Boss Monster.
A term that signifies the owner of the Gate.
Since this Gate was an rank 8 Gate, we were all on high alert, imagining an incredibly powerful boss monster. Â
“What… is that?”
The state of the boss monster we encountered in the Castle of the Dead looked far from good.
No, to be honest, its appearance wasn’t that bad.
Though it was old, rusted, and its colors had faded, it still wore magnificent robes befitting a castle lord.
The deathly aura emanated from its skull-embedded staff.
From its hollow eyes came an oppressive feeling…
No, correction. Â
I don’t know what its gaze was like originally, but right now, what I felt from the boss monster’s eyes was not intimidation, but pure terror.
It was afraid of us.
But why?
Curious, I stepped forward.
“Hiiik!”
The boss monster raised its staff.
Immediately, a wall made of bones shot up from the ground.
The interior of the castle instantly transformed into a maze, isolating me from the guild members.
Still, there was no other attack. Â
“…Is that all?”
The paths twisted, traps activated, prisons were created, and occasionally spikes would shoot out from the walls, but honestly, nothing was truly threatening.
If only there were monsters here, then maybe.
What good does building walls do?
It seemed the other guild members felt the same.
“Bang!” Â
They quickly broke through the bone walls and escaped the maze.
Though the bone walls were breaking in real time, the boss monster only pushed us back and caused us to wander.
After a little wandering, the castle’s exit would appear again—this kept repeating.
Well, unless it attacked, we had no reason to give up.
“Hiiik…”
“Is this really a boss monster?”
“Looks like it.”
Eventually, all one hundred of us safely reached the boss monster.
I wondered if it might be a fake, but that was not the case.
The monsters were so strong, so why was the boss monster in such poor condition?
The answer came from the 9th Team Leader.
“It seems to be a commander-type boss monster.”
“A commander?”
“That means it’s a commanding type. Its own combat ability is low, but it directs the monsters below it to maximize its effectiveness.”
Commander type, huh.
That made sense.
If it’s a commander type boss monster without any subordinate troops, it would be this weak.
“It would’ve been much tougher if monsters were still present when we entered. As you’ve seen, this one can treat the castle itself like a living organism.”
“True. Then why did it send all the monsters away?”
“It’s uncertain, but probably because of the trebuchet.”
“The trebuchet? Why?”
“If left alone, its magic would eventually run out. It had no choice but to send out the monsters.”
“Then wouldn’t it have been better to send them all? That would’ve put us in danger too.”
“If it sent them all, assassins might have snuck in, which would be dangerous. Or maybe it underestimated us. That’s my guess.”
The 9th Team Leader’s analysis was spot on.
I nodded and looked back at the boss monster, and I could already see its magic was completely depleted, leaving it in a miserable state.
“You human scum. How dare the living enter the Castle of the Dead? I will generously let you leave safely—so just turn back quietly!”
Judging by the feeble threat, it was clear that its combat power was low.
More than that, this was the first time I’d met a boss monster that actually spoke.
I thought maybe I should try having a conversation.
‘The Gate, after all, originates from the Tower.’Â Â
The words I had heard from the two statues in the mine came to mind.
Perhaps this boss monster knew something about the Tower.
If so, maybe I could get a glimpse of what the inside of the Tower was like.
Right then, the boss monster let out a bitter laugh and drew upon the faintly recovered magic to the fullest.
“Krrik.”  Â
At that moment, sharp spike walls rose up on both sides of me, closing in like scissors.
“Master!”
No matter how weak it was, a boss monster was still a boss monster.
The team leaders standing tensely beside me rushed forward and blocked the spike walls.
Then, with a swish—
The 2nd Team Leader swung a sickle across the boss monster’s neck.
The life drained from the boss monster’s eyes.
Well, it was undead from the start anyway.
“Thud.” Â
The boss monster collapsed.
The chance to talk was lost.
“Master, conversing with monsters is dangerous. Even if restrained, meaningful communication would not have been possible.”
I knew that already.
Has there ever been a hunter who successfully held a conversation with a monster?
No, there hasn’t.
Many have risked their lives trying to communicate with boss monsters, but it was useless.
Monsters were like robots programmed with the command ‘Attack humans.’
Though they appeared intelligent enough to converse, they were empty shells, their souls gone and only instincts remaining.
Still, it was a shame to lose the chance for any possible communication.
“Well done, everyone.”
“We did it!!!”
We, the Vulcanus Guild, had succeeded in clearing an rank 8 Gate. Â
***
“It’s already been half a day since the Vulcanus Guild entered the rank 8 Gate, Castle of the Dead!” Â
“There’s still no news.”
“Is everything going smoothly?”
“Generally, a giant guild’s rank 8 Gate raid takes anywhere from half a day to several days at the longest, so it’s not like much time has passed yet, but…” Â
Rank 8 Gate, Castle of the Dead. Â
All one hundred Vulcanus Guild members had entered the Gate, but outside, the scene was still chaotic.
In fact, it seemed even more crowded than when Vulcanus first entered.
Reporters carrying cameras.
Not only them, but ordinary people who heard the news and YouTube creators filming videos all flocked to the Gate.
And it made sense.
“If Vulcanus Hunters fail to return alive, Korea will face a severe crisis!”
“Just look at the Second Gate Burning—if it weren’t for Vulcanus Hunters, we wouldn’t have been able to quickly suppress the damage!”
“Also, the Vulcanus Blacksmith’s Forge boosts the combat power of Korean hunters as a whole with powerful mass-produced equipment!”
“If such Vulcanus Hunters fail to come back from an rank 8 Gate!” Â
“That would be an unbearable disaster!”
It wasn’t just the general guild members who entered the Gate.
The guild master of Vulcanus Guild.
The owner of the Vulcanus Blacksmith’s Forge.
Vulcanus himself had entered.
Though Vulcanus Guild members were strong, they weren’t yet comparable to the giant guilds.
A human life cannot be measured by value, but in reality, losing even one Vulcanus Hunter was more dangerous than losing all the guild members at once.
“This isn’t something we can just stand by and watch!”
“The Hunter Association should be paying attention to this situation!”
“If a crisis comes, the Hunter Association must be ready to dispatch support directly…”
Someone mentioned the Hunter Association.
But this wasn’t the Hunter Association’s fault.
The Hunter Association only assigned the Gate because Vulcanus Hunters requested it.
There was no blame to be placed on the Association.
It was just a convenient excuse someone wanted to throw responsibility onto another.
“Hey, hey! It’s the Hunter Association! The Hunter Association is really here!”
The Hunter Association had arrived.
Their sturdy-looking all-wheel-drive vehicle.
However, the vehicle following behind looked especially impressive, so reporters’ cameras immediately focused on it.
A moment later, the person who stepped out of the vehicle in front of the Gate was none other than—
“The Chairman! The Hunter Association Chairman has come personally!”
Though he was the chairman, in this time when the power of hunters mattered above all, the chairman’s influence was known to be stronger than that of many high-ranking ministers.
He had come here in person.
And not only him.
“That’s the Sword Saint! Sword Saint Han Yu-ra!”
Along with the chairman came Korea’s number one ranked hunter.
Han Yu-ra, a symbol of the Hunter Association.
Just by seeing this, it was clear why they came here.
The chairman’s presence meant the Hunter Association considered Vulcanus extremely important.
Han Yu-ra’s presence meant the Association wanted to show how much they were watching over Vulcanus.
The Sword Saint, Han Yu-ra.
Together, they were more reliable reinforcements than a whole group of skilled hunters showing up.
If a crisis arose, Han Yu-ra could dive into the Gate immediately and clear even an rank 8 Gate in an instant. Â
Though her accomplishments were with the combined strength of the five great guilds, she was a top-tier hunter who had even defeated monsters in an rank 9 Gate. Â
“Even with the Sword Saint waiting, it’s natural to feel uneasy!”
“Though Vulcanus Guild has a support system, if a sudden crisis occurs—”
“If they’re ambushed, they might not receive support and Vulcanus Guild could be in danger!”
“Can we really just stand by and watch?”
“Shouldn’t the Sword Saint enter right now to assess the situation?”
The reporters murmured among themselves.
They argued that the Sword Saint shouldn’t just wait outside but should enter to see what was happening.
But even they knew the law.
That hunters or guilds assigned a Gate cannot enter the Gate without permission.
The law was made because criminals had previously entered Gates during raids and attacked the raid team.
Moreover, the Vulcanus Guild’s representative standing at the Gate was Nam Bora, who shook her head, saying no support was needed yet. Â
It seemed there was some way to check the situation inside the Gate.
“The sun is already setting.”
“Is this really okay?”
“If the hunters don’t come back… this is serious. The longer it takes, the more worried Vulcanus becomes.”
“What do the viewers think?”
“This isn’t a matter of legality; for Korea’s future, the Sword Saint should…”
Suddenly, the reporters gasped and turned their cameras toward the Gate.
The reason was simple.
“Vwoom!” Â
Light was pouring out of the Gate.
There was only one reason for such a reaction.
“The Vulcanus Guild seems to have succeeded in clearing the Gate!”
The Vulcanus Guild had cleared the rank 8 Gate, Castle of the Dead. Â
“The Vulcanus Guild is coming out now!”
Vulcanus Guild members began emerging from the bright light of the Gate.
First out was Team 1 Leader Park Sang-hyun.
After that, the teams came out in orderly sequence.
However, the problem was—
“We don’t see Vulcanus Hunter! He definitely went in first!”
“Why isn’t Vulcanus Hunter showing up?”
Vulcanus Hunter was missing.
Could something have happened?
Time passed, and the last team, Team 10, exited the Gate.
And at that final moment,  everyone held their breath, swallowing dry gulps. Â
“Click.” Â
Vulcanus—
“Vulcanus Hunter! Vulcanus Hunter has safely cleared the rank 8 Gate! Vulcanus Guild! Truly remarkable!” Â
He appeared outside the Gate.