Chapter 22

SMH 22

Swordmaster Healer – Episode 22

TL: Boko

Editor: Ren

Chapter 8 – The Final Memory (1)

Through his hazy vision, Sung Joon could see three knights. Although they seemed like familiar faces, he couldn’t recall their names. The three knights pointed their bloody swords at Sung Joon.

One of the knights, with his face half covered with blood, spoke.

“Roukel… Thirteen knights…”

Even the voices were hazy in this unclear memory. While he couldn’t understand the current situation, he was certain of one thing. The emotion he was feeling right now was ‘rage.’

He opened his mouth automatically, but didn’t resist and went with the flow of his memories. Roukel, or Sung Joon, in his past life, said something. Another one of the knights pointing their sword at him spoke.

They argued continuously and in the end, they pierced Sung Joon’s heart and throat.

“AH!” Sung Joon screamed.

He awoke from his dream.

Sung Joon looked around and examined his surroundings. It wasn’t a tense battlefield, but his familiar apartment. He got some water out of his fridge and drank it.

‘What the hell happened?’

The dream had been blurry because his memories weren’t clear. Thus, he couldn’t know exactly what had happened in his past life.

‘I have to find my memories quickly.’

He couldn’t get rid of the uncomfortable feeling he had after awakening from his dream. Sung Joon thought he’d need to train and use Mana Absorption more often in order to clear up his memories.

“What time is it…?” he asked, and checked the time.

Fortunately, he had awoken at exactly seven o’clock in the morning. His nightmare had served as his alarm.

The now wide-awake Sung Joon quickly got ready to go out. He planned to visit the Hunter Bureau. When he finally finished getting ready, he took a taxi and arrived at the Hunter Bureau.

“I came to see Team Leader Kim Hyun Sung,” Sung Joon said.

“Ah, Hunter Kang Sung Joon? I’ll guide you to him.”

He had called Hyun Sung on the way to the Hunter Bureau. Since Hyun Sung knew about the visit in advance, Sung Joon didn’t need to wait and was led straight to the office.

“Ah, Mr. Kang Sung Joon…”

As soon as he arrived at the Investigation Team’s office, Hyun Sung rose from his seat. He must’ve been worried about something, as his face didn’t look too good.

“What did you come here for today?” he said.

“I’d like to get on with the next matching. Is there something wrong? You don’t look very good,” replied Sung Joon.

“Ah… In truth… Ha!” Hyun Sung suddenly sighed and shook his head. Then he calmly looked at Sung Joon.

“Han Ji Seok died yesterday,” Hyun Sung said.

“I thought I had properly treated him,” replied Sung Joon.

Sung Joon had stopped the bleeding and treated Ji Seok’s injuries. It would have taken a few days for him to regain consciousness but he had been at no risk of death.

“I have no excuses,” Hyun Sung bowed.

“Could you give me an explanation, please?” Sung Joon asked.

“Someone assassinated Han Ji Seok,” replied Hyun Sung.

“Did you just say he was assassinated?” he asked, astonished.

“Yes. We thought there might be a mastermind pulling the strings and it looks like we were right. Therefore, the Hunter’s Bureau Investigation Team has been fully mobilized to follow their tracks,” Hyun Sung said regretfully.

They thought they’d finally found a clue leading to the PK organization. Unfortunately, the suspect that was supposed to testify had been killed.

“For now, it looks like we’ll have to halt the capture of PKers since all our manpower is going into this,” Hyun Sung explained.

“Well, there’s no helping it.” Sung Joon nodded. Although it was disappointing, there was nothing they could do.

Sung Joon left the Hunter Bureau and went to the Dungeon Bureau building right next to it to apply for a solo run.

Fortunately, there was an available D-rank dungeon, so he was able to set up an appointment immediately.

“Are you Hunter Kang Sung Joon?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

Without delay, Sung Joon went to the dungeon. He arrived and was certified by the Dungeon Bureau worker on standby. After that, he went into the dungeon.

He started off the dungeon with four D-rank Orcs blocking his path. However, now they wouldn’t be able to block Sung Joon for even ten seconds.

‘I’m already at the Boss Room,’ he thought triumphantly.

He’d arrived at the entrance to the Boss Room in no time. On his way, he’d faced the nimblest of the D-rank monsters, the ‘Blood Wolf’. However, there was no way it would have been a match for Sung Joon.

He opened the Boss Room’s door without hesitation.

The Light Drone flew in front and brightened up the room, enabling him to see the monsters. There were ten Orc minions guarding the Boss, the Orc Rider.

The Orc Rider rode atop a Blood Wolf.

‘The Orc Rider’s kind of a pain…’ he thought, somewhat irritated.

Since Riders were extremely mobile, it’d become a pain if they weren’t killed in one hit.

‘I just need to kill it with a single strike,’ Sung Joon resolved.

Sung Joon raised his sword in a defensive position and slowly entered the Boss Room.

The group of Orcs charged at him. As he passed the ten Orcs, their heads rolled onto the floor.

The remaining Orc Rider was taken aback but he continued to charge at Sung Joon. He pointed his spear at Sung Joon and closed the distance.

‘Now!’

Sung Joon evaded the spear, gripped his sword, and cut the Blood Wolf’s leg.

The Blood Wolf cried out sharply and the Orc Rider was flung right off, falling flat on his face. After he killed the Blood Wolf, Sung Joon ran towards the Orc Rider and sliced its neck.

-Verifying assault, measurement complete. D-rank dungeon, clear.

When Sung Joon had finished absorbing their mana, the measuring tool reacted. He awakened some more of his sleeping memories and was flooded with new information.

This time, the memories contained information regarding dagger throwing techniques.

‘When I get out, I’ll have to buy a dagger at the Hunter Mart,’ he thought.

He had regained his ability to throw daggers, and if he used them properly, he’d easily be able to take his opponents by surprise.

Because he had just mastered a new technique, Sung Joon smiled, satisfied, and left the dungeon. The worker on standby ran towards him.

“You’ve set a new record with a time of one hour and forty minutes!” the worker announced.

“Is there some sort of special privilege this time, too?” replied Sung Joon.

“Of course! There should be a car coming to pick you up!” the Dungeon Bureau worker said.

Sung Joon nodded his head.

‘I think I could easily get through a C-rank dungeon now.’

This D-rank dungeon had felt way too easy. Now, he felt like he’d be able to solo a C-rank dungeon, something that had been out of his reach just a little while ago.

“The car has arrived,” the worker informed.

He rode on the car that the Dungeon Bureau had sent and received another ticket for possessory rights over a newly formed dungeon.

*  *  *

Jung Tae Min, the Chief Recruiter for the mid-upper rank guild, ‘Hound’, spent his leisurely afternoon sat on a chair in his office.

He didn’t have a lot of work that day, so he had a lot of free time.

He wore a suit and tie and looked like a normal office worker. Since the appearance of monsters and Hunters, guilds hadn’t been any different from corporations. And for the Guild Executive, Jung Tae Min, office worker was a fitting title for him.

Knock. Knock.

“It’s Choi Yong Deok,” his subordinate said.

“Come in,” replied Tae Min.

“Excuse me,” Yong Deok said, cautiously opening the door and coming in. He had short hair, wore glasses and looked quite tired.

“What’s the matter?” asked Tae Min.

“There’s a Hunter that broke the solo D-rank dungeon record twice,” replied Yong Deok.

“What did you say? Tell me in detail,” Tae Min demanded.

“B-rank Hunter, Kang Sung Joon – today, he broke the record of finishing the D-Rank dungeon in two hours and five minutes and finished in an hour and forty minutes. The record for two hours and five minutes is also Kang Sung Joon’s,” Yong Deok explained.

To ensure fairness, the Dungeon Bureau managed the records based on rank. Only the Hunters of the same rank competed against each other.

It was similar to martial arts competitions and their weight classifications.

“What did you say? Is that true?” Tae Min asked, looking at Yong Deok, shocked.

“It’s the truth.”

“It shouldn’t be easy to clear a dungeon solo within two hours… But wait a minute, did you just say Kang Sung Joon?” asked Tae Min.

“Yes, sir.”

“If we’re talking about Kang Sung Joon, isn’t he the guy who went through the dungeons for a week without rest, that ‘Unlimited Power’?” Tae Min continued.

Ever since Sung Joon got the nickname Unlimited Power from Hunter.com, several mid-rank and mid-upper rank guilds had started to keep their eyes on him.

The ‘Hound’ guild was the same.

“Yes, it looks that way,” said Yong Deok.

“Unlimited Power should be a Healer though… is it possible to clear a dungeon that quickly? Not just once, but twice?” Tae Min said.

“But it’s certified information from the Dungeon Bureau,” Yong Deok replied. Tae Min took a sip of his cold coffee to wet his lips and soothe his parched throat.

“Does he by chance have an appointment for his next solo run?”

“I believe he has an appointment for a C-rank dungeon solo run. Right now it’s four o’clock in the afternoon… He has an appointment for midnight,” answered Yong Deok.

“He doesn’t really rest and immediately goes into the next dungeon? Does he truly have Unlimited Power… He doesn’t get tired,” Jung Tae Min said.

Tae Min was continually surprised by Sung Joon. More dungeon runs meant more exhaustion. Thus, Hunters had to rest after dungeon runs. There were even Hunters who rested for a month.

Hunters usually rested a few days between D-rank dungeon runs but to go on the next dungeon run in only eight hours!?

It was difficult to believe.

“…Get everything ready…” Tae Min began.

“I’m sorry?” said Yong Deok.

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“Pack your bags! This might be our chance to become a high-rank guild!” Tae Min explained.

“We’re not going to entrance of the dungeon, are we? The one that Sung Joon is scheduled to attack? It’ll take at least six hours…” Yong Deok shook fearfully.

Tae Min smirked. “Let’s drink outside for the night today!”