‘How… how is that guy with Commissioner Jang Xuan…?’
Lee Tae-sung and Jang Xuan were chatting, their faces bright with friendly smiles.
Watching the two of them, Yang Hai’s eyes shook with shock.
Yang Hai was a Ranker himself, and the Seonpung Guild he led was counted among China’s top 100 guilds.
His ambition did not stop there, however.
Since he had talent, he planned to steadily increase his strength and rise even higher by forming connections with high-ranking Chinese party members!
The top ten guilds of China.
Even the top guild in the country!
But all those dreams would go up in smoke if he offended Jang Xuan, who was ranked within the top thirty of China’s most powerful figures.
Furthermore, wasn’t his father one of the seven Standing Committee Members who held absolute power?
No matter how much of a Ranker Yang Hai was, if he left a bad impression, he could die without anyone ever knowing.
In fact, those guarding Jang Xuan from the shadows were Rankers far stronger than himself.
Commissioner Jang Xuan was a man who could command them with just a flick of his finger.
“Hello. I am Section Chief Lee Je-cheol of the Korea National Hunter Association.”
A Korean official approached Yang Hai, who was breaking out in a cold sweat.
He had a troubled expression.
He had already expected that they wouldn’t look kindly upon Lee Tae-sung, who had suddenly been incorporated as a Ranker.
“As we stated in the official document sent in advance, Hunter Lee Tae-sung is a formally registered Ranker. If you feel he is lacking, you may perform a simple qualification test—”
“It is fine! It is perfectly fine! Lacking? What do you mean! Such a wonderful person has arrived, so I simply misspoke for a moment!”
“???”
Section Chief Lee tilted his head in confusion.
Hadn’t this man just been talking about looking down on Great China or demanding they hand over the Elixir manufacturing techniques?
However, Yang Hai was dead serious.
Jang Xuan, who had been talking to Lee Tae-sung, had briefly shot a glare in this direction.
It was only a momentary look, but it made the hair on the back of Yang Hai’s neck stand up.
“Brother. Was the trip here all right?”
Jang Xuan asked Lee Tae-sung.
Unlike Jang Xuan, who had spared a glare for Yang Hai, Lee Tae-sung wasn’t paying the man any mind at all.
He felt like the man had said something earlier, but he had ignored it because he was glad to see Jang Xuan again.
“Yes. Guangzhou is only a few hours away by plane. It was quick.”
His only regret was that he couldn’t take the private jet the Astral Guild had lent him.
If he had, he could have played Dream World on the way.
This time, however, he had to move with the other Rankers, so he had used the flight provided by the Chinese government.
“How are you here, Brother?”
“It’s a hassle, but supervising the resolution of this incident is my job. I want to play Dream World just like you.”
Jang Xuan, who was just as addicted to Dream World as Lee Tae-sung—perhaps even more—openly showed how annoyed he was.
But how could a person only do what they wanted to do?
Even a Politburo Member couldn’t do that.
In fact, the higher the rank and power, the more work there was to do.
“I feel the same way.”
“I knew it. I knew you would understand me. Let’s finish this quickly and go play Dream World again. I made something very interesting this time. Every day at the Red Magic Tower is a new experience.”
“Oh. I’m looking forward to that.”
“You should be.”
The two men, who were perfectly in sync, burst into hearty laughter.
***
Because China’s land was so vast, there were many undeveloped areas once one moved slightly away from the cities.
The place where the Gate incident occurred this time was such a location.
It was the Badain Jaran Desert, which appeared after passing through the suburban wastelands.
The Korean Rankers traveled in a large bus, and Section Chief Lee spoke to Yang Hai.
“It is a relief that the Gate opened in a place like this.”
“Indeed. If a Gate had appeared in the city, imagine the headache…”
Yang Hai nodded.
His expression seemed much more relaxed during the conversation.
Jang Xuan was not on this bus.
Since he had only come to see Lee Tae-sung briefly, he had already moved on to handle other business.
As the supervisor, he didn’t necessarily need to go to the site, and he had many more national-level matters to process.
However, he did leave Yang Hai with a warning before he left.
—Take good care of my brother.
—Please leave it to me!
Yang Hai could never forget that cold, stern gaze.
Even now, his body trembled just thinking about it.
“Are you feeling unwell?”
“No. Don’t worry about it.”
Yang Hai dismissed Section Chief Lee’s concern and glanced at Lee Tae-sung. Fortunately, Lee Tae-sung was looking out the window with an expression that seemed free of any discomfort.
Yang Hai let out a sigh of relief.
After traveling for some time, the bus came to a halt.
They had arrived at an area controlled by soldiers.
The Hunters disembarked, and a person who appeared to be an official approached them.
He was a middle-aged man with a stiff-looking goatee.
“Nice to meet you. I am Cheng Ke, an Assistant Director of the Badain Jaran Desert Committee and a member of the China Hunter Association.”
Cheng Ke spoke while checking his documents.
“You must be the Hunters from Korea. Then, please proceed to the center of the desert. You can take charge of defending the Gate there.”
If the Dimensional Barrier fails to hold, a Gate forms in that area, and monsters begin to pour out.
The solution was simple: rebuild the Dimensional Barrier!
If Rankers performed their Missions well, there was a certain probability they could obtain Dimensional Barrier Fragments.
They had to collect those to reconstruct the barrier.
However, during that process, they had to physically block the monsters, either by participating in the Ranker Missions or by stopping them in the real world.
If the Gate had opened in the middle of a downtown area, they would have had to stop them by participating in the Ranker Missions no matter what.
In a desert like this, however, it was better to stop them in the real world where they could also use modern firearms.
“Wait!”
Yang Hai stepped forward, shouting as if he couldn’t let it slide.
“These are precious guests from our friend, Korea! The center of the desert is the most dangerous place right now. How could you send these people there?”
“???”
“???”
Not only Cheng Ke, but Section Chief Lee and the Korean Hunters all stared at Yang Hai, wondering what on earth he was talking about.
“Uh… Guild Leader Yang Hai?”
“Stop saying my name and check again. There seems to be a mistake.”
“Yes, yes, I understand.”
Cheng Ke broke into a cold sweat at Yang Hai’s scolding.
While Yang Hai had been powerless before Jang Xuan, he was still a high-ranking individual whom a low-level civil servant wouldn’t dare look in the eye.
Cheng Ke checked the documents again.
A total of five Gates had appeared in the Badain Jaran Desert this time.
One was in the center, and the others were located in the east, west, south, and north.
Currently, Chinese Hunters were blocking them.
The center had the most monsters and was the most dangerous.
The east was the safest, followed by the south, west, and north.
Normally, in such cases, they would send the supporting Hunters from abroad to the most dangerous location, while the local Hunters, who now had more breathing room, would try to obtain Dimensional Barrier Fragments by participating in Missions.
It wasn’t just China; Korea and Japan did the same when Gates appeared in their own countries…
“Then, if you could take charge of the north…”
“Not there! Is the north really a place where our friends should go?”
“……. How about… the east?”
“That is excellent!”
“……”
***
And so, at the eastern edge of the Badain Jaran Desert, the Korean Rankers, who had agreed to block one small Gate, moved to their station.
“I don’t know what the reason for this is.”
At the words of Lee Ye-ji from the Blue Dragon Guild, the other Rankers nodded.
She was the temporary leader of the Rankers who had come to support China.
She was the strongest among the Rankers gathered here, and she was effectively the number two in the massive Blue Dragon Guild as its Vice Guild Leader.
While the other Rankers held high positions, they were merely members of large guilds.
“Vice Guild Leader Lee is right. We came here expecting unfair treatment or difficult battles…”
“Wow. This is the first time I’ve seen the Chinese act like this.”
Even the Rankers who had experience being dispatched several times found it fascinating.
This had never happened regardless of which country they went to.
Chinese Hunters had been guarding the Gate, and they looked relieved as they swapped out with the Korean Hunters.
“Thank you. Then, we will head off to our Mission.”
“Good luck.”
Now, they planned to participate in the Mission to somehow obtain Dimensional Barrier Fragments.
The Chinese Hunters departed, and the Korean Hunters took their places.
“It doesn’t seem like all five of us need to block it at once. I think we can take turns. What do you think?”
“Sounds good.”
The others nodded at Lee Ye-ji’s assessment after she examined the Gate.
There were five Korean Rankers who had come for support this time, including Lee Tae-sung.
Looking at the Gate in the east of the desert, there were few monsters coming out, and they were all weak.
Any Ranker-level expert could easily block it alone.
“Guild Leader Tae-sung…”
“I’ll go first.”
“Would you like to do that?”
When Lee Tae-sung stepped forward, Lee Ye-ji felt relieved.
Unlike the others, she didn’t yet know how strong Lee Tae-sung actually was.
She had been hesitating, worried she might hurt his pride if she asked if he needed help, so she was glad he volunteered first.
Since he was the first up, it would naturally be easier to support him.
In reality, Lee Tae-sung was just wondering if these guys gave Score, and if they did, he wanted to get it all for himself.
*Thud*
After moving back and forth in front of the Gate while using Bihwapok, a flame mixed with a faint white light rose from that spot.
It wasn’t just any flame; it was the high-density fire of the Heavenly Net Flame Hand.
The flames rising in front of the Gate melted the monsters instantly the moment they emerged.
*Ding!*
**[You have defeated a Strengthened Ghoul]**
**You have obtained 125 SC**
*Ding!*
**[You have defeated a Goblin Thrower]**
**You have obtained 99 SC**
The other Hunters stared at Lee Tae-sung in surprise.
They had expected that he might not be at a Ranker’s level of skill yet… but for him to be this strong?
***
“Do you have an area-of-effect skill?”
“Yes, well. Something like that.”
Lee Tae-sung nodded at Lee Ye-ji’s question.
Skills that set up wide-area attacks over a broad range, so-called ‘AoE’ skills, were considered excellent among Hunters.
Once set up, monsters were automatically defeated without much attention needed for the duration of the skill.
‘But the level of the monsters is mediocre.’
Lee Tae-sung wasn’t very satisfied because the Score he was earning was small.
At this rate, it was at a level where even a group of decent Hunters, not Rankers, could easily handle it.
‘They said this was the easiest zone. I wonder if the center would be a bit better.’
It might have been better if Yang Hai hadn’t blocked them.
He didn’t know why the man had done that.
Meanwhile, the other Rankers were stealing glances at Lee Tae-sung.
‘How can I get close to him?’
‘He doesn’t seem like he likes talking much.’
He was a new Ranker.
He wasn’t even a veteran Hunter who had completed many Missions.
Normally, in such cases, there would be a lot of hazing or people picking fights, saying he wasn’t on their level.
But those looking at Lee Tae-sung were feeling anxious.
They had eaten the Lowest Grade Elixirs Lee Tae-sung had first sold to the guilds, and they had already become his hardcore supporters!
—To think he made such an amazing Elixir…!
—Sigh… You’re saying there’s no effect if you eat more than two? Are you serious?
—I wonder if Guild Leader Tae-sung has some unreleased Elixirs that work even if you take multiple doses?
A Hunter’s desire for the Mana they possessed was intense.
It was even worse for Rankers.
That was why they were desperate to get on Lee Tae-sung’s good side somehow.
They hadn’t had a chance until now, but…
‘It’s different in front of a Gate.’
‘Please, let just one come out. If one dangerous monster appears and I save the Guild Leader in a moment of crisis…!’
Was it because he heard the prayers of those Hunters?
Suddenly, the Gate vibrated violently, and a massive arm burst out.
Despite touching the Heavenly Net Flame Hand, the owner of the arm only seemed to be in pain; it didn’t die immediately.
‘There it is.’
Lee Tae-sung’s eyes flashed as he saw the monster revealing itself from the Gate.
It looked like that guy would give a decent amount of Score if defeated.
Lee Tae-sung was about to draw his sword, but in that moment, the other Rankers moved first.
Each of them pulled out their weapons and unleashed a barrage of skills, turning the monster that had revealed itself into Swiss cheese in an instant.
In the end, the creature vanished without ever having set foot properly on Earth.
“Haha. Do not worry, Guild Leader Tae-sung! You don’t have to go through the trouble of moving; we will handle everything!”
“That’s right! Just trust us!”
“……”
Lee Tae-sung’s gaze turned cold.