The Secret Visitor
A faint glow seeped through the broken gap. Someone stood there, backlit by the light.
A scent that didn't belong in the soot-choked abandoned factory wafted in. A pleasant vanilla fragrance.
...Han I-seo?
Her navy long hair took shape in the darkness. Shoved haphazardly into a beanie, it made for a pretty hip outfit.
Well, that kind of getup is convenient for tailing someone.
But there hadn't been any car following me. Had she flown through the air while I took the wide-area bus all the way to the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province?
A-rank mobility, huh. Unreal in all sorts of ways.
Taat—
She leaped from the steel beam.
"I left a message saying I'd bring interesting news, but I didn't expect you'd come to watch in person."
"You sent a text saying you were heading to an abandoned factory, so I figured you might be planning something desperate."
Her gaze soon landed on the black mana wrapped around my wrist.
"A mutation that instantly fuses someone else's mana into your veins. And you ripped out a real core to do it. Seeing it in person makes it even more mind-blowing than just understanding it intellectually."
She analyzed the abnormality just from watching.
Adjusting her beanie, she took a step closer.
"But I've got one question. You cherry-picked Ryu Jin-hyuk's skill and left the other two alone. Was that a limit of your ability, or different conditions for the theft?"
Sharp as ever. But that's as far as she got.
She hadn't pinpointed the core trigger: killing intent directed at me.
Benevolent or not, a hidden card is a hidden card. No reason to show it.
The side with more hidden cards controls the board.
I wiped the blood from my lips with my thumb and gave a curt reply.
"Trade secret."
"Pardon?"
"It's not that I don't trust you, Han I-seo-ssi. But casually revealing a key card is a problem."
My stonewall made her brow furrow slightly.
"Who said anything about betrayal? I skipped dinner and chased your bus all the way out here to play shield for you, and now you're treating me like some shady boss."
A pouty lip and grumbly tone.
She was aggrieved about missing dinner but still came all the way to this remote outskirts herself.
"Anyway, your value is clear."
She continued in a suddenly serious tone.
"Your mana wavelength and stability have noticeably improved since last time. When we first met, your mana was raging out of control—you were on the brink of death... You're really something."
She seemed about to say more, but trailed off with a shallow sigh.
She pulled a crisp envelope from her pocket and thrust it at my chest. Inside was a black card.
"What's this?"
"Entry card for the Yongsan-gu D-rank Gate. Time is two days from now, 3 PM. I put my A-rank authority up as collateral to get soloing approved."
Two days from now. And she even guaranteed it for solo entry.
Soloing means a lot. She's opening a legal stage for me to rampage.
"You must have gone out of your way to secure solo rights for a reason."
"The mana field readings inside that gate have been off lately. Traces of deliberate interference by a third party—not Myth Guild."
[......]
What the hell?
The status window flickered briefly before vanishing.
No response came.
I was curious, but I wasn't about to mutter like an idiot.
I decided to quietly hear her out.
"An exception occurred, so the response has to match. You going in alone and flipping the place is the surest way."
'Confirm and check third party.'
This time, testing me in the dungeon. What a meticulous woman.
Best ally out there.
"Clean terms."
I offered a handshake.
Deal sealed.
But one thing to clarify.
Ryu Jin-hyuk might be a moron, but he's no fool.
He would've sniffed out Han I-seo backing me long ago.
Yet he chased me to the Gyeonggi outskirts with an A-rank shielding me?
"How'd you make Ryu Jin-hyuk believe I was outside your protection?"
"Messed with his intel network. As far as he knows, I'm at the Hamgyong-do Gate."
Han I-seo stretched her neck.
"Inspection team is just for show anyway—not the strategy office line. The real game is run under a guy named Seo Min-jae."
"Seo Min-jae... First time hearing the name. Who is he?"
"Myth's strategy director."
Strategy office. Rumors of its existence even circulated in the mining pits.
Then I could assert this much.
"Ryu Jin-hyuk's solo act didn't have this Seo Min-jae's approval."
"Why do you think that?"
"The quality's too low for a plan from Korea's top guild's strategy director. Dragging two D-ranks for an assassination in the Gyeonggi outskirts? That's a guy who couldn't report up, lashing out on his own—not orders from above."
Han I-seo nodded in agreement.
"Inferring that much from limited info... Spot on."
Basic stuff.
"Next time, tell me your story too, Han I-seo-ssi. Why you saved me and what you know—you haven't said."
She stared straight at me.
"With things like this, it must look like I'm handing out quests."
Joke? Her expressionless face made it hard to tell.
"One promise: I won't lie to you, Sa-eon-ssi."
"I know. You can spot bluffs just by looking in my eyes."
No streetlights at night—maybe I imagined her lips curving up.
"I'll send some data before entry. You'll handle it fine without, but prep well. I'll keep Ryu Jin-hyuk's cleanup from getting messy."
She turned to leave but hesitated, fiddling with her beanie brim before adding,
"And... don't get hurt. If my partner has issues, the plan derails."
She pulled her beanie down and vanished silently into the dark.
Only after her presence fully vanished did the eerie silence of the abandoned factory return.
Alone now.
As Han I-seo left, the status window appeared without warning.
Ding—
Alert. System communication function—next stage unlocked.
Function upgrade.
My conclusion after much deliberation: changes in stats. Same even after Absolute Assimilation finished.
But as the system unlocks more, things change.
How to put it.
It's definitely chattier now.
I felt it more clearly than the first unlock.
For example, it evaluated core stability.
Or pointed out inefficient mana flow during training—out loud.
Even started using a new prefix: 'Reference.'
So on the way to the gate, I asked something.
"Question."
Alert. System on standby.
"When assimilating Ryu Jin-hyuk's core, his senses flowed in too. Structure steals skills and afterimages?"
[......]
Alert. Detailed response on this item restricted.
"So many restrictions."
However, one note for the user.
Another note. Does it just generate these on a whim?
As absorbed cores increase, afterimage density rises too.
Be mindful of ego boundaries.
"Suddenly acting nice?"
System is inherently kind.
Two days ago, it'd just spit "restricted" at everything.
It's getting talkier.
"Show adaptation rates again."
Results of two days' focus showed. Crimson Flame had little room left to grow.
Magic Sword Aura hadn't even hit half. Looked like it'd take a while to master.
A bit further, barricades came into view.
While weaving through the noise of hunters seeking parties.
"Oh? Fancy seeing you here."
I turned at the drawling voice. Pink hair cocked to one side.
"Song Ji-yul-ssi?"
"Rewards here are juicy for a D-rank. Regular spot. You?"
"Heard some good intel myself."
Her half-lidded sleepy eyes slyly narrowed.
"So meeting here again—coincidence? Or..."
She trailed off playfully.
"Fate?"
Earphones in, she scanned me up and down.
"Aura's different too. Soloing here needs at least B-rank approval. How'd you swing it?"
She'd asked my rank before, but now she was openly probing.
"Had a hookup."
"Ah—got it."
Vague response, end of topic.
"Hey."
A stranger blocked my path.
"No guild mark, low-rank hunter—this ain't a place for solo crawling."
Tsk. No need to engage.
D-rank gates allow entry for any regular party hunter.
I pulled the black card from my inner pocket and tapped the terminal.
Beep—!
His face changed.
These types get annoying without early discipline. Better set the tone.
I grabbed his shoulder and vented Crimson Flame heat.
"W-wait, s-sorry!"
At least he had instincts.
"Going in first."
I withdrew the mana and headed for the portal, but a shady guy was loitering.
Tattoo from nape to behind ear, like blocking the sun.
He didn't seem interested in entering the dungeon.
Calmly counting entrants.
'Third party.'
Han I-seo's words clicked in my head.
The warp afterimage faded, revealing a swamp.
Gate internal mana density is 3x D-rank standard.
3x? What the fuck did these bastards do...?