-Author Note-
How are you guys doing? Thank god my fever has gone down a little. Sorry for the inconsistent upload schedule, I don't think I'll be able to upload daily. I've also been rewriting the chapters I've saved over and over again lmao. Of course, I've read all the advice from you guys, and it's really helping me improve this story so thank you. Anyway, have a good day. Ciao!
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In an internet cafe not far from school, Ken sifted through the association database.
With his knowledge of the plot, he understood that this was the moment when Jin-woo and Song-yi entered the red gate. He still didn't know the exact location, but he did know how to hack into the Hunter Association's database to track the participants registered for the gate Jin-woo had entered.
'Here.'
The location was quite far from where he was.
'If I go home first. Hold on...'
He wouldn't make it. His school was located between the gate site and his apartment. If he stopped by home, he wasn't sure he would arrive in time.
'Screw it.'
He hailed a cab and headed straight to the gate location.
Some time later, while checking his phone, Ken arrived at the area where the gate would soon turn red. At the outskirts of Seoul, Ken found himself in a place where people had abandoned their homes. Neglected and without electricity, the area was completely dark and empty at night.
The reason was simple. This place had a high concentration of gates. As it became too dangerous, the government sealed the entire district from civilian.
"Well, I guess I'm too late."
In the distance, a giant red gate hovered vertically in the air.
---
White Tiger Guild's master, Baek Yoon-ho, touched the red gate, only for it to reject his right hand as he tried to enter. He frowned and said, "What the heck? This isn't even a C-rank gate. Red gates only appear in higher ranked dungeons. Did you call the Association?"
"Y-yes. They said they would send backup right away, but it's already been 30 minutes."
Baek Yoon-ho clicked his tongue. "Damn it!"
He knew what those bastards must be thinking, unless there's a risk of a dungeon break, why rush?
Unlike regular gates, a red gate could be entered on the seventh day after it turned red. Therefore, they didn't consider it urgent to send backup immediately.
"Half a day has already passed then," Baek Yoon-ho muttered, starting to worry. "Those people are as good as dead. We'll be lucky if two or three manage to survive, depending on the difficulty."
A scorching desert where survival was nearly impossible, a freezing wasteland that could bite them to death, and on top of that, the flow of time was different, one hour in the real world equaled twenty-four hours inside the gate.
It was then. Baek Yoon-ho's eyes widened as the Beast's Eyes ignited in the darkness. A chill ran down his spine as he suddenly sensed a powerful aura from behind.
"Who?! Who's there?!"
Slowly, a figure in a black hoodie walked out from the dark road.
"Gold mask? Wait... don't tell me he is…"
Baek Yoon-ho could hardly believe it.
The hunter who could revive the dead.
"Sorry for sneaking around. I'm really awkward with people," Ken said, walking toward him. At this point, Ken didn't care about hiding his identity anymore, but the guardian mask provided a stat buff.
Baek Yoon-ho smiled. "Please don't worry. I was the one who spoke rudely first. By any chance…"
Of course, he was truly interested in recruiting the Guardian into his guild. If he could, Baek Yoon-ho would do anything to bring him in. However, no one knew his whereabouts. Baek assumed that only the Hunter Association knew and was protecting his personal information. And if he was here now-
"Did the Association send you?"
Behind his mask, Ken hummed for a moment.
"No. I'm here to find someone I know. Did a girl named Song-yi and a man named Sung Jin-woo enter the red gate?"
'Sung Jin-woo? Does he know him too?'
Why does everyone seem so interested in Sung Jin-woo?
Then one of Baek's subordinates confirmed that both had indeed entered the red gate together.
Ken sighed inwardly.
'Well, he can protect her.'
He knew that much and Jin-woo certainly would protect her.
"We are ashamed that we can't enter the gate and help the ones trapped inside. Therefore, I want to ask for your help to clear it. Of course, you will be rewarded. As the guild master of White Tiger Guild, you have my word."
If his promising rookies died, this man could revive them so long as their bodies were recovered.
Baek Yoon-ho would pay whatever it cost.
"No. Seven days is far too long for me."
"I'm sorry?"
Did he already know how red gates worked? Or was he simply dissatisfied with Baek's offer?
"I've finished deciphering the barrier that's preventing anyone from entering. Please step back."
"W-what?"
Ken raised his right hand as mana surged from his body. A concentrated sphere of energy formed in his palm, and as he aimed it at the gate, the surrounding wind grew violently unstable. A moment later, the blast struck the red gate and it shattered. The gate has returned to a normal blue gate.
"W-what did you just do?"
Baek Yoon-ho couldn't believe it. Even with eyes that could see mana far better than most, he was stunned.
The red gate had been restored. Normally, once a gate turned red, its mana was isolated and locked in place. But the energy radiating from it now proved otherwise it wasn't just a superficial change.
'I forgot.... he's not only a miracle healer but a magic caster as well. Does that mean he has a dual class? I've never heard of anyone undoing a red gate before.'
Such a rare and terrifyingly capable mage.
"You may start calling your men here."
Baek snapped to attention at the Guardian's voice
"Of course. Call the main force here immediately within ten minutes! No, faster than that!" Baek said to his subordinates.
Meanwhile, Ken wasn't interested in subjugating the gate. It was someone else's exp to level up.
His goal had simply been to observe the red gate phenomenon and analyze it firsthand. It was interesting. Ken had studied the spell on the gate and dispelled it. Now, he was even more certain that these gates was someone else's spell, and it scared the hell out of him more. He couldn't even guess how much mana those deities possessed.
'Yeah, no time to slack off.'
At that moment, headlights appeared from the distance. A luxurious black sedan rolled to a stop. As the door opened, Baek Yoon-ho couldn't hide his disgust. His red hair began to turn pale as mana surged from him.
"Hwang Dong-soo! What the hell is an American doing here in South Korea?"
Hwang Dong-soo smirked, twirling his sunglasses between his fingers.
"Keke! What a sight~ A guild master like you doing errand work out here? And look at that!" He eyed the hooded man in the golden mask. "Seems my luck is good today."
[Ding!]
[New quest has arrived]
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(Extra POV)
Tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick!
[Fu_ck_ing re_tard_ed. You_nee_d_to_touch_grass. L_m_a_o_!]
It finished typing and send it.
In a dark room where the only light source came is the monitor screen. Empty energy drink cans on the table. With a click, a hand made slime open a new can and 'drink' it slowly.
A red cape typing on the keyboard to reply to random guys on the internet. Clark the cloak of levitation has been addicted to the internet and lost track of how long he scrolled the mouse.