Chapter 33
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: International Hunter Association
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[International Hunter Association]
"What... what the hell did I just see?"
"Sang-chun, let's get our heads straight first. Director Han!"
"Y-Yes... yes?"
"We need to wrap this up before it's too late. Check the gate first!"
"Ru-Ru-ri..."
"We'll take her to the hospital, so don't worry."
Kwon Dong-nyeon said as he scooped up the unconscious Lee Ru-ri into his arms.
Following Kwon Dong-nyeon's request, Han Seung-woo contacted headquarters while inspecting and securely sealing off the gate, then headed to the hospital.
Upon entering the hospital room, Yang Jeong-hyun and Lee Ru-ri were lying there side by side.
"Director, you're here."
"How are the two of them?"
"Jeong-hyun unnie's upper body bones are all healed. She can't move for a while, though. Ru-ri's brainwaves are unstable. She's in a coma-like state..."
"Haa..."
"What on earth happened? And while you were trapped in the gate, Director, breaks occurred in various countries too. The US, China, India, and Vietnam are the worst hit."
"Eun-woo?"
"Japan handled it well with their citizens, so they wrapped up stably without major damage."
"What about Chairman Han?"
"No contact—he's tied up controlling the break around the New York headquarters. He instructed dispatched personnel from each country to handle it as best they can and only request support if it's absolutely impossible."
"Spread the word that Korea's stabilized too, and the researchers have returned to headquarters?"
"Yes, they went straight into a meeting with the gate researchers."
"I'll head over too. Keep an eye on them."
"Got it!"
Han Seung-woo gathered his heavy heart and made his way to headquarters.
The gate breaks that erupted after the Inex Gate opened.
Entry into the Inex Gate was still impossible.
Yet there had been a gate guarded by a guardian far beyond imagination.
The demonic beast called Keres that Lee Ru-ri mentioned, and the colossal monster he'd witnessed today.
He hadn't seen Keres with his own eyes, but he'd experienced death because of it.
His past self hadn't believed her claim of an SS-rank monster appearing.
The colossal monster today clearly surpassed any S-rank he'd seen before—it was undoubtedly SS-rank.
Lee Ru-ri had never lied to him once.
And all these events so far were mere harbingers of the infinite dangers to come.
Hunters were human first, before being Awakened.
Thus, monsters like the colossal one today, evoking pure terror, were enough to instill utter despair that they could never be defeated.
Yet Lee Ru-ri had stepped forward with her tiny frame, overwhelming the colossal beast and resolving the crisis.
He loathed his powerless self, who could only watch from behind.
'There'll be a ton of questions when she wakes up. But first, damage control.'
Upon arriving at headquarters, Han Seung-woo busied himself filling in for the absent chairman.
Reports came in of successful break controls across various countries.
Aside from the four nations with heavy damage, things seemed mostly wrapped up.
The remaining high-rank hunters in Korea dispersed to other countries via the Association's private jets at Han Seung-woo's orders.
"Are you going too, Director?"
"Gotta help sort out Beijing. Let me know the moment Yang or Ru-ri wakes up."
"Yes, sir. Stay safe."
Choi Si-jin watched Han Seung-woo board the jet, sensing some indefinable change in his demeanor, but he soon headed to the conference room at Lee Sang-chun's call.
A week later.
"When's Seung-woo coming back?"
"Seems like there's still unfinished business at the Beijing headquarters."
"Si-jin, I want an iced latte."
"No, unnie. You're basically an invertebrate right now."
"No, I'm not! Look, I can lift my arm! Ugh."
"Teacher! Careful!"
"Ru-ri looks fine. Lucky her."
"I'll get an iced latte instead!"
Lee Ru-ri headed to the cafe on the first floor of the hospital with Choi Si-jin.
While he ordered, she gazed out the cafe's glass window at the scenery beyond.
She'd heard that controlling the gate breaks in various countries had taken a full two days even after she passed out.
Unlike China, which quickly stabilized under Han Seung-woo's command from the Beijing headquarters, the US had struggled considerably.
S-rank hunter Han Gyeol and Joan had sustained major injuries requiring immediate treatment, and Han Ho had barely succeeded in controlling the break by squeezing out his last reserves of strength.
The executives of the National Hunter Association were now holding nonstop video conferences day and night to assess other potential threats and devise future countermeasures.
She returned to the hospital room with Choi Si-jin, drinks in hand.
"Unnie, message from the Director."
"What'd he say?"
"He says you've got exactly two days of lounging around luxury."
"Two days?"
"Yeah. Once he returns, things are gonna get insanely hectic."
"Haa, I absolutely don't wanna know why!"
Lee Ru-ri pulled up Yang Jeong-hyun's bed while listening to their conversation.
"Thanks, Ru-ri."
"I'll go for a walk!"
"Want company?"
"You need to tend to Teacher. I'll just get some air and be right back!"
"Hurry back—I'll get bored!"
Lee Ru-ri flashed a grin at the pouting Yang Jeong-hyun and left the room.
'The people who were with me at the gate back then have been too busy to ask. I vaguely remember the hunters getting pretty roughed up. Ugh, frustrating.'
Her memory cut off at some point, and no matter how hard she tried, it wouldn't come back.
All she could repeatedly recall was the massive shock of watching several hunters get utterly erased by Ezold without a trace.
'One thing's clear: Ezold in the hidden gate we entered with Han Seung-woo was S-rank with an H mark, but outside, it was SS-rank.'
She shook violently whenever confronted with death.
On an utterly impoverished, utterly ordinary day when she lived by clearing the lowest gates without incident.
For the first time, she'd been gripped by the terror that someone might die because of her inadequacy.
And that day was also when she'd nearly been torn apart by goblins herself.
Then, purely by chance, her heals landed on the goblins trying to kill her, and she learned that monsters took a liking to her.
After that, on another day of struggling to uncover why she differed from others, she'd ended up owing her life to the SS-rank monster Keres.
Whether she wanted revenge on Keres or just to say thanks, she still wasn't sure—so with the single-minded determination to meet it again someday, she'd pushed forward boldly until now.
'Right now, the surest thing is I've nearly met the conditions to unlock my hidden skill. No memory, but seems like I somehow took down Ezold too.'
She abruptly severed the chain of trailing thoughts.
Far better to buzz with energy pondering what to do next than dwell on the past.
'Han Seung-woo's back in two days. So tonight, while everyone's asleep—from late night to morning—I'll pull an all-nighter clearing gates.'
Lee Ru-ri pumped herself up inwardly with a silent cheer and returned to the room.
Yang Jeong-hyun was asleep when she entered.
Choi Si-jin seemed to have gone back to headquarters.
'Oh? Perfect timing then?'
She quietly pulled out her outer clothes, careful not to wake Yang Jeong-hyun, but as she turned, Yang's eyes cracked open, watching her.
"Uh, uh! Why aren't you asleep? Ha, haha."
"Heading out to clear gates?"
"My body's aching all over..."
"I get it. Once Seung-woo gets back, you'll be benched even longer. I'll pretend I saw nothing. Just don't stay out too late."
"Really?"
"Can't check gate statuses like this. Bail if it's dangerous—got it?"
"Yes! Sleep well. I'll be quick."
She straightened Yang Jeong-hyun's disheveled blanket and slipped out.
Opening her status window to check gate statuses, she headed first to the guest room at headquarters.
'Looks like the gate break pulled me into a hidden gate this time. Gotta prep fully if entering directly. Oh, right—did I make a hidden gate key?'
She slung on the bag she'd left in the guest room and checked the coordinates for E- and D-rank gates.
'Fifteen E-ranks from Yongsan to Dongdaemun. Four D-ranks mixed in. It's seven now, so if I hustle...'
Lee Ru-ri set off without delay for the nearest gate.
Entering activated the hidden gate status automatically. Her inventory still held the materials she'd prepared last time.
She hastily assembled a key and entered the hidden gate.
But a problem arose.
She'd assumed steadily clearing hidden gate conditions would always lead to the boss gate.
It was purely her misconception.
She desperately missed reuniting with the Ogre Queen, but she only got thoroughly thrashed by the pouring skeletons and ghouls—never reaching the boss gate.
'This is straight out of those old luck-based gacha games that were all the rage. Sigh.'
She boosted her stamina and mana via low-grade random boxes, then reluctantly resumed clearing low-grade gates to gather materials.
Seven hours later.
Endlessly repeating clears and selling all loot.
Her Zion balance was sprinting toward 100 million. The issue was the broken keys.
Among monsters dropping keys, ogres—the ones she had the most familiarity with—were the easiest.
Yet after smashing fourteen gates, no sign of one.
"Was my luck just insane at the start? They're not showing up at all."
No ogre in the last low-grade gate either.
'Haa... guess not... I'm hungry.'
Four D-rank gates left as her target.
'If no luck here, grab some food first.'
Unexpectedly, the first two D-rank gates netted her 10 million Zion in profit.
Checking coordinates for one of the remaining two, a message arrived.
Ding.
[New Message]
[Choi Si-jin (C): Ru-ri, emergency! Director Han's arrived!]
'What? Why's he back so early?'
She rushed back to headquarters, looking around frantically. There sat Han Seung-woo at the first-floor cafe, glaring sharply at Lee Ru-ri as she entered.
"S-Seung-woo!"
"I said two days precisely because I knew you'd pull something like this."
"Wow! You lied like a pro!"
"Follow me."
Han Seung-woo stood abruptly, maintaining his icy demeanor, and led the way.
They arrived at Lee Sang-chun's office.
Kwon Dong-nyeon and Lee Sang-chun were sipping tea, with A-rank healer Kim Heung-min also present.
She wove through the heavy silence, cautiously taking a seat beside Han Seung-woo.
Lee Sang-chun activated the large monitor.
Han Ho and the high-rank Association executives dispatched abroad appeared on screen one by one.
Choi Si-jin and Yang Jeong-hyun showed up in one frame too.
'They're at the hospital.'
After a brief pause, Han Ho spoke.
"Looks like everyone's here. The people gathered in this meeting will be the key players of the International Hunter Association moving forward."
Lee Ru-ri couldn't quite process what she'd just heard.
'What was that supposed to mean?'
As she mulled over Han Ho's words, he continued.