Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Why Am I Yours?
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After fleeing the scene, the tension drained out of me, leaving me collapsed from sheer exhaustion. I didn't wake up in bed until nightfall.
"Ugh, I passed out."
The Overpainting skill had guzzled way more mana than I'd thought. My insides still felt completely hollowed out.
If it's empty, fill it up.
I pulled up a delivery app, ordered a pizza, and fired open the Hunter Gallery while I waited.
The entire board was plastered with posts about the Saintess.
...If it's the Saintess, no way.
Suddenly, that word someone had shouted earlier flashed in my mind.
Is this really about me? Still burning up like this?
I'd been too careless. As one of only two healers in Korea, this level of attention was inevitable, but I'd gone charging in cluelessly.
For now, I quickly checked the posts labeled "Healer Sighting."
Luckily, I'd been wearing a hat that hid my face because I was embarrassed about going barefaced, and most shots were from far away anyway, so they were too blurry to make out properly.
"Phew—"
Ding-dong!
"Eek!"
I jolted in surprise at the doorbell just as I was scrolling down in relief. A delivery complete text popped up at the same time.
"Ah, they rang anyway when I said not to."
I confirmed no one was outside, grabbed the pizza, and brought it in.
Was pizza always this huge?
I propped the gallery up full-screen on my computer, grabbed a slice, and kept ego-searching while munching.
But what was with this guy calling someone who looks this young his wife? I lightly hit report and moved on.
Most of the posts floating around the gallery were pure speculation.
Like she was some guild's hidden hunter, or raised by the government.
Some even compared her to Korea's two existing healers.
Tsk, this is... more entertaining than I thought?
My random escape out of sheer embarrassment had accidentally poured fuel on the "Saintess" nickname.
To them, worn out by healer power trips, she was like a breath of fresh air.
But comparing her to an A-Rank healer felt a bit embarrassing.
No matter what, pitting my weird skill—which I'd dumped all my mana into—against a real healer was...
This was about right.
It wasn't a healing skill to begin with.
'Overpainting... pretty amazing, though.'
From my perspective, healing that female hunter had felt more like restoring a piece of art than actual healing.
I'd perceived the wound like a painting, then overlaid flawless skin on top to fill it in. That's what made it look like healing.
"Feels like I don't have a single normal skill."
For starters, my creations were like that.
How far did creation limits go?
If I drew a cheat item from some other medium, would it manifest exactly? What if it was just a hollow shell without the power?
Could I draw a dragon and become a dragon rider?
There had to be limits, so I needed to be careful.
That was why I'd signed up for art classes as a first step.
Should've asked Tower Gallery about other non-combat classes.
It felt a bit daunting since my powers were so different from normal awakenings.
[Open Tower Gallery]
🎁 Reward: Gallery Access Anywhere
Huh? Can't access the Tower-exclusive gallery from outside?
The quest window popped up again, déjà vu-style, dangling a reward. Gallery access even outside? Just how powerful was this quest window?
Anyway, a quest window that hands out stuff purely for my benefit?
That's awesome.
The Tower Gallery came into view.
A tank roaring now that they'd finally cleared floor 9.
A new nick I hadn't seen before.
Misc chit-chat otherwise.
But another post caught my eye.
Title: You Guys See That? New Healer Showed Up
Author: Spring Breeze Scattering
Snowman's still trolling other hunters instead of clearing floors.
But why the hell does "finders keepers" mean I belong to you guys?
The more I thought about it, the more ridiculous it got.
Talking about people like they're objects—it rubbed me the wrong way.
What? Even news coverage?
I shot up from bed and flicked on the TV.
"This healer has drawn massive attention just twelve hours after appearing, but the government says they have no intel on her."
The anchor's words prompted a response from the panelist sporting a congress badge.
"I'm Hunter Bureau Minister Jin Tae-san. Yes, we have zero info on her registration or location. The government suspects one of the hunter guilds raised this so-called Saintess."
"Some say she's a secret ace the government trained. Your thoughts?"
"Haha. If the government had someone like that, we'd announce it openly. As Korean citizens, we all need honest power to protect this land."
"What do you make of her power? We tried consulting A-Rank healer Chae Jeong-ah, but she refused all interviews... Is she really S-Rank like the rumors?"
"Hard to confirm yet, but I'd put more weight on that side."
No, seriously, that's not it at all... Things were snowballing.
The anchor nodded approvingly at Jin Tae-san's words and cut to footage of hunters facing off.
"In the hunt for this Saintess, guilds in each district are clashing harder. The government hasn't commented yet—shouldn't they step in before it boils over?"
"Of course. We've sent official notices to regional guilds and dispatched mediators. And this won't happen again."
The anchor looked mildly surprised at Jin Tae-san's firm assurance.
"If I may, aren't guilds a bit too powerful right now?"
"Correct. Since the gates appeared, guilds steadily built strength while the government was too slow with military solutions. But now, with the Hunter Association in the works, the government will reestablish order and actively intervene to cut unnecessary disputes beyond towers and gates."
A murmur rippled through the studio at Jin Tae-san's declaration.
A government counterattack against guilds aggressively poaching hunters and seizing gate control.
So the government had something up its sleeve after all?
I watched a bit more, flipped channels, then broke out in cold sweat and shut off the TV.
'...I'm in deep shit, aren't I?'
Misidentified as a healer—an S-Rank one at that.
Every hunter in Korea was tearing up the streets looking for me.
No stepping outside for a while.
What choice did I have? Time to climb the tower. Priority one: level up fast and get stronger.
Couldn't sleep anyway after conking out all afternoon.
"Teleport."
I gazed at the tower shimmering like a mirage outside the window, and my body shifted in an instant.
The bland room welcomed me back, already familiar after one visit.
"...Hold up. Healer outside, wizard in the tower?"
Top predator healer in the hunter world.
Top predator wizard in tower climbing.
...Perfect double-life troll setup?