Hunters protected this place by obtaining Dimension Barrier Fragments from missions.
Their job was to prevent monsters from breaking the barrier and, ultimately, to stop them from entering the Gate connected to Korea.
“Each country has a Gate like this that they must protect. The Rankers are the ones who maintain them,” Gu Sang-min explained.
This was the reason why the United States had practically been spoon-feeding Korea to the point of unfairness just to keep their Rankers alive.
If even one Ranker-class Hunter died, no one knew what kind of problems would arise in maintaining the Dimension Barrier.
If they were unlucky, it could collapse entirely.
If they grew complacent, the tragedy that struck New Zealand could very well happen in the United States.
“Are we not allowed to deal with those monsters out there directly?”
Lee Tae-sung asked, looking at the monsters outside the barrier.
They were swarming, but it didn’t seem impossible to wipe them out if powerful Hunters joined forces.
“It is possible. In fact, if a portion of the barrier collapses, we have to use our own bodies to fill the gap.”
When the number of Dimension Barrier Fragments Rankers brought back from missions decreased, parts of the barrier would occasionally fail.
From that point on, they had to fight the monsters to the death to ensure they didn’t cross the Gate.
“If we fail to stop them and they cross over, monsters will start appearing all over the country.”
This had never happened in Korea, but it occurred frequently overseas.
Countries with large territories had many Gates to guard and multiple barriers to maintain.
Since Korea’s territory was small, it only had one Gate and one barrier.
‘Should I say it’s a relief that our country is small in this case?’
Lee Tae-sung wondered.
“In those situations, the Rankers have to defend the Gate at all costs. They take turns desperately running missions, praying for fragments to drop.”
Gu Sang-min shook his head, as if recalling how difficult that process was.
“Many Rankers died during those times. No matter how strong you are, there is no answer once you are surrounded by that many monsters.”
Even the strongest individuals did not have infinite mana.
In fact, mana capacity was mostly a fixed value, making it difficult even for Ranker-class powerhouses to engage in prolonged battles.
Elixir-type items were only occasionally obtained from missions, or they had to be crafted one by one by top-tier alchemists using all sorts of rare materials.
“That is why the leaders of our country’s major guilds were so obsessed with your elixir, Guild Master Tae-sung.”
It wasn’t simply a matter of increasing mana by a small amount.
If a lower-rank Hunter’s mana increased, they could perform better in missions and potentially become a mid-rank Hunter.
Similarly, if a mid-rank Hunter’s mana increased, they could aim for the high ranks.
If things continued that way, the number of Rankers would increase, and the skills of existing Rankers would also grow.
In other words, the level of every Hunter in the entire country would rise.
It was the revolutionary change the Association desired most!
‘I only intended to sell the elixirs. I didn’t realize they were this important.’
It was something Lee Tae-sung had never even considered.
“At any rate, Guild Master Tae-sung, please come here every now and then to help maintain the barrier. Attack those bastards occasionally, too. Reducing their numbers even a little bit will make maintaining the barrier easier.”
“Am I a Ranker?”
“Hmm… Normally, someone capable of obtaining Dimension Barrier Fragments would definitely be skilled enough to be called a Ranker, but honestly, I’m not sure about you.”
Up until now, Rankers were exclusively veterans who had already established high levels of skill and fame.
Even for Lee Tae-sung, it was difficult to grant the title of Ranker to a rookie who had only finished twenty missions.
People would find it suspicious.
“Well, I don’t care if I’m not called a Ranker right now. It’s only a matter of time anyway,” Lee Tae-sung said with a shrug.
He was confident that if things continued this way, both his guild and himself would grow until they naturally reached the level where they would be called Rankers.
“Haha! You have quite the confidence. But you have the right to be.”
Gu Sang-min laughed heartily, seemingly liking Tae-sung’s attitude.
“Well then, since we’re here, let’s clean things up a bit before we go.”
As he spoke, Gu Sang-min moved toward the Dimension Barrier.
Clenching his fist, he stomped the ground and threw a punch.
A shockwave shot out, instantly crushing dozens of monsters beyond the barrier.
*Kaaa-boom!*
“Oh!”
Lee Tae-sung was slightly surprised.
It wasn’t because the Ranker’s skill was overwhelming—he felt that the masters in the Dream World were likely much stronger—so the display of power itself wasn’t shocking.
Rather, it was the nature of the Dimension Barrier that surprised him.
“Can our attacks pass through this?”
“Yes.”
The Dimension Barrier allowed skill attacks to pass through.
It blocked the enemy’s approach while allowing them to fire off as many attacks as they wanted.
It was an incredible advantage.
‘If only this gave points, I would have stayed here instead of doing normal missions.’
However, in these Ranker Missions, most monsters didn’t grant points.
Only a few powerful individuals did.
Meanwhile, Gu Sang-min was inwardly surprised as he looked at Lee Tae-sung.
‘He’s unfazed even after seeing my technique. Is it confidence?’
Gu Sang-min smirked to himself.
He assumed Tae-sung acted that way because he was confident he could reach that level himself.
Usually, an ordinary Hunter would be filled with admiration and shock after seeing even a glimpse of a Ranker’s skill.
‘Even Kang Woo-joo, the top rookie from last year, wasn’t like this.’
It was quite impressive. Gu Sang-min stepped aside and pointed forward.
“Would you like to try an attack as well, Guild Master Tae-sung?”
“Hmm. I’m not very confident in long-range skills… but I’ll give it a try.”
Lee Tae-sung drew a dagger from his waist.
He channeled the flames from the Flaming Sword Technique into the dagger and threw it using the principles of the Flying Star Soul Chaser.
*Thud, thud, thud!*
Because he purposely aimed for weak ones like zombies and goblins, their heads exploded instantly.
However, there was a limit to the number of daggers he had, so he couldn’t fire them indefinitely.
Lee Tae-sung smacked his lips in disappointment.
If he had more long-range skills, he could have easily killed many more.
‘If I had trained harder in the Seven Forms of the Red Cloud to fire sword qi, or if I had imbued it with the flames of the Flaming Hands of the Heavenly Net instead of just regular flames, I would have done much better.’
At the very least, the results would have been very different if he had used those special flames.
‘I’ll have to dedicate more time to training from now on.’
Lately, he had been focused solely on chasing quests in the Dream World.
Even if he obtained skills through hidden pieces, it was essential to increase his mastery over them.
For the time being, his top priority would be training!
***
After learning about the Dimension Barrier and Ranker Missions, Lee Tae-sung returned home.
He had learned many new things, but his task remained the same.
‘In the end, everything will be solved if I get stronger.’
A future where Gates opened and monsters flooded Korea?
He wanted none of that.
Lee Tae-sung wanted to stand at the top as the best Hunter in a peaceful Korea.
‘And to do that, I have to play the Dream World.’
Strengthening himself and making other Hunters stronger—the solutions were all inside the Dream World.
*Pshhh*
Lee Tae-sung lay in the capsule and logged into the game.
When he opened his eyes, he was back in Abysson’s house.
He had come to check on the letter from the son, received a reward from Abysson, and paused there.
Tae-sung took the Necromancy Sphere out of his pocket.
Smoke swirled and coalesced into the form of Abysson.
Now, the most important part remained.
Tae-sung asked cautiously, “Master Abysson? Do you remember the factory by any chance?”
“Oh…”
Tae-sung looked at Abysson with surprise.
He had used an Item Replication Rune to bring one Necromancy Sphere into reality.
Did that mean there were now two Abyssons?
Did the Abysson in reality and the one in the game exist separately with separate memories?
That question was now answered.
They were both a single Abysson.
“I don’t know the principle behind how this works.”
“Me?”
Could that really be considered similar?
Now that he mentioned it, it did seem that way… Lee Tae-sung had no intention of dwelling on a problem that wouldn’t help him.
The bottom line was that he could keep Abysson by his side and continue to give and receive help.
“Wait a moment. It’s a bit disappointing to just leave like this.”
Lee Tae-sung began to rummage through Abysson’s house.
If this was the former home of a Great Mage from hundreds of years ago, surely there had to be at least one treasure.
Of course, Abysson looked at him with an absurd expression.
“Still, you never know.”
“Even so, you could have a momentary lapse.
You said yourself that you were frequently forgetful in your later years because you were consumed by revenge.”
<……>
Abysson was left speechless.
He had lived for so long obsessed with revenge against the Flame Emperor that he had even forgotten his son’s letter.
Ultimately, Abysson gave up on stopping him, and Lee Tae-sung began his treasure hunt, practically turning the entire house upside down.
“Hmm…”
He searched every nook and cranny, thinking something might be hidden, but nothing of note appeared.
Tae-sung sighed, having found nothing.
Eventually, he headed toward the main gate to leave, but then he noticed a small box attached to the door.
It was originally a box meant for things like milk or keys, but because it was so out in the open, he hadn’t bothered to look inside.
Just in case, he opened it…
“Huh? There’s something here.”
“Yes!”
What Tae-sung pulled out was a ring.
It was made of gold with a red gem embedded at the tip.
“What is this?”
<…I don’t know.>
Abysson tilted his head in confusion.
“Don’t tell me your memory is…”
When Abysson snapped at him, Lee Tae-sung nodded.
“Then let’s go back to the city and get it appraised.”
Honestly, it didn’t matter if Abysson didn’t remember.
He had planned to get it appraised once he returned anyway.
If it was a good item, the appraisal fee would be high, but he didn’t mind.
‘I’m finally going back to that appraiser.’
Lee Tae-sung was a man who held a grudge for a long time.
***
Moving quickly, Lee Tae-sung returned to the metropolis of Ellyn.
The distance wasn’t that far, and he used his lightfoot technique the entire way.
He went straight to the appraiser he had been introduced to by the Chief Manager.
He was an appraiser who was tight-lipped, so there was no worry about information leaks, but his prices were quite high.
He was the one who had appraised the Necromancy Sphere and had taken one extra gold coin as an additional fee, claiming it was a precious item.
“Welco—!!”
As the bell chimed and he walked through the door, the appraising mage, who had been greeting him with a smile, froze.
He remembered Lee Tae-sung.
“Master Appraiser. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
Lee Tae-sung grinned broadly.
“Ah, haha. Yes, valued customer. What brings you here?”
“You said the next time I came, you’d appraise one item for free. I have something to leave with you this time.”
As he spoke, he pulled out the ring.
The appraiser’s eyes twitched.
It wasn’t easy to keep a straight face when he was about to work for free.
Conversely, a natural smile leaked from Lee Tae-sung’s lips.
One gold coin’s worth.
I haven’t forgotten!