Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Healers Aren't Weak – No Way!
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Due to the absence of their leader,
it had been a long time since the chief secretary and the elites of Full Moon Guild had shouldered every single task coming through their doors.
'This is the limit... I feel like I'm going to die from exhaustion...'
Ha Do-yeon, who had been throwing herself into work without even three hours of sleep a day, naturally developed chronic fatigue and insomnia.
Her mind overloaded, she could barely fall into a deep sleep even when she lay down.
And the next day, she would inevitably suffer from even worse exhaustion.
The present moment was no different.
Ha Do-yeon, crushed by a fatigue so heavy it felt like she might collapse at any second,
quietly lifted her teacup and took a sip of the flower tea.
Then she closed her eyes.
'This is nice. It feels like all my fatigue is melting away...'
When she savored the warmth sliding down her throat and opened her eyes again,
Ha Do-yeon instinctively knew that the "feeling" she'd just experienced wasn't mere imagination.
"...Huh?"
The heavy ache pressing at the back of her head vanished in an instant.
Her foggy mind cleared up neatly.
Her stiff shoulders and back felt remarkably light and refreshed.
It was too drastic a change to attribute to just a sip of warm tea...
"Healer, what is this...?"
At the question that slipped out unbidden, the petite girl before her lifted the corners of her mouth in a playful smile.
"Truth be told, it's not ordinary flower tea. It has a fatigue recovery effect. Can you feel it working?"
Upon hearing that, Ha Do-yeon didn't hesitate and downed the rest of the flower tea in one go.
The warm energy flowed down her throat and spread throughout her body...
And finally,
just like that, the crushing fatigue vanished completely.
It was far quicker and more reliable than any nutritional supplement or caffeinated drink.
'She grows Lumina Flowers all by herself, and now...'
...she's produced a fatigue remedy with this level of potency.
It was the moment when the little girl before her suddenly seemed utterly remarkable.
"The effect... it's unreal. If this were sold at a cafe..."
Ha Do-yeon paused, picturing in her mind what would happen next.
Full Moon's elites and the chief secretary.
The countless guild masters buried under excessive workloads.
Alchemists lost in endless nights of research,
and even non-awakened folks grinding for civil service exams...
If all those weary souls learned about this flower tea,
"it'd be a massive hit. I guarantee it."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The female office workers on the first floor of the Management Bureau had a routine stroll around the office neighborhood every lunch break.
Today was no exception. While walking off their lunch,
they ran into a group of awakened who looked like they'd just emerged from a gate.
Having apparently failed the clear, they all wore grave expressions as they exchanged feedback.
Seeing them, the office ladies all thought the same thing.
'Sigh... When the heck am I going to awaken...'
They say you make hundreds or thousands just going in and out of a gate once.
Then I could escape this endless drudgery...
'Whatever, let's just hit the cafe.'
Wasting her golden lunch hour on such idle thoughts felt indulgent.
Right now, it was wiser to appreciate her stable paycheck and down an iced Americano.
As they chatted idly during their walk,
the youngest pointed at a signboard and made a fuss.
"Hold on, seniors. There's a new cafe inside a gate?"
[Gate Cafe] [Open]
[New Menu: Fatigue Recovery Flower Tea Now Available]
'Who the hell opens a cafe inside a gate?'
Never having imagined a cafe in a gate, they stared blankly at the sign in disbelief.
Then, the most senior among them clapped her hands with a smack.
"Wait. Isn't that gate in the spot where that super hyped-up... trash gate used to be?"
"Oh! I remember! The one everyone was talking about, wondering who bid on that junk..."
As it turned out, this was the gate that had been the talk of the office for a while.
A gate overflowing with pollutants and trash had gone up for auction, and someone snagged it for 80 million won.
"Fatigue recovery flower tea for sale, huh?"
"As if flower tea recovers that much fatigue. Iced Americano's the king."
"True, but... Senior! We were heading to a cafe anyway. Wanna check it out?"
After hesitating in front of the gate, the office ladies finally stepped inside one by one.
"Kinda curious how that dump's changed."
"Maybe it's got that Instagram apocalypse vibe now?"
"You're insane."
Giggling, they cautiously passed through the gate.
The instant they did, the office ladies instinctively held their breath.
Before the vast landscape unfolding ahead, they all froze with mouths agape.
A crystal-clear lake sparkled under the sunlight right before their eyes.
Trees encircled it, their branches swaying gently, each adorned with small, pretty flowers.
"This is... really that trash heap gate...?"
It was a world utterly unlike anything they'd seen in the city.
"Holy crap, pics here would be instant life shots!"
"Kyaa— Perfect timing, I needed a feed update!"
The office ladies called out to each other, snapping away with their phones nonstop.
They'd come to check out the gate cafe, but now they were utterly captivated by the scenery, shutters clicking away.
Then, the youngest who suddenly remembered the 'cafe' sign outside spoke up cautiously.
"But seniors, wasn't there supposed to be a cafe here?"
"Oh, right. We came for the cafe."
[Cafe This Way!]
Following the neatly made sign,
through gentle sunlight and drifting petals, a charming outdoor cafe came into view.
Neatly arranged pastel-toned tables and wooden chairs.
On each table sat a small vase filled with mysterious wildflowers in soft bloom.
The office ladies' gazes naturally turned to the gate owner behind the counter.
"Who is she? I figured it'd be a ranker, but she doesn't look like one."
"Yeah, never seen her before..."
Her hair neatly tied back, gray t-shirt, apron.
The short woman had a very ordinary appearance.
But her plump cheeks and kind impression somehow reminded them of someone.
'She kinda looks like that cute healer.'
Spotting the office ladies seated at a table, the owner broke into a bright smile.
"Welcome! Ready to order?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Three cups of the cafe owner's recommended 'Harunella Flower Tea' sat on the table.
"She recommended it so enthusiastically that we ordered it, but... shoulda gone with iced Americano."
"Right? We've got overtime tonight—how are we supposed to survive on this?"
"Come on, how do you say no when she recommends it with such a pretty smile..."
Americano or die trying.
The self-proclaimed 'iced Americano diehards' stared vacantly at the hot flower tea for a long while.
"Let's just chug it quick and hit another cafe."
That's when the youngest snatched her cup and gulped down the scalding tea in one go.
"...Huh? ...Whaa?"
She then tilted her head, puzzled.
Starting to act suspiciously,
"...Seniors. Drink this quick."
she leaned in close and whispered urgently.
"What's the fuss?"
"Ignore her, seniors. This is her like, fifth time acting up."
"No, seriously... trust me and try it once. Something's off about this."
Prodded by the youngest, the other two reluctantly picked up their cups and slurped down the hot flower tea.
And then.
"...Huh?"
"What the..."
The two set down their cups and stared at each other.
The eyes that had been half-lidded with exhaustion just moments ago now brimmed with vitality.
This was weird.
Just one cup of tea, and the nerves frayed from dealing with unruly awakened customers had completely settled.
Their heavy bodies now felt unbelievably light.
Whether overtime or pulling three all-nighters, their bodies felt ready for anything—and they all thought the same thing.
'Gotta spread the word to the crew ASAP...!'
It was too good a cafe to keep to themselves.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Maybe because I wasn't promoting it properly.
Or perhaps the massive new gate blocking the entrance was the culprit.
Aside from the lunchtime visitors, not a single customer had come after.
'First things first—back to the main job.'
Running the cafe was great, but priority one was tending the Lumina flower field.
Entering the gate with the Lumina Spirit after a while, I gently took her tiny hand and broached the subject.
"Like last time, could you sprinkle the flowers with your spirit blessing?"
The Lumina Spirit spread all five fingers in front of my face.
- Pip.
She was sneaking glances, probably thinking five bottles was a bit much.
Of course, I had no intention of working her for free, so I was willing to give that much,
but I decided to play along a little.
"What?! Five bottles!? That's too many... I'd go bankrupt...!"
- Pip...?
Flustered, the Lumina Spirit rolled her eyes, then cheerfully folded down two fingers.
- Pip.
"Three's still a lot... Can't you knock it down more...? I'd really go bankrupt..."
As I grumbled like it was to myself, the Lumina Spirit looked ready to cry and folded down one more finger.
"Hee hee hee..."
She was so endearing,
I stopped teasing and gently handed her five bottles of purified water.
- Piiip...!?
Delighted, the Lumina Spirit flew over the flower field, singing some mysterious tune.
- Pip-pi-ru pip-pu-pi~♪
- Pip-pu pip-pu-pi~♬
"You're the best! How are you so pretty, cute, and talented?! The ultimate spirit!"
- Piii! Pu-pi! Pi-ru-pi-ru pi~♪♬♪
Showering her with praise, she got even more excited, twirling among the flowers.
Then plop.
She sat on a petal, panting heavily, and chugged a bottle of purified water.
Sprinkling blessings must take a ton of energy.
"Good job."
After gently petting her head, I selected the now-sparkling flowers and brewed mana potions.
Thirteen bottles in total.
I downed one right away, but no message appeared.
Seemed like my mana was too full to notice the effect.
'No more plants here that need purifying...'
So, a place to burn mana fast...
Suddenly, the recently spawned gate came to mind.
This gate was prime real estate in central Seoul with heavy foot traffic originally,
but the new massive gate was blocking the entrance, making it less visible.
'That might be why there were so few customers.'
Might as well burn mana quick to test the potions.
And clearing that eyesore gate myself didn't sound half bad.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ In front of the massive gate, heavily armed awakened gathered with serious faces, deep in discussion.
"Fuck if I know. I'm out—you guys figure it out without me. Can't clear without me, yet you talk a big game."
Opinions clashed, apparently.
One shot up from his seat and stormed off.
Seizing the moment, I quickly approached the group.
"Um, any room available?"
The awakened jumped like they'd seen a ghost, bowing deeply in unison toward me.
"...Y-Yes! We've got room! Plenty!"
"An honor to meet you, Healer...!"
Their eyes shone with overwhelming fervor, of course.
"We'll guard you with our lives—no scratch on our Healer!"
Despite such words,
their skills were downright abysmal.
I'd throw up a shield, and they'd cower, just watching; give attack buffs, and they'd hunker down with defense skills.
Compared to Full Moon Guild members who charged aggressively, they were overly passive and defensive.
Well, it did let me spam skills freely, so that was nice.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Mana has permanently increased by +20. I was smiling proudly at my steadily rising mana when,
"Bro... can you hold the front line properly?"
"You gotta deal damage right for me to trust the front!"
"Front line secure, then I can deal stably..."
"You talking back? Wanna go?"
Tensions flared among the party mid-assault.
Rumble—
Amid it, a deep vibration echoed from below the floor.
Heralding something ominous about to happen.
But the arguing party members didn't notice the quakes at all.
Rumble—
Ruuumble—
Then,
Boom—!
A deafening explosion ripped through as the gate floor cracked, and something enormous erupted upward.
It looked like a giant centipede—my heart sank.
'What the hell is that...?'
Each time its dozens of legs stabbed the ground like rebar, vibrations rang out, cratering the floor.
I glanced at the party in panic, but they were all in full panic mode.
No one moving properly, all frozen in terror.
I fired Purify in haste, but no status ailments on the monster meant no effect.
'Get it together.'
In this situation, at least I had to keep my head.
That way, I could prevent a total party wipe.
I raised my palm toward the writhing centipede monster hunting prey.
'Good thing I prepped with potions...'
Even at +10 permanent mana, I purified that whole giant tree.
Now double that...
So, my skills must be twice as strong.
I focused mana between my hands.
Breathing ragged, I unleashed my sole attack skill, Holy Light, at the massive centipede monster.
Flaaash—!
In that instant, blinding light filled the gate,
and before me and the party—an utterly unexpected sight unfolded.