I was standing in the middle of a battlefield.
All around me, war raged against enemies I could no longer remember clearly. The frontlines were drenched in blood and smoke, while I remained far behind the others, healing the wounded as they were dragged back to me one after another.
I didn't have enough mana to heal everyone completely.
So I learned to be efficient.
Instead of healing their entirety, I focused only on the injuries that mattered most. Minor cuts or injuries were ignored since they could be tended to later.
But fatal wounds that needed to close immediately before they bled out were a priority.
I healed only what was necessary so I could preserve as much mana as possible.
But even then, it was never enough.
After months of endlessly healing soldiers on the battlefield, my body eventually collapsed from sheer exhaustion.
Recovery took time, and during those moments when I couldn't return to the frontlines, resentment began to grow among the people forced into the war under imperial law.
To them, I was useless.
Pathetic.
Even the royal knights openly cursed at me, furious that I couldn't heal them faster... furious that I couldn't save everyone they demanded I save.
The constant complaints wore me down.
So whenever I managed to recover even the slightest bit of mana, I immediately used a minor support skill.
'Refresh.'
It was a simple ability. Nothing flashy or extraordinary.
The skill gently refreshed both the mind and body, washing away fatigue little by little. The sensation felt like finally collapsing onto a bed after days without rest, or sinking into warm water after carrying endless stress on your shoulders.
Soldiers paralyzed by fear regained clarity.
Exhausted bodies found strength returning to their limbs.
Their minds steadied, panic faded, and their concentration sharpened almost instantly.
It wasn't a remarkable skill.
But on the battlefield, it became indispensable.
"You could do something like this?!"
"Then why didn't you use it sooner?!"
"How dare you hide this from us!"
Even after the war ended, the accusations never stopped.
People demanded to know what other abilities I had been concealing. Some even accused me of colluding with the enemy, insisting there was no way someone like me could possess such skills without ulterior motives.
In the end, I accepted every criticism in silence.
And because of that, I pushed myself even harder.
Because I wanted, at least someday, to become someone truly useful to the kingdom.
Seo Elena's head throbbed violently from the flood of returning memories.
The pain was unbearable, as if her skull were being split apart from the inside. But even then, she forced herself to endure it, keeping her gaze fixed on the two familiar figures fighting against the endless horde of monsters.
Despite the mountain of corpses littering the battlefield, the creatures never seemed to stop coming.
"Damn it..." Minwoo cursed between ragged breaths. "Why is he fighting like this this time? He used to be too prideful to rely on anyone but himself."
The Beast King rested his fist lazily against his chin, a cocky smirk spreading across his face.
"Tired already?"
His voice carried easily across the battlefield, almost amused.
"You can't possibly be exhausted yet." His golden eyes narrowed slightly. "How are you planning to face me in that condition?"
A low chuckle escaped him.
"It would be embarrassing if you died to mere beasts before even reaching me."
Jinhyuk's expression twisted slightly as he steadied his breathing.
His condition was terrible.
He hadn't slept properly in nearly a month, and the dark circles beneath his eyes were impossible to hide. His body had long since surpassed its limits, yet he was still being forced to fight wave after wave of powerful monsters without rest.
Any ordinary hunter would have collapsed long ago.
But this was Han Jinhyuk.
The hunter who carried the burden of protecting the world.
At the thought of dying and regressing once more, Jinhyuk felt his heart pound violently in his chest.
He didn't want to die.
He didn't want to relive those memories all over again, desperately searching for Elena from the very beginning.
And what if she wasn't there this time?
What if, for some cruel reason, he couldn't find her again?
The thought alone was enough to make his stomach twist. His mind spiraled deeper into that abyss of dread. Then suddenly, his body felt lighter.
Refreshed.
A familiar blue screen appeared before him.
[ The skill 'Refresh' has been used on you. ]
His eyes widened.
Even though he had never personally experienced the skill before, he recognized it immediately.
Seo Elena.
His head snapped up, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield until he spotted her in the distance, hidden behind the slope of a hill.
She was tucked away well enough to avoid immediate notice, and strangely, he couldn't sense even the slightest trace of her mana.
A perfect stealth ability for someone who was only a healer.
Little did he know, Elena possessed no such skill to conceal her presence.
She was simply hidden well enough that no one had noticed her. Insignificant presence.
Minwoo seemed to have realized it as well, likely because Refresh had been cast on him too.
And as the battle dragged on, the two hunters were repeatedly restored whenever exhaustion threatened to overwhelm them.
Their minds sharpened.
Their bodies lightened.
Their strength returned.
And one by one, every creature in the dungeon fell. Until only the Beast King remained, standing before Han Jinhyuk and Minwoo.
And somewhere hidden behind them was Seo Elena. Though the Beast King had yet to realize it.
"Youve gotten stronger."
Han Jinhyuk smirked. "Stronger than you."
The Beast King's brows furrowed in irritation.
He was an existence ruled entirely by pride, the type to lash out at even the slightest provocation.
"A mere insect like you dares to defy me again and again," he growled, his voice dripping with killing intent. "Then let this be the end of it."
No more words were exchanged.
The momentary stalemate shattered as the three finally clashed head-on.