THIFSGSTW CH 68

Chapter 68: Healing Someone Other Than the Hero

I blinked slowly and shifted my gaze. A small child was standing next to me, looking down at me as I sat slumped against the wall. Their tiny hands, like curled fern fronds, were clutching my shoulder tightly, doing their best to shake me awake.

“Cough… ugh.”

I quickly covered my mouth with my sleeve. In an instant, the white fabric was stained red.

Tears were forming in the child’s eyes. They were clearly frightened. But… why was a child even here? That question crossed my mind, but first I needed the bleeding to stop before sorting out the situation.

“Y-You, Hero… are you okay?”

“…Just a moment. Can you wait, please?”

I spoke gently, doing my best not to make any noise while spitting out blood. The moment the child heard my voice, they clamped their mouth shut with a whimper and nodded vigorously.

Since I didn’t know when the bleeding would stop, I couldn’t leave the child standing there. I carefully removed the small hand still gripping my shoulder.

“Would you like to sit here, beside me?”

The child dropped to the floor beside me with a soft thud. Why are they so tense? I wondered if I’d sounded too scary, but it seemed they were just startled by the blood. The sound of their continued sniffles tugged at my heart.

When will the bleeding stop? Covering my mouth with my sleeve made breathing a little difficult. A trembling voice came from beside me.

“Hero… you mustn’t die…”

It was the first time I’d seen a child of this age, so I couldn’t be sure, but they looked to be around six or seven. Children’s imaginations really were something. I spoke calmly.

“I won’t die. I just need to rest for a bit.”

“N-No, you mustn’t!”

The child suddenly stood up and clung to me desperately. I had to promise several times that I wouldn’t die before they finally calmed down.

The child quietly sat back down beside me. I felt drained. The bleeding hadn’t stopped yet, but with the child calmer, I closed my eyes and tried to recall the vision I saw earlier with my <Future Vision> skill.

‘That was Min Joo-hyuk’s back. The fog… that looked like something from the Valley of Flowing Clouds.’

Aside from the sunset, I couldn’t tell the exact time or date. Everything had looked so foggy that I couldn’t even confirm whether someone had been beside him or not.

Right before I came back to myself, I’d definitely heard a sound like flesh being pierced. Was it a monster? Did it happen during a battle? My heart raced anxiously, and I felt the pounding echo throughout my body.

‘I need to go back.’

I had to be next to Min Joo-hyuk. Starting from today. It seemed like there was still time until sunset, but I felt anxious.

For the time being, I felt I couldn’t leave Min Joo-hyuk’s side. Suddenly, I found myself disliking the time of sunset. Last time, Raen… No, I shouldn’t think about that. This time, I had to stop it before anything happened.

Just as I made that resolve, I felt the blood that had been surging from within me gradually start to slow down. I took out a sheet imbued with a Clean Magic from my coat and tore it to tidy myself up.

“Hero, are you okay now?”

A clear, bright voice rang from beside me. The child had stopped crying at some point and was looking up at me with a clean face.

“I’m okay now. What’s going on?”

I only asked because I was curious why they’d come all the way up here, but the moment I finished speaking, the child’s eyes welled up with tears again.

“Why… I’m sorry. Did I scare you a lot?”

“Hero… please speak less formally. Or rather… please lower your speech.^[1]” 

I didn’t know if kids this age normally spoke so maturely, or if they were older than they looked.

“I’m not a hero. So, what happened?”

I clearly expressed my intent, but the child shook their head firmly, on the verge of tears again. Only after finding a compromise did they finally speak.

“Hyung-nim, I have a favor.”

“What is it?”

“I… have a friend. They can’t wake up because they’re sick. I wanted to ask you to please help them.”

The child fidgeted with their small fingers. I never imagined a child this little could sound so desperate. To them, a hero could do anything, so I could only imagine how much hope they’d placed in me. I was at a loss because I didn’t think I could help… until something came to mind.

‘Healing someone other than the Hero.’^[2]

Right, I had that. I gently patted the child’s head and spoke.

“Let’s go check together. But you have to keep it a secret, okay? Can you promise?”

“Yes!”

If word got out that I had healed the child’s friend, it could cause trouble. I only had one chance to heal someone outside of the hero.

The child looked up at me with sparkling eyes, then pulled on my finger to hook pinkies with me. They chirped cheerfully that they knew a shortcut no one used.

“Is your friend the only one at the house? No adults?”

“My friend’s dad usually is, but he doesn’t come home much. He’s busy trying to find a way to wake them up.”

If their kid was unconscious, no wonder he’d lost his mind. As I got up, I noticed the child limping slightly in front of me and called them over.

“Did you hurt your leg?”

“I fell while playing.”

They say kids grow through their injuries, but seeing it up close made my heart ache. If it looked serious, I’d have to use the ‘Import for non Hero’^[3] reward later.

“You still climbed all the way up here even while hurt?”

“To meet the hero.”

“If I couldn’t do anything, what would you have done?”

“Why? You’re the hero.”

“……”

I gently lifted the child into my arms and carefully walked down the stairs. They wrapped their tiny arms around my neck. Maybe because they were small, their body felt warm. If I tripped here, it would be over, each step was filled with tension. I felt beads of sweat sliding down my back from the tension.

‘How did everyone else carry me around so easily?’

Now that I thought about it, Park Yul, Song Ha-gyeon, Raen, and Min Joo-hyuk all did the same. They would lift me effortlessly without using magic. I wasn’t particularly light, either.

They were all probably stronger than average. I could barely carry a little kid like this. Not that it was too hard, but still.

“Mister, your body’s shaking.”

“Because we’re going down stairs.”

“Your arms are shaking too.”

“…That’s not true?”

Kids are so honest. Once we exited the bell tower and turned onto the shortcut, tall trees blocked out the sunlight intermittently. Dense grass crunched underfoot. The child didn’t seem bothered by the heat and began to play with my hair, twisting it playfully. Suddenly, they spoke up.

“Are you the leader, Hyung?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Because all the other Heroes like you the most.”

I felt a tug on my hair as the child pulled it slightly. Despite that, I was so dazed that I didn’t feel any pain.

“They couldn’t take their eyes off you. That’s why I followed you, hyung.”

“…I see. So how did you get hurt while playing?”

I knew the others were overly concerned about me, but hearing it out loud was still a bit embarrassing. My face felt hot, so I quickly changed the subject.

“Just… fell, apparently.”

If they couldn’t remember it well, maybe they’d hurt their head too. I made a mental note to definitely use the Retrieve reward on them. If there were other injuries besides the leg, that should help too.

“That friend was with me then… Ah, that’s the house. We’re here.”

There was a house made of logs, with the wood grain still visible. It had a large window, and like all the houses in this village, there was no fence or gate. The child hopped down from my arms, took out a key from their pocket, and opened the door.

“Can we just go in?”

“I came here every day. They were my best friend…”

“Oh, I see. Shall we go in?”

The child’s voice trembled with emotion, so I hurriedly continued. They seemed to have calmed down a bit and nodded firmly before stepping inside.

Creak.

As we entered the house, a refreshing, dry scent of wood filled the air. The child opened a door on the other side.

“Hyung, here.”

Inside the room was a large bed. A friend who looked to be about the same age as the child was buried under the bedding. Their neat brown hair was scattered across the pillow, and the bangs were loosely braided and pushed back.

Sunlight streamed through the closed curtains, illuminating their pale face. From the neck up to half the face, covered by clothing, was darkened almost entirely. I felt a shiver run down my spine.

“Why…?”

As I stopped in my tracks, the child sitting on a chair next to the bed began to swing their legs and spoke.

“It started at the neck… and spread. Can’t you wake them up? Their name’s Yeon Seo, same age as me. She loves apple pie, and…”

The child’s voice grew faint. The world spun around me. That dark shadow looked just like corruption from a monster. I forced myself to step forward.

“Are there others like this?”

“Uh, just me and Seo-ah. We went to the valley to play… I don’t remember much after that, but it started then.”

They rolled up the hem of their left pant leg. From the ankle upward, the skin was blackened. “Um, it’s just me and Yeon Seo. Other people are fine. They immediately blocked access to the valley.”

The child spoke innocently.

“But this is a secret. My parents told me not to say anything.”

“Does it hurt?”

“I’m not in pain. It’s just a bit uncomfortable to walk. But Yeon Seo seems to be in trouble.”

“How long has it been?”

“Um, around the time it started getting cold last year.”

So that was when it happened. Was this when the monsters could seep into other beings?

Was this what Park Yul meant yesterday when he said the evil energy felt like it was seeping into his throat? If left untreated, did it turn into this? I had to think carefully. I still had the Heal and Import rewards…

I reached out to the unconscious Yeon Seo. As soon as I decided to use the Heal reward, a status window appeared before me.

Would you like to use ‘Healing Outside of the Hero (1 time)’?