The Late Game Healer Is Way Too Strong – Chapter 35

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟓: 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞

Shin Ji-soo had never entered a gate before.

She had yet to find a way to use her acquired skills, and there was no mentor to teach her.

Beginner Hunters who had already received instruction from a mentor or a senior had entered gates once or twice.

After all, real-world experience was the most important thing.

However, that was only possible for beginners who knew how to use their ‘skills’ to some extent.

Siwoo headed to the lowest-grade permanent gate owned by the [𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝].

Gate.

It was a term that referred to a kind of portal that connected Earth to another dimension.

Inside, there were various creatures, from weak mobs to monstrous beings whose very existence was a source of disaster.

If it were just them, humanity’s raids would not have been so active.

However, the gates were filled with new resources for humanity, from magic stones to various treasures, and some monsters even had no waste at all, from their skin to their core, blood, and flesh.

The gate was a new world for mankind.

The competition for these treasures was fierce, and that rivalry led to the formation of groups called [𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐬], and the strong [𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐬] soon promised greater rewards to Hunters through the occupation of higher-level gates.

After the end of the lawless 1st generation.

With the advent of the 1.5th and 2nd generations, the gate was commercialized.

The gates, which were once accessible to anyone, became ‘areas’ that could be bought with money, and monsters were no longer disasters but sources of income.

“What? Th. . . uh. . . Sir Siwoo? No, Mentor? Master? Teacher?”

“What are you doing?”

“I don’t know what to call you. I can’t keep calling you ‘hey’ forever. It feels too distant.”

“It’s not like we’re close or anything.”

“Did you suffer emotional abuse or emotional trauma during your school days?? How can you not let people speak?”

Shin Ji-soo kept grumbling.

Why are people so cold? Why should people be kind?

Siwoo ignored her and continued walking towards his destination.

How long had she walked? When the soles of her feet started to hurt, Shin Ji-soo asked cautiously.

“Mister, when will we arrive?”

“. . . . . .What Mister?”

Siwoo raised his eyes.

“Oh, no, then what should I call you? Should I call you Sir Hunter Siwoo?”

A title.

Usually, the 1st-generation Hunters called him Mad Dog. Or in Korean, Crazy Dog.

However, there were only a handful of Hunters who could call him that title openly.

“. . . . . .Call me Master.”

“Yes! Master.”

Chu Ha-min was there anyway, so it didn’t matter much if he had one more disciple.

“W-We’re going into the gate right away?”

“Then how are you going to practice your skills against monsters?”

“No. . . wouldn’t it be difficult to use it right away on monsters? Shouldn’t I use it on people instead?”

“Who? Me? Do you want to try it?”

“. . . . . .No. I’m going in.”

Shin Ji-soo made an expression that said the world was unfair.

Her pretty face made even her resentment look cute.

Most men would have melted at that face. . . but not Siwoo.

The gate they faced was the lowest F-RANK gate.

It was a very ordinary and low-level gate with a pale sky-blue color.

The gate grades that had appeared so far ranged from F to S.

“Compared to the Tutorial Tower, the F-grade is not that difficult.”

“But that’s when you. . . no, Master, did it all. I just watched from the side.”

“It’s okay. I won’t let you die.”

Siwoo didn’t say anything unnecessary, and only said what Shin Ji-soo would like to hear.

Shin Ji-soo smiled broadly at his words and stood in front of the gate.

She took a deep breath and then exhaled.

Her fingertips trembled.

What kind of scenery would be ahead?

For her, who was new to the gate, this itself was a huge challenge.

She encouraged herself with exaggerated gestures and speech to calm herself down.

“Okay. You can do it, Shin Ji-soo You’re an A-Rank skilled Hunter! Count to three and go in. You’re not alone. You can do it! One—”

“Shut up and go in.”

Thump.

Siwoo pushed Shin Ji-soo’s back.

“Kyaa!”

Jiiiiiiing

A strange sound rang in her ears.

The strange sensation and slight motion sickness that were common when passing through the portal.

Siwoo laughed at this sensation, which he hadn’t felt in a long time.

The portal from the other world to Earth was not like this light feeling, but like being dehydrated in a large washing machine for hours, but now it felt like riding a light amusement ride.

It’s fun.

But compared to that—

“Ugh, uek!”

Shin Ji-soo was bent over next to him, gagging.

Apparently, this sensation was a bit too much for someone who was not used to it.

But this was also part of the training.

“Get up.”

“W-Wait a minute— Uek!”

It’s all different.

Siwoo grabbed Shin Ji-soo by the nape of her neck and forcibly lifted her body.

“Kyaaa!”

“Stand up straight.”

“But I’m motion sick. . . .”

“Draw mana from your dantian. And circulate it to your head first.”

Shin Ji-soo endured the nausea and circulated the mana that erupted from her dantian to her head, as Siwoo had instructed.

Since she had never handled mana properly, it took her a little while.

“Wow, amazing!”

“Always keep this state when entering the gate. If you’re unlucky, you might encounter monsters from the entrance.”

In fact, there was little chance of that happening at F-grade.

The monsters that came out of this grade were nothing more than weaklings.

However, if you go to a gate of D-grade or higher, you will sometimes encounter monsters that have been waiting at the entrance.

It’s no exaggeration to say that a Hunter’s battle is a battle of mana.

Therefore, the advice Siwoo gave was the most realistic.

When Shin Ji-soo’s condition improved, Siwoo moved the location. He was looking for a place where monsters would appear.

“Have you ever entered a gate before?”

“Oh, no.”

“Have you ever fought a monster?”

“I fought in the Tutorial Tower and during the daily lectures.”

“That. . . . . .”

Siwoo shut his mouth.

There was a long way to go.

It wasn’t a real dungeon, it was just a practice area.

The monsters were also set to have less than half the power compared to the real ones.

The Tutorial Tower was literally a ‘tutorial’.

“Why? You saw me fighting back then! The way I defeated the monsters!”

“When?”

Shin Ji-soo tried to answer, but Siwoo’s expression answered for her.

‘𝘿𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩.’

She bit her lip lightly and nodded.

Siwoo found it difficult to understand the world of Hunters these days.

For the 1st generation, being a Hunter was a kind of survival.

Looking at the 2nd generation Hunters and below, it seemed like it was just a job with a curriculum.

An academy that produced graduates based on a fixed education.

The Tower of Tutorials with a set course.

A guild that gives a corresponding value to the grade you obtain after awakening.

Such behavior was nothing more than something that would all be washed away by one big wave.

Didn’t it look like the appearance of a victorious country that had achieved peace, not prepared for danger?

Even that peace was fading, and the guns were rusting.

‘𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙣𝙤 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙧𝙨.’

Siwoo didn’t even think highly of the [𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝] run by his younger brother.

It was just one of the world’s giant corporations.

And the employees who built that company were Hunters.

After walking for about 20 minutes through the forest path, an ordinary hill appeared. It was high enough to overlook the surroundings.

“This is the perfect place.”

“What is?”

“The view is clear.”

He looked around.

Then he picked up a pebble lying next to him and gripped it like a baseball.

Boooong

His shoulder swung like a whip.

The stone flew at an incredible speed.

Then, with a thud, something collapsed.

Siwoo, who walked there with a thud, dragged the collapsed thing roughly and returned to his place.

Even at a glance, it was a massive animal that weighed over 400 kg.

“Wow— This is really huge. Is this a deer? Even at a glance, it looks like a small truck.”

“No. It’s a one-horned elk. It’s an animal that only lives in other dimensions.”

“Oh, it’s an animal that only lives here. But why now. . . are you hungry?”

“Certain monsters are crazy about its blood and entrails.”

The elk must have died instantly from a single stone, as half of its head was blown away.

Siwoo took out a dagger.

He stabbed the elk’s abdomen and cut open the belly skin in one go.

Puff, with a tear, hot entrails and blood poured out from inside.

“Kyaaa!”

“Don’t be surprised by this one by one.”

Siwoo didn’t wipe the blood off his dagger. Because he was going to see blood again soon.

“Hey, you can handle some mana?”

“I learned the basics of combat in the Guild.”

Siwoo nodded.

Anyway, at this level of Gate, the probability of dying in one blow was slim.

If it was a low-level Hunter, it would be different, but if it was a Hunter with an A-Rank skill, their basic physical abilities would have increased to some extent.

Siwoo thought he would just watch.

“Excuse me, master.”

“What?”

“Please call me by my name or title. What’s with the ‘hey’? It’s so disrespectful to your disciple.”

Shin Ji-soo made a sharp expression.

“Wow, you’re really nitpicking.”

Siwoo frowned.

From the forest below, the monsters began to appear one by one.

As expected, they had sensitive noses.

After a while, the fast-moving monsters approached the bottom of the hill.

They looked at Siwoo, Shin Ji-soo, and the elk on the floor and bared their teeth.

They looked very excited.

━Growl

“Get ready.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Don’t be nervous. You’re not going to lose.”

“I hope so.”

Shin Ji-soo rubbed her tense hands on her waistband and answered.

Her palms were cold and she couldn’t stop sweating.

She gripped the staff Siwoo had given her.

Since she wasn’t a combat-type Hunter, he said that a staff would be better than a spear or a sword, and he brought one from the Guild’s warehouse.

It had a bayonet at the end, so it could also be used for light attacks.

“And if you want to be treated well by me.”

Siwoo stepped forward first.

He wanted to draw the attention of the monsters that were charging at them.

“Prove it with your skills.”

Swish

As Siwoo’s figure disappeared, the approaching Goblin Warrior’s arms were cut off.

━Growl!

“Let’s get started.”

“W-What do I do?”

“Think of it as injecting your will into the energy called mana. Imagine the image of the skill in your head.”

“Yes!”

Shin Ji-soo began to vividly imagine her abstract skill as Siwoo said.

[𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥: 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞]

Mana flowed from her dantian and soon received Shin Ji-soo’s will.

She grabbed the arm of the Goblin Warrior that Siwoo had cut off and activated the skill.

A large circle with nine characters and various incantations was engraved on it.

Blue rays of light scattered over the still-living Goblin Warrior and his severed arm.

‘𝙐𝙜𝙝!! 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜!?’

Shin Ji-soo felt the amount of mana flowing out of her dantian rapidly decreasing.

It was as if the mana that had been unraveling one strand at a time, like a thread, was now being consumed like a rope falling from the sky as she used her skill.

Shin Ji-soo’s one knee hit the ground.

Her dantian ached.

She didn’t know what to do with this feeling that she had never experienced before.

This kind of control was something that could only be felt after using a lot of skills and handling a lot of mana.

However, this was the first time for her.

Eventually, the mana that had been flowing out stopped at some point.

The magic skill that had lost its power to maintain itself stopped for a moment and then cracked and shattered.

“Whoa!”

Clang!

The skill shattered in the air.

Like a windowpane breaking, shards of light burst between Shin Ji-soo and the Goblin Warrior and scattered in all directions as they turned into mana.

Shin Ji-soo was thrown far away due to the rebound of the failed skill.

Even though it was her first try, it was still an A-Rank skill.

Therefore, the rebound was just as strong.

Shin Ji-soo gritted her teeth in the air.

‘𝙋𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚! 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙚! 𝙄 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙!!’

It was difficult for her to control her body as it fell rapidly to the ground.

She clenched her fists involuntarily in anticipation of the impending impact.

Thud.

“Ugh!!”

However, instead of the impact, her body was caught in a warm embrace.

She opened her eyes which had been tightly shut.

There, Siwoo was looking at her with an indifferent expression.

Thump-thump.

“. . .M-Master. . .?”

He wouldn’t let her die.

It seemed like his indifferent voice could be heard again.

Shin Ji-soo bit her lips as she didn’t know what to do with her flushed face.

“You.”

He began to speak softly.

This brief moment felt like hours.

She gulped and looked into Siwoo’s eyes.

For some reason, his jawline looked especially sharp today.

Siwoo’s mouth opened.

“If you mess up again, I’ll leave you behind.”

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