Saving My Favorite in a Doomed World

How did people turn maladapted?

 

In <Your Hero is Here>, this topic was explained. It wasn’t very important, so it was only described in a few lines.

 

“There are three types of mana-maladapted people. Those who lack adaptability to the gate’s mana from the start, those whose adaptability is too high, and those whose innate abilities repel the gate. Sometimes these reasons mix together, and in such cases, the maladapted level can be dozens of times higher than normal people, making the medicine ineffective.”

 

Of course, even knowing this content from reading the book, Ha Yoojin’s illness was difficult to cure.

 

Doctors in the novel could only determine whether a patient was maladapted, not the specific cause for each maladapted individual.

 

“Let’s see~ our friend Ha Yoojin.”

 

Hwashin looked down at Yoojin, who had finally calmed down after crying for a long time. With swollen lips and puffy eyes, her face had become quite unsightly.

 

“You can hold onto Pii if you like. As you heard earlier, I’m going to make you better. Then you can stay with your friends and the hospital won’t collapse. Sounds good, right?”

 

Yoojin asked in a high-pitched voice.

 

“…Really?”

 

Hwashin smiled.

 

“No, I am lying. I don’t know if the hospital will collapse or not. But you can stay with your friends. Isn’t that enough?”

 

After saying that, Hwashin did some peculiar actions like lifting and lowering Yoo Jian’s arms and legs a few times.

 

‘…Can he really cure her?’

 

Ha Cheongwon stood weakly beside them, watching the man. Truthfully, Hwashin wasn’t someone he trusted enough to leave his sister with.

 

At least, Hwashin wasn’t a trustworthy person.

 

But Cheongwon still entrusted his sister to him because Hwashin had delivered results as promised.

 

Hwashin had awakened Cheongwon to S-rank and had restored collapsed buildings in real-time right before his eyes.

 

Yes, having witnessed such miracles firsthand, Cheongwon decided to entrust his sister to Hwashin. If that could be considered trust, then let’s call it that.

 

After asking Yoojin a few questions, Hwashin gently held her wrist and pressed the bone area with his thumb.

 

‘I knew it.’

 

The flow was blocked throughout the entire part where there should be a flow.

 

What Hwashin read was not mana, but the flow of Yoojin’s fate. Her flow itself was blocked.

 

That was why she acted younger than her actual age and her physical growth stopped to a certain point.

 

The reason for the blockage was simple. Her high adaptability couldn’t keep up with her body at the time, so a defense mechanism was formed in response.

 

This defense mechanism hadn’t been released in time, resulting in her current state of hospitalization.

 

Hwashin had a rough idea of Yoojin’s abilities. That was why he needed to save her.

 

An S-rank with ‘that’ ability would definitely be useful to their Unit 1 in the future.

 

“「Slowly. So that Ha Yoojin can adapt.」”

 

Like a stream flowing through a creek, let it open up, okay?

 

Closing his eyes, he slowly reached out to the blocked fate. One turn, two turns. And finally. As Hwasin’s fingers exerted force, Ha Yoojin whimpered and frowned.

 

“Ah, it hurts.”

 

“Bear with it. It’s less painful than an injection, right?”

 

“Pii, pii.”

 

“Yeah, Piii says to bear with it too.”

 

“Pii!”

 

“Oh, no? Still, you have to bear it. That’s how you’ll feel better.”

 

“Uu….”

 

Pulling the thread visible at the end of the flowing water, and done.

 

With the final word ‘done’, Hwashin smiled and released his hand.

 

Swoosh. As soon as he let go, a strange sensation spread.

 

“Wow..!”

 

Ha Yoojin opened her eyes wide and blinked.

 

A cool feeling rose from the inside. It felt like cold ice cream sliding all over her body! Like a tightly packed cotton ball had completely come out.

 

Pii enthusiastically licked her as she smiled brightly.

 

“I-Is she alright?”

 

Ha Cheongwon urgently asked, grabbing Hwashin’s shoulder as Hwashin got up from his seat. Hwashin answered with a satisfied smile.

 

“Look at the kid’s expression. She’s fine. Hmm, take her away after about 30 minutes. If you take her to a place with mana too suddenly, it might be a bit hard for her. Now. Pii, come this way now.”

 

“Wait a minute!”

 

With Pii around his neck, Hwashin turned to leave, but Cheongwon grabbed his wrist.

 

What, have something to say

? Hwashin raised an eyebrow. Cheongwon hesitated before finally speaking.

 

“Uh, where are you going?”

 

“Why do you ask?”

 

“I was wondering if you came here just to heal Yoojin.”

 

“Well, yes. I heard about your story, and it didn’t feel right to stay still.”

 

“…”

 

“If your sister remains here, it’ll be a nuisance and a hindrance to our team’s work. Why? Are you too grateful to speak because I took the time to come? Well, that makes sense.”

 

Ha Cheongwon swallowed his urge to argue back at Hwashin’s surprisingly self-congratulatory response.

 

‘…If only he’d shut his mouth.’

 

“I’ll give you a chance to thank me now. …Wow, look at that fierce expression. Never mind. I didn’t do it for praise. Just take care of the kid, got it? I’m leaving.”

 

As Hwashin left, Ha Cheongwon shook his head vigorously a few times and turned his attention to his sister. In any case, his sister’s safety was the top priority now.

 

Yoojin, feeling good about her lightened body, was bouncing around the hospital room.

 

“Oppa! It’s amazing! My body feels sooo light!”

 

“Really? …That’s a relief.”

 

Ha Cheongwon smiled brightly, brushing back Yoojin’s disheveled hair as she hugged him tightly.

 

***

 

“Will a gate really appear here?”

 

The sunlight was dazzling. Even though it was winter, the sun was blindingly bright. Yoo Jian shielded her eyes with her hand and looked up at the building.

 

No matter how she thought about it, it was too peaceful. Could an S-rank gate really appear in a place like this?

 

“Mr. Ha Cheongwon said he saw the future.”

 

Jeong Mueum also stepped forward.

 

“How impressive~”

 

Yoo Hwashin, standing beside them, chimed in. Cha Jaeha, standing in front of the three, went through the manual in his head as he entered through the hospital’s revolving door first.

 

The hospital, now devoid of people, was eerily silent. This time, no additional support had been requested apart from Unit 1. Although other hero teams were on standby, they weren’t near the building.

 

This was because Ha Cheongwon had insisted strongly.

 

– This gate is completely different from previous ones. You could say it resembles the mermaid monster you fought recently.

 

On the morning of Unit 1’s deployment, Ha Cheongwon gave a briefing on the situation he had seen in his dream. There were three main points of his briefing.

 

– It’s an S-rank gate that starts from the top floor, the 6th floor, but can simultaneously affect all floors

 

– A total of 4 monsters will appear, and each monster’s abilities are different.

 

– Judging from the condition of the bodies he saw, one of the monsters has an ability related to the head.

 

He didn’t describe the state of the bodies in detail, saying that imagining it would make him vomit.

 

“If there are four monsters, does that mean each of us has to take one?”

 

Yoo Jian said, drawing the axe strapped to her back. It was an axe specially made following Hwashin’s advice, making her look even more like a hunter.

 

“That would be the most efficient. We can station one person on each floor starting from the top. Recently, there have been more and more cases where multiple monsters appear in a single gate.”

 

There might be a reason for it. Mueum calmly started sharing his thoughts.

 

“I think the strongest monster is closest to the gate, so… Mr. Cha Jaeha should take the top floor.”

 

“Wow, you still call him Mr. Cha Jaeha? Such a teenage behavior…”

 

“Save the nagging for later, noona.”

 

“Yes, yes~ Just don’t start calling him Jaeha hyung~ and following him around later.”

 

Giggling, Yoo Jian moved towards the elevator. Cha Jaeha also agreed with Mueum’s words without any particular objection and headed in the direction she went.

 

“What about me?”

 

When Hwashin pointed at his own face with a smile, Mueum hesitated for a moment before letting out a sigh.

 

“You… Right below Mr. Cha Jaeha’s floor, I guess.”

 

Where else he should be? After all, Hwashin was probably the second strongest after Jaeha.

 

From recent training, Mueum realized that Hwashin was definitely stronger than him.

 

Even though they were both S-rank, not all S-ranks were the same.

 

For instance, Ha Chungwon, an S-rank support type, was excluded from the frontlines. Different abilities were needed in the field. In that sense, Hwashin was a monster.

 

‘He said his ability was manipulating mana, but it doesn’t seem to be just that.’

 

He clearly had a broader range of abilities. During training, he could read the flow and dodge every move with minimal effort. Sometimes, he showed explosive strength impossible for someone with his build. Even though he lacked support skills.

 

Of course, there were also some concerns. He coughed up blood when using his ability. It certainly wasn’t a side effect that could be overlooked. At the very least, he needed some support nearby—

 

“Alright, let’s move if we’re all set.”

 

Ding. As the elevator doors opened, Hwashin pushed Mueum, who was standing still, into the elevator. In the end, Mueum stopped his train of thought and got into the elevator with them.

 

***

 

“One, two, one, two.”

 

Hwashin diligently performed basic exercises, bending and straightening his knees. This inefficient body creaked and cracked, loudly announcing its frailty.

 

Rotating his neck, Hwashin reviewed the events that were about to unfold.

 

The gate that appeared at the hospital opened up various paths in the novel.

 

First, it confirmed that monsters from S-rank gates could use supernatural abilities. Along with the mermaid monster, such cases began to occurr frequently, so the role of SH2 Unit would likely expand. In the original story, Ha Cheongwon’s sister died, Ha Cheongwon awakened, and later joined SH2 Unit.

 

‘Since he awakened early this time, he’ll probably join Unit 2 even if his sister doesn’t die.’

 

Second, Cha Jaeha’s new awakening. After this incident, Cha Jaeha would be able to use fire without hesitation. There were complex reasons for this. The hospital patients couldn’t evacuate quickly enough to avoid the fire, making it an inevitable choice.

 

Another reason was the monster’s ability.

 

Because it was quite a deadly ability, he considered switching positions with Cha Jaeha, but then thought it might be a necessary part of his journey.

 

Still, Hwashin still had a lot of worries.

 

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Hwashin rested his chin on his hand and pondered deeply.

 

The first debate conference was held in Yoo Hwashin’s heart on the topic: ‘Is it okay to just watch my favorite character suffer like this, or should I help?’

 

Two voices in his mind began a heated debate.

 

– Do you want to see Cha Jaeha suffer? There’s nothing worse than seeing someone relive such horrible memories! Even if you help him, the story will still follow its course.

 

– Don’t be ridiculous. A true protagonist should endure some hardships. Sharing in their joys and sorrows is what makes you a real fan, isn’t it?

 

– A true fan should wish for the protagonist’s happiness, not make them suffer.

 

– Without these hardships, the protagonist doesn’t grow. What’s the point of a protagonist who doesn’t have potential for growth? That’s just an extra. Even extras evolve, you fool.

 

Caught in the heated debate, Hwashin frowned.

 

“Ugh… this is torture.”

 

As Hwashin groaned with his fingers on his temples, he felt a massive vibration nearby. It was so tremendous that his light body floated up and then fell back onto the hard floor with a thud.

 

Ouch, my tailbone.

 

What’s this all of a sudden…

Oh, a massive monster was right next to him. Well, at least it didn’t break through the ceiling, so it’s mini-sized vertically. It was just too wide.

 

Well, there was a description that the 5th-floor monster wasn’t easy either. Oh, it had four horns on its forehead. Its belly was so inflated that it would be hard to breathe if he got crushed under it.

 

Originally, Yoo Jian handled the fifth-floor monster, but its body was so tough that she still struggled even with her superhuman strength.

 

At that time, Jian didn’t use an axe, but this time she brought one, so she should be able to handle the monster on the lower floors just fine.

 

“Grrr…”

 

A clear breath puffed out white from the monster’s long fangs; the fangs were so long they poked its nostrils.

 

If a monster appeared on the 5th floor.

 

“Then one must have appeared near Cha Jaeha too!?”

 

Ah, then was it too late to worry? Should he just hurry over?

 

“Grrrr.”

 

The monster, thoroughly ignored, charged at him in anger.

 

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

 

Despite its huge body, it was incredibly fast.  The monster, leaving deep dents in the floor as it rapidly approached, stretched out its arms. Clear lines showing muscle definition were visible on its muscular arms. A formidable, monstrous strength approached to crush Yoo Hwashin.

 

“Ugh, so noisy.”

 

Hwashin stretched out one hand and clenched his fist.

 

「Explode.」

 

Splat–!

 

The charging monster was shredded into pieces, falling to the floor. The sound of meat chunks splattering filled the fifth floor.

 

At the same time, blood gushed from Hwashin’s mouth. He spat out a black blood clot onto the floor, then nonchalantly wiped his mouth and got up.

 

Dusting off his knees, he continued speaking.

 

“Didn’t you learn not to run in the hospital when you were little? …Ah! I guess I didn’t either!”

 

This is all the muscle memory Yoo Hwashin’s body holds, isn’t it?

 

“Ah.”

 

There were no monsters left to respond to his bright smile.

 

Stepping on the faintly twitching monster’s heart with a firm stomp, Hwashin hummed a tune and headed to the sixth floor, where Cha Jaeha was.