#34 How to Conquer a Gate (1)
My words drew every eye in the room.
"Hah, easy for you to say."
Yuseonje scoffed first, as always. The face that usually oozed confidence now looked downright frantic, like he had no clue what to do.
"How exactly? The 7-star hunter is dead, most of the 6-star hunters who had his back are gone too! The porters are all dead! We're all that's left—how the hell are we supposed to pull this off?"
Yuseonje's words came out sharp and biting.
"What's your rank?"
I took it in stride.
"5-star, at least. Oh, and I've got a teammate. 6-star."
Yuseonje let out an exaggerated sigh. He wouldn't even look at me. I already knew he was a grade snob, but pulling that crap even now?
Lee Hyewon spoke up.
"We should worry about a place to crash tonight first. Looks like our tents and all the porters' gear went up in flames."
"Don't sweat it. I've got some rations on me, and tents too."
I turned to the support team.
Out of the twenty-plus support members, only three had survived. Honestly, fewer mouths to feed was a silver lining. The supplies I'd brought could hold us for at least two weeks.
"Hah, conquer the gate with this crew? You're insane."
"Then you wanna die?"
I fixed Yuseonje with a stare.
"I get it, the situation sucks. But sitting on our asses means death."
"……."
"No clever escape routes? Then follow my lead."
*No more getting played by your ego, Yuseonje.* He clamped his mouth shut and stormed out of the banquet hall.
Lee Hyewon gave me an apologetic smile. I'd known what a prick he was from the start, so no skin off my nose.
I stayed in the hall, gathering the bodies and burning them. A few support team members broke down crying—guilt, relief, the whole messy cocktail of surviving when others didn't.
Unlike the support crew, where a handful had made it, not a single combat hunter survived. Trickster had targeted them hard.
Lee Hyewon's eyes flickered as she watched the pyre roar.
She'd seen me fire that ice spear earlier, no doubt. Time to stop hiding my talents.
She asked cautiously,
"Agent Smith, what exactly is your ability?"
"Nature."
"Nature...?"
"Yeah. Pretty much every elemental attribute out there."
"Whoa."
Lee Hyewon gaped, clearly impressed.
"Never heard of a talent like that."
"That's why I'm a covert agent. If word got out, it'd shake things up big time."
Good enough cover. I didn't have the energy for a airtight lie right now. With the bodies cremated, I went looking for Han Seohyun, who was slumped against the wall, face pale from illusion backlash.
"Agent John!"
I cut him off before he could call me boss. Lee Hyewon and the support team were right there.
"Uh, yeah!"
Han Seohyun spotted the tag-alongs and snapped his mouth shut.
"There you are. Things went just like we figured. They bailed."
I jumped in before he could respond.
"So we'll have to find a way out somehow."
He just nodded. Smart kid—his voice didn't match the fake adult mask anyway.
"Let's scout a spot to rest first."
Everyone was beat. I glanced at Yuseonje lounging in the corridor. He'd dumped all his mana into those illusions, so he looked wrecked too. The wrinkles in his usually pristine clothes said it all.
*Obsessive clean freak, huh? Must suck.*
We slipped out of the village quietly. Our outpost on the outskirts had burned in Gemini's attack. Faces hardened at the sight of the porters' corpses.
We even found the captain who'd called me brother-in-law, charred black mid-swing with a shovel. Tried to hold her off, looks like.
I gathered the bodies. Time to clean this place up and set up base.
I pulled temporary tents from my pocket. Only two—me and Han Seohyun's—but big enough for all seven of us.
"Team leader, mind setting these up somewhere good? I'll tidy here and check for leftover supplies, just in case."
Gemini torched the place, but a thorough search might turn up something useful.
I addressed the support team.
"Anyone with time on their hands, lend a hand? Oh, and feel free to share your talents while you're at it."
Lee Hyewon went first.
"Sword affinity, Lee Hyewon."
One by one, they gave names and abilities.
Sword affinity—bonus damage with blades.
Lee Jae-eun, scouting and search specialist.
Oh Hyo-rin, eyes that spot boss weaknesses.
Shin Maru, buffs for physical stats and mana efficiency.
"Yuseonje, no intro? We all know anyway."
"Yuseonje. Lightning."
He plopped down, exhausted. Figured—his stamina sucked. All-in on mana meant skimping on physical training. Classic glass cannon.
"Alright. I'm Smith, nature elements. This guy's John, sand manipulation."
"Those real names?"
"Covert agent. Cut me some slack."
I brushed off Lee Hyewon's jab. Too much to do.
"Jae-eun, scout salvage with me. Rest of you, help clean up. Corpses... uh, pile 'em up. I'll handle disposal."
Low temps meant no rot, but lingering monsters could spawn from them—will-o'-the-wisps might summon banshees or worse. Better safe.
That's why we'd burned before moving.
"Agent John, recon the perimeter."
Han Seohyun nodded and vanished.
I dug through the charred gear with Lee Jae-eun. She put her search talent to work.
"Something here's intact!"
Gemini's flames were fierce, but rushed—plenty survived.
Tents were toast, but scraps could rig showers or a latrine at least.
Even scored two unburned ration packs. That bumped us to a solid month of food.
Han Seohyun returned, pulling out paper.
"The kid can't..."
"Talk."
I covered quick. Sure enough, he was going for pen and pad.
Found the presumed boss monster's location earlier.
Helpful. I signaled for more; he scribbled fast.
Boss is dormant in that spire. Not sure if it's the boss or what. Anyway, only monster in the castle is that woman over there.
A sleeping woman.
"We hit it once we're recovered," Yuseonje said.
I shook my head.
"No. Too early."
I added to his scowling face,
"This ice palace is off. Hiding the monster—woman—in the spire? Empty despite the grandeur? We scout the castle thoroughly first."
"Scout and what changes?"
Still prickly. I spoke slowly.
"Special gate. Monsters barely spawn. The 'only' one dormant there—boss or trigger."
I eyed him.
"You're not dumb enough to think we one-shot a sleeper. S-rank gate. Single monster. Theory says minimum three 7-star hunters to clear."
"Yeah."
We'd entered with two 7-stars because 6-stars covered. But Yuseonje's backups were dead. No chance now.
He seemed perfectionist, but hot-blooded. No tactics experience—blasted everything with raw power before. Not here.
"Food's good for a month. No mana poisoning scrubs. Gather intel, then move."
No rush.
We had to play smart.
"Don't even know what waking her does. One shot only."
Yuseonje nodded. Lee Hyewon eyed me eagerly—tents were up.
We split by gender: four women in the bigger tent, three men in the other.
Yuseonje, Han Seohyun, and I crammed in. He claimed the lone bed like it was his right. Annoying prick—clean freak rich boy. Whatever.
"Kid really mute?"
First question, huh.
"Not the point, right? To answer: yeah, he can't talk. Not mocking disabilities, are you?"
Yuseonje shut up. Knew it was shitty. Then,
"You really think we can clear this?"
Deflated tone now. Yeah, even he had to be scared. Brat was barely twenty-one.
"Maybe not. But gotta act like we can. Don't wanna die here."
Situation sucked, but I'd make it work.
Lee Hyewon and Yuseonje surviving was lucky—sword and lightning dealers. Han Seohyun with staff packed punch.
Three top DPS, three supports, me as all-rounder.
Minimum S-gate setup.
"Rest up tonight. Tomorrow we plan."
The assembler grumbled at Trickster the moment they stepped out.
"Should've finished them off."
"This'll do."
If Yuseonje had gone mutual destruction, someone would've gotten hurt bad. Lightning packed a wallop.
"They ain't clearing that gate. No way."
Assembler nodded. That team looked hopeless.
"The weird one bugs me, though."
"Yeah. But if he croaks too, bonus."
Gemini chirped in brightly.
"What about this one?"
The support hunter who'd helped them escape. Kim Chun-tae trembled. Execution time? Panic surged as the villains' voices drifted over.
"What's his deal anyway."
"Grew up in an unregistered orphanage. Awakened three months ago. Jin Yeonhwa smuggled him out."
Gemini's eyes gleamed at the assembler's rundown.
Jin Yeonhwa found the kid three months back. Never let outside since.
Her ace in the hole. Leak it, chaos. 'Escape' talent was gold.
Seol Rokjin told the Tower to claim this awakener. Kill or keep, his call.
Bonus for the job.
"How'd that guy know about the brat?"
"No clue. But we scored big."
Tower had zero plans to hand him over. With this kid, she could torch every hunter she hated.