Chapter 4

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Translator: 8uhl

Chapter: 4

Chapter Title: Baby Ogre Jackpot

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"They're really here!"

Lee Ru-ri picked up her pace.

From not far away came the cry of a monster.

—Uwooo!

Surprisingly, there were two baby ogres that hadn't fully grown yet, playing by rolling stones around.

The baby ogres, perhaps because they were so young, showed no sign of attacking her.

When she reached out her hand, the monster's information popped up in her status window.

Lee Ru-ri alternated between firing low-mana mana balls and heals.

"Oh, right. If that bastard Cheon Ye-jong calls the Association, they'll realize the gate hasn't been cleared."

She kept alternating mana balls and heals without stopping, lost in thought.

"They might already know. No need to cross paths with that scum again. Shame, but I should call it quits for today."

With her mind made up, Lee Ru-ri leaped into the air and began raining fireballs down on the baby ogres.

After downing nearly twenty Highest Mana Potions, the baby ogres were finally taken down.

Amid the monster remains, she spotted the same glow as when she'd gotten the ogre's axe blade before.

As she picked them up one by one, their shapes came into view, and below her HP gauge, the loot names appeared.

She pulled out a Strength Potion from her bag and chugged it down, stuffing the loot and weapons inside as her gate clear emergency alarm blared.

Lee Ru-ri steadied her bulging muscles and dashed out of the gate.

Cheon Ye-jong hadn't returned yet, it seemed.

She hurriedly completed the gate clear signature and got out of there.

The moment she got home, she sprawled out on the sofa, opened her status window, and hit the auction house button.

"Ogre's Wooden Staff, search."

Lee Ru-ri bolted upright at the prices.

"Holy shit, that's insane..."

She rubbed her eyes and checked again, but the numbers were still staggering.

A shiver ran through her body.

At that moment, a deafening ringing shook her skull.

—Hide! You have to hide! You absolutely can't let them find you!

She flinched in agony, clamping her ears shut and curling up tight.

She waited a long while for the ringing to fade, but it showed no signs of stopping anytime soon.

In the end, she couldn't hold out and passed out into sleep.

Ding-dong, ding-dong.

"Who is it?"

Lee Ru-ri had been tormented by the ringing all night and felt utterly drained, but she cautiously approached the door and checked the intercom.

"Han Seung-woo?"

Shocked by the unexpected visitor, she flailed about in panic for a moment.

"How did he find this place?"

Bang bang bang bang!

"I know you're in there. Open up."

With no choice, she carefully opened the door, and Han Seung-woo greeted her with a cold expression.

"Long time no see."

"H-how did you... No, we were supposed to meet Friday lunch..."

"We were. But given the circumstances..."

"C-come in."

Lee Ru-ri stuttered just like the first time they'd met, acting all timid.

Han Seung-woo sat naturally on the sofa and opened his status window.

"Thanks to you, we've had quite the headache."

"W-what do you mean?"

"Hiding away so thoroughly."

"Oh... But how did you..."

"That's a discussion for another time—we're short on it right now."

Han Seung-woo sent her a file via message.

Lee Ru-ri opened it with a puzzled look and checked the contents.

It was a gate report confirmation in Cheon Ye-jong's name.

"Huh?"

"What on earth were you thinking, raiding with that guy?"

"Uh, that was..."

"What's done is done—I'll handle the cleanup. Lee Ru-ri, you'll be forcibly summoned to headquarters tomorrow morning."

"W-what? Forcibly summoned?"

"Do you remember what I told you during the An Young-hoon crew gate incident five years ago?"

"Y-yes... You said you'd be watching..."

"And yet you went ahead and operated as a Ghost Crew leader, even gaining some notoriety. You ignored every re-inspection request too."

Han Seung-woo shifted his gaze from the status window to Lee Ru-ri.

Feeling embarrassed for no reason, she bowed her head.

"Anyway, Cheon Ye-jong is one of the most dangerous figures the Association is monitoring. Last night, he filed a report claiming ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you died during the raid. Meanwhile, we confirmed that you personally signed the gate clear. Do I need to explain the situation further?"

"N-no..."

"It's called a forced summon, but really, it's to protect you. We'll talk details at headquarters tomorrow. For now, stay at your registered address with the Association. You should clear out of here immediately."

Han Seung-woo stood from the sofa, straightened his clothes, bowed politely, and left.

Staring blankly at the closed door, Lee Ru-ri frantically called Jin Mi-seon.

—Yes, A-Market.

"Boss, Han Seung-woo just came by."

—Huh? Han Seung-woo? Where?

"My place."

—How the hell did he find it?

"Boss, do you know a hunter named Cheon Ye-jong?"

—Cheon Ye-jong? The blacklist guy—no lounge trades.

"Oh..."

—What's going on?

"I nearly died raiding with him yesterday. He thinks I'm really dead."

—What? I don't get any of this.

"Anyway, I have to go to my registered address and wait. Han Seung-woo said he'll pick me up tomorrow. Said it's to protect me from Cheon Ye-jong."

—If a big shot's moving this fast personally, it's no joke. Go on ahead. We'll pack up the shop and head there too.

"Okay."

Lee Ru-ri grabbed her stuff and headed to her registered address.

The room in her name was kept spotless by the housekeeper Jin Mi-seon had hired.

She just straightened the bedding and waited for Jin Mi-seon while opening her status window to review skills useful for E-rank gates.

"Oh, right—no loot from the Black Moth? Just as I thought. Once favor activates, if someone else attacks, I can't get the unique skill. Damn, my first E-rank and I miss out."

After the mess with An Young-hoon's crew, she'd experimented relentlessly in F-rank gates, testing every scenario, and now had over a hundred skills.

Her max mana wasn't high enough to use them all freely.

Still, soloing monsters for so long had boosted her base stats nicely.

Her once puny stone attacks had evolved into fire-attribute AoE spells that could shake an entire gate.

"I'd know my current state if I did a re-inspection."

For two years after awakening as a hunter seven years ago, she'd scraped by on cleanup raids in poverty.

Then the An Young-hoon crew incident happened, and she was summoned for investigation.

Somehow, Han Seung-woo—the low-rank gate handler at the time—let her go without a word, and with Jin Mi-seon's help, she'd gone into hiding.

She'd kept putting off re-inspections, so her system stats were frozen at the last one with Han Seung-woo five years ago.

But she could feel herself improving daily—clear times were getting faster with every raid.

Ding.

A message alert rang. It was Jin Mi-seon.

"Eh, nothing I can do."

Lee Ru-ri replied to Jin Mi-seon not to worry and to be safe.

"What now. No raiding, might as well sleep more."

As she sorted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her thoughts, the electric blanket warmed up nicely.

She wriggled under the covers and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Clunk.

"What was that?"

Deep in sleep, she heard a jolting noise.

She confirmed it had quieted and tried rolling over to sleep again when an inexplicable pressure hit her.

"It's real."

Cheon Ye-jong clamped her mouth shut as she tried to scream in terror, pressing a short, sharp dagger to her throat.

"Mmph!"

"What are you?"

"Mmmph!"

The tip of Cheon Ye-jong's blade poked her neck, blood trickling down.

"You were clearly eaten by that rotten meat pile. How are you alive? Whatever—doesn't matter now. This pipsqueak's got me in hot water with the Association anyway."

"Hng."

Any wrong move and his dagger would pierce her throat, so she minimized her movements and watched him.

"That annoying prick's protecting you, huh? Killing you outright might simplify things, but it'd blow up bigger. So come with me quietly. Scream, and I'll snap your neck."

Cheon Ye-jong bound her tightly and slung her over his shoulder.

She twisted, but the bonds held firm.

"Behave if you don't wanna die right now."

Hearing his low, creepy voice, Lee Ru-ri racked her brain for an escape.

Glancing around briefly, Cheon Ye-jong carefully opened the front door with her still slung over him.

But the moment it opened, his body lurched, and he pitched forward onto the floor.

Lee Ru-ri, draped over his shoulder, got flung down too.

"Ugh."

"Ru-ri! Are you okay?"

Han Seung-woo knelt by her head, looking worried as he helped her up.

"Haa... S-Seung-woo?"

"Sorry. I should've anticipated this. Anywhere hurt?"

"No. He nicked my neck with the dagger, but it's not bad."

"Let me see."

Han Seung-woo examined the deep stab still oozing blood, grimaced, and pressed his handkerchief to staunch it.

Meanwhile, several Association staffers bound the unconscious Cheon Ye-jong and dragged him away.

"Grab your things. We're leaving now."

Lee Ru-ri packed her bag and headed to the villa entrance.

A bus that looked Association-issue was waiting there.

Han Seung-woo boarded with a tense expression, eyes fixed on Lee Ru-ri's neck.

"B-but how did he find this place...?"

"Looks like the guide slipped up."

"Slipped up?"

"Pretended to be a distant relative over the phone, apparently."

"Oh... I'm on my own though..."

Han Seung-woo trailed off, gazing softly at the thoroughly dejected Lee Ru-ri.

"We mobilized the second we learned Cheon Ye-jong contacted the Association, but that was way too close. The problem is, once word gets out his license is getting revoked, the other hunters he's worked with will start moving too."

"Oh..."

His words made her vision swim.

'Damn, I really picked the wrong guy...'