I came for Healing, but a Gate Appeared

Chapter 22 : See, I Told You to Eat Some Mushrooms

See, I Told You to Eat Some Mushrooms

Kim Sanghyun was openly mocking Ahn Bin.

'Why on earth is he acting like this?'

Ian couldn't understand.

He hadn't built any particular rapport with him, but there had never been any conflict deep enough to hold a grudge either.

Yet he keeps picking a fight?

"Ah, um... Hunter, Ahn Bin is only trying to help you hunters. Please understand."

Just like before, Yoo Minsik stepped in again to stop Kim Sanghyun.

Then he came up to Ian's side and whispered to him as well.

"Please try to understand a bit. The hunt just ended so everyone's a bit on edge..."

Wasn't Yoo Minsik the manager in charge of hunters?

He seemed to be doing his best to prevent any bad atmosphere from forming between the hunters.

Though, at the same time, it seemed like he was subtly trying to take Kim Sanghyun's side as well.

"Why should I have to understand him? We're the ones who did all the hunting—why should we go easy on some peddler like him?"

Kim Sanghyun came out even more harshly.

"Come on, hunter. Please... It's not like Hunter Ahn Bin is even selling mushrooms for money. Comments like that are a bit..."

"Hero this, hero that. He was just tossing blankets again, as always. Is that ability of his only good for doing nothing without a blanket?"

Kim Sanghyun was still mocking. His attitude was extremely triumphant.

Of course, to Ian, he looked like a kid who had successfully picked fruit on his own for the first time in his life.

'Wait, was today his first hunt?'

That seemed to be the case.

'Aha, so he wants to be a hero? Are you jealous because I'm being treated like one? But honestly, I'm not a fan of the hero fuss either.'

It was true. Today was Kim Sanghyun's first hunt, and he was so proud of himself he couldn't stand it.

'I knew this would happen!'

It may have been his first real hunt, but the outcome was excellent.

He had caught four monsters by himself, very cleanly.

Kim Sanghyun had always been someone superior to others and quite arrogant, but honestly, even he hadn't considered himself particularly physically gifted.

But now it was different. Neither in ability nor physically could anyone catch up to him.

'Someone like me deserves to be praised as a hero, so what's with that pale yokel being treated like a hero?'

Those thoughts slipped out of his mouth.

"Ha! I guess anyone can be called a hero these days."

Looking around, Kim Sanghyun tried to get the other hunters to go along with him, but nobody seemed to respond like he'd expected.

They were just munching mushrooms in a daze, which only made him angrier.

"If you don't have any abilities, just sit quietly in a corner. Why are you jumping around like this?"

Ian looked Kim Sanghyun straight in the eyes.

'Wow, your mouth is getting nastier by the second?'

He hadn't planned on responding to a brat's provocations, but perhaps such a clueless child did need a bit of a lesson.

Letting such a person run wild without a care didn't seem right either.

Ian thought for a bit.

Still, he had no intention of dueling the hunter, nor of doing anything flashy to draw attention.

That would just be bothersome.

'I'll keep it simple and subtle, just enough for him to notice.'

Having sorted out his thoughts, Ian suddenly raised his hand and pointed in one direction.

"Oh! There's an ambulance coming."

At that moment, a breeze whipped up from Ian's fingertip. The air trembled ever so slightly.

The next instant, Kim Sanghyun collapsed straight to the ground.

Everyone else, listening to Ian's words, was busy looking to see if an ambulance was coming, so no one noticed what happened.

But Kim Sanghyun knew.

'Huh? Why... why is this happening?'

Suddenly, he could no longer move. It felt like something was binding his body from head to toe—he couldn't budge at all.

'Why... Why can't I even speak? What is this? What the hell is going on?'

There was nothing to see, but it was as if he were tied up tight in ropes: he couldn't move his hands or feet, not even wiggle his tongue.

All he could do was move his eyes and blink.

He was under immense pressure. Suffocating pressure. Constricting pressure.

And what pressed down on him was none other than the air itself.

Glancing around with his eyes, he saw that everyone else was focused on the ambulance and the injured.

They were helping move the wounded into the ambulance.

But only one person—Ahn Bin—remained by Kim Sanghyun's side.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Do you feel paralyzed?"

Kim Sanghyun couldn't answer.

"See, I told you to eat some mushrooms."

Even now, Kim Sanghyun couldn't answer.

"Over here, over here! Hunter Kim Sanghyun has collapsed as well!"

Ian waved his hand at the ambulance and shouted.

Yoo Minsik and a few others rushed over.

"What's going on?"

"Hunter! Hunter Kim Sanghyun! Why are you suddenly like this?"

"Maybe he's just totally drained. I told him not to overheat himself..."

Ian muttered.

"Let's move him to the ambulance quickly."

The medics brought a stretcher and loaded Kim Sanghyun onto it.

All up to that point, Kim Sanghyun still hadn't been able to say a single word, nor even twitch a finger.

But he could still think.

'That damned hunter! That yokel did this to me!'

But there was no proof. He didn't want to admit it, either.

'What did he even do? How could this happen? He has an ability like this? But I didn't even see him using it!'

His pride was painfully wounded.

Whatever the case, he was loaded onto the ambulance, and without being able to say a word, had no choice but to be taken to the hospital.

After the ambulances departed with the two injured from the hunt and one mysterious new casualty, Yoo Minsik let out a sigh and spoke up.

"Whew... Now it's really over. Hunters, thank you all for your hard work. Please leave cleaning up the scene to our management bureau and the military—you may withdraw."

At Yoo Minsik's words, the hunters began to leave one by one.

A few hunters approached Ian.

"That mushroom really works wonders."

"Right? After I ate it, I felt my energy come right back. It's great!"

"Can we get more next time? Or I'll even buy it, just tell me where."

They seemed quite eager, having experienced the effect of the mushroom firsthand.

"I'll share some again if we meet in the field. I'm also considering selling it, probably through government channels."

Ian said this, glancing at Yoo Minsik.

Just then, Jung Ahyeon suddenly stepped forward.

"Oh, that's my department. We'll need to check if the mushroom's related to pollution, but anyway, it's my responsibility, not Team Leader Yoo's."

"Is that so? Then I'll contact you next time."

When Ian said this, Jung Ahyeon quickly took out her business card and handed it to him.

"Today was really amazing. For the pollution to just vanish... I was wondering if the hunting blanket had that kind of function, but that probably wasn't it... The moment your group showed up, the pollution just disappeared."

Jung Ahyeon muttered as she glanced up at Ian.

'Hmm? She's got good intuition. Did she figure out Hao was behind it?'

Ian was a bit surprised but didn't show it. He made no response.

"Still, it's a good thing. There was no new pollution even during the hunt. Seriously, it was a strange day. The hunt went so smoothly thanks to that. We might not even need the pollution management department anymore, ha ha."

Jung Ahyeon kept muttering.

Ian still didn't answer.

Maybe his lack of reaction came off as a reaction to Jung Ahyeon.

Nodding, Jung Ahyeon said quietly, "Well then, I'll be in touch soon. Thank you, hunter Ahn Bin."

"Ah, yes. See you again."

Ian decided to remember Jung Ahyeon.

She wasn't just a government official—she was an awakened, and didn't seem to have just healing abilities. Just as Kim Sanghyun had both physical enhancement and electricity skills, Jung Ahyeon probably had additional powers as well.

After a polite bow, Jung Ahyeon walked away.

Now it was time for Ian to leave the scene.

When he approached Kang Taehun, Kang greeted him first.

"It was nice to see you today. Thanks to you, I managed to survive my first hunt. Let's have a meal together sometime. I was sad when you left the company without a word."

He was acting quite friendly. Was Ahn Bin close to this guy before? Ian didn't remember that. He didn't feel anything.

Still, Ian replied,

"Oh, then shall we meet for a bit now?"

"Now?"

"Yes. Could you wait at the cafe on the next block? I'll go talk to my teammates and come."

"Ah, okay! Sure, I'm not in a hurry."

Kang Taehun looked flustered but pleased that Ian suggested meeting right away.

It probably wasn't that they were close—more that the hero premium was still at work.

People like heroes.

Early as it was, Ian's reason for asking Kang Taehun to meet now was just an excuse—to separate himself from Jeongnam and Haeyeon and move alone.

He planned to use Kang as cover to go check out the Tower.

If he said he had something to discuss with an old colleague, they'd let him go.

After sending Kang Taehun to the cafe, Ian approached Jeongnam and Haeyeon, who had been watching his every move.

"Did you know that guy from before? You two were talking a lot,"

Haeyeon asked immediately about Kang Taehun.

Ian had been expecting that question.

"He was a colleague from my old job. We ran into each other here by chance."

"Ah, really? Then the company that made the hunting blanket was the place you used to work. No wonder..."

Jeongnam nodded, as if satisfied.

He'd always thought hunting with a nylon blanket was unusual, and now it made sense.

In fact, Ian had started hunting with blankets, and the company expanded on the idea to invent the hunting blanket after seeing him.

Jeongnam's guess was backward, but he didn't know that.

"Neither of you were hurt, right?"

Ian asked, looking them over.

"Not at all. I stayed somewhere safe the whole time, perfectly fine,"

Haeyeon replied energetically.

"I'm fine too. I didn't really do anything, anyway. Ah... In the end, the hunt is over like this,"

Jeongnam said wistfully.

He sounded disappointed he couldn't participate in the hunt.

Still, since he'd been there, he hadn't given up hope that maybe he'd awakened to an ability.

'Could I have awakened? I don't feel any different, but maybe it happens later.'

"That's good. Safety comes first,"

Ian replied lightly.

"I saw you hunting. The way you threw that blanket looked amazing. You really are cool,"

Jeongnam gave a thumbs-up.

Jeongnam seemed to have seen only what was obvious, but Haeyeon seemed to have seen more.

"Hero, you went around quietly helping other hunters, didn't you?"

"Well, I helped a little."

"I thought so! You used wind-like powers, right? And Hao seemed to be really helping out, too."

Haeyeon's intuition was uncanny. Do things look clearer through a camera lens or something?

"Hao? He just roamed around freely."

Ian dodged lightly.

"To me, it looked like Hao isn't afraid of monsters at all."

She was sharp.

"Hao's always been a brave one."

Again, Ian avoided a direct answer.

"Aww, such a cute kid, and so brave. What a good, wonderful, amazing Hao!"

Haeyeon suddenly bent down and started petting Hao enthusiastically.

That was as far as Haeyeon's sharpness went. Ian had expected more questions, but instead, she got caught up doting on Hao.

Woof woof.

Hao gave a little bark of satisfaction and wagged his tail.

'Those two really get along.'

On the drive to Seoul, it seemed Haeyeon had really taken a liking to Hao.

That was a good thing. Ian was intending to leave Hao in Haeyeon's care for a while now.

"Haeyeon, can you look after Hao for a few hours?"

Sensing his moment, Ian asked.