Chapter 13: The Second Research: Machine Church Gate (2)

The second Gate stood at the center of the plaza.

Once again, our preparations were thorough.

Several steel Barriers surrounded the Gate, and this time as well, a few Armored Cars had their barrels aimed at it.

We got out of the vehicle and approached.

“So… When can we go into the Gate?”

“I don’t know.”

That wasn’t just a joke—I really didn’t know.

Just because a black sphere appears doesn’t mean we can immediately cross over.

A Gate’s appearance doesn’t mean Monsters will emerge right away either. In the end, it all depends on the will of the Gate.

Among the people wearing Military Gas Masks, a few stood out, wearing distinctive Government Fireproof Suits.

Those must be the Hunters the Government selected.

Hunters have to fight Monsters to become stronger.

After all, only by killing Monsters can you gain Experience Points—the resource you need to grow stronger.

That’s probably why, even with a hastily assembled team, they had no choice but to throw them into the Field without any elaborate Strategy.

“There really isn’t any other way to train Hunters.”

Honestly, the Fireproof Suits being different was the most noticeable thing.

Those people were holding swords and spears and such.

I walked up to the Gate and tapped the black sphere with my rifle. The muzzle disappeared into the black orb.

The Gate is open.

I immediately lowered my rifle.

“It’s open, isn’t it?”

The Soldiers and Public Servants who had gathered nearby hurriedly started making phone calls.

About twenty seconds later, the Disaster Alert Siren blared throughout Busan.

There was no time to waste.

We had no idea when Monsters might emerge from the Gate.

“Let’s move soon.”

Since the Gate was open and we had multiple friendly Hunters at the Field, there was no need to wait until the Monsters crossed into our world.

I connected to the Radio.

“Let me explain the Strategy. We’ll clear the space beyond the Gate so the Armored Cars can enter.”

I looked around at the assembled Awakened.

It had only been four days and a bit since the Gate crisis began.

The people who had entered the Goblin Gate last time were Special Forces Soldiers, but these people were mostly amateurs.

The Government, for now, had prioritized Awakened among Police, Soldiers, and Public Servants whose identities could be easily managed.

It’s not a great method, but since it’s been less than a week since the Gates opened, there wasn’t really another way.

That’s what I thought, too.

Of course, it would improve with time, but I doubted today’s operation would go smoothly.

“We have to do everything we can to avoid casualties.”

There were six Hunters assembled.

Including myself and Dr. Min, a few of us would cross the Gate.

In my experience, working with regular Soldiers is better.

At least it’s more comfortable.

Many Hunters were arrogant, and they tended to treat real combat as if it were a game, ignoring the fact that they could die.

Of course, Hunters have a lower chance of dying beyond the Gate than Soldiers, and their growth potential is greater, so in the long run, it’s right to send Hunters in.

It might sound contradictory, but in my previous life, it was the Hunters who led humanity to ruin.

It’s true there was something suspicious about them.

Not just the Awakened who actively attacked humanity, but also the mainstream Hunter Organizations that dragged out the situation through incompetence and stalling until things got as bad as possible.

I don’t trust them completely.

That’s why I always take people from the Supernatural Science Research Institute.

Let’s see.

I checked the list of Hunters assembled.

One A-rank Spear Master. Three B-rank Swordsmen. And two A-rank Magicians.

Among Awakened, Swordsmen were the most common, and B-rank the most frequent.

So having three B-rank Swordsmen isn’t unusual.

“Let me explain the Radio protocol. Each Hunter will be called Fungsangae-1 through 6, in order. The scientists will be Call Sign Sparrow-1 and 2 for this operation. When you call in on the Radio, state your call sign first.”

I demonstrated how to press the Radio button.

“This is Sparrow-1. We’ll be entering the Gate in one minute.”

I’m Sparrow-1, and Dr. Ryoo is Sparrow-2.

“Don’t leave my line of sight, everyone. If there’s a problem, I’ll support you as much as possible, so Radio immediately if anything comes up.”

Everyone nodded.

“Any questions?”

This time, the A-rank Spear Master raised a hand.

He looked fairly old, and really did look like a Government Public Servant.

It seemed it wasn’t a lie that this Hunter Team was assembled from Public Servants.

I looked at Fungsangae-1.

“What will we encounter beyond the Gate?”

“There will be Monsters for sure. Aside from that, it changes every time.”

“Is there any risk of death or injury?”

I shook my head.

“No. I’ll be present at this Field. As long as you keep your wits about you, no one will die.”

There are many ways to protect allies.

I could send Ming Ming to pull someone out of a dangerous situation, and the others here are Hunters too.

Especially the two Magicians—they’ll be able to support others if they stay calm.

Now then.

***

Second Gate. The one that spawned mechanical Monsters.

There was something to look forward to about it.

Since the Monsters here were made of machines, studying them could lead to significant technological advancements.

Both the Government and defense companies were very interested.

It could also secure resources like scrap metal.

Well, of course, that’s only if we win.

If we lose, it’s all for nothing.

This second Gate, too, had caused enormous problems in my previous life.

The Monsters that came from here were far stronger than Goblins, so the result was hardly surprising.

I saw Dr. Ryoo fiddling with the observation equipment.

Soon, Dr. Ryoo’s voice came through on the Radio.

– The atmospheric pressure beyond the Gate is 1080 hPa. Air from that space is flowing into our world. We’ll need a solution for this.

“How are we supposed to handle that? Maybe we should install a giant air purifier in front of the Gate?”

It sounded like a joke, but that might honestly be the only solution.

Dr. Ryoo continued.

– And, besides the usual electromagnetic interference emitted by the Gate, there seem to be several kinds of signals for communication. Could there be people beyond this Gate?

I responded on the Radio.

– No, the likelihood of people is very low.

In reality, the chance of finding humans is almost zero.

Instead, the possibility existed that the robot-like Monsters from the Gate were exchanging electromagnetic signals for communication.

I started to carefully observe the surroundings.

This place—

It looked like a modern city, abandoned decades or even centuries ago.

Not a megalithic ruin, but a ruin of crumbling concrete and exposed rebar.

It wasn’t clear if humans had built it.

But it wasn’t hard to imagine that this ruin had once been a city much like those of modern humanity.

Perhaps, even if not humans, some existence similar to us once lived here.

– It’s curious, isn’t it? Did the Goblins conquer their own world, killing the ones who built the ruins? Is the situation here similar?

This time, I didn’t reply and began preparing for battle. Something felt off.

A Monster was approaching.

– Hey, Monsters incoming!

The ruins we were scouting were the decayed corpse of a fallen Giant.

Heavy steel beams jutted from between crumbling concrete, and among them, gray shapes began to move.

Like maggots wriggling through a corpse, the Monsters of Gate No. 2 revealed themselves.

“It’s dangerous.”

We quickly took cover nearby.

“Protect.”

I’ll try my best to control the situation, but this won’t be an easy fight.

In my previous life, there had been an incident where every Hunter who entered this Gate died.

Tap, tap, tap.

Metallic sounds rang out as something heavy hit the ground.

A horde of machines began advancing toward our lines.

I used my Explorer trait to analyze what kind of Monsters were charging at us.

Most of them were a bit smaller than humans, with four legs—like metallic spiders.

[Machine Steel Spider]

[Small Monster]

[Not very threatening on its own, but the Machine Steel Spider is a communal Monster that never acts alone. By gathering time and resources, it creates larger mechanical Monsters.]

Multiple Steel Spiders.

An army of Monsters was heading this way.

There seemed to be hundreds at a glance.

I had suspected something like this, but actually facing it was another matter.

“Why are there so many of them?”

Battle was imminent.

The Monsters from the Second Gate were made of metal.

That’s why firearms aren’t very effective here.

Especially if the higher-tier Monsters have magical defenses.

Conventional weapons won’t be much use.

That’s why the Hunter Team was here with their own weapons.

They needed to attack with Mana.

“Enemies incoming! Get ready!”

The enemy Monsters had drawn quite close.

The Hunter Team, faces grim, raised their weapons.

Screeeeech —-!

A piercing screech rang out for a long moment, then faded.

The battle had begun.

The Hunter Team, as if on cue, each started fighting with their chosen weapons.

Contrary to what I’d seen before, they fought quite skillfully.

Those with melee weapons stood at the front, while those with ranged weapons provided covering fire from the back.

Because of attack magic, flames rose around us.

As long as we avoided being surrounded, we’d be fine.

I hefted my Prototype Hunter Rifle and scanned the battlefield with Mana sight.

Enemies everywhere.

A swarm of Steel Spiders was advancing toward my position as well.

Bang -!

With the sound of shattering and clanging metal, the Robot Bugs charging us started to fall apart one by one.

That repeated several times.

Before we knew it, dozens of Robot Bug carcasses were piled up around us.

Though there were still plenty left.

“This is Sparrow-1. Stay alert. Don’t leave any fallen enemy unchecked—confirm each kill.”

The Hunter Team, sweeping the battlefield, finished off the Robot Bugs.

It was still too early to let our guard down.

I once more focused my attention forward.

The ruins limited our field of view, but from afar, I could hear the clanking of steel gears and the footfalls of robots—

The situation was far from over.

Thunk, screech -, thunk.

The sound of an engine running, gears grinding, and steel being pulled taut.

Something huge was approaching.

Thunk, thunk, thunk.

A Monster of steel.

From between the ruins, a Steel Monster revealed itself.

With a long tail and standing on two legs like an ostrich.

You could almost call it dinosaur-like.

“Everyone, hide behind me.”

We immediately retreated, and I used my Explorer trait to analyze the Monster.

[Machine Steel Dragon]

[This creature is the boss Monster of the Machine Church. Its strength and size depend on how much time and resources the Steel Spiders that made it have gathered.]

If the Steel Spiders had hidden throughout Busan, they would have devoured buildings and collected steel to create a Monster like this Mecha Dinosaur.

In my previous life, that actually happened.

There were considerable casualties when the Monsters of the Machine Church rampaged through Busan.

Still, seeing only one is a relief.

There’s no special way to deal with it.

“It’s not like a Golem that has a clear weakness.”

But since we’re the only ones who crossed the Gate, we’ll have to handle it ourselves.