The Owner of the Healing Therapy Shop Is Ranked 0th in the World - Chapter 2

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Owner of the Healing Therapy Shop is World Rank 0

Chapter 2

Before I could even panic at the status window that appeared before my eyes.

Thud!

I hit my butt hard against a floor that suddenly appeared.

“Ow…”

As I rubbed my back and got up from where I was, I couldn’t help but doubt my own eyes.

“What the…?”

I was certain I was the only one who fell into the Intersection Gate, but hundreds, thousands of people with pale faces were looking around, though I had no idea where they came from.

“Wasn’t I the only one who fell in?”

But all those many people were looking up at the sky and murmuring.

Naturally following their gaze.

“Huh…?”

A stupid sound burst out of my mouth. I checked the sky once more.

Above me wasn’t a wide open sky, but curved ground.

I soon realized.

This gate was a space like a giant hamster wheel.

Looking around with the feeling of being a single hamster, my impression was…

“This is fucked.”

Twenty years since gates appeared in the world. South Korea had achieved remarkable technological advancement, and many outstanding hunters had been born during that time.

Therefore, if it were just an ordinary emergency gate, hunters would have quickly appeared to rescue us.

However…

The reason I expressed that we were fucked was because this gate was… a ‘Maze’. And it was a rare gate that had only occurred once in the 20 years since gates appeared, so not even data had been accumulated.

What’s the big deal, just find the exit, right?

Rumble-rumble-…

Easier said than done, the 5-meter-high maze walls change position every 3 minutes.

A gate with no proper strategy guide, and a giant maze where the paths constantly change.

Even if a top ranker came, unless they had tracking or exploration skills, they’d be more likely to starve to death while searching for the exit.

“Hunters will come to rescue us soon.”

“Everyone calm down!”

The people who fell into the large Open Space with me were each encouraging and taking care of each other.

If only I knew nothing about gates, I might have harbored hope like them. But I knew too much information for that.

“Why did I have to graduate from Hunter Training School…”

Then, among the murmuring people, some man shouted loudly.

“Let’s all gather together and wait until the hunters come!”

A wise decision. When stranded, the safest thing is to stay put and wait for rescuers to come.

Of course, that’s only in normal cases.

“Everyone get away!”

Unlike that man, I shouted at people to scatter and run.

Because I could see winged monsters swarming toward us from far away.

“Winged monsters are coming!”

However, people just looked around asking ‘Why?’ and ‘What?’

Since they couldn’t see them, it would be hard to believe readily.

But my eyes and ears, which are incomparably more developed than ordinary people’s, can sense them!

“Flying monsters will attack soon! Run!”

At the speed the monsters were flying, they’d arrive here in 30 seconds. They’d start being visible to the naked eye in about 10 seconds.

But the distance from this Open Space to the Maze was too far to start running then.

“Run into the Maze! If you stay in such an open space, you’ll be killed immediately!”

I shouted until my throat was hoarse, grabbing people’s clothes around me and repeatedly telling them to run away together.

But people seemed to feel safer staying huddled together, and didn’t seem to have any intention of listening to me.

‘This is something I can’t help.’

I bit my lip hard.

“Run if you want to live!”

Finally giving up on persuasion, I left those words and turned around to run. Hoping that at least one person would follow me.

I heard voices from far away trying to stop me from entering the Maze.

But a few seconds later, terrible sounds began echoing from behind.

“Kyaaaah!”

“Aaaaah! Help me!”

I gritted my teeth and ran forward looking only ahead, as if I couldn’t hear those sounds.

Huff! Huff!

My breath rose to my throat and I felt like I was dying, but I couldn’t stop my running legs.

If I stopped, I’d be torn apart by monsters!

‘Left! Straight ahead!’

Fortunately, thanks to my sensitive senses, I could choose to run only on paths where I couldn’t hear any sign of monsters.

As time passed, I went deeper into the Maze, but I was still alive.

If I had stayed still in that Open Space where the gate dropped us, I probably would have been seeing the afterlife already.

‘Phew!’

After running for a while, as soon as I realized I couldn’t sense any sign of monsters anywhere, I hid behind a maze wall.

“Haa, haa. Status window.”

After sharpening my senses as much as possible so I could run away at any time, I immediately called up the status window.

Earlier I was too panicked and wondered if I was seeing things, but.

[Hidden Class: Healing Therapy Shop Novice Owner]

[Skill: Absolute Sense (EX Grade)]

As soon as I saw the square box that appeared before my eyes, a hollow laugh burst out.

‘Ha, what the hell is that unknown class…’

Most hunters awaken in dangerous situations like mine. And I learned at the training school that they awaken with the skills or classes most needed at the time of awakening.

For example, if you need to protect family, you’d awaken a defensive class, and if you need to heal an injured lover, you’d awaken a healer class.

‘Then shouldn’t someone like me who fell into a maze gate get an exploration skill to find the way!?’

Fine, exploration skills are rare skills, so let’s say that’s understandable.

Then at least my strength, agility, and stamina should be high so I can hold out until I find the exit, wouldn’t that make sense?

What the hell are these vision, smell… stats? I’ve never heard or seen such stats in my life.

‘This is driving me crazy…’

I wiped the sweat from my face and pulled myself together.

That system window is more fair than expected and definitely follows give and take.

Even if the class and skill look shabby and useless, they must have given them because they’re useful somewhere.

I tried to think as calmly as possible.

Remaining stat points: 2.

Since I’ve been running away by hearing monsters approaching, investing in hearing would be…

Hesitation crept into my fingertip as I was about to touch the hearing stat.

Because I wasn’t sure if making a choice just for ‘running away’ was right.

How much longer could I keep running from monsters, having lived without exercise since graduating from the training school?

What use would it be to hear monsters better if I don’t have stamina?

Thump, thump.

Overlapping with my rapidly beating heart, I heard the heavy sound of monsters stepping on the ground from far away.

A way to end the running. I need to figure that out.

’18 years ago, the hunter who conquered the maze gate definitely said in an interview…’

The Maze Gate is conquered automatically when you find the exit, not a boss, and all monsters disappear.

I need to avoid the monsters and find the exit.

Upon reaching this conclusion, there was only one stat I could choose.

The way to ‘find’ the exit.

That was vision.

Click.

When I pressed the vision stat, a status window appeared with a strange sound effect.

[Error occurred]

[Skill level too low for direct use by caster. Medium required.]

Medium?

I quickly searched through my pockets, and the oil bottle I habitually carried touched my fingertips.

As soon as I took it out, the transparent oil began glowing blue and swirling. As if asking to be released from the bottle.

When I carefully opened the cap, the oil became a haze and began stretching in one direction.

As if guiding the way to the exit.

* * *

Weeeeeng-!

Beeeep-!

February 19th, Year 26, 6:06 PM.

Emergency alerts were issued throughout South Korea.

[Sudden gates occurring across all areas of Seoul. Please be cautious for safety. February 19th, 6:06 PM.]

[Catastrophe-level maze gates occurring. All hunters report for emergency deployment. Dongjak-gu, Mapo-gu, Songpa-gu… February 19th, 6:07 PM.]

“Eleven sudden gates simultaneously? Does that make sense?! And what? All mazes?”

Korean Hunter Association President Maeng Seokwoo couldn’t hide his shock as he looked at the eleven red dots flashing on the Seoul map.

“Due to occurring during rush hour, the number of civilians sucked into the eleven gates reaches tens of thousands…!”

“Multiple maze gates like Seoul have also occurred in capital cities worldwide!”

“They measure from a minimum radius of 3m to a maximum of 1km!”

Damn! Damn!

Maeng Seokwoo slammed the desk hard with his fat hand.

Not only did eleven sudden gates occur simultaneously, but they were maze gates that had only occurred once in twenty years!

What kind of disaster is this just one week into my appointment…!

“Maze gate strategy guide! Distribute that to all hunters in South Korea!”

“Th-there’s no information worthy of being called a strategy guide! Accompanying hunters with detection or exploration skills to find the exit is… the only strategy.”

“You’re talking nonsense about exploration skills!”

Isn’t that the rarest awakening skill in the world!

“The last hunter with that skill suddenly disappeared years ago! Isn’t there any hunter registered with exploration skills, even F-rank?”

“…There are none in Korea. Only three in the entire world, including that disappeared hunter.”

“Argh! This is maddening!”

President Maeng wiped his flowing sweat vigorously, trying to shake off the worst-case scenarios that kept coming to mind.

Maze gates. They were the worst gates that caused the most casualties in Korea’s twenty years of gate occurrences.

President Maeng vividly remembers the hell of that day.

“…No, that’s not right.”

He swallowed dry saliva and shook his head vigorously.

Eighteen years ago and now are different.

In the meantime, hadn’t four S-rank hunters been born in Korea?

S-rank hunters called irregular awakeners should be able to clear them without exploration skills.

However, one S-rank hunter is in a paralyzed state, one is a healer, and another was unfortunately sent to support a Japanese gate…

Tsk.

President Maeng had only one paragon to rely on.

Korea’s first S-rank hunter, ranked 1st in Korea and 5th worldwide.

“Gangjinseong! Where is Hunter Gang right now!”

“Currently solo playing an AA-rank dungeon…!”

“What? How long will it take for him to come out!”

“It’s been three hours since he entered, but how long the clear will take is…”

“Even if it’s solo play, shouldn’t an S-rank be ready to come out by now!”

“Well…”

At President Maeng’s shrill shout, the employee answered while sweating profusely.

“G-Hunter Gangjinseong has a serious… sense of direction problem, so gate clears usually take a bit longer…!”

That’s right!

Hunter Gangjinseong, who shines as Korea’s 1st ranked hunter, had a serious sense of direction problem. It was the moment when the top-secret hidden secret of the 1st ranked hunter was revealed.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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