Back then, there weren’t many Awakened, so there was hardly enough medication for them. His mother lived on ordinary painkillers and antibiotics, which were practically ineffective.
The priests capable of healing them were mostly booked solid, so most hunters, in their own way, dealt with light injuries like fractures, which were not at all light for ordinary people, by wrapping splints and diving into the next Gate.
Nari’s mother always jumped into Gates despite being injured.
“Our mother is originally very beautiful, the most beautiful in the world. But she couldn’t show her pretty face much because she was always wrapped in bandages or plasters.”
Young Nari, saddened, once asked her mother:
“Mom, can’t you just tell other people to do it? Doesn’t it hurt? I wish Mom would stop using bandages.”
“Is our Nari worried about Mom? I’m fine. I’m much stronger than others. It can’t be helped. Heroes are meant to get hurt.”
“But I don’t like seeing Mom hurt. Don’t be a hero, Mom.”
Nari snuggled in her mother’s embrace. The mother, who was smiling, stroked Nari’s head.
“Then Nari can grow up to be even greater than Mom and save me.”
“Me?”
“Yes! Wouldn’t that reassure Mom?”
The mother patted Nari’s back. Nari always smelled disinfectant from her mother’s embrace. Nari hugged her tightly.
“Then I’ll become a hunter when I grow up. So people like Mom don’t get hurt.”
“That’s right. Our Nari can do it. My daughter is so kind~ Mom is moved~”
That night, the mother comforted Nari all night.
Twenty-five-year-old Shin Bitnari, who became one of the top hunters in the country like her mother, only then started to wonder what her mother thought when she heard her words back then.
“Ha… Damn it.”
Lud grimaced, grabbing the black scissor and standing up. He had thought things might have changed in ten years. But the world of hunters hadn’t changed at all, then and now.
It promised instant wealth and was the number one future dream for elementary students. But beneath the glamorous exterior, it was a profession where both body and mind deteriorated the fastest.
It was inevitable. This was a place where one couldn’t survive unless they turned themselves into a mere tool, just like Kang I-hyun, like my mother. And Nari hated that.
“Kang I-hyun.”
“Yes, Ye…yes?”
Realizing Lud’s expression was not good, I-hyun flinched slightly. Lud’s face was fierce.
“Don’t do that anymore.”
He slowly got up and picked up his black scissor. Black psychic energy flickered around him. He looked up at the dragon flying above in circles.
“No, I’m really fine. I’m not hurt at all! It doesn’t hurt once I heal…”
Lud looked at Kang I-hyun. Black mist poured out of his body. Lud’s figure slightly wavered. I-hyun was reflected in his flickering eyes.
[Illusionist’s High-Tier Skill :: ‘Persona’ is deactivated.]‘Not all, just a little. Just a tiny bit.’
[5% of the psychic energy forming ‘Persona’ is withdrawn.]
Lud slightly extracted the psychic energy forming his avatar. His body flickered, and dense psychic energy dripped down. Lud’s appearance became a bit blurred.
Pain is pain. Whatever the job, I should always come first.
He no longer wanted to see people who sacrifice themselves, claiming that it was the most efficient method and that it was okay.
Nari was fed up with the smell of disinfectants. And she had become stronger than her mother, as her mother had said.
So, if I could drop just a little bit of greed, just a bit of fear of getting caught… If I open up my heart, just a little…
Lud, having scattered dense black psychic energy across the field, looked at Kang I-hyun. I-hyun was looking at him with a tense expression.
“Is it all okay if you’re not hurt?”
Lud slowly spoke. His face was as cold as usual, but his tone was gentle.
“…It hurts me to see you like that.”
[Trait :: ‘Natural Lucid Dream’ is activated!]
Black psychic energy filled the field. At the same time, a bitter coldness swept through. The sweat on Kang I-hyun’s cheeks and the blazing pillars of fire instantly froze.
Bang! The dragon, its wings frozen, crashed to the ground. In the white world, white breath flowed from the dragon’s mouth.
The field’s properties had been reversed. There was no longer any point in continuing the mock battle. A message congratulating Lud on his final test success appeared before him.
An announcement flowed from the speaker in the white room.
“The level 2 Gate subjugation is complete. Time taken, 29 minutes 45 seconds. Contributors, Lud, Kang I-hyun.”
“Ah, really!!”
In the white room, where the mock battle had ended, offensive drones, holograms, and temperature control machines had stopped operating, turning themselves off. Lud kicked a fallen rock in the room with an annoyed expression.
The rock, the size of his waist, flew far away with Lud’s kick. Lud grumbled to himself.
“Creating a sponge to look exactly like a rock… Really… Really…”
Fiddling with a fallen rock that was soft to the touch, Lud sighed. He was well-versed in illusions and hallucinations, but special makeup wasn’t his forte. That’s why he didn’t know. That’s why he thought it was real…
“That’s true… But still, isn’t it illegal not to tell us about this stuff beforehand?! Huh?!”
With the situation being as it was, thinking it was real, Lud sighed deeply and ran his hand through his hair. He then approached Kang I-hyun, who was sitting in the distance.
“Hey, hey!”
“Yes…? Ah, ah… Yes…”
I-hyun, squatting down, looked up at Lud and smiled sheepishly. Lud, wondering why he was so dazed, blinked his eyes and spoke to I-hyun.
“The guild leader is calling me. I have to go to the guild leader’s office. I don’t know the way, so can you take me?”
“Yes? Yes? Ah… Now? Why?”
“Why, you ask.”
Glancing at I-hyun, Lud tapped his shoulder and then heaved a deep sigh.
“I got a job.”
Male lead Asks for a Divorce Every Day
It’s not often you come across a plot like this in the female-dominant genre — make sure to check it out!
This is a novel I’m planning to reread as well.
The male lead is strong, skilled in martial arts, and not the usual fragile type you often see in matriarchal novels.
Meanwhile, the female lead is a scientist—rational and logical. Even when she falls for the male lead, she doesn’t let her emotions cloud her decisions.
If you push through the first few chapters, you’ll gradually find the story really intriguing.
It has a mix of mystery, detective elements, and romance.
The author’s writing style is like crafting a puzzle—except they deliberately leave out a few pieces, making it hard to predict what happens next, yet keeping you hooked.
In the end, everything will come together and be explained.
One-sentence summary: Wife, stop playing with beakers and look at me!
In a laboratory accident, research scientist Zhu Wansheng accidentally travels to a matriarchal world. The original owner of the body is an eighteen-year-old only daughter of a wealthy rouge merchant, already married with a handsome young man.
Zhu Wansheng grins: Nice! She always said she was heaven’s favorite granddaughter. After a life of toil in her previous life, she can enjoy blessings in this one.
However, her joy lasts no more than three seconds as bad news arrives: the original owner’s family is about to go bankrupt, and her husband wants a divorce.
Even worse, she’s stuck with a research system full of restrictions.
Zhu Wansheng: ? Is this the destiny of a research dog?
——
Faced with this mess, Zhu Wansheng pours herself a bowl of wine to drown her sorrows. In her drunken haze, her husband arrives.
His figure is imposing, holding a long sword, with a dignified air that captivates Zhu Wansheng.
Gu Yingqing, however, looks at the alcohol-reeking Zhu Wansheng with undisguised disgust and coldly asks, “Divorce or not?” The intoxicated Zhu Wansheng mumbles vaguely, “I think… it’s not… it’s not… impossible!”
——
The next day, after sobering up, Zhu Wansheng is full of energy, rolling up her sleeves ready to make a big move. As for yesterday? She has no memory of it.
Zhu Wansheng is ambitious; a research dog fears nothing!
Upgrading rouge, extracting fragrances, producing perfumes, researching lipsticks… all shall bow to the power of modern technology!
The original owner’s dying rouge shop is revitalized. Her mother is pleased and with a wave of her hand, passes on the family business to her. As she takes control and her experimental results gain popularity, it’s the pinnacle of her life…
——
But there are always those who can’t stand to see her doing well. Jealousy, scheming, assassination attempts – they want nothing less than her life.
The person who has always kept his distance from her suddenly holds her tightly in his arms, eyes full of concern.
She is unharmed, but he falls into a pool of blood…
Zhu Wansheng feels guilty, “I can grant you one wish.”
Gu Yingqing tentatively circles his arms around her, carefully resting his head in the crook of her neck, pleading softly, “I regret it. Can we not divorce?”
Zhu Wansheng: ? When did I agree to a divorce?
[Small Theater]
The newly developed rouge is beautifully packaged, and Zhu Wansheng is eager to try it.
Gu Yingqing suddenly appears: “My lady, may I apply it for you?”
Cool fingertips lightly brush her lips. His Adam’s apple bobs as he leans in for a light bite.
Zhu Wansheng: ?
Gu Yingqing: It smells so good, I wanted to taste it…
On a warm spring day, Zhu Wansheng tries a new perfume: “Spring Night.” Gu Yingqing corners her against a wall.
Warm breath lingers on her neck.
“My lady, from now on, may I test the fragrances for you?”
[Humorous female scientist vs scheming live-in son-in-law male lead]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
