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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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As they walked side-by-side along the opened path, Ha Min-jae cautiously spoke.
“The Gate information is exactly as written in the report I submitted earlier. If… if you haven’t checked it, I can explain it to you.”
“It’s alright. I’ve memorized everything.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
As if the business was concluded, Ha Min-jae stopped talking and quietly halted his steps.
Lee Seong-jun, now alone, faced the Gate emanating an ominous aura.
He didn’t think it would be difficult, considering his considerable growth over the past week.
However, the interior of a Gate was an unknown, with hidden dangers lurking within.
It was a place where one’s life could be at stake in a single moment, so he must never become complacent.
“Phew…”
He focused, bringing his body to its peak condition.
It wasn’t easy, but he was able to manage, having done it countless times.
As he exhaled the deep breath he had taken, an appropriate level of tension tightened his relaxed muscles.
A satisfied smile spread across Lee Seong-jun’s face as he clenched and unclenched his fists.
‘Excellent.’
Just the right amount of tension, not too much or too little.
‘I’m in top condition.’
Just as Lee Seong-jun finished his preparations to enter the Gate, Ha Min-jae waved from behind and greeted him.
“I wish you good luck.”
Lee Seong-jun nodded in response and stepped into the Gate, his figure slowly disappearing.
“Even though Hunter Lee Seong-jun has entered, safety hasn’t been completely secured yet, so please don’t relax and maintain vigilance.”
Ha Min-jae, watching him, uttered the usual formalities and was about to return to his position when…
“…?”
The red aura emanating from the Gate gradually shifted to blue.
‘The color of the aura is changing?’
Something was wrong.
Ha Min-jae shouted urgently.
“No…! Stop!”
Before he could even finish his sentence,
Woong-
With a resonating sound, the Gate’s aura swelled rapidly, engulfing Lee Seong-jun’s figure.
“Wh-what?!”
Ha Min-jae, his eyes wide, rushed towards the Gate entrance.
The soldiers guarding the area hurriedly followed behind him.
However, they couldn’t enter the Gate.
An invisible barrier formed at the entrance, blocking anyone from entering.
“Wha- what?!”
For humanity, the space within a Gate was still an unknown territory.
They couldn’t accurately predict when or what kind of variables might occur.
Events beyond humanity’s current understanding, like the one happening now, could occur.
The soldiers guarding the area looked at Ha Min-jae with dazed expressions.
“H-Hunter-nim, the Gate has turned blue!”
Like the vast ocean, the entire Gate had turned blue.
Ha Min-jae hurriedly took out his smartphone from his pocket and pressed the call button.
Ring! Ring!
‘Pick up, please pick up quickly!’
Perhaps his desperate prayer was answered?
Around the second ring,
A relaxed voice came from the other end.
-Oh, why? What’s wrong?
“Team Leader! It’s changed into a Frenzy Gate! The Gate that Hunter Lee Seong-jun entered…!”
-What?!
Han Seok-kyu’s agitated voice came through the smartphone.
-A F-Frenzy Gate?!
Ha Min-jae’s gaze fixed on the blue aura filling his vision.
Seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn’t deny it.
“Yes, it’s definitely a Frenzy Gate.”
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After receiving the news that Lee Seong-jun had entered a Frenzy Gate, Jo Kang-hyun rushed to the D-rank Gate located in Gangseo-gu. The first thing he saw was Han Seok-kyu’s gloomy face.
“I’m sorry…”
“Sigh… Let’s talk later.”
Jo Kang-hyun sighed and walked past Han Seok-kyu towards the Gate.
As he faced the blue-tinged Gate, Jo Kang-hyun’s face hardened.
‘Of all things, a Frenzy Gate…’
The grade of a typical Gate was determined by the amount of magical energy emanating from it.
It was the sum of the magical energy passively emitted by all the monsters inside.
However, there were no ordinary monsters inside a Frenzy Gate.
‘Only one, a boss monster.’
In other words, the magical energy measured when grading the Gate was measured from a single boss monster.
The difficulty of clearing a Frenzy Gate increased exponentially compared to its designated grade.
Of course, if it were simply a matter of a strong monster inside, it wouldn’t be a big problem.
He could just run away or call for outside support.
Unfortunately, Frenzy Gates had the characteristic of sealing the entrance upon entry.
Although he knew it intellectually, Jo Kang-hyun cautiously raised his hand and touched the Gate’s entrance, hoping against hope.
‘As expected, it’s blocked.’
Feeling the sensation on his fingertips, a curse involuntarily escaped Jo Kang-hyun’s lips.
“Damn it…”
It was unavoidable, as there were only two known conditions for the barrier to disappear.
The first was when the Hunter who entered defeated the boss monster alone.
And the second was when all Hunters inside were dead.
Jo Kang-hyun’s brow naturally furrowed.
‘The odds are too slim.’
If the magical energy measured was that of a D-rank Gate, a C+-rank monster would appear.
Considering its boss monster status, at least a B-rank Hunter was needed to safely hunt it.
Although Returnee Lee Seong-jun had rapidly grown over the past week by monopolizing Red Goblins, it generally took three to six years to become a B+-rank Hunter.
He still lacked the time to reach B+-rank.
‘Even considering his rapid growth… C-rank is his limit.’
A battle between a C+-rank boss monster and a C-rank Hunter; it was safe to say there was no chance of victory unless a miracle happened.
Jo Kang-hyun, his face darkening, shook his head urgently.
‘No, no, let’s have faith.’
It was too early to give up.
Returnee Lee Seong-jun had broken numerous records so far, demonstrating feats worthy of being called miracles.
‘Nothing will change by falling into despair.’
He would rather do what he could.
‘Let’s find a way to support Returnee Lee Seong-jun before the worst happens.’
Jo Kang-hyun, having regained his composure, started racking his brain.
About five minutes passed.
Jo Kang-hyun’s eyes suddenly lit up.
‘The mage Olivia, known as the foremost authority on Gate studies, might know another way to open a Frenzy Gate.’
However, contrary to the thought that came to mind, he couldn’t immediately ask for help.
Unfortunately, Olivia had been completely missing since last year.
‘Don’t give up. There must be another way.’
As Jo Kang-hyun was lost in thought, a heavyset man approached him from behind and spoke.
“Our Team Leader Jo Kang-hyun, always working so hard.”
Jo Kang-hyun’s eyes widened as he turned his head.
It was a natural reaction.
The man before him was someone he hadn’t expected to see here at all.
“D-Director…?”
“Why are you so surprised? With a returnee involved, I, as the director, can’t just stay cooped up in my office, can I?”
It was a reasonable statement.
But it was coming from the wrong person.
The man standing before him, Director Kim Dong-jun, was someone who rarely appeared on-site.
Even the few times he did, it was only reluctantly, under orders from the president or vice president.
Yet, such a person had appeared on-site voluntarily.
‘Why?’
Fortunately, the question didn’t linger for long.
“I heard Returnee Lee Seong-jun entered this Frenzy Gate? What a shame. He was such a talented individual, I can’t believe we’ll lose him like this.”
Contrary to his words, Kim Dong-jun’s lips curled into a subtle smile, causing Jo Kang-hyun to frown.
‘That… idiot.’
This wasn’t the time to be thinking about petty office politics.
‘Returnee Lee Seong-jun is a talent with the potential to reach SSS-rank.’
In other words, he was someone who could secure the association’s position among large guilds and alliances.
He was a figure whose importance to the Hunter Association’s future couldn’t be overstated.
Yet, Kim Dong-jun was smiling, thinking only about his own gain and securing an advantageous position in office politics.
Anger at Kim Dong-jun’s foolish behavior surged through him.
Normally, he would have raised his voice and started a fight.
But now wasn’t the time to waste on someone like Kim Dong-jun.
He had to find a way to help Returnee Lee Seong-jun as soon as possible.
“…I need to find a way to help Returnee Lee Seong-jun, so I’ll be going now.”
Jo Kang-hyun, staring at Kim Dong-jun with cold eyes, turned his back and walked away.
As he watched Jo Kang-hyun’s retreating figure, Kim Dong-jun shouted loudly,
“I don’t know if there’s a way, but do your best! Fighting, our Team Leader Jo Kang-hyun!”
Honestly, he wanted to burst out laughing and revel in his joy.
But there were too many people around to express it openly.
In the end, Kim Dong-jun suppressed his smile and savored the joy surging within him.
‘Finally, finally, is my life about to bloom?!’
Perhaps it was because he had lived a difficult life and walked a path of hardship?
Heaven had bestowed upon him unexpected luck.
‘Now that he’s entered a Frenzy Gate, that Lee Seong-jun is finished.’
He still hadn’t figured out how Lee Seong-jun had deceived so many people.
But no matter how skilled he was, he couldn’t deceive a monster.
Lee Seong-jun’s true colors, hidden by his deceitful acts, would be revealed, and he would meet a gruesome end inside the Frenzy Gate.
‘That Jo Kang-hyun, who was in charge of Lee Seong-jun, won’t be able to avoid responsibility for this either.’
No, he would make sure Jo Kang-hyun couldn’t avoid it.
Of course, as an association employee, essentially a civil servant, he wouldn’t be easily dismissed.
But it wouldn’t be difficult to banish him to the countryside.
He would finally be rid of that Jo Kang-hyun, who had been picking fights with him at every turn.
‘I thought Lee Seong-jun was a troublesome nuisance, but now it seems he was a blessing in disguise!’
Kim Dong-jun barely managed to suppress his laughter, which kept threatening to erupt.
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