Was Happy Being a Despised F-Rank Healer, You Know? - Chapter 66
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
10. I Found a Strange F-Rank. (1)
“That ‘string’ you mentioned earlier? Where did you see it? By any chance, in a dream?”
I swallowed hard.
It felt like I’d be caught if I wavered even slightly.
So I spoke as calmly as possible.
“It wasn’t a dream. I think I saw something similar in an article I read before. Like a pattern or something?”
“An article?”
He tilted his head slightly and muttered.
“Most things related to the Final Dungeon are classified.”
My heart sank.
But I smiled again.
“It was just… a rumor floating around on old forums. Not accurate.”
Yuhan Seong didn’t ask any more questions.
He just looked me over once more before saying quietly.
“Either way, thanks to you we survived.”
“…No.”
“Yes.”
He said firmly without turning his gaze away.
“If you hadn’t seen the string, we would have stalled for time and both monsters would have emerged.”
My heart suddenly pounded hard.
Those words… were too direct.
I scratched my head awkwardly.
“Really, no. I just… provided support from behind.”
Yuhan Seong narrowed his eyes and said.
“You always say that.”
Before I could continue, Yuhan Seong turned around first.
“Rest.”
He left only those words and walked toward the hallway.
The sound of the door closing was quiet.
The room was empty again.
I lay down on the bed just like that.
I was just staring at the ceiling, but my eyes kept trembling hotly.
It must be because I’m tired.
It must be because the tension is wearing off.
But one corner of my heart felt like it was being stabbed.
Why is someone’s ‘gaze trying to understand me’ so uncomfortable?
I covered my eyes with my arm.
Soon I felt a small vibration.
It was the sound of the dormitory’s entire protective barrier switching to night mode.
‘This should be enough for today.’
I slowly steadied my breathing and closed my eyes.
But sleep didn’t come easily.
That string from the Final Dungeon.
That strange resonance.
And the unfamiliar presence I heard at the end.
Somehow… that was definitely aimed at me.
When morning came, my head felt heavy.
I barely slept at all.
Whenever I closed my eyes, that string kept coming to mind.
That thin, dark line swaying at the end of the Final Dungeon.
That wasn’t just a boss monster’s gimmick.
I washed my face for a long time.
Looking at my face, my eyes were slightly red around the edges.
‘I can’t let it show.’
Today there was a follow-up schedule after the final evaluation.
It was the day for teachers to check students’ conditions and give briefings.
If I looked anxious for no reason, questions would obviously come.
When I left the dormitory door, Lee Hae-sol was already outside.
Even though he had clear dark circles under his eyes, his expression was bright.
“Hali. You couldn’t sleep either.”
“…A little.”
Lee Hae-sol smiled softly.
“Me too. I-seo said he couldn’t sleep either. Everyone seems to have a lot to think about.”
It was inevitable.
This Final Dungeon wasn’t a ‘test’ from the beginning.
Functions were mixed in and there were traces of someone tampering with it.
Abyss-type monsters don’t normally appear in first-year dungeons.
From the other end of the hallway, Yuhan Seong and Hyun I-seo walked together.
Both were more quiet than usual.
As soon as Yuhan Seong saw us, he said briefly.
“Let’s go.”
We moved to the auditorium together.
Students had already gathered quite a bit and murmuring sounds could be heard here and there.
Everyone was talking about the same thing.
“The monsters were strange, right?”
“The patterns were too awkward.”
“It seemed like Abyss-types were mixed in…”
I unconsciously clutched my bag.
I didn’t want to tell anyone that most of the reason these students survived yesterday was contained in this small bag I was carrying.
A teacher grabbed the microphone and spoke.
“The Final Dungeon has been completed safely. However, patterns different from predictions were confirmed in some sections, so an investigation is underway.”
The students’ gazes all focused on the teacher at once.
I slowly steadied my breathing.
‘Right. An investigation will happen anyway.’
The problem was the direction of the investigation.
Almost no one saw that string.
Even fewer people understood it.
Next to me, Hyun I-seo said in a small voice.
“Hali.”
I turned my head.
Hyun I-seo looked down and said.
“Yesterday… I thought a lot about what you said. You said the string controls movement, right? That… seems really correct.”
“It was just a coincidence.”
I said immediately.
“I said it because I could see something.”
Hyun I-seo slowly shook his head.
“No. If you had just seen it, you couldn’t have immediately said ‘cut it.’ That’s the way someone who knows the pattern would act.”
My heart pounded loudly.
My fingertips suddenly felt cold.
I forced a smile.
“Don’t overestimate me too much.”
“That’s impossible.”
Hyun I-seo said in a very firm voice.
“I’m alive because of you.”
I couldn’t continue speaking.
Yuhan Seong was quietly listening to our conversation beside us.
His eyes looked like someone trying to solve an old puzzle.
A voice rang out again from the teacher’s direction.
“In particular… there’s something that external personnel who were observing the latter half of the Final Dungeon requested, mentioning the activities of several students.”
The auditorium fell silent for a moment.
I also held my breath.
External personnel?
That was…
“The government and the upper-tier guild ‘Eden’ have requested access to the combat records of some students. We’ll announce later whether formal submission will be made.”
Hyun I-seo glanced at me.
Hae-sol also looked at me with a tense expression.
Yu Hee very quietly curled the corners of her mouth.
And Yuhan Seong said very quietly.
“Hali. This… is most likely because of you.”
I pressed my lips together at those words.
I couldn’t deny it, nor could I acknowledge it.
I just felt like an old warning alarm was ringing inside me again.
I maintained as nonchalant an expression as possible.
That was all I could do.
***
When I came out of the auditorium, the air felt colder.
Students gathered in small groups, murmuring, and some had completely stiff faces.
“The government?”
“Why is Eden looking at our Final Dungeon…?”
Such words could be heard here and there.
I quietly walked toward the end of the hallway.
I just wanted to get away from people’s gazes for a moment.
My bag strap kept catching on my palm.
It seemed to be slightly damp with sweat.
I was catching my breath alone for a moment when I heard footsteps behind me.
The stopping sound was quiet but strangely confident.
When I turned around, Yuhan Seong was standing there.
“Hali.”
I lightly raised my head.
“…Yeah?”
Yuhan Seong walked up and stood in front of me.
He was close to expressionless as usual, but somehow his breathing was deep.
Like someone before choosing their words.
“You, by any chance…”
He stopped speaking.
Then continued in a lower voice.
“Have you really known about these things from long ago?”
I felt my heart sink heavily once.
“What… do you mean?”
“Your movements in the dungeon. The strings. Mana remnants. You didn’t speak like someone seeing them for the first time.”
He looked at me with narrowed eyes.
“Your words were always accurate.”
I instinctively clenched my fingertips.
Yuhan Seong’s gaze was so sharp I almost couldn’t breathe.
“That was just…”
I slowly exhaled and said.
“I guess I was lucky.”
Yuhan Seong tilted his head and said in a firm tone.
“When it repeats like this, that’s not luck.”
I momentarily avoided his gaze.
Looking into his eyes made me feel like I’d be found out.
“Hali.”
He quietly called my name.
“Strictly speaking, you’re not F-Rank.”
I thought my breathing would stop.
The back of my neck suddenly went cold.
“What… nonsense are you talking about?”
“That’s why I’m asking.”
He took another step closer.
Not with intimidation, but like simple fact-checking.
“What is it that you haven’t been telling us all this time?”
Was I mistaken? Yuhan Seong also seemed to look worried somehow.
That’s when it happened.
Hyun I-seo came running from the hallway, breathing heavily.
“So you two were here.”
He said while catching his breath.
“There’s supposed to be an announcement for all grades from the faculty office right now.”
I caught my breath at those words.
It wasn’t a feeling of relief.
More like, the timing was saved.
Yuhan Seong said without taking his gaze off me.
“Let’s go.”
I only nodded.
Even while walking toward the end of the hallway, Yuhan Seong’s words from just before kept echoing in my ears.
You’re not F-Rank.
My heart began to beat quietly again.
Those words didn’t pierce through the truth, but they had definitely touched a dangerous point.
‘Get it together, Hali.’
I slowly opened my palm and took a breath.
Right now, whatever it was, not getting caught would be the best option.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————