Chapter 57
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: The Thread of Fate
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"No way, where on earth did you pick up a line like that?"
"Koreans are way too good at bluffing."
"Ugh, anyway, just as I predicted, Mr. Hurt got rated as a Taster."
"Yep. It was exactly like Seung-woo said. That's why that old man keeps inviting me back to Hano."
"I saw that coming too."
"But Ru-ri, your mana is black."
"Yes, Ru-ri is in a special position as well."
"Oh, lovely!"
Lee Ru-ri was starting to feel a bit worn out by Colin Hurt's boisterous energy when Han Seung-woo pulled the car to a stop.
"Let's go with B-rank."
"What about A-rank?"
"Teacher Colin Hurt. You're still a beginner, novice, and amateur, so B-rank is appropriate."
"Seung-woo, that's such a mean thing to say, like you're looking down on me! Where'd you learn that?"
"Ha... sigh."
Lee Ru-ri, who had been quietly listening to their banter, let out a soft chuckle.
"Honey, you look pretty when you smile. Keep smiling like that."
Han Seung-woo irritably grabbed Lee Ru-ri, who was about to respond to Hurt, and yanked her toward the gate.
Hurt watched the two with a pleased expression for a moment before hurriedly following them into the gate.
"May I summon Remnant?"
"It should be fine."
Lee Ru-ri called for Remnant.
Hurt jumped in shock at the figure that appeared before them in an instant.
"Monster! A real monster!"
"Oh, say hi. This is my friend named Remnant."
"Friend? For real?"
Hurt extended a hand toward Remnant with a dazed look on his face.
Remnant tilted its head quizzically.
"Remnant, how many demons are in here?"
―2,000 by human count. And there's another one.
"Another one?"
Remnant pondered for a moment, searching for words Lee Ru-ri could understand.
―What humans call a quasi-boss. That one's here.
Han Seung-woo asked with a worried expression.
"Won't it be dangerous for Mr. Hurt?"
"I've got it covered. Besides, it's not like we'll run into a B-rank quasi-boss easily..."
Han Seung-woo hesitated for a bit, but when he saw Lee Ru-ri's face fall, he strode forward decisively.
"Oh, Seung-woo. That's manly, real manly."
"Just don't get hurt."
The three of them, along with Remnant, walked until demons appeared.
'I need to watch closely how she communicates with demons. No need to reveal upfront that they feel affinity toward me or that I can talk to them, right?'
―Kikikikik.
As she mulled over how to act, a demon's cry echoed from ahead.
In an instant, Han Seung-woo charged into the darkness.
Lee Ru-ri observed the situation for a moment.
Whoosh.
Bam!
"That doesn't sound good at all... Remnant, can you check it out?"
At Lee Ru-ri's command, Remnant vanished toward Han Seung-woo.
Remnant returned and reported.
―It's with the other one.
"Got it? Mr. Hurt! Don't stray too far, and absolutely don't get hurt!"
"Darling, don't worry about me."
Hurt flashed a sly grin.
Lee Ru-ri dashed toward where Han Seung-woo was fighting, with Remnant at her side.
The moment she spotted the silhouette of Han Seung-woo agilely attacking the demons, she reached out to check their info.
[B ― Troll : Current Affinity <0>]
[S ― Troll Chief : Current Affinity <0>]
"They're really together, Seung-woo!"
"Yes!"
"That big one over there is the Troll Chief!"
Han Seung-woo leaped back toward Lee Ru-ri and said.
"I see. My attacks aren't landing at all."
Hurt came running toward them, panting heavily.
"Running... too fast. Huff, huff."
"You need to train more."
"Hoo, haa. Oh, trolls, huh. Cute!"
"C-Cute...?"
Hurt approached the trolls with an expression full of affection.
"Mr. Hurt, that's dangerous!"
As Lee Ru-ri tried to stop him, Han Seung-woo blocked her path.
The two watched Hurt's actions for a moment.
Hurt turned back to them with a bright smile.
Then he faced the trolls again and slowly raised both hands.
―Kill! Kill!
Surprisingly, the grating troll cries turned into clear words.
"Oh."
The trolls charged at Hurt, screaming to kill.
Hurt quickly dodged back toward Han Seung-woo and Lee Ru-ri.
"Uh, could you two stay back a bit?"
"How do you plan to handle it alone?"
"I've seen your abilities, Mr. Hurt, so now it's my turn to show mine."
Lee Ru-ri flashed a big smile at Han Seung-woo.
"Remnant, do your usual thing."
―Understood.
Remnant plunged into the midst of the demons in a flash, and Lee Ru-ri rushed forward to a safe distance, assuming an attack stance.
Remnant relentlessly sliced the trolls in half, occasionally landing hits on the Troll Chief as well.
To Han Seung-woo and Hurt's eyes, it looked like Lee Ru-ri was spamming heals from behind to let Remnant attack freely.
In reality, she was working on the Troll Chief's affinity.
The regular trolls' affinities had already maxed out, granting skill points.
For the Troll Chief, hitting 1 million affinity had leveled up Superhuman Strength.
And it was still rising.
'Not a special grade, so no contract possible. But if I drag this out too long, they might get suspicious.'
The remaining B-rank trolls were dwindling, and the Troll Chief's HP was hitting rock bottom.
'What to do.'
As she pondered inwardly, the Troll Chief suddenly bellowed and thrashed about.
―Filthy things. I'll kill you all!
A chilling aura spread from the Troll Chief's body, making every hair stand on end.
The aura quickly filled the entire gate.
At the same time, black blood gushed from the Troll Chief's eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
The Troll Chief glared with bulging, vein-popped eyes and slammed its massive club into the ground with all its might.
The club shattered with a crunch, revealing a sharp sword hidden inside.
"Remnant, it's going to use swordsmanship. Oh! Its HP regenerated!"
―What should we do?
"Let's watch a little longer for now."
―Understood.
Remnant began attacking the Troll Chief at a controlled pace.
'Remnant's not going all out, so its HP is dropping slowly. The codex said trolls are super rare, so I can't miss this chance... Even if they think it's weird, nothing I can do about it. Just max the affinity first.'
Lee Ru-ri organized her thoughts and kept pressuring the Troll Chief with Remnant until its affinity stopped rising.
Troll Chief's affinity has increased by 70,630. Current affinity: 9,958,830
Troll Chief's affinity is now full.
Troll Chief's affinity has increased by 70,630. Current affinity: 10,029,460
Troll Chief's affinity is now full.
Troll Chief's affinity has increased by 70,630. Current affinity: 10,029,460
Troll Chief's affinity is now full.
[Acquired <Troll's Blood (R)>]
'A recipe all of a sudden?'
Caught off guard by the unexpected gain, she froze for a moment.
But mindful of the two watching, she ordered Remnant to finish the Troll Chief.
Remnant dispatched it effortlessly.
The two rushed over as the Troll Chief collapsed.
"Honey! Amazing! First time seeing anything like this!"
"Nah, there are tons stronger than me."
"Truth be told, I was shocked too. Never expected this level."
"All thanks to Remnant."
"Hey, Remnant! Can I touch you?"
Hurt cautiously groped Remnant's shoulder, arm, and chest.
Remnant stood awkwardly, unsure how to fend off the hands.
"So firm! Super sexy?"
"That's enough."
"Remnant, it's a compliment, so don't feel bad. You can head back now."
―Understood.
Remnant vanished at Lee Ru-ri's command.
"Our darling really is one cool lady."
"Can you drop the 'darling' already?"
"Why? I wanna marry Ru-ri. What do you say, Ru-ri?"
"M-Marriage? H-Hahaha. What kind of joke is that! Oh right, Seung-woo! We gotta loot and get out!"
Han Seung-woo gathered loot from the trolls and Troll Chief as Lee Ru-ri instructed.
Lee Ru-ri pretended to help while discreetly pocketing the troll magic stone, invisible to others.
The gate clearance emergency alert soon rang out.
"Let's talk details outside."
The three quickly exited the gate, completed clearance registration, and headed to Lee Ru-ri's room.
"Ru-ri, that black mana was insane. Seung-woo, do lots of Koreans have black mana?"
"Only Teacher Yu and Ru-ri, as far as I know."
"Ah, the unique one."
"You know Mr. Unique too, Mr. Hurt?"
"Heard from this lady. Supposedly a super strong hunter."
"Who's this lady?"
"My mom."
"Huh?"
"Mom said she could handle life in New York alone thanks to your family, Mr. Hurt."
"Yeah. This lady came for a hotelier interview at our hotel. After gates popped up in New York, she taught me a ton about gates and hunters. That's when I heard about black mana, and I hit it off right away with Seung-woo when he visited her in the hospital."
"Ah... so that's the connection."
Hurt rummaged in his pocket and pulled out his wallet.
He took out a photo of "this lady" from the wallet and showed it to Lee Ru-ri.
Lee Ru-ri stared quietly at the woman's face.
"She looks a lot like you, Seung-woo..."
A voice flashed through her mind.
―Ru-ri, come live with aunty. Okay?
"Th-This woman..."
"Ru-ri? You okay?"
Han Seung-woo rushed to the pale-faced Lee Ru-ri and checked on her.
"I... I know her."
"You know my mom?"
"Yi Hwa-yeon, right?"
"How do you know my mother's name..."
Lee Ru-ri stumbled toward the large bag she used for gate raids.
She pulled out a notebook, then unfolded a paper tucked inside and showed it to Han Seung-woo.
"Yi Hwa-yeon, Lee Ru-ri...?"
It was a family register.
The document clearly stated that Yi Hwa-yeon and Lee Ru-ri were mother and daughter.
"No way, how is this possible."
The three fell silent for a moment.
Hurt spoke first.
"I knew it the moment I saw you."
"Me?"
"This lady said she had to leave a girl behind in Korea, one she was hiding from Chairman Han's eyes, so she couldn't bring her to New York. She showed me your photo and said she always felt bad about it."
"What in the world..."
"Seung-woo, the reason I came to Korea... was this lady's dying wish."
"Dying wish?"
"Right after you left, she went on a long trip."
"What? I never heard anything."
"It was one of her dying wishes. She wanted me to pass it on like a joke after the funeral."
"Ha, right to the end..."
Hurt handed Han Seung-woo the will of Yi Hwa-yeon that he had kept precious in his wallet.
Yi Hwa-yeon, whom Lee Ru-ri recalled from that time, had been the caretaker of the villa bought by Baek Ian.
Yi Hwa-yeon's will began with words about Lee Ru-ri.
[Seung-woo, Mom has no right to call herself that, but please... just one favor. Find Ru-ri for me.]
Yi Hwa-yeon.
Her glamorous life as a hotelier had crumbled entirely due to the shameful label of being Han Ho's mistress.