The More the Healer Gets Hit the Stronger He Become

34 – The Twenty-Ninth Trial (1)

Clad in a helmet with a pierced visor, sturdy plate armor, and leather boots, Kangwoo, equipped with an unidentified artisan armor set, cautiously traversed the quiet forest.

‘What’s going on?’

Silence. It was too quiet.

Since the beginning of the gate-type trial, there hadn’t been such a quiet enemy…

During the previous trial on the 23rd floor, precisely at the time when giant scorpions, like perverts hiding beneath the desert sands, prepared for a surprise attack.

The vivid horror of that moment when the desert sand erupted, and the giant scorpions rushed towards him, was still fresh in his memory.

‘…Damn.’

A shiver ran down his spine.

Intuition sounded the alarm.

There was something.

Otherwise, the forest couldn’t be this quiet.

Not a sound of the common grasshopper could be heard, and Kangwoo, realizing the absence of even that ordinary noise, scanned the area behind with a pallid complexion.

If there were no changes, he was thinking of leaving this place immediately.

Just as Kangwoo’s head turned backward like that—

Swoosh—

If he hadn’t been tense, he wouldn’t have heard it. Simultaneous with the detection of a very faint sound, Kangwoo, wielding his shield, quickly lowered his head.

Clang!

Behind the shield, a terrifying barrage of arrows collided, creating a frictional noise.

‘…!!’

His heart was pounding wildly.

If he had been even a little, just a little, late, wouldn’t that arrow have pierced through his body?

Staying as he was, with an arrow passing dangerously close to the position where his neck would have been, Kangwoo felt the chill in his spine.

No matter how much healing and potions he had,

It would be useless after instant death.

“What the hell are these guys…”

Seeing them handling bows, it was clear they were humanoid monsters.

As Kangwoo, who had hidden behind the shield like a frightened rabbit, stuck his face out swiftly as the shooting ceased, he rolled his eyes to confirm the identity of the intruders.

“…Well, that makes sense.”

It made sense.

No matter how close a call the surprise attack on his life was, if they were the ones who did it, he had to give them credit.

Krrr-

After a long time, but unforgettable. A voice both missed and dear.

To confirm the presence of the Iron Heaven Supporter, what appeared in Kangwoo’s eyes as he raised his head was.

Krr-! Krrr!!

Undoubtedly, something he would consider no different from the Iron Heaven Supporter.

The ‘Goblins’ who generously stripped Kangwoo in the trials of the 2nd and 7th floors.

Grurk! Grurk!!

It was a sight that called for mom and dad.

***

[Trial is concluding.]

[Contribution measurement for rewards will begin.]

The strength of the Goblins, who confidently called for their dads, was remarkable.

Goblins with proper swords, bows, and shields truly resembled avatars of revenge.

Who could think of them as the same race as the goblins in the lower levels?

Although breaking a pot with a single blow was inevitable, the goblins, organized in their own ranks, were quite…

Well, a bit? Threatening.

But this was a trial placed behind the giant scorpion that made Kangwoo’s life difficult. Naturally, the difficulty of the trial did not end here.

[Goblin Shaman]

[Hop Goblin]

The buff skills of the goblin shaman, who had the height of an adult male, enhancing the abilities of the goblins, were sufficient to make Kangwoo’s life challenging.

Sometimes, at incredible timings, the fireballs spewing from the staff would utterly disarray Kangwoo’s hands and feet.

On top of that, standing at a height of 3 meters, a muscular hobgoblin who seemed to surpass the goblin category was nothing short of a dragonic presence in battle.

“It’s pitiful to live without being able to call someone ‘dad.'”

Attacks pouring in from all directions, it was a trial that displayed the end of a fierce battle that one couldn’t take their eyes off for even a moment.

If Kangwoo hadn’t properly equipped himself with armor, it might have been quite a struggle.

“Tent. Tent. Tent.”

Repeatedly pressing the tent button in the shop, Kangwoo collapsed into the specially designed safe zone for lower-grade tents.

“Ah… bothersome-“

Collapsed and dryly muttered.

Locking the zipper at the entrance, Kangwoo surrendered himself to the pouring rain inside the tent.

On Kangwoo’s powerless and slackened body, the traces of the intense battle were vividly marked.

***

[Trial begins.]

[Trial ends.]

[Trial begins.]

[Trial ends.]

[Trial ends.]

.

.

.

[Challenging the Twenty-Ninth Trial.]

[Mission: Defeat the Boss Monster.]

[The trial begins.]

The backdrop is a cave after a long time. No anomalies are visible yet.

Nevertheless, Kangwoo did not move from the starting point.

“Oh, goodness…”

It was ominous.

This was an instinctive, no, an experiential feeling.

How were the 9th and 19th floors?

On the 9th floor, he barely escaped the trial of raising three abilities suddenly in the vast plain, performing a solo show and barely escaping.

On the 19th floor, thanks to the damn trial instructing him to arrive on an island with a sacred tree, avoiding marine monsters, he shared blood and flesh with marine monsters every mealtime, enduring hardships, and finally escaped using the tree on the island.

After struggling through trials that were neither nine nor ten, the last digit of all the trials he suffered to death ended with 9.

In such a situation.

Since I entered the 29th-floor trial on my own two feet, how can this not be ominous?

“Potions, how many potions did I bring?”

Kangwoo fumbled through the space inside the dimensional ring.

“3 high-grade healing potions and 3 intermediate ones.”

Ah… Is this enough?

Currently, Kangwoo’s available points are 45,819.

Contrary to expectations, as he played solo, Kangwoo has not yet crossed the threshold of the VIP store, which he thought he would quickly surpass 50,000 points.

However, there was an unavoidable reason for this.

[Advanced Healing Potion 3,500 points]

Amidst increasingly challenging trials, trusting only in healing and bluffing seemed too precious when life was at stake.

So, having cleared the 28th floor and possessing 49,319 points, Kangwoo found himself lamenting the absurd reality of being merely 681 points short of the target amount of 50,000 points. In this helpless state, he had ventured into the trial with just one advanced healing potion.

Since entering the 20th floor, even though he was tempted to purchase another advanced healing potion given the situation of accumulating at least 10,000 points, he had only bought one, preparing for any unforeseen circumstances…

*Sigh*

Once the trial of the 29th floor began, Kangwoo couldn’t be more uneasy.

It was precisely during Kangwoo’s deep sigh that he noticed.

“Huh?”

Kangwoo, who had been vigilant around, narrowed his eyes.

“Wasn’t that over there a moment ago?”

According to expectations, the cave should have been so dark that one could hardly see a step ahead.

However, the cave, which served as the backdrop for the 29th-floor trial, was not like that at all, thanks to the luminous ore embedded in the cave’s ceiling at regular intervals.

Noticing the conspicuous brightness, Kangwoo, who had observed carefully, was startled.

“Is it moving?”

Although it was a subtle movement that might be hard to notice without careful examination, it was definite.

Certainly, the position of the ore had changed.

Stepping back, Kangwoo tilted his head back and quickly scanned the cave ceiling.

It was when Kangwoo’s gaze reached the ceiling of the cave where he stood.

It wriggled.

The street is merely three meters wide.

The mineral, or rather, the monster disguised as a mineral, squirmed silently, abruptly freezing in its tracks as it caught Kangwoo’s gaze.

….

“….”

An instant of stillness descended.

Twinkling.

It was not a monster as one might imagine but a mineral emitting light, Kangwoo realized, expressing harmlessness throughout its entire being.

Drawing his bow, Kangwoo aimed at the monster conveying its harmlessness.

“I’ve seen it, little one.”

Thunk!

Without a moment’s hesitation, the arrow soared and hit the monster dead center.

As Kangwoo confirmed the arrow penetrating the monster’s core, he shifted his gaze to another approaching monster.

Squirming.

“What the, what is it!”

Startled by the unexpected movement of the monster he thought wouldn’t dodge in time, Kangwoo stepped back.

What the heck is this creature? Did I see it wrong?

Rubbing his eyes, Kangwoo, who had dropped his bow due to the subsequent spectacle, froze.

From Noble mtl dot com

Thud-

Whether the arrow hit or missed, it wasn’t his concern.

The nonchalant monster advanced, effortlessly reconnecting its split body caused by Kangwoo’s previous shot.

“Crazy….”

Physical attacks were completely ineffective.

Was I told to capture such a monster right now in the midst of this damn trial?

Even in the midst of confusion, the monster continued its advance.

Swoosh- Swoosh-

Unlike when my body froze like a rock while imitating the ore, the monster moving along the cave wall displayed a jelly-like flexibility. Resembling a slime…

“… Slime??”

From the emerald-colored jelly body to the flesh where physical attacks had no effect. Truly reminiscent of slimes and game paddles.

“This insane tower…. No, bring out the administrator!”

If this trial, modeled after the gates of modern times, is going to throw monsters at me, at least send ones that come out of gates. What’s the point of creating a monster like a slime, which isn’t even present in the modern world and is something you’d only see in games!

“Th-There’s no acid, right…?”

As Kangwoo took a step back, muttering to himself, a slight viscous substance adhered to the arrow feathers that had hit the slime on the cave ceiling.

Squiiish.

The arrow feathers made of bird feathers melted away without a trace, just as the slime goo touched them.

“You son of a…”

Picking up the fallen bow and placing it in the spatial ring, Kangwoo firmly attached the basic kite shield, fearing that the slime goo attack might come.

Seeing the arrow feathers melt away in an instant, it seemed obvious that if his skin came into contact with that slime goo, it would melt like ice cream without a doubt.

Swoosh- Swoosh-

Evading the approaching slime, Kangwoo hurriedly rolled his thoughts.

First of all, as you saw earlier, physical attacks don’t work on those guys.

This means that short swords, guns, morning stars, in front of them, are nothing more than useless chunks of scrap metal.

So, what should be done?

There was only one solution without much thought.

[Catastrophic Ring of Fernice]

Physical attacks don’t work. This means that magical attacks will work very well.

Otherwise, those monsters wouldn’t just be the 29th-floor trial monsters.

But there was a problem with this as well.

Swoosh, swoosh.

First, one’s magical power is not infinite.

Considering the explosive skill that devours magical power, even if one doesn’t use healing and preserves magical power completely, the number of times the skill can be used is only three.

And even the last time was uncertain if it would work or not.

Second, this place is a cave.

In other words, with the nature of the explosive skill boasting tremendous destructive power.

If one recklessly uses the skill, there was a 1,000,000% chance that the cave would collapse, killing both them and the monsters.

Tsk.

The steps of Kangwoo, who was retreating, were blocked by a dead-end wall.

Escape was no longer possible. This damn cave didn’t even have space for challengers to turn around and run away.

Swoosh, swoosh.

Now, the only remaining path was slimes lurking on the ceiling at regular intervals, waiting for a surprise attack.

Before him was the only passage.

“Je-gi-ral.”

The distance from the slimes had now reduced to a mere 2 meters.

It was now the time to make a crucial decision.

Kangwoo lowered his gaze and stared straight ahead.

The straight corridor, without any crossroads, was so long that its end was not even visible.

Swoosh, swoosh—

“aaah! Seriously!!”

He could only use the explosion skill three times.

Even that was impossible in this narrow passage due to its power.

Ki-ooooo!!

The slimes, which had gradually narrowed the distance, jumped towards Kangwoo.

Lifting the basic kite shield above his head, Kangwoo forcefully struck the ground.

“Euaaah-!!”

Now cornered in a dead-end.

The only choice he had was to jump into that fire pit.