The Tone-Deaf Healer Kills with a Song - Chapter 98

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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 098
No matter how much Lucy replenished my mana or how rarely I got injured, there would definitely be a difference between having a healer and not having one.
Truth be told, I wasn’t sure if there actually was a difference, but the real reason I asked was because I wanted to hear directly from Jung Hwan-jae that I was a capable talent he needed.
The type who gets embarrassed when placed directly at the center, but still wants to draw a little attention otherwise.
“….”
But Jung Hwan-jae seemed flustered by my words, his eyes darting around.
Had I really said something that startling? It didn’t seem like it should be that shocking.
Rather than looking negatively troubled, he seemed embarrassed.
He slowly rolled his eyes to one side.
That’s when I suddenly realized the interior had gone quiet. The two Staff Members who had been bickering just moments before were now staring directly at us.
Had I said something I shouldn’t have?
I turned my head toward them.
“Why are you two fighting?”
“I could have looked cool alone in the Dungeon, but Liri butted in.”
“I was helping, and now you’re saying I butted in, so I feel hurt. Besides, I didn’t help just for Lucy—it was because Yea was worried about Hunter Jung Hwan-jae.”
The two bickering Staff Members resumed their quarrel as if they hadn’t been watching us at all.
They really never get tired.
Wait, what were we talking about? Whenever I snap back to reality from a chaotic situation like that, my memories always seem to scatter like this.
I glanced back at Jung Hwan-jae. He also looked bewildered, as if he had no idea why they were fighting.
“What were we just talking about?”
“Oh, so you were asking if I had a good time…”
“Right, right. While you were away, I learned all sorts of things from Hwa-jon. And with this ring, I can now research and accumulate mana too.”
It seemed like there was something he was about to tell me, but since I couldn’t remember it at all, it probably wasn’t important.
He nodded and bowed his head slightly, as if to show he would focus on me.
At that same moment, something fell from his shirt pocket with a soft thud.
I reflexively picked it up and examined it.
“Huh, this…”
“Ah.”
It looked similar to the gem I had returned to him when I first met Jung Hwan-jae.
He had said it was a gift from Lucy. Now I think I understand what it is.
This is a gem with Lucy’s mana condensed inside it. I do supply him regularly, but emergency situations can arise, so…
This must be emergency mana he carries around for times like that.
Now that I looked at it, the cutting style seemed similar to the gem in my ring.
“Do all condensed mana look like this?”
“The form varies from person to person. I have no way of knowing how Yea perceives it.”
After staring at it for a while, I summoned the window on the ring I was wearing.
Mana Accumulation / Mana Transmission / Research
Currently in ‘Research’ mode.
This ring could send mana directly, or it could accumulate it and then transmit it.
Curious about what “Research” actually meant, I pressed the selection window without much thought, and several options appeared.
Mana Materialization / Mana Transformation / Holy and Mana Fusion / Stat Refinement…
Far more candidates materialized before my eyes than I’d anticipated.
The problem was that all of them were research projects with no clear end date, but I liked the idea that simply wearing the ring and leaving it alone would somehow resolve my research.
Naturally, the first thing I chose was Mana Materialization—it gave off the feeling that I could actually carry it around with me.
And my intuition proved correct. It was the result of pooling my thoughts with Hwa-jon while Jung Hwan-jae was away.
‘In the end, this is no different from a kind of elixir.’
‘It doesn’t seem like something I should eat, but…. Should I try consuming it once?’
‘If you eat your own mana, wouldn’t you just return to your original body, Yea-ah?’
The memory of spouting such foolish logic right in front of him, only to be shut down in a single sentence, remained vivid even now.
I opened my hand before his eyes.
It was a green gemstone, slightly smaller than Lucy’s mana form and cut into a smooth, rounded shape.
“I sense quite a powerful mana from it.”
“Yes, I’ve accumulated and gathered my mana into it. I didn’t know how to use it, so I’ve just been carrying it.”
No matter how devoted he was, there was no way he could say something like “just have your brother eat it to be safe” to Hwa-jon.
I asked Liri about it, but she also answered ambiguously—that we could eat it, but she wasn’t sure if it would be okay to feed it to Jung Hwan-jae.
For other people, their mana naturally fuses, but in Jung Hwan-jae’s case, it’s like pouring it into a completely empty space.
She said there was no ‘data’ on what kind of effect it would have to grant such a powerful soul to a place that had nothing.
“Is this for me?”
“Yes. But please don’t just put it in your mouth or anything like that. I don’t really know how to use it either.”
“I had no intention of putting it in my mouth.”
“…I see.”
So I was the only one who’d thought of that from the start.
Trying to hide my embarrassment, I placed both Lucy’s mana gem and mine into his hands.
Jung Hwan-jae casually stuffed Lucy’s gem into his shirt pocket, but he carefully placed mine into his inventory.
“Couldn’t you put Lucy’s mana in your inventory too?”
“It takes up space.”
“Hey!”
Lucy, who’d taken a hit while quietly sparring with Liri, suddenly let out an indignant cry.
But Jung Hwan-jae showed no sign of retracting his words, calmly turning his body toward me instead.
Knowing that we could have this kind of conversation precisely because we were so close, I found myself laughing without thinking.
“I wish I could have shown you how to use it too. But I couldn’t.”
“You’ve already done more than enough. And I wanted to see it.”
Whether Lucy’s mana was naturally being absorbed or not, a deep wine-red hue shimmered around him.
Because my attention was drawn to that, I only understood what Jung Hwan-jae had added so quickly a few seconds later.
He kept his head turned, not even giving me the chance to ask him to repeat what he’d said.
That’s right.
I had asked if he wanted to see it.
I’d momentarily lost focus and forgotten, but Jung Hwan-jae remembered it precisely.
Without realizing it, my face flushed slightly.
It would be strange for me to act like this after asking him that myself….
The surroundings fell silent once more. The Staff Members’ gazes clung to us with persistent weight.
[Liri: Coward.]
Liri’s message window appeared, its meaning unclear to me.
It seemed like serious content, but I couldn’t quite grasp it.
My skin was naturally pale, so any flush showed immediately—I fanned myself, worried it might become obvious to him.
I had asked the question, and I knew perfectly well there was no personal intent behind it, yet something felt distinctly off.
Was there anything I could say to change the subject? Anything at all?
Should I talk about Ragnarok? No. Should I redirect attention to Kim Kyung-hoon instead? That would ruin the mood entirely.
Would it be better to bring up Dan Myeong-ah or Kim A-jin, or perhaps mention Dante?
My mind grew hazy as I cycled through various thoughts, when he opened his mouth at just the right moment.
“The Dungeon clear went smoothly thanks to Ye-ah sending mana appropriately from within. Since it was a Fusion Dungeon, nothing would have been strange no matter what happened.”
“Ah, a Fusion Dungeon. I’ve heard a rough explanation of what that is too.”
“It’s generally a Dungeon where it’s better most people don’t know what it is.”
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
I heard Lucy mutter quietly, “He really can’t read the mood at all…”
His words were clearly meant for us to hear, but I desperately ignored them.
Since things had come to this, I might as well ask what I was curious about. There wouldn’t be another chance like this.
“When you say Fusion Dungeon, that means a Hunter becomes the Dungeon itself, right? That person…”
“Since the Dungeon itself had become a Dungeon, recovering remains became difficult, so we only returned their personal effects to their home country before departing.”
My heart grew heavy.
I see. Once someone becomes a Dungeon, they can never return.
In the moment I wondered if that might happen to me as well, I felt a soft sensation against my cheek.
It was Liri.
“Don’t worry. Ye-ah will never taint me.”

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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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