Chapter 59
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: F급 힐러가 SS급 게이트를 공략하는 방법-59화
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Family Secrets Unveiled
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“If it’s Ms. Min...”
“Chairman Han’s wife. The old lady said all the evidence is with her.”
“She’s certainly the one person Chairman Han can’t touch. It makes sense now that I think about it—he’s holding all those critical things because of her.”
“But how do we approach her?”
Kwon Dong-nyeon’s question drew a sly grin from Hert.
“Han Ho told me to come as ‘Han.’ Because I’m a Taster.”
“You’re planning to go?”
Han Seung-woo asked.
“It’s perfect, right? I’ve always wanted to try something like this. Double agent, spy!”
Han Seung-woo shook his head slowly.
“Then we’ll leave that part to you, Ms. Hert. By the way, Mr. Park Joo-hyung, how much does Chairman Han know about Ru-ri?”
“Once he found out that Lee Hwa-yeon adopted Iru-ri, he started investigating her movements. He’s almost pieced together that the funds for her Jeju Island villa came from Professor Baek. And now he’s digging into Iru-ri’s position.”
“Not much time left, then. He’ll definitely approach Iru-ri directly.”
“Ru-ri will obviously refuse.”
“Then we’ll have to stick close to her?”
“With that woman’s personality, she won’t just accept our protection outright.”
“What about using Hider abilities?”
“She won’t even trust the results of the official re-examination, so even a temporary illusion from Hider won’t make her back off.”
“I agree. We’ll have to keep thinking about how to protect Ru-ri.”
“Then I’ll head overseas for a while. Now that he knows Ru-ri’s here, he’ll keep coming after her. For Ru-ri’s sake, I need to put some distance between us...”
“Ru-ri might feel hurt by that.”
“Exactly. Why don’t you have a proper talk with her first and decide?”
“Even so... is that okay?”
“Of course. Aren’t you her only family?”
“Sob...”
Yang Jeong-hyun tightly hugged the sniffling Baek Eun-an.
Lee Sang-chun, who had been struggling to suppress his anger alone, seemed a bit calmer as he spoke up.
“Since Colin said he’d look after Min Je-i, Dong-nyeon and I will stick around Chairman Han, clinging like glue to divert his attention.”
Kim Tae-woong, who had been quietly taking it all in, shot his hand up.
“Zugi, could we borrow Teacher Park for a bit?”
“Mr. Park Joo-hyung?”
“It’s only a matter of time before he falls out of favor with Chairman Han anyway, and Jin just contacted us saying she’s bringing the kids soon!”
“The representatives from each country will definitely pressure us about challenging the Inex Gate, but since Teacher Jin has given us a firm yes, this is a good chance to focus on bolstering our forces. To avoid Chairman Han’s interference for now, it might be best to lay low—and Mr. Park could help with that.”
“Mr. Park Joo-hyung, is that alright with you?”
“Given the situation... it’s probably best to move in a way that helps. Understood.”
“Then everyone, carry out what you can from your positions. I’ll move on multiple fronts personally as well.”
“My stomach’s been in knots nonstop.”
She couldn’t tell how much time had passed.
Clearing every gate that spawned alongside the Lingering Shadow to calm her mind had reached the point where she was now waiting for them to generate.
“Maybe I should head to another region.”
She checked the status of new gates.
Glancing at the time, it was already 5 a.m.
“Oh, time flew by like that.”
A gate had just generated not far away.
Iru-ri hurried into the gate, swiftly dispatching the monsters with the Lingering Shadow, then entered the Hidden Gate waiting room.
There were no restrictions for lingering in the Hidden Gate waiting room, so she took her time checking things over.
She’d already amassed 70 million Sion.
Low-grade monsters always granted a skill once favor reached a certain level.
But for B-rank monsters, skills were random even after maxing favor.
Thus, she’d obtained a total of eight skills from B-rank gate monsters so far.
“Let’s use the Skill Combination Ticket first.”
[Skill Combination Ticket ― Skills to Combine]
[Stealth (Concealment)]
[Pillar of Fire]
[Fire Arrow]
[Combine? Y/N]
“Hope it gives me something decent.”
[Acquired new skill <Bond>.]
“Bond?”
Iru-ri checked the skill’s details.
“Hmm, if used right, it’d be hugely advantageous for gate clears... but one misjudgment and I could die? I’ll test it after pumping up my strength and stamina so defense drops don’t hurt.”
She tapped the Skill Change Ticket.
[Skill Change Ticket ― Selected Skills]
[None selected.]
[None selected.]
[None selected.]
[None selected.]
[None selected.]
[<No skills available for change.>]
“Prioritize ones I won’t use much. First, Split—now that I have contractors, it’s useless, so material it. The rest: today’s attack skills.”
Blizzard, Snowstorm, Electric Bullet.
Selecting those three attack skills plus the 20-second strength buff Will, the change list activated.
“Hope is a stamina booster. And Chains—blocks target’s mana regen for 8 seconds? Stops them from attacking me, but the duration’s short.”
There were five possible changes.
While browsing the rest, one caught her eye.
“Pair it with Superhuman Strength? Insane.”
[Acquired new skill <Radiance>.]
“Another B-rank skill—perfect, use up the rest of the change tickets.”
Iru-ri checked materials for the Hidden Gate entry key.
“Suddenly feeling wiped out. Contracts can wait... Ah!”
Something flashed in her mind, and she reopened her inventory.
Something shimmering inside. Tense, she tapped it.
“Hm, materials aren’t too grindy... But Drayger’s contracted, so no scales. Kalikan’s favor maxed—killing it feels wrong... Lingering Shadow, Troll’s Blood needs Drayger scales and Kalikan bones. Any ideas?”
The Lingering Shadow, waiting obediently by her side, responded promptly.
―I’ll ask Lady Keres.
“Thanks.”
Iru-ri stared at the reactivated info, unconsciously tapping “Troll’s Blood.”
“Huh? Permanently generates Troll’s Blood?”
Before she could grasp the description, the Lingering Shadow returned.
―Drayger scales from Drayger, Kalikan bones from Kalikan, she said.
“Got it. But what’s permanent generation mean?”
No answer. The Lingering Shadow had vanished.
But it reappeared quickly.
―In human terms? A panacea.
“Keres? Panacea? Who talks like that anymore—you sound like a grandpa!”
―Troll’s Blood cures all ailments, instantly restores stamina at its lowest.
“I know that. But ‘permanently useable’...?”
―Take as much as you want, whenever you want. Sometimes I wonder if everything happening to you is coincidence or design. But it doesn’t seem like a loss now, so keep going.
“Gonna keep spouting cryptic stuff solo?”
―Hahaha. Soon, every word I’ve said will click at once. Your thoughts are especially noisy today.
“...You can hear my thoughts...?”
―Of course.
“Keres, you said my weapon had black mana vibes? Turns out... it was Dad’s weapon...”
―Hm, family.
Keres, in the Lingering Shadow’s form, gazed at Iru-ri, then slashed the air with his hand, pulling her into a blood-red lake.
His eyes blazed.
Iru-ri tried to steady her heart staring into Keres’s eyes.
Near the tower of corpses, a faint light shimmered.
It slowly rose to them, stopping above Keres’s hand.
―Want to see?
“What... is that?”
―Gain or loss, unknown. But it’s truth. You’ll know when you see. Your choice.
“If it’s truth...”
Iru-ri hesitated.
Anxiety surged—it felt tied to her shattered past.
“Scary, but... I’ll see.”
Steeling herself, she answered. Keres handed her the light.
A memory sharpened into focus.
―“Drayger, it’s our daughter! Already using mana! Cried ‘waaah’ and shattered the window. Total genius, right?”
―“Hahaha. Humans call your type ‘daughter doting dad.’”
―“Not bias—she’s a real genius! Wish she’d grow fast enough to call me Daddy. Can’t wait to introduce you. Born from me and Ian, she’ll be a world-saving hunter. Right?”
―“Couldn’t you save it?”
―“Honestly, no confidence. Nearly peed myself contracting you first. Weak me? What could I do.”
Tears streamed down Iru-ri’s cheeks. It was Yu Il-won’s memory.
Drayger was Yu Il-won’s first contractor—and Iru-ri had made Drayger her first too.
―“Honey, that’s your greed. I want Ru-ri to live normally.”
―“Impossible. She’s ours. No special position kid born before. Ru-ri’s unique. It’s her fate.”
―“Han Ho? How dodge his eyes? How protect Ru-ri? What if he kidnaps her—can we stop him?”
―“That’s...”
―“Send to orphanage. No choice—for her sake.”
―“But she’s our daughter! Why orphanage with parents alive?!”
Iru-ri’s chest tightened at their argument.
―“Il-won, really sorry.”
―“Why?”
―“Mindlessly told Chairman Han you use black mana.”
―“What? What does that mean?”
―“What nonsense? Dae-hee, explain properly.”
―“Sorting hunters with Chairman, unconsciously mentioned Il-won hyung’s black mana. Truly sorry.”
―“You mad? How we hid it all this time! Ham Dae-hee, you ruined everything! It’s over because of you!”
―“Honey, calm. Dae-hee didn’t mean harm. Dae-hee, go now. Talk later.”
―“So sorry. Ten mouths couldn’t excuse it. It’ll be fine. Don’t worry too much. Ian ssi, truly sorry.”
Iru-ri collapsed to the ground.
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