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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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“Stop that bastard…! Stop him…!”
Cha Ho-young shouted, but he already knew that his subordinates couldn’t stop me.
With even Woo Jae-hee joining us, the tide had completely turned to our favor, so he was just desperately shouting since he couldn’t bear the fear.
“Where are you looking?”
But his futile struggle was short-lived.
Cheon Yoo-hak could handle about ten villains at once while protecting us.
But what if there was another fighter as skilled as he was, which freed him from having to worry about his rear?
Cha Ho-young’s group, before being strengthened by the rewards from this dungeon that they were supposed to obtain in the original story, was no match for Cheon Yoo-hak, who now had the Thunder Dragon Spear.
“Not bad, for small fry.”
Thunder Transformation.
The Thunder Dragon Spear transformed into lightning in response to Cheon Yoo-hak’s emotions, and glowed in his hand.
“Now get lost, trash.”
No one among them could escape the unleashed lightning.
And then a thud signaled the end of the fight.
The villains were already down, so who else could have fallen? Unfortunately, it was me.
I experienced the backlash from using Enhancement to its limit.
“Cough…!”
The other party members except for Cheon Yoo-hak looked at me.
“Cough… cough… hack…!”
Ah, I couldn’t stop coughing up blood even if I tried.
Huh? Why was I so calm?
Although it looked serious with all the blood, I wasn’t actually in that much pain.
I wasn’t coughing up fresh blood, but waste products and dead blood that remained in my body, expelled as my body became healthier.
Well, it did hurt, but the Saint’s Will was healing me, and thanks to the Entire fruit, my body had become stronger, so it wasn’t unbearable.
It would have been a problem if I had used my power beyond the time limit, but I stopped right before.
It felt like I was choking on water.
But it seemed like it didn’t look that way to others, as the expressions of Cheon Yoo-hak’s party members weren’t very good.
“H-he suddenly…!? Yoon-ha, try a healing spell…!”
“O-okay, Mi-na! I got it!
Oh, my already comfortable body felt even better as it was enveloped in a warm light.
“Cough…!”
And thanks to the enhanced healing, all the dark, waste-filled blood remaining in my body was expelled through my mouth.
…I personally felt refreshed, but the others were looking at me with worried expressions, and were almost on the verge of tears.
Well, it would be scary if someone who was just fighting alongside Cheon Yoo-hak suddenly collapsed and started vomiting out dark blood.
Ah, damn it, I had to stop, but it wouldn’t stop.
“Stop, healing magic won’t be very effective on him now.”
Cheon Yoo-hak, the only one who remained calm, approached me.
“You recklessly used your talent again. I thought you changed, but you’re still reckless.”
“Yoo-hak, what are you talking about?”
“Healing magic won’t be very effective on his condition. He didn’t really suffer an injury; he used his innate Qi.”
It was effective, though. It made my coughing less painful, Yoo-hak.
The party members all looked at me after he mentioned innate Qi.
They were looking at me like I was crazy. Guys, I could recover, so could you please stop looking at me like that?
Joo-ri, who was about to take out a potion, flinched at Cheon Yoo-hak’s words.
“You probably thought we couldn’t win without you. I admit, it would have been a bit dangerous.”
Yes, our Yoo-hak was objective. I was worried he would be unreasonable and say, “What a useless thing to do…!”
Ah, it stopped.
The coughing and the blood vomiting had stopped while I was spacing out.
My throat was a bit sore, and my mouth felt unpleasant, but other than that, I was fine.
So I jumped up, and the healer, Oh Yoon-ha, rushed over and supported me with a worried expression.
“You shouldn’t get up so suddenly!”
“…I’m fine.”
I took out my water bottle, rinsed my mouth, and said I was fine, but they didn’t seem to believe me.
Seriously, why were they acting like this when I said I was fine?
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Cheon Yoo-hak looked at Kang So-hyun, who was pretending to be strong, as he recalled the first time they met.
Back then, he was more immature and arrogant than now.
A lump of pride fueled by the fact that he was one of the few awakened among his peers, his innate talent was A-rank, and his family was the owner of Korea’s top corporation.
He felt like he wasn’t much different now, but there was one clear difference: back then, he saw everyone else as mere consumables.
Back then, he was steeped in arrogance, and he didn’t bother making an effort, belittling others instead.
He then met So-hyun, someone his age, during a party he attended with his father.
What did he say back then?
-You’re good enough to be my servant.
Ah, yes. He remembered saying that as he was intrigued by the fact that there was another awakened among his peers.
Thinking back, it was just something a child who wanted a friend blurted out, unaware of his own feelings.
He didn’t remember exactly what happened next, but he clearly remembered So-hyun’s reply.
-Haha, saying something like that on our first meeting, you must have had a poor upbringing! Well, that’s understandable for the son of Korea’s top corporation. I understand.
Yes, their first impression of each other was truly the worst.
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I told them I had a way to recover and even showed them the Saint’s Will, but they didn’t seem to believe me.
Yes, innate Qi wasn’t something you could easily recover, but I could do it, you guys.
Seriously, why couldn’t you just believe me like Professor Cathy?
We couldn’t stay in the dungeon forever, so we decided to leave, but I would have been hospitalized again if it weren’t for Cheon Yoo-hak.
“Good work, everyone. The materials aren’t usable for us right now, so we’ll sell them all and split the profit evenly among everyone except Kang So-hyun and me.”
“Okay.”
“Got it.”
“And according to the report, the villains we caught were wanted criminals, so everyone in the party will receive points.”
Hmm, Lilac was probably still in the lead, but Cheon Yoo-hak should have caught up considerably.
“Hui, your role includes selling the materials, so please take care of that. I’d like to dismiss everyone now, but there’s something I have to say.”
Cheon Yoo-hak looked at me.
“I didn’t think I’d have anything to say to you after today’s dungeon clear, but I have to say this.”
“What?”
“I don’t know if you can really recover your innate Qi or not. But since you say so, I’ll believe you for now.”
Cheon Yoo-hak didn’t look very convinced as he said that though.
“But if that’s the case, at least explain it beforehand. What are you planning to do if you become incapacitated before defeating all the enemies? It’s not just a matter of losing one fighter if that happens.”
His expression darkened, as if he didn’t want to say it, but the fact that he was clearly stating what needed to be said showed that he was indeed a capable person.
“It’ll cause panic among your companions, and in the worst case scenario, it could lead to the collapse of the formation. Even in small-scale battles, not just large-scale ones, a moment of panic can be fatal for the entire party.”
If he had just expressed his concern out of emotion, I would have ignored it, but his words were valid.
“But even so…”
Having finished talking about my mistakes, Cheon Yoo-hak slowly bowed his head.
The party members looked at him in surprise, more so than when I collapsed and coughed up blood.
And this time, I was also surprised.
Cheon Yoo-hak bowing his head to someone. It was a rare occurrence even in the original story.
“It’s also true that our party would have been in danger if you hadn’t pushed yourself. I’m truly grateful that you stepped up for the party. I might not have been able to protect my companions without you.”
It was a strange feeling.
Cheon Yoo-hak was lenient towards those he considered his people, but this kind of behavior wasn’t something you would see from him in the original story.
Perhaps…
…there was a reason why Cheon Yoo-hak seemed particularly twisted in the original story.
For example, Kang So-hyun’s death.
“It’s understandable that you’re hesitant to join my team after this. But this won’t happen again. I’ll become stronger so that I can handle small fry like them on my own even without you having to step up.”
Yes, that was the Cheon Yoo-hak I knew.
He would definitely live up to the Thunder Dragon Spear I gave him.
“Then let’s disband now.”
Silver Bullet’s short but intense first hunt had successfully concluded.
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[Why aren’t you answering?]
Cheon Yoo-hak, you bastard. I trusted you. I even gave you the Thunder Dragon Spear, and you’re doing this to me…?
[Hey, can you hear me?]
“Yes, Noona.”
Yes.
As I was happily reviewing the spoils from the dungeon in the dormitory, I received a call, and the caller was none other than Kang So-hyun’s older sister.
[I heard everything from Yoo-hak. You almost collapsed again after using your talent. Why didn’t you tell me? Do you know how worried I was? No, I mean, it’s not that I was worried about you, but what would people think of our family if you collapsed everywhere? Huh? Do you understand?]
“Yes, Noona. I’ll try not to be a disgrace to the family.”
Was your profession rapping, Noona? You were practically Outsider*.
Cheon Yoo-hak, you bastard. Are you a field trip supervisor or something…? Why were you reporting these things to every family?
He was meticulous even in the original story, but I didn’t expect him to send a detailed report of the dungeon raid to every family.
[…You don’t understand anything.]
Seriously, you just said you weren’t worried about me.
I tried to let it go, but I could hear her still grumbling.
If you’re going to grumble, at least do it quietly so I can’t hear you! Anyone without hearing problems could hear you!
[This won’t do.]
What? I only said that in my head?
[I’ll have to see you myself soon.]
“…What?”
Thankfully, she didn’t seem to have read my mind, but her words were still shocking.
Kang Na-hyun. Kang So-hyun’s older sister, and a character originally destined to fall into villainy and fight the protagonist.
And according to the setting, she was also Cheon Yoo-hak’s first love.
“May I politely refuse?”
[You do whatever you want, so why should I listen to you? I’ll be there soon, so be prepared. I’ll cut off your allowance if you run away.]
“Noona…?”
She shamelessly took my bank account hostage.
And I couldn’t even run away since I had almost depleted my funds from buying supplies for the dungeon raid.
The terrorist-possessed noona mercilessly hung up, leaving no room for negotiation.
“What’s wrong? Was that your sister?”
Ha-ni, who was preparing dinner while saying I worked hard, asked with a worried tone.
“Han-hee.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m screwed.”
Considering the laws of academy possession stories, I had a feeling something troublesome was about to happen.
“Come on, you’re exaggerating. What did your sister say?”
“She said she’s going to visit me soon.”
“That’s not a big deal~”
Ah, right, they didn’t know yet.
“You don’t know what my sister does, do you?”
“How would I know?”
Everyone knew Cheon Yoo-hak was from a wealthy family since he didn’t hide it, but most people didn’t know about me since I never flaunted it.
And “Kang” wasn’t a unique last name like “Cheon,” so they wouldn’t know unless I told them.
I searched for “Kang Na-hyun” on my smartphone and showed it to Ha-ni.
“Kang Na-hyun, the hero? Why are you…?”
“She’s my sister.”
“…What?”
She was 22 years old, having already graduated from the academy last year, and was five years older than me.
And she was a rising star, ranked among the top 5 rookie heroes who debuted last year.
“This person is my sister.”
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T/N – Coughing out blood even though you’re not in pain like a certain trash from a Count’s family, huh, MC? Also, the MC finally connects the dots with Cheon Yoo-hak. I’m super curious about their history now. Lastly, big sis incoming!
*Outsider – a Korean rapper known for his speed-rapping. Apparently, he clocked in at 16.15 syllables per second on his World Record attempt, according to the wiki.
If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.
