Chapter 3

3

Swordmaster Healer Chapter 003

Chapter 1: Reincarnation as a Swordmaster (2)

“Ugh, ughhhhhh!”

An overwhelming amount of mana surged from the old sword. His brain, overloaded, screamed, and blood flowed continuously from his nose.

Fragments of memories infiltrated along with the mana. In those memories, a strange man was facing a massive demon dragon.

‘Is this what I saw in my dream…?’

The man's back resembled the one he had seen in his dream. In a strange flow of time where everything except himself seemed to have stopped, Seungjun focused on the incoming memories.

The memories were incomplete, and the background changed several times. The opponent the man faced also kept changing. Yet, there was one thing that remained constant.

‘Everyone died.’

The massive demon dragon, which had swept away thousands of armies and devoured great sword saints, had its wings severed by the man's critical strike. The noble vampire, with its high pride, could not withstand a single sword strike and lost its head. Finally, the man, who was left alone, turned his head to look behind.

‘Find your true self.’

The man said. As the time that had stopped resumed, Seungjun's past life awakened.

“Huff!”

Seungjun's body was enveloped in a white glow.

The sword, which had felt heavy, was now as light as a chopstick. He could feel the surging mana filling his entire body.

Creak-

Seungjun, who was still adapting to the sudden changes, was awakened by the unique metallic sound made when the Living Armor moved.

The Living Armor, which had approached without him noticing, aimed a sharp halberd at him.

“No, no…”

Fear dominated his entire body.

Begging was futile; the emotionless Living Armor would not stop. As the halberd sliced through the air, aiming for his neck, Seungjun instinctively raised his sword. Or rather, the moment he thought about raising it, he was already smoothly deflecting the halberd with his sword.

Was it just a coincidence? The answer is no.

“I confirmed it.”

Seungjun muttered to himself, feeling a slight loss of control over his body.

He forcefully struck the halberd. The slow-moving Living Armor could not immediately recover its weapon. Seizing the opportunity, Seungjun's sword pierced through the thick iron armor, destroying the core.

In less than three seconds, one Living Armor had fallen.

‘Aura?’

Seungjun was shocked. Without aura, it would be impossible to cut through the thick iron armor. Aura is a rare ability that only a few combat-type hunters can use.

‘Everything has changed…’

Everything had changed. Even his voice seemed colder.

‘I couldn’t see it…’

Jina, a C-rank recovery-type hunter, could not even follow the afterimage.

‘A C-rank recovery-type hunter destroyed a Living Armor? Unbelievable!’

Living Armors are high-level monsters that appear in B-rank and above dungeons. But that was not the most important thing right now.

‘Can I survive…?’

The hope of survival brought tears to his eyes. She looked in Seungjun's direction and spoke.

“P-Please save me!”

Seungjun's gaze turned to Jina. A smile spread across her lips, thinking he would naturally save her.

Seungjun, being a weakling, had lived hiding his fangs, but he was not the type to ignore someone in mortal danger.

“D-Damn!”

He had forgotten about Jina. Trying to move quickly, but the pain from his injuries made it difficult. During this time, the approaching Living Armors raised their weapons.

“P-Please save me…”

Jina, tears streaming down her face, begged desperately. But her pleas fell on deaf ears.

The opponent was a merciless monster.

“Screeech!”

A sharp, piercing scream.

The Living Armors slashed her body with their spears, turning her into a rag doll.

“Ah, it hurts! It hurts! P-Please save me… S-Someone… Ugh…”

Her breaths were cut short amidst the continuous, excruciating pain. The Living Armors did not stop until her body was torn to pieces.

With no more targets to strike, the Living Armors surrounded Seungjun.

‘Can I do it again…?’

Watching the approaching Living Armors, Seungjun swallowed hard. The previous moment was so swift that it could have been a coincidence.

He could not even read the flow of his own sword strike. It was almost instinctive.

‘It’s a matter of life or death!’

He would die if he just stood there. So, he decided to resist.

Seungjun lunged at the nearest Living Armor. As the Living Armor thrust its sword, Seungjun naturally dodged and took control of its back.

As he swung his sword, a faint aura enveloped it, slicing the Living Armor in half.

“Haa!”

With a battle cry, he exerted strength, and his body moved on its own. The Living Armor's sword, which seemed to have a slow effect, moved slowly, but Seungjun's sword was so fast that even he could hardly follow it.

“Huff, huff.”

When he regained his senses, only the armor pieces of the Living Armors were scattered on the stone floor.

- Dungeon cleared, measurement complete. You have cleared an A-rank dungeon.

The measurement device in his pocket informed him that the dungeon had been cleared. The device, which hunters carry, has various functions, including confirming the rank of items or mana stones and detecting the mana changes that occur when a dungeon is cleared to determine the final rank.

“Was it a hidden dungeon…?”

The measurement device cannot be wrong. Since the rank is higher than the investigation results from the Dungeon Management Bureau, it is definitely a hidden dungeon.

With the measurement device declaring the clear, there was no danger. Seungjun sheathed his sword in relief. As he took a step, he felt pain throughout his body.

The strain from performing high-difficulty sword techniques in an incomplete state of awakening had taken a toll on his body.

“Gah!”

Seungjun groaned and fell. The pain, as if his muscles were tearing, did not easily subside. As he writhed on the cold stone floor, unable to bear the pain, he recalled a fact.

‘I was a healer, right?’

Though his healing power is low, he is still a recovery-type hunter.

“Heal!”

A white light enveloped his body. The pain quickly subsided, and after a few minutes, he could move again.

“My healing already worked? Maybe the wounds weren’t as deep as I thought?”

His body was covered in blood from the tearing pain, and he had thought the wounds were fatal. But it seemed they were not.

He was so exhausted that he wanted to rest.

‘I want to rest.’

But the mental fatigue remained, and the desire to rest was overwhelming. He hurriedly took a step but stopped in front of a body.

“Uncle Sangmin…”

Sangmin's body. Even in death, his eyes were open. Seungjun silently closed his eyes and covered him with a white cloth from his bag.

He was the only hunter who helped when everyone else turned away. So, Seungjun showed him the minimum respect.

“The other bodies will be collected by the Dungeon Management Bureau…”

They were not close. He did not feel the need to go through the trouble of collecting the bodies. The stone door was already open, and as he was about to leave, something shiny caught his eye.

‘A mana stone? Left by the Living Armor…?’

Mana stones can be sold for a high price. They are mainly purchased by the Dungeon Management Bureau and are a significant source of income for hunters.

‘I can’t leave valuable mana stones behind.’

He hesitated for a moment but quickly gathered the scattered mana stones.

“The dead have no voice.”

He also collected the mana stones the party had gathered during the dungeon. Since Duksoo had been keeping them, he felt no hesitation in taking them.

‘It’s mine anyway.’

The dead have no right to claim a share.

Seungjun filled his bag with mana stones and left the dungeon. Outside, a Dungeon Management Bureau employee was waiting.

“What about the others?”

In response to the employee's question, Seungjun shook his head.

“So, only one survivor…”

The employee muttered to himself, recording something on a chart. Though usually inaudible, the voice was as clear as if spoken directly into his ear.

Seungjun, surprised, stood still, and the employee clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“You seem quite shaken, but you still need to be investigated.”

Seungjun nodded at the employee's words. The Dungeon Management Bureau conducts investigations when there is suspicion of 'murder' inside a dungeon.

“You will need to attend a statement session when the investigation results are out. We will contact you separately.”

“Thank you.”

Seungjun gave a brief response and returned home. Due to the immense mental fatigue, he fell asleep as soon as he got home. He only woke up the next afternoon, roused by the persistent ringing of his phone.

Despite just sleeping, his body felt full of energy. His surprise was short-lived as he checked his smartphone screen to see the continuous ringing.