The More the Healer Gets Hit the Stronger He Become

24 – Why is this happening?

“Cough, kuh-!”

Eyes filled with astonishment, a body convulsing violently, and hot blood that painted everything around in vivid red.

Everything was so surreal that Kang Woo stood frozen, unable to move.

“W-What are you doing!”

Like Kangwoo, Choi Seohee couldn’t contain her shock and let out a scream. But Lee Jungmin remained indifferent.

“What were you planning to do? Keep this guy alive?”

“Y-yes, we should’ve kept him alive!”

“Ha. Keep him alive for what? So that the cops, this guy, would try to kill us? Or maybe do worse?”

Of course, that thought had crossed their minds.

While Choi Seohee struggled to speak, Jungmin sneered.

“You know the rule, what happens in the tower stays in the tower. No one gives a damn about anything that happens inside without evidence.”

“If we all testify together…”

“Testify? You think I’d give up climbing just to throw one thief in jail? I don’t have that in mind. Choi Kangwoo wouldn’t either.”

Kangwoo, who couldn’t take his eyes off the dying Jang Kyumin, shifted his gaze to Jungmin.

“….”

Despite personal reasons for not using the exit, Jungmin was right in the end. He couldn’t leave the tower and testify.

As Kangwoo stayed silent, Jungmin scorned.

“Even if, just if, we all held hands and went to testify together, the government won’t punish one E-rank Awakener for the sake of four others. Punishing without evidence for merely four E-rank Awakeners isn’t their kind of adventure.”

“….”

Though he wanted to refute, it wasn’t an incorrect statement. Awakeners being punished for tower matters was exceedingly rare.

Interfering in Awakeners’ affairs was highly frowned upon even by government officials. They never knew when potential retaliation might come their way.

“B-but still… even so…”

Jungmin clicked his tongue at Seohee, who still hadn’t fully regained her senses.

However, from Kang Woo’s perspective at a different angle, it looked different.

The fingertips of Lee Jung Min, who pretended to be nonchalant, were trembling ruthlessly.

“C-Courageous……”

As if declaring the end of the argument, Jang Kyu Min’s convulsing body came to a halt.

“…You too.”

Lee Jung Min advised the frozen Kang Woo as if putting an end to time.

“If you’re not going to give up climbing here, make your judgment straight.”

“….”

“Next time, you’ll have to kill with your own hands.”

Lee Jung Min’s bloodshot eyes and the lifeless body of Jang Kyu Min confused Kang Woo’s mind.

In extreme chaos.

To escape from this dreadful situation, Kang Woo reached for the last remaining head of the doll.

Crack-!!

[The trial will end.]

It was the end of the long and arduous eleventh trial.

***

[Completion reward for the trial: 700 points]

[Points for defeating monsters: 92⨉28 points]

The scenery of the safe zone unfolded as the cluster of light dispersed.

The people who had moved were only Kang Woo, Lee Jung Min, Choi Seo Hee, and Yoo Seung Ah.

[The monster points earned will be divided among the members.]

[The total reward is 1,215 points.]

“St, store!!”

Choi Seo-hee, embracing Yu Seung-ah, exclaimed.

“Intermediate, intermediate healing potion!”

The price of an intermediate healing potion is 1,000 points.

Although most of the points earned from the 11th-floor trial disappeared in an instant, Choi Seo-hee showed no hesitation.

“Ka, Kang Woo-ssi! Quickly…!”

Choi Seo-hee, still struggling due to the paralysis toxin, sought Kang Woo.

Responding to her request, Kang Woo poured the purchased intermediate healing potion onto Yu Seung-ah’s wounds and into her mouth.

“Huuhh… Uh…. Ugh……. “

The intermediate healing potion’s effect was remarkable. Labored breathing gradually calmed, and the pallor in her complexion started to improve.

Realizing they had overcome the ordeal, Kang Woo and Choi Seo-hee breathed sighs of relief.

“Ah… Thank goodness… Thank goodness…”

As the two relaxed on the ground, tension released.

Jeong Min, standing with a sword as a makeshift staff, broke the atmosphere as he finally stood up.

“If you’re done, stop blabbering and go inside.”

“Seriously, the nerve…!”

Although a shocked Choi Seo-hee erupted in anger, Jeong Min had already disappeared into the tent.

“That guy, seriously!”

“Nuna, calm down. That jerk has been unbearable for more than just a day or two.”

“Sigh… If only I weren’t in this paralyzed state!”

“You’ve been through a lot today, Nuna. Just go in and rest. Who bought the tent? I’ll move Seoa for you.”

“…Wait a moment.”

Kangwoo, who had moved Chae Seo-hee and Yoo Seung-ah into the tent, greeted them.

“Well, then, get some good rest.”

As Kangwoo left the tent right away, a small voice followed him.

“……Thank you.”

With a sincerely filled expression, Kangwoo smiled without saying a word and closed the tent door.

The ensuing silence.

Looking around, aside from the tents of Lee Jung-min and Chae Seo-hee, five more tents caught the eye.

Perhaps they caught up with the teams that were ahead, thanks to overcoming this trial before a day had passed.

‘No. Maybe…’

It could be that the party that lost a member was waiting for a new member to be replenished.

“….”

The Safe Zone, devoid of noise, as everyone took a break inside their tents.

Standing alone in that empty space, thoughts that had been ignored so far surfaced in my mind.

– Kyaahhh!!

Yoo Seung-ah’s scream, as if tearing apart, still echoed in my ears.

It was the first ‘team’ upon entering the tower. Naturally so. This was also the first time seeing a teammate injured.

So, is it because of that?

Even though we had only met for a day, and we were supposed to part ways after this trial.

Later on, in the modern world, even if we coincidentally crossed paths, it would have been a relationship where we’d have a meal together and part ways.

The person who had just been with him, injured and coughing up blood, breathing heavily as if about to die at any moment, shocked Kangwoo.

Maybe it was because of an accident that occurred while hunting with tactics he had suggested himself.

Or perhaps it was because he had shared quite a few stories with Yooseungah in a short amount of time.

‘….’

While searching for various reasons, Kangwoo already knew.

The more fundamental reason.

– If you’re not going to give up climbing here, then make the judgment right.

He wasn’t accustomed to human death.

So, after hearing Yooseungah’s scream, he disregarded the decision to hide his abilities and used all his powers to quickly finish the job.

And even though he already knew that the opinion of Lee Jeongmin, that Jang Gyumin had to be killed, was valid, he didn’t kill Jang Gyumin.

For Kangwoo, who had lived as an ordinary human for 19 years, this was, in a way, a natural problem.

Right in front of him, as a person was dying, he couldn’t maintain his composure. Regardless of how wrong the other person might have been, he didn’t have the will to easily kill them.

If the injured person had been someone other than Yooseungah, Kangwoo would have acted the same way.

But.

– Next time, you’ll have to kill with your own hands.

The trembling fingertips of Lee Jeongmin, who had killed Jang Gyumin without mercy, were vivid in his mind.

The red-blooded pupils staring at him seemed to say just that.

If you still hesitate at that moment, it will be you who dies.

“Sigh…”

Kang Woo weakly sank into his seat.

For him, he needed time to organize his thoughts.

***

The points obtained from the trial on the 11th floor totaled 1,215 points.

The reward for completing the trial was 200 points, and the total reward for defeating only 26 monsters in the 1st-floor trial was 1,180 points, a mere 35 points difference.

Despite defeating a whopping 92 monsters in the 11th-floor trial.

“I expected it, but… the difference is significant.”

The disappearance of the ‘Single Clear Achievement,’ which had played a significant role in Kang Woo receiving abundant points, was the biggest reason for this result.

Next was the division of monster defeat points based on the party size.

“As expected, it’s divided into fifths.”

Even though one party member died, the points for defeating monsters were divided into fifths.

This was a fact that Kang Woo also knew through the Association’s education.

From the moment an Awakened entered the trial and contributed to its clearance, the Tower included that Awakened in the reward calculation process.

Even if the Awakened who helped clear the trial had already died.

“….”

It was as if the Tower was saying, “Even if you kill a party member during the trial, you won’t gain any benefits.”

Kang Woo felt an inexplicable chill.

‘Could it be that the Tower knew in advance about someone like Jang Kyu-min, a person…’

“Kangwoo!!”

As his thoughts continued, the outside of the tent became noisy.

“Kangwoo, what are you doing? Still sleeping?”

“Just a moment!”

In response to the welcoming voice calling him, Kangwoo stepped outside the tent.

The center of the commotion was, as always, Yooseung-ah.

“Did you sleep well?”

It had been just one night since overcoming the trial. Kangwoo expressed his concern to Yooseung-ah, who was casually wandering around.

“Are you okay? You must have run out of potions….”

Kangwoo, who had been injured countless times, knew better than anyone that intermediate healing potions weren’t a cure-all.

Even with three low-level potions and one intermediate potion applied to Yooseung-ah’s injuries, they didn’t heal as cleanly as Kangwoo would have liked.

“Oh! I asked to meet a healer I know! Now I’m completely fine!”

Yooseung-ah appealed, bouncing in place with her recovered body. Kangwoo smiled at her cheerful demeanor.

“That’s a relief.”

“Right? Oh, Kangwoo, are you okay? I heard your arm got hurt…”

There was only one injury obtained during the 11th-floor trial. A scratch on his arm from opposing Jang Gyumin, who had tried to kill him.

“… Nuna told you? When did she see that?”

“Look here. Your right arm… Oh, right. That was your ability.”

Yooseung-ah, who considered Kangwoo’s ability as self-healing power, nodded in understanding.

They continued to inquire about each other’s well-being for a while.

Yoo Seung-ah, after checking the time, led Kang Woo slowly, unable to hide her disappointment.

‘Why is she like this?’

As Kang Woo followed Yoo Seung-ah, he noticed party members waiting for him in a corner of the Safe Zone.

“Have you come?”

“….”

Choi Seo-hee didn’t expect Lee Jung-min to be here as well. Seeing that there was no awkwardness between them, it seemed like the issues caused by Jang Kyu-min had been resolved.

Choi Seo-hee, true to her character, got straight to the point.

“We gathered here because of the 12th-floor trial.”

…!

Although he had promised himself to leave the party after the 11th-floor trial was over, he never thought the time to convey that decision would come so quickly.

Kang Woo, momentarily flustered, looked back at the party members who had shared life and death together.

Yoo Seung-ah, who had always taken care of him from behind, despite being awkward in party movements, with her straightforward manner and uplifted eyes, was unparalleled in her coldness. Choi Seo-hee, who always had a bright and bold personality, seemed subtly affectionate.

Even though he was an impolite guy who didn’t hesitate to speak informally to someone he just met, Lee Jung-min, who worked hard in his assigned tasks, was a reliable individual. However, he was still annoying like a stubborn son of a gun.

It was a short time, but as it was the first party he formed and the first people he met while wandering through the tower alone, their existence was not insignificant to Kang Woo.

‘Even if we part ways this time, we’ll probably see each other again…?’

Lee Jung-min might be an exception, but Seung-ah and Seo-hee noona would probably be memorable.

Just when Kang Woo hesitated with a mouth that wouldn’t close.

Thud!

A large piece of scrap metal flew in unexpectedly.

After managing to hang onto his shield, Kang Woo managed to identify the one behind this mischief.

The culprit was, as expected, the shameless Lee Jung Min.

“What in the…!”

“You know you’re not coming with us, she knows it, he knows it, and I know it. Stop feigning ignorance.”

The words just about to tumble out in anger were instead swallowed back.