Solo Leveling: I’m the strongest Healer

Keyaru's POV

"I'm not against this job, but I'll need to discuss it with the others," explained the man, visibly troubled for the first time.

I frowned at his words.

"Is there a problem with my request?" I asked sharply. I don't have time to waste with a hesitant contact.

Every minute lost equals lost power for me. I can always find another hunter willing to accept a bribe to integrate a 'shady' colleague who wants to recover monster corpses.

"To tell you the truth, I'm not authorized to make an immediate decision. But the leader of my hunting group is," he admitted hesitantly.

My eyebrows furrowed further at this revelation.

"So, you're just a messenger with no real power?"

He simply nodded before bringing to his lips a glass of alcohol served by a woman sitting beside him.

"Our group leader really wants to establish a solid connection with your friend, Mr. K. That's why she insisted on meeting you first, despite your... questionable strength."

His words irritated my ears, but before I could respond, he suddenly nodded in a direction behind me.

Troubled by his strange gesture, I immediately felt unusual activity in the mana around me. Within seconds, an enormous pressure fell on my shoulders from behind.

"Sorry for this inconvenience, but I wanted to form my own opinion about Mr. K's 'recommendation' without immediately revealing my identity."

A casual but pride-filled voice resonated close to my ears.

I turned my head slightly, discovering a young woman, slightly older than Hyomin, who sat down beside me without even asking permission.

(Image)

"How long have you been here?" I asked calmly, while bringing my glass to my lips to mask my frustration.

I wasn't really expecting an honest answer, but the situation irritated me slightly. It gave me the impression of being trapped in an illusion or game.

"For quite a while... actually, I'm Lee Sung... the real one."

She stated this with a smile, broad but surprisingly captivating.

During this brief exchange, I was able to gather enough data to confirm some crucial points about this woman and the situation.

First, she's what's called a 'False Ranker'.

It's the only plausible explanation for the mana disorder she emitted when she revealed herself to me.

That would also explain the threat emanating from her presence, as I've already observed standard stats for rank E and rank D.

In comparison, during her "revelation," she emitted an aura much more intimidating than anything I had observed so far.

I therefore estimate that she's a rank C pretending to be a strong rank D.

Second, my 'courier' was either seriously mistaken or just did his job poorly.

He's been wrong about the 'leader' from the start.

Fortunately, I didn't come as Mr. K.

The last crucial point is this girl's status.

Name: Lee sung

Race: Human Class: Thief

Level: 16 Status: MP: 27/27 Physical Attack: 31 Physical Defense: 31 Magical Attack: 16 Magic Resistance: 22 Speed: 28

Skills:

* Dagger mastery level 2

* Martial Arts Level 2

Abilities:

* Dagger handling correction Lv3: Thief skill, attacks using a dagger receive a positive correction.

Level cap: 16 Talent values: MP: 40 Physical Attack: 90 Physical Defense: 90 Magical Attack: 40 Magic Resistance: 60 Speed: 80 Total value: 400

Unlike normal humans, hunters possess mana.

This characteristic alone gives them superior talent compared to ordinary humans.

Of course, this woman has remarkable talent, even compared to the norm in Keyaru's original universe.

If I optimize her talent values through my healing magic, she could theoretically be as strong as Sung Jinwoo after his exit from his first solo dungeon with the system.

That said, I don't know how my statistics compare to Sung Jinwoo's system.

I remember however that he had managed to take down a rank E dungeon boss with a broken sword, while a rank D hunter could barely contain this monster.

He was able to do this with approximately level 18 and strength statistics four times higher than those of a rank E.

If we assume that my statistics are equivalent to those of his system, Sung used the "strength" of at least a rank C, if not more, to defeat this boss.

"Has anyone ever told you that you space out often during conversations?" she said, leaning towards me.

Although I'm currently wearing my mask, our faces have become dangerously close.

"Sorry, I was a bit distracted," I said, delivering a half-truth before bringing my attention back to the current situation.

"I see, I do bear some responsibility for this situation," she replied, returning to her initial position.

"I'll repeat myself, since you probably didn't listen to me."

"I agree to help Mr. K with the monster corpses and even protect you during your acclimatization as a 'hunter'. But..." She fixed me with her gaze, her piercing eyes replacing any trace of laziness I had detected in her until then.

"But, I want to see Mr. K."

"No."

I immediately responded negatively.

Unlike my pseudonym Li Shengshun, a Chinese immigrant in South Korea, my identity as Keyaru and that of Mr. K are far too important to take such a risk with a second-rate band of hunters.

Even if this woman is competent, I refuse to establish a direct relationship between my role as Mr. K and clients or partners.

This is also one of the reasons for my low productivity in potion creation.

I don't trust people from the underworld, and I've never hidden this from my collaborators.

"Whoa, so cold," she said, exaggerating a shiver.

"Do you really think a hunter of my strength would agree to enter rank E dungeons with weaklings like you?"

The atmosphere suddenly turned icy.

This idiot is using her mana in a 'neutral' place, when it's forbidden in the criminal world.

"I know Mr. K supports you, but knowing people like him, he surely cares about business operations, and you're just an intermediary."

The message was clear: either you facilitate contact with Mr. K himself, or you'll have trouble.

I sighed, without trying to hide my annoyance, before standing up, an act that surprised both of them.

"I'm wasting my time. Forget this offer," I said before turning on my heels to leave.

I have no interest in debating with them, I'll simply declare myself as a new awakened wanting to become a hunter.

It might be difficult to find a team willing to accept a rank E, especially since there are various hidden dangers, but I have no choice.

I plan to create a new identity once I've increased my level enough, as I don't want to expose my true identity before reaching rank S.

As I was thinking about which path to take, I felt an arm grab my shoulder. It was the fake Lee Sung who was firmly holding me back.

"Wait a minute. Forget the boss's condition, but we just need a favor from Mr. K."

"I'm listening." I turned my ear towards him, curious about his words.

...

I already knew that this hunting team's 'leader' liked money and accepted shady transactions, but I didn't know the 'why'.

My curiosity had been piqued, because I knew that staying with a money-hungry leader, devoid of moral code, would be problematic, even dangerous.

So, I had decided to investigate the team leader before our meeting today, but my research hadn't yielded anything interesting.

Even my couriers had failed to identify the real leader, since all their info was false.

An unprecedented situation for me and, I must admit, slightly embarrassing.

I'm still a small player in the information war...

But most importantly, I finally obtained the necessary answers before using this team to increase my level.

"I never thought I'd come across a case like this."

Eternal Slumber

It's a disease that appeared at the same time as the Gates and monsters in the Solo Leveling universe.

It's caused by the victim's body's intolerance to mana emitted by monsters, hunters, and Gates.

There's no cure or treatment on Earth, but Jinwoo had been able to find a solution thanks to his system.

This disease has the peculiarity of plunging its victims into a deep sleep.

But if the victims only slept, it wouldn't be fun for the author. So, the effect goes beyond mere eternal sleep.

Victims slowly begin to lose their life force during their sleep, which forces their loved ones to keep them alive through expensive artificial means.

The devices used to maintain their vitality consume an astronomical amount of mana crystals, to the despair of their relatives.

The rank C hunter named Lee Sung finds herself precisely in this situation.

Her little sister is affected by this disease, and Lee Sung refuses to accept this fatality, just like the protagonist of this universe facing his mother's situation.