The Tone-Deaf Healer Kills with a Song - Chapter 41
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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 041
The ranking tournament was drawing near.
If this were me from last year, I probably would have thought how annoying it was that hunters kept rushing in and out of the Convenience Store so frantically. But now I found myself standing in a hunter-exclusive Convenience Store, seriously deliberating over my purchases.
I bought several energy drinks—not official potions, but known to improve one’s condition—and left the Convenience Store.
My phone displayed a group chat overflowing with information about Hwa-jon.
Usually I always surrender anyway, but just in case, I’m attaching videos related to combat patterns!
Hwa-jon is actually somewhat hesitant about taking lives outright, even though he’s a monster. He doesn’t initiate attacks unless the opponent harms him first. That’s probably why he carries so many minor wounds and debuffs.
His speed is extraordinary. Whether it’s for easier mana manipulation or not, he wields a sword—and it’s the fastest of the fast. Before that, he waits patiently, observing the opponent’s attacks and analyzing their patterns.
When I played the video from the chat, I could see Hwa-jon darting across the screen with incredible velocity.
His handler had filmed it and distributed it with the stated purpose of helping others—specifically those who wielded swords or provided healing.
I could count on one hand the number of people throughout history who shared and exposed their combat situations in such meticulous detail.
The reason the Hunter Association couldn’t distribute guides on skill usage to hunters after their initial awakening was that even the Association’s own staff were reluctant to record their skill utilization methods.
That guy is that guy—honestly, I even tried to bring him into Hanttae at one point, but he didn’t like being affiliated with any organization, so he declined.
He started as a Solo Guild, accepting hunters with nowhere else to go. But once they grew strong enough, he’d forcibly expel them from the guild to send them somewhere better. Lately though, people have been abusing that system, so he’s just remained a Solo Guild.
Is it really possible for someone to give so much of themselves for another person?
Perhaps this is what it means to be a sage. Influenced by his handler, he’s taken on a somewhat more martial arts-like demeanor, but he was originally quite an altruistic person.
I might actually be grateful that my first competitive opponent is this person.
Even if he truly lusted for ranking and threw himself into the fight, I was certain he wouldn’t inflict serious harm on me. I had faith that even if I lost, he would only incapacitate me without leaving long-lasting, uncontrollable scars.
If I had to face any hunter ranked below him instead, I wouldn’t feel nearly this reassured.
“Hey, aren’t you coming in?”
“Oh, Senior, when did you arrive?”
I’d wasted time watching videos in front of the building after leaving the Convenience Store.
Since all of Hanttae’s guild members reached a certain rank, once the ranking tournament opponent was announced until the official match took place, they all entered their personal strengthening period.
They rejected all dungeon-clearing requests from outside and focused entirely on honing the skills they’d use in the ranking tournament and refining their stats.
Attendance was voluntary, departure was voluntary, and the Training Room and equipment rental facilities operated unmanned twenty-four hours a day.
It was truly a place that deserved to be called a hunter’s paradise just for joining.
“I came out thinking I’d take a walk, but I’ve been waiting since you kept looking at your phone.”
“Really?”
I had also been thinking of entering the Training Room to practice singing, but watching videos in front of the Company building had consumed all my time.
Even if Hwa-jon conceded at first, there was no guarantee the next opponents would be as kind.
If anything, they’d probably come at me even more viciously.
For that reason alone, I needed rigorous training.
Jung Hwan-jae seemed to have his own preparations to make, so he hadn’t been able to follow me around or help with anything lately.
“Yes, I’ve been busy these days and couldn’t greet you often or meet up, but thinking I could have a conversation with you after so long…”
“I missed you too.”
“Huh?”
“Didn’t you say you missed me? I missed you as well.”
I put my phone in my pocket and looked up.
He blinked, seeming flustered by my sudden words.
Had I said something I shouldn’t have? It sounded exactly like I was saying I’d missed him and had been thinking about him.
He rolled his eyes for a moment before his face gradually flushed. Truly, his expressions were remarkably varied.
His face seemed to ask, ‘Did you really want to see me?’ so I simply nodded lightly and smiled.
Though it hadn’t been that long, we’d stuck together so closely that it was only natural.
“…I apologize. My face must look quite unsightly.”
“Not at all.”
There was no way such a handsome face could look ugly just from blushing a little.
He hesitated for a long moment before carefully opening his mouth.
“Actually, I need a bit of help from you right now.”
“What is it? If I can help, I should.”
“Would you be able to sing for me?”
“…Me?”
It took a few seconds for me to realize he meant ‘Could I receive some healing?’ by asking me to sing.
He could have just said he needed healing, but asking if I could sing made it harder to understand.
When he spent time with me, he often called me aside separately to ask if I could provide healing. My basic healing affects most external wounds and debuffs, but I can’t visually confirm exactly what I’m treating.
If it’s a particularly obvious wound, I can see it, but with debuffs and such, I can only understand they’ve been resolved when the other person tells me so.
“Should we go to a separate room? It’s better to do this sort of thing alone.”
“Yes, it would be awkward to have someone nearby while doing this.”
I deliberately chose words that could be misunderstood, and he naturally matched my rhythm in response.
I don’t know how precious it is to have someone who plays along with such jokes. With that thought, I found myself smiling and moving forward.
There were several hunters with shocked expressions right behind us, though I didn’t notice it in that moment. Of course, that was something I didn’t know, but Jung Hwan-jae might have been aware.
We took the elevator up to his room.
“You must be busy, yet I’m asking for something like this….”
“I’m originally your dedicated healer. This is my job. You’re the first person who didn’t pass out listening to my song, so please listen carefully and tell me if my singing has improved.”
At first, it was survival-driven social grace.
But now I could genuinely tease him.
No matter what jokes I made or what sounds I produced, he always tried his best to match my rhythm however he could.
Even now, he straightened his posture as if he truly wanted to hear how I’d improved.
I was thinking of singing a new song I’d learned recently. I’d accumulated various songs in my repertoire like acorns, and I always performed newly learned songs only in front of him.
A child lay in the sunlight.
Sunlight poured down upon the child.
The child went home.
The fluorescent light flickered lonely and bright.
The child went back outside and lay in the sunlight again.
Sunlight poured down upon the child.
“Hmm, it’s more poetic than your previous songs.”
It certainly was.
I heard it was a song created by setting melody to someone’s poem.
Hearing it as a lullaby made to put a child to sleep, I felt a sense of calm and really wanted him to hear it.
Recently, he seemed to be having trouble sleeping.
Golden staff lines emanating from my body wrapped around Jung Hwan-jae.
“Be warm. Be radiant. Child, sleep if you wish….”
Sunlit Breeze (B)
Not indoors, but beneath the sun.
Child, sleep if you wish.
Child, let us dream.
As I finished the song and lifted my head to hear his evaluation, Jung Hwan-jae, seated on the sofa, had already fallen into a deep sleep.
Something felt strange. That he could drift off while listening to such a dreadful song.
After hesitating for a moment, I slipped off my cardigan and draped it across his form. The cardigan barely managed to cover his chest.
I lowered my head and whispered softly.
“Sleep well.”
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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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