1. I Escaped. But Only My Soul.
The camera shook wildly as it panned across the interior of the cave. The wide space caught on screen had its ceiling and floor inverted.
On top of that, the rocks jutting out haphazardly from the walls, the ground, and the ceiling all created an eerie atmosphere — as if someone had deliberately twisted the space itself.
What had caused this chaos was a spider the size of a person, pressed flat against the floor. More precisely, it was the boss monster of this dungeon, which merely took the shape of a spider.
— T-this doesn’t seem like a B-rank…
The cameraman’s trembling voice was picked up on the audio. Scattered all around were the corpses of lower-ranked monsters, and among them, the Eclipse Guild’s hunters looked like they were on the verge of collapse.
Boom! Thud!
Just then, the guild’s main dealer launched a sword strike toward the boss monster. But that attack vanished before it could even reach the monster.
No — it was more accurate to say that the space, which had been rippling incessantly, swallowed the incoming sword strike whole. And then —
Whoosh—! Boom! Rumble—!
The sword strike, now multiplied, reversed course and flew back at the dealer. The dealer deflected the first one with his sword and dodged out of the way.
— Ugh…
But the dealer’s attacks weren’t landing at all. The main dealer, a charge-type swordsman, and the boss monster, which warped the direction and coordinates of space within the dungeon — their compatibility was disastrous.
— Now what do we… what do we do…
The cameraman’s voice was thick with tears. Are we going to die here? The despair was palpable even through the screen.
It was around the time that anxiety was seeping into the other guild members’ expressions as well.
— Tch, look at the attack team. Real smooth operation.
The person who had been standing in the back with their arms crossed the entire time shoved the cameraman aside and walked forward. Their gait had an odd limp, as if their left leg was bothering them — yet their bearing was entirely imposing.
— Wh, whoa…
The cameraman reflexively filmed the person’s retreating figure while reaching out in a fluster, apparently trying to grab the person’s shoulder and stop them from advancing.
And with good reason — because the one stepping forward was none other than the team’s main healer.
The presence of a healer in a raid is crucial. It wasn’t for nothing that every attack team coddled their healer like royalty.
And yet, the healer — who should have been protected far in the rear — was walking straight into the middle of combat.
— No, please don’t come any closer.
The main dealer also stretched out his hand to stop the healer from advancing any further, then quickly moved toward him. It seemed like he intended to reprimand the reckless healer.
— Your leg is already bad enough as it is — what do you think will happen if you fall?
Sure enough. With a hardened expression, he scolded the healer. On screen, the healer scrunched his brow and shook his head with indifference.
— Damn, quit nagging.
— Do you have any idea how to clear it?
— Yeah. More or less.
The healer pointed a fingertip toward the boss monster.
— It looks like it’s taken control of space, but if you look closely there’s a trick hidden in it. If you read the mana flow, you can sort of see it, but…
— ……?
— Whatever, forget it. I wasn’t expecting you to be able to see that in the first place. Anyway, monsters like that can’t be handled by swordsmen. Physical attacks get caught by the space before they can even land.
— Wouldn’t it work to break through that space?
— This is why brainless swordsmen are so… Tch. I keep telling you, everything gets caught before you can even get that far.
The healer frowned as if he found the whole thing exasperating. The dealer also arched one eyebrow with an equally exasperated look.
— Then…?
— You don’t “break” the space. You have to undo the entangled knots and expose it.
What does he mean, the space, and knots or whatever?
The dealer still looked like he didn’t understand a word of it. But he didn’t particularly try to understand, either.
— I don’t know what you’re talking about, but alright. Let’s go.
The dealer extended his hand. Let’s go — go where? As if mirroring the cameraman’s bewilderment, the frame wobbled slightly.
— Say “please help me,” come on.
— …Please help me.
There we go, that’s how you do it.
The healer, laughing in a way completely at odds with the atmosphere, took his hand. In that instant the dealer pulled him in lightly and caught him in his arms.
— Wh, what…?
The cameraman let out a dazed sound of confusion, and the next moment the two were airborne.
What followed was a chain attack.
Bang! Boom!
A rain of ice arrows poured down onto the front of the monster. The monster clicked its fangs as if mocking the assault, then let out a shrieking cry.
Right on cue, space folded in on itself and swallowed the ice arrows whole. Or rather — tried to.
Whoooosh—!
At the very instant the space split open, the ice arrows that had been rushing in rapidly transformed into water in an instant and splattered to the floor. Then, from the direction where the two stood, countless sparks began to scatter.
— Gasp!
The cameraman quickly tracked the movement of the sparks. The sparks that had made contact with something in midair spread outward, and the texture of space that had been hidden until now was finally revealed.
— Threads…?
Countless threads woven through the air were burning and glowing.
The camera shifted this way and that before zooming in on the dealer and healer, still suspended in midair.
The healer in the frame smiled with satisfaction as he extended his hand. Brilliant blue mana surged from his fingertips, then shot off toward a knot above the boss monster’s head — barely visible.
Screeeee—! Kriiieee!
Space tore apart and the boss monster let out a scream. From that point on, it was showtime for that enigmatic healer.
* * *
(Hot) Did anyone watch the Eclipse raid video from yesterday?
The healer was beating the hell out of the boss monster — is this even real
(video clip)
(original video link)
Comments
— ?????? That’s an attack spell;; but it was the healer who cast it, right?
└ If you zoom in you can tell it did come from the healer’s hands yep
— A re-awakened S-rank healer lmaooo does being S-rank mean healers go around punching monsters directly now?
— So this is what re-awakening does to a healer? Starting today my life goal is to be a re-awakened healer;
— Watched it frame by frame and it wasn’t even a single element. Ice → flame → space severance (?) → debuff chain. Even a mage couldn’t pull this off.
└ Nerd lmao;;
— A true healer eliminates the source of danger before their allies can get hurt lol
└ Facts lol
└└ lmaooo
└└└ Healer (physically)
└└└└ In this country, healers rip monsters apart.
All of South Korea was in an uproar. Because the one who had beaten down a boss monster that seemed far too formidable to have appeared in a B-rank dungeon — turned out to be a healer.
The video spread rapidly across the internet and around the world. And here, basking in his newfound fame, was the healer from the video — Pyo Haram — thoroughly enjoying his own popularity.
“Hey, get a load of this. They’re calling me a ‘crazy genius.’ But genius? What does that mean exactly? Is it good? Oh, this person even went and analyzed all the spells I used. Well, I guess people are good at that sort of thing at least.”
“……”
“These guys — I told them a hundred times I’m a mage, and they just kept calling me a healer, a healer. Have they finally come to understand this one’s magnificent abilities? Hmm? Isn’t it hilarious?”
“……”
“Look, look. Just look at all of them worshipping me.”
“Haah…”
As Haram’s fussing and self-congratulation continued, the man sitting across from him let out a sigh. Haram snickered and offered his (?) consolation.
“Is it because your fame got stolen? Don’t worry too much, though. Your name comes up here and there too. Let me see… ‘S-rank main dealer’s skills have really gone downhill, haven’t they?’ it says. Tsk tsk, to be hearing that kind of thing in public. Don’t go around telling people you’re my lackey.”
“……”
It felt like blood was about to pour out of his ears. That ‘skills gone downhill’ S-rank hunter — the dealer from the video, Seomun Hyeok — rubbed his ear with a complicated expression.
To think an S-rank body could take this much damage. The healer in front of him — no. The archmage — did he have some skill that Hyeok wasn’t aware of?
“…Do you enjoy it that much?”
“Hm? What?”
“You’ve been on the internet this whole time. Do you enjoy it that much — having other people praise you?”
Seomun Hyeok, who had long since grown numb to everything, had absolutely no interest in what others thought of him. It was because he had grown thoroughly sick of the attention he’d received throughout his life.
But Haram was different. As though he still hadn’t had enough, he kept wanting recognition from others.
“Of course I do. When I was an archmage, I received even greater praise than this. When I made a single gesture, my followers would…”
It was just as Seomun Hyeok was bracing himself for another round of “back in my day” stories that, contrary to his expectations, Haram abruptly fell silent.
“Why did you stop mid-sentence?”
“…Nothing. I suddenly don’t feel great. I’m taking a nap, so don’t bother me.”
The face that had been flushed with excitement all this time cooled rapidly. Haram, suddenly sullen, hurried into his room before Seomun Hyeok could stop him.
Click —
Haram closed the door and glanced down at the phone in his hand. Among all the comments praising him, wondering about him, and lifting him up, the faces of his followers from his original world seemed to flicker and overlap.
“Ha…”
Of all things, how did I end up like this.
Haram tossed his phone onto the desk and flopped face-down onto the bed. As he closed his eyes, memories he couldn’t forget came crawling in and swallowed his consciousness.
Swept along by an unpleasant sensation, Haram found himself drifting back through his long-past history.
* * *
“Emperor’s assassin! Here’s your meal for today.”
Clang!
A tray was shoved through the gap under the iron door. Haran’s gaze swept over it. On it sat black bread he hadn’t so much as glimpsed since childhood, and a sour, spoiled stew.
“You expect me to eat this?”
“What? Ha, honestly. Not only can’t you be grateful for at least being fed… Do you still think you’re the great archmage?”
Even so, you’re nothing but an emperor’s assassin now.
The guard twisted his lips and sneered. Haran gritted his teeth and glared at the shackles fastened to his wrists. These were no ordinary shackles — they were mana-suppressing cuffs, capable of restraining the mana of none other than the archmage, Haran.
Three days had already passed since he was falsely accused of attempting to assassinate the emperor. Fed nothing but garbage meals, Haran had gone three full days without eating and was sprawled listlessly on a hard stone bed.
Just let me get out of here.
Even then, Haran still believed he would be able to escape this prison. Because he hadn’t harmed the emperor!
He’d heard that the emperor was recovering — surely the day his name would be cleared wasn’t far off now.
He’ll come to get me out. Once I’m out, I’ll beat down every last person who framed me, and give that emperor a piece of my mind too, for not being able to handle his own affairs properly.
The emperor valued him. More precisely, the emperor valued his talent — but Haran thought it amounted to the same thing. Because he himself was magic incarnate.
As long as he didn’t lose this ability, the emperor would never abandon him. He held that conviction like an unshakeable truth.
“Five days from now, your execution will be held.”
“…What did you say?”
And so — those words held true, right up until the word “execution” came out of the emperor’s mouth.
