The Second Gate
A week had passed in the blink of an eye as the date for the second gate approached.
I ran every single day without skipping once.
It was a week so full of diligence and healthy habits that it even surprised me.
If it had been the old me, I wouldn't have lasted three days—honestly, I probably would've quit after just two.
The reason I could keep up with such intense exercise was obvious.
Above all else, this elf body's performance far exceeded my imagination.
It was as if it had taken the typical image of elves and made it reality. My body was fundamentally very agile.
It wasn't just fast, either. My balance, reflexes, motor skills—my overall physical abilities were all outstanding to an incredible degree.
Just to see, I fired up an FPS game at the PC bang, and my dynamic vision and reaction speed were phenomenal there too.
Thanks to that, I went on a rampage sniping headshots on the opposing team as a sniper until the hackers showed up, which fully charged my dopamine levels.
The one downside was that my strength was still nothing to write home about.
I'd tried pull-ups, and unlike before when I couldn't do any at all, I could now manage around three.
But I suspected that had more to do with my body weight being lighter than any actual increase in strength.
Still, discovering this body's capabilities one by one was surprisingly enjoyable.
That's why I was able to exercise without missing a single day.
After training like this, I felt confident that I'd be able to move quickly and nimbly even inside the gate.
I was one step closer to becoming the ultimate, all-purpose, ridiculously overpowered supporter who could handle both dealing and supporting by myself.
"Haah."
There wasn't a single thing about me that wasn't perfect.
A high-performance awakened class and a commendable mindset that didn't turn lazy just because I'd awakened.
"The day I truly live up to my nickname isn't far off."
Super genius, ultra-talented girl Yeojjunding. The silly nickname I'd made up to farm aggro was actually about to become reality.
My self-esteem and endorphins were hitting record highs right now.
Why not add a little more fun to the mix?
"Hmm."
No matter how much they dragged me down and criticized me, what did it matter?
I was the heal dragon who would make all of South Korea struggle, make Japan wary, and flip China upside down in shock.
Was this what they called reality warping?
Anyway, today was the day I was heading into the gate for the second time with Yoo Sumi.
Along with one of her friends.
Which meant there was now one more person who would witness my monstrous talent.
It was ten in the morning at a certain café. There, a woman with red hair sat facing Yoo Sumi.
They were supposed to head into the gate that afternoon, yet Yoo Sumi was only now sharing information about her new party member with her friend.
There was no particular reason—she had simply been rolling around in bed exchanging messages with me and completely forgot.
Since it was just friends going together, there was no need to fuss over strict procedures.
The woman, long used to Yoo Sumi's habits, continued the conversation without much thought.
"The heals, the buffs, the skill performance—it's all insane. But the really crazy part is something else."
Yoo Sumi pulled up a photo on her phone.
It showed me eating tomato spaghetti at a restaurant.
The moment the woman saw the photo, her mouth fell open in a daze.
"W-what is this? Is this some AI-generated image?"
"This is the kid I was talking about. Isn't she ridiculously cute?"
"Oh... wow..."
The woman took Yoo Sumi's phone and stared at the photo for a long time.
"How can someone be this cute... Wait, what is this? Her ears look weird. Like an elf?"
"That's exactly right."
Yoo Sumi leaned in and whispered quietly.
"Her class is 'Elf.' A unique class—the only one of its kind in the entire world."
"Like that American hunter, Eleanor Carter?"
"Exactly."
They called it a unique class, but there still wasn't an official term for 'the one and only class in the world.'
Because there were so few of them, almost no research had been conducted.
Yet their symbolism and rarity made them a constant topic of conversation, and flashy nicknames had naturally stuck.
Eleanor Carter was the most famous example among those with unique classes.
If you asked people to name the world's most famous hunter, half of them would pick Eleanor Carter.
"Oh... Then could this kid become Korea's Eleanor Carter?"
"From what I've seen, yes. She's going to become the strongest healer out there. She was born with three skills, and all three of them are unique skills."
"What? Is that even possible?"
"Right? Even among our country's S-rank hunters, there aren't many with that level of talent."
"Is it really okay for us to be taking someone like that around with us...? Wait, but is this kid a minor?"
"You're noticing that awfully late."
In an instant, the woman's expression grew complicated.
"Did you get permission from her parents?"
"She says she doesn't have any. Don't ask her about that stuff to her face."
"An orphanage, then?"
"She says she lives alone. I don't know the details either. I just take it at face value."
A brief silence fell between Yoo Sumi and the woman.
"You didn't... trick her into coming by saying she could make money, did you...?"
"Ugh, no? I was the one who first suggested the gate, but she decided to go on her own. She's not the type to fall for something like that. She's already declaring she's going to shine like the North Star and has been working out every day. She's kind-hearted, full of confidence—that kind of kid. She's really got it together."
"Well, if that's the case..."
The two continued chatting about this and that afterward.
They parted ways briefly to match lunch time, planning to meet again near the gate.
Yoo Sumi ate at a nearby restaurant before driving over in her pickup truck.
She picked me up after I had already arrived at the meeting spot.
"You were already waiting? You could've come out when I called."
"There's nowhere to park around here. If I came out late, you'd have to circle around waiting."
Her way of speaking was mature, not like a child at all.
Actually, plenty of real adults got on people's nerves by coming out late when getting a ride.
She was better than most adults.
"Hehe."
Yoo Sumi smiled to herself.
Because the truck sat so high off the ground, I hopped up into the passenger seat.
Vroom—
Yoo Sumi's pickup truck used its overwhelming size to shove other cars aside as it forced its way into traffic.
Other drivers, seeing something like a dump truck bearing down on them, hurriedly slowed down and yielded.
I looked down at the scene with a huge grin.
"Oh, I haven't told you about my friend we're meeting today yet, have I?"
"No. What is she like?"
"She's a B-rank mage who specializes in fire magic. She's really good at controlling her spells, so she'll be a big help."
"Ooh."
"I'll take the front and draw aggro while you and my friend support from behind. Her name is Kim Seohwa, and of course she's a woman. You like being around lots of girls, right, Jiyun?"
"Yes. I mean—uh, yes?"
"You wrote about it on the gallery. How you wanted to be choked to death between Claire Moreau's thighs..."
"Aaaaaaaaagh!!"
I screamed and clapped my hands over my ears.
Even though I covered them, the tips of my long elf ears still poked out past my fingers.
'She's seriously so cute.'
Yoo Sumi thought to herself.
"Seohwa is exactly your type too, Jiyun. Great figure, tall. If you act cute around her, she'll dote on you a lot."
"......"
When no response came, Yoo Sumi glanced sideways.
I was glaring at her with an extremely pouty expression.
But the way my cheeks puffed out like a typical kid was so adorable that Yoo Sumi burst out laughing.
I was embarrassed and angry that my dark secret had been exposed, but when she handed me the brown-sugar bubble tea she had prepared in advance, my mood instantly improved and I let out a happy little "Ehehe~"
"Jiyun, you need to wear your seatbelt."
"Oh, right."
After about an hour of driving, we arrived at our destination.
"Whoa..."
This gate was C-rank, as I'd been told.
It definitely had a different atmosphere from the D-rank gate we'd gone to before.
The hunters walking around seemed more professional, and their equipment was flashier.
The trucks carrying monster corpses were much larger too.
Above all, the people seemed far more serious.
At the D-rank gate, there had been quite a few rough, almost gangster-like types.
Here, most people were seriously spreading out maps to plan strategies or practicing formations in open areas.
There were also groups wearing identical armbands. They were probably from the same guild.
"Once you reach C-rank gates, people start running them in guild units. You can earn more money than at D-rank, but it's that much more dangerous."
"What about us? No matter how much of an EX-rank heal dragon I am, can three people really handle it?"
"That's why we're taking an easier route. The monsters are spaced out, and it's open terrain that's easy to escape through. You worked hard on your running, right, Jiyun? If it gets dangerous, we can just bolt."
"Uhhaha. You'll be surprised when you see my running records. Yesterday I managed to run three kilometers in under five minutes."
"No way."
It was true.
The more I ran, the faster my body seemed to become.
The visible growth made it even more fun, so I'd pushed myself. Eventually I'd succeeded in cutting three kilometers in five minutes and thirty-five seconds.
I was so impressed with myself that I'd gone on a two-hundred-and-fifty-times self-praise spree on the gallery and ended up banned for six hours.
"At that speed you could probably outrun wolf monsters just by running away."
"Ehehe. I'm basically a cheetah."
It was a huge advantage if a healer could survive on her own without needing protection from allies.
Other healers inevitably required guards, which meant maintaining a tight formation and diverting some combat power to protecting the healer.
The better a healer's survival ability, the more flexibly and quickly the entire party could move.
That was why top-tier healers were expected to have high healing output as standard, but the stronger their self-survival, the better the treatment they received.
While we were killing time like that...
"Ah, there she is. My friend."
Yoo Sumi stood up from her seat.
I stood as well and turned to face Kim Seohwa, Yoo Sumi's friend, only to freeze.
'A-a school bully?!'
I flinched and took a step back.
Yoo Sumi was already about ten centimeters taller than me, but Kim Seohwa looked another ten centimeters taller than her.
On top of that overwhelming height, she had a body that assaulted the eyes, sharp features, and a heavy, thudding stride.
She looked exactly like those female delinquents from school days who wore short skirts, heavy makeup, and intimidated all the outcasts.
The choker around her neck seemed to metaphorically declare, "I'm different from the rest of you."
"Oh. So this is the healer you mentioned."
Even her voice went beyond Yoo Sumi's huskiness and into slightly raspy territory...
"Uh... H-hello?"
I felt completely overwhelmed. Please don't come any closer.
But regardless of my wishes, the distance between me and Kim Seohwa grew shorter.
"Wow, for real... You were cute in the photo, but..."
As Kim Seohwa bent down her enormous frame (from my perspective), her shadow completely swallowed me.
"The real thing is way cuter."
"U-uhhe...?"