The True Nature of Life
"Hunter Cha..."
"I don't know either!"
Cha Yerin answered before I could even finish my sentence.
She was busy crushing the flesh to keep the Murdocks from fusing together.
Crunch!
Her vibrating hammer pulverized the meat into paste.
But it was already too late. Other Murdocks were beginning to cling to the massive pile of flesh that had already gathered.
Screeech!
Skreeek!
"Damn it!"
I dashed forward and began slaughtering the Murdocks.
Squish!
Splat!
Thwack!
In the end, I had to take them down one by one with care.
With the breathing room provided by Killing Time, I moved with ease.
Skr... ee... ch...
After wiping out all the remaining individual Murdocks in the blink of an eye, I turned my gaze toward the giant mass of flesh.
Squilch...
The red lumps of flesh squirmed, merging together.
...Wait.
Something was off.
This is...
Shhhhk!
The moment the realization hit me, the flesh coalesced completely.
Dozens of teeth erupted all at once from the massive mound of meat.
I quickly backed away.
"Mr. Taepyeong, get back!"
Cha Yerin stepped in front of me, shielding me.
Splaaash!
A torrent of blood erupted from the mass.
Once the crimson deluge subsided, something else emerged.
Kyu?
Kyu?
Kyuruk?
Rabbit heads tore through the flesh, popping out one by one.
This is even grosser than the Plague King.
"Are Murdocks normally like this?" I asked, my voice hollow.
"No!" Cha Yerin shouted, looking utterly bewildered.
"Right. Just wanted to double-check."
Well, then.
I adjusted my grip on the Elf's Sword.
And then—
Thrust!
The moment I drove the blade into the mass, I felt a faint sensation.
It was something completely antithetical to my own power.
"...Now I get it."
Even now, rabbit heads were continuing to sprout.
The rabbit heads peeled back, revealing more teeth, more flesh.
Shhhk!
This endless, grotesque cycle was by no means normal.
And...
"Sigh..."
The one responsible for this anomaly was...
"Woo Jumin!"
"...Ah!"
Startled, Woo Jumin's fingers slipped, breaking his hand sign.
Instantly, the squeaking rabbit heads stopped sprouting.
"I-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
"Why did you lie to me?"
"I'm so... Huh? I-I never lied..."
Woo Jumin gasped, his face pale as a sheet. His hands, which had been forming hand signs, trembled violently.
"You're not a curse weaver."
"W-What? I-I..."
"This isn't a debuff."
"E-Eh...?"
Confusion and fear warred on Woo Jumin's face.
But looking at him, all I felt was sheer absurdity.
"To them..."
Squish!
Squash!
"...T-The rabbits!"
Woo Jumin stumbled backward, pointing a trembling finger behind me.
I tightened my grip on the slick hilt of the Elf's Sword and yelled at him.
"Why the hell are you healing them?!"
"I-I'm sorry!"
Woo Jumin squeezed his eyes shut and screamed.
At the exact same time—
Squuuulch!
I plunged my sword deep into the Murdock mass.
Splaaaaash!
A shower of hot blood sprayed over both of us.
"Bleeegh!"
Whether Woo Jumin was gagging or not, I couldn't afford to pay attention to him right now.
Stab!
Thrust!
Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!
I stabbed the Murdock mass like a madman.
Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—now that Woo Jumin's 'heal' had stopped...
Skreeek! Screeech!
The Murdock could no longer regenerate. It was torn to shreds.
Slash!
I sliced it apart.
Crunch!
Cha Yerin crushed it.
"Bleeegh!"
Woo Jumin threw up.
And thus, only mush remained on the field. Not a single rabbit in sight.
"It's not a debuff?" Yoo Inseok asked, his voice laced with shock.
"Yes," I replied with absolute certainty.
"Woo Jumin, you're a healer."
"B-B-But..."
The one most shocked by this revelation was Woo Jumin himself.
"You just didn't know it yourself, but you are indeed a healer."
Otherwise, there was no explaining the Murdocks' abnormal regeneration or the vital energy I had felt.
"What did you say your trait was again?"
"Isn't he a curse weaver?" Yoo Inseok answered instead.
Curse weaver. It was a fairly common debuff trait.
But I waited for Woo Jumin to answer.
"I-It's... Reverse-Life Weaver..."
Reverse-Life Weaver.
"'Reverse' as in to oppose, and 'Life' as in vitality. Is that right?"
At a glance, it sounded similar to a curse weaver. That was likely why the Association had classified him as one.
But if you thought about it just a bit more, and looked a little closer, it was the exact opposite.
"Tell me about your skills in detail."
Woo Jumin's basic skill was Reverse-Life.
Just like my Talent for Killing, his Reverse-Life apparently came with no detailed explanation.
However, because anyone he touched felt immense pain, he had concluded it was a debuffing ability.
The second skill he obtained was Osiris's Breath.
Yes, Osiris—the Egyptian god of the dead.
But the key detail here was that Osiris was also the god of resurrection.
The effect of Osiris's Breath was: 'Consumes up to 50% of the target's maximum HP, followed by redistribution of vital energy and granting a random additional effect.'
The loan shark bastards who had dragged Woo Jumin to the tower and forced him to climb had only looked at the first part: 'Consumes up to 50% of the target's maximum HP.'
They completely ignored the most important part—the redistribution of vital energy.
And that was the wide-area 'debuff' he had used on the Murdocks earlier.
"F-For monsters like Ratmen..."
Monsters of that caliber probably couldn't survive losing 50% of their HP.
So up until now, he had initiated combat with Osiris's Breath and finished them off with basic attacks.
That strategy seemed to work well at lower levels.
If the monsters in this map had been zombies or skeletons, it might have worked here too.
But the Murdocks survived the 50% HP loss.
It was only possible because they were creatures that literally tore through their own mimic forms to emerge.
Once the Murdocks endured the HP loss, the 'redistribution of vital energy' kicked in.
Thanks to that, the monsters didn't just heal—they fused together. On top of that, they received continuous regeneration.
That was why the Murdocks hadn't died even after being hit by my Death Slash.
At first glance, a 50% drop in HP might seem severe.
However, this could easily be bypassed with a simple trick.
"Try it on me."
"Huh?"
"I said, try it on me."
"B-But!"
I let out a deep sigh.
"Jumin, let me be honest with you."
"..."
"Even if you really were a curse weaver..."
"..."
"Your skill's effect is so trash that it wouldn't mean shit to me."
Did I put it too harshly?
Cha Yerin and Yoo Inseok stared at me with looks of sheer horror.
But what could I do? It was the truth.
Even if Woo Jumin's debuff cut my HP by 50%, I could just get healed by Yoo Inseok, or simply drink a potion.
Recovering from it would be a piece of cake.
Knowing that, I wanted to test it.
"Let's do it quickly before the next wave starts."
"...Okay, Hyung."
Unlike Cha Yerin and Yoo Inseok, Woo Jumin actually calmed down and reached his hand out to me.
I grabbed his hand without hesitation.
"Ugh..."
It was definitely painful.
Just holding his hand made me feel as if something massive was wringing me out.
And this is just his basic skill?
I immediately understood why those scammers had mistaken him for a curse weaver.
Woo Jumin closed his eyes and began to mutter something.
A green energy flowed from his hand into mine, and I could feel my health dropping in real-time.
"Kh..."
The pain intensified.
But then—
Whoosh...
At some point, a sudden coolness washed over my lower abdomen.
Flash!
It felt as if every blood vessel in my body had been cleared out. It was like having an energy drink injected directly into my veins.
"Holy crap..."
The sensation of an invisible hand squeezing my body vanished, replaced by rapid regeneration.
There was no need for Yoo Inseok's healing, nor did I need to drink a potion.
My health filled back up in an instant.
"This is insane."
I felt more energetic than usual.
To be honest, my stamina wasn't exactly my strong suit, but now I felt overflowing with vitality.
It wasn't just healing; it felt like I had received a buff as well.
"A-Are you okay?" Woo Jumin asked, his face tense.
He was already drenched in sweat.
"Thanks to you."
I handed Woo Jumin a potion I had pulled from my inventory beforehand. I had originally intended to drink it myself.
"I'm perfectly fine."
Woo Jumin looked surprised. Cha Yerin and Yoo Inseok looked equally stunned.
"Are you really okay, Mr. Taepyeong?" Cha Yerin asked.
"He's... a-a real healer?" Yoo Inseok stammered.
I nodded silently.
Then, with a smirk, I said, "Looks like we won't have to worry about a healer anymore."
I picked up the Elf's Sword I had set down. The third wave was already about to begin.
"We'll have to get you properly tested at the Association to be sure of the details, but..."
I glanced over and met Woo Jumin's eyes.
"I'll be in your care from now on, Jumin."
Splaaash!
I tore the last Murdock mass to shreds.
Stage Cleared!
Along with the clear notification, a box dropped with a flash.
Flash!
How boring.
They were all Silver Chests this time. Probably because the clear took quite a while.
The items inside were just ordinary potions.
But that was fine.
I had obtained something far better than a Diamond Chest.
A healer, Woo Jumin.
Even his basic skill was incredible.
A wide-area heal that looked like a debuff but came with additional buffs. And that was just his starting skill?
This was a total cheat. A complete cheat.
Heh, heh, heh.
"Good job, Jumin."
"Thanks, Hyung..."
Woo Jumin looked dazed.
It seemed he still hadn't processed the fact that he was a healer, nor was he used to being praised like this.
It was only natural. Up until now, his daily routine had consisted of getting beaten to a pulp for 'only being able to do this much.'
Well, he would adapt over time.
"Aren't you going to open your chest?"
Even though it was just a Silver Chest, this would likely be the very first item Woo Jumin would actually own.
"But Hyung, what happens to me now...?"
Instead of opening the chest, Woo Jumin hesitated and mumbled a question.
"What do you mean?"
"Since I'm a healer now..."
"Yeah."
"Am I going to get kicked out...?"
Woo Jumin glanced nervously at Yoo Inseok.
Ah.
Was he worried he'd get kicked out because their roles overlapped?
"..."
Come to think of it, the healer position probably didn't sound very appealing to Woo Jumin.
Back when he was captured by scammers and forced to climb the tower, he probably believed he absolutely needed offensive skills to survive.
But things were different now.
Forget about clears and chests.
I was already fully intent on raising Woo Jumin as my personal healer.
If I could snatch him up before the Association reassigned him...
Jackpot.
I grinned and threw my arm around Woo Jumin's shoulders.
"Jumin."
"Yes..." he replied, his voice devoid of energy.
He reminded me of myself when I was younger.
If there was a difference between us, it was that I didn't have the parents I should have had, while he had the parents he shouldn't have had.
"Chin up."
"..."
"From now on..."
"..."
"I'm going to take care of you."
Woo Jumin stared at me, his eyes wide with shock.
That's right, kid. You're my personal healer from now on!