The More the Healer Gets Hit the Stronger He Become

25 – You think I’ll just let it slide?

A flustered Kang Woo looked back at Yoo Seung Ah and Choi Seo Hee. Choi Seo Hee was glaring at Lee Jung Min, while Yoo Seung Ah simply laughed without saying a word.

‘So… they knew all along.’

There was no use in hiding now, as it had already been noticed.

“I will… only accompany you up to here.”

As if to confirm his suspicions, the reactions of the three were simple. Only Yoo Seung Ah expressed any regret.

“You can’t pretend not to know me when we meet again…!”

“Of course not. What am I to you?”

Kang Woo was stunned, while Yoo Seung Ah gave a nonchalant shrug.

“For some reason, you… I think you’ll be much farther ahead the next time we meet.”

“Huh? Farther ahead?”

What a nonsense out of the blue. Farther ahead? Is he speaking about climbing the tower?

Kang Woo wasn’t the only one who found it inexplicable; Choi Seo Hee and Lee Jung Min nodded in agreement.

“You’re going… alone?”

They remembered Kang Woo, the person who casually dispensed of beasts – the same ones they had to kill with all their might, as if swatting a bug.

Then perhaps challenging the trial alone is possible.

Kang Woo, who hesitated at Choi Seo-hee’s question, agreed.

“Yes. I’m going to try it alone.”

“I see.”

It was a trial that could only be cleared with a party. Despite declaring to challenge such a trial alone, there was not a hint of fear in Kang Woo.

By any chance, did you clear the 10th floor alone?

Choi Seo-hee swallowed the question that had risen to the tip of her tongue. She thought Kang Woo didn’t want to reveal it.

“Maybe… he cleared it alone.”

Even without hearing the answer, she was convinced. Clearing the boss room on the 10th floor alone was an absurd idea. Knowing that it was an absurd thought, she still had a gut feeling that he could have done it.

“If you’re alone, you’ll probably clear it later than us, right? Then shall we meet in the next safe zone?”

“Us? Without disbanding the party, are we going together?”

“Yeah! Jeongmin oppa also wanted to do that!”

It was unexpected, given the events experienced in the eleventh trial. Lee Jeong-min, who had suffered greatly, and Im Seung-ah, who had experienced murder. Because of that, they had expected that one of them, or both, might give up on the trial.

“Is it difficult with three people? Are we waiting until we find a party here?”

“hehehe.”

Smirking, Im Seung-ah raised both hands to her waist.

With a confident expression, she spoke as if regretting it was useless.

“A healer and a tanker. These amazing experts have decided to join our team.”

“Already??”

Fast. Too fast.

He had just announced his departure, and he already found new team members.

Seeing Kangwoo’s expression, Yuseung-ah quickly explained, “Don’t misunderstand! They wanted to join the team, but Kangwoo, it was on hold because of you! If you hadn’t left, we were planning to face the next trial with just the four of us! Right, Unni?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

If you had come, we would have even given up the healer!

Seeing Yuseung-ah happily bouncing around, Kangwoo burst into laughter.

“You…you-. You were teasing me!”

Dodging Yuseung-ah’s punch, Kangwoo asked Chwiseo-hee, “Are those healer and tank people… are they okay?”

Though it was a straightforward question, Chwiseo-hee quickly grasped its hidden meaning.

The concern was about whether the newly joined tank and healer were not like marauders such as Jang Kyumin.

“They are the ones who split off at the 10th Safe Zone. There’s nothing to worry about.”

From the 1st to the 10th floor, they climbed together, but due to the 11th floor’s restriction on the number of participants, they separated. Now, they reunited with that team member here.

‘If there are only two, the remaining three…’

Did they die, or did they leave the tower?

“I heard from Seung-ah that they formed a party first and went up…”

They heard that the trial on the 11th floor had a limit of five people, so they formed a party of five and went up. Is that okay?

In response to Kangwoo’s words, Chwiseo-hee quietly smiled.

‘Like this…’

She was smiling outwardly, but her eyes didn’t share the same joy. Although not spoken aloud, it seemed that Chwiseo-hee also harbored some resentment toward the five who went up without considering Yuseung-ah, Kangwoo, and herself.

‘Nuna becomes scary when she’s angry. Why would you do such a thing?’

Even if they didn’t know, the two newcomers would probably have to keep an eye on Choi Seo-hee’s mood for a long time.

As Kang-woo prayed for the future of the two unknown faces, Lee Jung-min, who had silently guarded the spot, furrowed his brow.

“What, forgetting something?”

“Yes?”

‘Why is he acting like that again?’

In his mind, Kang-woo cursed silently, realizing that Lee Jung-min’s gaze was on his own hand.

The shield that Jung-min unexpectedly threw without warning earlier, belonging to the deceased Jang Kyu-min, was still in Kang-woo’s hand.

[Basic Kite Shield. Stamina +1]

It was customary for those who dealt with the looter to share the looter’s weapons.

Since Choi Seo-hee and Yoo Seung-a didn’t contribute to killing Jang Kyu-min, the ownership of this shield belonged to Kang-woo and Lee Jung-min.

‘Is he giving the shield and taking the item in return?’

Points given as rewards on the tower couldn’t be looted or transferred.

However, within impossibilities, finding a way was human nature.

Awakened individuals who utilized the fact that items purchased with points could be transferred took advantage of the trial to loot something worthwhile or gain loot from the looter.

People wanting loot distributed the loot by giving their party members the equivalent value of the remaining price deducted from their share at the price of the loot in the store’s items.

“Yeah, that’s it.”

Since Lee Jung-min used dual swords and Kang-woo used a shield, it was reasonable for Kang-woo to be the owner of this loot.

Lee Jung-min must have known this, so he handed the shield over to Kang-woo.

But there was a problem.

When looking at the market price of the store item, the fair price for this shield was 3,000 points.

So, to acquire this shield, Kangwoo would have to provide items from the store equivalent to 1,500 points to Lee Jungmin. However, Kangwoo didn’t have enough points at the moment.

‘An opportunity to get a shield with a +1 health effect for just 1,500 points. What should I do?’

Kangwoo, holding the shield, shook his head.

‘If I ask him for credit, will that guy really do it?’

He had no points, but he wanted the shield. It was when Kangwoo, cradling the shield, was about to plead with Lee Jungmin.

“That’s yours. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have survived. It’s only right that you take it.”

“…?”

‘He’s just giving this to me?’

It was a shield with a whopping +1 health. One might think it was just a shield with a minor increase of 1, but even such items, when auctioned in the modern world, started at a minimum of 5,000.

Effects like ‘5% increase in health’ couldn’t stack, but simple numerical increases like ‘health +1’ could accumulate across multiple items.

And he was giving away such an item without any compensation?

Kangwoo couldn’t believe it, but Lee Jungmin spoke with a serious expression.

“Just in case, that bastard Jang Kyumin caused trouble because of you. Don’t even think about rejecting it with such a stupid thought.”

Hmm. Kangwoo’s body trembled.

‘What nonsense is this?’

As if realizing some misconception, Lee Jungmin, looking at Kangwoo as if he were an idiot, continued speaking.

“Even if it weren’t your item, that bastard would have shown his true colors sooner or later. Maybe someone in our party was waiting for the right moment to purchase a good item.”

‘What’s going on here?’

As Kangwoo was perplexed, Choi Seohee and Yoo Seungah also paid attention to Lee Jungmin’s words.

“Each word may be crude, but I agree too. Mr. Kang Woo is not at fault for whatever happened on the 11th floor. If anything, we should be grateful.”

“That’s right! Don’t pay too much attention! Just think, we might have climbed the Tower with someone like that and shivered at the thought!”

Kang Woo realized they were misunderstanding.

They were blaming themselves for the danger caused by Jang Kyumin’s attempt to loot, targeting an item that didn’t even exist for him.

“…I can’t deny that in this atmosphere.”

Why should Kang Woo feel responsible for Jang Kyumin’s attempted looting? That guy was trash from the start.

Kang Woo, who had never blamed himself for a single moment, or even considered it, felt a momentary warmth in his chest due to the three people’s mistaken beliefs. Somehow, it made him feel good.

“Anyway, don’t hesitate, take it. I don’t want to owe you anything.”

There was no reason to refuse such an offer.

‘Wow, what’s going on here?’

Kang Woo lowered his head to hide the corners of his mouth that were about to split open.

“…Thank you.”

“And…”

Unexpectedly hesitating, Lee Jungmin spoke.

“About how I acted when we first met… I’m sorry.”

An apology blurted out abruptly. Kang Woo, who never expected an apology from Lee Jungmin, widened his eyes in surprise.

Clap, clap, clap, clap.

The sound of Yoo Seunga’s applause, sincerely supporting Lee Jungmin’s apology, echoed. Lee Jungmin apologized once again.

“…I misunderstood. I’m sorry.”

Kang Woo knew from Yoo Seunga the reason he had doubted Lee Jungmin when they first met—surviving alone when all his comrades died in the trial was suspicious. Kang Woo had said things like trusting him would lead to betrayal and various other remarks.

It happened when, amid the plunderers in the trial of the 9th floor, a close friend got seriously injured due to an incident.

Though not arrogant, having survived alone in the 10th-floor trial, adorned with various weapons, he had given rise to enough misunderstanding about himself that he refrained from saying anything. But now, he was about to hear that apology.

“It’s okay. I’ve forgotten everything.”

Kang Woo brightly smiled at Lee Jeongmin, who had bowed his head.

‘I wonder how sincere that apology is.’

Holding the shield of the late Jang Gyumin, handed over by Lee Jeongmin, Kang Woo expressed a benevolent smile.

***

That day, the four individuals who had settled all the grudges among them continued to converse for a long time afterward.

Although it was just a day, the four, who were party members but seemed to know nothing about each other, spent a considerable amount of time getting to know one another as they parted ways.

They exchanged conversations about their experiences in the tower and in the modern world for a long time.

It wasn’t until midnight that the four, having shaken off any lingering emotions, bid farewell with smiles.

‘If only…’

They had known they were such good people.

If that were the case, they wouldn’t have let the time during the trials together pass so dryly.

A colossal door filled with darkness like ink. Standing in front of it, Kang Woo felt a strange sense of loneliness.

Even though they had only faced one trial together, the void left by him was so vast.

It was an unforeseen event when he first joined the party.

In the still-unawakened dawn, the other party members would only realize he was gone when morning came.

‘I should have at least said goodbye.’

After much hesitation, Kangwoo finally took a step forward.

Into the darkness alone.

In a world where not even an inch ahead was visible, a slender beam of light descended, bathing the entire field of vision in brilliance.

[You have challenged the twelfth trial.]

It was the beginning of the next trial.