Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: A World Where Healers Are Rare
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As always, I kicked off my daily routine by hopping onto the plant community the moment I woke up.
But lo and behold.
The usually dead-quiet plant board was going absolutely ballistic over a hot new topic: "New Plant Discovered in a Gate!"
There was no way I could just scroll past that.
Not when my life's ultimate goal was to become a legendary poster on the plant board...
I dove in, scraping together every scrap of info I could find on this mystery plant that had the community in a frenzy.
Before long, I'd traced it all the way back to the very first post.
🪴 Plant Discovery
[Found a Rare Little One in the Gate. Has Anyone Tried Raising It?] I picked it up near a gate nearby, but even dumping a full course of top-grade soil and nutrients into it, the thing just keeled over the next day...
The instant I laid eyes on that stunning beauty in the photo, I slapped a hand over my mouth to muffle a scream.
A flower glowing with ethereal blue light nestled among long, slender leaves.
At first glance, it looked like a bell-shaped bloom or maybe an oversized silver bellflower.
"Wow..."
It was the most beautiful and otherworldly plant I'd ever seen.
Staring at it, I felt myself getting completely entranced.
From everything I'd gathered so far, folks were saying it was straight-up impossible to grow at home...
But what if I spammed it with Heal and Purify skills nonstop?
I had to raise one with my own two hands.
Imagine posting a guide with its name, effects, and full growth process.
This could be my first-ever hit post worthy of legend status...!
Brimming with excitement, I fired off my own question post in the community.
❓ Question Post
[Question] Which gate can I harvest that plant from?
But ten minutes ticked by with zero replies.
...
And while I was getting nothing...
🌸 Queen Flower Post
[Anyone know which gate that flower comes from?]
The community's most popular legend, Queen Flower, dropped the exact same post, and comments started pouring in like they'd been holding their breath.
💬 Comments
— Anonymous
Seems to pop up in any low-grade gate!
👑 Queen Flower
— Queen Flower
Thanks!
— Anonymous
Whoa ㅠㅠ It's Queen Flower... ㅠㅠ
— Anonymous
No way Queen Flower's gonna try raising it herself!?
👑 Queen Flower
— Queen Flower
Yes.
— Anonymous
If it's Her Majesty, she might pull it off? If you succeed, please share a progress report!! Loyalty!
It was the usual scene, so I was kinda used to it by now...
But I couldn't help feeling a twinge of resentment toward the community users every time this happened...
Anyway!
Thanks to Queen Flower's post, at least I now knew the habitat of that mysterious plant: low-grade gates everywhere.
A strange spark of rivalry ignited inside me.
I'd raise that flower successfully if it killed me—and snag at least five comments on my post!
"Which means this body has to step outside..."
I looked up at my reflection on the TV screen.
A small girl with an anxious expression stared back at me.
This body I still couldn't get used to.
The helplessness of awakening as a healer.
The terror of facing real, unknown monsters.
There were countless reasons I'd never set foot outside before.
But all of that paled before my burning curiosity for an unknown plant.
"Yeah. Screw it. Let's do this!"
I threw on some random clothes and headed out the door.
My first outing in this world as a woman.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Thump-thump.
Half excited, half terrified, I forced my trembling heart to calm as I arrived at the low-grade gate that had popped up near my place not long ago.
I hadn't been confident enough to form a solo party, so I'd worried no one would be there—but luckily, three people were recruiting party members in front of it.
I stepped up and shyly indicated I wanted to join.
"...What the? She looks ridiculously weak."
"But she's pretty cute, right, bro? Just bring her along."
The man who'd been eyeing me up and down with a sour look fired off a snide remark.
"What's your class?"
"Uh... Healer."
Overwhelmed by his vibe, I could only mumble my answer timidly.
"A healer? Uh... I heard you can clear low-grade gates with just DPS..."
"Yeah... Adding a healer would drag out the clear time forever."
From the mood, they wanted someone a bit stronger than them to blitz it quick—but a weak healer showing up pissed them off.
That's when the party's lone woman, a bob-cut girl, spoke up irritably.
"Can't find anyone. Let's just go."
The two guys exchanged glances, shrugged helplessly, and waved me over roughly.
The gate I was entering for the first time was way scarier than I'd imagined alone at home.
A cramped, dank, pitch-black cave.
Screeeee—
Screeeeech—
Eerie noises echoing from all sides.
Big and small spiders skittering underfoot...
'So scary and gross...'
I'd only come today to harvest a plant, no choice...
But from now on, no matter what, I'd never set foot in a gate again.
Dragging my shaking legs, I stuck to the party's heels like glue.
That's when—
'...There it is!'
In the dark cave, a plant glowing solo with blue light caught my eye.
It matched the community photo exactly, but seeing it live made it feel even more mystical.
Grinning ear to ear, I reached to pocket it—
"Hey! What are you doing over there!"
The sudden yell from behind made me jump out of my skin.
"S-Sorry..."
"Hurry up and move...!"
The man barked impatiently, so I stuffed the plant into my pocket without even grabbing surrounding soil.
I'd only harvested some dungeon resources like everyone else...
But it felt like I'd committed a crime.
The rest of the gate clear went smoothly after that.
The hordes of weak spiders got one-shot by the fire mage guy.
The armored ones were handled by the warrior dude.
The bob-cut woman, the party's ace, zipped toward high-level-looking mobs and slashed away.
With zero attack skills, I could only watch from the back.
Feeling like dead weight, that's when—
Screeeeeeeee—!!
A massive spider, big enough to shake the cave just by moving, burst into view.
Thoracic armor wrapping its waist, dozens of red eyes.
Green slime dripping from its maw.
One look and anyone could tell this wasn't your average monster.
The bob-cut woman stared it down coolly and declared firmly,
"We're heading back."
The other two guys flipped out. "Weren't we here to clear it?" "Why bail already?"
But she wouldn't budge.
"That thing's the boss. No way our party takes it down. We're leaving."
She seemed to read the enemy's strength like an open book.
"Boss? Looks like chum. I'll smack it around."
The self-proclaimed leader stepped up cockily.
"You lot watch from back! But the boss loot box is mine solo..."
The second he yelled at us—
The spider reacted to his voice, spewing green slime right at him.
"Gah... Aaaargh...!"
Instantly coated, he clutched his face and convulsed in agony.
Party member down.
I knew it was my moment to shine, but...
'How do I... activate the skill again?'
First time using it in combat, my hands shook from nerves.
'Just like in practice. Just like...'
I'd used Heal when I cut my hand with a knife. Recall that feeling.
I closed my eyes and focused.
A warm energy began to circulate through my body.
'I want to free him from the pain.'
As I willed it, a warm glow sparked at my fingertips and shot straight toward the poison-wracked man.
At the same instant, his screams cut off. He collapsed to his knees, gasping.
"Ha... I lived..."
His color was back to normal already.
'Did I finally help the party...?'
A swell of pride washed over me.
But no time to bask.
Thud— Thud— Thud—
The boss spider was charging us at full speed right that moment.
'I've got a feel for the skills now.'
I yelled desperately at the party,
"I'll Shield right before the spider hits and Heal on the spot—trust me and fight!"
While the guy hemmed and hawed, the bob-cut woman sighed deeply and launched at the spider like lightning.
I poured everything into watching the fight and chaining skills.
Shield preemptively, Heal the second wounds appeared, Purify whenever there was an opening.
My support clicked perfectly, and her strikes started landing harder.
"W-Well, healers aren't totally useless, huh."
"Yeah, bro..."
Finally, the boss spider crashed down with a thud!
A huge chest materialized where it died.
The leader guy cracked it open and peeked inside.
His eyes bugged out. He gulped hard.
His throat bobbed.
Turning to us slowly, he said in a low voice,
"Straight talk: boss clear rewards get split without the healer."
I scratched my neck awkwardly.
All I'd wanted was that mysterious gate plant.
Honestly, didn't care if they hogged the boss rewards.
But the bob-cut woman's face soured in real time.
"I pulled all the boss aggro, bro tanked, and I dished DPS. Why split equal with the healer who just chilled in back?"
She snapped sharply, done listening.
"Split equal. Cut the crap."
The leader went mute like a scolded puppy at her aggression.
"Forgot how you nearly wiped us all? Lived thanks to Healer here, but don't get too cocky."
Maybe it was her raw power, but the two guys just scowled without retorting.
The bob-cut woman clicked her tongue, walked over to me, and bowed politely.
"Thank you. Thanks to you, Healer, we cleared safe without a scratch."
"N-No, thank you..."
Thanks to her sticking up for me, I ended up sharing the boss rewards.
'Still... this loot'll keep me fed for a while...'
I vowed deep in my heart.
Never, ever stepping into a gate again.
And from that day on.
I holed up at home, surviving on minimal meals...
Ignoring my beloved plant board, I focused solely on raising that mystery plant.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A ton of time had passed since the first gate appeared smack in central Seoul.
People had grown somewhat accustomed to the changed world and started challenging high-grade gates beyond beginner and intermediate ones.
Around then, similar posts began popping up across the Awakener communities.
⚠️ Disaster Story
[High-Grade Gate: 20 Went In, 10 Came Out] Geared top-tier all around, perfect elemental comp with ice mages, fire mages, skill synergies optimized, went into undead gate... Half died, half came out crippled on one side. Mental curses, binds, paralysis nonstop—thought I was losing my mind. Undead monsters exist, so don't healers or saints exist? Never seen one... No way to clear without healers. If any healers see this, please contact... Will give all clear rewards and drops, just reply pls...
They realized raw DPS couldn't cut it for high-grade gates.
Casualties started piling up nonstop.
📰 Hot Take
[Not Just High-Grade Gates Can't Clear Without Healers] Low-grades too. Skill junkies can DPS spam, but normal max-level parties can't even clear low-grades.
💬 Comments
— Anonymous
Anyone here ever seen a healer when forming parties? Not me. Why are healers so rare?
— Anonymous
Healers, reply if you're watching. We know you are.
— Anonymous
Nah... At this point, no healers, priests, or saints exist, right?
— Anonymous
I've seen exactly one healer ever... None since.
— Anonymous
Whoa, so they do exist. Thank fuck.
— Anonymous
Key part is 'none since' lol.
And before long, people faced one crushing reality.
This wasn't some online RPG.
The "healer" class that existed in games, even if just a handful...
Here, it was an ultra-rare commodity.
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