Understanding and Application of Healing Abilities (1)
Maybe it was because of all the complicated things I’d heard, but my appetite had completely vanished. For the rest of lunch I didn’t buy anything else to eat; I simply passed the time chatting with Yu Na-rae.
“Then… have a good afternoon.”
“Mmm…. See you tomorrow….”
Since we each had our core subjects in the afternoon, I parted ways with Na-rae in front of the lecture hall. I watched her walk away with those quick little steps of hers before finally stepping inside.
“…?”
Hmm. Was it still too early?
“Room 206…. ‘Understanding and Application of Healing Abilities,’ Room 206…. Yep, this is definitely it.”
I poked my head back out to double-check the room number, then pulled it in again, bewildered. Class was supposed to start in five minutes, yet inside the spacious lecture hall only two students were present.
One was slumped over her desk in the very back, fast asleep. The other sat with her hands clasped in front of her like she was praying, eyes closed, murmuring something under her breath.
…Both of them gave off an atmosphere that made it incredibly difficult to strike up a conversation.
I abandoned my plan to ask whether I was in the right room and simply took a random seat near the lectern.
Before long the front door opened and a new figure entered.
“Hello everyone!”
“!”
The sheer overwhelming beauty of her nearly made me fall out of my chair. Flowing white hair, a gentle expression that radiated stability, and a warm smile layered over it all. She wore a tailored suit that beautifully accentuated her slender figure. But what truly stunned me was the pair of enormous, pure-white wings spreading from her shoulders, extending past her clothes.
“An—an angel?”
The student who had been dozing off rubbed her eyes and muttered in shock. …I completely understood how she felt. I’d almost shouted myself.
The instructor walked slowly to the front, stopped behind the lectern, and greeted us in a bright, cheerful voice.
“Nice to meet you all! I’m Seo Eun-bi, and I’ll be teaching ‘Understanding and Application of Healing Abilities.’”
Her pleasant, ringing voice and that constant bright smile… She looked exactly like the kind of teacher this subject deserved. But did that mean other races besides ability users existed in this world? Or had I already died and gone to heaven?
Noticing our confused faces, Seo Eun-bi crossed her arms, leaned forward slightly, and smiled.
“You all seem surprised by the wings!”
“Ah.”
If I admitted I was startled, would that count as species discrimination?
“Hehe. Of course… I’m not actually an angel. These are the result of my ability.”
“!”
At her words, every face in the room—mine included—filled with astonishment. The instructor gave us a playful look and continued.
“Normally, when people hear the word ‘supernatural ability,’ they don’t picture something like this. However, there are rare abilities that can change your outward appearance as if you belonged to another species. In academic circles, we call these manifestation-type abilities. And it isn’t only the appearance that changes—characteristics that match that appearance usually come along with it. Even our principal possesses one… though I suppose none of you have seen it yet. The name of my ability is Pure White. As befits the instructor of this course, I possess a healing ability. I look forward to working with you all.”
Oh, was this the moment to clap? I took the initiative and applauded enthusiastically.
“Hehe, thank you for such a warm welcome. Now, let’s begin with attendance. Baek Seol from Class A?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Seong Hye-min from Class C?”
“Here.”
“Ju A-rin from Class D?”
“Yes.”
“Excellent! Everyone’s present.”
I glanced around the nearly empty room, then carefully spoke up.
“Um… Instructor? Are these really all the students in this class?”
Seo Eun-bi kept her smile in place as she turned to me.
“That’s correct! This year we actually have quite a few.”
“Eh?”
“Each year roughly fewer than a hundred new students enroll. Among them, those with healing-related abilities are extremely rare. I’ve been at Baekhwa Academy for quite some time, yet there have been many semesters where no one showed up and the class couldn’t even open. Of course, I also serve as the school nurse, so I’m not exactly idle, haha.”
I looked down at my own hand with a renewed sense of realization.
…No wonder strange developments kept happening right after I enrolled—like suddenly becoming an A-rank talent who received a partner request from the princess and was being flirted with by a chaebol daughter. My ability was far rarer than I had imagined….
“All right! Then let’s begin the lesson.”
As the instructor moved energetically, her wings shifted naturally behind her. I wondered if they could actually let her fly.
“First, let’s organize the basic concept. Healing refers to the complete restoration of damaged tissues, organs, and biological systems, along with the resumption of their normal functions. Therefore, abilities related to healing are generally considered to possess the power to ‘restore damage.’”
Seo Eun-bi rummaged beneath the lectern and lifted a large basket. Inside were dozens of small, adorable rag dolls wearing expressions of distress and sorrow.
Upon closer inspection, each doll had been deliberately damaged—one arm torn off, a leg missing, deep scars across a face, and so on.
“You’re all wondering why dolls, aren’t you? These are ‘organic surrogate mimic organisms’ designed for testing abilities. They have cute appearances so you can use your powers without hesitation, but the way they receive and recover from damage is calibrated to match a real human body. I’ll demonstrate first.”
She plucked one doll from the basket, quietly closed her eyes, and activated her ability. Ether particles scattered from her hand. The doll’s severed arm reattached itself, and its tearful face transformed into a bright smile.
So that’s how it works…? At first I hadn’t thought much of it, but then the sudden worry—what if these dolls actually have some form of consciousness?—made the whole thing feel rather horrifying.
“There are many abilities classified as ‘healing.’ The truly important question, however, is what each ability truly means by the word ‘healing.’ What range does it cover? How severe a wound can it restore? In my case, I can accelerate a target to its ‘final state after natural healing.’ A broken bone is mended; a cold is completely cured. As you can see, the doll whose arm was broken is now smiling brightly, yes?”
After the demonstration, the instructor bent down with a small groan and pulled out several more baskets.
“Today’s lesson is about discovering exactly how far each of you defines the concept of ‘healing’! Please take one basket each and test your ability on every type of doll inside. I will then evaluate the degree of restoration and determine the limits of your powers.”
Following her instructions, the three of us stepped forward and each claimed a basket. Once I sat down again, I glanced at the others. They were already using their abilities without hesitation.
The student on the far left—Seong Hye-min, if I remembered correctly—flipped her long hair back, stared at a doll for a moment, then frowned and reached out. The moment her hand touched it and ether particles rose, the doll’s eyes sparkled. It suddenly leaped out of the basket and began strolling across the desk.
“…?”
“Ack! That startled me!”
From her reaction, it seemed even she hadn’t expected that. I jumped in surprise along with her.
After catching my breath, I turned my attention to the other student—Ju A-rin. The cute girl with a neat bob cut had her eyes closed just like when she’d been praying earlier. Hands clasped, she murmured without even looking at the dolls. A low humming vibration filled the air, followed by a brilliant light that enveloped her and poured into every doll in the basket at once.
Whoa.
She could heal that many dolls simultaneously without even touching them?
I was inwardly impressed when I suddenly came back to my senses. I couldn’t just sit here admiring them—I needed to get to work too.
I reached into my basket, selected a doll missing one leg, and poured my power into it. The doll’s face, which had been sticking its tongue out with eyes squeezed shut, changed into a smile as a new leg grew back.
It looked cute, but it was still a little creepy…. Focus. I shook my head to clear away the stray thoughts, then quickly moved from doll to doll, using my ability again and again.
Dolls with broken arms, dolls with large facial scars, a doll missing an eye (…!), dolls that simply looked unhealthy—each one regained its smile as I healed it.
Hmm?
I paused, tilting my head at a strange sensation. The doll in my hand was a slightly uglier one with curly hair. When I used my ability, its crying face turned into a smile, but the process felt like forcing ether through a stubbornly clogged passage.
It was different from the others. Still, since the dolls came in various conditions, this was probably part of the test. After that, I encountered no further odd sensations and finished without any major problems.
Whew.
If these had been real people, healing even one would have left me exhausted. Because they were dolls, however, I managed to restore every last one without much strain. Seeing them all smiling—even if they were only dolls—gave me a strange sense of satisfaction.
“All right! Shall we review the results now?”
After a little more time had passed, the instructor collected the baskets and began checking them, starting with the first.
Rapid healing and buff effect, but with a delayed cost.
Evaluation:Restoration acceptable, but most dolls left in depressed states.
“First, Seong Hye-min. Your ability is ‘Forced Activation.’ The level of damage restoration is fine, but… the dolls don’t look very happy. It seems to be a method that provides quick healing and buffs, only for the price to be paid later?”
“Yes….”
“It might be efficient in chaotic or urgent situations, but you’ll need to think carefully about how you use it!”
As she said, most of the dolls—including the one she held up—wore gloomy or sorrowful expressions. I wondered if the “price” meant their recovered bodies would suffer even more pain afterward.
Wide-area healing without contact. Average physical restoration. Psychological stabilization effect confirmed. Dolls appear very comfortable.
“Next is Ju A-rin. Your ability is ‘Grace’s Light.’ You can perform wide-area healing without physical contact, though the degree of physical restoration is average. Missing body parts were barely recovered… but the dolls look remarkably at peace. There’s a psychological stabilization function as well?”
“Oh my, that’s correct.”
“Multi-target healing is an enormous advantage among healing abilities. Think about ways to make the most of it!”
The instructor smiled back at the brightly beaming Ju A-rin, jotted something in her notebook, then reached for the final basket.
All damage perfectly restored.
Complete recovery to final natural state on every specimen.
“Very well. Now it’s Baek Seol’s turn. Ability name is ‘Healing.’ Let’s see…”
It was finally my turn. Even though I had never given my ability much thought, the idea of being evaluated made my heart flutter with nervous anticipation.
I watched the instructor with that subtle tension when her expression suddenly froze.
“Hmm…?”
With a serious look on her face, she began rummaging through my basket, examining each doll one by one. As the pile of inspected dolls grew beside her, her expression became increasingly grave.
I was staring at her, wondering what was wrong, when I felt an intense gaze boring into me. I turned my head.
Ju A-rin—who had been smiling brightly only moments ago—was now watching me with a strange, unreadable expression.
“…?”
Why? Why was she looking at me like that? Thinking it might be my imagination, I met her eyes in a silent staring contest, but her gaze never wavered. It continued to pierce straight through me.
Scary…. I’m against school violence….
Defeated in the staring match, I blinked and hurriedly looked away. That was when the instructor spoke again.
“Baek Seol.”
“Yes.”
“You restored every doll’s damage… perfectly?”
I swallowed hard and looked at her. Had I done something I wasn’t supposed to?