Chapter 5: The Birth of a Red Gate Hero

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We kept walking while continuously taking down goblins.

In that process, the other hunters also praised my skeletons, and I felt proud.

Because the skeletons fighting the goblins in my place were so reliable.

Rustle rustle!

Then, once again, the bushes shook, and goblins burst out.

There were five goblins.

Since only a single digit came out after dozens at a time, people immediately let their guards down.

“Haha, what? Just five? We’ll take care of them.”

“You guys rest!”

“Leave these to us.”

The three lead hunters stepped forward and said.

The rest of us, including me, did stretches to loosen up.

Three hunters could easily handle five goblins.

That’s when it happened.

[An error has occurred in the law of causality.]

[A crack has occurred in the dimension.]

[A Red Gate is generated.]

[Monsters become significantly stronger.]

[All rewards are enhanced.]

A red hologram floated before my eyes like a warning.

Even the blue sky had turned bright red.

“W-What? What’s going on?”

“The sky turned red!”

“What the hell is this?”

The hunters panicked and buzzed.

I too was reading the text before my eyes with surprised eyes when changes began in the goblins.

“K-Kirruk…….!”

“Kiruk! Kirruk!”

“Kiyaaak……!”

The goblins clutching their heads as if suffering extreme headaches.

Perhaps because of their miserable roars?

The lead hunters stepped back.

At that moment.

Ssslruk!

Changes began in the five goblins.

First, their light green skin turned purple, and their eyes turned bloodshot.

Moreover, their teeth grew long, and an enormous murderous intent could be felt.

“Huh? T-Those guys?”

“Those are Poison Goblins!”

“Fk! Poison Goblins!”

The hunters screamed.

Kim Kwanseop beside me said.

“This is bad. Poison Goblins come from mid-to-high grade gates.”

“Huh? Mid-to-high? Then why are they here?”

“I don’t know either. But from that message earlier, it seems something changed in the gate.”

“Th-Then what do we do?”

The moment I asked that, the Poison Goblins started acting.

They began spitting sharp needles from their mouths.

Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew!

Needles shooting out like machine guns.

The hunters hit by them collapsed one after another.

Even the fallen ones didn’t get back up.

“It’s the Poison Goblins’ poison needles! If you’re hit, you’re dead for sure! We have to run! Everyone run!”

Kim Kwanseop shouted loudly, grabbed my wrist, and ran backward.

Even amidst that, the sound of Poison Goblins shooting poison needles continued.

Screams from the fleeing hunters could also be heard.

“Brother!”

“No time to talk now! We have to run first!”

“No, brother! Wait a sec!”

I shook off the wrist Kim Kwanseop was holding.

Kim Kwanseop stopped running, and I said to him.

“Brother, we have to fight.”

“Juwon, no. Those are strong. Not something a newbie like you can handle.”

“I know. But I’m not trying to fight and win. I’m trying to save our comrades while fighting.”

“Comrades?”

“Yes. We’ve gotten close in a short time. How can we just abandon them? Right?”

Perhaps because of the comrades’ horrific groans.

Kim Kwanseop didn’t say to run anymore.

“You have some plan.”

“Yes. Forgot my class? I’m a necromancer.”

“I know your skeletons are strong. But they won’t withstand poison needles and poison damage.”

“It’s fine. I just need to buy time anyway. Brother, go ahead. No time!”

Saying that, I ran back to the battlefield.

Everyone except us was sprawled out.

They were screaming with their entire bodies’ veins turned black.

Even amidst that, the Poison Goblins kept spewing poison needles.

Skeleton soldiers!

I positioned the skeleton soldiers in front of the sprawled hunters.

Clack clack moving nimbly.

I planned to rescue the hunters while they acted as shields for a moment.

I didn’t know how to detoxify the Poison Goblins’ poison, but I couldn’t let them die here.

Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew!

Even amidst that, the Poison Goblins fired poison needles from their mouths.

And they flew toward the three skeleton soldiers blocking the front like shields.

But…….

Ting! Ting! Ting ting!

Surprisingly, all the poison needles bounced off.

Just like shooting BB bullets at bulletproof glass.

Of course, the Poison Goblins didn’t back down.

Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew!

They kept firing poison needles.

Poison needle fire like machine gun bursts.

But…….

Ting! Ting ting! Ting! Ting ting! Ting!

Still, all the poison needles bounced off in front of the skeleton soldiers.

There wasn’t even poison damage.

It was only natural.

If they couldn’t even penetrate the body, how could they poison.

“J-Juwon. What the hell are your skeletons…….?”

Kim Kwanseop said in a surprised voice.

He seemed amazed that they were blocking the Poison Goblins’ needle barrage like a fortress.

But I couldn’t answer Kim Kwanseop’s question.

I really didn’t know.

“I don’t know either. Let’s clean this up first.”

Saying that in a bewildered voice, I ordered the skeleton soldiers.

Stop blocking like a fortress and slaughter those horrific purple goblins.

Clack! Clack!

At that moment, the skeleton soldiers standing like a wall started charging toward the Poison Goblins.

The Poison Goblins seemed a bit panicked.

They hurriedly spat poison needles, but the skeletons just bounced them off like tanks.

Soon, as the skeleton soldiers approached them, the ‘slaughter party’ began.

Slash! Stab! Slashes! Crunch! Slash!

The skeleton soldiers assaulted the Poison Goblins.

Bone swords swung without rest and blood spurting like fountains.

Following the bone swords’ trajectories, the Poison Goblins’ bodies were chopped into chunks, and the situation was quickly resolved.

[Level has increased.]

[Level has increased.]

[Level has increased.]

[Level has increased.]

Perhaps because they were strong monsters, my level shot up like crazy.

Accordingly, my skill level also rose, and I quietly chanted.

Skeleton Soldier Summon

Then, the guys who were enemies just before rose as allies.

Skeleton soldiers immune to the Poison Goblins’ poison needles.

With their help, Kim Kwanseop and I quickly raided the gate.

And after clearing the boss monster without difficulty, we exited the gate with our comrades.

To get the poisoned hunters to the hunter hospital as quickly as possible.

But an unexpected sight unfolded.

“Huh? They came out! They came out!”

“Ah, hello! From OO Daily News!”

“From MBS! Could you explain about the red gate?”

“What was the situation inside? Can you explain?”

People shoving mics at me requesting interviews.

And people filming me with cannon-like cameras on their shoulders.

These many people were reporters.

Red…….

Dumbfounded, I looked at the gate I came out of.

But the gate that was blue when entering had turned red.

Just like the sky inside the gate had turned red.

First, priority is transporting to the hospital.

Flustered by the reporters shoving mics and cameras, I steadied my mind.

What was urgent now was transporting comrades to the hunter hospital.

“My comrades are poisoned! I’ll do interviews as much as you want, so please help transport them to the hunter hospital! I beg you!”

I asked for transport to the hospital, but it wasn’t easy with so many reporters swarming.

Fortunately, after dozens of Hunter Association staff rushed over, they pushed back the reporters, and the comrades could be transported to the hunter hospital.

After finishing interviews too, I went home and rested plenty.

Afterward, spending time with Eunbyeol who came home from kindergarten, it soon became evening.

“Eunbyeol-ah, let’s eat!”

I headed to the inner room holding the diligently prepared meal.

The inner room was terribly small, though.

“Wooow! Looks delicious!”

Eunbyeol clapped and cheered upon seeing the meal.

Even though I didn’t prepare anything special, the reaction was great.

“How is it? Good, Eunbyeol-ah?”

“Ung ung! Looks super tasty!”

“Haha, good. Couldn’t go shopping, so I made something rough with fridge ingredients.”

On the table were kimchi stew, rolled eggs, bracken, and lotus root dish.

A somewhat modest meal.

Even so, Eunbyeol was delighted as if served a feast.

“Eunbyeol, hungry? Let’s eat quick.”

“Ung ung! Daddy, I’ll eat well!”

Eunbyeol bowed her head in greeting and started eating.

Eunbyeol eating yamnyamnyam with fork and spoon.

Watching her, today’s fatigue washed away completely.

While eating and chatting.

The TV news on meaninglessly pulled my attention.

Next news. 

Lately, gates’ unpredictable changes are causing serious problems. 

This time, a red gate, aka ‘Red Gate,’ has occurred and is the talk of the town.

What?

Red Gate?

At those words, I focused on the TV screen.

Soon, the screen showed a blazing red gate like fire, and then my face started broadcasting.

Ah, while raiding the gate, a strange message appeared. 

The sky turned red. 

The biggest problem was the goblins turning purple……. 

A man being interviewed amid numerous reporters.

A man speaking with the bright red gate and Kim Kwanseop in the background.

That was clearly me.

“Ah! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy’s on TV!”

And Eunbyeol, who had been eating with cheeks puffed full, spotted my face and shouted.

Seeing me eating in front of her suddenly on TV seemed amazing.

“What, Daddy? Why is Daddy on TV?!”

“Um, I went to raid a gate today, and a strange phenomenon occurred.”

“Strange phenomenon? That Red Gate thing?”

“Yeah. It happened, so tons of reporters swarmed. So I did some interviews.”

I roughly explained the situation.

Then, Eunbyeol, who had been blankly watching TV, looked back at me and shouted.

“Wooow! So cool! Daddy, you became a celebrity?”

“W-What? Celebrity?”

“Ung! You’re on TV! So you’re a celebrity!”

Aigoo, Eunbyeol.

That’s not it…….

At the unexpected reaction, I made an awkward face.

“Wooow! My daddy’s a celebrity! Celebrity! My daddy’s on TV!”

Eunbyeol raised both arms and started doing a dance.

I burst into laughter at Eunbyeol’s actions.

Well, it’s fine. And the comrades are safe.

It wasn’t on TV for good reasons, but it was okay.

I got word that the transported comrades were safe, and confirmed the skeleton soldiers are strong.

Well, leveled up a ton too.

“Eunbyeol, you like Daddy on TV?”

“Ung ung! Super like! Gonna brag at kindergarten!”

“What? At kindergarten? Aigoo, embarrassing, don’t do that.”

I smirked watching grinning Eunbyeol.

At this point, I didn’t know.

The TV appearance I thought was just a light matter.

That it would change my life entirely.