Chapter 65
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: International Alliance Raid
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While noisily chatting and wandering through the Yongsan Lounge, someone suddenly called out to Jin Mi-seon in a loud voice.
"Boss!"
Turning toward the sound, she saw Kim Young-man waving cheerfully with a bright smile on his face.
They all headed together to A-Market, where Kim Young-man was waiting.
"You keeping an eye on the shop okay?"
"I could do it with my eyes closed. How's the raid going?"
"It's a bit tough now that I'm getting on in years. How're sales?"
"Insane. The lounge itself has seen a massive sales boost. Transactions are through the roof too."
Jin Mi-seon looked around the shop this way and that, nagging at Kim Young-man the whole time.
Kim Young-man paid no mind to her scolding and served tea to the group gathered in one corner of the shop before turning to Lee Ru-ri.
"Ru-ri, you look great these days. Word's really getting around."
"Word?"
Kim Young-man grinned as he replied.
"Nothing's rarer than a dark-affinity hunter! Show us a skill sometime if you get the chance."
"Shut it and clean properly."
"Boss, now that you're back to hunting, focus on raids. I've got this place covered."
"This guy..."
It took quite a while of bickering before Jin Mi-seon's nagging finally wound down.
Only after repeatedly stressing the importance of keeping the shop clean did Jin Mi-seon finally turn to leave.
Yang Jeong-hyun checked the time.
"Whoa, time's flown by already."
"Yeah. I didn't think the lounge was that big, but shopping together like this made it fly."
"Let's hit the Yongsan headquarters tomorrow. I'm totally wiped."
With a pang of regret, they gathered their tired bodies and stuffed shopping bags full of purchases before heading back to guild HQ.
"Rest up well today, and we'll meet again tomorrow. See you then!"
Lee Ru-ri returned to her room, tossed her bags in a corner, and flopped onto the bed.
'Two S-rank materials now.'
The S-rank materials in Lee Ru-ri's possession were ingredients for crafting a healer dagger.
Back when the National Hunter Association was running things, high-grade weapon materials were mostly managed at their headquarters.
But the Association had deemed healer dagger materials utterly useless at the time and released them to general hunters.
She had discovered those materials not long after realizing her status was different from others.
'There has to be a way to use them. Should I summon Residual Shadow and ask her to check with Keres?'
As she pondered, Residual Shadow appeared almost instantly, gazing down at her.
—You called?
Lee Ru-ri bolted upright and handed the two S-rank materials to Residual Shadow.
"Ask Keres how to use these."
—Understood.
Lee Ru-ri stared at the spot where Residual Shadow had vanished for a moment before grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and chugging it down.
'I hope Keres knows a way.'
Residual Shadow returned quickly, empty-handed.
"The materials?"
—Lady Keres asks you to come there yourself.
"Got it."
Lee Ru-ri pulled up the new gate status, checked the coordinates for the nearest one, and hurried out of her room.
She ran into Han Seung-woo, who was just about to enter his own room.
"Where are you off to?"
"Oh, Seung-woo. Just a low-rank gate real quick."
Lee Ru-ri leaned in close and whispered to Han Seung-woo.
"Going to meet Keres."
"Mind if I join? I have something to ask her too."
"Sure."
Inside the gate, she summoned Residual Shadow, and Keres manifested through her body.
—You sent me something interesting.
"Any idea how to use them?"
—I know the method. But using them might hasten the end for you extras.
"What does that mean?"
Keres glanced at Han Seung-woo, who had jumped into the conversation.
—Ho, one step closer.
"Speak plainly."
—But my little master has advanced a few more steps. Time to step it up.
Lee Ru-ri cut between the two glaring at each other.
"This isn't the time for a staring contest. Keres, just tell me how to use them."
—Using them will shorten the time until you reach me. Still want to?
"Yes."
Keres infused dark mana into the S-rank materials Residual Shadow had handed her, then passed them back to Lee Ru-ri.
[Arbiter of Authority ― Magic Stone]
(Conqueror Dagger Crafting Exclusive)
[Arbiter of Authority ― Magic Stone]
(Conqueror Dagger Crafting Exclusive)
"Magic stones for a weapon...?"
—More precisely, you need three in total.
"Nothing's ever easy. Oh right, didn't you say you had something to ask Keres too, Seung-woo?"
"Ah, yeah."
—What is it?
"There are a lot of people outside targeting Ru-ri. I was wondering if we could get Keres's help even outside gates."
—My master must be popular.
"Keres, maybe lay off the news. Your vocabulary's starting to sound just like humans."
—I already told you how to keep Residual Shadow by your side at all times.
"You did?"
—And you found that method too.
"Me?"
—Yes.
"Hmm, no idea. Wait, maybe."
Lee Ru-ri quickly opened her skill window and scanned the list.
"I haven't checked the one from Zan Yerko yet."
"Zan Yerko...?"
"Oh, Seung-woo. Like Keres... I made another monster friend to help me out."
"I'm starting to get a little scared of you, Ru-ri."
"Get used to it. Hang on a sec."
[Attack Power 0]
Hides the selected target behind the Glass Mask during skill use. The hidden target can act stealthily. (Can set command phrase for activation/deactivation. Currently no command set.)
"Oh."
—You remember the fight with Zan Yerko. She hid behind the Glass Mask to attack you. That's her strength. But it has limits. Hiding behind cuts your original abilities exactly in half—that's the restriction.
"Even if attack power drops to half... nothing outside could beat Residual Shadow still."
—Then, you frail humans. All your questions answered?
"Frail? That's a bit insulting. Wanna get scolded for real?"
—Hahahahaha!
Keres laughed heartily before vanishing in an instant.
"While we're here, let's clear this place!"
"Shall we?"
The two dispatched the monsters with ease.
After Han Seung-woo confirmed the clear, he asked Lee Ru-ri.
"Want to do a few more?"
"Whoa, Seung-woo suggesting this? Kinda throws me off."
"Time's iffy anyway, and it's rare for us to be out alone. Let's tidy up the area."
Han Seung-woo smirked at Lee Ru-ri, who looked thrilled at the prospect of more raiding.
There were three B-rank gates nearby.
"We'll clear low-ranks along the way while handling these three B-ranks."
"Got it."
The two spent about two hours clearing gates in the area.
In just a few days, convenience facilities had taken root on every floor of the guild headquarters.
Thanks to that, the guild HQ buzzed with activity like clockwork, changing daily.
The day of the Inex Gate raid.
Light Guild members threw themselves into raid prep from morning on.
"Seung-woo, Ru-ri! Missed you guys!"
Hurt shouted with a beaming smile as he ran toward them.
He'd called for Han Seung-woo too, but his body was clearly aiming for Lee Ru-ri.
Han Seung-woo stepped in to block him.
"Tch, this is my American greeting!"
"Save American greetings for America. This is Korea. Si-jin."
"Yes!"
"Keep Hurt away from Ru-ri. I'll check on things."
"Roger!"
"Seung-woo, you're so mean!"
With Han Seung-woo stepping away briefly, Ham Dae-hee and Kim Tae-woong approached the trio.
"Ru-ri, how's your condition today?"
"Feeling great!"
"You're Hurt, right? Nice to meet you. Taster Ham Dae-hee."
"Oh, Dae-hee! Fellow Taster—share some tips!"
"Tips? Just watch closely and judge well."
"Ru-ri, Koreans are so stingy!"
"Hurt, be honest. You're not American, are you?"
"Why?"
"Your Korean's too good."
"Oh, a compliment? Marry me then?"
"No."
"This guy's a total playboy, huh?"
Everyone chuckled at Kim Tae-woong's remark.
Light Guild members joining the Inex Gate raid and representatives from various countries gathered in the 7th-floor conference room at Light HQ.
Han Seung-woo took the podium, gave a quick bow, and launched right into the briefing.
"We have a total of 90 participants for today's Inex Gate raid. Due to the numbers, we'll split into six teams of fifteen. Eyes on the screen."
He displayed the rosters for the six teams of fifteen on the screen.
"As you can see, each team has a designated leader. I'll lead Team 1, Teacher Han Eun-woo for Team 2, Teacher Kim Tae-woong for Team 3, Teacher Kwon Dong-nyeon for Team 4, Teacher Ham Dae-hee for Team 5, and Teacher Park Joo-hyung for Team 6. Follow your team leader's instructions."
Lee Ru-ri was on Team 1 with Han Seung-woo.
Reps from each country were evenly distributed across Teams 1 and 2.
"We'll depart by bus in 30 minutes. Prep thoroughly and assemble."
Everyone bustled out of the conference room for final checks before departure.
Tension hung thick as they awaited the off time.
Choi Si-jin whispered to Yang Jeong-hyun, his face a bit tense.
"Hope no one gets hurt today."
"Me too."
In front of the Gangnam Inex Gate.
Choi Si-jin had arrived early, ambulances on standby, doing final checks to ensure smooth response to any worst-case scenario.
Confirming the buses pulling up one by one, he prepared emergency supply pouches to distribute to participants.
"Si-jin, you've been working hard. Preferred running errands for me, huh?"
"Yeah. Feels like the good old days just doing what you and sis said. Can I hand in my position?"
"No way."
Han Seung-woo approached firmly.
"No matter how bad I am at raiding... I'm still a hunter..."
"Why? I like it. Hardworking hunter Choi Si-jin!"
"Sigh..."
After much deliberation, the Han brothers had put Choi Si-jin in charge of all administrative duties at Light Guild HQ.
A fitting title: Headquarters Chief.
Choi Si-jin had refused vehemently, but he couldn't overcome the brothers' resolve.
"Everyone, gather up."
The six teams assembled in front of the gate, centered around their leaders.
Choi Si-jin had staff distribute emergency pouches to the waiting hunters.
"Teams enter in order starting with 1. Team leaders, double-check your members. Stressing again: no one gets hurt."
Han Seung-woo scanned the pumped-up hunters before entering the gate first with Lee Ru-ri.
"Seung-woo."
"Yeah."
"Residual Shadow can come here too."
"Really?"
"If things get even a little dicey, call it quits immediately and pull everyone out. My summon and I will hold the chokepoints."
"No."
"Why?"
"Don't you get why we're Team 1?"
"I do, but I don't want you getting hurt."
"So it's okay if you do?"
"No, but still, do as I say."
As Lee Ru-ri and Han Seung-woo bickered up front, Hurt wedged himself between them.
"Seung-woo, Ru-ri. Lovebirds quarreling?"
"Hurt, cut the nonsense and stay sharp."
"Like I said, Inex Gates can spit out anything. Be really careful."
"Ru-ri's turning into Seung-woo. Nagging hurts my ears. Ebebebebe."
"Sigh."
Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu-gu-gung.
Hurt startled at the rumble from nearby and asked.
"What's that sound?"
"Something waking up."
"Yeah."
Han Seung-woo shouted to the hunters.
"Something's coming! Stay focused!"