Chapter 23: S-class Gate Part 1

(Anonymous 1): Focus. This is about saving your hometown and your nest. No one but you can clear this gate.

(Seongha’s Messenger): Descendant, this time Anonymous is right. No one among humans, except you who can communicate with us, can stop this gate.

The serious chat of the Celestials snapped me back to reality.

I didn’t even know why an S-class Gate, which had barely appeared until now, suddenly opened, nor why the gate’s boss was at a Celestial level.

On top of that, I couldn’t understand why the unlucky, talentless me was the only one who could stop this gate.

Still, I had no choice but to do it.

‘Focus. I have to clear it no matter what.’

I sneaked in with Byeol and Baekgu, and as soon as we entered the gate, red wolves and orcs greeted us.

“一! Bai!”

Baekgu, who had almost no combat experience, stepped forward. The one wagging his tail even more intensely.

(Anonymous 1): Are you stepping up to protect him? That’s adorable.

The red wolves attacked, and Baekgu swiftly dodged and immediately fired a water cannon.

Pew–!

I couldn’t just stand there and watch, so I drew my sword. Thus, the fight between Baekgu and me continued for a while. About three minutes later, even though it was our first time working together, we took down the monsters like a perfect team.

“Bba! Ah, bba!”

Byeol called to me.

For some reason, it felt like she was telling me to move aside.

Baekgu and I instinctively moved our bodies, and Byeol stretched out her hand.

(Anonymous 1): Finally seeing this!

(Endless Waiting): What is she doing?

(Father of Crops): You’ll see. It’s one of Byeol’s hidden charms.

Piiiiit–!

At Byeol’s fingertip, something mixing spirit energy and mana gathered.

After a huge power condensed, it shot out strongly.

Pew–!

It was a slightly higher-level skill than the fireball Byeol showed me a few days ago. Like the Meteor Strike I once used, the powerful orb grew larger.

Like a black hole, it sucked in all the monsters nearby, then exploded in a small blast and spat them all out.

Pyeong–!

(Anonymous 1): … It’s gotten stronger.

(God of Rain and Sunlight): If I fought Byeol, I’d lose.

(Seongha’s Messenger): Hmmm, even without much combat experience, she instinctively uses such power? The Spirit King who can master all four elements is different.

(Father of Crops): I thought a Spirit King who controls all four elements was just a myth, but seeing it in reality, it’s just a monster.

(Anonymous 1): Monster to Byeol? Do you want to die?

(Endless Waiting): … Truly a hidden charm. I’m really glad I didn’t fight Byeol when I was a gatekeeper.

I nodded at Endless Waiting and Ben’s words.

If Byeol didn’t have a good heart, if she didn’t regard me as her father, I’d already be dead. I was truly thankful that I hadn’t fought her.

And as I was thinking that, all the monsters inside the gate suddenly burst out.

Indeed, this gate was S-class, but except for the boss, the regular monsters weren’t that strong. The strongest monsters were at the level of those from a B-class gate.

Because we cleared the regular monsters so easily thanks to Byeol, we reached the boss room faster than expected.

I checked Byeol’s condition.

“Byeol, are you okay?”

Byeol had unconsciously used her strength, mowing down many monsters. I worried whether my daughter would be mentally shaken, but…

“Dragon?”

She tilted her head, asking as if to say there was nothing wrong.

(Anonymous 1): She’s seriously underestimating the Spirit King’s vessel.

I smiled awkwardly. It seemed my worries were pointless.

‘Good.’

I cast Water Shield on Byeol and Baekgu. We were about to enter the boss room, so they might be in danger.

I could see Byeol’s power making the Water Shield even stronger. This much was somewhat reassuring.

(Seongha’s Messenger): I’m proud to see my skills being put to good use by my descendant.

(God of Rain and Sunlight): Jinwoo, I recommend buying a few items at the coin shop before entering the boss room.

(Endless Waiting): Hmm, that sounds good.

The Celestials’ playful chatting faded into seriousness. That meant even they weren’t taking this situation lightly.

Well, even though I hadn’t entered the boss room yet, the chilling air around me kept making the hairs on my neck stand on end.

It was definitely not a situation to be taken lightly.

I entered the coin shop and bought the items the Celestials recommended.

(Anonymous 1): Buy a special-grade Return Stone, just in case.

Unlike the regular Return Stone, this item allows you to escape the gate anytime, anywhere by just throwing it. One cost a whopping 200 coins.

(God of Rain and Sunlight): Go to the skill tab and buy a shield skill.

‘Shield skill? I already have Water Shield.’

(God of Rain and Sunlight): Buy the shield skill and also get the skill synthesis book to combine the two skills.

Ah!

I marveled at the Celestials’ grand plan and bought the skill synthesis book and shield skill. Using a special discount, it cost about 300 coins for both.

On Earth, skill synthesis books didn’t exist. I couldn’t believe I could get one for only 150 coins.

Marvelling again, I combined the Water Shield and shield skill.

[B-class Skill, ‘Water Shield’ is being combined with Shield Skill!]
[Skill, ‘Water Shield’ is upgraded to A-class skill!]
– Description: Seongha’s Messenger, Ha Baek’s unique skill. Creates a shield by generating water around you to block attacks. Combined with shield skill, it can nullify attacks with tremendous power. Cooldown is 7 minutes, and it consumes ‘10’ mana to use.

It got so much better.

Cooldown was reduced by about 3 minutes, and performance seemed doubled.

(Endless Waiting): It’s best to use the remaining thousand coins flexibly once you enter the boss room.

I agreed and opened the door to the gate boss room.

At that moment, the association was still gathering hunters. After collecting hunters for about a week, they planned to clear the boss room in the remaining three weeks.

Since the regular monsters could be cleared in less than a day, the association and government prioritized gathering as many hunters as possible during that week and gathering information about the boss monster.

“Have all five major Korean guilds responded?”

The Hunter Association head’s mana-filled question.

An employee confidently answered,

“Yes, all guilds have declared an emergency and are gathering hunters. We even requested dispatches from other countries just in case.”

“Good. This is a different level from the monsters we’ve faced so far. It’s the first time a boss is impossible to measure with Magic Measurement.”

Maybe a dragon, maybe a regular Celestial or Spirit King would appear as the boss monster. Each was nothing less than a disaster, so not only Korea but the whole world was wary of the small rural village near Hoengseong.

“Any news on the secret hunter?”

“We’re still looking. We’ve searched all the rural villages around the A-class gate where he was active, and we confirmed descriptions from those who saw the traveler.”

“Keep searching.”

The association was gathering many hunters.

Still, they weren’t confident of success in clearing the gate.

Well, somehow, they might catch the boss monster if they gathered all the top hunters worldwide.

But no one was confident of doing it within a month.

The moment the boss monster came out of the gate, there would be massive casualties, but only one person could close the gate with immense power without such damage.

‘The secret hunter.’

They had to find the secret hunter who had shocked the world!

As the association head clenched his fist,

“Head of the association!”

“… What?”

“Someone entered the S-class gate boss room alone!”

“… What?”

“No guard hunters noticed.”

The gate system allowed checking the current situation. The S-class gate system window showed [Boss Hunting in Progress, 1 Person].

When someone enters the boss room, others cannot enter for an hour.

That’s why the association was gathering hunters for a week to send many people in at once, but…

“Damn! Who is that?”

“… According to the system, it took less than five minutes to clear the regular monsters and reach the boss room.”

“What? How is that possible?”

“… There is one person who can do that.”

At the employee’s words, the association head’s jaw dropped.

That one person who had done the impossible known by all Korean hunters.

The secret hunter.

*****

The moment I first entered the boss room, I couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Yes, beautiful!”

As Byeol said, it was beautiful.

The boss rooms I had seen until now were creepy at best, not beautiful.

Damp walls reeking of blood, painted red rooms — that’s what I knew as a boss room.

But this…

‘Looks like a royal palace.’

It was as beautiful as a palace.

The antique walls and lighting made anyone smile upon seeing it.

The strangest thing was that no one was in the boss room.

(Anonymous 1): Dodge!

Thud–!

The moment I saw Anonymous 1’s chat and instinctively stepped back, a giant light fixture crashed where I had been standing.

(God of Rain and Sunlight): This isn’t the end!

(Anonymous 1): Jinwoo, sword up! Step your back foot out, shift your weight, and swing! The arc goes from upper right to lower left diagonal!

Various decorations in the boss room charged at me, and following Anonymous 1’s instructions, I swung my sword and smashed the lighting.

At that moment, a fireball shot powerfully from somewhere. The lighting was just a trap to block my sight.

(Seongha’s Messenger): Water Shield!

I barely managed to use the skill to block the fireball. Even using an A-class skill, I almost got burned.

“Bba ba! Dad!”

Startled, Byeol ran up, stammering as she asked if I was okay, and I nodded with a reluctant expression.

At that moment, I could tell her expression had noticeably changed.

The unusually raised corners of her mouth dropped, and with a rather scary face, she scanned her surroundings.

Piiing–!

Power gathered once more at her fingertips, and she fired at the wall.

Boom–!

[Gatekeeper of the boss room, Alpha Balrog has been killed!]

A monster that usually appeared as a boss at A-class gates had been hiding behind the wall, and Byeol killed it in one shot.

And such a monster was the gatekeeper.

(Anonymous 1): … This boss monster might not be easy after all.

Then.

[Common Celestial is summoning you. Do you accept the summon?]

The system message appeared in front of me. To clear this gate, I had no choice but to accept the summon.

I nodded and was teleported somewhere alone, leaving Byeol and Baekgu behind.

(Anonymous 1): …! They summoned you to separate you from Byeol! Stay alert, Jinwoo!