CHAPTER 12
Part 2. The Healer Who Gives Without Holding Back (2)
Fortunately, the S-ranks across all years had already heard rumors about the unimaginable uselessness of an F-rank, so they didn’t even bother feeling pity.
In the end, things turned out exactly as I’d hoped. I was able to stay slightly out of the original story’s main path.
My smooth survival plan was progressing well, but there was no time to celebrate.
I was too busy.
Even if I didn’t enter them myself, dungeons affected by the apocalypse would open during the first semester, causing rank fluctuations. The first true apocalypse dungeon would open as well. All of them were episodes where many people were injured.
‘Will I be able to make that potion by then?’
Honestly, probably not.
It’s not like Yoo Hanseong wouldn’t be able to clear it without it. But if I could make it, the number of survivors would increase.
The fact that it wouldn’t affect whether the dungeon was cleared eased my conscience a little.
That was when—
Pop!
“Success! Hehe. Erich, look at this. I can give it to the others when they get back tomorrow!”
[Damn it……]
Erich, who had declared on the first day that he didn’t need such trivial potions and had added an extra contract clause—
If F-rank healer Jin Hari makes a potion, Erich will later be transferred to a wealthy awakener—
let out a miserable sound.
Fifteen in total.
Including one for the homeroom teacher.
And among them was a mid-grade potion. D-rank, but still.
It was an achievement earned by pushing myself for an entire week with barely any sleep.
And now—
I was enjoying my own private celebration.
With another soft pop, the vial trembled slightly.
I carefully picked it up.
A clear, pale lavender liquid slowly swirled inside.
When it caught the light, mana shimmered faintly, spreading in silver hues.
“Hm.”
Erich’s grumbling tickled my ear.
He told me not to get so excited over a trivial potion.
“But it’s pretty,” I said.
I barely managed to raise my drooping arm to shoulder height. My hand trembled a little. That was expected—I hadn’t slept properly all week.
On the desk, bottles filled with failed attempts were lined up.
Red. Murky gray. A strange green where the foam refused to settle.
All potions had to be discarded.
And among them, at last, one vial sparkled with the color and viscosity I’d been aiming for.
“Fifteen.”
I pulled a box over and carefully laid the bottles inside, one by one.
Counting everything so far, I had twenty-five nearly colorless basic F-rank recovery potions.
Adding the newly completed D-rank potion and a low-grade special potion brought the total to twenty-eight.
“One is for the homeroom teacher.”
I muttered, my tongue half-slurred with sleepiness.
“The rest are for my classmates. Maybe I’ll just hand them out in front of the infirmary when they get back tomorrow?”
You’re giving away everything you have left? Such pointless behavior. No one will even appreciate it.]
“Do you want one too, Erich? You can drink it.”
Erich replied coldly that a slight increase in mental resistance meant nothing.
As if he knew that a day would come when everyone’s mind would eventually break in this world.
Well… maybe Erich couldn’t help but know.
Remembering the secret Erich held in the original story, I let out a small grin.
That secret was about to become completely meaningless.
“Still… maybe it can delay things a little.”
Thinking about the apocalypse made something ache faintly in my chest.
I now knew the faces of those who didn’t survive in the original story. They were people who now walked past me every day as classmates.
“…I just hope it hurts a little less.”
Even if I couldn’t stop many from dying.
Erich muttered again.
Take care of your own life first. You’re like a candle about to burn out.
“I guess… this is just the only thing I can make.”
Instead of answering, I felt him take a long breath.
The presence beyond the earring faded for a moment. A faint scent like the sea seeped through, then vanished.
“Alright.”
I closed the lid of the box.
As the tension drained from my body, my eyelids suddenly felt unbearably heavy.
“I’ll just sleep a little, then get up.”
I tried to stand—and collapsed straight onto the floor. My legs trembled. I still had mana, but my stamina was completely gone.
Not the stamina borrowed from a previous life—but this body’s stamina.
“Too much trouble to go all the way to a bed.”
I dragged over a mat on the floor and curled up on it.
Through my haze, Erich’s languid voice brushed past my ear, telling me to at least cover myself.
“Mm.”
I reached out and pulled the thin blanket that had been resting on top of the box.
Clutching the box of potions tightly, I closed my eyes.
***
The next morning.
I opened my eyes and shouted in shock.
“I’m late!”
The sun was already high in the sky.
Checking the clock, I saw it was just before class time.
Without even washing properly, I wiped my face with a wet wipe, changed into my uniform, tied my hair back tightly, and grabbed the box.
Out in the hallway, students from other classes were already running downstairs.
It was the day upperclassmen returned from their practice dungeon, so the halls were noisier than usual.
Holding the box close, I headed down the stairs.
I took a seat near the infirmary and leaned against the wall.
My lower back throbbed faintly.
“Just hold on a little longer…”
Students who had finished practice were likely to stop by the infirmary.
I just needed to hand the potions over quietly then.
Like they’d come out by accident during practice.
“Let’s see. Anyone can drink the colorless ones…”
I muttered to myself, counting the bottles again.
“The pale lavender ones…”
Lee Haesol.
Yoo Hanseong.
And the homeroom teacher.
This one had the highest grade.
Who should I give it to?
“More importantly… would potions at this level even be useful to them?”
I murmured quietly.
“…One bottle isn’t going to change the world.”
Still—
If it could ease someone’s nightmare even a little.
I thought of Yoo Hanseong, whom I’d met briefly before.
I knew what he really needed wasn’t this kind of potion but a truly high-grade one that could stop the apocalypse.
Useless thoughts.
I pushed down the impatience.
If I kept grinding like this, I’d definitely see hope someday.
That was when the sound of many footsteps rushing up the stairs echoed from afar.
With noisy laughter, the hallway near the old building grew lively.
I hugged the box tighter.
Soon, I heard the door handle of the infirmary turn.
As the door opened, upperclassmen in training uniforms spilled out first.
There was barely any blood on them. Some rubbed their shoulders, others bent and straightened their knees.
I placed the box on my lap and looked up.
“Oh. It’s the F-rank!”
One student waved casually, like greeting an acquaintance.
It seemed my facial features had already spread around campus.
There were curious looks mixed with gazes that saw me like an outsider—but I was only grateful.
‘In my life before possession, even a casual greeting would’ve made my heart shrivel.’
Being possessed had its perks.
“If you need one, please use this, seniors.”
I opened the box and handed out bottles at random.
“They’re from practice. Just basic potions.”
I’d set aside separate ones for my classmates. These weren’t perfect, but they definitely worked.
They were borderline burdens—but I was ready to close the box immediately if they refused.
Instead, the students blinked a few times… then stepped closer.
“Whoa. They’re free?”
“Of course. They came out while practicing.”
“Still! Thanks.”
Their tone was light, their attitude casual—but there was no annoyance or condescension.
I felt faintly startled.
‘That easy?’
As I handed out the potions, the students smiled and went on their way.
Then someone brushed past me, tapping my shoulder lightly.
I looked up.
A pair of eyes looked down at me, clearly displeased.
…Lee Haesol?
The Lee Haesol who’d given the entrance oath on the first day.
It seemed our class’s morning practice had ended while I was handing out potions.
“What are you doing here?”
His breathing was slightly uneven.
Sweat clung to his face, as if he’d come straight from practice.
Silver dust clung lazily to his thigh.
A sand dungeon, maybe.
“Are you okay? Did the seniors say anything to you?”
“Ah—no, it’s not like that.”
The closeness of the distance, for someone I was speaking to for the first time, made me hesitate.
I noticed a shallow scratch on the back of his hand, blood seeping out slightly.
The moment I saw it, I reflexively rummaged through the box.
I pulled out one of the potions I’d hidden near the bottom—one meant for my classmates.
“Here.”
I handed him a colorless recovery potion.
Lee Haesol tilted his head, his cool expression curious.
With his ice attribute, he looked cold on the outside—but in the original story, he was the gentlest of them all.
The displeased look from earlier was already gone, as if it hadn’t been directed at me in the first place.
“What is this?”
At his puzzled tone, I replied,
“Something that came out while practicing. The effect is about the same as a regular one.”
