Was Happy Being a Despised F-Rank Healer, You Know? - Chapter 78

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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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11. For the Half-Human (4)

His steps also naturally slowed down.

He too seemed to be feeling with his body that this dungeon wasn’t simply a combat type.

The passage gradually widened, then at some point opened into a vast space.

The ceiling was so high it couldn’t be seen, and the walls on all sides were covered in hazy mist.

On the floor, things that looked like plant stems were tangled and intertwined.

“A forest…?”

Gong Seo-yun muttered quietly.

“No.”

I shook my head.

“This is an imitation.”

As if proving my words, the stems on the floor moved slightly.

They looked like living plants, but their essence was made of mana.

It wasn’t nature, but a structure created by the dungeon.

And then, fine powder began to drift through the air.

The particles were so fine they would sparkle when they caught the light.

They were beautiful enough to seem harmless to the eye.

“…Pollen?”

Gong Seo-yun asked.

“Don’t inhale it.”

I said immediately.

“Absolutely not.”

I quickly pulled a mask from my bag.

It was a simple gas mask I always carried for dungeon preparation.

I threw one to Gong Seo-yun.

“Use this.”

He put it on immediately without hesitation.

I also put on my mask and steadied my breathing while surveying the surroundings.

The powder grew thicker and thicker.

It wasn’t enough to blur vision, but the air itself had changed.

I felt my mind becoming very slightly duller.

‘Too late.’

Even though I was wearing a mask, it seemed some had already been absorbed through my skin.

Then, something revealed itself from the center of the space.

It was a huge flower bud.

It was several times the height of a person.

Inside the layered, curled petals, a faint form writhed.

“That’s the second boss.”

I said.

Gong Seo-yun’s gaze fixed on the flower bud.

“Should I attack it?”

“Direct attacks are dangerous.”

I took a breath.

“This isn’t the type that destroys the body, but the type that erodes the mind.”

The flower bud slowly began to open.

Inside was a form resembling a human face.

The positions of the eyes and mouth were correct, but there was no expression.

It looked like a face from which the very concept of emotion had been erased.

At that moment, the concentration of pollen suddenly thickened.

Even inside the mask, I could smell something sweet.

“Seo-yun.”

I called quietly.

“From now on, hold onto your thoughts.”

“What?”

He asked back.

“Memories.”

I said quickly.

“What you want to protect.”

The form inside the flower opened its mouth.

No sound came out, but the meaning pierced directly into my mind.

‘Aren’t you tired?’

‘Isn’t fighting bothersome?’

‘Couldn’t you just stop?’

Instantly, my thoughts slowed down.

My will to fight became hazy.

It wasn’t my body, but my heart that was sinking.

‘Dangerous.’

I gritted my teeth.

This boss erodes humanity.

The will to fight.

The reason to protect.

It erases all of that along with the pollen.

I pulled a small bottle from my bag.

An improved version of a mental barrier potion.

It was still in the experimental stage, but if not now, there would be no chance to use it.

“Seo-yun, drink this.”

I pressed the bottle into his hand.

“Even if it tastes bad, bear with it.”

He hesitated for a moment, then drank it down.

The form in the flower tilted its head.

It was a reaction as if things were different from what it expected.

“It’s working.”

Gong Seo-yun said quietly.

“My head is becoming clear again.”

“Then move now.”

I said immediately.

“Burn the petals. Starting from the source of the powder.”

Gong Seo-yun leaped forward.

His sword cut through the petals.

Then pollen burst out all at once.

I immediately threw a bottle to the floor.

A purification-type potion spread across the floor and pushed back the flow of mana.

The spread of pollen was temporarily slowed.

The form in the flower made a sound for the first time.

It was unclear whether it was a scream or a protest.

“Now!”

I shouted.

Gong Seo-yun didn’t hesitate.

He thrust his sword deep toward the center of the flower bud.

At that moment, the entire space shuddered.

The petals rapidly withered and lost their color.

The powder floating in the air also lost its light and fell to the floor.

The Shadow Figure gradually faded and eventually disappeared without a trace.

For a while, no sound could be heard.

After the powder settled, the sensation of breathing returned to normal.

“…Is it over?”

Gong Seo-yun asked.

I shook my head.

“There’s still one left.”

I looked toward the inner passage.

From beyond it, I could feel much deeper and heavier mana waves.

The real core of this dungeon was in there.

Even after defeating the second boss, the dungeon didn’t end.

The air slowly settled again, but the density of mana felt from inside became even clearer.

It was a signal that the core of this dungeon still remained.

The passage was much more organized than before.

Crystal layers stacked like scales had formed on the walls, and a gentle light leaked through the gaps.

The light blinked at regular intervals, breathing as if alive.

“This place…”

Gong Seo-yun caught his breath and looked around.

“It’s the center.”

I said.

“And the last one.”

As soon as I entered this area, I could feel it clearly.

This dungeon wasn’t structured to devour humans and end it there.

It was structured to transform humans.

A massive cocoon hung suspended in the center of the floor.

Thread-like mana strands gathered from all directions to support the cocoon.

Its surface was translucent, and I could see something writhing inside.

“…A butterfly?”

Gong Seo-yun said quietly.

The cocoon trembled slightly, then slowly began to split open.

The strands unraveled and large wings spread out from inside.

They were wings that held light.

The color wasn’t consistent, and the shape changed depending on the viewing angle.

It was the third boss.

An existence that breaks down the boundary between humans and monsters.

The source of the monsterization curse.

I took a long breath.

‘This is it.’

If I defeat this boss, the curse entangled with this dungeon will end.

Gong Seo-yun’s younger brother, and other people bound by the same curse too.

The Butterfly Boss slowly flapped its wings.

Just that movement alone shook the space.

The crystal layers standing on the floor cracked thinly.

And at that moment, powder fell from the wings.

It was different from the second boss’s pollen.

This powder left a chilling sensation as soon as it touched the skin.

“You can’t let this touch you directly.”

I said.

“If it seeps into your body, mutation will start immediately.”

Gong Seo-yun’s hand stiffened for a moment.

I could tell without asking that his younger brother’s face had flashed through his mind.

The butterfly slowly turned its head.

It had eyes.

They resembled human eyes, but were empty of emotion.

‘A selector.’

This boss doesn’t scatter curses randomly.

It picks out the weak ones, the wavering ones.

And then drags those humans toward the monster side.

“Seo-yun.”

I said in a low voice.

“Never make eye contact for too long.”

He nodded.

The butterfly’s wings spread wide.

Light burst out and dozens of thin threads scattered into the air.

Each thread moved as if alive and stretched toward us.

“Here it comes.”

Gong Seo-yun moved first.

He cut through the threads and moved forward.

However, the threads didn’t disappear even when cut.

As soon as they touched the floor, they writhed again and changed form.

“There’s no point in cutting them.”

I said quickly.

“You have to sever the main body.”

I took out the last bottle I had saved from my bag.

A catalyst potion for curse removal.

It wasn’t a finished product yet, but something I designed to react directly with this boss’s mana.

The butterfly folded and unfolded its wings.

At that moment, I had the illusion that the entire space was sinking downward.

My head became momentarily dazed.

‘Mental erosion.’

I immediately drank the potion.

The bitter taste went down my throat and grasped my senses.

“Seo-yun, now’s the time.”

I shouted.

“Inside the wings, the connection point!”

Gong Seo-yun didn’t hesitate.

He lowered his body and broke through between the threads.

Inside the wings was a core that looked like cocoon remnants.

The butterfly reacted.

The threads all rushed toward Gong Seo-yun at once.

I threw the potion on the floor.

It was a mixed potion with both purification and diffusion applied.

Mana strands spread out and briefly slowed the threads’ movement.

“Now!”

Gong Seo-yun’s sword pierced deep into the core.

At that moment, the butterfly’s wings trembled greatly.

The light distorted, and cracks spread throughout the entire space.

The Butterfly Boss made a sound for the first time.

It was a sound that seemed like crying, yet also like laughter.

Its wings tore off one by one and fell.

The light quickly faded, and the threads also lost their strength and scattered to the floor.

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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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