The More the Healer Gets Hit the Stronger He Become

3 – [Strength has increased by 0.1.]

Kyaaah!!

The crazy dogs that approached right before his nose snapped Kangwoo out of his daze.

Thwack!

One of them collapsed as Kangwoo instinctively swung the staff.

The impact didn’t feel satisfying, as if it had missed.

Setting aside his disappointment, he continued to swing the staff, and another one from the corner rushed at him.

“Argh!!”

From Noble mtl dot com

Kangwoo, unexpectedly attacked, let out a groan.

Of all things, his right arm took the hit.

The staff, swung around by a dog with teeth embedded in its forearm, wavered.

Kyaah-!!

Without wasting a moment to detach the creature, Kangwoo shifted his gaze.

The remaining two beasts were charging towards him, sensing an opportunity.

“These things-!”

Continuing like this would result in being torn apart into shreds.

Kangwoo quickly assessed the situation.

Facing both creatures simultaneously in this condition was impossible.

In that case…

The staff soared through the air, slicing towards the dog charging from the left.

Throwing with his left hand was nerve-wracking, but the dog, coming at full speed, hastily changed direction upon encountering a fellow creature struck dead by the staff.

At least one was fended off. Kangwoo turned his head without a moment of joy.

The remaining one was pounding the ground, soaring towards him.

Kyaahhhhh-!!

In that fleeting moment, dozens of thoughts raced through his mind.

Dodging was already too late. Then, what should he do?

‘I have to block it.’

Kang Woo extended his right arm towards the approaching dog, its sharp fangs gleaming.

The first one to arrive was the thin and dangling one.

Snap!!

The fortune teller, bitten on the buttocks by a rolling stone, screamed in pain and fell out.

“Ouch!”

As the embedded fangs were pulled out, blood flowed endlessly.

The pain engulfed him like a tidal wave, his teeth gritted in agony.

With a snap and superhuman strength, Kang Woo rushed forward.

There, he found the dog that had escaped from the staff.

“Dieee!!”

To dispel his fear, Kang Woo shouted, causing the dog’s jaws to grotesquely open wide.

Kang Woo, who had been running as if he could kill instantly, flinched.

The tightly packed teeth were terrifying to approach with bare hands.

Kang Woo scanned his surroundings, his eyes gleaming. The guy nearby, his head hanging limp, was not fully conscious, as if he had been hit by rain.

Quickly approaching, Kang Woo grabbed the guy’s leather coat and threw it with all his might.

“Take thiiiiis!!”

Splat!!

Snap, snap!!

The monster, whose mouth was wide open to the limit, shrieked as it flew and got impaled on its companion’s fangs.

“Oops. Cough, cough.”

The breath reached the tip of the chin.

A staff member, who had rolled on the ground after passing by a disaster where two dogs were entangled, picked up the dog.

When he turned his gaze, he saw a puppy devouring the guy who had torn off his right arm.

“Insane.”

Disgusting scene made me want to vomit.

Crunch.

The guy who felt his gaze showed his teeth. Seeing blood dripping, fear surged.

“If…”

If he stopped here, he would only become dog food. Kangwoo gave strength to the hand holding the staff.

“You damn mutt-!!”

Kangwoo, running like a madman, swung the staff with all his might.

Just as he was about to hit directly.

The approaching dog slowed down right in front of his nose.

Boom!

The fate of human and monster intertwined.

Kangwoo’s face, which had swung in vain, turned pale.

Kyaaa-!

The dog, with its mouth ripped open as if mocking him, kicked the ground.

“Ahhhhh-!!”

It bit the spot it had already bitten.

The tooth embedded in the right forearm creates a chilling sensation, scraping against the bone.

‘No, this can’t be…!’

A warning bell rang in his head.

It needed to be stopped immediately. If not, the bone might be finely shattered into dog-tooth shapes, and he might end up greeting others with it.

“Sacred touch!”

He wasn’t sure what possessed him. The only thing that came to mind was an ability to prevent his arm from being severed.

But what on earth was happening?

[Strength has increased by 0.1.]

“… Huh?”

Kyaaang?

Kangwoo’s body stiffened. Even the damn dog sensed something was off, twitching and relaxing its jaw.

Although he couldn’t fathom why the system had been acting strangely, it was an opportunity.

Kangwoo firmly seized the dog’s ear.

Crack!!

“aaargh!!”

The forcibly pulled tooth came out, and a chunk of flesh detached. The dog, now sprawled on the ground, convulsed thinly.

Without wasting a moment, Kangwoo raised the staff he had been holding high.

“Dieee!!”

Pwaaack!!

The staff decoration pierced through the monster’s head. With a chilling sensation, something felt broken as blood oozed from the cracked gap.

“Gasp. Gasp…”

Kang Woo held his breath as he witnessed the dog collapsing.

He glanced around, unsure of what to expect, but there were no living dogs to be found amidst the blood-soaked surroundings.

“Ugh-!”

As his tension faded, the pain he had been avoiding surged in.

Kang Woo remained seated in place, his right arm, bitten twice by the insane dogs, throbbing as if it would tear apart.

Casting a fleeting glance downward, he saw white bones amidst the blood-soaked mess.

“Ugh.”

Seeing his condition up close only made it more painful.

Kang Woo clenched the staff tightly with his trembling hand.

The only thing he could trust now was his measly ability, like a peek.

“A sacred touch…!”

Perhaps due to his desperation, a brighter light enveloped the staff.

“Please… please…!”

The warm light wrapped around his right arm before vanishing.

Even though the staff’s enchantment increased his magic power by 1 and healing by 2, there was no dramatic effect.

However, Kang Woo felt a small sense of relief as the previously visible bones faded away.

“Your strength has increased by 0.1.”

“…?”

Kang Woo, who was about to cast a heal again, paused.

A strange alert sound that occasionally echoed during battles.

It came again.

“What is it?”

Even in the midst of pain, he couldn’t believe it.

“What did I do to increase my strength…?”

Until now, all he had done was run away from crazy bastards, get bitten, hit them a few times, and get bitten again.

Even now, the wounds from being bitten are so painful that it makes him want to curse, so why does his strength keep increasing?

“Is it a glitch?”

As if to disturb him at an important moment, the annoying alarm sound kept coming.

In anger, Kang Woo squeezed his painful right arm like a stab and groaned.

Regardless of the system or whatever, treating the wounds was the priority.

Kang Woo used the “Sacred Touch” once again.

[Strength has increased by 0.1.]

“…?”

Kang Woo, who was silent, immediately opened the status window.

[Name: Choi Kang Woo

Strength: 6.4

Stamina: 5

Agility: 5

Intellect: 7

Magic Power: 4+(1)]

His Strength, which was once 6, had genuinely increased by 0.4, reaching 6.4.

“??”

Kang Woo stood as if turned to stone.

He had thought it was an error, but the increase in strength was real. Confirming this fact only deepened his confusion.

“…Why?”

Kang Woo reviewed the situation. Since he had never heard of an error in the status window, there must have been a genuine reason for the increase in strength.

Groaning and pondering, an absurd thought crossed his mind, and he couldn’t help but chuckle.

Could the healing ability, ‘Sacred Touch,’ be related to the increase in strength? Even thinking about it himself, it seemed absurd.

A healing skill that increased strength.

If such a skill existed, all Awakened individuals would have reached the maximum strength level.

“hahahaha! That can’t be true… I…”

His words trailed off. Kang Woo, who had been bursting into laughter, suddenly turned expressionless.

He glanced down at his right arm.

“Sacred Touch.”

Kang Woo, confirming the healing of his wounds, held his breath.

Drip. Drip. The sound of droplets falling from the stalactites became clear in his ears.

“What… kind of insane awakening is this…ㄱ…”

[Strength increased by 0.1.]

Snap!

“Gah!!”

Kangwoo, rising abruptly as if struck by lightning, staggered with a sudden dizziness.

Even in his disoriented state, Kangwoo instinctively opened the status window, as if possessed.

[Strength: 6.5]

“Ha… hahahaha…!”

What seemed absurd in his imagination turned out to be true.

A healing spell for strength…!

“Wow, isn’t this too incredible?”

hehehehe. Uncontainable joy flowed as Kangwoo laughed with his mouth wide open.

Kangwoo, still grinning, used his newfound ability once again.

“Sacred Touch! … Cough!!”

From Noble mtl dot com

The gathering radiance dispersed, replaced by intense pain. Breath caught in his throat as if his heart was being squeezed.

It was his own fault.

To misuse the awakened special ability just now.

Now that he thought about it, the dizziness he felt earlier was undoubtedly a precursor to magical exhaustion.

“Ability usage in real combat is about four times…”

In the fleeting moments of combat, even slight dizziness meant imminent death. Calculating the realistically safe number of ability uses, Kangwoo, despite the agony, couldn’t hide his smile.

“hehehehe.”

Others may find it difficult to fly or crawl, but it’s a skill I can raise by just a bit. Even though it’s only physical strength, being able to increase it by 0.1 just by healing wounds!

If I squeeze my magical power, which is lacking, I might be able to raise it by about 1 per day.

If I raise my physical strength by 1 each day, in ten days it will be 10, and in a month it will be 30.

In just 94 days, I will become the best in the world! The one and only awakened being!

“hahahahaha!”

Kang Woo burst into laughter.

The person known as Liam Johns, the American who broke through the 69th floor and is known as the number one awakened being in the world. His physical strength is said to be 70, known for his swordsmanship ability.

But 100?!

His shoulders naturally bounced. The giants from various countries who were already annoyingly chasing after him were flashing before his eyes.

Having dreamed of a golden future like that, Kang Woo finally opened his mouth with an excited heart, long after the pain of magical power depletion had subsided.

“A sacred touch!”

Perhaps due to the rest he had taken, his head was a little dizzy, but there was no pain.

“hehehe.”

As he watched the warm glow seep into his wounds, Kang Woo waited for the sweet notification sound.

“…?”

Gold faded from Kang Woo’s cheerful smile.

“… Shouldn’t I be hearing it by now?”

A cold breeze passed him by.

Kang Woo checked his status window, wondering if he was too excited and missed the notification sound.

[Physical Strength: 6.5]

There was no change in the status window, indicating that wasn’t it.

“…”

Cold sweat trickled down. It was not just a slight delay in notifications; it was far too late.

Kang Woo realized the harsh reality he didn’t want to believe.

“Why…? Why isn’t it going up? Why? I was on the verge of becoming the world’s strongest, but why…? How? Why??”

In a position that no one could overlook, Kang Woo, distorted in an instant, clenched his head.

If this was going to happen, it would have been better if it hadn’t been given at all rather than being snatched away. Losing the gold ingot in his hand felt like this.

In agony, Kang Woo felt a sense of unfamiliarity. Despite the body that had been painful and seemed to suffocate with the slightest movement, it was quite intact now.

Was it because he confirmed the increase in muscle strength and abused healing spells? The arm, which was painful as if it would fall off, was now healed enough to endure.

Turning his body, Kang Woo noticed a significant improvement in his left shoulder.

Satisfied with the healing power, Kang Woo’s body stiffened at a passing thought.

“Could it be…”

Kang Woo’s face turned into astonishment.

He didn’t want to believe it, but if it wasn’t this, there was no explanation for the sudden lack of increase in muscle strength.