Chapter 42

A Gate.

The greatest scar left by the Great Cataclysm.

More than thirty years ago, Demon King Asmodeus had used them as an invasion route. They had long since been reduced to a livelihood for Hunters and to excavation sites for Magic Gems, a higher-dimensional energy resource.

“You’re with the Peace Guild, right?”

A middle-aged man in work clothes came over from the entrance.

He was a civil servant from the Gate Management Office, one of whom was stationed at every Gate.

“Yes.”

The civil servant nodded at Team Leader Choi’s curt reply.

“You’re right on time. When will you be entering?”

“We’ll gear up and go in right away.”

“There’s a waiting room on the second floor. Come down when you’re ready. Right, then.”

We followed Team Leader Choi. The two-story building where the Management Office civil servant was stationed was as run-down as a building could get, and the waiting room wasn’t much better.

Damn. Get a load of that smell.

The stench of sweat hit me the moment we opened the door. Rusty cabinets and an overflowing trash can stood out too.

“This place is pretty bad. Don’t they even air it out?”

“That’s Gate officials for you. It’s not called a cushy post for nothing.”

Leaving the grumbling behind, I started changing into my raid gear: leather armor and lightweight combat boots. Finally, I drew a spear from its long case and gripped it.

It’s been a while.

That snug fit in my hand felt familiar and strange at the same time.

It was definitely different from the weapon I’d used over the past month… Ah, no. I shouldn’t think about that anymore.

I have to forget all of it now.

As I needlessly tightened the perfectly good laces on my boots, Im Kkeokjeong came over.

In full-body armor and carrying a massive tower shield, he looked every inch the main tank.

“You ready?”

“Yes. Pretty much.”

Im Kkeokjeong looked me up and down, then clicked his tongue.

“Would you look at this guy. How old is that equipment, even?”

“Who knows? I bought it when I first started, so at least seven years?”

Back when I was a rookie, I’d splurged on it at an underground shop in Dongdaemun.¹ I still remembered the exact price.

1.98 million won.

I couldn’t sleep properly for days after buying it.

Being a Hunter was a job where the expenses ran as high as the income. Most of those expenses went toward equipment, all because of the unique nature of Gates.

Gear that isn’t imbued with mana falls apart in no time.

That was why the most common method was to craft equipment from Magic Gems taken from Gate monsters.

The higher the Grade of Magic Gem used, the more the price shot through the roof.

“Seven years? Good grief. No matter how much you like money, you have to spend it when you need to. You going to pinch pennies with your life on the line?”

“Hmm. I had my reasons.”

Reasons I didn’t particularly want to discuss. Im Kkeokjeong spoke in a worried voice.

“You’re in a noncombat position today, so you should be fine… but be careful.”

“Yes.”

Even as I answered, I felt strange. Someone who’d had “be careful” on their lips constantly until just recently came to mind.

But the sentimentality didn’t last.

“Is everyone ready?”

When Team Leader Choi appeared, my jaw dropped.

No way.

“Is that a Red Drake leather set?”

“Hmm.”

Team Leader Choi’s face hardened. I’d only ever seen gear like that in luxury-store catalogs, so the words slipped out before I could stop them.

“Ah, sorry…”

“It’s nothing. It was merely made using five types of magic and B-grade Magic Gems.”

“…”

“Not that I’m emphasizing this, but the materials are five types of magic and B-grade Magic Gems.”

“Ah. Right.”

“Red Drake leather is popular because of its distinctive sheen, but that’s all for show. It isn’t actually that useful.”

Team Leader Choi moved, his face still stiff. A faint red glow flashed across him.

“But it is very beautiful.”

“…”

“Let’s head downstairs.”

Team Leader Choi left the waiting room first. Im Kkeokjeong came over to me.

“That guy really loves it when people recognize his equipment.”

“I mean, I get it, but… what’s with him?”

“No idea. He’s an equipment nut. There’s even a rumor he blew his entire fortune on that set and sleeps in it every night.”

So this guy’s a nutjob too.

I sighed inwardly and prayed that today’s raid would end safely.

“This isn’t the number of people you registered.”

The civil servant looked uncomfortable. Fair enough. We were supposed to enter now, and the party still wasn’t all there.

How long are we going to have to wait?

Six people had gathered in front of the Gate. Excluding me, the porter, that left only five combatants.

It was an E-rank Gate, so you needed at least five more Hunters of the same rank… and with those Peace Guild bastards nowhere in sight, of course the civil servant was pissed.

“If additional personnel have been added, you need to inform us in advance.”

Huh? What did he just say?

Additional personnel?

“I’m sorry.”

At Team Leader Choi’s curt apology, the civil servant picked up his pen and struck several lines through the paperwork.

“We can just amend it, so it’s not a major problem… but please be careful next time.”

“Yes.”

Not a major problem, my ass. There aren’t any people!

I poked Im Kkeokjeong in the ribs.

“Hyung. When are the others getting here?”

“What others?”

“The Peace Guild.”

“Team Leader Choi’s right there.”

“What?”

“Oh, did I not tell you? The Peace Guild is new, so it’s short on people. There are only three in total, including the Guild Master. Hahaha.”

…You’re laughing?

“Come on, hyung.”

“I know, punk. But you don’t have to worry.”

Im Kkeokjeong patted my shoulder and pointed at Team Leader Choi, who was signing the paperwork.

“That man’s a C-rank Hunter.”

“Oh. C-rank…”

I shut my mouth.

If Team Leader Choi was a C-rank Hunter, there was no problem. No—he was far better than ten E-rank Hunters. He was a mid-rank Hunter, in a completely different league from a low-rank Hunter like me.

I should’ve realized the moment I saw him wearing that luxury gear.

This was a man walking around with a high-end apartment wrapped around his body. A price most low-rank Hunters couldn’t afford even if they drained their entire fortunes ten times over.

A faint halo seemed to shine from Team Leader Choi’s back.

“Please verify the signature.”

Even the way he handed the pen back to the civil servant was elegant.

Even his smallest movements seemed to drip with wealth.

So this is the dignity of a C-rank Hunter.

That’s fucking cool.

I wanted to become sworn brothers with him. I wanted to swear a gay oath beneath the Gate—no, a Gate oath.

“All right, then. Let’s go in… What is it?”

Team Leader Choi looked at me, startled.

“Nothing. I just thought you looked cool.”

“Excuse me?”

“The equipment. I said it looks cool.”

At that moment, the corner of Team Leader Choi’s mouth twitched.

“It’s nothing. It was merely made using five types of magic and B-grade Magic Gems…”

A nutjob I wanted to befriend.

I took a step toward the Gate.

Whoosh—

A familiar sensation enveloped me. The cool, sticky energy unique to mana.

Then the scenery flipped.

“It’s a cave.”

Just as Team Leader Choi said, this raid was taking place in a cave. The moisture-laden walls were damp, and everything around us lay submerged in faint darkness.

“Mr. Taekyung. Take out a flashlight.”

“Yes.”

I quickly set down my backpack. It was a porter’s bag Team Leader Choi had handed me just before we entered the Gate. It looked ordinary on the outside, but it was an expensive item enchanted with both space expansion and weight-reduction magic.

“Here. A flashlight.”

I handed it over since he’d asked, but in my experience it wasn’t the best method. Convenient, sure, but if the light vanished, you couldn’t adapt to the sudden dark.

It was much better to wait a little and let your eyes get used to the darkness…

Click.

“Let there be light. Light.”

Whoosh. A ball of light the size of a soccer ball shot out of the flashlight and slapped itself onto the cave ceiling.

“…Magic?”

“It’s built-in magic that activates as soon as you chant the spell. It lasts quite a long time, so three or four hours shouldn’t be a problem. It’s a limited edition I bought from Company M, but…”

Im Kkeokjeong, who had been watching, boiled it down to one line.

“It’s crazy expensive.”

Was Team Leader Choi’s face darkening a little just my imagination, or was it the shadows? Either way, the raid had gotten a lot easier thanks to it.

Money really is the best.

The world was ruled by capital, and Gates were no different. People with money fought comfortably with magic equipment; people without it had to carry torches.

“Take your positions.”

Everyone responded immediately to Team Leader Choi’s command. Im Kkeokjeong and another E-rank Hunter took the lead as tanks, with Team Leader Choi behind them. I, the porter, and the two ranged dealers stood at the very back.

“Move.”

We started advancing slowly.

The bright magic light lit the path ahead.

“…”

I want one.

“Kiiiieet!”

The creatures crouching in the darkness emerged with shrill cries. Green skin. Short torsos. Hideous limbs.

They were Hobgoblins, a higher species of ordinary goblin.

About thirty of them.

With only five people, this would be a hard fight.

But a C-rank Hunter changes the story.

On top of that, the other four were veteran E-rank Hunters with at least ten-odd years of experience each.

I hung well back and watched the battle.

“Ranged!”

The moment Team Leader Choi gave the order, arrows flew. One shot, one kill. The arrows punched into vital points, and the unshielded Hobgoblins dropped in heaps.

“Kiit!”

“Oof, shield-bearers. What should we do?”

“Hold.”

Team Leader Choi went on.

“Tanks, advance.”

The tanks in thick full-body armor moved forward with their tower shields. Im Kkeokjeong and the other man were both huge, over 190 centimeters, so the intimidation factor was no joke.

“Kiiiieet!”

But monsters were called monsters for a reason. Trusting in their numbers, the Hobgoblins charged like a swarm of bees.

But…

“Well now.”

Bam! Bam! Bam!

They turned to bloody pulp against those big, beautiful tower shields and went flying. Riding that momentum, Im Kkeokjeong swung his mace like a flyswatter, wrecking limbs and smashing heads.

“You punk! You punk!”

…What was this, whack-a-mole?

Old-timers, as expected.

All four of them kept to their roles without overdoing it, steadily cutting the enemy numbers down.

Knowing when to fall back and when to advance was combat intelligence born of plenty of experience.

“Everyone, hold your positions.”

And then one man.

The man who had been directing the flow of battle until now moved.

“I’ll handle the rest.”

At the same time, a red line flashing along his armor plunged through the twenty Hobgoblins.

Slash—

A head soared into the air along a clean arc. It happened so quickly that the monsters couldn’t react.

“Kiiie?”

Slash. Slash. Slash.

The blade never stopped. Merciless and efficient, it pierced and sliced through the monsters’ vital points. This was no longer a battle.

It was a massacre. A massacre of some twenty monsters by a single human.

This is a C-rank Hunter.

I could see his speed, his strength. All of it. And I felt it.

He really is strong.

As a mere F-rank, I couldn’t even dream of matching him. He was a mid-rank Hunter three full stages above me. A wide river and a high wall that effort alone could never bridge.

But at the same time, a question surfaced.

What if this were Murim?

Team Leader Choi was definitely strong. He had the ability befitting a C-rank Hunter, and plenty of experience.

But if this were Murim… if he were a man of Murim…

I’d be stronger.

His movements were fast and powerful, but that was all. He hadn’t learned martial arts, and he couldn’t use mana efficiently either.

At best, he was First Rate. In Murim, that was as far as he would go.

But this is reality.

I bit my lip without realizing it.

A mid-rank Hunter and the lowest-rank Hunter.

While the mid-rank Hunter wore expensive equipment and slaughtered monsters, the lowest-rank Hunter could only stare blankly.

In the role of a porter.

“Kiiieet…”

The last Hobgoblin fell. Team Leader Choi pulled his sword from its chest, and our eyes met.

“Mr. Taekyung. Please handle the byproducts.”

“…”

“Mr. Taekyung?”

I wanted to tell him I was stronger than he was.

But in the end, I couldn’t.

Because this was my reality.

“…Thank you for your hard work.”

I used to be stronger than you.