Was Happy Being a Despised F-Rank Healer, You Know? - Chapter 82

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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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12. Magpies and Jesters (1)

“Is this the time for jokes?”

He let out a tense laugh.

“Let’s call for backup.”

“There’s no time.”

Inside the circle, something moved.

The air rippled.

I opened my bag.

The emergency potions were still there.

I was glad I hadn’t used them earlier.

Yuhan Seong drew his sword.

His eyes changed.

“We were talking about magpies and now this happens.”

He said briefly.

I took a breath.

“If luck stats were useful, we might survive.”

“Trust me instead of that.”

Even as he said this, his steps didn’t waver.

The circle was growing larger.

It was almost completely swallowing the processing facility entrance.

The path outside was still open.

But if we left it like this, the dungeon would grow even larger.

It might swallow the entire by-product processing facility.

Yuhan Seong looked at me.

“Choose.”

I thought for a moment.

Then I said.

“Let’s go in.”

Well, even if we ran away, this kind of dungeon wouldn’t let its prey escape. It was better for us to enter while we were prepared.

He nodded.

There was no hesitation.

We simultaneously stepped into the circle.

At that moment, the light behind us was completely blocked.

The by-product processing facility disappeared.

Instead, unfamiliar air and unfamiliar sensations surrounded us.

***

The first thing I felt upon opening my eyes was color.

Excessively vivid color.

The floor was a checkerboard pattern of mixed black and white, and the walls were covered with red cloth.

From the ceiling hung structures that looked like chandeliers, but up close they were all bells.

Each time they swayed slightly, metallic sounds overlapped and rang out.

“This place…”

I said quietly.

“Looks like a circus.”

Yuhan Seong continued.

His voice was a bit lower than usual.

It was the tone he used when entering combat.

In front were ten circular stages.

On each stage stood a jester.

Faces with colorful makeup.

They were smiling, but their eyes weren’t smiling at all.

One of them stepped forward.

“Let me explain the rules.”

The jester’s voice was thin and high.

Rather than human vocal cords, it was closer to the sound of scraping metal.

Multiple voices came from one jester, repeatedly separating and merging.

“Ten people.”

“Ten magic tricks.”

“One by one.”

The jester snapped its fingers.

The number ‘1’ appeared in the air and shattered.

“First.”

The surroundings darkened.

The other jesters and stages sank into shadow, leaving only the central stage.

Light gathered.

White dots floated in the air.

“Arrows of light.”

The jester said.

“Glory to those who endure one hundred times.”

Before the words even finished, the first arrow flew.

It was fast.

Not a straight line, but a trajectory that curved slightly.

Yuhan Seong twisted his body to dodge.

His movement had no wasted motion.

Second.

Third.

Arrows flying in succession.

The positions and angles were all different.

I instinctively opened my bag then closed it.

I immediately judged there was no need to use potions.

“Hali.”

Yuhan Seong said.

Without taking his eyes off, he extended his hand.

“Magpie!”

Surely he didn’t name the magpie ‘Magpie’, right?

Anyway, I immediately opened my bag.

The small magpie monster poked its head out.

Its eyes sparkled.

“Stay still.”

I said quietly.

The magpie tilted its head, then climbed onto my shoulder.

Its feathers trembled slightly.

Only then did Yuhan Seong fully focus on combat.

The tenth arrow flew.

He moved half a beat late.

But his positioning was precise.

The arrow grazed past his shoulder.

Twentieth.

Thirtieth.

The speed increased further.

Arrows came out two, three at a time.

The Jester’s laughter overlapped.

“Good.”

“Very good.”

I steadied my breathing and counted the numbers.

Fifty.

Sixty.

By this point, it wasn’t ordinary evasion patterns.

Yuhan Seong was moving by reaction, not prediction.

His body knew first, and his mind followed.

Seventy.

Eighty.

That’s when it happened.

One arrow changed direction ever so slightly.

It was a trajectory aimed at his skin.

Magpie cried out.

Caw.

It was a short sound.

But in that moment, the arrow’s trajectory shifted just slightly.

Yuhan Seong’s body slipped through that gap.

“…Just now.”

I muttered.

Luck stat.

So this is how it’s used.

Ninety.

The Jester’s expression hardened for the first time.

Ninety-nine.

The last arrow flew.

This time from above to below, at an angle almost like falling.

Yuhan Seong didn’t dodge.

Instead, he took one step forward.

The arrow fell behind him.

Instantly, the bells rang simultaneously.

The chandelier swayed.

“How lamentable.”

The Jester’s voice cracked.

The stage collapsed.

The first Jester scattered like light.

The air moved again.

The other stages regained their form.

Only then did I exhale.

Yuhan Seong returned.

Sweat beaded on his forehead, but his breathing was stable.

“My goodness.”

I said.

He laughed briefly.

“This much is just a warm-up.”

Magpie flew to his shoulder.

It ruffled its feathers and cried.

Then, the second Jester clapped.

“Next is you.”

One out of ten had disappeared.

Nine remained.

This dungeon

intended to test people to the very end.

***

The second stage changed its sound first.

Instead of bell sounds, friction sounds scraping the floor could be heard.

It was a rustling sound.

As if dozens of strings were moving simultaneously.

The floor’s pattern blurred, then changed into a space mixed with black and green.

The chessboard disappeared, and instead damp earth and stones were revealed.

The air was humid, and a fishy smell stung the nose.

The second Jester stood in the center of the stage.

This Jester wasn’t smiling.

The corners of his mouth were turned down, and only his eyes were narrowly slit.

In his hand was a staff.

At the tip of the staff, something writhed.

“The rules are simple.”

The Jester said.

His voice was low and sticky.

He tapped the staff on the floor.

At that moment, the floor cracked.

Black forms poured out from between the cracks.

They were snakes.

Each different in size and color.

There were thin ones, and ones as thick as thighs.

Their scales gleamed, and their tongues flicked rapidly.

“One hundred.”

The Jester said slowly.

“Catch them and offer them.”

The moment Yuhan Seong was about to step forward.

“This time.”

The Jester’s gaze turned to me.

“You.”

His staff pointed at me.

The air solidified.

I felt the ground beneath my feet sink slightly.

“What?”

Yuhan Seong reacted immediately.

The Jester tilted his head.

“Condition.”

“One of two.”

He didn’t smile.

Instead, he spoke very slowly.

“If one person falls out.”

“Both fail.”

I took a deep breath.

I had expected it, but now that it was actually happening, I didn’t feel particularly good about it.

“Hali.”

Yuhan Seong called me.

His voice had hardened.

“It’s okay.”

I said immediately.

“I’ll go in.”

The jester clapped his hands.

Clap, once.

At the same time, the floor opened completely.

More snakes poured out.

Their numbers were already uncountable.

I opened my bag.

My hands moved automatically.

That was the moment.

Ding.

It was a familiar sound.

Before my eyes, translucent text appeared.

[Luck stat increased]

I gritted my teeth.

‘It appears now.’

Magpie flapped its wings on my shoulder.

It cried briefly.

Its reaction was as if this was only natural.

“Good.”

I said in a low voice.

I pulled bottles from my bag.

Luck potion.

Agility potion.

Neural response enhancement potion.

There was no hesitation in uncapping them.

I downed them one by one quickly.

My throat burned, but I didn’t care.

My body changed.

My vision became clear.

Sounds layered over each other.

The snakes’ movements began to appear separated, one by one.

“Magpie.”

I said.

Magpie immediately flew up into the air.

Low and fast.

It circled above the snakes’ heads.

At that moment, several snakes on the floor moved in the wrong direction.

They collided with each other, their trajectories thrown off.

Luck.

Very subtle, but a definite influence.

Yuhan Seong stood beside me.

Holding his sword, he lowered his body.

“Let’s divide roles.”

He said.

“Yeah.”

I answered immediately.

“You take the big ones.”

“And you?”

“The fast ones.”

He nodded.

He didn’t ask any more questions.

The first snake leaped up.

It was a viper.

Awl-like fangs flashed.

I twisted my body to dodge while drawing my short blade.

Instead of cutting, I pressed down on its head to subdue it.

The snake writhed.

My fingertips grazed it.

I checked if the poison had touched me.

I was still okay.

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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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