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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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“S-Senior—!”
Hye-seo cried out in shock at the sudden appearance of Han Chang-ho’s hologram.
However, the hologram, which only showed his upper body, didn’t respond.
A wave of disappointment washed over Hye-seo.
It wasn’t a live feed but a recorded message, meaning any hope of Han Chang-ho’s survival was extinguished.
Then,
《If you’re seeing this, it means I’m dead, as planned.》
Han Chang-ho’s voice echoed, confirming her worst fears.
But one word, before she could even process the grief, struck Hye-seo like a thunderbolt.
“As… planned?”
She hadn’t received any such plan regarding the recent Illusion terror incident.
Yet, Han Chang-ho said he had died according to plan.
‘Could he have… faked his death?’
The flicker of hope in Hye-seo’s eyes died down, and she quickly scanned her surroundings.
If he had faked his death, he was likely hiding somewhere.
《Don’t grieve. This is my destiny.》
But the next words from the hologram shattered that hope.
“Ah…”
A short sigh escaped her lips.
Despite her dashed hopes, Hye-seo quickly composed herself.
She wouldn’t wallow in grief just because the hope of his survival was gone.
If he had left this message, it meant there was something important he needed to convey.
After confirming that she was alone, Hye-seo looked back at the hologram.
It was bittersweet to hear her mentor’s last words, but logic had to prevail over emotions right now.
Han Chang-ho himself had often praised her cold, rational judgment, which mirrored his own.
《However, I have a request, which is why I’m leaving this recording.》
《With your keen eye, you must have noticed the resemblance between me and Han Tae-jin, a graduating cadet from Seoul National Academy who’s been rising rapidly lately. His appearance, his aura, even his mana signature.》
Hye-seo’s heart plummeted.
It felt like freefalling from a ten-meter height.
Her instincts had been right.
The mana signature, the one only she could sense, hadn’t been a mistake.
《I’ve been fulfilling my duties as his father in secret… but it seems I can’t do so any longer.》
《Moreover, I’m currently under suspicion within the organization. Devron, Lexa, and Gallidum are working together to investigate me.》
“What…? He was already under suspicion?”
Hye-seo muttered involuntarily.
That explained why he had been uploading data less frequently lately and hadn’t responded to her personal messages checking in on him.
She had been worried.
“So that was the situation…”
A pang of guilt struck Hye-seo for not knowing.
Devron, Lexa, and Gallidum were the core executives at the top of the pyramid structure Han Chang-ho had mapped out.
They were the key operatives directly under God R’hell.
If they were investigating him, it was only a matter of time before his identity was exposed.
《That’s why I took drastic measures. If you’re seeing this, it means those measures were successful.》
“Drastic… measures?”
《During the recent academy attack, I plan to die while capturing Cadet Choi Do-han. As long as I’m alive, they’ll continue to pursue me, and as time passes, both you and Tae-jin will be in danger. Even if I were to escape, the situation wouldn’t change.》
“B-but…!”
《Don’t grieve. And tell Tae-jin not to grieve either. This is my choice, my responsibility.》
“Senior…”
《However, I have a request.》
Strength returned to Hye-seo’s grief-stricken eyes.
A determination to fulfill his request, no matter what.
《I’ve extracted and condensed 50% of my power.》
“What…?”
Hye-seo’s jaw dropped.
For Hunters and Holders, power meant mana, and she had never heard of anyone “extracting” and condensing mana.
It was a forbidden technique, a territory no one dared to explore, as forcibly extracting mana from an Awakened could lead to instant death or a near-death state.
Even if mana extraction were successful, injecting it into someone with less than 100% genetic compatibility could cause severe side effects like necrosis and mutation, making it worthless for experimentation.
Yet, it seemed he had ventured into that forbidden territory.
The fact that he had participated in the terror incident after extracting half of his power meant the procedure had been successful.
《37 degrees 05 minutes North, 128 degrees 08 minutes East.》
Hye-seo quickly grabbed a sticky note and jotted down the coordinates.
Something containing half of a Platinum-grade Holder’s power was at that location.
《The location is a cave in the Taebaek Mountains.》
《I’ve hidden 50% of my power there.》
《The location isn’t ideal, as I had to conduct the extraction and absorption experiments in secret, away from the executives’ eyes, but it shouldn’t be difficult to access.》
《If he were still the weakling he used to be, it would be a different story, but he should be able to absorb my power now. I’ve purified it thoroughly.》
《I injected a small amount of my power into him when he was hospitalized, and there wasn’t any rejection, so it should be fine.》
《My death only bought us some time. Their pursuit won’t stop, so Tae-jin will need greater power.》
《So please, guide him there. This is my last request, Hye-seo.》
《I believe I can trust you with this.》
“Senior…”
《I’ll be going now.》
The hologram disappeared after his final farewell.
Then,
-Crackle.
-Fizzle…
Sparks flew from within the device, followed by a puff of smoke.
It was a self-destruct mechanism to erase the recording completely.
“….”
She knew he wasn’t one for sentimental goodbyes, but she was still taken aback by his casual “I’ll be going now.”
It was a blunt, almost absurd farewell.
“Honestly…”
Hye-seo stared blankly for a moment, then chuckled.
It was a fitting end for him.
And thanks to that, the pain of parting dissipated like smoke.
-Tap, tap, tap.
Hye-seo turned on her computer monitor and searched for the coordinates he had given her.
“A little south of the Taebaek Mountains…”
One coordinate.
One goal.
The coordinates gave her, a newly unemployed(?) individual, a new purpose.
“Hmm.”
After deleting her internet search history, Hye-seo closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair.
The key was how to convince Cadet Han Tae-jin.
It wouldn’t be easy for him to accept the truth about his father, a villain who suddenly appeared and left behind a legacy before disappearing.
He might be shocked, devastated, or even in denial.
But out of respect for her senior, and a gut feeling that Cadet Han Tae-jin was the key to defeating Illusion, she had to try.
If he absorbed half of a Platinum-grade Holder’s power, combined with his already powerful, monstrous mana, he would become an incredible force.
Perhaps the strongest being in history.
“The problem is…”
The location of [Gaikan].
A sanctuary-like place where God R’hell summoned Illusion executives to commend them for their achievements.
God R’hell resided there, and they had to reach that place to defeat him, but unfortunately, its location remained a mystery.
“Tsk…”
Hye-seo clicked her tongue and opened her eyes.
Her immediate priority was to tell Cadet Han Tae-jin the truth and convince him.
It would have been easy if the hologram device hadn’t self-destructed, but it would be difficult to convince him without any proof.
But she wouldn’t hesitate.
Hye-seo placed the device in the box and stood up.
With a determined glint in her eyes, she left Monster Management Bureau Headquarters.
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“….”
A heavy silence fell over the living room.
Su-ah, the 52nd-time regressor, Renia, who had come from another planet, and Tae-jin, the transmigrator, were all frozen, unable to react to the truth Hye-seo had revealed.
Of course, each of them was stunned for different reasons.
Su-ah was surprised that the story of Han Chang-ho, the one she had intended to tell, had come from Holder Kim Hye-seo.
Renia was frozen with worry for Tae-jin, who had just received the news of his father’s death, and the memory of having attacked her father-in-law(?) resurfaced.
And me?
“….”
I was just… frozen.
With a somber expression, Hye-seo pulled out a map from her pocket and spread it on the table.
There was a circle marked somewhere south of the Taebaek Mountains.
“Here. He said he hid his power in a cave near this area.”
“….”
Everyone looked at me, gauging my reaction.
My expression was unreadable.
Seeing my face devoid of grief, despair, or any discernible emotion, they held their breath.
Even Hye-seo.
She had initially intended to tell only me about this, knowing that even the knowledge of it could make me a target of Illusion.
But even after hearing her stern warning, seeing Renia and Su-ah’s insistence on staying, and my lack of objection, she had revealed the truth in front of everyone.
I stood up.
“A-are you okay? Where are you going?”
Renia asked worriedly.
“Brother Tae-jin, you should rest now…”
Su-ah, who knew about my 51 regressions and subsequent descent into darkness after learning about my father’s death, tried to stop me.
“….”
Hye-seo remained silent.
I walked away from the sofa, my steps heavy, towards the window.
All eyes were on me.
Then, as I reached the window, I collapsed.
“Tae-jin—!”
“Brother—!”
“Oh my!”
Everyone cried out in alarm and rushed towards me.
However, they didn’t know.
That this was all an act, a performance worthy of a Best Actor award at the Blue Dragon Film Awards.[1]
I couldn’t possibly feel genuine grief, sorrow, shock, or any of those emotions for the death of a father I had never known.
He was destined to die by Choi Do-han’s hand anyway, regardless of my intervention, and the fact that he was the original Han Tae-jin’s father didn’t change anything.
If I had known and still fired that arrow, I might have felt some guilt, but I hadn’t known at the time.
And he had already entered the battlefield prepared to sacrifice himself, so I felt that my responsibility now was to ensure that his sacrifice wasn’t in vain.
Moreover, the [Level Up as a Harem!] hidden information was essential for saving this world, so even if I had known, the outcome wouldn’t have been different.
I could only offer a silent apology.
‘I’m sorry, Old Man.’
Feigning unconsciousness, I closed my eyes, my acting flawless, from my gaze to my gait to the way I collapsed.
And inwardly, I expressed my gratitude.
‘Thank you, Old Man.’
Half the power of a Platinum-grade Holder, left in a cave in the Taebaek Mountains.
The timely month-long school closure. And the grand goal he left behind. I was truly grateful.
“Tae-jin! Wake up!”
“Oh no…! The shock must have been too much…! Brother!”
“Quickly, to the bedroom…!”
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