Chapter 4: ‘Shocking’ The good healer really existed!

Choi Hanul, the guild master of Sprout Guild.

Even after witnessing his guild member’s injury heal before his eyes, he doubted what he saw.

‘What did I just see?’

Something unbelievable was unfolding right in front of him.
After a long silence, Hanul finally managed to speak.

“When you said support mage… you meant a healer…?”

At his question, Chorok lowered her head, fidgeting with her fingertips.

The guild members, catching on, erupted into shouts.

“Unnie… you’re a healer…!?”
“No way, I’ve never seen a healer before…!”
“Chorok-unnie is a healer…!?”

Well, their reaction was understandable.

In this suddenly changed world, healers were an incredibly rare and valuable existence.

But there was one thing Hanul couldn’t wrap his head around.

‘Why… didn’t she tell us from the start?’

Chorok’s decision to hide her healer status and join the party baffled him.

If she’d revealed she was a healer at the gate entrance, everyone would’ve rolled out the red carpet for her. Why hide it?

Then, a memory flashed in Hanul’s mind—Chorok joking warmly with his guild members.

‘Could it be…’

Was she worried the kids would get nervous?

Healers were incredibly valuable.
Even the young guild members knew that.

If they’d known there was a healer, the inexperienced kids might’ve frozen under the pressure of “not messing up.”

In a gate where life and death hung in the balance, that kind of tension could lead to unexpected disasters.

‘Right. She built rapport with the kids first…’

If Chorok had acted with that consideration, it made sense why she didn’t reveal she was a healer before joining.

“A support mage, huh? Can’t expect much DPS then.”

How arrogant his words to her must’ve sounded.

Hanul bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle toward Chorok.

“I failed to recognize a precious healer. I’m sorry.”
“…Huh? What do you mean…?”

Oblivious to his flustered heart, the excited guild members tugged at Hanul’s sleeve.

“Guild master! Hurry, let’s go take down the boss!”
“My dream was to fight a boss with a healer’s support. I’m so excited!”
“Guild master! Let’s go!”

Right, the boss was still waiting.

A boss fight with a healer.
It was a first. Hanul’s heart began to pound.

Above all, he was overjoyed that his guild members could take on the boss without getting hurt.

“I used too much Heal just now, so my mana’s low. Let’s keep some distance for a bit.”

Instead of expensive recovery potions, steady heals started coming in.

Knowing a healer had their backs gave Hanul the confidence to unleash his full strength for the first time in a while.

Gratitude filled his chest every moment.

“Seyoon, I’ll keep Shield up, so don’t hold back—go in. Chaeun, I’ve buffed your attack, so hit with your skill the moment Seyoon pulls aggro.”

With Chorok’s close support, the kids charged at the boss like fish in water.

‘The kids can fight like this…?’

They could fight so bravely…
They’d been holding back all this time, afraid of needing recovery potions.

Seeing the kids’ new side made Hanul’s nose sting.

Soon, the boss was defeated, replaced by a large chest.

“Good job, everyone. Well done.”

This gate was among the tougher low-tier ones, so he’d expected it to take at least an hour. But checking the time, only 20 minutes had passed.

The clear speed was much faster than anticipated.

They hadn’t even used a single recovery potion, despite bringing several just in case.

“I’ll open the chest.”

With a reverent heart, Hanul touched the chest.
Sensing an unusual energy, he quickly opened it and examined the contents.

“This… this is…”

Among various rewards, a blue-glowing item stood out.

A B-grade artifact, with only a 5% chance of dropping in a low-tier gate.
The ‘Luen Pendant,’ which continuously regenerates the wearer’s mana.

“A mana regen necklace! I really, really need this… Can I take it?”

Ha Yejin, the guild’s most powerful fire mage, who recognized the item’s value, reached for the pendant without hesitation.

Her skills were mostly wide-area, and she often complained about running out of mana.
Of course, Hanul felt bad for her, but—

“No way!”

The boss chest rightfully belonged to the healer.
That was an unwritten rule, common sense in this world.

Hanul, who’d never raised his voice at his guild members, slapped Yejin’s hand away from the artifact.

“G-Guild master…? What’s wrong…?”

Startled, Yejin let go of the pendant.

Sighing softly, Hanul spoke in a low voice.

“Yejin, when a healer joins our party, you can’t just grab the clear rewards. I’ll buy you one at the marketplace later…”

Seeing Yejin’s head droop, he clutched his own head with one hand.

What if his actions made her hate the guild?
What if she refused to party with them again…?

A whirlwind of worries made his head throb.

“Healer-nim… I mean, Chorok-ssi. Our guild member’s young and made a mistake. Please…”

Bowing repeatedly and handing the pendant to Chorok,
she took it with a puzzled expression and, without hesitation, passed it to Yejin.

“I don’t need this. You take it.”
“N-No, it’s fine! The guild master said he’d buy me one later… Hehe.”

Chorok tilted her head.

“Really? Hmm, then I’ll give it to someone else.”
“What…!?”

Yejin glanced nervously between Hanul and Chorok.

Raising the pendant high, Chorok shouted in a booming voice.

“Who wants this!”

Panicked, Yejin practically clung to Chorok, yelling, “Me!” and “Please, me!”

Finding her adorable, Chorok grinned mischievously and placed the pendant around Yejin’s neck herself.

“Is the gem in the center real?”

As the other guild members crowded around Yejin’s necklace,
Hanul cautiously approached Chorok with an awkward expression.

“Um… Are you really okay with this…?”
“Huh? With what?”
“Giving away the artifact… It’d be efficient for you to wear it, so I’m worried you gave it up just because a kid threw a fit…”

Chorok smiled innocently at his words.

“Oh, it’s fine. I grow flowers at home.”

She grows flowers?
What does that mean?

Hanul didn’t fully understand but decided not to pry.

“Well… Still, you could’ve sold it for a high price at the user marketplace…”
“I’m going to make a lot of money anyway, so it’s fine.”

Her confident words made Hanul think, Truly, a healer is a healer.

Not only do they take all the gate clear rewards, but people even pay them just to join a party…

“Still…”

Even so, giving up a mana regen artifact so easily wasn’t something just anyone could do.
How could someone have such a mindset?

Hanul felt a strange sense of awe for the small, determined girl before him.

“Sorry, but I have something urgent to do at home. Can I head out now?”
“Oh! Yes, yes, Healer-nim! Thank you so much for today. Get home safely!”

Hanul bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle to Chorok.

Back home, he immediately opened his phone and started writing a post on the awakener community.

Not all healers in the world are bad.

There are good healers too.

[SproutGuildMaster: A Kind Healer Exists]

Hello, I’m Choi Hanul, guild master of Sprout Guild.
I’m writing this because it feels like everyone paints healers in a bad light.

I want to let you know there are good healers out there.

The healer I met was truly kind-hearted.

Our party was mostly minors, and to keep them from getting nervous…
Can you believe she joined without even revealing she was a healer?

Lately, people say healers don’t even know how their skills work.

But in our party, not a single person got injured until the boss fight—except for one guild member who got careless.

She even gave orders herself, helping us take down a boss that should’ve taken an hour in just 20 minutes.

They say healers take all the gate clear rewards?

A Luen Pendant came from the boss chest, and when a young guild member wanted it, she coolly gave it up.
I’d like to take this chance to thank her again.

So, my point is…
Let’s not generalize and say all healers are bad.

There are kind healers out there, like the one I met.

[There’s a healer who gives up rewards? A Luen Pendant, no less? Are you dreaming?]
[What’s their name? Please tell me, I’m begging you!]
[This guy’s making it up.]
[Sure, he’s using his real name and guild name, so maybe it’s not fake… but it’s so unbelievable it’s hard to trust.]
[What, is this guy from another dimension?]

Hanul’s post quickly racked up thousands of views, capturing the attention of awakeners.

Maybe because I gave up the artifact,
most of the rewards from the boss chest ended up in my hands.

No, “gave up” isn’t even the right word.

The guild master kept saying the artifact was “obviously” mine, but why the heck was that obvious?

Anyway, despite my protests, they insisted I take the rewards. I sold them all at a byproduct shop near the gate.

‘Oh, they’re giving me this much?’

It was a pretty nice profit.

With money in hand,
maybe I’ll buy a new phone before heading home.

Eager to update the plant gallery about my flower’s progress, I headed straight to a phone store.

‘Even in this changed world, they’re still releasing new phones.’

As I marveled at the shop, an employee approached me.

“Customer, have you awakened?”
“Uh, yes.”
“Then how about this model? It’s for awakeners and super popular.”

The employee showed me a simple-looking phone from the display.

“It shows all gates within a 10km radius when you enter an address. Oh, and it has a user marketplace function too.”

My eyes lit up at his words.

‘A phone with a user marketplace function?’

I’d been worrying about how to sell the Lumina Bell once I succeeded in growing it.

A phone with that function? Sign me up.

Just as I was about to say I’d buy it, the employee dropped a bombshell.

“There are other features too. Like an awakener-exclusive community, for example…?”

At that moment, no other options existed for me.

“I’ll take it.”

Back home, I tore open the box and turned on the new phone.

It was daytime, so I couldn’t take pictures of the Lumina Bell… Might as well check out this awakener community.

‘Is it full of super impressive people?’

What would it feel like to become a named figure there?

Thump-thump.
With an excited heart, I tapped the app.

The first thing that caught my eye was a post pinned at the top of the main screen.

[SproutGuildMaster: A Kind Healer Exists]

The title was weird.
A kind healer exists? What, are all healers supposed to be bad or something?

It had an absurdly high view count compared to other posts, and I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy.

‘My posts never even break double-digit views.’

How do you even get that many views?

Unable to resist, I tapped the screen, and the post unfolded before me.

As I read each word, my face… started to heat up.

‘Wait a second. Is this…’

Is this about me…?