Chapter 12
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: The Hidden Gate Conquest Begins
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Han Seung-woo urgently grabbed Lee Ru-ri's shoulders to stop her.
"Ru-ri, no one knows about that yet."
"Everyone already knows my position is weird anyway. What's the point of hiding it? Eun-woo, Seung-woo, that day we actually died and came back to life. There was an SS-rank monster there. I have to kill that bastard if I see it again, got it? Send me to Beijing, please?"
Han Seung-woo gripped her shoulders even tighter as she rambled excitedly.
"Ru-ri? Calm down first. Just promise me you'll come back alive. Okay?"
"I feel like I just heard something huge in a whirlwind."
"Hyung-nim, an SS-rank monster? That's a first for me."
"Both of you, keep today's events secret."
"Got it for now. Don't worry, Ru-ri. The director has to come back safe and sound."
"Hyung, I'll be worried too. Make sure all your limbs are intact when you return."
A message has arrived from Choi Si-jin.
"Director, the car is ready. You can head out right away."
"Alright. Eun-woo, keep things running here. Si-jin, you know what to do without me saying."
"Seung-woo, I won't worry either."
"Got it. See you when I get back."
The four of them headed to the headquarters entrance where the car was waiting.
Han Seung-woo flashed a smile as he got into the car.
The other three stood staring long after his car had vanished from sight.
"Haah... Shall we wrap up the remaining work?"
"Si-jin, when do we head out?"
"At least two days. There's way too much to hand over."
"Then..."
"Hey, no way. Are you seriously doing this to me the moment the director leaves?"
"Why? What's going on?"
"Hyung, save me. The director specifically told me not to let Ru-ri go conquer any gates. Look at her eyes—she's dead set on it. I'm in a real bind here."
"Does she have a crew?"
"Hyung-nim, she goes solo. F-rank, though."
"Well, she was judged D-rank, so F-ranks should be easy. That earlier thing... still shocking."
"You guys have zero info on my position, right?"
"Yeah. It was a position I'd never seen before. Come to think of it, positions up till now have been pretty straightforward."
"Hyung-nim, you're right. Stats differ per person, but the positions themselves were pretty clear-cut."
"Still, 'Conqueror' doesn't sit right with me."
"What does it actually do?"
Lee Ru-ri quietly listened to their conversation.
Conqueror.
Among hunters, those who awakened to wield mana for magic were generally judged as Wizards.
Wizards typically specialized in one primary attribute of magic.
Through training, they could unleash higher-powered spells of that attribute.
But in her case, since she gained skills from monsters, it was ambiguous to call it magic powered by her own mana.
'Is that why it wasn't judged as Wizard? Ah, where do I even get info on this.'
Even these three, who had better intel than anyone thanks to the Association, seemed clueless about her Conqueror position.
'Hidden Gate. For some reason, the clue seems to be there.'
She hadn't been able to properly scout it while watching Han Seung-woo's reactions, but now that he was gone, things were different.
Choi Si-jin, who had been closely watching Lee Ru-ri deep in thought, opened his status window to check gate generation status.
"Ru-ri, you're wondering how to tackle them, right?"
"How'd you know!"
"Sigh. There are two F-ranks nearby and one E-rank. Another D-rank about ten minutes away."
"If I said I'd clear them all, you'd try to stop me, right?"
"Even judged D-rank, solo is seriously dangerous. Take Eun-woo hyung-nim for any D-ranks."
"I'll do D-ranks with a crew once I know more about my position. Give me the low-rank coordinates!"
Choi Si-jin shook his head helplessly and sent her the gate coordinates via message.
"Be careful out there. I'll handle work with Eun-woo hyung-nim. Need anything?"
"Nope! Clearing three gates means I might see you tomorrow. Bye for now!"
"If you get hurt, I'm dead meat!"
"Don't worry."
Lee Ru-ri smiled brightly and headed to the nearest gate.
Two hours later.
"Ha."
The Hidden Gate was no pushover.
After wiping out the monsters in the first gate Choi Si-jin had pointed out, a door to the Hidden Gate opened just like before.
Already having one key, curiosity got the better of her, and she stepped right in.
The moment the key vanished, the true Hidden Gate door swung open.
As soon as her foot crossed the threshold, gate info updated in her status.
(1) Gate Difficulty:F
Remaining Time:200 minutes
Objective (1):Exterminate Black Leeches (999)
Possible Rewards:Difficulty Increase Key (1), Random Box (F)
Note:Targets generated in Hidden Gates have favor fixed at 0.
At first, she didn't grasp what "favor fixed at 0" meant.
Figuring it couldn't be much different from the F-rank gates she'd cleared before, she boldly entered.
But even dodging into the air with Leap, Black Leeches clung to the ceiling and latched onto her limbs, sucking blood everywhere—nearly scaring her soul out of her body.
"Favor fixed at 0" meant exactly this.
Monsters generated inside Hidden Gates recognized her clearly as an enemy and attacked mercilessly.
Lee Ru-ri pulled herself together and methodically took out the Black Leeches one by one.
(1) Gate Difficulty:F
Remaining Time:9 minutes
Objective (1):Exterminate Black Leeches (0)
Rewards Acquired:Difficulty Increase Key (1), Random Box (F)
"Ha, this is insane. Nothing's ever been this tough. I thought I was gonna die."
She flopped onto the floor and stared at her status window.
Opening the inventory in her status, she found the Difficulty Increase Key and Random Box inside.
"Difficulty Increase Key and Random Box... I remember Random Boxes being super expensive on Zion. But what's inside a Random Box?"
She cautiously tapped the Random Box.
Random Box (F): Confirm? Y/N
"Yes for now."
Advanced HP Boost Potion x2
Advanced Mana Boost Potion x3
Weapon Selection Box x1
"Boosts HP and mana... How long do they last?"
To check, Lee Ru-ri tapped and used all five potions.
Her HP and mana gauges activated instantly, with numbers rising.
HP increased by 1,000.
HP increased by 1,000.
Mana increased by 100.
Mana increased by 100.
Mana increased by 100.
Lee Ru-ri's mana gauge shot up to 416 in an instant.
"No duration means... these are permanent? Wonder what's in the Weapon Box."
She carefully tapped the Weapon Selection Box.
Position: Conqueror
Weapon Type: ?Sword
Selectable List:
???'s ?Sword
???'s ?Sword
???'s ?Sword
??'s ?Sword
????'s ?Sword
Uncharacteristically, irritation bubbled up in the ever-calm Lee Ru-ri.
"Is this damn system messing with me? Everything censored—what kind of choice is this?"
It was called a selection box, but offered zero hints.
She picked the third one at random.
Lizard's Jade Dagger
"Lizard's Jade Dagger?"
Tapping the new item in her inventory created a sheath on her thigh.
"Ah?"
She carefully drew the sword. It was a dagger emitting a faint emerald glow.
Perfectly sized for her small hands. As she gripped it lightly, its info appeared in her status.
Name:Lizard's Jade Dagger
Type:Dagger (Conqueror Exclusive)
Attack:189
Durability:300
Effect:Using Conqueror skills on target deals +0.8% damage and recovers 1% HP for caster.
"So this is a weapon made for my position. But... what counts as a Conqueror skill?"
While pondering, an emergency alarm blared.
Looking around for the exit, a new entrance appeared on the opposite wall that had been sealed.
A display above the new entrance showed the remaining time.
Remaining Time: 2 minutes 7 seconds
"Not much time—gotta hurry."
Lee Ru-ri dashed to the entrance below the display. She was out of breath from the sudden sprint.
As she caught her breath, her status window reactivated with updated gate info.
(2) Gate Difficulty:F
Remaining Time:120 minutes
Objective (1):Exterminate Giant Black Leeches (9,999)
Possible Rewards:Difficulty Increase Key (2)
Note:Targets generated in Hidden Gates have favor fixed at 0.
Confirming the info, she plopped down in despair.
"Giant Leeches...?"
A horrific Giant Black Leech—twice the size of the ones before—latched onto her back and sucked blood greedily.
"Ugh."
She hurriedly flung Poison Needles at it.
Thwip.
Pop, pop, plop.
The leech on her back convulsed from the poison and dropped to the floor.
Her HP, drained by the bloodsucking, refilled in an instant.
"Skills from monsters must be Conqueror skills. Pairing with Cube means no dying from HP loss. Now just need self-sustain..."
Lee Ru-ri straightened up.
Now D-rank with boosted max mana from the potions, Giant Black Leeches were a piece of cake.
For the first time, free of mana worries, she unleashed Extinction freely, massacring the Giant Black Leeches.
Each drop in their numbers on the status brought a surge of joy.
Actually, taking hits from leeches barely dented her HP.
Fatigue was the real issue.
Dragging it out would only disadvantage her.
She ramped up the slaughter, squeezing out her last strength to zero out the count.
(2) Gate Difficulty:F
Remaining Time:44 minutes
Objective (1):Exterminate Giant Black Leeches (0)
Rewards Acquired:Difficulty Increase Key (2)
"Ha, so exhausting."
Panting, Lee Ru-ri leaned against the gate wall for a break.
Ding, ding, ding, ding. Clank.
Suddenly, the emergency alarm rang inside the gate.
Looking toward the sound, a new entrance had opened below the remaining-time display.
"Ah, just a moment to breathe..."
She staggered up and barely made it through the entrance. Gate info updated at the top center of her status window.
Consuming Difficulty Increase Keys (1) and (2).
Gate difficulty increased.
(3) Gate Difficulty:D
Remaining Time:600 minutes
Objectives:Survival (1) / Exterminate Iron Armored Mercenaries (120,000)
Success:Acquire rewards. Failure:Gate resets.
"Wait. Exterminate that many? This is crazy, right?"
No sooner had her shout faded than a chilling sound echoed.
The clanging of iron armor from countless mercenary monsters.