Chapter 20: VIP Kim Song-cheol (1)

Crunch!

A powerful spear of lightning pierced the Golem’s solar plexus.

A round sphere was visible through the scorched, black hole.

As expected, a fist-sized hole had been blasted through it.

The Golem’s body tilted and immediately collapsed, sliding right up to the tip of Oh Song-hui’s nose with the same momentum it had while charging.

Looking at the Golem’s eyes, where the light had flickered out, Oh Song-hui turned her head with an expression of disbelief.

There stood Kim Song-cheol, kneeling and gasping for breath.

‘What was that just now?’

Lightning Spear.

It was clearly 2nd Circle magic.

‘…That’s impossible.’

On the other hand, Mun Gi-jeong, being a Mage himself, saw much more.

He could accept creating a 2nd Circle during battle.

However, the trajectory of the Lightning Spear twisting mid-air was not a phenomenon that could be explained.

In Circle Magic, everything is decided the moment the Magic Circle is completed.

And yet, he changed the trajectory?

It was impossible to explain by Mun Gi-jeong’s common sense.

“…Check on Ser Gang-jin,” Kim Song-cheol said as he barely managed to stand up.

Snapping out of it, Oh Song-hui quickly ran toward Ser Gang-jin.

“Hey, are you okay!?”

Oh Song-hui didn’t touch Ser Gang-jin’s body recklessly.

She didn’t know what might be broken.

Touching him carelessly could make the injuries worse.

Ser Gang-jin, who was lying on the ground, painfully opened one eye.

“Dammit…

I feel like I got hit by a car…”

He was conscious.

“Where does it hurt?”

“Everything just hurts.”

“Gosh.”

Oh Song-hui looked up toward Mun Gi-jeong.

He was already running over.

Mun Gi-jeong sat beside Ser Gang-jin and rummaged through his bag.

From inside, he pulled out a lightweight splint, a neck brace, bandages, and even a folding stretcher.

Mages carried items that were much bulkier than those of Swordsmen.

In particular, emergency medical supplies were always the Mage’s responsibility.

“The Portal is right there anyway.

I’ll just stabilize your neck for now,” Mun Gi-jeong said calmly, gesturing with his chin toward the back.

The place where the Golem had emerged.

A mass of blue light had formed right in front of that passage.

Mun Gi-jeong carefully fastened the neck brace around Ser Gang-jin’s neck.

In the meantime, Kim Song-cheol approached and unfolded the folding stretcher.

“…I’m finally being treated like royalty,” Ser Gang-jin joked.

Oh Song-hui raised her fist before barely lowering it.

“Shut up.

You might seem fine now, but we don’t know what’s happened inside.

You hit your head hard, too.”

“Let’s transport him quickly.”

Kim Song-cheol and Oh Song-hui simultaneously lifted Ser Gang-jin onto the stretcher.

A few groans escaped him during the process, but it couldn’t be helped.

“This is the best we can do, so bear with it,” Kim Song-cheol spoke gently.

Mun Gi-jeong and Oh Song-hui carried the stretcher, and Team 25A walked toward the Portal.

“The Points…

we won’t be short, right?

After going this far.” Ser Gang-jin muttered softly.

“Worry about your own body first,” Oh Song-hui scolded as she entered the Portal first, followed by the rest of the team.

The lobby of Suho Hall.

Kim Myung-joo paced in front of the screen with his arms crossed.

The number 11,511 was displayed on the screen.

It was the total amount of Points remaining until the C-rank Gate was closed.

There wasn’t much time left.

Furthermore, they couldn’t enter the Dungeon anymore.

Even if they did go in, it would be impossible to clear it within the time limit.

They had to pin their hopes on the Hunters currently inside.

There were four teams currently in the Dungeons.

All of them were F-rank Dungeons.

‘It’s close.

Too close.’

Kim Myung-joo unconsciously bit his lip.

He tasted the metallic tang of blood.

His lip had cracked and was bleeding.

Usually, F-rank Hunters bring back an average of 2,500 Points.

Multiplied by four, that was 10,000 Points.

It was a figure slightly short of the remaining Points.

‘The Hunters are too exhausted.

Can they bring it in?

The collected Points are decreasing as time goes on…’

Hunters were sprawled out in the long corridor.

Those lying down and falling asleep were the lucky ones.

Most were frowning with bandages wrapped around their arms and legs.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say they had spent all seven days clearing Dungeons, excluding sleeping time.

Fatigue was natural, and injury was routine.

It was a relief, in a way, that there were no fatalities at the Training Academy.

“It’s 10,000 Points…

will it work?”

“They say there are only four F-rank teams left…”

“Ha, this is driving me crazy.”

The sound of the Hunters talking reached Kim Myung-joo’s ears.

Their voices were low, but since the surroundings were so quiet, they were clearly audible.

Kim Myung-joo looked up and scanned the Hunters once more.

The Hunters who were awake were doing one of two things: looking toward the room with the Portal Tablet inside Suho Hall, or looking at the Points display.

The Hunters were waiting.

They were waiting for the moment the required Points hit zero.

They didn’t even have the strength to go to the dormitory, and they stayed in Suho Hall just to see that moment.

It was then.

Flash!

A bright light poured out from the inner corridor and flooded the hallway.

It was the signal that a Hunter team had returned.

The eyes of the Hunters, including Kim Myung-joo, shifted toward the room with the Portal Tablet.

“How severe is the injury!?”

The urgent voice of the medical staff echoed out.

At that, some of the Hunters even jumped up from their seats.

Since someone was hurt, they couldn’t help but worry as colleagues.

“I don’t know.

He was slammed into the floor, but…”

“X-ray first.

Get him on the bed for now.”

Rattle!

Soon, the medical staff came out into the hallway, carrying a Hunter on a patient transport bed.

They immediately entered the X-ray room.

‘Damn, another injury?’

Kim Myung-joo was about to move to check on the Hunter’s condition when it happened.

[Hunter Oh Song-hui has transferred 2,123 Points.]
[Hunter Mun Gi-jeong has transferred 1,952 Points.]
[Hunter Kim Song-cheol has transferred 7,521 Points.]

The messages popped up before his eyes.

Kim Myung-joo’s eyes moved rapidly.

He was calculating the total sum of the Points.

‘11,596…!’

“It’s done!

We did it!” Kim Myung-joo shouted instinctively.

It was the loudest his voice had been in all seven days.

At that, the Hunters’ gazes fixed on Kim Myung-joo.

Kim Myung-joo immediately dashed toward the Portal Tablet.

The Hunters watched him with bewildered expressions.

Over 10,000 Points had been remaining, and the ones who had returned were F-rank Hunters.

They couldn’t imagine that F-rank Hunters had earned over 10,000 Points.

“You did well!

We’ll talk about the details later!” Kim Myung-joo yelled as he passed Team 25A coming out of the room.

However, he didn’t seem to intend to wait for an answer.

Passing Team 25A, Kim Myung-joo stepped onto the Portal Tablet and transferred all the obtained Points to the Republic of Korea Point Manager under the Ministry of Interior and Safety.

Only a few seconds later, the number displayed on the lobby screen changed to 0.

It was the moment the Republic of Korea won against the Gate once again.

“Look, look at that!” a Hunter resting in the lobby pointed urgently at the screen.

“0…?

What, why?

Why is it 0?” the Hunter next to him asked in confusion.

“It looks like the team just now brought back 10,000 Points!”

“What?

They’re F-rank, aren’t they?”

“Ah, I don’t know!

Is that for real!?” the Hunter asked Kim Myung-joo as he came out into the hallway.

It wasn’t just that one Hunter’s curiosity.

Every Hunter who was awake looked at Kim Myung-joo.

Kim Myung-joo smiled brightly and gave a thumbs-up instead of an answer.

“Woooooah!”

Only then did the Hunters cheer and jump for joy.

The Hunters who had been sleeping from exhaustion were so startled that they jumped to their feet.

“What, what is it…”

“They blocked the Gate!”

“What?

When!?”

“Just now!”

“It’s blocked!?”

“Yes, you idiot!”

The Hunters hugged one another.

Some of the more boisterous Hunters even lifted Kim Myung-joo into the air.

It was truly a festival.

At this moment, there was no Director of the Training Academy, no F-rank Hunter, and no E-rank Hunter.

There were only heroes who had saved the Republic of Korea.

The C-rank Gate that had appeared near Inje, Gangwon-do disappeared as quietly as it had arrived.

However, the reaction was anything but quiet.

The residents of Inje, who had all been evacuated in case of an emergency, let out a collective sigh of relief.

That wasn’t all.

The military units waiting to shell the area around the C-rank Gate were also stood down from high alert.

Various newspapers printed the deletion of the C-rank Gate as top news, and every broadcast covered the Gate’s deletion as breaking news.

Furthermore, all media outlets did not forget to thank the Hunters.

They especially praised Cha Se-hyeon, who had collected the most Points.

Currently, Cha Se-hyeon was practically the representative of Korean Hunters.

One couldn’t discuss the C-rank Gate deletion without her.

The C-rank Gate incident seemed to be wrapping up without any major issues.

But perhaps because it was such a large event, stories from inside the Training Academy began to leak out through internet communities.

At a certain newspaper office in the Republic of Korea.

“This story is going around, what is this?” asked Reporter Kim, who was in his late twenties.

He printed out a post from an internet community and handed it to his team leader.

As a reporter for the Hunter department, it was a rumor he couldn’t just ignore.

“What is it?” Team Leader Park, in his thirties, practically snatched the printout and began to read.

The content was simple.

• Someone I know entered the Training Academy as a Hunter.
• According to them, there’s one crazy Hunter.
• I only heard they were good at first, but this time I saw it with my own eyes during the process of deleting the C-rank Gate.
• Their performance is insane for someone in their second month.
• Even Cha Se-hyeon can’t be compared.
• I can’t reveal their identity.
• They said it’s a secret.
• To be honest, I’m scared just saying this much.

That was the summary.

Since the Hunters were young and their acquaintances were naturally young as well, it seemed they were spreading stories about the Training Academy without much thought.

“Tsk.” The team leader set the printout down on the desk with a click and began to fold it neatly.

“It’s an Embargo.”

“Pardon?

What do you mean by that?”

The team leader looked up at Reporter Kim as if asking why he was asking such a question.

But soon, as if realizing something, he scratched his cheek.

“You haven’t been here long, have you?”

“Ah, yes.”

“You might not know then.

This Trainee…

they’re probably a Trainee the government has placed under an Embargo.

No one can write an article about them.”

“Ah…

was this a Trainee everyone in this field already knew about?”

“Reporters know.

The public doesn’t.

Now it’ll spread, though.

As far as I know, this is the first time a post like this has gone up.”

Team Leader Park tucked the neatly folded paper back into Reporter Kim’s chest pocket.

“The key will be how the government reacts.”

“Won’t they lift it soon?

Since it’s spread this much…”

“It’ll probably be lifted eventually.

But if they’re a Trainee of this caliber, they’re the VIP among VIPs.

They’re so precious…

and there are too many eyes watching.”

“Pardon?

Eyes?”

“Other countries.

Do you know how intense the information war regarding Hunters is these days?”

“Then other countries must already know.”

“You think they don’t?

They just can’t touch him because he’s a student at the Training Academy.

But at this level…

I don’t know.

Anyway, let’s start getting ready.”

“For what…?”

“Don’t be so slow.

That Hunter.” Team Leader Park gestured with his chin toward Reporter Kim’s chest pocket.

“Whether he performs after graduating, or goes to some other country…

or maybe he’ll be used for propaganda…

if anything happens, we have to write an article immediately.

Can’t you see the scale is no joke?

Are you going to wait until the Embargo is lifted?

Do some research in advance.

By then, it’ll be too late.”