount of magical power it possessed was enormous, and its rank was so high that even a moderate S-rank would not be able to match it.

If Choi Sung-il and Kang Yeo-hwa took the vanguard, and Min Si-joon and herself took the rear guard, it might be okay.

‘𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦?’

She looked at the Vermilion Bird.

The Vermilion Bird, which was said to protect the south, pecked at a car on the street with its bright yellow eyes.

Crack! Crunch!

The sturdy car was torn apart as effortlessly as thin gift wrap.

“Kyaaaa!”

That was when it happened.

People escaping from the collapsed building screamed as they saw the monster.

The Vermilion Bird turned its head sharply toward the sound.

“Tch!”

Lee Ye-ji opened her dantian and circulated her magical power.

Hundreds of letters and shapes overlaid the front, forming a large spell.

[Puppeteer: Tango of the Ten Fingers]

Ten dolls made of magical power were materialized.

She connected each of the dolls to her fingers and her magical power.

“Go.”

The dolls, which were the size of adult men, moved their joints at strange angles and rushed out simultaneously.

‘𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦. . . 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘺.’

The dolls ran toward the Vermilion Bird like arrows.

The monster, which had been about to peck at a human, glared at her with its bright yellow eyes as something charged toward it.

━Kweeeeeek!!

The Vermilion Bird’s sharp beak plunged toward the dolls.

Lee Ye-ji controlled each of the dolls with her fingers and evaded the enemy’s attacks.

Caw!! Cawwwww!!

The asphalt where the beak had pecked was dented and cracked.

It was a seemingly insignificant gesture, but its power was by no means negligible.

If it were to be hit even once, a human body would be torn apart like paper.

‘𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘹𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳. 𝘔𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘦𝘥.’

She moved her fingers incessantly to protect the dolls from the attacks.

“Ugh!”

However, two of the dolls were hit by the beak and vaporized without a trace.

Lee Ye-ji concentrated her magical power on the remaining dolls.

The eight surviving dolls flew into the Vermilion Bird’s body and attached themselves to various places.

The first mission was a success.

The Vermilion Bird tried to fly into the air to shake off the strange things that had attached themselves to its body, spreading its gorgeous wings like a phoenix.

However, Lee Ye-ji’s skill was one step ahead.

[Puppeteer: Liberation]

The moment the magical power extending from her fingertips traveled along the strings to each doll,

Cawwwwwwww—!!!!

An incredible roar spread as the dolls exploded.

The dolls were each a condensed mass of magical power, so the scale of the explosion was far from insignificant.

━Kuuuueeeeeek!

The Vermilion Bird briefly screamed from the sudden shock, then soon began to gather magical power as if its anger had flared up more than its pain.

“You don’t know when to quit, do you?”

Lee Ye-ji hurriedly left her spot after confirming that the people had escaped.

She could clearly feel the monster’s gaze meeting hers the moment the dolls exploded.

As expected, the monster’s claws flew toward the spot where she had been standing before she could get away.

Clack, clack, clack, clack, clack!!

The sharp claws of the bird of prey clutched at the roof of the building and crushed it to dust.

If she had been one second late, her body would have been among that dust.

“Ugh!!”

Lee Ye-ji, who had been running away, was blocked by the debris of the collapsed building and could go no further.

She could easily have used her magical power to strengthen her body and climb over such debris, but she had to refrain from using her magical power in order to avoid being noticed by the monster.

‘𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘪𝘵. . . 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.’

Thud.

At that moment, she instinctively recoiled as a sudden sound rang out.

“Long time no see, Hunter.”

There, Chu Ha-min, with one corner of his mouth raised, and Hwang Jeong-gu, with a sullen expression, were standing with their arms crossed.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Amidst the cheers and applause, Kang Yeo-hwa could see Siwoo smiling at her.

Or rather, to her eyes, only Siwoo was visible.

‘𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨.’

Kang Yeo-hwa scratched her cheek and avoided his gaze.

That joy was short-lived, as the third test began immediately.

This test was to check her magical power control.

The Hunters entered a one-pyeong transparent glass chamber next to the measuring device.

The glass chamber was made of a magic-proof glass that was stronger than bulletproof glass, a material that was not easily affected by magic.

The test was simple.

‘𝘈 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳. . . 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴.’

Kang Yeo-hwa recalled her old memories and took a deep breath.

In fact, filling the surroundings with magical power was not that difficult.

A Hunter of S-rank or higher could easily fill a room with their own magical power.

The problem was the large multiple magic circuit installed on the floor.

This was a special device developed by dozens of magicians and magic researchers, and its role was to disrupt all the magical power within the circuit’s space.

If the first and second tests were about maintaining a small amount of magical power steadily, this test was mainly about continuously emitting a large amount of magical power.

The examinees who had entered their respective glass chambers surged their magical power as soon as the test start sound rang out.

Whiiing—!

At the same time, the magic circuit engraved on the floor began to rotate and disrupted all the magical power in the space.

“Ugh!!”

It was a test that required enormous concentration to maintain the magical power, let alone fill it.

The examinees bit their lips.

They used all their strength to fill the space by spreading the magical power they had drawn up from their dantians to their surroundings.

The moment they thought they had filled their surroundings with their own magical power.

The magic circuit’s spell emitted a flash, and the magical power they had gathered as if blowing out a candle with their breath was scattered.

“Ugh. . . !”

The examinees wore exhausted expressions.

It was not simply a matter of suppressing their magical power or being pressured by a stronger aura.

If it had been like that, they would have gritted their teeth and endured it.

However, the way the magic circuit interfered was similar to shaking the direction of their movement.

For example, it was like someone pressing down from above while they were concentrating all their strength and mind to lift a bench press, or like someone pushing from the side, making them lose their strength.

Beep—!

The test end sound rang out.

Kang Yeo-hwa and all the other examinees collapsed into their seats and were speechless.

If the test that finely extracted magical power was about concentration, the test that filled magical power was about stamina.

They panted and lay down on the floor, where sweat had accumulated, or breathed heavily.

“Whew, whew, whew. . . .”

“Damn. . . this test.”

“W-Water, someone. . . whew, cough.”

At that moment, assistant staff members approached and handed them each some water and a mana potion.

The examinees drank the water and potions like people who had found an oasis in the desert.

After a very short break.

Beep—!

The notification sound for the final 4th test rang out.

The examinees got up from their seats and stood in front of the machines.

The final test was simpler than they had expected.

Pouring their maximum output of magical power into the test machine for about 3 seconds.

In fact, of all the tests from the 1st to the 4th, this test had the greatest weight in terms of differentiating ‘rank’.

The examinees had very tense expressions.

This was because they did not know whether a + or ++ would be added to their current rank or whether their rank would drop in the 3 seconds that were about to come.

“It’ll be okay. My grades have been good so far.”

Kang Yeo-hwa muttered to herself, feeling unnecessarily nervous.

Then, she suddenly turned her head at a gaze she felt.

She saw Siwoo looking at her with his usual faint smile.

She couldn’t help but smile back.

‘𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. . . 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰.’

Feeling a warmth that she didn’t know she had, Kang Yeo-hwa poured out her magical power with a relaxed expression.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

The test proceeded surprisingly quickly.

The most intense reactions of all the tests so far came from the high-rankers’ turn.

Koga Haruki and Harold Bloom had always participated in the competition, so there was not much of a stir, but Namir was different.

The moment she went out to take the test, all eyes were focused on her.

People had a dazed expression at the appearance of the ‘Queen of Half-Demons’, and the test site was noisy with murmurs about Namir’s beauty.

After the high-rankers’ turns were all over, it was the turn of the Hunters who had received letters of recommendation.

A little more time passed.

And finally, it was Siwoo’s turn.

He had received a letter of recommendation from Edward just before the match, so he was the last in line.

Siwoo’s party’s eyes sparkled as he stepped forward.

“Hahaha! The results of this ranking battle are highly anticipated!”

Do Kyung-hoo said, holding a bottle of alcohol in his hand, as if he had come from nowhere.

“I never thought master would do something like this. I thought he would just leave because it was annoying.”

“. . .Even the master is human.”

Lo-an responded to Kang Yeo-hwa’s words in a flat tone.

“Is the master the same as you? By the way, didn’t you have a lower progress rate than me in the 2nd test?”

“. . .I do not learn such trivial techniques.”

“You were sweating like crazy while taking the test?”

“. . . . . .”

Lo-an looked away from her, feeling offended.

Seigen stroked his beard and spoke as he watched Siwoo standing in front of the machine from a distance.

“Keukkeukkeuk. Even if that guy doesn’t do well, he’ll still get an S++ rank, right?”

“What are you talking about? Master’s abilities aren’t that limited.”

“Oh my, ‘Queen of Half-Demons’. . . Don’t misunderstand. There might be a strength that can’t be measured by a machine.”

“I agree with that, but I trust my master.”

Namir answered with a confident tone, brushing her silver hair aside.

Beep—!

At that moment, the first test began.

The examinees poured as much magical power as the indicated number into the terminal.

The task of emitting the same amount of magical power as steadily as possible without any ups and downs required as much concentration as holding a brush and drawing a stroke while maintaining the same posture.

And Siwoo,

“Haah.”

He injected magical power with an expression that did not hide his boredom.

The other Hunters, who had been giggling and chatting among themselves at first, gradually could not take their eyes off Siwoo’s record as time passed by, 1 minute, 2 minutes.

“Is that. . . possible?”

“Is the computer malfunctioning?”

“No, a person is not a machine.”

No matter how high-ranking a high-ranker was, their record would always fluctuate like the flow of their vital signs.

Siwoo’s record was drawing a straight line down like a calm sea.

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