The Tone-Deaf Healer Kills with a Song - Chapter 4
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Tone-Deaf Healer Kills with Song – Episode 004
The Unknown Male Hunter gazed ahead with an impassive expression. His voice carried a subtle distortion, as if layered with faint static.
Perhaps my suspicion had been too obvious, because he rummaged through his belongings and produced a wallet—a Guild membership card, to be precise.
“Since there’s a Hunter Association staff member here, you can verify it with a scan.”
“Ah, yes. We need to proceed with the dungeon conquest shortly, so we’ll skip the preliminary procedures and move forward with an abbreviated process.”
Kim A-jin, who maintained the same guarded expression as I did, soon took the pen she’d been writing with in mid-air and inscribed something onto the membership card.
It appeared this was both a tool that facilitated the abilities of Awakened individuals and an instrument for conducting Hunter Association business.
After reading whatever appeared before her, she withdrew the pen.
“Confirmed—you are indeed a Hunter affiliated with Hanttae Guild. Since there’s nothing more I can assist with here, I’ll transfer you to this person.”
Kim A-jin offered me a quiet “Do your best!” before hurrying away with quick steps.
Here she was, taking time out of what must be an incredibly busy period—stressed by this sudden Gate—to help someone who hadn’t even secured employment yet. I genuinely hoped things would work out well for her.
Perhaps she’d win on a lottery ticket she’d bought on impulse, or some stressful matter would resolve itself without any apparent reason. Failing that, wherever she went, there’d always be a spacious parking spot waiting for her…
“Let’s head to a more secluded area.”
I was silently offering my admiration to this woman named Kim A-jin when a low voice suddenly interjected. There was no need to check—it was definitely someone from Hanttae.
I stood obediently before him and glanced around. Purple mist filled every direction, and I felt certain that taking even a single step would mean inhaling it and inviting disaster.
Moving around in this place, where anxious people huddled together, seemed like the worst possible course of action no matter how I thought about it.
“Is there a reason? Is this related to the interview…? If I leave this area, it doesn’t matter how late it gets. If you could reschedule, I absolutely…”
“This isn’t about rejecting your application. There are too many ears listening right now, and it’s difficult to discuss Guild matters here.”
Only after he spoke did I notice the surrounding gazes.
Trapped in anxiety from being suddenly pulled into the dungeon, there were those who cast sidelong glances at me and the man as we spoke separately with the Hunter Association staff member.
“Ah, this area is…”
“Yes, this is a designated zone where Awakened individuals who either haven’t chosen to become Hunters or have only recently become Hunters receive special protection. I shouldn’t be here.”
“Am I allowed to leave this area?”
“If a Hunter of a rank higher than this dungeon’s grade accompanies you.”
He showed no sign of tension whatsoever. He was likely a veteran who’d entered dungeons like this many times before. To be part of Hanttae, after all.
Moreover, judging from how he spoke, he was surely a Hunter of at least one rank higher than this dungeon’s grade.
From my position with zero practical experience, naturally I felt afraid to move following him, but what choice did I have? Before joining a company, one must always present a sincere and bright demeanor.
Though this was my first Gate, I was something of a veteran myself—having dealt with countless drunk customers at late-night convenience stores. I nodded my head with determination.
The Unknown Male Hunter glanced at my reaction, then took the lead. Despite his obvious tension, he showed no inclination to reconsider, which suggested this was clearly a matter others shouldn’t hear.
“But when you say a secluded area, how deep do we need to go?”
“This isn’t a one-time dungeon. Internal maps and conquest methods are all shared. If you walk long enough, you’ll see the exit.”
It was an unhelpful explanation. So we’d clear it simply by walking through, then. But he, having spoken in that blunt tone, showed his back, indicating he had no intention of explaining further.
Thinking I needed to catch up before he got too far ahead, I hurried my steps. I did have one moment where, in my nervousness, my right arm and right leg moved forward simultaneously, but otherwise I managed to look reasonably natural.
“So when you use Heal, the people who hear it lose consciousness?”
The Unknown Male Hunter opened his mouth only after people had become barely visible behind us. The Hunter Association staff had checked our identification several times, but they’d let us pass immediately upon confirming his Hunter license.
They seemed too busy verifying passing Hunters while simultaneously dealing with monsters lurking in the mist and attacking from various directions to pay much attention to our conversation.
“Everyone I’ve encountered so far has reacted that way…”
“When you open your current stat window, is there no curse or similar condition listed?”
[Liri: If I had something like that, I would’ve already written it on my resume! I’m not the kind of person who can lie so skillfully!]
‘You were still watching?’
[Liri: Of course! This is a momentous occasion—if something goes wrong, shouldn’t I step in? This person is really something else. Thinking that Yea was hiding a curse.]
She had a point.
Since childhood, I’d heard “You lack flexibility” as often as I ate meals. I should have learned to strategically omit things unfavorable to me, to package myself cleverly—but instead, I was brutishly honest.
I pushed aside the chat window Liri had open and pulled up my stat window.
“Your common stats average out to C. That’s quite high for someone with no experience whatsoever. What unique stats do you have?”
“One marked with a question mark, Creative Technique, and Vocal Performance.”
“What are their respective grades?”
Strength, Speed, and Mana were mandatory on any resume—the universal stats shared by all Hunters, serving as the baseline threshold for ranking.
Beyond that, each Awakened possessed unique stats of their own. Many reportedly had more than ten. The lowest-ranked Awakened were graded F, sometimes even considered below ordinary human standards.
“Currently unmeasurable, F, F-minus….”
“…F-minus?”
As far as I knew, that had never existed before.
A suffocating silence descended with my answer. He stopped walking, his face lost in thought, genuinely wrestling with the question of whether an F-minus grade could even exist.
Ordinary humans didn’t have stat windows, but if they did, mine might have proven I was below human baseline.
While I hesitated and gauged his reaction, Liri sent another message.
[Liri: And since Yea has already entered the dungeon without joining a guild, this is the perfect opportunity to solve the problem I mentioned!]
‘I’m thinking about that too. The problem is I can’t suddenly use my skill here right now.’
“Then let’s hear it. The skill of an F-minus.”
As if he’d read my mind, the man suddenly asked to hear me sing. I blinked in confusion, and he turned to face me directly, crossing his arms as he waited.
An interviewer crossing their arms was never a good sign. I bit my lip.
“But if I make you pass out here….”
“I won’t. Go ahead.”
Where did this confidence come from? If I made even this man collapse inside a dungeon, I’d be saddled with every accusation imaginable and probably face a lawsuit.
I began weighing my options. Which choice would send my life further down the drain? In the end, I chose the lawsuit. At least if I went to prison, I wouldn’t have to worry about food.
“Ah, my irritating woman. My woman like the waves….”
I began singing the next verse of the song that had made the previous interviewer collapse. Naturally, the skill activation window appeared.
Skill activation conditions met. You have entered Ragnarok’s Domain for the first time. Outputting correct skill vibrations.
Searching for skills matching the current vocal performance vibrations.
Siren’s Slumber! Activating. May Balder’s blessing accompany you!
Musical notes and staff lines began flying about once more, just as crooked and chaotic as before, hurtling fiercely toward the man.
They spiraled around him in circles, undulating up and down as if probing him.
The man remained standing before me, perfectly unaffected.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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