Chapter 10
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: F급 힐러가 SS급 게이트를 공략하는 방법-10화
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Ogre's Tears and the Hidden Gate
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The Ogre Chief that had spawned from the previous F-rank gate.
The ogre that appeared in this gate, which Choi Si-jin had said would be either F or E rank.
The rules known so far had already been broken twice.
And then there was the sudden emergence of the SS-rank monster Keres. Things didn't look good at all.
To avoid getting killed by the ogre, she'd focused on raising its favor, meticulously considering every possible scenario.
Sweat trickled down her chin. She had no idea how much time had passed.
'Choi Si-jin must be in a real bind right now.'
Her heart raced.
'The E-rank Black Moth's favor went up to 1,000. I figured 10,000 would be enough for a D-rank, but we passed that ages ago. It's heading toward 30,000 now, and it still hasn't given me the skill—it's just keep climbing. How high do I need to go?'
This was nothing like the lower-rank monsters she'd dealt with before.
"Keres's gift requires Ogre's Tears to obtain the key, so it's not just about maxing out favor— I need to actually take it down to find out."
Once favor hits a certain threshold, it stops increasing.
Which meant the ogre's favor wasn't maxed out yet.
"No point overthinking it. Let's take a short break and refocus."
She paused the favor grind, dropped to the ground, shook out her arms and legs to loosen her tense muscles, and started stretching.
She desperately missed the Strength Potion in her bag back at the Association guest room.
"Nah, might as well treat this as stamina training."
She steeled herself.
Leaping back into position, she concentrated and alternated between Extinction and heals to raise its favor.
The 30,000 favor goal was right in sight.
She steadied her breathing, waited for her mana to refill, then unleashed Extinction with forceful intent.
[Ogre's favor has increased by 30. Current favor: 29,982]
[Ogre's favor is now maxed.]
[Ogre's favor has increased by 30. Current favor: 30,012]
[Ogre's favor is now maxed.]
[Ogre's favor has increased by 30. Current favor: 30,012]
[Ogre's favor is now maxed.]
[Acquired new skill <Superhuman Strength>.]
[Acquired Gold (Key) Fragment.]
[Acquired Silver (Key) Fragment.]
"The fragments I got directly from the ogre have different names. Got the gold fragment quicker than expected. But looks like tears aren't available through favor. So that leaves..."
Lee Ru-ri stared quietly at the ogre.
"First things first, let's check the new skill."
She opened her status window and checked the info on the new skill at the top of the skill list.
💪 <Superhuman Strength>
⚡ Attack Power:0
✨ Mana Cost:100
Increases the target's physical/magical attack power by 10% for a set duration within a certain radius (max 1m). (Duration: 15 minutes)
Advanced skill confirmed.
"The cube was one thing, but this skill... it's starting to feel a bit scary."
A lot of time had already been wasted.
With no choice, she activated the new Superhuman Strength and unleashed a barrage of skills at the ogre.
The ogre's stamina was no joke.
She had to monitor her mana closely and spam skills for quite a while until, finally...
With a piercing shriek that felt like it would tear her eardrums, the two ogres collapsed.
She hurried to the ogre remains and picked up the glowing items.
It shimmered just like the goblin tear she'd gotten before.
[Acquired Ogre's Bone.]
[Acquired Ogre's Wooden Staff.]
[Acquired Ogre's Tear.]
"As expected... Looks like I've gathered all the materials, but what now?"
She pondered for a moment, fiddling with the diamond-like Ogre's Tear.
Suddenly, her mana drained sharply, and light began seeping from what had been the gate's end wall.
Lee Ru-ri approached the glowing light as if drawn to it.
Up close, a new entrance appeared—similar to the gate entrance, but somehow subtly different.
"Is this it?"
She hesitated briefly.
She'd taken down a D-rank monster solo.
No matter what came out, as long as she stayed sharp, she could turn it into a lamb.
"If Keres is in there..."
Steadying her breath again, she slowly entered the new opening.
There was the same dizzying ripple as when she'd entered the gate, but no real sense of pressure.
The moment her entire body passed through the new entrance...
[Hidden Gate]
Gate Open Condition:Key (0)
Clear Condition:None
Penalty:None
Shop:Command not set
"So this is the Hidden Gate. This is where the shop comes into play."
Lee Ru-ri quickly set "Shop" as the command word.
[Command set. (Available for use)]
She called out "Shop," and the shop window popped up immediately.
[Exchange List: Open]
[Purchase List: Open]
[Sell List: Open]
[Storage List: Open]
"It said I could exchange the tear. Let's check the exchange list first."
[Broken Key: Ogre's Tear (1)]
[Broken Key: Muscl's Tear (0)]
[Broken Key: Lizard's Tear (0)]
[Broken Key: Kelpie's Tear (0)]
[Broken Key: Drake's Tear (0)]
"So I exchange here. Let's exchange for the Ogre's Tear first."
Touching the tear made the one in her hand vanish.
Her shopping bag suddenly felt lighter.
As she checked that the bag was now empty, an alarm rang.
[Combine Hidden Gate Key? Y/N]
"Why did the materials disappear? Ugh, the copper fragment's back in the guest room... For now, hit yes."
[Acquired Hidden Gate Key. Enter? Y/N]
"So I don't need to carry the materials after all. I'd love to go in, but those two are probably worried. Han Seung-woo must be furious by now..."
Lee Ru-ri looked around.
"Doesn't look like monsters are gonna pour out or anything, so let's call it here for today. But what's the storage?"
Curiosity piqued, she tapped it, and the Hidden Gate Key along with the vanished loot appeared in the storage list.
"Ah, so that's why the tear disappeared and the key isn't visible."
Looking closer, she saw the copper fragment she'd packed in her bag and the leftover silver fragment from the previous key combo.
"Anything from the gate goes into storage? That makes things way easier. Hmm, looks like I can buy stuff too."
She tapped the purchase list.
[Random Box (F): 5,000,000 Sion]
[Random Box (E): 8,000,000 Sion]
[Random Box (D): 20,000,000 Sion]
[Random Box (C): 50,000,000 Sion]
[Random Box (B): 70,000,000 Sion]
[Random Box (A): 100,000,000 Sion]
[Random Box (S): 200,000,000 Sion]
[Random Box (SS): 30,000,000,000 Sion]
Rank-based random boxes were available for purchase here. But not with money.
30 billion Sion was an jaw-droppingly massive sum. Even thinking of it as currency, 30 billion.
The moment she saw the SS-rank box for 30 billion, Lee Ru-ri was certain.
The existence of SS-rank monsters.
That box foreshadowed horrors surpassing the S-rank monsters from gates so far—things on Keres's level, or worse.
"I just happened to hit a high-rank gate this time; no reason to go to another S-rank. Not a big deal for me right now, but for hunters raiding high-rank gates, this is serious. Even S-rank tanks are getting pushed back..."
If the frontline tank gets overwhelmed, clear chances plummet.
That's why this S-rank gate raid couldn't prevent the B-rank healer's sacrifice.
"The question is how to warn the hunters... I'll think on that later. For now, let's check what I can sell."
The sell list showed materials from this gate.
[Kobold Skull: 100,000 Sion]
[Kobold Heart: 300,000 Sion]
"Sell these for Sion, then buy boxes from the purchase list. Let's sell one to test."
She sold the skull and confirmed 100,000 Sion added to her balance at the top of the status.
"Lowest-rank monster mats, so the price is brutally low. No Keres stuff anyway, and I've figured out the Hidden Gate. That's enough for today. Time to head back."
Pushing aside her regrets, she exited through the entrance she'd come in. She left easily, no restrictions.
The moment she emerged, the gate clear alarm blared.
She rushed out, did the clear certification, and caught her breath when a message arrived.
Choi Si-jin (C): Ru-ri, if you don't hurry, both of us are dead. Speed!
She checked the time. Quite a delay.
"Ah, did Han Seung-woo already wake up? I'm screwed."
She grabbed a taxi nearby easily.
Bursting into the hospital room, she found Choi Si-jin pale-faced beside Han Seung-woo, who glared at her with sharp eyes.
"Y-you're up early. H-ha ha ha. Whew, I'm beat. Time to head to dreamland. Yep."
"Lee Ru-ri."
"Yes?"
"You must be tired. Rest for now. We'll sort this out properly when you wake up."
"Ha ha, ha ha ha. Good night."
Lee Ru-ri dove under the covers quick as a flash.
"Time to wake up now."
"Ughhh, just a bit more..."
"Lee Ru-ri?"
"Nooo..."
"Lee Ru-ri."
"Mm...?"
Sensing something off, she snapped her eyes open to find Han Seung-woo sitting primly on her bed, looking at her pitifully.
"What time is it...?"
"Eleven a.m."
"Aah, my whole body hurts so much... You didn't secretly hit me while I was asleep, did you...?"
"If I had, your insides wouldn't be this wrecked. How could you pull such a reckless stunt with that Choi Si-jin guy while I was out?"
"Th-that's... Heh heh, sorry."
"Glad you're safe, but never again."
"Seung-woo! Check this out!"
Lee Ru-ri tossed the Stone Cube she'd gotten from the gate last night to Han Seung-woo.
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