Chapter 22
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Guild Open
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Yang Jeong-hyun continued as she organized the equipment to be used for the check.
"For now, the pattern itself is completely different from any gate patterns we've seen so far... I think a lot of people will be throwing themselves into research for the time being."
"Inex Gate... No one's tried entering it yet, right?"
"I heard some hunters who just awakened in China tried to form a crew and go in, but they failed."
"That thing where the gate shoved us away like whoosh—did that happen in China too?"
"Not sure about that. From what I heard, they just couldn't enter at all."
Han Seung-woo entered Yang Jeong-hyun's lab and greeted Lee Ru-ri.
"Ru-ri, long time no see."
"Man, Seung-woo's eyes are only on Ru-ri."
"Didn't we say good morning already?"
"Still feels a bit left out. Ha, what even is love?"
A strangely awkward atmosphere started to form.
Lee Ru-ri hurriedly jumped into their conversation.
"Let's do the check first!"
"Check?"
"Her virtual monster kill time is solid, but she keeps taking a full day to clear gates, which is weird. Plus, Ru-ri wants to know her personal stats. Might as well show her while we're at it."
"I see."
"Ru-ri, step up onto this platform here."
Lee Ru-ri stepped onto the round platform that Yang Jeong-hyun pointed to.
"Grip the handle behind you—it'll pull you forward. Just hold on and relax."
"Okay."
She gripped the handle as instructed and stood quietly on the platform, letting her body go limp.
Shring.
A electronic chime sounded, and she felt her mana being sucked into the handle in a rush.
"She said she ran into a ton of quasi-boss monsters, but isn't this a bit too brutal?"
"You're telling me. It's astonishing."
"Can I see too?"
"Yeah, you can come down now."
Lee Ru-ri stared intently at her information displayed on the large monitor.
The titles from the hidden gate and potion buffs weren't applied.
Her position and rank were still listed as the original D-rank wizard.
Han Seung-woo, watching Lee Ru-ri who couldn't tear her eyes from the screen, spoke up.
"What happened while I was in Beijing?"
"She was secretly clearing gates without you knowing...?"
Yang Jeong-hyun chimed in abruptly.
"Got some secret trick? Like playing hide-and-seek with monsters in the gates? Nothing beats physical training for getting stronger."
"W-Well... I kinda am playing hide-and-seek. I run like crazy to avoid getting hit as much as possible."
At Yang Jeong-hyun's joke, Lee Ru-ri suddenly recalled the feel of the skeleton's teeth and shuddered.
Everyone chuckled at the sight of her.
"Even so, between us, Ru-ri's stats shot up to between B and A rank in that short time. No way clearing an E-rank gate should take a full day."
Han Seung-woo continued.
"I've been wondering about that too. It took quite a while in Japan as well. The connection with Ru-ri was due to some anomaly in the gate... Are you still experiencing it?"
At Han Seung-woo's question, Lee Ru-ri didn't answer right away. Instead, she quietly looked at the three of them.
All three were waiting for her words.
*Ding.*
"Director, you're being called. The chairman wants everyone."
"Ha, that old man. Looks like he's jumping straight into announcing the guild system."
"He hasn't even returned home yet?"
"Something important must've come up in the US."
Han Seung-woo and Choi Si-jin hurried off to headquarters.
Yang Jeong-hyun watched the two leave the lab for a moment, then sat Lee Ru-ri down in the chair across from her.
"Alright, shall we finish the rest of the story?"
"The rest...?"
"I mentioned a guy named Yu Il-won before, right?"
"Yeah. You said his mana control was similar to mine..."
"It's a boring old tale, but to keep it short: we were in the same crew."
"Same crew?"
"Yeah. Professor Kwon, Professor Lee, Chairman Han's eldest son Han Yu, me, Yu Il-won, Baek I-an, Seung-woo, Eun-woo. Before we became executives, we operated as a fixed crew like that."
"Chairman Han's eldest son..."
"Right. My fiancé Yu is dead."
"Fiancé?!"
"Yeah. We were an engaged couple about to get married. The problem was, on the day Yu died, Il-won and I-an died too."
"All three at the same time..."
"Did I mention Il-won and I-an were married?"
"No, first time hearing it."
Yang Jeong-hyun calmly recounted the past.
One day, while they were diligently operating as a fixed crew.
Yang Jeong-hyun suddenly took on position judging duties, naturally slacking on crew activities.
And her spot was occasionally filled by Han Ho.
She said Chairman Han doted especially on his eldest son, so she thought they were just close father and son.
"But... the day I went down to the provinces to investigate gate patterns. A bunch of A-rank hunters died."
"Died?"
"In an S-rank gate, Yu, Il-won, and I-an... I heard the three of them were brutally killed by monsters."
"Ah..."
"Around that time, among the crew members who moved with them, Professor Kwon Dong-nyeon was suddenly sent on a long-term overseas dispatch, and things soured big time between Professor Lee Sang-chun and Chairman Han. The Seung-woo brothers were young, so they don't remember well... Right now, I'm guessing Chairman Han is involved in those three deaths somehow?"
"S-Sorry to interrupt, but... last time, I happened to go on a subjugation with the chairman. The way Seung-woo looked at him and the vice chairman was... weird? A bit off."
"Ah... this is top secret, but since it's you, Ru-ri, I'll tell you. The Seung-woo brothers were born from Chairman Han and a hidden mistress."
"M-Mistress?"
"Apparently, Chairman Han had a phase where he played around outside. I don't know the family details, but after a long fight with his wife, he brought only the Seung-woo brothers into the Han family and quietly shipped the mistress overseas."
"Ah..."
"Then their youngest was born unexpectedly. After that, it's obvious, right? Total stepchild treatment, stuck doing all the dirty work."
"I see..."
"Yeah, don't let it show. Anyway! I brought up this musty old story because of Il-won's position."
"Why Yu Il-won's position?"
"Han Ho forcibly buried Il-won's position."
"Buried?"
"Erased it arbitrarily. But he did it too thoroughly—no records anywhere. I was struggling to find info when I met you, Ru-ri, with similar mana control. Now I'm pretty much convinced. The position Han Ho erased is definitely yours, Ru-ri. That's why it absolutely can't get out."
"This suddenly feels a bit scary."
To sum up Yang Jeong-hyun's words: during an S-rank gate subjugation, three A-rank hunters from her crew died on the same day.
She suspected Han Ho was hiding something related to their deaths, closely tied to the position he forcibly deleted—Yu Il-won's position. And she was convinced that deleted position was Lee Ru-ri's.
"You look lost in thought. No need to remember useless old stories—just wanted to say you're not some mutant or negative case. You seemed pretty down."
Lee Ru-ri suppressed a smile at being called "down" and continued.
"I've lived alone since I was a baby, so I never really felt lonely. But the past seven years as a healer were so lonely and hungry. I couldn't heal properly and sent crewmates to their deaths. So a position no one in association high-ups knows popping up suddenly is confusing."
Yang Jeong-hyun patted her back, reading her expression.
"Ru-ri? The important thing is I know more than you think. First, I'll tell you how Il-won trained. He always said: first is stamina, second is stamina."
"Stamina?"
"Yeah. You wouldn't believe how hard he trained. Built real solid muscle. With his superior mana recovery over others, infinite attacks were possible. To keep the body going, stamina training was the answer."
"Ah..."
"I joked about hide-and-seek earlier, but if that's true, you're doing great."
*Ding.*
"Si-jin? Says watch the news?"
Yang Jeong-hyun turned on the TV.
The news showed Han Ho's press conference just about to start.
"This is National Hunter Association Chairman Han Ho. I apologize for this hasty video greeting from abroad due to an urgent announcement. Starting today, Korea will take full responsibility for gate phenomenon management centered on Korea, Japan, China, and the United States. Accordingly, the association has determined the need to prepare conditions for tackling overseas gates as well. As a measure, we intend to introduce the guild system."
Yang Jeong-hyun let out a sigh-like breath as she listened to Han Ho.
"Ugh, money grubber."
"Does the guild system make that much money?"
"Obviously. High-rank hunters are already association affiliates, and many have joined Chairman Han's guild already. High-rank gates are basically all his for the taking."
Lee Ru-ri listened to Yang Jeong-hyun while focusing on Han Ho's words.
"To encourage guild system use, the association has taken the lead by establishing the first guild."
Han Ho switched to a screen showing a simple logo named 'HAN'.
"HAN Guild will act as Korea's representative guild, operating globally without distinction between domestic and international. Various guild-related systems will update at midnight today, so please actively utilize the guild system to elevate Korean hunters' status. That's all."
As soon as Han Ho finished, Yang Jeong-hyun irritably turned off the TV.
"Ru-ri, decided yet?"
"On a guild?"
"Yeah. If you join us, we can set one up right away."
"I thought about it a bit, but you've all helped so much—I can't just ignore it."
"Knew it. I really like you, Ru-ri."
*Ding.*
"Si-jin says dinner together, cool?"
"Uh, I'm... pretty tired..."
"Right. You've been going non-stop since the gate clear."
"Yeah."
"Dinner next time then. I'll drop you off."
"Oh, you don't have to."
"You didn't forget you're still in danger, right?"
"Oh, right. Sigh... sorry, but could you?"
"Come on, let's go."
Yang Jeong-hyun escorted Lee Ru-ri to the guest room, then messaged Han Seung-woo and Choi Si-jin to run errands and come to the lab.
Lee Ru-ri didn't even have the energy to reach the bed and sprawled on the sofa, falling into a deep sleep defenselessly.
"Sis, can't we talk over something tasty? Do we have to do work while stuffing ourselves with kimbap until we wanna puke?"
"This stuff is hearty and lasts forever. For people like us, it's the best. Shut up—got a guild name yet?"