“Hayul?”
The voice that helped me ponder what to do at the Gate Terminal.
Elia Slade. The cadet often compared to a chick. The person who has been helping me a lot over the past month.
I hesitated for a moment.
I was about to throw a punch, but the realization that it was Elia made me lose strength in my fist.
There’s a reason for it. This is the inside of a tower where competition between cadets is allowed, and I have a hefty score of 1000 points hanging over my neck, while right now, I’m on the verge of collapse.
There’s no reason not to hit. We’re fellow cadets and all, but this is a space built for fighting.
It’s not that collaboration doesn’t happen, but given my current state, I don’t hold any value as a competitor. Therefore, collaboration is meaningless.
The wisest action for Elia here would be to blast me with magic and knock me out.
And the wise action for me is to attack first before magic explodes in my face.
But I couldn’t swing. Elia suddenly came closer and reached out her hand.
A hand brimming with magical energy moved towards me.
“Oh my. What is all this…”
It was a hand infused with healing magic. As I felt her gentle touch on my cheek, an unfamiliar sensation pierced through my mind.
‘…Hik!’
I almost screamed. No, instead, it was a kind of touch I had never imagined experiencing in my life, so no scream even came out.
The magic in her grip seeped into my cheek.
It was different from the clumsy healing magic I had cast.
A unique healing ability, professional healing magic that amplifies the changes in magic and supports the unique abilities.
Now that I perceive the world through magic, I felt it all. Vitality seeped in through my wounds, a warm energy spreading throughout my body like sunlight, healing my injuries.
That energy split into two major currents that flowed into me.
One energy settled on my wounds to boost my stamina and stimulate my natural healing ability, while the other led the regeneration of my damaged body.
Unique ability “Melody of Recovery”
It allows for rapid recovery but imposes a burden on the patient for immediate recovery, and slow yet low-burden prolonged healing.
This unique ability lets me use both recovery types as needed. Depending on the owner’s skills, the manipulation becomes even more precise, making it a highly prized unique ability.
“Is all this due to your injuries? Oh no…”
Elia sighed with pity, causing the output of her unique ability to rise slightly. The healing energy flooding into my wounds increased.
‘Eek… wait a second.’
– Flinch.
“Hayul, try to endure the pain just a little longer.”
‘No, it’s not pain…! Ugh!’
It was too, too ticklish? Soft? What do I even call this? If I had to compare it, ticklish would be close.
But it was too exhilarating to simply call it ticklish.
I felt like I might scream at any moment, so I desperately suppressed my body. Yet, my body kept twitching.
“Good, just a little more…”
Gradually, my wounds improved. It wasn’t at the level to call it perfect yet, but I managed to reach a level where basic combat was possible.
I focused on immediate healing. I felt the prickling sensation from my injuries decrease gradually.
The injuries I endured were varied.
Most were wounds inflicted by fierce blows. I had been cut by swords infused with fierce energy and stabbed with spears. I had been hit by blunt objects and had arrows lodged in me.
There were also wounds from magic and those sustained from unique abilities.
I had used all my means to dodge, block, and avoid serious injuries, but the wounds piled up.
Supers weren’t like usual humans. Their recovery ability surpassed normal levels. Wounds healed quickly, and injuries that couldn’t be healed could be mended.
However, it wasn’t just my recovery ability that had increased; my ability to inflict wounds had also risen.
While normal injuries might be manageable, the magic from other supers, and their ‘uniqueness,’ would unravel my wounds, slowing recovery. In severe cases, it could lead to permanent damage.
The deluge of energy stopped. Elia, let out a sigh tinged with mild fatigue as she lowered her hand from my wounds.
“I’ll stop here for now. Beyond this point, recovery would become overwhelming.”
Got it?
Her sentence seemed to end with an expectation for a response, so I, panting while enduring the sensation, opened my mouth.
‘Ugh…’
It was hard to express myself. Because of the curse, I couldn’t speak, and I had no clue how to articulate my thoughts.
Seeing me stammer, Elia seemed to mutter something to herself instead of waiting for an answer.
Then, basic treatment continued.
She briefly processed some herbs and applied them to my not-quite-healed wounds.
Then she wrapped a soft bandage-like cloth around the area. Every now and then, the warm contact with her skin made my body twist.
Without a doubt, the sensation was intense.
“Whoa, hey. If you move, it won’t work.”
Overwhelmed, I flopped around like a fish, and Elia scolded me in a surprisingly stern voice, much like a child being reprimanded.
I was dumbfounded, but I couldn’t argue with that right now.
How long did I endure? It wasn’t until I was panting heavily that the treatment ended.
My wounds had been treated. Exhausted from suppressing my groans and shaking body, I lay face down on the floor, gasping.
A gentle hand touched my head.
“You did well. So brave…”
Her voice was as if she were speaking to a little child. As her soft hand continued to stroke my head, it made me feel more like a child than ever.
Over time, I began to acclimate to this.
At first, it was just electrifying and ticklish, but now it felt like a comfort that multiplied many times and was melting into my skin.
With dizziness from the blood loss, as she began to stroke my head more, drowsiness slowly took hold.
‘No, I can’t let this happen.’
Clap, clap. I slapped my cheeks with both hands.
Fortunately, thanks to Elia’s healing, my life had been extended. I hadn’t been eliminated, so now I could think about the future.
I still felt somewhat groggy. While squinting, I was about to slap my cheeks again when suddenly someone else’s delicate touch held my wrist back.
The culprit was Elia. For some reason, she cautiously stroked my forearm… below my elbow.
“Hayul, is everything okay here?”
What does ‘okay’ mean…? Ah, my right hand?
I tentatively examined my right hand. Bare skin… felt unpleasant in many ways.
The cadet uniform or active wear provided by Shio-ram wasn’t damaged, but they allowed for some removal during treatment. The arm sleeve must have slipped down while she was applying the ointment.
Did she see the burn marks?
I gaped, then cautiously glanced at Elia.
Would she find it disgusting? I wasn’t sure.
I wanted to ask about it, but given my current state, it was hard to speak. Plus, I didn’t even have my smartwatch.
Feeling frustrated, I furrowed my brow and hesitated before pulling away from her hand that was stroking me.
Then I shifted my hand movements, drawing in the air.
Sign language… or is it called sign language nowadays?
In any case, I had learned it out of necessity. As time went on, I had discarded that knowledge once my neck was healed, but now it seemed useful.
When I first arrived in this world, I wondered if I’d need to use sign language again, but thanks to smartphones and holograms, those memories were stored away in the back of my mind.
Nothing came from Elia. She didn’t seem to comprehend. I wasn’t disappointed, though.
I hadn’t expected her to understand it from the start. It had merely been a spur-of-the-moment impulse born from frustration.
It might have been too long since I’d practiced, and I might have forgotten parts of it.
Also, in my original world, sign languages differed from country to country. Given that this was a different world, it might have an entirely different system.
I fell back into contemplation. How could I convey my thoughts—
“It’s okay now… right?”
Elia tilted her head, saying it softly.
Without thinking, I turned my head sharply towards Elia. I hadn’t imagined she would comprehend.
Was that a lucky guess?
I moved my hands again.
“Are you understanding… Yes, I know. How do you know… Ah, so that’s what you’re curious about.”
Cross-verifying, she was reading my gestures.
As I was amazed, Elia chuckled lightly. I heard that the Tower of Harmony translates even sign language.
I was puzzled as to how the tower was capable of such things.
“Still, if you don’t know sign language at all, it won’t do much good. I have a younger sibling in my family who has a disability.”
‘Ah’
Oh no, this is a landmine.
My face went rigid. I touched a sensitive topic.
“Don’t make that face. They are doing much better now. Plus, it was just a short while ago; now we have smartwatches, right?”
Seeing the expression freeze on my face, Elia reassured me that everything was fine.
From the look on her face, she didn’t seem to find my burn marks repulsive. Perhaps she was just hiding her true feelings.
“I have three younger siblings, and my youngest sister was weak from birth. She couldn’t see well, spoke poorly due to her throat, and had hearing issues as well.”
Elia continued.
“It was really dangerous until she got treated. Thankfully, she was treated well and now has no major issues. She’s getting better even now.”
With that, she kept stroking my right arm.
“Hmm… I guess that’s why I treated you kindly.”
‘?’
Suddenly, she was talking about me? I cocked my head, and she patted my head again. This time, I had no reason to refuse, so I accepted her touch.
Lately, the people I met tended to be quite generous with physical contact.
Hong Yeon-hwa, Professor Riana, and now Elia, all had a tendency in that direction— even a few others I had met, it seemed.
“My sister resembles you, you know. Having a disability, collapsing like a soaked puppy if left alone, not knowing what to do in need of help, and secretly enjoying when petted like this… What’s more, she’s adorable.”
One by one, she listed the reasons. But hearing it made me extremely embarrassed.
“That’s why I think I treated you like my sister. I apologize if that bothered you.”
I immediately shook my head. How could that bother me? It wasn’t something I could feel upset about; I should be grateful to have received such consideration.
Hearing my reply, Elia sighed as if relieved.
Afterward, to regain our strength, Elia and I chatted casually.
I shared how my sensory abilities had shut down when I first entered, how I had been chased for over a day, and the time I almost fell off a tree while sleeping.
The conversation was slow due to my unskilled sign language, so it was more just killing time than anything substantial.
Then it happened. I heard raindrops falling; besides the sound of Elia’s breath beside me, it was the only other sound that stood out.
Outside the tunnel, it had started to rain. What began as a few drops quickly turned into a downpour.
“It’s really coming down now.”
As Elia, who had been occasionally playing with my hair, reacted in surprise, she raised her staff. The array of magic was set up at the tunnel’s entrance.
It appeared to be to keep the water out.
“If it rains like this, thankfully, many cadets will probably give up tracking us.”
No matter how superpowered someone is, they can’t completely ignore the natural environment. It’s only natural that a rainy day like this would make tracking difficult compared to clear weather.
I also felt a bit relieved that it was raining. At least I could worry less about being chased now…
– Thump
Just as I was thinking that, I heard footsteps approaching from afar.
“…Hayul?”
Elia turned tense as she saw the expression freeze on my face.
The presence approached the entrance of the tunnel. It was a presence I was somehow familiar with.
And it was a chilling and cold magical energy.
“Knock, knock~”
A clear voice rang out from beyond the magical veil at the tunnel entrance.
“Wanna build a snowman together~?”
An utterly unexpected line.
Elia, who had been tense, tilted her head before whispering to me, sending shivers down my spine with her warm breath.
“Isn’t that a line from a movie from the Era of Common Era?”
…Was it really just taken for granted in my original world?
I hid my discomfort while nodding.
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