Was Happy Being a Despised F-Rank Healer, You Know? - Chapter 28

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

5. Crescent Dungeon (1)

Since this isn’t their story, everyone is just watching with curious eyes.

Who could have predicted that an S-rank dungeon would suddenly burst open within the Academy grounds, and as an irregular dungeon at that?

‘No one except the regressor would know.’

Right now, Yuhan Seong must also be feeling the burden of responsibility for the victims of this incident.

He won’t be able to save everyone.

‘I hope my potions can help even a little bit.’

I was fiddling with coins in front of the vending machine when I heard a familiar voice from the hallway.

“…Ugh.”

When I turned around, it was Lee Hae-sol.

He was entering the lounge while pressing his forehead with his fingers.

The friends around him asked with worried expressions.

“Hae-sol, are you okay?”

“You keep saying you feel nauseous.”

“I’m fine.”

Lee Hae-sol said briefly.

“I’m just a bit tired.”

Under the lounge lights, his face looked paler than usual.

I took a breath in front of the vending machine.

Now’s the time.

I picked up the box and approached the inside of the lounge.

I deliberately lowered my voice a bit and called out.

“Hae-sol.”

He looked up.

His gaze slowly turned toward me.

“Oh.”

“Wait a moment.”

I opened the box and took out a small bottle.

Nothing was written on the label.

I did that on purpose.

Giving it a name might make it more suspicious.

“…You said your head hurts.”

“That’s…”

“Take it. You weren’t at your seat, so I’ve been carrying it around to give it to you directly.”

I answered as usual.

And I took out a potion from my pocket and pressed it into his hand.

“This is something that helps when you can’t sleep well. It makes your mind… more stable, I guess. It just feels like that.”

The tendons near Hae-sol’s wrist were slightly tense.

“You didn’t make this because of me, did you?”

“No. I gave them to your whole party. After you went in yesterday, I got an idea!”

“Ah, you really…”

“I heard today’s broadcast and got anxious, so I decided to just give it to you.”

While speaking, I gently pressed the bottle into his hand.

I didn’t grab it first, letting him receive it directly.

So it wouldn’t be burdensome.

“I’ve tried everything that’s in there. Just… don’t worry about the mental effects. I removed anything with side effects. Use it when you need it. It just makes things a bit less scary and less complicated.”

Actually, it would have more effects than that.

It was a fact we all knew even without saying it.

“Mental-type potions require careful monitoring of your condition, so if it doesn’t suit you, you don’t have to drink it. Got it?”

Hae-sol looked down at the bottle for a moment.

The liquid inside swayed very faintly in the lounge light.

He exhaled once and looked at me.

“Hari.”

“Yeah.”

“Thank you.”

It was just one line, but various emotions were mixed within it.

Things like guilt, burden, and a very small amount of trust.

I pretended not to notice all of that and just waved my hand lightly.

“I’m making them because I’m anxious too. For the kids going to dungeons instead of me… I want to do at least this much.”

I laughed playfully.

“Since I’m weak.”

Muttering “Again,” Hae-sol frowned slightly.

That expression showed he didn’t like it.

“I don’t really like it when you call yourself weak.”

“Actually, I need to face reality regularly to avoid mistakes.”

I spoke as if it didn’t matter.

“It’s okay. Even if I’m weak, I can live by doing what I can.”

He laughed softly as if sighing.

But he didn’t put down the bottle.

His fingers were gripping the bottle neck tightly.

“I’ll… drink it later.”

“Yeah. If it doesn’t suit you, throw it away immediately. Promise!”

I said lightly.

“Don’t force yourself to drink it.”

After finishing the conversation and returning to my room while carrying the box, I muttered only in my mind.

This should look like a coincidence, right?

Just like an F-rank Healer sharing practice potions with friends on an anxious day.

I hope it prevents at least one person’s mind from completely breaking down.

And that was all I could do.

It seems the opening time will probably be at night.

I distributed all the remaining spare potions to the other kids in Class 8.

Although Crescent Dungeon is a dungeon with possible rank fluctuations and appeared suddenly, it’s usually a dungeon that ends up being around C-rank.

So everyone still seemed unaware of the seriousness.

‘That’s why they’re only sending Class 8, whose turn it was for this practical exam, in for screen evaluation.’

If the disaster of using an S-rank dungeon as a TEST dungeon occurs, all the teachers will be shocked.

But the entrance will be blocked so no one except the first team can enter.

‘They’ll have no choice but to watch.’

The kids are going to their deaths.

My chest churned ominously and painfully, more than I expected.

Hoping no one would die, I had actually spent several days making as many spare potions as possible.

Should I be thankful that our class kids now accept my potions without question?

“Th-this many?”

“I had something on my mind, so I stayed up all night. Since I made so many anyway, take them all!”

My classmates’ gazes changed to look even more strange than usual.

Even while shaking their heads, the kids took the potions.

Time passed, and streetlight illumination spread outside the dormitory windows.

The sky was unusually hazy.

It wasn’t even foggy, but it kept looking blurry as if dust was floating around.

The light from the TV screen flowing out of the dormitory common lounge and the murmuring sounds of students spread into the hallway.

I closed my door and took a deep breath.

Tonight was definitely not going to be a quiet night.

The days when the Crescent opened were always strange.

A low rumbling continued from somewhere, and a sensation like distant electrical currents brushed against my skin.

I checked the small box I had placed on my desk once more.

A few emergency recovery potions I had made just in case, and two bottles of simple stabilization potions.

I wanted to believe they wouldn’t be needed, but in the original story, tonight was when the first casualty occurred.

But now things might be a little different.

Lee Hae-sol had taken my potions.

I really hoped they would work well for him.

Suddenly, a low vibrating sound like ‘wook’ passed by outside the window.

I was startled and grabbed the window frame.

The sky toward the mountain behind the dormitory flickered for just a moment, as if a thin membrane was being torn.

It was the signal for Crescent formation.

Someone’s shout could be heard from the dormitory hallway.

“It’s open! It just appeared!”

The area in front of the door began to get noisy.

When I left my room, students were crowded in the hallway.

Most of them were holding their phones.

It seemed like real-time notifications had all gone off at once.

The anomaly began the moment Class 8, the raid team, entered.

“What’s that? They’re detecting fragment rifts and intermediate dungeons simultaneously? That means the difficulty level is high, right?”

“Crazy, which class went in? Class 8? Wait, first years? Damn, what do we do about this? Teacher!”

Normally it would be a combination that could barely receive any protection, but this time… this time it might be a little better.

When I went down to the first floor of the dormitory, a live broadcast was already showing on the communal lounge TV.

You couldn’t see the complete interior, but it displayed the dungeon’s external condition, the composition of the deployed team, and part of the internal wave graphs.

The lounge had an atmosphere where people could barely breathe.

I stood quietly in a corner and looked at the screen.

The academy news subtitles scrolled by with clicking sounds.

「Dungeon activation near Narin Academy. Regional Crescent, first infiltration begins.」

Regardless of the people’s chaotic situation, a mechanical voice began broadcasting in a calm tone.

When the camera showed the exterior, you could feel the cold atmosphere through the screen even though it wasn’t deep winter.

Crescent Dungeons don’t only appear here.

Crescent was the collective name for dungeons showing similar characteristics.

The distinctive blue light stained the sky like a blotch.

And below it stood the Class 8 student team.

Yuhan Seong was standing at the very front.

Like a leader, he was calmly counting the team members and conducting final equipment checks.

Lee Hae-sol was behind him, repeatedly taking deep breaths.

The screen zoomed in briefly, capturing Lee Hae-sol’s face in close-up.

‘Did he take the potion?’

If he had already consumed it, he would definitely need more later.

Indeed, it was good that I had slipped two more S-rank mental barrier potions into Lee Hae-sol’s pocket.

If he asked later, I’d say I accidentally put in extras.

Even if it seemed suspicious, it was at a level that could be overlooked.

Lee Hae-sol was pale but didn’t look completely broken.

This should be enough for him to hold on.

A phone notification rang.

It was a group announcement.

「Current first-year Class 8 primary deployment target. Deployment time 21:40.」

I watched the screen and quietly muttered.

“Please…”

What if something goes wrong?

But today is a little different.

Lee Hae-sol has potions.

The words ‘Entry Complete’ appeared on screen, and the Class 8 students were shown finding comfortable positions near the Crescent entrance.

The entrance was open like a black crevice.

The air near it looked slightly distorted, and something like fog kept flowing out.

The automatic broadcast camera slowly followed behind them.

One team member raised their hand and spoke.

“We’re… really going to be okay, right?”

Next to them, Yuhan Seong spoke in a firm voice.

“We can do it.”

It was a short sentence, but strangely reassuring.

I could tell even through the screen.

The team members’ expressions became a little more composed with just those words.

An internal wave graph appeared at the bottom of the TV.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————