THIFSGSTW CH 21

Chapter 21: Import

It wasn’t what Raen was thinking. But if I denied it here, I had nothing else to say. The conversation had somehow gone astray, leaving me with a heavy heart.

Raen looked at me. His face was tinged red in the glow of the sunset. Seeing his flushed expression reminded me of the silent tears that had fallen from his eyes last time.

In the end, I had no choice but to quietly nod. Raen placed a hand on my head and gently stroked it. His face carried a bitter smile.

“But even so, I hope you won’t go so far as to hurt yourself.”

His touch withdrew without hesitation. His large, well-kept hands moved away.

Just as I was beginning to feel a fleeting sense of longing for that warmth, Raen lightly grasped the cuff of my left sleeve. It was a careful movement, as if holding a crumbling autumn leaf.

“Did it hurt?”

He asked hesitantly, and I immediately answered. Of course, thanks to my passive effect, I didn’t feel pain. I had lost count of how many times people had asked me if it hurt. But whenever I told them I was fine, they would only look more worried. …Raen was no different.

If I wasn’t in pain and I was truly fine, shouldn’t that ease their concerns? I didn’t understand why they looked at me like that. I had no idea what more I was supposed to say. I had already done my best.

“Yi-han, I told you before. That’s not what ‘being okay’ means.”

No, I was okay. If they kept insisting like this, even I would start to feel wronged. If I say I’m fine, then I am fine.

…Ah, Raen doesn’t know my situation.

He had no way of knowing about the system, about my passive effect. Calming myself down, I realized his reaction made sense. There was no helping it. That just meant I had to make sure he never saw anything that would make him worry. As I made this resolve, Raen suddenly halted beside me.

“…Raen hyung?”

His gaze was fixed on something in the far distance to our left. Perfectly still, without a single flicker of hesitation.

My heart dropped. The vision from my <Future Vision> overlapped with reality.

Is it happening now? Is this when it begins? It was too soon. I wasn’t fully prepared yet.

“Yi-han, wait here for a moment.” Raen lightly patted my shoulder. Then, he turned and began to walk away.

There was no way I could just stay put. When I followed him, he stopped and turned to face me.

“It could be dangerous. Just wait here for a bit.”

Raen’s expression was firm. But when I swallowed my embarrassment and told him that being alone scared me more, he sighed as if conceding, then matched his pace with mine.

Of course, I wasn’t actually afraid of being alone. It was just an excuse to stay with Raen.

When we arrived, the scene before us was exactly as I had seen in my vision. A dark, jagged tear split the air. Raen examined it with a grave expression.

“This is strange. The rift is open, but there’s no trace of monsters in my detection magic.”

Then that tree-like thing—was it not a monster?

<Future Vision> only showed me the situation, it never explained anything. It was up to me to figure it out, but I had no clue. Still, since Raen had sensed something unusual, maybe I could suggest we head back? That much should be safe to say, right?

Just as I was sorting through my tangled thoughts—

“Yihan. Go back first.”

Raen’s voice cut through my reverie. A faint glow had begun to spread over the rift like a thin veil. He turned to me and gripped my shoulders firmly.

“You still have your return stone, right?”

“What about you, Raen hyung? Aren’t you coming with me?”

“I have something I need to do. Go back and tell the others.”

“…Tell them what?”

“To come here as soon as they’re ready. I’ll hold things down until then.”

So he wouldn’t leave until the situation was resolved. It wasn’t surprising. Maybe, deep down, I had already expected this from him.

Meeting his eyes, I shook my head. “If you’re not leaving, I’m not leaving either.”

“You can’t. We don’t fully understand the situation yet. If something happens that I can’t handle, you could be in danger.”

“And so could you.”

I wanted to say Raen hyung, you too. But even if I did, I knew it wouldn’t make him change his mind. What I needed now was a valid reason to stay by his side.

I spoke calmly.

“Using the return stone… You said my mana isn’t normal, right? What if I use it and end up somewhere strange?”

“The return stone works independently of mana. Don’t worry, Yihan-ah. That won’t happen.”

“And yet, there shouldn’t be any healing magic I can use either, but I can.”

“……”

“Raen hyung, situations are always changing. Nothing is ever certain.”

Even I knew I was half grasping at straws. But it wasn’t entirely wrong either.

Nothing is set in stone. Life is always full of the unexpected. There’s no such thing as a world that moves exactly as it’s supposed to.

Yeah. There can’t be. Because if the world were fixed, I wouldn’t be able to change this future.

“If it’s dangerous either way, I’d rather stay here with you.”

Raen bit his lip, lost in thought. Before he could find a flaw in my argument, I quickly added—

“Let’s just go together, hyung. Then everything will be fine.”

I would make it fine. If he couldn’t give up on this world, then I wouldn’t give up on him either. We stepped forward together, two sets of footsteps echoing in the fading sunset.

◇

I was nervous. Too much time had passed.

The dense trees, the rifts in the air—they all looked the same. I had no way of knowing when Raen would be attacked.

He must have noticed my nervousness because he kept asking if I was okay. This wasn’t the time for him to be worrying about me.

After sealing the fourth rift with magic, Raen spoke.

“I still think you should go back.”

“Raen hyung, I already—”

“This isn’t just a suggestion. I’ve been thinking about the return stone’s mechanics. I’m sure nothing will go wrong.”

He had been thinking about that while all this was happening? But even so, my answer was the same.

“I’m not being stubborn without reason. You’re staying here, right?”

“Yi-han, I’m a Hero. This is my duty.”

“And me? I may not have taken the Hero’s Oath, but still…”

It wasn’t fair to leave all the burdens to them. Maybe I wouldn’t change much by sharing the weight, but it was better than nothing.

“At the very least, I can stay with you.”

“The world I want to save includes you, too.”

Raen’s voice was steady.

I wanted to tell him—But the ones I want to save are you all.

I wanted to tell him—You keep saying you’re saving the world, but you never seem to include yourself in it. So, at the very least, I want to be the one who saves you.

‘And I have the ability to do so.’

Just as I was about to open my mouth, a chilling sensation ran down my spine

“Yi-han!”

I thought I heard a sharp cracking sound. Raen, who had been beside me, was suddenly behind my back.

By the time I turned my head, the thick branch that had stretched out had already returned to its place. Below it, red droplets were tracing a line down.

Drip.

With trembling hands, Raen cast a magic. Vines shot up from the ground.

It was the same. Damn it, it was exactly the same. A cold sensation spread through my body. Raen collapsed onto the ground. Forcing my frozen legs to move, I took a step forward. This wasn’t the time to hesitate.

I hurried to Raen, who was kneeling and trembling. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, pooling into an ominous red puddle around him.

“Yi-han… It’s dangerous… Go back.”

Raen’s voice was barely more than a whisper, breaking off in gasps. Hearing those words snapped me back to my senses. My mind raced.

Should I use a Return Stone to take Raen back? But that wouldn’t heal his injuries. Should I use Healing? The cooldown wasn’t up yet.

That left me with only one option.

The setting sun cast a crimson glow over everything as if pressing down on Raen. I reached out to him, bringing my hands to his face. His skin was chillingly cold. Gently, I wiped away the blood running down from the corner of his mouth.

Raen slowly lifted his gaze to me. His pain-stricken, wavering eyes conveyed one clear message.

‘Go back.’

It was as if I could hear his desperate voice.

At that moment, a familiar sound chimed.

<The Healer Will Help!> Hero ‘Raen’

Heal (Locked)/Import

A dry chuckle escaped me. Having another option left was such a relief.

‘Import.’

The moment I made my decision, a burst of blue light erupted. It was incomparably brighter than when using Healing. The radiant glow enveloped Raen’s entire body.

“…Yi-han?”

His voice sounded startled. But before he could say more, the light surrounding him poured into me.

“Ah.”

My knees buckled. There was no pain, but I felt the strength draining from my body. When I looked down, the fabric around my waist was turning a deep shade of red.

The blue quest window flickered in front of my eyes.

<The Healer Will Help!> Import—Success!

<Hidden! Quest> ‘First Import!’ Completed!

As a reward, you have obtained ‘Import(1 use) for non-heroes.’

I had no interest in looking at this right now. The notification window faded away the moment I willed it to.

At the same time, a frantic hand reached out and grabbed me.

Lifting my head with difficulty, I saw Raen’s blurred figure. He was shouting something, but I didn’t hear it well.

‘This isn’t how I die, right?’

Of course not. I had my passive skill. Come to think of it, it was quite convenient—not feeling pain, not dying. Why had the system given me such an ability in the first place?

My scattered thoughts drifted aimlessly. Then, a small sense of relief washed over me, and a faint chuckle slipped out. In the end, both Raen and I were safe. The future had changed.

“…Hah, khhh.”

I tried to speak, but blood gushed out, making it hard to form words. Still, I forced out the last thing I needed to say. Now was the perfect time to say it.

“Raen-hyung, …believe me.”

I believed that he would take me back safely, even in my current state.

After all, he had said that I was included in the world he wanted to save. That meant he wouldn’t just leave me behind because I was too much of a burden.

‘So now, hyung, please believe me too.’

Surely, I had proven myself trustworthy by now? I felt as if I was on the verge of completing Raen’s trust quest. A small sense of reassurance eased my expression.

…Wait, did I manage to say that properly? My head was a mess, so I couldn’t be sure.

Before I could think any further, my consciousness was severed, as if cut by a knife.

Well, by now, I was used to it.