Please Give Me A Kiss, Healer! Chapter 89

“…Could it be?”

Jiwoo’s eyes widened as she checked the system window.

She quickly composed herself and hid her expression.

“M-Mr. Ilguk, I’m going to harvest some abalone.”

“Abalone?”

“Yep. See that big reef over there? I used my detection skill, and it’s covered with abalone underneath.”

Shin Ilguk narrowed his eyes and looked where Jiwoo was pointing. Sure enough, there was a large rocky reef in the distance.

“Isn’t that a little too far out?”

“Come on, Team Leader Go Jaepil said there aren’t any monsters on the southern coast! So let’s gather some abalone over there and grill it for dinner. I even brought some chojang in my inventory.”

“You… have chojang in your inventory?”

Inventory space was limited, so most hunters only stored truly important items inside. In Shin Ilguk’s case, that meant a will and some emergency rations.

I heard top-ranked hunters have larger inventories… but even so, carrying around dipping sauce… As expected, Hunter Do Jiwoo is incredible. She might even be stronger than Hyuk-hyung.

Completely unaware of his misunderstanding, Jiwoo cheerfully continued.

“Then, Mr. Ilguk, head back first and clean the clams we just collected. Don’t forget how I showed you to purge the sand from them!”

“Huh? Aren’t we going together?”

“Come on. You’re scared of water—how are you supposed to dive? I’ll be back in no time.”

“Still… isn’t it dangerous to go alone? I’ll come with you.”

Even knowing Jiwoo was a top-class hunter, Shin Ilguk couldn’t help worrying.

A hunter’s appearance wasn’t an indicator of strength, but Jiwoo looked so tiny and delicate to him. She was so slender that her waist looked thinner than his thigh.

“Oh, come on, Mr. Ilguk. Dangerous? You know exactly who I am!”

“I do. The strongest healer in the universe, and the pride and cornerstone of Guild Blank—”

“Gyaaah! Not that!”

Jiwoo clamped her hands over her ears in horror, making Shin Ilguk chuckle.

“Anyway, you trust me, right? I’m a top-tier hunter, after all. So don’t worry and hurry back.”

“…All right. But please come back quickly.”

It was her usual routine, but it worked every time on Shin Ilguk.

Jiwoo immediately activated her Shield skill.

A golden barrier enveloped her as the seawater parted around it.

She waved both hands energetically at the still-worried Shin Ilguk.

“See you later!”

 

 

****

 

 

 

Wrapped inside the golden barrier, Jiwoo slowly sank beneath the waves.

Colorful coral reefs and schools of unfamiliar fish danced before her eyes.

At first she was simply carried helplessly by the current, but after a while she began to understand the rhythm of the underwater flow.

If she surrendered her body to the ocean’s steady currents and rode them…

Got it!

Jiwoo subtly adjusted the amount of mana maintaining her shield and began swimming through the sea.

It took a great deal of concentration and left her mentally exhausted, but it wasn’t unbearable.

Following the golden arrow, Jiwoo soon found the source of the light.

“A dolphin…? No, it’s way too big to be a dolphin.”

The glowing figures were a pod of dolphins.

They were jet-black, enormous, and patterned with white markings across their bodies.

They looked like orcas, except each one had a sharp horn on its forehead like a narwhal.

“There’s no way a whale like this exists. Then… [Holy Eyes!]”

Status

Name: ???
Alignment: Good
Race: Black Dolphin

A mischievous Black Dolphin of the sea.

Despite their adorable appearance, these cute marine monsters possess tremendous offensive power.

However, they are highly intelligent and extremely social, and therefore do not attack humans.

Nothing in the ocean can move faster underwater than a Black Dolphin.

Skill

Translation (Incomplete)

Due to insufficient Affinity, translation is partially restricted.

Only one-way translation is currently supported.

They don’t attack people? A monster?

Then can you even call them monsters?

Jiwoo tilted her head.

As if proving the system’s description, the pod of Black Dolphins approached her in a friendly manner.

— Wheeeeeee! (Hellodol!)

Their beautiful whistles passed effortlessly through Jiwoo’s shield.

After exchanging signals among themselves, the Black Dolphins gently pushed the round barrier with their long snouts.

It was almost as if they were trying to guide her somewhere.

Most people would have worried about their shield breaking, but Jiwoo remained calm.

Because…

System

Title: Mole (F)

Effect: While underground, HP and Mana recover extremely quickly.

Down here in the deep sea, the title she’d earned earlier was somehow taking effect.

Technically she wasn’t underground…

But the system was surprisingly flexible with its definitions.

As long as her shield wasn’t destroyed by an outside attack, there was no danger of suffocating.

And with dolphins pushing and pulling her along…

She almost felt like a beautiful mermaid from a fairy tale.

Well, if anything happens, I can always teleport to the Safe Zone… Huh? Wait.

A sudden sense of dread shot through Jiwoo.

“Skill activated—[Welcome to My Home!]”

[A hostile monster is currently engaged with you. This skill cannot be used.]

“H-Haha… Hahahaha! Right. Of course my life wouldn’t be that easy!”

She couldn’t teleport to the Safe Zone.

Not while the Black Dolphins were attached to her.

She’d been excited, thinking she’d get some adorable new sea companions with no effort…

Dying wasn’t the problem.

At this rate I’ll end up rolling around the ocean forever inside this hamster ball!

Jiwoo desperately tried to communicate with them.

“H-Hey, guys! Can you hear me? Just how far are you planning to push me?”

— …

The Black Dolphins shook their heads from side to side.

“You understand what I’m saying, don’t you? My words are being translated automatically!”

— …

“Then why won’t you answer?! Guys! Please! Don’t do this! Say something!”

The Black Dolphins looked at Jiwoo’s desperate cries, then at one another.

— Wheeeee… Wheee? (What’s wrong with this person-dol?)

— Wheeeeeee! (Maybe she wants us to go faster-dol!)

— Whi! Wheee! (Then I know just what to do-dol!)

After reaching an agreement, one Black Dolphin flicked its tail.

Then—

Thunk!

Like smacking a rubber ball, it struck Jiwoo’s shield with its tail.

Instantly, the “hamster ball”—Jiwoo trapped inside her shield—shot through the water toward the depths.

“W-What are you doing?!”

Thunk!

“Don’t!! Stop it!!”

Jiwoo frantically pounded on her shield, hoping to make them stop…

But…

— Whiiii. (See? She likes it-dol!)

— Whii! Whi-whi-whi! (Great! Then let’s hit it even harder so we can go even faster-dol!)

— Whii! (Got it-dol!)

Their excessive kindness made them completely immune to her protests.

“Somebody help me!!”

Thunk! Thunk!

Her lonely screams echoed through the silent ocean, unheard by anyone.

 

 

***

 

 

“Ugh… I’m so dizzy… Blegh. Please stop… I’m gonna die at this rate…”

Jiwoo groaned from seasickness while weakly pounding on her shield.

Fortunately, the Black Dolphins’ “escort” ended not long afterward.

Slumping inside her barrier, Jiwoo spent a long time calming her stomach before finally recovering.

“You guys… just how far did you drag me? If we go too far, I won’t be able to find my way back…”

With a miserable expression, she looked around.

The place the Black Dolphins had brought her to was the entrance of an enormous underwater cave.

“Huh? Over there…!”

As Jiwoo carefully examined the cave entrance…

…she spotted something completely unexpected.