Chapter 214. The Rune Clan
"Bye, noona."
"Yeah. See you next time."
"Of course. Make sure to text me when you get home safe."
"Hehe, got it."
I waved enthusiastically as I saw Moon Sulin off. She returned a pleased smile.
That noona's pretty cute too.
After seeing her off, I headed back to the dormitory. The streets were eerily quiet for lunchtime, with hardly anyone around.
Hanging out with her more, it kinda feels like we could end up as a couple.
What was it? There was this ambiguous, flirty vibe with Sulin noona. But if things went that way, it'd mess up my harem plans.
"Hmm…."
How should I handle this?
Thud. Thud.
My footsteps echoed through the empty street as I walked, lost in thought.
Thud. Thud.
Before I knew it, I'd walked quite a distance, mulling over various ideas. How far had I gone? That's when I started noticing something off.
"…."
Even on this familiar route, something felt wrong. An indescribable stillness hung in the air. And soon, I pinpointed the unnaturalness.
"No one's here…."
There wasn't a single soul around. The moment I turned from the main road onto this side street, all signs of life vanished. It wasn't just the absence of people—no distant voices, no shop music, no car exhaust hums. Nothing.
The instant I sensed that anomaly, something pressed in around me.
Mana?
It was mana, though slightly off-kilter. To counter the oppressive force squeezing my body, I immediately circulated my own mana.
An ambush…? No, that doesn't fit—my combat sense isn't kicking in.
Raising my mana eased the pressure from all sides a bit. But traces still lingered in the air.
"…Fresh out of the hospital, and already trouble."
Why was I so damn popular? If only it were just with the heroines.
I wrapped a Rune Barrier around myself in preparation for whoever might show. At least Sulin noona hadn't gotten dragged into this.
And as the barrier formed, I felt it.
"This is a Rune Barrier."
The mana enveloping me was a Rune Barrier. The mana arrangement differed from mine, but the core formula was unmistakably the same. Just like what I'd sensed during the Magic Society party terror attack.
The Rune Clan…?
A key Pandemic executive who wielded Rune Barriers. I'd figured we'd cross paths eventually, but not alone like this, in a place like this.
As I scanned the surroundings with Mana Resonance, tense from the unexpected foe—
"Haa, finally we meet."
Click. Click.
A red-haired woman appeared from somewhere and approached from the front.
"…."
Her presence screamed beyond S-rank Mine levels. Rebecca, the Rune Clan mage from the original story—someone you couldn't take down until the late game. Her skill was on a level I couldn't touch right now.
Crackle—Crunch—
The crimson woman. As Rebecca drew closer, my Rune Barrier crumbled.
I couldn't even resist a little—like an ant crushed underfoot, it dissolved naturally into her overwhelming mana.
What the hell….
Against the same magic, I'd never lose. That's the power of my Mana Resonance in mana control. But that was just human-to-human. Against outliers like Im Sol or Rebecca, it meant nothing.
Snap—Crackle—
Rebecca closed in, and I swallowed hard, on edge. But the closer she got, the more puzzled I became.
My heart stayed calm. My special perk, 'Combat Sense,' hadn't triggered.
That meant Rebecca harbored no hostility.
"Sorry for popping up out of nowhere. Bet you're freaked out, huh?"
"…?"
Even without hostility, we weren't on casual terms. I narrowed my eyes at Rebecca, who looked apologetic yet spoke so familiarly.
"You've been through a lot, haven't you? No need to hide anymore. I'm one of the Rune Clan, just like you."
"What?"
What kind of plot twist was this? I couldn't hide my confusion as Pandemic's exec started spouting nonsense.
Me, part of the Rune Clan?
"I've been searching for you all this time. For the revival of the Rune Clan…!"
Rebecca tossed her red hair back, her face alight with emotion.
"What bullshit is this…."
The Rebecca I remembered didn't make faces like that. She was a massive pain in the ass, showing up at every terror attack to shield the heroines with her Rune Barrier. So why was she looking at me like this?
"…Don't deny it. The blood in your veins is real."
Squeeze—
The pressure intensified as she approached. The gap in mana control was too vast to overcome; I couldn't fight back against the mana slowly constricting me.
"No, what blood are you even talking about…!"
Was this the classic orphan protagonist reveal?
…Nah.
Lee Ho-yeon was just a regular orphan. No hidden backstory.
Rebecca drew nearer, me bound by her mana ropes.
"In ten years, we could have ten kids. Twenty in twenty years. In fifty, rebuilding the old Rune village wouldn't be a dream."
"Hold on. Hold on. What the hell? Why's it going this way?"
I racked my brain for an escape, but her next move left me stunned.
Swish—
Rebecca started unbuttoning my shirt. Why the fuck was she undressing me? I couldn't make sense of it. Too sudden. Why was the original story's villain trying to jump me?
"It's okay. You don't have to do anything."
"Wait. No, wait a sec. Ah, fuck…."
At least explain first. She finally met my eyes properly as I lost it and swore. Reading the panic and irritation in my gaze, Rebecca looked apologetic.
"Right… sorry. I got ahead of myself. I should explain properly."
"…."
I waited for her to compose herself.
"Lee Ho-yeon, last survivor of the Rune Clan. I've been looking for you."
"…What?"
"You think the whole clan vanished in that mysterious attack, but I was on a secret mission outside. Got lucky and survived."
"I'm not from the Rune Clan."
"That barrier you use… the Rune Barrier is a secret art only the Rune Clan can wield."
"True, but…."
"To revive the clan, I've been tracking the two boys who escaped that day—the only ones."
"…."
Listening to her, I learned Rebecca's backstory, absent from the original. I'd assumed she was under Maestro's mind control like the rest, but no. She had her own reasons.
"So, you need to make a baby with me."
"How'd you jump to that conclusion…."
"To revive the Rune Clan. We need pure bloodlines…!"
Haa. She'd been eyeing me the second I left the hospital. If I'd known, I wouldn't have spammed Rune Barriers so carelessly.
Still, her explanation suggested no malicious intent.
"Were you the one who approached the Saintess at the Magic Society party terror, rambling about the old clan?"
"Yeah. You were passed out then."
So that was Rebecca. I'd connected "clan" to Rune Clan, but without knowing she was searching for survivors, I couldn't link it.
Haa. What now? Time to be straight.
"Look, Rebecca. Really sorry, but… I'm not from the Rune Clan."
She seemed ready to treat me politely now, so I matched her tone. Gotta lay it out.
"Don't lie. You're still using a Rune Barrier. It's magic that requires Rune Clan blood."
"No, haa…."
How to explain? [I got a Rune Clan secretary from the academy warehouse, and my insane talent let me use it by sheer luck.] Who'd buy that? Rune Barriers were clan-exclusive, and my talent was beyond human norms—a true perk, superhuman.
Hence the misunderstanding.
I'd pondered meeting Rune Clan survivors, but only imagined something like, [You dare use our Rune Barrier?! Impossible! Argh!]
Not this.
I'm the normal one here. This is the weird part, right?
Logically… [To revive the clan, we two survivors must have kids.] How could anyone predict that?
"It's fine… I tied you up knowing you'd resist. Men can get it up even if they don't want to, right?"
"…."
She was considerate, but clan revival came first. My tight bonds proved it.
Persuasion wouldn't work.
How do I get out of this?
I stayed calm, assessing. Rebecca seeking survivors, me needing escape. Best solution: find her a real survivor. But no leads.
Rebecca gently stroked my hair.
"Black hair suits you better than red. And your face is my type…."
"…Rune Clan are all redheads originally?"
"Don't play dumb. You can dye your hair."
"…."
Another hint. Three total: red hair. Boy. Rune Barrier.
Too vague to pinpoint….
Huh?
Flipping through memories fast, I recalled one kid matching: the Sunshine Orphanage boy from volunteer work with Baek Ayoung. He'd sensed my Rune Barrier in the bathroom during our secret hookup. I'd brushed it off as good mana sense, but that didn't add up—Rune Barriers weren't detectable that way. And his hair was strikingly red.
"What, feeling proactive now? I could allow it. We're both Rune Clan…."
"One more time: I'm not a Rune Clan heir. But I think I know who the real survivor is."
"You're the survivor."
"…No, I'm not. Haa, untie me first."
"You sure?"
"Meet this one guy with me first. It's not too late after. …You can always catch me again anyway."
"Hmm, fair enough. Shall we go meet him?"
Rebecca pondered, then released the mana binding me.
"…."
Has to be the one I'm thinking of.
Not 100% certain, but probably.