Was Happy Being a Despised F-Rank Healer, You Know? - Chapter 20

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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 (3)

After clearing the first entrance, what I immediately felt was that this dungeon would keep calling me until I cleared it completely.

Perhaps that’s why.

Even after escaping from the Eerie Shadow Dungeon, reality hadn’t completely returned to reality.

The light was still clear, but its boundaries were perceived more vividly than before.

Even after entering my dormitory room, I couldn’t sit down for a while.

If I sat in the chair, my body would relax, and if my body relaxed, my judgment would become loose too.

So I stood in front of the desk, placed gold coins on my palm, and quietly looked down at them.

Three gold coins that the dungeon had dropped as it disappeared.

Just as the rumors always said – three coins.

They looked like ordinary gold coins.

The color, weight, and texture were all familiar.

But it was strange.

Looking at these gold coins, I kept thinking of a river.

A river I’d never seen directly, yet the sound of flowing water and the scene of a boat floating came to mind.

I frowned.

Because I had the feeling this wasn’t my imagination.

That’s when it happened.

In one corner of my vision, a familiar arrangement of letters appeared.

It wasn’t something I saw with my eyes, but rather felt like it was being imprinted directly in my mind.

I took a breath and read it.

[Baridegi’s First Bonus!]

It was a system notification.

“Huh? It notifies me like this?”

When obtaining dungeon clear bonuses or special rewards, there were cases where they would notify you directly like this.

But I had never once imagined that I would be the target of such notifications.

The notification continued.

[Participation Reward: Three Gold Coins for Underworld Ferry Fare]

My eyes widened.

Because the word “Underworld” was too explicit.

And the very next sentence followed immediately.

[Ferry fare usable when crossing the River of the Underworld. When used in situations other than intended purpose, function will be substituted.]

And the next explanation followed right after.

[Substitution skill per gold coin: C-rank Invisibility (Bound/Single-use)]

-Duration: 15 minutes

I couldn’t speak for a while.

Calculations automatically started running in my head.

Fifteen minutes wasn’t a short time.

It was enough time both for avoiding combat and for passing through dangerous areas.

Especially for a Hunter like me with no combat ability, it was a skill that could change survival itself.

“But where would I use this?”

I picked up one gold coin.

At that moment, the surface of the gold coin glowed faintly and something began to be engraved.

I held my breath and watched it.

Jin Hali.

My name was being carved clearly, one character at a time.

It was crude handwriting, as if someone was writing it right now.

On the other two gold coins as well, the same name was carved in sequence.

“Does this mean they can’t be transferred?”

I smiled slightly.

Actually, from the moment the name Baridegi was attached, it was difficult to regard this reward as mere luck.

“It also feels like being pushed to go to the Underworld.”

An object that straddles the boundary between the living and the dead.

If you use such a thing in the mortal world, there’s a high possibility you’ll face consequences accordingly.

Because this world was that kind of world.

I put the gold coins in my pocket.

Anyway, there was no immediate use for them right now.

“Well, if I need to enter a dungeon again, they’ll be useful.”

Because there’s no Hunter in this world who lives completely avoiding dungeons.

Especially if I make it safely to graduation.

According to my goals, I wouldn’t need to enter any after graduation, but before then, I’d have to enter a few times due to performance requirements, even if reluctantly.

That’s when these gold coins would shine.

I placed my hand over my pocket, took another deep breath, and looked around the room.

***

Three days had passed.

In terms of time, it was relatively short, but the three days after passing through the Eerie Shadow Dungeon once left a strangely stretched sensation.

Today I wasn’t alone.

Even though I hadn’t asked, Hyun I-seo and Lee Hae-sol were both here with me.

“I-seo, didn’t I tell you not to make this kind of request again?”

“How can I not follow when I see you going here?”

Hyun I-seo’s sullen face was full of annoyance as he answered.

Seeing this absurdity, Lee Hae-sol said.

“You can go back.”

“I don’t want to? If I go back after coming all the way here, it feels like losing?”

“What are you losing now?”

“That’s just how it feels.”

How did it come to this.

That thought came first.

Even walking side by side, we were still in a relationship where we didn’t know each other well.

Too ambiguous to call close, but we’d exchanged a bit more words than strangers.

“Are you going to that dungeon again today?”

“Yeah.”

I brought up the dungeon topic first.

If I didn’t speak, the awkwardness seemed like it would grow even more.

Hyun I-seo nodded.

“It opens every three days, right?”

Lee Hae-sol said while looking around.

“The night air definitely feels a bit different.”

At those words, I smiled.

“It’s always like that near that dungeon.”

That laughter was meant to ease the tension.

We continued with trivial conversations, avoiding talk about the dungeon.

Stories about how the dormitory cafeteria food was getting worse. (I held back from saying I couldn’t eat it.)

Stories about how the recent training schedule had become tight. (I was about to say I couldn’t receive training at all…)

Rumors about who had newly awakened. (I couldn’t say I wasn’t interested unless they were protagonists…)

Such stories were exchanged, but no one brought up what was really on their mind.

When we arrived at the location where the dungeon would appear, darkness was already gathering.

The moonlight was dim, and the air was strangely humid.

It felt similar to the first time, yet different.

I muttered to myself.

‘The difficulty seems a bit different from the first time.’

The black, cozy dark mist gathered in the same way as before.

It didn’t push people away, but called to them instead.

I was beginning to understand why the existing hunters had been enchanted.

That mist doesn’t threaten.

It doesn’t demand anything.

It just gives the feeling that you can entrust everything to it.

That’s probably why more people stopped there.

I took out a special potion.

This time it was E-grade too.

Hyun I-seo saw it and asked.

“Does that work?”

“It’s enough.”

At my words, he didn’t ask further.

Lee Hae-sol quietly nodded.

That reaction was somewhat impressive.

I wrapped the rope around my waist twice.

This time there were two.

I connected one to Hyun I-seo and one to Lee Hae-sol.

“Just in case.”

Before I could finish speaking, Hyun I-seo said.

“I know.”

Lee Hae-sol also said briefly.

“Until dawn breaks.”

I drank the potion and entered through the entrance.

The moment I went inside, my vision shook slightly.

This time it was faster.

Distance distortion occurred right from the entrance.

The wall in front of me moved away then came closer, and the floor appeared tilted.

I didn’t stop.

The moment you stop, the dungeon gives you time to think.

Time to think was the most dangerous.

‘I will become a great potion maker.’

I grasped my wish again.

I maintained a steady pace.

Without touching the walls, without reacting to sounds, I read the texture of the mist.

The mist was flowing.

Stagnant areas and flowing areas were different.

Stagnant areas were places where people had lingered long.

The flowing direction was the path.

I deliberately took deep breaths.

When you’re conscious of breathing, the sensation of your body being here and now returns.

The effect of the mental strength potion meshed with my judgment.

The path gradually became clearer.

I kept walking.

The dungeon was quieter than the first time.

So more thoughts came to mind.

I deliberately let those thoughts flow away.

What mattered now were only the path and my wish.

The mist parted, and another fork in the road appeared.

This time too, I didn’t create reasons.

I chose the unnecessary direction.

As those choices accumulated, the path was gradually converging into one.

***

Was the Eerie Shadow the gatekeeper of the second path too?

This time I also walked along the quiet path. However, perhaps because there was no mist this time, I didn’t become drowsy. Naturally, I had more thoughts.

The words about becoming a great potion maker circled in my mouth several times, and the more I repeated them, the more doubtful I became.

‘Is that really my wish?’

The moment that thought crossed my mind, mist began to settle. Wow, this type of mental dungeon is really sensitive.

The cozy darkness didn’t push me this time either.

Instead, it wrapped around me like stroking my head.

Strength gradually left my body.

My fingertips became warm, and the sensation in my soles became blurry.

I tried to take out a mental strength potion but my hand scratched at empty air.

For a moment I was confused about where my pocket was.

“Hari.”

Someone called my name.

The voice was low and gentle.

It wasn’t Hyun I-seo, and it wasn’t Lee Hae-sol either.

The way they called my name was so natural, it felt like someone I had known for a long time.

I raised my head.

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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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