Chapter 12
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Translator: MJK
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: The Generous Healer (2)
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All the S-ranks from every grade had thankfully heard the rumors of just how utterly useless the F-rank was, and not even a shred of sympathy crossed their faces.
In the end, things had veered just slightly off the original story, exactly as she'd hoped.
Her smooth survival plan was progressing successfully, but there was no time to celebrate.
She was far too busy.
Even if she didn't participate, dungeons whose grades shifted due to the influence of the apocalypse would open in the first semester, along with the very first apocalypse dungeon. They were all episodes where a ton of people got seriously hurt.
'Can I make that potion by then?'
Honestly, she didn't think so.
It wasn't like Yoo Han-seong couldn't clear it without one. But if she could pull it off, there would be more survivors.
Knowing it wouldn't affect whether it got cleared or not eased her mind a little.
That was when it happened.
Pong!
"Success! Heh heh. Erich, check this out. I can give it to the kids when they get back tomorrow!"
[Damn...]
Erich let out a heartbroken groan. He'd brushed off the pathetic potion as worthless on the first day and tacked on an additional contract: [The potion made by F-rank healer Jin Hari is unnecessary, so someday Jin Hari will hand Erich over to a wealthy Awakener].
Fifteen in total, including the one for her homeroom teacher.
One of them was even a mid-grade potion. D-rank, sure, but still.
It was a triumph earned in just one week, with barely any sleep.
And so, right now...
She was reveling in her solo celebration.
Pong! The vial trembled slightly with the sound.
She carefully picked up the bottle.
A clear pale purple liquid swirled slowly inside.
The mana, which shimmered silver when it caught the light, rippled faintly.
"Hmm."
Erich's grumbling tickled the edge of her ear.
He told her not to get so worked up over a worthless potion.
"It's still pretty, though."
She barely managed to hoist her limp arm up to shoulder height. Her hand shook a bit. It had been a week since she'd gotten any proper sleep, so that was only natural.
Failed vials lined the desk.
Red. Murky gray. A weird green that wouldn't stop bubbling.
All of them were potions that had to be tossed.
And among them, one potion with the exact color and viscosity she'd wanted gleamed brightly.
"Fifteen."
She pulled over the box and laid the vials inside one by one.
Adding up everything she'd succeeded at so far: twenty-five basic recovery potions (F-rank, near-colorless).
With the newly successful D-rank and the low-grade special potions, that made twenty-eight total.
"One for homeroom teacher."
Her tongue twisted in her sleepy mutter.
"The rest for my classmates. When they get back tomorrow, should I just hand them out in front of the nurse's office?"
[Giving away every last drop you have? What a pointless waste. No one will even appreciate it.]
"Want some, Erich? You can have some."
Erich's cold response followed: a slight boost to mental resistance—what good was that?
As if he knew that mental breakdowns awaited everyone in this world someday.
Well, Erich would know better than most, wouldn't he?
Remembering the secret Erich had in the original story, she grinned.
That secret was about to lose all meaning.
"Still, maybe I can delay it a little?"
Thinking of the apocalypse made something twinge deep in her chest.
She now knew the faces who hadn't survived in the original story. They were classmates whose faces now bobbed in front of her every day.
"...I just wish they hurt a little less."
Even if she couldn't stop so many from dying.
She heard Erich muttering.
[Worry about your own neck first, you flickering candle.]
"It's just... this is the only thing I can make."
Instead of replying, she heard him draw in a long breath.
The presence beyond the earring vanished for a moment. In its place, a faint sea-salt scent wafted in and faded.
"Done."
She closed the box lid.
Tension released all at once, and her eyelids grew heavy.
"Gotta sleep a bit, then get up."
She tried to stand but collapsed straight to the floor. Her legs wobbled. She still had mana left, but her stamina was shot.
Not the stamina from her previous life that she used in place of mana—this body's stamina.
"Too much hassle to make it to the bed."
She dragged over the mat on the floor and curled up on it.
Even Erich's drowsy voice brushed her ear, telling her to at least cover up before sleeping.
"Mm."
She reached out and pulled the thin blanket from atop the box over herself.
Thus, clutching the potion-filled box tight, she closed her eyes.
The next morning.
She jolted awake and shouted.
"I'm gonna be late!"
The sun hung high.
A glance at the clock showed it was just before class started.
No time to wash up—she wiped her face with a wet wipe and threw on her uniform.
She tied her hair back in a single tight ponytail and grabbed the box.
Out in the hallway, students from other classes were rushing down one by one.
With upperclassmen returning from their practice dungeons, the corridor buzzed even louder.
She hugged the box—now packed with extra potions—and headed down the stairs.
She found a spot visible from the nurse's office and sat.
Leaning against the wall made her back ache a little.
"Just hold on a bit longer..."
The kids finishing practice were likely to stop by the nurse's office.
She'd just hand over the potions without a word.
Like they'd come out of practice by chance.
"Okay, the colorless ones are fine for anyone."
She muttered to herself as she counted the vials again.
"The pale purple one, hmm."
Lee Hae-sol.
Yoo Han-seong.
And homeroom teacher.
These were the highest-grade ones.
Who to give it to?
"Wonder if potions like these are even useful to them."
She murmured softly.
"...Not like one bottle's gonna turn the world upside down anyway."
Still.
If it could soften someone's nightmare, even a little.
She thought of Yoo Han-seong, whom she'd briefly met before.
He needed real high-end potions to stop the apocalypse, not something like this.
Silly thoughts.
She tamped down her growing impatience.
Keep rolling like this, and hope would come into view for sure.
Then, a rumble of footsteps ascending the stairs from afar.
Loud laughter filled the old school building corridor.
She hugged the box tighter.
Sure enough, the doorknob to the nurse's office turned as people inside started coming out.
The door swung open, and upperclassmen in practice gear—mostly unstained by blood—poured out first.
Some rubbed their shoulders; others bent and straightened their knees.
She set the box on her lap and looked up.
"Oh, F-rank!"
A student waved casually in greeting.
Her face must have already spread around school.
Half curiosity, half eyeing her like a rolling stone—but she was just grateful.
'In my life before possession, even a casual greeting like that would've crushed my heart.'
This was one of the perks of possession.
"If you need it, help yourselves, seniors."
She opened the box and offered vials at random.
"Made 'em during practice. Just basic potions."
She'd set aside separate ones for her classmates. These weren't 100% perfect, but they worked.
If they seemed hesitant, she'd just close the lid right away.
But the students blinked a few times and approached first.
"Whoa, free?"
"Of course. They were extras from practice."
"Still! Thanks."
Their tone was light, manners sloppy, but no annoyance or disdain.
She felt a subtle surprise.
'This easy?'
One by one, the students took potions with smiles and headed down.
Then someone patted her shoulder as they passed.
She looked up to see eyes gazing down at her, looking somewhat displeased.
...Lee Hae-sol?
The same Lee Hae-sol from the entrance ceremony pledge on the first day.
While she'd been handing out to seniors, her class's morning practice must have ended.
"What're you doing here?"
His breath came a little ragged.
Fresh from practice, sweat beaded on his face.
Silver dust clung to his thigh, glinting lazily.
Sand dungeon, huh.
"You okay? What'd the seniors say?"
"N-no, it's not that."
Caught off guard by how close he stood for their first real talk, she paused.
Blood seeped slightly from a scrape on the back of his hand.
The moment she spotted it, she reflexively rummaged in the box.
She pulled out one of the potions meant for her classmates, hidden at the bottom.
"Here."
She handed him a colorless recovery potion. Lee Hae-sol tilted his head with a cool expression.
Ice attribute, so he looked cold on the outside—but the kindest guy in the original story.
The displeased look from before was gone, confirming it hadn't been aimed at her.
"What's this?"
To his puzzled voice, she replied.
"Practice extra. Effects are like regular ones."