THIFSGSTW CH 18

Chapter 18: A World That Demands Sacrifice

Getting caught by Raen was a mistake. I didn’t want anyone to know that I had cut my own arm. It was something I intended to stop doing anyway.

“Hyung, I really won’t do it again.”

I looked at Raen with desperate eyes. He stared at me with a slightly troubled expression before reluctantly nodding.

“Promise me, Yi-han. If it gets hard, just tell me instead.”

Once he got my reluctant agreement, Raen carefully checked the bandages wrapped around my arm once more before heading downstairs.

Come to think of it, Min Joo-hyuk had also shown me how to bandage wounds and disinfect injuries before. Of course, I hadn’t followed his instructions properly because it wasn’t necessary for me to go through all that trouble.

Both Min Joo-hyuk and Raen seemed oddly familiar with treating wounds. Was first aid proficiency one of the virtues of a hero? I briefly entertained the thought as I followed Raen.

We descended the stairs slowly. As we reached the bottom, Park Yul entered, supporting Min Joo-hyuk. Behind them, Song Ha-gyeon closed the door. The cold air that had been faintly drifting in was cut off completely.

“Oh, Sun Yi-han! And Raen-hyung! You were together?”

Min Joo-hyuk greeted us with a bright voice, waving one arm cheerfully. His leg looked like it had been shredded. I slid down the last few steps to stand in front of him.

The moment I took his hand and used Healing, a blue light circled around his injured leg before being absorbed back into me. The gauge bar in my vision filled almost to the brim.

“Thanks, Yi-han. To be honest, it really hurt.”

His voice was far too cheerful for someone who claimed to be in pain, but he furrowed his brows and made a pitiful expression. …I quickly looked away.

Still, a sense of unease crept up on me. Did they always get hurt this badly? Maybe this was what the system meant by the heroes’ sacrifice.

Min Joo-hyuk, who had been watching me, suddenly ruffled my hair with a small smile. Then, in a slightly more subdued voice, he muttered,

“I thought I had them all under control, but the monsters popped up from an unexpected place.”

Park Yul, who had been standing beside him, immediately followed up.

“Yeah, Joo-hyuk. My attack magic didn’t seem to work well against them either. I think we need to adjust our strategy.”

“Song Ha-gyeon-hyung almost got seriously hurt again. I should have—”

“Min Joo-hyuk. Wasn’t that problem last time… supposed to be over?” Song Ha-gyeon cut in with a firm voice. Park Yul patted Min Joo-hyuk’s back forcefully.

“Ha-gyeon’s right. We fight together. You don’t have to take all the responsibility alone.”

“Yeah. Everyone worked hard. Joo-hyuk, be careful not to get hurt. Get some rest upstairs.”

Min Joo-hyuk’s expression seemed to ease slightly.

I didn’t understand why he was blaming himself so much when he was the one most injured. Song Ha-gyeon and Park Yul seemed to be in better condition. I reached out and used Healing on Song Ha-gyeon before turning to Park Yul.

“I’m fine, Yi-han.”

He took half a step back as he spoke. I still grabbed his hand.

<The Healer Will Help!> The Chosen Hero: Park Yul

Heal/Import

I silently selected Heal. The moment his wounds disappeared, a notification confirmed the healing was successful. And the bar gauge in front of my eyes was finally full.

“…Cough.”

A small cough escaped me. When I brought my hand to my mouth, I saw droplets of blood staining my sleeve. I lifted my gaze in shock. Each time I coughed up blood, the red light in the gauge bar visibly decreased.

“Hurk.”

A sudden surge of blood made it hard to breathe. My sleeve was quickly soaked in red.

No, calm down. This was nothing. I was just momentarily startled by the unexpected situation. I took a slow, deep breath.

“Haa… Haa, cough.”

Regulating my breathing helped. I even learned that there was a way to cough up blood more efficiently. They say every lesson has meaning. Would this ever be useful? I’d rather not need it, but I had a feeling it would be useful soon.

The gauge bar’s red light had decreased by a quarter. It seemed that once it was full, my body forcefully reset the gauge bar by expelling blood.

‘At least I can keep using Healing.’

If I could heal any wound at the cost of coughing up a little blood, that was actually a good deal. I didn’t feel pain or die, so this was the perfect setup. As I was feeling satisfied with the situation, a cautious hand touched my back.

“Yi-han?”

Raen called my name with a trembling voice, his hand patting my back gently. That’s when I finally took in my surroundings properly.

“Yi-han, stay with us.”

Park Yul was gripping my shoulders firmly, trying to meet my eyes. He looked as calm as ever, but his pupils wavered slightly.

Min Joo-hyuk quickly dragged over a soft chair and guided me to sit down. Their voices, asking if I was okay, blurred together. I was really fine. I understood that it didn’t look fine, but I was frustrated because i had no way to explain it. Just then, a pale purple handkerchief was held out in front of me.

“…Has this happened before?”

Song Ha-gyeon gently pulled down the hand covering my mouth and carefully dabbed the handkerchief against my lips.

It was better than my blood-soaked sleeve. A strong herbal scent wafted from the fabric. Was this infused with medicinal herbs? Somehow, my coughing fit subsided.

The gauge bar was now less than half full. It wouldn’t be long before this ended. Feeling a bit relieved, I answered,

“Sometimes.”

Since I would likely cough up blood again after using Healing frequently, I figured it was better to say it now.

“I’m not sick or anything. I’m fine.”

I could feel the sharp gazes fixed on the blood-soaked handkerchief. No one seemed convinced, but I had nothing more to say.

Just then, a ding sounded as a notification appeared.

Cooldown Time Until Next Healing: 7 Days

I stared at it blankly. Who decided on this ridiculous cooldown? The system, as always, provided no explanation.

Was this how they felt right now—caught between disbelief and frustration?

‘If so… I guess I do feel a little sorry.’

But there was nothing I could do. The world was full of things that were hard to accept. By the time I looked up again, the sun had almost completely set. Darkness crept in through the windows.

◇

Over the next few days, everyone was being overly on guard. One time, I stumbled slightly while climbing the stairs.

“Hey, Yi-han! Are you okay?”

“Are you in pain, Yi-han?”

“…Should I carry you?”

“Yi-han, tell us if you’re having a hard time.”

Everyone reached out and added their own words, so that was that. And why does Song Ha-gyeon keep asking if I want to be carried on his back?

They must’ve looked uneasy, they thought i like a candle flickering in the wind, but that was unfair.

“Out of everyone here, I’m probably in the best shape out of all of us right now.”

My healing ability was still on cooldown, so I couldn’t use it yet. As for ‘Import’ would have been too obvious, so I didn’t do that either. Since they already knew I could use healing magic, suddenly importing their wounds intact to my body would’ve been suspicious.

I had considered using ‘Import’ if there were any serious injuries, but luckily, no one had been gravely hurt so far.

Still, because I couldn’t heal anyone, everyone’s minor wounds remained on their bodies, and that bothered me. As soon as the cooldown was over, I’d heal them right away.

But how did they manage the injuries before I got here? They said there was no such thing as healing magic, and from what I knew, none of the medicine Song Ha-gyeon made was meant for serious injuries.

‘They didn’t just sit and wait for the wounds to heal on their own… did they?’

If that was really the case, it was a bitter thought. They seemed to get hurt fairly often. If this was a world where things could only keep moving forward if someone was constantly making sacrifices… then maybe—

“Yi-han, sleep well.”

Park Yul’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. He lightly ruffled my hair. I hadn’t even realized I’d been lost in thought while walking, but somehow, I was already standing in front of my room.

“Goodnight to you guys too. Min Joo-hyuk, you too.”

They were all busy and would probably be going to bed much later than this, but since I was heading to sleep now, I gave my goodnights in advance. For some reason, I felt more exhausted than usual today.

Click.

I closed the door and climbed onto my bed.

On the table beside me, the white box that Song Ha-gyeon had left behind was still there. I tapped it lightly, and a soft glow spread from within. That felt… much better.

Resting my head against the pillow, I closed my eyes. Sleep took over almost instantly.

◇

Tap, tap.

Faint footsteps. It sounded like someone walking on a dirt path.

‘Huh? But I just fell asleep a second ago?’

I saw Raen’s back, his robe draped over him. Ahead of him, the sky was painted in hues of sunset. The thick trees surrounding him stretched their bare branches toward the heavens like jagged spears.

Raen walked down the path where I stood, his figure looking as though he was stepping straight into the sunset.

‘Is this… a dream?’

It felt too vivid. I wasn’t the type to dream often. Yet, Raen’s presence felt too natural, too real, for this to be just a dream.

Then, suddenly, Raen halted with a jolt. He turned his head sharply to the left and stared at something before moving toward it.

At the place where his steps stopped, a jagged black tear hung in the air. A rift. It was like the darkness itself had been ripped open, an eerie void that felt completely out of place. The edges of the surrounding area were stained red.

‘A rift.’ I recalled Raen explaining them to me before.

Raen stood in front of it, biting his lip. He looked conflicted. Then, carefully, he raised a hand and began casting a magic.

Wooong.

A soft glow veiled the rift, not sealing it shut but layering magic over it. A temporary fix, maybe. Judging by Raen’s unsatisfied expression, he didn’t seem too pleased with the result. But he moved on.

‘Why am I having a dream like this?’

Raen kept wandering, finding more rifts and casting the same magic over them. Watching him repeat the process over and over was starting to feel a bit monotonous.

Then, suddenly, he stopped again.

Another rift had opened there. Just as Raen lifted his hand to cast another magic, something moved behind him.

A thick, gnarled branch slithered forward, stretching toward Raen’s back. Its tip was stained black. Raen, focused entirely on his magic, didn’t seem to notice.

Crunch.

A sharp, chilling noise rang out—like something crushing dry branches underfoot. Raen’s head snapped around in alarm—

Thud.

The thick branch pierced straight through Raen’s waist.