Was Happy Being a Despised F-Rank Healer, You Know? - Chapter 19

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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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3. Baridegi’s Domain (2)

The inside was a dungeon devoid of killing intent.

There was no smell of blood, no presence of enemies.

Vision was clear, but the sense of distance was distorted, and sounds could be heard but followed a beat late.

The floor was solid, the walls were rough.

It looked like a mining-type dungeon, but the light of ore veins had not yet been revealed.

I bit my lips and walked, trying not to lose sight of my wish.

I sipped mental potions little by little along the way.

The potion’s effect was minimal, but that was enough.

How far had I walked?

“Ah.”

The rope around my waist suddenly became lighter.

I stopped and turned around.

The rope was severed.

The connection to the outside had disappeared.

But strangely, fear did not wash over me.

‘What a strange place.’

My head seemed to become a bit dazed, but it wasn’t the drowsy daze of being drugged with cold medicine, but rather a peaceful daze like being half-drunk with sleep.

That seemed to dull my senses to some degree.

I abandoned the rope and walked forward again.

I didn’t care.

In this dungeon, the important thing wasn’t the way back.

It was only to make a wish and find the exit.

The wish to become a great potion maker held my steps together.

Whenever the warm mist tried to brush past, I recalled that wish more clearly.

Just a few days, merely because they were children and beloved characters from the original work, I could harbor such a wish. I knew that most of them were children who would willingly use their own lives to save people.

I looked ahead. Into the pitch-black depths. The First Corridor of Baridegi Dungeon was protected by the Eerie Shadow.

The Eerie Shadow silently calls to me from there.

I willingly stepped deeper.

***

The inside of the Eerie Shadow dungeon was quieter than expected.

There was no presence pushing away intruders, no pressure felt of someone trying to test me.

That didn’t mean it was safe.

The very sense that there was no danger was the first way this dungeon deceived people.

I steadied my breathing and moved my steps.

Even though each step clearly touched the ground, the sensation in my soles gradually blurred.

Warm mist flowed past, brushing my calves, gently constricting without stealing body heat. Like the touch of something with will, embracing warmth and life.

That’s why I needed to stay more alert.

‘I will become a great potion maker.’

I repeated the wish to myself.

Even without moving my lips, the thought was clear.

If my thoughts became clouded, the dungeon would exploit that gap.

So I repeated the wish in rhythm with my walking.

Once when breathing in.

Once when breathing out.

Doing so reduced the room for other images to intrude into my mind.

The path split several times.

Going left, soft light spread, and going right, deeper darkness continued.

From the side with light came the sound of metal clashing, and from the dark side came the sound of cloth rustling.

I paused for a moment and recalled the nature of the dungeon.

Here, brightness wasn’t the answer, nor was darkness a trap.

The problem was the reason for choosing.

I asked myself why I wanted to take this path.

Was it because it looked safe, or because it seemed like it would end faster?

As if someone was whispering in my ear, there were attempts to tune my will. The moment those voices arose, that path would become the wrong path.

So I chose the side that didn’t create reasons.

I simply used my wish as the standard.

I chose the path that didn’t seem necessary for becoming a great potion maker.

I took another sip of mental potion.

The effect wasn’t great, but the bitter taste remaining on my tongue helped me grasp reality.

I already knew that the first thing to disappear in comfort was discomfort.

When discomfort disappears, vigilance disappears with it.

So I deliberately left some unpleasantness.

I couldn’t tell how far I had walked.

In this dungeon, the sense of time loses meaning.

While walking, it seemed like flute sounds could be heard from afar, and at some moments it seemed like someone was calling my name.

I didn’t turn my head.

I didn’t pretend not to hear either.

I simply passed by.

If you don’t acknowledge their existence, the dungeon shakes you more violently.

Acknowledging but not reacting was the safest attitude.

Then suddenly, the path opened up ahead.

The mist thinned, and the texture of the floor changed.

Not stone, but smooth flagstone.

A door stood upon it.

It was an exit.

More precisely, it was a door that appeared to be an exit.

I stopped in front of the door.

The thought crossed my mind that I could just leave as I was.

A voice echoed within me saying that even if I gave up the reward, wasn’t it important to survive and get out?

That voice was logical and kind.

That’s why it was dangerous.

‘I will become a great potion maker.’

I grasped my wish again.

This dungeon was said to lead to the Reward Room when you make a wish and find the exit.

Not passing through what appears to be an exit, but choosing based on your wish.

I raised my hand but didn’t touch the door.

Instead, I turned my gaze to the side of the door.

There was another path there.

A dim crevice that hadn’t caught my eye from the beginning.

I moved my feet toward that crevice.

At that moment, the door disappeared without a sound.

The mist parted, and the space expanded.

And I entered the Reward Room.

The room wasn’t large.

It wasn’t splendid either.

The ceiling was high, and the floor was covered with black stone.

In the center of the room, there was a single chair.

The figure sitting on it could be identified immediately.

It was the form of King Yama.

Exactly as described in folklore.

Black official robes and a neat beard.

He had dignity, but I felt no threat.

That being looked down at me and spoke quietly.

“You’ve come this far while alive.”

I bowed my head.

My knees trembled, but not enough to collapse.

This being was not an opponent to fight.

Nor was he one to judge.

He was simply closer to an administrator standing at the boundary.

“You didn’t come looking for the Thread of Return, did you.”

At those words, I raised my head.

King Yama had an expression as if he already knew.

“That has already been taken by another.”

I exhaled briefly.

I already knew that much, so there was nothing surprising about it.

‘That wasn’t my goal from the beginning anyway.’

King Yama looked at me for a moment, then asked again.

“Do you desire another treasure?”

I nodded without hesitation.

What I wanted was already decided.

If I changed my desire here, this dungeon would not let me return.

I could see objects placed on one side of the room.

Among them, one particularly caught my eye.

It was a fan with tiger patterns drawn on it.

It wasn’t flashy, nor did it look powerful.

But the moment I reached out my hand, I was certain this was what I needed to take.

I picked up the fan.

King Yama said nothing.

He simply nodded.

At that moment, the room became blurry, and my vision narrowed as if folding.

The next moment, I was standing outside the dungeon.

Cold air struck my face.

The moonlight was still dim, and the open field remained the same.

And in front of me, Hyun I-seo was standing. Gripping the rope with trembling hands.

“Hey!”

“Yeah?”

“You, ha! No, ugh, seriously.”

“What, what.”

His face was pale white.

“You did come out.”

His voice trembled slightly.

“The rope broke in the middle, so I kept debating whether to call for help or not.”

“Ah! Right. You must have been startled!”

I clapped my other hand with the hand holding the fan and exclaimed.

“Sorry for making you worry.”

He exhaled briefly.

“If you’re sorry, don’t ask me for favors like this next time.”

Those words were blunt, but clearly mixed with relief.

We stood there for a moment, catching our breath.

I could see the tension gradually leaving Hyun I-seo’s shoulders.

I didn’t rush him.

This dungeon was the type that wore down the nerves of those waiting outside more than those who entered.

On the way back to the dormitory, he glanced at the fan in my hand.

“Is that the reward?”

I nodded.

“What’s its effect?”

“Local range temperature control.”

He paused for a moment, then snorted.

“That’s what you got for taking such a risk? Huh.”

I smiled.

“Now I can make potions more delicately.”

At those words, Hyun I-seo stopped walking.

He looked at me with strange eyes for a moment, then quickly averted his gaze.

“You’re really peculiar too. I’m off then.”

He gave a curt farewell with a sullen face and walked toward the male dormitory.

I gripped the fan again.

The sensation remaining in my hand was, strangely, warm.

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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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