ALL NOVEL chapter 1
1 – Healer…? (1)
The year was 2039. An ordinary day of peace.
The world was plunged into chaos by gates that suddenly appeared overnight.
An inexplicable phenomenon unknown to science. This sowed seeds of unknown fear in everyone.
Black holes mysteriously emerging, unhampered by sky or ground, radiating a strange energy.
Everyone was busy defining the abnormal phenomenon, and those unclear gates suddenly poured out monsters all at once.
Monsters that were filled with instinct and engaged in slaughter.
In front of the suddenly appearing top predators, humans were too frail.
People, who had been immersed in peace, collapsed helplessly in front of the fight for survival.
And so, the shadow of death was cast over the world.
Along with the gates, a ‘Tower’ appeared.
People who ventured into the tower emerged to save the world.
Heroes of mankind who swept away the monsters that they barely held back with firepower, as if catching rats.
Under the performance of the awakened, the world regained peace.
Indeed.
The world had regained peace, and a full three years had passed since.
It must have been so…
But…
“Wha, What is this?”
Kang Woo doubted his own eyes.
In the ‘Tower’ he had risked his life to enter.
As soon as he entered, he was met with a scene almost impossible to believe.
Crash!
The Awakened Association building, standing in the middle of the city, was mercilessly trampled under a monster’s foot.
Monster. Could this really be referred to as a monster?
A body of massive size, reaching up and obscuring the heavens.
Its reptile-like eyes, looking down on the ground, provoked a sense of fear that could stop one’s breath.
Before entering the tower he had memorized the Monster Manual thoroughly, but he had never heard of a creature this implausible before.
No, it might have been more unusual if he had heard of such a thing.
If such a creature existed on Earth, the world would have been destroyed long ago.
“Oh, my…”
His legs, frozen with fear, collapsed weakly under him.
Thud.
Kang Woo, who had stumbled onto the ground, propped himself up with his shaking hands.
With the world seemingly engulfed in flames, it was somehow only his palms that felt cool.
From that unfamiliar temperature, Kang Woo barely managed to pull himself together.
He was too overwhelmed to notice the anomaly, but once he recognized it, he knew.
The scene unfolding before him…
It was not reality.
Vivid flames burst out from every corner of the city.
People fleeing from the fire were caught by the monsters roaming the city and turned into mere puddles of blood.
“Kaaahhhhh!!”
“Save, save me…!!”
All around, screams and groans were rampant.
ROOAARR!!
At the monstrous roar, Kangwoo shuddered violently.
Although he realized that all this was a lie, it was difficult to regain his senses due to fear.
Just as Kangwoo was about to cover his ears and curl up, there was a moment.
[“The Letter of Asper’s Fist” has ended on April 16th, 2045.]
A stiff mechanical sound echoed in his head and the hellish spectacle shattered into pieces and disappeared.
As the massive pupil entered his sight after the crimson landscape disappeared, Kangwoo gasped for the breath he’d been holding.
“Huff, huff.”
His rapidly beating heart proved that what he’d seen a moment ago was not a dream.
Breathing heavily, Kangwoo clearly remembered the mechanical sound he heard.
“…2045?”
To enter the tower, he had to complete the association’s entire curriculum.
That’s why Kangwoo knew. That mechanical sound heard upon entering the tower was the voice of the ‘system’.
But still…
“2045? What is this?!”
Today was April 1, 2042.
But 2045? That’s like…
“The future? Did it just show me the future?”
Kangwoo looked unbelievably pale.
The system does not lie. If it says it’s the year 2045, then it is certainly the year 2045.
“Something… Something’s not right. Why would that… This… This can’t be…!”
Kangwoo screamed, tearing at his hair.
He was only twenty, and in just three years that monstrosity appears.
“We’re done for. The world is going to end.”
There was no way anyone could defeat that thing.
It was beyond the scope of human abilities.
Suddenly, he staggered and knelt down, then abruptly stood and shrieked out loud while clutching his head.
The phrase ‘The world is going to end’ repeated incessantly by Kangwoo made the strangers, who had been concerned and approaching him, back off quietly.
Then he opened his eyes to see the plaza, greeted upon entering the tower.
The ‘Square of Beginnings’; many people, excluding Kangwoo, were waiting for the system notification here.
According to the urgency of those who had knocked on the doors of the tower for their lives, there was only tension in the plaza, that is until Kangwoo started to behave strangely.
“What, what’s happening?”
“Hey, don’t come any closer.”
Kangwoo lifted his head abruptly, realizing the murmurs of the people a little too late.
As he glanced around at this surroundings with wide-eyed shock, the people nearby quietly backed away.
“Ah, mister!”
“Heek!”
A middle-aged man, the slowest in the crowd, was seized by Kang Woo’s hand.
“Did you see it too, sir? Just now, didn’t you see?”
“W-What…! Student, let go of me…”
Kang Woo peered into the flustered man trying to free his wrist.
In the middle-aged man’s face, there was no trace of the frustration and terror that consumed Kang Woo.
“I see… you really didn’t see it…”
Kang Woo’s hand fell powerlessly. The words “He’s insane” faintly heard around him, and the middle-aged man’s sneering escape, were all beyond his perception.
“Why… Why is it just me…”
Everyone in this square seemed to stare at him as if he were an idiot, without showing any hint of empathy or concern.
Even if he declared that the world would be annihilated in three years, would they actually believe him?
Kang Woo’s head was about to explode from confusion when, again, the harsh mechanical sound rang out.
This time, it wasn’t only him who heard. Everyone in the square looked up sharply at the sky as if the noise was enough to shake them.
[The Silent Oath will be executed.]
[Leaking Clear Information outside the Tower is not possible.]
[Awakening has been completed.]
[The status window for the awakened is active, please open the status window.]
Despite the relentless flow of the system’s voice, nobody seemed shocked.
Instead, in places, the sound of heavy breathing echoed.
Status window!
The unique ability that defined one’s life as an Awakened was displayed there. It was not an exaggeration to say that everyone here hoped their own unique ability would hit the jackpot.
“Phew…”
Kang Woo quietly took a deep breath.
Despite knowing about the despair-inducing future apocalypse, he couldn’t help but feel excited in front of the lottery.
‘Status window!’
He shut his eyes tightly due to his nervousness.
‘Where…’
Blinking his eyes open, Kang Woo checked his own specs.
[Name: Choi Kang Woo
Strength: 6
Endurance: 5
Agility: 5
Intelligence: 7
Magic: 4]
Though he was disappointed that his magic was only 4, when considering that the average specs of people were 5, his strength and intelligence were quite satisfactory.
Now only the much-awaited lottery was left over. Will it be a win or a loss?
Glancing down, Kang Woo let out a gasp.
[Unique Ability: Sacred Touch]
Looking at the name, he knew it was a heal. There was no doubt about it.
“Oh my God…!”
I’m a healer. A healer who can heal just by moving their hand from behind!
Moreover, weren’t Healers the sought-after profession everyone wanted, even in non-combat businesses!
The notion of a doomed future momentarily vanished from his mind.
Firstly securing a fine horse, then flexing with a scenic apartment…
Details began to fill Kangwoo’s eyes as he unfolded his wings of imagination.
[Consumes a certain amount of magic power to heal wounds or illness.]
[If used on a life other than your own, 90 or more magic is required.]
“?”
Bravoury overwhelmed Kangwoo solidified in a flash.
‘What the hell is this?’
The figure of the strongest existing magic was 64.
But 90?
“W-what?”
Kangwoo growled out, causing those already keeping their distance from him to send over looks suggesting ‘Is that bastard going crazy again?’.
But Kangwoo had no leisure to mind his surroundings.
Denying reality while checking the status screen repeatedly, Kangwoo found a very small addition he could easily overlook unless closely examined.
[Has been upgraded by the blessing of ‘Asper’s Fist.]
“That bastard?”
A primal instinct whispered to him. No matter how you look at it, that bastard was the problem.
“Asper’s Fist? Why the hell is that the name?”
As Kangwoo relentlessly cursed at the entity with the absurd name, the plaza became bustling.
“Healer! Healer, this way please!”
“Magic! Is there anyone here with magical abilities!”
The reason people were sharing their abilities with one another was because they had finished checking their status windows.
‘The Oath of Silence.’ Because of this vow, the Awakened could not assist the non-Awakened trying to enter the tower.
However, the Awakened who had climbed the tower unanimously declared that:
Every floor of the tower could never be passed without forming a party.
That everyone must pool their strength together.
Organized as befitting of those who completed the association training to enter the tower, the sorting was conducted swiftly.
At the moment when the sharing of abilities was concluded and the surroundings quieted down, Kang-woo regained his focus and spotted a group of people gathered together.
“Huh? Over there!”
“Ah, student. Please stand in the back and follow.”
“What? Oh, okay!”
A tall man with a muscular build and a kind demeanor casually spoke and then walked on ahead.