-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Jin Yu-ha's Secret?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After the practical gate training ended.
Choi A-ram returned to her room.
Crash! Bang! Thud!—
Her face contorted like a demon's, she threw things around.
The objects rolled noisily.
Haaa—
Haaa—
"No! Stop it—!!!!"
She couldn't contain the rage boiling within her and screamed.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
—Hey, you fucking bitch! Shut up!! Do you want to die for real?!
A rough voice came from the next room, accompanied by pounding on the wall.
"Gasp!"
She instantly stifled her presence and held her breath.
Even though she'd been held back, she was still in the second-year Valor Dorm.
Because of this, she was at the very bottom of the hierarchy even within the Valor Dorm.
Choi A-ram bit her lip tightly.
'…This is bullshit.'
It truly was bullshit.
It was trash.
It was pathetic.
Her situation, where she had to be mindful of others even when trying to express the emotions churning inside her.
To the point where she wanted to curse the whole world.
'…I, I've worked hard too, all this time.'
But what was the result?
While all her peers moved on to second year, she was held back alone.
She had to spend another year with the first-years.
Of course, if she didn't want to do that, becoming a porter was one way out.
But Choi A-ram hated doing such lowly work.
She wanted to remain a dealer.
A life where she was ignored by everyone and scorned everywhere.
The person who kept her going in such a situation.
That was Im Ga-eul.
It was her.
'…She was worse than me.'
She was the bottom of the supporters, far worse than Choi A-ram, who was the bottom of the dealers.
She was even treated with contempt, as if she was worse than a man.
Im Ga-eul, the lowest of all, was like Choi A-ram's only sanctuary.
A woman who, despite being the worst, always giggled foolishly and acted dumb.
Choi A-ram secretly thought Im Ga-eul would also be held back, but
she filled her scores in theoretical classes and luckily avoided being held back.
'…So, I went to find her today.'
Choi A-ram simply couldn't accept that she was the only one held back.
Since it was a matter between second-years anyway, what could these freshly-admitted first-years do?
And since Im Ga-eul's group would only be the dregs, she thought it would be fine.
But by chance, today, one strange man and one strange woman joined her group.
And unexpectedly, they were incredibly strong.
Yes, even that was fine.
It was just a matter of bothering them a little from behind.
"…But that idiotic…"
But what she absolutely couldn't stand.
It was Im Ga-eul, who had been in the same situation as her, no, worse than her.
Alone.
Was trying to soar away as if she wasn't trash like her.
Choi A-ram trembled, not knowing how to handle the surge of indignation boiling within her.
"Shit…"
Just then.
Knock, knock, knock—
"Delivery."
* * *
Im Ga-eul returned to her room after training.
Even though the training had ended earlier than usual, her body felt heavy.
It seemed to be because this was her first time actively participating in combat.
Her body was always so pathetic that she'd get exhausted after using her skills just a few times.
Thud—
She lay on her bed and stared blankly at the ceiling.
She took out a dark blue magic stone, glowing with magic, from her pocket and fiddled with it in front of her eyes.
A magic stone practically forced upon her.
"To pay this back, I'll need my savings plus a few more years of earning. Well, they won't add interest, right?"
But its value didn't feel expensive.
This was the price of hope, the realization that the ability she had always considered insignificant was not.
Honestly, the dazed feeling still hadn't faded.
It had been such an astonishing day.
That's why she was just swayed by him all day.
However, after returning to her room and thinking it over carefully, it felt too strange.
"Jin Yu-ha. What on earth is that child…?"
'He just casually gave me this top-grade magic stone… And how on earth did that child know a secret I didn't?'
"Embrace" written in her status window.
First, setting aside how he knew she had "Embrace" in her status window,
She had never even guessed that it was a characteristic that allowed her to convert and use the magic from a magic stone as it was.
She had just assumed it was a reflection of her personality.
"…Hmm, still don't get it."
No matter how long she pondered alone, no answer came to her.
She wasn't someone who usually sought out others first, but
this surging doubt felt like it wouldn't let her sleep until it was resolved.
Im Ga-eul picked up her phone.
Then she found a number that had been forcibly saved today.
* * *
The Tankers' Dorm.
The Tenacity Dorm.
Specifically, the first-year dorm.
In front of it, Im Ga-eul looked at the girl standing before her.
Black hair, a confident demeanor, and a dignified aura.
But somehow, at some point, she had strangely grown warm towards her.
The person she had called out was Lee Yu-ri.
"What's wrong, unnie?"
Lee Yu-ri had come out after receiving the sudden call, her expression questioning.
"I'm really sorry for calling you out when you must have been resting comfortably. Something just came up that I wanted to ask."
"Oh, it's fine. Training ended early today anyway, so I had nothing to do."
Im Ga-eul stared intently at Lee Yu-ri, then her expression turned resolute.
"…Then, I'll get straight to the point. Jin Yu-ha. What kind of person is that child, exactly?"
Lee Yu-ri, who had been surprised, muttered thoughtfully for a moment.
Hmm—
"It's a bit awkward to talk about Jin Yu-ha when he's not here..."
She murmured to herself with a serious face.
"Hmm, looking at how he acted today, he'll probably join the party anyway, right…? That guy tends to let his guard down once he considers someone his party member… That idiot."
She scanned Im Ga-eul up and down, as if assessing her.
Then she nodded and opened her mouth.
"Well, I understand your suspicion, unnie. He suddenly acted like he knew your ability better than you did."
"…Yeah. Yeah."
"That guy's already noticeable, but every time he casually spouts off things only he knows, it's just baffling!"
Lee Yu-ri sighed deeply and said.
As if scratching an itch, Yu-ri immediately hit upon that very point.
"It was like that before too, when he recommended a party for me."
"…He's done this before?"
"Yes, during the team sparring in basic training. When I asked if there were any good people for my team, he just reeled off all sorts of information about them as if reading from a scroll. But those people said they didn't know Jin Yu-ha."
"Ah…"
"So, I came to a conclusion of my own, but, hmm. I still don't know much about him, so I'm not entirely sure."
She said that, but somehow Yu-ri seemed to hold a certain conviction.
"Phew, you wouldn't believe how much investigating I did to figure this out."
She let out a deep sigh.
"First off, he was once suspected of being a demon, but was cleared right away, so don't worry."
"Ah, okay."
"My guess is… Jin Yu-ha is probably someone who used to be a Black Hunter."
"B-Black Hunter…!?"
Im Ga-eul asked back, her face startled.
Black Hunters.
What kind of beings were they?
They were a group shrouded in rumors.
People who handled anything for money.
Like mercenaries or private investigators.
She'd heard they took on jobs regardless of good or evil and demanded exorbitant prices for them.
But their skill was undeniable.
Because of this, even the Hunter Management Bureau considered them a headache.
'That young child… came from the Black Hunters?'
"Isn't it strange that a man his age is so strong, yet no one's ever heard of him?"
"That's true, but…"
"And they say Black Hunters have incredible information networks."
Im Ga-eul swallowed nervously, her face tense.
"Perhaps, to have such incredible skill from that age, he might be someone who was raised in that world from a very young age…"
Lee Yu-ri scratched the back of her head awkwardly.
"Hmm, I don't really know much about the hunter world myself. It's just the conclusion I reached after looking around aimlessly."
"And you're with such a dangerous person…"
Then Lee Yu-ri let out a small laugh.
"Well, I have a debt to repay that guy, and I feel a sense of responsibility."
"But there are bad people in that kind of place…"
"Unnie."
Lee Yu-ri cut her off.
"He might be that kind of person, but he might not be. And that's just a guess, isn't it?"
Lee Yu-ri met Im Ga-eul's gaze and stared intently.
For a moment, Im Ga-eul felt as if she was being overwhelmed by a child younger than herself.
"I only believe what I see with my own eyes, and I only judge by what I hear with my own ears."
"…But what if, what if his past is truly bad?"
"Then, I'd grab him by the collar and make him apologize, I guess."
Lee Yu-ri said as if it were nothing.
"So, I'm going to wait until Jin Yu-ha tells me about his hidden past himself."
"…"
"I'm telling you this now because I thought you might start thinking strange things, Ga-eul unnie."
"So, from your perspective, does Jin Yu-ha seem like a bad person?"
"…Honestly, no."
Im Ga-eul shook her head.
Heh—
Lee Yu-ri let out a laugh as if she had expected it.
"Right? He's someone who cares about others so much. And if you spend more time with him, those thoughts will disappear even more."
Just then.
Ding-dong!—
Suddenly, a ringtone sounded from Lee Yu-ri's pocket.
She took out her phone and checked it.
"Huh? Party activity right now…?"
Then she furrowed her brows sharply.
"…Tutorial boss battle? That guy's spouting off things only he knows again."
And then Lee Yu-ri looked up.
"Hey, unnie. Do you want to come with me now? He said to bring a senior if I could…"