IRTPTA 13🌸

Chapter 13

Saebyeok freed the ropes around Lee Cheong-hae and sent her toward Kim Ihan.

Lee Cheong-hae looked wary at first but followed Saebyeok’s instructions.
The nickname “Princess of the East Sea” had worked. It was a name the East Sea hunters sometimes used to tease her, so it made sense.

When she saw Kim Ihan waiting outside the window, her feelings were mixed—relief and confusion.

After all, he was the leader of one of Seoul’s four great guilds.
If he had come to get her, it meant she was safe now.
But Kim Ihan wasn’t exactly known for being righteous.
No one expected him to personally lead a rescue mission like this.

Cheong-hae wanted to ask Saebyeok many questions, but she couldn’t.

The moment she was freed, all the tension left her body.
Her legs gave out, her mind went hazy, and she fainted.

As Saebyeok cut the ropes from her wrists, her fingers brushed against the bracelet she was wearing.

<Item: A Father’s Love Has No Limits (C)>

A bracelet specially made by a man who had only one beloved daughter.
It is said that more than 100 types of materials were used to craft it.

This is a bound item and cannot be transferred.

• Owner: !error! “Lee Cheong-hae” – Data Not Found

<Passive: Princess of the East Sea>
All Awakened members of the East Sea Guild feel a strong instinct to protect the owner.
At the same time, they feel an urge to tell dad jokes to her.

<Passive: Zero-Line Defense>
Once per day, blocks a status effect attack.
(Reset time: 21:36 left)

<Skill: Daddy, I’m Here>
Sends the owner’s exact location to the <Man of the Sea> Lee Pado.
!error! – Owner data cannot be located.

Seeing the bracelet’s effects by accident, Saebyeok sighed deeply.

…No wonder he goes crazy over her.

Was there any other item in the world that screamed “Protect my daughter!” this loudly?

Binding an item to a non-Awakened person was not easy.
And yet Cheong-hae had such an overprotective item on her wrist.

The fact that the Scavengers had managed to kidnap her anyway was almost impressive.
So many rare circumstances had lined up:

• The East Sea Guild had little influence in Seoul.

• Cheong-hae was at an age where she wanted to rebel against her father.

• Lee Pado had assumed Seoul was as safe as Busan and loosened her security.

• Clubs were packed with new students, loud and chaotic, making it easy to slip by unnoticed.

It was a one-in-a-million chance—something that would probably never happen again.

“That rope will snap soon. You should tie him with something else,” Saebyeok said.

She tossed Jo Cheol-su—still hanging from a thick vine—at Kim Ihan’s feet.

“He may have been caught by surprise, but he’s still a muscle fighter.”

The vine around Jo Cheol-su was already starting to tear.
So Saebyeok had used <Lightning> to reinforce it.

Thanks to Kim Ihan’s buffs, the power had increased a little,
but <Sprout> was still only a D-rank skill.

“It looks scarier than it is. But the electric attack is stronger, isn’t it?”
Kim Ihan’s sharp eyes caught on quickly.

“Electricity, wind, wood, light… Is it a title like <Earth’s Resource>?”

He pressed his foot on Jo Cheol-su to hold him still, his eyes smiling gently—
a tempting sign, as if to say, Now that I’ve figured you out, why don’t you tell me your title?

But Saebyeok only laughed softly and shut the window.

She had no intention of revealing it—not until the job was completely done.
After all, she had already handed over both Lee Cheong-hae and a high-ranking Scavenger officer.
If she gave up her title too, Kim Ihan might just leave satisfied and walk away.

Instead, Saebyeok tossed aside the wooden branch she had been using and picked up the fallen magician’s staff.

<Item: Staff of Survival of the Fittest (D)>

A staff made from a tree that withered and died under the shadows of its stronger brothers.
Forged in a weapons factory where failed products were mercilessly scrapped,
it only managed to survive by enhancing its ability to cling to life.

• <Passive: Strong-Weak, Weak-Strong>
  When facing enemies weaker than the user, grants <Buff: Superiority>.
  When facing enemies stronger than the user, inflicts <Debuff: Submission>.
  The larger the difference in rank, the stronger the effect.

  • <Superiority>: Damage dealt +4%. Slight increase in strength from feeling superior.

  • <Submission>: Damage received +12%. Body language shrinks from feeling humiliated.

• <Skill: Brain Gap>
  Distracts the enemy, creating a short gap in their concentration.
  Overuse can cause the staff to malfunction and rebound.

“…What the heck? This thing is trash.”

Saebyeok had collected all the weapons from the fallen Scavenger guild members.

They were all lacking in some way,
but none were as disappointing as this one.

Why would anyone accept +4% damage in exchange for +12% more damage taken?
What kind of math was that?

Sure, a brief distraction could delay an enemy’s skill activation,
but if overused, the weapon would bounce back and fail.

Still, Saebyeok held on to it.
Better than nothing.

Pulling up a mask to cover her face, she now looked eerily similar to the magician who had fallen.

Saebyeok pulled her hood low and opened the door.

Outside was a balcony-like hallway overlooking a wide hall below.

Inside the hall, worshippers knelt on the floor, bowing toward a blue glow on the wall, rubbing their palms together and praying. Some were even crying, which made for a strange sight.

“There are fewer worshippers and guards compared to three months later.”

Here and there, Scavenger guild members patrolled with weapons.
Their movements were sloppy and unorganized.

“The layout looks the same. The prayer room should be that way… and beyond that, the ritual chamber where the ‘ceremony’ happens…”

Saebyeok knew their operations and building structure well.
This was the first villain group she had hunted down as a raid captain in her previous life.
She had prepared thoroughly back then, and the details were still vivid in her mind.

“The problem is how many people are locked in the basement…”

The group kept their “slaves” underground—people unfit to be used as sacrifices.

“Kang Su-ho should be down there too… but they said the child was taken directly to the prayer room, so that’s where I should go first.”

If the child was already in the prayer room, it meant less than thirty minutes remained before the ritual. Saving the younger one came first.

Saebyeok crouched down, imitating the magician she had seen earlier, and went down the stairs.

Whenever a guild member appeared, she bowed deeply and acted submissive.
No one suspected her. They just let her pass.

By the time she reached the prayer room, she was almost convinced she had talent for acting.

“What? Why are you here again?” one of the guards asked.

Saebyeok casually moved her newly taken staff into clear view. The guard, mistaking her for the same magician, asked gruffly.

“Th-the k-king…”

Saebyeok spoke in a faint, muttering voice, just like the magician she had seen before.

The guards looked doubtful for a moment.
But then she gave her shoulder a small twitch—an exact copy of the other magician’s nervous habit—and they snorted, stepping aside.

Saebyeok bowed and quickly turned the door handle.

The prayer room was empty.

She slipped inside and quietly locked the door behind her.

The atmosphere was eerie.

Purple lighting bathed the room.
Strange monster heads were mounted on the walls, stuffed like trophies.

Sticky, dark splashes stained the floor and walls, their color impossible to tell in the light.
A foul, pungent smell burned her eyes.

On the farthest wall hung a huge banner depicting a nine-headed hydra.

The same blue glow she had seen in the hall wrapped around it, pulsing like a beating heart.

“Still gives me chills, no matter how many times I see it.”

!! Alert !!

A status effect has been detected.

Due to <Passive: Heaven’s Protection (S)>, you are unaffected.

Along with Saebyeok’s mutter, a notification popped up—
a grim welcome to the enemy’s heart.

Normally, that would have been all.
But today, extra alerts followed.

!! Alert !!

Status effect attack detected.

<Buff: Eye for an Eye (A)> has activated. (1/3)

Returning <Curse: Slow> to caster by 24%.

!! Alert !!

Status effect attack detected.

<Buff: Eye for an Eye (A)> has activated. (2/3)

Returning <Debuff: Bow to Evil> to caster by 24%.

“Ah.”

Saebyeok let out a small sigh just as—

“Grrraaaahhh! Intruder! Catch them!!”

A tortured scream came from deep inside.

Bang! Bang!

The doors at both ends of the inner wall burst open, and Scavenger guild members poured out.

“There! Get them!”

“Damn it! If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have accepted those buffs!”

She hadn’t considered that her buffs might trigger detection spells.

All her sneaking, all her careful steps—ruined in an instant.

“To hell with it! Let’s just do this head-on!”

Saebyeok ripped off her mask and threw back her hood.