novelburst
Chapter 131
Chapter 131
The next day, Su-ho decided to go along with Jeong Cheol-min’s suggestion.
“I’m An Su-ho, the new vice-team leader of the Special Management Team 2,” Su-ho said, holding the cookies that Jeong Cheol-min had ordered for him and greeting the people in the department.
Normally, he wouldn’t have done this.
It was a task he had tried to avoid, as he didn’t have particularly fond memories of handing out Shibo-tteok before.
But since Jeong Cheol-min had kindly ordered cookies for him, how could he pretend not to notice?
‘Refusing to act humble to the end would be inappropriate as a junior.’
So, he accepted Jeong Cheol-min’s kindness and passed out the cookies.
He greeted everyone properly and made sure to leave a good impression.
People’s reactions were positive.
After all, Su-ho wasn’t just a regular newcomer; he was a 5th-grade special recruit and, moreover, someone with influencer-level popularity.
“Isn’t this from Queen’s Bakery?”
“Wow, you can tell? Your taste is different from others!”
“I’m going to brag that I got cookies from a Sword Saint.”
Especially, Team Leader Oh Bong-ju from the Special Management Team 1 was particularly pleased.
“Looks like Team 2 has great taste, huh? You’ve learned well.”
Ha-ha.
It wasn’t that Team 2 had great taste—it was Jeong Cheol-min who had great taste.
But not wanting to ruin the positive atmosphere, Su-ho responded with a smile.
After handing out all the cookies and returning to his seat, Jeong Cheol-min greeted him with his usual warm smile.
“Did you pass out all the cookies?”
“Yes, thanks to you, I was able to hand out the Shibo-tteok successfully. Thank you, Team Leader.”
“Thank you? But still, I appreciate you not refusing.”
“Well, it was a meal already prepared for me, so I had to do my part. By the way…”
Su-ho looked at the empty seats in the Special Management Team 2.
“No one’s here again today?”
“Yeah, everyone had to rush out to other sites.”
“Always so busy…”
“That’s our job. And it’s your future, too. By the way, since you’ve handed out all the Shibo-tteok, are you heading out now?”
“Yes, that’s the plan.”
After checking the time, Jeong Cheol-min said, “Great, then I’m heading out to another region, so let’s split up here. If anything comes up, contact me.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Alright, take care.”
Jeong Cheol-min was usually out in the field.
But he had come in briefly because of Su-ho.
He and Su-ho had already discussed the plan the day before.
Su-ho would clear the class and trait quests first, then tackle other Sealed Gates, submitting his reports all at once.
This way, he could finish his singularity schedule without needing to take special leave.
With that in mind, just as Su-ho was about to leave the department with Jeong Cheol-min…
“Su-ho, wait a moment.”
Someone called for him.
Turning around, it was Team Leader Oh Bong-ju from Team 1.
“Yes, what’s up?”
“It’s not much, but I just wanted to take a photo with you.”
“A photo?”
“Yeah, I’m also a bit of a star, you know? I thought I’d post a picture with the Shibo-tteok you gave me. Is that alright?”
Oh Bong-ju smiled broadly.
He was serious.
He didn’t want to miss a chance like this.
Su-ho was about to refuse but then decided to just take one photo.
“Alright.”
“You’re so cool, Su-ho.”
After the photo was taken, Su-ho said, “Thanks for recommending the Shibo-tteok, Team Leader. I followed your suggestion and bought Queen’s Bakery products, and everyone’s reaction has been great.”
“Ha-ha, right? Who else would have told you that? I’ll keep helping you, so just trust me.”
“Yes, I’ll be relying on your guidance moving forward.”
Su-ho bowed politely and left the association.
Then, he opened his phone and searched for Oh Bong-ju’s Stargram ID.
As expected, there was a post on Oh Bong-ju’s feed with the photo they had just taken.
– Took a shot with Vice-Team Leader An Su-ho, who handed out Shibo-tteok! By the way, I told him to buy Queen’s Bakery cookies~ haha.
After seeing the post, Su-ho chuckled to himself and turned off the screen.
‘Well, I guess he’ll handle the aftermath.’
He had intended to forget about the Shibo-tteok situation, but since Oh Bong-ju was making it public, there was nothing to do but appreciate it.
Oh Bong-ju probably didn’t know how reckless his actions were.
And soon enough, he would learn just how easily people misinterpret others' good intentions, sometimes even in a negative light.
‘But that’s not my problem.’
Now, all he had to do was sit back, relax, and enjoy.
Su-ho got into his car and headed home.
The house was quiet.
At this time, everyone would be at Paju for personal training.
Su-ho quickly changed and headed to his basement practice room.
He then checked his status window.
“Check status window.”
[ An Su-ho ]
– Lv: 100
– Class: Healer
– Traits: <New Blood>, <Heracles Candidate>
– Strength (O): 26
– Vitality (O): 2
– Mana (R): 70
– Sensitivity (R): 62
– Bonus Stats: 0
A ? appeared next to the class and trait sections.
The triangle indicated that quests had been activated, and touching it would immediately trigger the related quests.
‘Let’s start with the class quest.’
As Su-ho touched the triangle next to the class section, the following notifications appeared:
[ Class quest has been activated. ]
[ The system wants you to become stronger, as you now have the minimum qualifications. ]
[ ?? wants to test you. ]
[ Once you accept the test, trials to prove yourself will begin. ]
[ Will you accept the trial? ]
The system's question.
This was how the first singularity class quest worked.
That’s why Su-ho had come home.
Without any hesitation, he accepted the challenge.
[ You have accepted the trial. ]
[ Moving to the trial grounds. ]
The system notification sounded, and in an instant, Su-ho’s vision went black.
***
“Ughhh!!”
A sharp scream.
At that moment, Su-ho’s mind snapped back into focus.
And what appeared before his eyes was nothing but a blood-soaked battlefield.
BOOM!!
“AAAAAH!!”
“Monsters are invading!!”
“Everyone, counterattack!!”
“Do not retreat!!”
The scene before Su-ho unfolded like the battlefield of orcs he had seen during the Hunter practical exam, except here, it was a deadly fight for survival between humans and monsters.
“Heal!! Heal!!”
“Help me!!”
“Hey, what are you doing there!!”
“Fight! Fight!! Everyone, get up!!”
This wasn’t the modern world. It was somewhere in another world, based on medieval Europe.
Here, Su-ho wasn’t Su-ho.
He was one of the survivors—his limbs were thin, his body covered in wounds, but he still had enough strength to grip a sword, a shield, and bandages.
At that moment, someone shouted at him.
“What are you doing! If your limbs are intact, grab a sword and get up! The monsters are attacking!”
The person shouted, grabbed a sword, and rushed forward.
And then, he began to fight desperately against the monsters trying to break through the barricade.
Around that time, a sword appeared in Su-ho’s field of vision.
It seemed to be signaling for him to take it and move forward, just like the others.
“AAAAH!!”
“My arm! My arm!!”
“Help me! Please, someone help me!!”
“Medic… Medic…!”
At the same time, cries of pain started echoing around the battlefield.
The wounds were deep and severe, and some were so infected they could make anyone gag.
And then, Su-ho saw recovery potions and bandages scattered around.
‘So this is how it works.’
It was as if he was being asked to choose between one or the other.
No other choices were offered.
Of course, there might be other options, like fleeing, but Su-ho knew that, in the first singularity for healers, these two choices were all there was.
‘I heard the system determines the direction of my power based on my choices here.’
It was just like when he was granted traits.
The system would observe, and the player would prove their abilities and tendencies through action.
Su-ho turned his head and looked around.
This was the Monster Battlefield.
This was the name of the place.
Every healer going through their first singularity had to go through this battlefield.
In other words, that damned Saintess Isabella had also been here.
‘And Isabella... she died while treating patients with bandages until the very end.’
Did she prioritize the patients’ lives more than her own?
Absolutely not.
She was a planned player created in Russia.
In the great upheaval where powerful players became a country’s strength, there weren’t many choices left for a declining nation.
So, Russia and several other countries poured all their efforts into creating planned players, and Isabella was born as humanity’s greatest healer through that process.
That’s why there was no sincerity in her choices.
Only a ruthless performance to make it look like she truly cared.
‘Well, that was possible because she was from the KGB.’
To deceive the system, the outward appearance was the most important.
The system judged solely based on what was visible.
That’s why the majority of the players trained in Russia’s player cultivation project were former military personnel.
Few countries forced self-hypnosis on their military the way Russia did.
In that sense, Isabella was a KGB agent, and even though she was awakened as a player and thrust into the project, she demonstrated the greatest ability among the project members.
‘Individually, the Spetsnaz might have better combat power, but the KGB, with its espionage work, excelled at acting and self-hypnosis.’
That’s why she could hold bandages in the Monster Battlefield until the end.
Su-ho raised his head and looked around.
On one side, there were monsters trying to break through the barricade, and in front of them, people were fighting with weapons to push them back.
On another side, there were wounded people crying in pain, and others were wrapping bandages and using medicine to try to save them.
As time passed, the bodies would pile up, and the blood would turn into rivers.
But Su-ho didn’t hesitate.
From the moment he decided to become a healer, he had already planned for the singularity.
Su-ho picked up a sword lying nearby.
[ The system is observing your actions. ]
As Su-ho gripped the sword, the system message appeared.
The system was watching, meaning he needed to be careful with his actions.
But Su-ho’s decision had already been made.
“Please... please, save me...!!”
It was at that moment, as Su-ho picked up the sword, that a patient, who was closest to him, grabbed his pants leg and begged for help.
The patient had been severely injured, with most of his lower body torn apart by a monster.
The war zone was filled with blood and screams, and the kind of wounds this man had could never be healed with just ointment or bandages.
But the man’s will to live was more desperate than anyone else’s.
Su-ho knew that.
And that was why he raised the sword.
With the sword in hand, Su-ho swiftly cut down the man who had begged for help right in front of him.
Swoosh!
The sharp cutting sound of the sword.
At the same time, the man’s body, which had been screaming for his life, collapsed limply to the ground.