THIFSGSTW CH 15

Chapter 015: It’s Enough Already

“Yi-han, is it impossible to use healing magic on yourself?”

Raen’s question made sense. However, I couldn’t use Healing on myself. Originally, I didn’t feel pain due to my passive ability, so it wasn’t necessary.

The reason I feel nauseous right now is… I won’t explain further. I just thought that Raen would let the suspicion go, but it wasn’t easy. Words came out more harshly than I intended.

“It can only be used on heroes.”

Raen widened her eyes and asked again.

“How do you know that?”

“Uh…”

The first healing reward I got was ‘Healing other than heroes,’ so it probably applies only to heroes in normal circumstances. But how do I explain that?

“It’s just… a feeling.”

I fumbled with my words, but Raen immediately nodded and moved on.

He didn’t seem to want to press further if I didn’t say anything. It seemed like he was being careful after the last time. Of course, I appreciated it, but I didn’t think it was necessary.

Raen looked at Park Yul and then spoke.

“Leader-hyung, hasn’t Yi-han taken the Hero’s Oath?”

“Hmm, I don’t think so.”

Park Yul smiled bitterly and continued.

“It’s not that I don’t trust him, but the power doesn’t work on Yi-han.”

Park Yul gave a rough explanation. The Hero’s Oath is first confirmed by Park Yul, the chosen Hero, and then a second oath is taken at the temple.

Park Yul said he gained a special power after becoming the chosen Hero. By looking into someone’s eyes, he could vaguely see whether or not they were destined to become a Hero.

“I couldn’t see anything in Yi-han. As if being pushed away.”

Park Yul looked at me with an apologetic expression and added.

“And when Yi-han suddenly collapsed… I was really shocked, Yi-han.”

I told Park Yul it was okay as he quietly apologized. It was unfamiliar to receive concern or apologies when nothing was wrong.

Besides, Park Yul had nothing to apologize for. It wasn’t his fault to begin with. It was all because of the system, but I had no way to explain that, so it was frustrating.

“It would be good if Yi-han also took the Hero’s Oath.”

Raen said quietly. Park Yul neither agreed nor disagreed and just quietly kept his gaze on me. His expression seemed a bit stiff.

Since the last time, there were moments when Park Yul would make this face. Staring at me intently, lost in deep thought. I wasn’t sure, but it felt like he was wary of me. It was unavoidable. It felt like everyone had been together for years, but I had suddenly joined them.

Moreover, Park Yul said he couldn’t see anything in me. That was probably because of the system. Of course, it was suspicious.

‘But it’s fine like this,’ I thought.

Park Yul was in charge of leading everyone, so caution was a good trait. So, there was no need to try too hard to dissolve that slight wariness. There wasn’t even a quest with a penalty for it.

So, this much was enough. Wanting more would be greedy. Park Yul was basically a kind person to me. When I met Park Yul’s gaze, he smiled brightly. Then he poured more tea into the glass I was holding. It was warm. This peaceful moment was more than enough for me.

The sunlight in the afternoon had lowered a little and was pouring through the window. It was still a peaceful afternoon.

◇

Each day passed quickly. Before I knew it, three days had flown by.

It would be a lie to say the penalty wasn’t tough over the past three days, but now that it’s over, I think I managed to get through it okay. That’s how it always is. If you can just endure through the moment, it becomes nothing in the end.

Click.

I rolled the lollipop in my mouth. The sweet fruit flavor stuck to my tongue. Today, after the penalty was finally over, Min Joo-hyuk gave me this, saying it was a relief to have a proper meal after days of not eating well.

‘Hey, Sun Yi-han. Are you feeling better now? You haven’t been eating well for days. I’m glad.’

I don’t know how he knew I hadn’t been eating well. But the candy was quite tasty, so it was fine.

I walked quietly through the first-floor hall. The large window in the wall had a view of the sunset sinking low.

Since everyone had left around lunchtime, I was the only one left in Redeo. Lately, everyone had been going out frequently. Whether alone or in groups, they seemed quite busy going here and there.

‘It’s something we have to do. There are few of us, and the world is wide.’

That’s what Park Yul had said. Thinking about it again, it was a very Hero-like thing to say.

Everyone was busy, but Park Yul always stepped up whenever something happened, so it was hard to even see his face. There was a deep, heavy sense of duty emanating from him. Maybe it was because he was the chosen Hero.

I went up the stairs and opened the door to my room. Since no one was here today, I felt at ease.

I crouched on the chair by the window. I took out a small piece of wood from my pocket. When I pushed the side up, a sharp blade popped out.

Sssk.

I expertly raised my hand and deeply cut the inside of my forearm. Blood droplets slowly formed and then dripped down.

The blood droplets that fell to the floor were tinged with the red sunset. A metallic scent rose. Since I didn’t feel pain, the thick droplets of blood seemed unreal.

I looked up at the air, and a status window blinked blue.

<‘Future Vision’ Beginner> Skill Activated!

Cooldwon until next use: 24 hours

Suddenly, my vision went dark. It felt like my mind was being sucked into a deep place.

Thud.

A black, sticky monster lay sprawled on the ground. I saw Park Yul stabbing a long sword into it. Red light particles spread from the monster.

The particles gathered in the air, forming a ball. Then they poured into the sword Park Yul was holding. At the same time, the monster turned to ash and crumbled. Park Yul immediately pulled out the sword.

As Park Yul blinked, there was a faint red glow in his pale green eyes. It disappeared without a trace right after.

Whoosh.

My senses snapped back to reality.

I blinked. I was still sitting in the same spot, the red sunset light still stretching across the room.

I shook my head lightly to clear my dazed mind. Fortunately, it seemed there was no major trouble in the future I had just seen.

Then, ding, a new status window appeared before my eyes.

<Skill! Upgrade> In progress!

‘Future Vision’ Beginner >> ‘Future Vision’ Intermediate

Progress (2/10)

It was exactly two days since I started, so the calculation was accurate.

I carefully wiped the blood still slowly dripping down my forearm with my hand. The sticky blood stained my fingertips red. It seemed like the bleeding wouldn’t stop easily this time either.

I flicked the blood droplets off my hand onto the floor. I wasn’t dying, and it didn’t hurt, so whatever. It wasn’t for no reason; it was all for the skill upgrade, so this much was nothing.

The other day, I finally confirmed my <‘Future Vision’ Beginner> skill. The method of using it was the same as what I had read in the book at the temple during the Future Vision acquisition quest.

‘Offer your blood and recite a specific spell.’

But since the system had granted me the skill, I didn’t need a specific spell. I just had to think about using <Future Vision> while offering blood. I had tried it once while reading the book at the temple, but back then, maybe because it wasn’t a skill, I couldn’t see the future.

‘I only ended up hurting myself back then.’

Still, it was worth reading the book diligently.If I used it eight more times, I’d be able to level up to the intermediate skill.

<Skill! Description>’Future Vision’ intermediate

Automatically shows you the future when something important happens!

Even just reading the explanation felt convenient. Once I leveled up to intermediate, I wouldn’t have to go through this cumbersome process anymore.

I took out some bandages from the drawer and loosely wrapped them around the wound. The white bandage quickly turned red, but thankfully, the blood didn’t seep out.

That was enough. I was satisfied with this for now.

I taped the end of the bandage with some paper tape. Then, I took out a stiff piece of paper from my pocket. I tore it, and the light sparkled, causing the blood on the floor to vanish completely. The paper also turned to dust and disappeared.

Raen had given it to me last time. The paper had a cleaning magic on it.

At first, Raen had tried to teach me how to use magic directly. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t use it. I knew it wouldn’t work, but it was still a bit disappointing to confirm it.

‘It’s okay, Yi-han. Then I’ll give you some basic magic for now.’

He added that I should let him know if I needed more magic, and Raen floated dozens of small pieces of paper in the air. Then he filled each one with a different magic.

Honestly, I thought Raen would treat me more sternly.

I even thought he might not talk to me at all. After all, I hadn’t seen the status window saying I completed his suspicion quest yet.

But Raen didn’t treat me coldly at all. In fact, he was quite considerate.

Is suspicion toward someone and how you treat them separate? If so, Raen was truly someone worth learning from.

Now, my pocket was neatly filled with the papers Raen had given me. It was a relief to have a way to use magic like this. Otherwise, I would have been scrubbing the floor by now.

I moved to open the window. The blowing wind was cold. The faint scent of blood in the air dispersed and faded away.

The sunset was almost gone, and night had fallen.

◇

The weather had turned colder over the past few days.

Min Joo-hyuk wore a thicker coat, and Raen seemed to be wearing a heavy robe.

Song Ha-gyeon added a light gray knit sweater over his white shirt. His long purple hair tied on one side matched the look.

As for Park Yul… I wasn’t sure. He didn’t seem to have changed much.

“Yihan-ah.”

Park Yul, who had been watering the flowers right in front of the building, noticed me leaning against the wall and approached.

I wondered, do those flowers bloom all year round? I was curious. Despite the cold weather, the colorful flowers were still full of life.

“It’s cold, why did you come out?”

Park Yul smiled with his eyes and summoned a fluffy-looking coat in the air.

The coat fluttered gently in his hands. They had a strange mix of light blue and white, almost like scattered clouds, looking as if they would blend into the sky.

“You should dress warmly. The wind’s cold these days.”

Park Yul said softly as he gently draped the coat over me. When I slipped my arms through it, the fit was spacious and light. It was warm and comforting.

“Hmm, it’s bigger than I thought.”

Park Yul said that while ruffling my hair and added as if talking to himself.

“It should be bigger.”

I’m not exactly small either. It’s not that I’m small, it’s just that everyone else is too big. Park Yul needed to reflect on himself a bit. Swallowing my unfair feelings, I slowly raised my arm.

I placed my hand over Park Yul’s large hand, which was still ruffling my hair. Park Yul seemed to freeze for a moment.

“…Yihan-ah?”