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Chapter 06
Surviving as an F-Rank Healer
Yeah, you probably haven’t seen this before.
F-rank healers are even rarer than S-rank ones—they’re called failed prodigies by nature.
They’re known to be even more useless than F-rank in general.
Usually, the majority of ordinary people fall into D-rank or E-rank.
Even among non-hunters, they’re hard to find. And in an academy, an F-rank? That’s only Jin Hari.
“Is this it? A girl?”
One of them, following the reflexive gaze of the others, strolled over.
Bang!
I hit the desk, and it cracked immediately.
The facilities of the Awakener Academy must be reinforced to withstand an Awakener’s power.
‘If it cracks this easily from a light hit, it’s at least C-rank.’
Perfect.
I needed to set the stage in front of as many people as possible.
“Hey, what confidence brings you to the academy? Why don’t you just live as a normal person?”
“Teamwork makes up more than half the class, and because of you, our entire grade might get hurt. Huh?”
I smiled faintly at the delinquents who were starting to pick on me.
Feigning awareness, I looked appropriately sulky.
Then, strangely, they flinched and began to stammer.
“Why are you grinning creepily? Don’t act like you’re not scary, huh?”
“Even if you ripped off an arm pretending it was an accident, we wouldn’t get punished. You know that, right?”
“You… why don’t you just quit quietly?”
Maybe it was because the academy strictly manages Awakeners, but these guys’ words sounded unusually tame.
‘Damn it! Worthless brat! Ungrateful…!’
‘××, even though we raised you without giving up on you despite being poor, this is the result? Your father died because of you, and now you’re going to the academy? What are you trying to do? Run away from here, huh!’
Thinking of what Jin Hari’s mother and older brother had said before I left home, these guys were nothing but angels.
‘Truly a savior.’
They created the situation I wanted.
I spoke in a voice loud enough for the curious onlookers around us to hear.
“I know. But I didn’t come here to get in the way. Even if my rank is like this, I’m serious. My dream is to be someone who helps the world. I’ll do my best to help in my own way, so would you watch me?”
First, I had to lay the groundwork for throwing potions.
“W-what?”
The delinquents were flustered—they weren’t used to being responded to calmly.
Seeing such naive kids, I felt the world brighten a little.
Cute, yes, but I didn’t forget to subtly threaten them by mentioning the Awakener laws.
“And pulling off my arm… I really hope you don’t. I’m worried for you more than me. You could get points deducted for misunderstandings. Plus, the law regarding minor-on-minor violence has recently been revised. What if you get punished?”
Do I really have to keep spouting this nonsense?
Somehow, it seemed to work on the delinquents.
“Huh?”
“I’m just saying, just in case. I actually know. You’re worried I might get hurt in the dungeon, aren’t you?”
When I smiled faintly and closed my eyes, the delinquents’ faces turned red all at once.
Why?
“Thanks. You should also be careful.”
“W-what! Okay.”
“Since the law says so, I’ll let it slide! Hmph, humph!”
“…You’re not angry, that’s boring. Let’s go.”
I kept managing my increasingly pale expression.
‘Why are these delinquents like this?’
The broken desk didn’t even register in my eyes.
The kids nodded obediently, giving some empty threats before leaving.
…Yeah, from that moment, things started to feel strange.
If I had realized then that a calm, measured attitude stood out at this school, I might have just thrown a punch.
Everyone was becoming more accustomed to using their Awakener abilities, getting closer to a wild nature—a social trend not explicitly mentioned in the original story.
I didn’t know at the time, but it was already too late.
The protagonist was looking at me from across the room.
“I’ll do my best to help in my own way, so would you watch me?”
Yoo Hanseong was looking at that kid.
He had returned, thinking it might be the last time, and spent the first week after enrollment more intensely than anyone.
There was a lot to do.
He had to lay the groundwork for recruiting those with the potential to become S-rank, and gather all kinds of magical tools and items for them by himself.
But even then, that F-rank kept catching his eye.
An individual he had never seen even once at a graduation ceremony despite countless regressions.
Why?
‘Even if an F-rank tries hard…’
He swallowed the question.
‘Even if they painstakingly increase their magic, at best it would be D-rank, maybe E-rank. Even with several miracles, C-rank would be the limit.’
Unless they possessed SSS-rank skills like him, it was impossible for them to become S-rank.
Yet that kid’s eyes shone calmly with a strange certainty.
“I actually know. You’re worried I might get hurt in the dungeon, aren’t you?”
Stupid? Or naive?
Hanseong was about to turn away.
He couldn’t figure out why he kept paying attention, and so he felt cautious instead.
‘Maybe there’s some skill that charms people.’
For once, he thought insulting thoughts without reason.
Until he saw that genuine, serene smile for the first time.
“Thanks. You should also be careful.”
Then he suddenly realized.
Ah, that’s right.
The kid had always been like that.
No matter how negatively treated, their unique gentle and serene aura never disappeared. Sometimes it dimmed a little, which made him worry more.
That’s why, when the kid earlier pretended to concentrate on the textbook while frowning, Hanseong couldn’t help but click his tongue and keep his gaze fixed.
It wasn’t helping to prevent destruction, but they were a new kind of human being.
Hanseong thought suddenly:
‘…Seems like they’d actually try.’
Somehow, this kid didn’t seem like they would waste words.
If they decided to do something, they’d do it.
Just like he once had long ago.
Long ago, when he, a D-rank by nature, worked his way up to B-rank, Hanseong had made painstaking efforts.
Did he want to become a good person?
Or was he just caught up in the hero complex?
What was certain was that, as the time of destruction drew near, he wanted to contribute to saving the world.
But to reach A-rank, miracles were needed. And when he became S-rank…
‘I lost everything as the cost of promotion.’
Before regression.
The destruction he witnessed was truly hell.
So he barely stole the Yggdrasil fruit that grants wishes and turned back time.
He wished for the power to save the world.
Resurrecting the dead was meaningless.
Even among the living, many were already mentally irreversibly broken. And not only those who died protecting him but also the ones who cursed him died in vain.
Hell had no end.
The power to save the world lay in infinite regressions.
Thus, another hell opened.
He repeatedly lost countless people. Since S-ranks couldn’t work together, they followed his requests yet still died in places he couldn’t reach.
After who knows how long, when counting had lost meaning, Hanseong obtained two SSS-rank skills.
<Clairvoyance>, and <Veil of Night>.
Childish names, but their power was immense.
Clairvoyance allowed him to see everything about a target’s talent.
Veil of Night controlled all malevolent things awake at night and all shadows seen in the day.
SSS-rank stayed with him even after regression.
And at the end of all that experience, he remembered that the only time he caused minimal trouble for others was when he became S-rank.
That was why he only sought S-ranks…
And why he considered that kid utterly foolish.
“…Pointless.”
He rolled the F-rank kid’s name around in his mouth.
Yeah. That gentle kid would probably see their current resolve fade away after a short while, no matter how hard they tried.
“They won’t even last a year.”
Maybe they’d die before that.
Only after muttering that unconsciously did he realize he was slightly angry.
