The Tone-Deaf Healer Kills with a Song - Chapter 43

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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 043
“Ye-ah, you’ll collapse at this rate.”
“No, senior. The ranking tournament is only two days away now. No matter what happens, I have to resolve this problem somehow.”
“….”
Lucy vanished before Jung Hwan-jae even woke. When he came to and realized I’d been by his side the entire time, he grew so restless with guilt that he bought me a meal.
Not only that—he even drove me home. Liri complained that he’d confirmed my light turning on inside my room before leaving, which meant he’d lingered nearby even after that.
Knowing someone trusted and cared for me this much, I couldn’t let things stay as they were. That very day, I threw myself into intensive training.
[Liri: Ye-ah, I mentioned that basic stamina is important when singing, but I never said you should push yourself this hard.]
‘I understand, but I can’t improve my singing skill in a week, so I need to at least raise my stamina.’
My average stats were, at best, around B-rank. Rising to this level in such a short time was already remarkable, but the people I’d be facing were at minimum A-rank.
Most of them were either barely scraping S-rank or were underestimated because they weren’t giving their all.
So I pleaded to receive the same training as A-rank hunters, insisting I had confidence in my stamina from working night shifts and juggling various odd jobs.
‘But I never imagined it would be this extreme.’
The fact that I was undergoing training that even A-rankers struggled through while gasping for breath made no sense.
I’d charged in thinking a week would be more than enough.
‘I’ll run from here to there in three minutes. Using more than 100 steps isn’t allowed.’
‘You should be able to handle 100 kilograms easily.’
‘According to the mock evasion test results, Yeom Ye-ah died 298 times out of 347 attacks.’
I was an idiot. I’m only saying this now, but I truly regret it.
They weren’t training to strengthen their stats so much as to diversify within their current stat range.
The difference between them and lower-rank hunters was that they started from an ‘already perfected stat state.’ I’d completely overlooked that.
After just four days of training—excluding the day I collapsed—I felt utterly dead inside.
“Ye-ah…. Perhaps it would be best to stop.”
Jung Hwan-jae was so worried about me that he’d been diligently visiting the Training Facility since that day, providing me with juice and recovery potions.
Since the Guild Master, despite not being S-rank, was stationed in the A-rank training area, other hunters were quite wary, but I had no mental capacity to ask him to refrain.
Without the potions he offered, I felt like I’d simply collapse backward and lose consciousness until the ranking tournament ended.
Today too, Jung Hwan-jae had arrived with an armful of stamina recovery food and potions to find me.
“If the Guild Master tells me one more time to stop, I think I really will, so I keep….”
“Let’s stop.”
[Liri: I agree with the Guild Master today, Ye-ah. No matter how I think about it, rest seems like the better choice.]
[Liri: Your strength and speed are steadily increasing, but no matter how I calculate the statistics, pushing yourself won’t raise your average stats beyond B-rank. Rather than that, I’d prefer you to rest your body. What if you get sick?]
I was about to tell them to stop trying to break my resolve, but he was waiting for this moment to ask me to stop. Now even Liri had joined in.
The problem was that I was too exhausted to coldly reject them.
Perhaps it was because I’d died 298 times—even if only to a sensationless laser—that my strength had drained away.
If it were yesterday’s me, I would have refused outright, but now, unable to respond with a face that looked like I was dying, a glimmer of hope appeared in Jung Hwan-jae’s eyes.
It seemed as though he’d glimpsed the possibility that just a bit more effort would do it.
Was it right for him to make that expression now? He crouched beside me and whispered.
“With only two days left, managing your condition is crucial. What if you get muscle soreness? Let’s rest.”
“…Should we?”
“Yes, I’ll take you home.”
As if worried my heart might change, Jung Hwan-jae lifted me up effortlessly.
I knew intellectually that under Liri’s protection, I rarely suffered from muscle soreness, yet I found myself completely unable to move.
He cradled me as carefully as one might handle a sacred treasure, taking cautious steps forward. The hunters inside erupted into unified applause directed at me.
“Yeom Ye-ah, you really endured an incredible amount. Seriously, if we put a hunter who awakened to A-rank less than a week ago in this Training Facility, they collapse and have to leave.”
“Really, I’m not joking! You might even climb the rankings during the ranking tournament.”
“Thank… you…”
Would it be too much to ask for less attention to someone being carried out in a half-dead state?
Embarrassment overwhelmed gratitude, and I instinctively covered my face. Jung Hwan-jae walked out with confident strides, offering no response to their remarks.
“My body is drenched in sweat, so I apologize for the inconvenience.”
“Not at all. Since you must be uncomfortable, I’ll take you to the Shower Room first, and then escort you home.”
Without raising any objections to his words, I entered the Shower Room he led me to and immediately sensed something odd.
Regardless of how freely I came and went, I had only been at the Guild for two hours today.
Even after washing and changing clothes, the question lingered. He was waiting in the Lobby as if the Guild had no further business for him.
Since only those participating in the ranking tournament remained at Hanttae, the organization had quietly prohibited all activities that could cause injury—including Dungeon raids—for the week leading up to the tournament.
Even if the Hunter Association contacted them, they were instructed to refuse unless it involved Hanttae’s hunters or was of critical importance.
“Senior Hwan-jae, you said you’d take me home, so I came out, but leaving work now feels like I’m shirking my duties…”
“Yeom Ye-ah, is there any remaining business at the Guild? Perhaps something you forgot to bring?”
“No, that’s not it. But I should prepare a bit for the ranking tournament…”
The more I spoke, the more hollow my excuses sounded. Liri had already confirmed it—even if I pushed myself like this for several more days, it wouldn’t make much difference.
I knew it would be more beneficial to actually rest for a few days or somehow resolve my E+ rank singing ability.
But I was born the type who couldn’t help but work hard, so when suddenly told to rest like this, I didn’t know what to do.
It was my way of saying that my late start combined with everything that had suddenly fallen upon me left me uncertain about what to do next.
As I shared the worries I’d been harboring, he nodded slowly as if understanding. Yet despite that, his determination to semi-forcibly send me home seemed unchanged.
“Today, I’ll cast a buff on you so you can rest comfortably. How about using that to settle your mind?”
“A buff? Senior, you can do that?”
According to public knowledge, neither ‘Reaper’ nor ‘Jung Hwan’ was known to use buff skills.
The consensus was that at minimum, he could only cast buffs on himself, or perhaps he had no buff skills at all.
Since he couldn’t buff himself, the theory went, he ended all fights and raids quickly, making him vulnerable to prolonged battles.
Regardless, no rumors about the rank one hunter could touch what he was actually capable of. I had never properly researched information about him, so I didn’t know.
Jung Hwan-jae smiled faintly. It was an oddly timed comment, but truly a handsome smile.
Lowering his head, he cupped my cheek and whispered.
“I can do most things that others can do. It’s simply more efficient to leave skills that serve as others’ main strengths to them rather than use them myself.”
“Wow…”
“Besides, my Guild members don’t want to receive buffs from me.”
It was raw admiration. So this was the dignity of a ranker. As I surrendered my face to his touch without resistance, crimson smoke rose up.
That color, which would seem ominous to others, felt infinitely warm to me.
I slowly closed my eyes. Without my realizing it, my racing heart gradually calmed.
“Senior, it really does seem to be settling…”
“The skill I cannot replicate is…”
“Yes?”
I opened my eyes and looked up at him. Jung Hwan-jae’s expression was unreadable. His lips moved.
“You’re the only one, Ye-ah.”

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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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