Chapter 11
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Mysterious Position
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“Is this... a stone?”
“I got it from a kobold.”
“It looks like kobold loot, but why give this stone to me?”
“Huh? That's a cube.”
Han Seung-woo continued, his face a picture of utter bewilderment.
“To me, it just looks like an ordinary rock.”
“What?”
Han Seung-woo tossed the stone cube back to Lee Ru-ri.
'What's going on here? Why does it look like a plain old rock to Han Seung-woo?'
No matter how much she thought about it, something felt off.
As she furrowed her brow in thought, Han Seung-woo called out to her.
“Ru-ri.”
“Yes.”
“I know you can clear F-rank gates solo with your eyes closed. I got your temporary re-evaluation stats from Researcher Yang. Want to see them?”
“Oh, sure.”
Han Seung-woo sent her a file via message.
The file contained the stats measured during her temporary re-evaluation.
She stared at her stats quietly, but they were different from what she'd seen in the gate.
'No Sensing stat here.'
Just as she was examining her abilities, Han Seung-woo spoke up abruptly.
“What puzzles me is your attack power, Ru-ri. Zero is shocking enough, but how exactly are you solo-clearing gates?”
His question hit her like a blow to the head, her vision darkening for a moment.
'I'm using my mana, but the skills are from the monsters, so they don't register on my attack power. That weird status window in the gate had brackets after them. I didn't pay attention before—I need to check it properly next time.'
Han Seung-woo waited patiently as she gathered her thoughts, then continued.
“They've set up a gate control tower here, and headquarters should be sorted soon. Once the magic stone stabilizes, you could get re-evaluated right here. What do you think?”
At that moment, Choi Si-jin came rushing over, calling out urgently to Han Seung-woo.
“D-Director! Director!”
“What's with the fuss?”
“Huff... How are your legs?”
“They've been fine for a while. You know that sly fox kept me here on purpose.”
“Then we need to get you ready right away.”
“For what?”
“A gate opened in Beijing.”
“What?”
“The Chairman and Vice Chairman have already gathered a team and headed to Beijing. They want you to hand things off to Brother Eun-woo here and depart immediately.”
“Hmm, where's Eun-woo?”
“He's meeting with the Prime Minister to wrap up the agreement, then he'll come here.”
“What time's departure?”
“Two hours from now.”
“Then let's head to headquarters and move out from there.”
“Uh, then I'll...”
“Ru-ri, once the Director leaves, hand off to Brother Eun-woo and head back to Korea with me.”
“Ah, got it.”
Han Seung-woo glanced at Lee Ru-ri for a moment, then turned to Choi Si-jin.
“No. Let's check the magic stone reaction too—we'll all head out together now.”
The three quickly prepared and left the hospital room.
The situation was changing so rapidly it felt like the calm before the storm over the past 70 years had finally broken.
Han Seung-woo couldn't shake his unease at how fast things were moving.
It had been just a week since the first gate in Japan. Now Beijing.
There was no guarantee they wouldn't encounter the SS-rank monster Lee Ru-ri had described in Beijing's first gate too.
The sensation of his legs severed, his body growing cold, was still vivid.
He'd felt her heal back then, but he'd been certain neither he nor she could escape death's grasp.
Yet here they were, alive.
Lee Ru-ri, who'd collapsed spilling organs and blood from her abdomen, was standing there perfectly fine.
A stay of execution.
Han Seung-woo believed there was some crucial reason their deaths had been postponed.
And he suspected it had something to do with Lee Ru-ri.
So he wasn't thrilled about taking her somewhere so dangerous—which is why he was secretly relieved the Chairman hadn't called for her.
Lee Ru-ri was thinking about the Beijing gate too.
The Keres she'd met in Japan's first gate.
If Keres appeared in Beijing, the hunters' sacrifices wouldn't stop at one.
But since the Chairman hadn't summoned her, she couldn't exactly throw a fit and beg to go.
'I can't say "Keres can't attack me anymore, so take me along"—they'd think I'm crazy. Hmm... Guess I can't help it this time. I'm really worried about Han Seung-woo though...'
No matter how she racked her brain, she couldn't think of a way to join the Beijing gate.
The Japanese headquarters in Tokyo had already transformed into a crystal building, just like Korea's.
“How do they build these so fast?”
“Magic stones.”
“Magic stones?”
“Yeah. Bury a magic stone underground where it reacts most sensitively, build around it, and the outer walls turn into perfectly carved crystal. We still don't know the principle behind it, though.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Hyung!”
A young man about Lee Ru-ri's age came running up to Han Seung-woo with a cheerful greeting at the entrance.
“Hyung? Use proper titles.”
“Who cares when those guys aren't around!”
“Brother, long time no see.”
“Si-jin, you been good?”
“You've been running around clearing gates everywhere and ignoring me. The Director's too scary...”
“Sorry. But our big bro's super nice, right? Keep supporting him while I'm gone.”
“Ah, h-hello...”
“Oh, Lee Ru-ri, right? Nice to meet you! I'm Han Eun-woo.”
“Pleasure to meet you!”
“Brother Eun-woo, Ru-ri's super pretty, huh?”
“Choi Si-jin.”
“Ah, sorry...”
“Hahaha, let's not do this outside—come in. Hyung, since you're here, check the magic stone first. You know I'm no good at this stuff.”
“How many personnel dispatched?”
“About thirty? Would've been nice to leave Si-jin.”
“No way. Can't leave Ru-ri alone.”
“Ooooh, what's this? The vibe feels kinda weird~?”
“Cut the nonsense and guide us properly.”
Lee Ru-ri smiled inwardly at the bickering but close-knit brothers.
The magic stone discovered in Japan looked almost identical in shape and size to the ones she'd seen at Korea's headquarters during position evaluations.
Zzt.
“Huh?”
“Ru-ri? What's wrong?”
“Something just stung me...”
“Choi Si-jin, how's the evaluation room?”
“Reaction levels have been stable. You can enter anytime.”
“Ru-ri, go ahead in.”
“S-Seung-woo.”
Han Seung-woo turned to the tense-looking Lee Ru-ri.
He suddenly recalled her unbelievable claim of using monster skills.
“Don't worry about those two. If we die, we die together.”
“Don't freak out too much, Seung-woo.”
“Got it.”
Lee Ru-ri cautiously entered the evaluation room.
Han Seung-woo watched her go, then quietly instructed Choi Si-jin.
“Set it to D-rank.”
“Pardon? You're joking, right?”
“Do as I say.”
“What if Ru-ri gets hurt?”
“Be ready to stop the evaluation if needed.”
“Ah, so that's the full order. Understood.”
“Hyung, that lady... she really got something special?”
“Just watch.”
Choi Si-jin set the evaluation room to spawn a D-rank virtual monster as instructed.
Lee Ru-ri gripped the stone cube tightly and observed the spawning monster.
As she reached out to it, its status appeared.
[D ― Iron Turtle: Cannot increase target's favor.]
'Virtual monsters can't have their favor raised, huh. This might be tricky.'
As she hesitated warily, the Iron Turtle charged at her with surprising speed for its turtle-like form.
She quickly leaped back into the air, putting distance between them.
Watching its movements, Lee Ru-ri fired a poison needle meant for continuous damage.
But it vanished uselessly into the Iron Turtle's hard shell.
'I wanted to keep it low-key so they wouldn't be shocked, but no choice.'
Though she was conscious of the three watching outside, she had to gauge her current state properly.
She thrust out her hand and shouted firmly.
Extinction
[Massive fire AoE engulfs the target]
“Extinction.”
A massive fireball crushed the Iron Turtle.
Its sturdy shell split cleanly, and the soft innards burned fiercely.
The three watchers stared in stunned silence, unable to hide their shock.
Han Seung-woo's brother, Han Eun-woo, spoke first.
“Hyung, what am I seeing? Isn't she a supporter?”
“I've never seen a skill like that. She's incredible in every way.”
“Director, what does this mean for Ru-ri's position?”
“Didn't you notice?”
“Pardon?”
“Look at her mana.”
“Mana?”
“I've never seen recovery like that.”
“Whoa, hold on! Why's her recovery rate like that?”
“She doesn't seem aware of it herself.”
“Wow! It's amazing! The numbers are low, but even at rock bottom, it fills right back up!”
As the three chattered excitedly,
the Iron Turtle's HP hit zero amid the blaze and vanished from the evaluation room.
The electronic board at the top displayed an unfamiliar position.
Lee Ru-ri (D): Ranged Attacker (Conqueror)
“Conqueror...?”
As the three puzzled over the new position name, Lee Ru-ri emerged from the room looking sheepish.
“Why do you all look so... disappointed...?”
“Ru-ri, look up there.”
Han Seung-woo pointed to the board above the evaluation room.
“Conqueror? What's that?”
“We don't know either.”
“Huh? You don't know? Why?”
“Beats me. I don't even know what we don't know.”
“You're joking at a time like this...?”
“Ru-ri! It's not a joke!”
“Si-jin too, why...?”
“Si-jin, can we erase the record?”
“Yes, Director. Possible, but why?”
“Let's keep Ru-ri's position just between us.”
“I'm in. Those guys would do something weird if they knew.”
“E-Eun-woo too... Why are you all scaring me...?”
“Um... Am I the only one who has no idea what's going on?”
“We're all in the same boat. But this shouldn't leak out yet. I'll look into it from all angles. Ru-ri, while I'm in Beijing, stick to Choi Si-jin—no wandering off.”
“O-Okay.”
After Lee Ru-ri's evaluation, Han Seung-woo thoroughly inspected the Tokyo headquarters.
He reviewed the dispatched personnel list, sorted documents by stats into departments, handed them to Han Eun-woo, and spoke carefully.
“Eun-woo. I might not make it back from this Beijing raid.”
“Hyung, why say such bullshit so seriously?”
“It's not bullshit. It was top secret, didn't leak out—but in Japan's gate, me and Ru-ri, we really died and came back. That sly fox grabbed his own kid and bolted.”
“What? For real?”
“Brother Eun-woo, it's true. Totally insane, right?”
“Those bastards. So, you're really okay now? I don't need to worry?”
“Worry from now on. I think we barely survived thanks to Ru-ri. But she's not going to Beijing. So if—god forbid—I don't come back, take care of things.”
“Director, don't say that. You'll make me cry.”
“Crying won't help. Eun-woo, got it?”
“Seung-woo, what are you talking about?”
Lee Ru-ri had been waiting on the first floor with coffee, but grew worried and headed downstairs, catching Han Seung-woo's odd words.
“Ru-ri, why'd you come down instead of waiting upstairs?”
“Seung-woo, you really feel like you're gonna die? Then let me go with you. No, how did I save you before, and now you're talking about dying so easily?”
Her sudden outburst left Han Seung-woo and Choi Si-jin flustered—it was the first time they'd seen her snap.
Han Eun-woo watched with interest, awaiting her next words.
“If you're not confident, take me along. I have words for that monster anyway.”
Han Eun-woo cut in.
“Hold on, hold on. You talk to monsters?”