Episode 5
[Reorganizing the System Window.]
[Congratulations, Moon Yeon-hee.]
[You have awakened as an S-Class Pope (Healer).]
A series of noisy pings rang out in succession.
However, I closed my eyes before I could finish reading the contents.
[The system detects that the caster’s condition is critical.]
[‘Divine Grace’ is automatically activated.]
[Detailed explanations of S-Class privileges are temporarily omitted due to automatic system output.]
“Hey!”
Moon Yeon-hee’s eyes slowly fluttered shut.
Watching this, Cha Seo-hae realized that shouting was no longer of any use. He needed to call an ambulance, and fast.
“Master! Are you alright?!”
Chil-deuk looked back, a single streak of blood trickling down his face. It seemed he had hit his forehead during the collision. The sight of the injury was bothersome, but at least he seemed lucid.
“Call an ambulance. Now.”
“Sir? But if I do that, we might have to return the hostage to the Association…”
“The girl’s dying, you think that matters right now?”
That’s exactly why you kidnapped her in the first place, wasn’t it?
Chil-deuk swallowed the words he couldn’t say and nodded.
Of course, he never wanted to repeat a life-threatening race like that again, so he immediately called the Baek-yang medical team. If it were a raid or a skirmish, it would be one thing, but juggling safe driving, worrying about a civilian, and activating skills on command? He’d gladly decline such high-difficulty assignments in the future.
‘I follow the Master because his decisiveness is cool, but still…’
Without even checking who Chil-deuk was calling, Cha Seo-hae pulled Moon Yeon-hee out of the car.
“Ugh…”
A sharp pain surged through his entire arm. Fortunately, thanks to his history of frequent injuries, it was manageable.
“Should I leave her here?”
The air outside would be better for breathing than the smoke-filled car.
He knew that a massive impact had been delivered to Moon Yeon-hee’s back. The image of her face contorted in agony right before his eyes refused to leave his mind.
He didn’t possess a single healing skill to treat others. Today, once again, he was forced to stand by and watch someone else suffer. No matter how many times he witnessed it, he never got used to it.
Clicking his tongue, he leaned Moon Yeon-hee against a wall. He didn’t dare lay her flat, fearing it might worsen the injury to her back.
“Stay here for a moment.”
He knew she couldn’t hear him in her unconscious state, yet he spoke nonetheless—as if it were the only way to settle his own nerves.
As he moved to clear the scene, a shower of golden powder suddenly drifted over her head. It looked like a skill effect. The pallor of her face gradually regained its color, and the bloodstains on her lips from internal injuries began to fade.
While he couldn’t visually confirm the state of her spine, Cha Seo-hae sensed that her condition had drastically improved.
‘Is it a heal?’
But how, while she was unconscious?
He stood frozen for a moment, captivated by the bizarre phenomenon.
“Master! The enemy has disappeared!”
Snapping out of his daze at Chil-deuk’s shout, Cha Seo-hae turned sharply.
“What?”
He looked back at Moon Yeon-hee.
‘Didn’t they start this whole mess just to take her back?’
He had expected at least one more assault. Throughout the ordeal, Cha Seo-hae had kept an eye on Do Joo-yeon. The man had clearly been burning with a reckless fighting spirit.
‘Did he come to his senses after the dust settled?’
Thinking back, there were many anomalies in Do Joo-yeon’s behavior, starting with the high-speed pursuit. It felt less like he wanted to retrieve a healer and more like he had some other ulterior motive.
‘If one of my actions acted as a catalyst to provoke him, his goal might have changed.’
Seeing someone kidnap the healer who had been on his team until yesterday must have sparked a desperate urge to win. If it were that guy, it was entirely possible.
‘But even so, something feels off.’
The suspicious part began with the replacement of the healer. While the Association President was indeed a foul human being, he wasn’t the type to show it so blatantly to the public. To push out an existing healer just to favor his nephew?
‘I can accept that. He could bury the old healer under the excuse that she was only B-class.’
But would he authorize speeding, endangering civilians, and using combat skills outside of dungeons just to bring back a healer he had just discarded? Would he risk ruining his public reputation to that extent?
If anything, he would have waited for a better opportunity rather than threatening a civilian. The President didn’t seem like someone who planned to stay only within the Hunter circle.
Do Joo-yeon’s actions were too reckless for someone under that President’s thumb. Even if he escaped, his face was known to everyone. If he roamed around injured, it would draw suspicion. Not to mention the CCTVs.
‘Am I missing something?’
Cha Seo-hae stared at Moon Yeon-hee with an indifferent gaze.
‘What if the Association is functioning even more abnormally than I thought?’
If that were the case, it would explain the humiliating treatment of a cherished healer, and the murderous pursuit to get her back.
‘I can’t tell if Do Joo-yeon was targeting me or if the President was targeting the healer.’
Because of the chaotic circumstances, the answer wouldn’t click into place. As he mulled over the possibilities, the silence stretched. Chil-deuk, who had been waiting, tilted his head and asked again.
“Given the state of that car, the enemy can’t be in good shape either. Should I go catch him now?”
“Leave it.”
Cha Seo-hae and Chil-deuk weren’t in perfect condition themselves.
‘If we pursue and start a fight now, our side will take significant damage.’
Cha Seo-hae hadn’t started this kidnapping with a death wish, nor had he popped the tires just to kill Do Joo-yeon.
‘Actually, I can’t say I had zero intention of doing that.’
The image of Do Joo-yeon firing his gun was still vivid. The reason he had copied Cha Seo-hae’s ability instead of Chil-deuk’s, who was right in front of him, was obvious. Once you’ve adapted to an ability, the speed of copying it increases.
“What? You’re letting this chance go?”
“That’s not what we need to do right now.”
Chil-deuk was about to ask, “Then what is our job?” but he quickly caught on.
“What do you mean— Gasp! What is this! What happened to our garden wall?!”
“There must have been an accident here! Oh my god, look at that car. It looks expensive…”
“Shouldn’t we call the police?”
“Hey, you! Did you people break our wall?! What are you going to do about this?!”
Dealing with the aftermath.
“The wall is, well…”
“Make sure they are fully compensated.”
“Yes, sir.”
That was the priority.
The stinging scent of chemicals and disinfectant made my eyes twitch involuntarily.
“It looks like she’s waking up.”
“I have eyes too.”
“Right.”
I stopped mid-motion when I heard the unfamiliar voices.
‘I was kidnapped.’
I was caught not being part of the First-Tier Team, and a huge accident happened because of me.
‘Wait, was it really because of me?’
It was suspicious that Do Joo-yeon chased us so recklessly, but I was the root cause regardless.
‘They might kill me just to get under the President’s skin.’
This was my perception of Cha Seo-hae:
Kind enough to civilians, but utterly ruthless toward Hunters.
With nowhere to turn, I was too terrified to open my eyes.
‘Wait a second.’
Didn’t a system window pop up earlier?
‘I think several of them appeared.’
But to see the system window, I had to open my eyes. I spent a few seconds agonizing over the decision, knowing that once I opened them, there was no going back.
“I know you’re awake, so open your eyes.”
I guess I have to.
At the words of the sharp-witted guy, I cautiously opened my eyes.
‘I tried to pull him inside because I was worried, can’t he even wait a few seconds?’
A stream of silent complaints flowed through my mind, fueled by a sense of injustice.
“Are you okay?”
The first thing I saw upon opening my eyes was Cha Seo-hae. He was sitting with his legs crossed, resting his face on his hand, which was adorned with a few band-aids.
‘I guess he did get hurt.’
Well, the car was practically a tin can; it would be weirder if he didn’t have a scratch.
“Who told you to pull me like that?”
“Huh? The hostage pulled the Master?”
“Hold on.”
Cha Seo-hae pushed the driver’s face away and waited for my answer.
“…Because it looked dangerous?”
“Didn’t you hear what I told Chil-deuk before that? To bind the car to me.”
I did.
‘Come to think of it, how exactly did he bind it?’ It was different from when my hands and feet were tied. I couldn’t see any physical chains on him.
“From your expression, it looks like you heard.”
“……”
“Because the car and I were bound by invisible chains, if I move inside, the car is forced to follow that movement. That’s why you got hurt and Chil-deuk had a hard time steering.”
“Ah.”
So… am I supposed to apologize?
‘I was the one who got hurt the most, and yet I’m the one apologizing…?’ What kind of unfair nonsense is this?
“I didn’t know.”
“Right, you did something that reckless because you didn’t know.”
Is this what it feels like to have your teeth on edge?
When I narrowed my eyes at him, he just gave a short, unfazed laugh.
“I appreciate the sentiment, but don’t do it again.”
“Yeah, I had no intention of doing it twice.”
“That’s a relief.”
He didn’t seem willing to lose a single word of the argument.
I glared back at him before shifting my gaze to the driver, Chil-deuk, to see if he was alright.
“Um, are you oka—”
Why is his face like that?
He had a large bandage near his forehead, likely from an injury. But his expression was more striking than the wound.
‘Why is he looking at Cha Seo-hae with such a horrified face?’ His eyes were scanning up and down, making me feel tense as well.
‘First, let’s try healing.’ Strangely, my back, which must have been broken earlier, didn’t hurt at all. I wondered if the nerves had died, but since there was no pain, I tried to sit up slightly.
“…It really doesn’t hurt.”
“Stay lying down just in case.”
“I’m going to lie down.”
Right after I heal.
My body felt beyond fine—it felt refreshed. Seeing the driver’s wound triggered an unstoppable professional habit.
I brushed off Cha Seo-hae’s hand and opened the system window.
[Would you like to check the S-Class privileges of ‘Divine Grace’ that were skipped?]
