THIFSGSTW CH 1

Chapter 001 : The only healer in the Hero’s party

When I woke up after being bedridden because of an illness, my blurry vision caught sight of something faintly glowing. In the pitch-black room, something thin and square glowed with a radiant blue light.

I thought my fever was playing tricks on me, but when I looked closely, I saw that there were clear words written on it in black ink.

「Save the world! Nice to meet you, Sun Yi-Han.」

Uh huh…. That’s right, I’m Sun Yi-Han… But what is this? Is it a dream?

「Once upon a time, there was a peaceful world. 」

「However! Evil things began to creep in from the cracks in the world. 」

The letters began to change. It was as if they were reading my thoughts. As soon as I scanned a sentence with my eyes, a new one appeared.

「People crying, a peaceful daily life that is slowly falling apart  」

「Children learn to cry under their breath before they learn to walk. 」

「The funeral song from dawn echoes louder than the crowing of a rooster in the morning. 」

「The era of darkness has begun. 」

Huh? As I kept reading, it seemed like this thing was just spouting nonsense

The world might be tough and challenging at times, but it doesn’t feel like a ruined world. In fact, you could even call it peaceful.

「Oh, really? You think this world is peaceful?」

… As expected, I don’t know what this thing is, but it can definitely read my thoughts.

「That’s right. And that was a story from another world」

「But it’s too early to be relieved. Cracks are opening up in this world too」

「Still, you don’t have to worry too much」

「There are heroes who willingly sacrifice themselves to protect the world peace」

Caught up in the strangely one-sided conversation that felt like it was directed solely at me, I found myself unconsciously focused, reading the text intently without even realizing it.

My fever felt like it was rising again, my face is hot, and my head grew heavier. Yet I couldn’t take my eyes away from the flickering newly-carved sentences. 

「But is such sacrifice like that truly justified?」

「It doesn’t seem right, at the very least」

「Now that you know about them, you can’t just stand by anymore!」

「Wake up! Go and share their burden!」

「You have the ability to do that, Sun Yi-Han. 」

「S | T | A | R | T | ?」

“Huh…?”

There was something off about that last sentence. Flustered, I let out an involuntary sound.

Start…? Before I could understand what it meant, the letters blinked out and new ones appeared.

「Acceptance confirmed! Beginning <Memory Retrieval>」

Wait! I didn’t accept anything… Could it be that even my startled noise counted as an answer?

Regardless of my bewilderment, my vision began to blur. Was this because of the so-called <Memory Retrieval>, or was my already sick body giving out? I couldn’t tell.

It felt as though someone was pounding on my head. In the midst of it all, I thought I heard the sound of a door bursting open.

I can’t be sure because I blacked out immediately afterward.

◇

Even though the only person who could read the blue screen had passed out, the faint blue screen with its black text continued blinking, as if indifferent.

「Resetting title」

「Restarting system」

「Save the world! Welcome, Seon Yi-han, the only healer of the Hero’s party」

「Adjust penalties, heal the hero’s party, and reach □□□ □ 」

「The □□ to save the world is there. 」

◇

I had a dream.

It was a blank, white space. I didn’t hear any sounds, or feel my feet touching the ground. I couldn’t tell if time was passing or if I was even breathing. 

My head was numb. Maybe I’d lost my sight, or maybe I was deaf, or maybe I was crazy.

One thing was for sure, I was going to go insane if I stayed like this.

Rustle

Then, out of nowhere, a breeze gently brushed past me.

I turned my head so quickly that I could hear a crack in my neck. In the distance in the direction of the wind, I could see the back of a squatting child.

His round head and neatly trimmed black hair swayed slightly in the invisible wind. 

The breeze grew stronger, making it hard to keep my eyes open. Yet the child remained unmoving, as though he were in a different world altogether.

“Ugh…!”

Something seemed to fly toward me in the wind. Instinctively, I held my breath, squeezed my eyes shut, and raised my arms in a flimsy shield.

Despite my nervousness, nothing happened. Instead, I felt a soft, light sensation grazing the back of my hand.

It didn’t seem to be a solid object, at least. That was a relief. Feeling suddenly embarrassed about acting like a coward at the age of seventeen, I cautiously opened my eyes as if nothing had happened.

’’Sky blue flower?’

I gaze at the soft object that grazed my hand from a distance. It was a transparent water-colored flower. The pale color that resembled a blue sky was clearly visible in the all-white space. The flower, perfectly intact as if untouched by time or decay—like Camellia flowers, felt strangely familiar. I wracked my brain to remember where I’d seen it before.

Meanwhile, the child sitting in the distance suddenly stood up and turned slowly toward me. His tiny arms were cradling a bundle of flowers just like the one that had flown to me. He gazed at me with wide, round eyes that blinked slowly.

His eyes were utterly black, devoid of light, and unsettlingly expressionless. Staring into them, a thought crossed my mind. 

‘Maybe… my eyes look just like that.’

The wind grew fiercer, nearly pushing me off balance. A faint floral scent wafted through the air. My vision spun, everything around me melting into a blur.

Once again, I sank deeper into a dream.

◇

It was a long dream.

I was seeing that child in my dream. A child with black hair and black eyes.

The world the child lived in was strange and unfamiliar. Everything—the towering buildings, the fast-rolling vehicles, the images on small screens, and the nights that glittered more brilliantly than the stars—felt unfamiliar.

But I quickly adapted. I could see how the child lived, what he thought. I knew everything about him as if I were living his life. 

It’s like peeking into someone else’s memories.

The child went to school, studied, played, and met people. Somehow, I could feel all the emotions tied to those moments.

The memories rushed by like a film on fast-forward or the pages of an old book being flipped rapidly. Sounds came and went, buzzing loudly before fading away.

As the child grew into a teenager, I realized something.

’’He looks like me.’

The teenager had the same face as mine.

As countless days passed in the whirl of time, eventually, the teenager had grown taller than I was. 

At that moment, the speed of time seemed to slow. Every moment before me became vivid, as if the fast-forward button had been unexpectedly canceled.

The teenager stood straight in a large auditorium. Around him, others dressed in the same clothes were lined up.

A faint smell of wood. Small dust particles gleamed in the sunlight streaming through the windows.

Amid the low murmurs, the sound of tapping on a microphone echoed. The mechanical beep briefly passed, and the auditorium fell into such silence that even the breath could be heard. 

Breaking the stillness, a calm voice resonated with a loud volume.

[Congratulations on graduating from high school.]

The teenager took off his cap and threw it upwards, with force, almost touching the ceiling. Others beside him were also doing the same. Numerous caps tangled in mid-air.

Now I could see it. Everyone was holding colorful bouquets atop their black gowns. The applause grew louder, and voices filled the space with excitement.

Everything was complete happiness.

’I’m jealous.’

Suddenly, that thought crossed my mind. Is this what being an adult is like?

The intense and unfamiliar emotion made my heart pound so hard it hurt. It was his feeling. A warmth spreading from deep inside, so intense that it took my breath away. 

If adulthood was such a glorious moment, I couldn’t wait to reach adulthood.

The teenager… No. He, with a bright smile, turned his head. The sunlight coming through the window directly touched his face.

’… Are you happy?’

Did I just say it out loud? I wasn’t sure.

In that instant, I felt as though his jet-black eyes turned toward me.

All the sounds that had been ringing in my ears abruptly stopped.

Everything before my eyes froze.

The dream ended there.

◇

I opened my eyes. It was a dark room.

Everything was quiet. Now, it was really reality.

I’m lying on the bed right now. A warm towel was placed on my forehead.

It was obvious who had done this. There was only one person who would do such a thing for me. Thanks to that, my fever seemed to have gone down.

Good. Everything’s good.

… It’s actually not good. My heart was still pounding, likely due to the lingering effects of the dream, but before I could even think about its meaning, reality pushed in.

The letters flickered in front of me, as if making fun of me.

「Tutorial, <Memory Retrieval> Completed! Rewards will be distributed. 」

「Rewards can be found on the ‘Status Window’ screen. 」

Ok. I now know what it is. I saw something similar in a dream I just passed.

This is, what is it called again,

“… System?”

The blue window rippled in affirmation.

Ah, so it’s right. This was similar to the screens that pop up when you play a game. But now, why was it in front of me.

I cut off the continuing thoughts. No answer would come from pondering it. I sat up and leaned against the headboard of the bed. I took a deep breath. My chaotic thoughts started to settle

“But there’s no way this is inside a game,”

I’ve lived for over a decade, and now I’m supposed to be a game character? This world just a game? That can’t be true. It wasn’t just a guess; I was almost certain.

All the things I had experienced—the unreturned greetings, the empty seat at the table that was meant for me, the looks that turned away when I reached out, the isolation in the burning heat where I couldn’t even ask for help and my breath slowly fading. Those lonely memories are still vivid in my mind.

Even if this was a game, what difference would it make? What matters is that I’m alive here, breathing. This is my reality.

<Unexpected! Quest> Complete the <Future Vision> training.

Duration : 6 days

Success : Obtain the <Future Vision> Beginner

Failure : Fail to obtain the <Future Vision> Beginner

Damn reality.

Just as the quest appeared before me, the door creaked open.

It was already midnight outside. The shadow of a person under the full moon stretched long toward me.

The man spoke in a hard, low voice.

“Sun Yi-Han.”