Due to this, Han would usually take Lily, Yue, or Rin with him on these conquests and they would quickly clear up the monsters that they needed to so they could have a higher floor saved as well. Han knew these floors were too easy, but the real problem was the tenth floor, he heard from a lot of people that it was fairly dangerous so he decided he would get the girls ready first. According to what he heard, the monsters on the first to ninth floors were nothing when compared with the tenth floor!
The tenth floor was so dangerous that the people on the first floor called it the ‘Noob Killer’. And for once, Han didn’t say anything about it because he didn’t even intend to fight it. The only reason Han was not yet going to that tenth floor was because of the girls. He wouldn’t have a problem destroying everything on the tenth floor with a well-aimed laser beam, but he wanted the girls to grow stronger as well.
This was something he had been trying to get around for a long time now. Nothing was holding Rin back. Han could see quite clearly that, as she was right now, Rin could probably beat Yue in a one-on-one fight if it came down to brute strength. It wasn’t something small at all! Yue was one of the strongest discarded chosen and she already had her powers for years! Rin just got her powers a few months ago and she could already fight Yue!
The fact that Yue and Lily couldn’t grow any stronger was the reason for it. Whenever they went out together, Han allowed the girls to take care of the monsters on the first to ninth floors while he watched. Those monsters were usually just mutated animals like giant scorpions or scary-looking gorillas, they wouldn’t really add anything to his system, so there was no need for him to bother with them. Rin has just been getting stronger and stronger with every fight she had with the monsters, but Yue and Lily were already starting to struggle with even the monsters on the fifth floor.
Han knew that a time would come when he would have to start leaving them behind while he went to clear the floors, he didn’t want to do it, but there was nothing he could do if they were this weak. It would be too dangerous for them to even go close to the tenth floor!
But then Han met Yuuma.
…….
It was something that happened just because Han was too pissed off to hold back anymore. The stress of trying to find a way to solve Lily’s and Yue’s problem compounded together and he didn’t have the patience to tolerate the woman that he knows has been watching them all for so long now! So one day, after they closed down shop and the girls were cleaning up. Han just walked out of the door and went to the corner of the road. He saw the woman standing with her back facing him, she was wearing a large brown coat with a hood that covered her entire face from view.
This woman had been following them ever since they got out of the damn beginners’ field!! Didn’t she have anything better to do with herself!? The only reason Han left her for this long was that he already knew she wasn’t strong enough to pose any threat to them, but right now he was just too pissed to have that kind of patience.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Eek!”
The woman suddenly flinched and quickly tried to bolt, but Han lashed his hand out and grabbed her by the coat. She struggled for a while, but then she realized that there was no way she would be getting out of that grip so she went still. Han carried her up like that and brought her back to the shop before dumping her in the middle of the restaurant floor. The girls stopped their work and looked towards the two of them as Han folded his hand.
Yue, Lily, and Rin already knew about the woman too, so they weren’t shocked. They all had heard her close by at some point or another, but they didn’t do anything about it since Han wasn’t interested in finding her. So why did Han suddenly capture her?
“What did you think you’re were doing spying on us Ike that? What do you want?”
Han asked this with a frown and the woman wrung her hands together nervously.
“H-How did you know I was there. I’m sure I hid perfectly.”
Han deadpanned. You’re joking, right? We all could hear you from the very beginning!!
The woman sighed and then stood up as she dusted her coat. She then turned to Han and stood tall like she owned the place. Han sneered at her as he saw how she was behaving like some kind of royalty.
“Well. Since my perfect plan was foiled, I suppose I can’t hide it anymore. I’ve been following you for a long time now”
I know!!!! Han felt his teeth creak from how hard he was gritting it and all the girls laughed at the look on his face.
“I know you might not have noticed me for a long time now and I can’t blame you since you are just a normal mortal. It is expected for you to be beneath me”
I’m going to kill this woman. It’s been a while since Han ever felt that urge to kill someone boiling in him and this woman was making it come back with a vengeance. She was going to lose that head of hers if she wasn’t careful!
“Just tell me what you want and get out. I’m busy right now and I don’t have time to deal with you”
The woman seemed to think about it for a moment and Han could feel his blood pressure rising the longer she kept quiet, but after some time she finally nodded and took her hood down. Han couldn’t stop his eyes from widening even if he tried.
“Ah, I see you recognize me. That’s good, it’s not very nice when I do this and people start trying to kill me with their stupid skills”
The reason why Han was so shocked wasn’t because he recognized the woman. He had never seen this woman before in his life. But her face was familiar, one side of it was robotic, just like the Binary that had given him his system.
“Yuuma?”
Yuuma smiled smugly.
“It’s a pleasure for you to meet me”
Han sighed. So this was the woman that Binary wanted him to find? Han knows this is going to be a long day.
……
After a long period of Han trying not to blow this woman to oblivion, the two of them were finally seated at the beer counter. Rina was behind the counter mixing them a drink and the rest of the girls were scattered around the place. Han had one hand on his cheek as he watched the woman drink down a glass of alcohol like it was water.
“Ah~ Your skills with the bottle are amazing! You must’ve practiced for a long time to reach such a level!”
Rina blushed at the praise and nodded her thanks. She was used to doing this since she used to work at a bar before. Han rolled his eyes as he saw the Binary swallow down another glass of alcohol. Doesn’t that shit ruin your circuitry or something? Should you be drinking so much?
“You look like you want to say something. I will be kind enough to answer all your questions so you can go ahead and tell me whatever you want.”
The Binary said this in a way that made it seem like she was doing Han a favor and Han felt a vein pop in his head.
“You know you’re paying for all of this right?”
Yuuma choked and then slowly brought the glass of alcohol back down.
“W-Well… I suppose I’ve had one too many, after all. Someone of my status can’t possibly drink so much. It is beneath me”
“Even if you stop now, your costs still come down to about five silver coins”
There was a beat of silence in the room before Yuuma developed a gloomy atmosphere around her and slouched. She chuckled in complete misery. Where the hell was she supposed to get five silver coins!?
“I-I suppose someone of my status should pay for what they drink. It is just that…. I-I’m so poor”