Chapter 10

Did this happen in my past timeline?

Around this time in his previous life, Eui-rim had been thoroughly run ragged by Kim Si-hoon’s tantrums over the Isolation Ward raid, leaving his recollection of outside events foggy. He only vaguely remembered Kang Yura mentioning that an Association heavyweight had dropped by the clinic for emergency triage.

Suppressing his disquiet, Eui-rim stepped closer to inspect the laceration. “The attacker must have possessed monstrous offensive power to pierce your physical defense, Hunter Yoo.”

In his previous life, Yoo Tae-geun was the legendary heavyweight who had crushed two foreign S-rank combatants in hand-to-hand combat during the international Ranking Battles. Though he remained an unaligned Association enforcer simply out of disdain for guild politics, even school children knew the man hit harder than most high-ranking Guild Masters.

Instead of elaborating on the raid, Tae-geun merely offered a faint, self-deprecating grimace. Classified Association containment operations were not matters to be casually aired in a parking lot.

“Let me treat it,” Eui-rim offered simply.

“You appear to be heading out on official business. I can have another staff healer look at it,” Yoo Tae-geun demurred politely.

When Eui-rim set his leather dispatch briefcase onto the asphalt and rolled up his cuffs, a rare flash of bashfulness crossed Tae-geun’s features. Eui-rim shrugged with an easy, practiced air.

“We don’t charge Association personnel consultation fees anyway, Hunter Yoo,” Eui-rim said reassuringly. “It will only take a minute to seal the laceration, then we can both be on our way. You can submit the administrative chart when you leave.”

For awakened individuals employed by the Association or public service bodies, diagnostic and restorative care was provided free of charge at designated municipal health clinics. Independent guild hunters could access subsidized care if registered, but public servants enjoyed priority emergency access.

When Eui-rim gently pressed his fingertips against the torn fabric of the left arm, the large man flinched, the tendons in his thick neck locking taut. Is the pain that severe? The muscle beneath his touch felt as dense as reinforced steel. Eui-rim closed his eyes and drew a steadying breath, mentally channeling his internal mana circuit to activate his primary restorative skill.

Yet no matter how intently he focused his intent, the mana refused to respond. As though hitting a severed conduit, the energy snagged against impenetrable internal barriers, scattering into cold, inert mist.

What is this? Why is this happening?

Regardless of how desperately he attempted to reignite the spark, the outcome was identical. As if the supernatural gift he had commanded for seven years had been utterly erased, he could not manifest a single drop of healing light.

A sharp, searing migraine pierced his temples, and in the next heartbeat, an ominous crimson interface flashed before his eyes.

The moment he stubbornly forced his mana toward the severed conduit, violent crimson warning prompts cascaded across his field of vision, physically rattling his senses as though slapping away his intent.

And hovering directly above the pulsing warnings, an opaque, blue-gray interface materialized out of the ether. Staring blankly at the impossible glyphs etched across the display, the young healer froze solid, the breath lodging in his throat.

The immutable metaphysical parameters that had once descended upon the awakened New Humanity like divine gospel—the status window that had defined and anchored his very existence—had morphed into an unrecognizable monstrosity.

Eui-rim had no memory of how he had reached his destination in one piece. He vaguely recalled hailing a taxi because his trembling hands could not be trusted on a steering wheel, but after that, his mind had shut down into a daze of paralyzing shock.

Fortunately, the taxi had dropped him off with barely five minutes to spare before the appointed hour. Taking the cab had been a stroke of mercy; had he attempted to navigate traffic in that condition, he would either have missed the consultation entirely or totaled his vehicle. Exhaling a shuddering breath, Eui-rim sank into a crouch against the concrete exterior wall. He knew he had to pull himself together and head inside to face Kim Si-hoon, but all physical strength had deserted his limbs, leaving him glued to the pavement.

Bzzz

Eui-rim’s bowed head jerked upward at the sharp buzz in his coat pocket. Forcing his leaden fingers to obey, he unlocked the screen to find a concise text message waiting for him.

Right. Of course he’d check in. Anyone would be thoroughly unnerved if a clinical healer who had confidently promised treatment suddenly went white as a sheet and collapsed into silent panic.

Though Eui-rim knew common courtesy demanded an immediate reply, his fingers refused to move. As if his physical body were as paralyzed as his reeling psyche, he could not formulate words. His thumb hovered uselessly above the touchscreen, motionless.

Clinging to a faint shred of desperation, the young man summoned the interface once more, but the cold blue panel offered no salvation. The Healer trait remained branded as permanently deleted, strings of question marks corrupted the trait slots, and the strange, clockwork-themed skills remained locked behind glaring error messages.

“This is insane… absolutely insane,” Eui-rim muttered under his breath, burying his face in his hands.

With a smothered groan of exasperation, the healer glared at the crimson text pulsing at the base of the display:

Had his rating merely plummeted to E-rank, or had he been cursed with a permanent physical debuff, he could have swallowed the bitter pill. Even the bizarre array of foreign traits could have been rationalized as the metaphysical toll of leaping three years into the past.

Yet having his foundational identity as a healer violently gouged from his soul was a catastrophic crisis. Light of Healing, Self-Sustenance, Microscopic Diagnosis… All three of his modest, hard-won restorative skills had vanished without a trace, leaving the civil servant completely adrift on how he was supposed to survive.

“Well, well. Look who decided to grace us with his presence. Healer Kang?”

At that precise second, an abrasive, oily voice grated against his ears. As Eui-rim remained crouched on the paving stones, the pointed tips of expensive leather loafers stepped into his peripheral vision, casting an arrogant shadow over his head.

“What the hell are you doing slumped on the curb like a stray dog?” the man asked.

Lifting his heavy gaze, Eui-rim was greeted by a smug, insolent sneer.

Right. That’s right… I was supposed to have a dungeon coordination meeting with this bastard.

“…Guild Master Kim Si-hoon,” Eui-rim greeted, his tone flatter than the asphalt beneath his shoes.

“Are you high on something? Why are you swaying around like a wilted weed?” Si-hoon barked with a derisive snort.

Squatting down directly in front of him, Kim Si-hoon cocked his head to one side. Narrowed, snakelike eyes and an asymmetrical smirk gave his sharp features an oily, sleazy cast.

Eui-rim pinched the bridge of his nose as profound fatigue settled behind his eyes. Amid the disorienting shock of regression, he had momentarily forgotten the most unbearable trial of his daily life.

Damn it. It’s been so long that I slipped up. Kim Si-hoon was always the type who accrued a ten-thousand-dollar debt of hatred every time he opened his mouth.

“Did you pop some elite stimulants without sharing? Hook me up, Healer Kang,” Si-hoon mocked.

No. Not a debt of words—the man deserves a set of steel handcuffs.

“No. It’s nothing of the sort. I experienced a sudden bout of severe dizziness and couldn’t walk,” Eui-rim replied, his voice measured.

It was hardly a lie, given that this obnoxious punk had just triggered an authentic migraine behind his eyes. Eui-rim pressed a hand against his brow and let out a faint, pained wince. Since circumstances were already in shambles, leaning into an apparent illness might at least deflect the hunter’s wrath over being late.

“Healer Kang, don’t you have that Self-Sustenance passive of yours?” Si-hoon asked, crossing his arms.

Sorry, but that skill no longer exists on my sheet. Even his foundational Light of Healing had been stripped away, rendering his role as a public healer entirely defunct.

…Wait. Does that mean someone else will take over the support assignment for the Isolation Ward raid?

That sudden realization brought his spiraling despair to an abrupt halt. Even if his career as an awakened healer had met a sudden death, the revelation that he would never again be subjected to Kim Si-hoon’s verbal abuse felt like an intoxicating breath of fresh air.

Truly, everything in life comes down to perspective.

Eui-rim discreetly assessed Kim Si-hoon’s expression. Although the anomalous status window still hung over him like a dark cloud, the sudden liberation from his bureaucratic servitude made him eager to sever ties immediately.

“Guild Master Kim, an urgent personal matter has arisen. I apologize, but if you would permit us to reschedule—”

“Right, right. If your delicate legs won’t work, of course you need an escort,” Kim Si-hoon cut in loudly, completely ignoring the request. “Hop on. I’ll give you a piggyback ride up to the office.”

Having instantly sniffed out Eui-rim’s attempt to dismiss the meeting, Si-hoon deliberately steamrolled over him. Turning his broad back and wagging a condescending finger over his shoulder, the guild master gestured for Eui-rim to climb aboard. Eui-rim suppressed a shudder of visceral disgust.

No wonder this bastard perished early in my previous life. Arrogant hotheads who bulldozed through everyone else were always the first to end up as monster chow when a real crisis hit.

“Look at you, playing hard to get,” Si-hoon drawled, turning around with an amused smirk.