#6 The Arrogant Artifact (1)
Among awakeners, I ranked fairly high in physical prowess. Even without using my talents, my raw physical evaluations always placed me in the top ten.
That was why I could endure inside gates without a mana filter.
But even so, I couldn't take the hunter exam.
Why, you ask?
Because, like a dog, I lacked any ability to deal effective damage to monsters.
I'd tried finding ways around it.
If talent wouldn't cut it, then gear would!
But gear rarely worked on monsters inside gates.
For starters, modern strategic weapons had zero effect on monsters. The only things that could even land a hit were cold weapons straight out of the medieval era.
And as monster grades rose, their tough hides made those weapons barely scratch the surface.
If that weren't the case, humanity would've just nuked the gates from inside and called it a day.
Without an awakened talent, there was no way to hunt monsters.
It was a truth anyone in South Korea—no, the whole world—knew.
Which meant someone like me, stuck with a crappy talent like Lie, couldn't clear any gates.
But the gate I was heading to now was special.
Thirty years after the first gate incident, the world had poured everything into tech to block them.
Gate detectors—devices that sensed gates before they fully formed—were one such breakthrough. Their accuracy had improved daily, reaching a whopping 85% detection rate by the 2040s, when I died.
That meant 85% of gates were pinpointed before they even appeared.
Gates that went unconquered eventually broke, spewing monsters, so they rarely stayed hidden.
Which made this gate special.
No one knew it existed until some hiker stumbled on it by chance.
And once it was revealed, South Korea—no, the entire world—lost its mind.
All because of the insane artifact found inside.
"Huff, huff."
I wiped away the sweat pouring like rain and cursed under my breath.
"How the hell did they even find this place?"
South Korean hikers climbing terrain like this—they might be the real awakeners.
But I was almost there.
My eyes gleamed.
Having visited this soon-to-be holy site multiple times after its conquest, I knew the terrain like the back of my hand.
No ropes or stairs from back then, though. I drove a stake deep between boulders and looped my rope around it before rappelling down. My arms trembled like aspen leaves under my weight.
A sheer cliff straight out of a wuxia novel, and a cave at its base.
That's right.
The gate I wanted was inside that cave.
It made perfect sense why it stayed hidden for so long after appearing.
I touched down carefully at the cave mouth. Pitch black inside. I flicked on my flashlight.
There it was, just as described—a lightless gate.
The rift that should've glowed, screaming I'm dangerous!, was sealed shut, dark and inert.
Flashlight in hand, I approached. I'd come here today to conquer it.
I reached out and touched the gate.
"Huh."
Unlike other gates that sucked you in instantly, this one had texture.
You could actually feel it.
Definitely unusual.
I poured my mana into the solidified rift, and it began pulling me in.
Like sinking into thick, sticky mud.
I let it take me. Soon, my body was fully inside.
The gate's world was a labyrinth like the Minotaur's maze—twisting, complex paths.
No light penetrated the sealed corridors. Flashlight on, I scanned ahead.
Marble walls and ceilings, intricately carved. Moss obscured the details, but the craftsmanship was masterful, brimming with life.
I swallowed hard.
The endless tunnel sent chills down my spine. Whatever lurked at the end of that darkness felt like it would trap you here forever.
But no need to panic.
Despite the ominous vibe, no monsters lurked here.
If there were, I wouldn't have come.
I couldn't afford Kim Jae-ho yet due to cash shortages, but the black market had yielded plenty of useful gear.
Best of all: a necklace infused with a shaman's power to detect danger ahead.
Single-use, only two hours, but it halved the labyrinth's threats.
The hiker who found this place first was an awakener with the Luck talent. Absurd streaks of fortune led him here and through every trap.
I had no such luck. No teeth? Use your gums.
Checking the necklace, I pressed on.
It flashed—I froze. Click. An arrow whistled through where my head had been.
"Hng."
Cold sweat soaked my back.
I prided myself on reflexes, but that arrow was invisible even to me.
Fired at speeds an awakener couldn't track.
How many such traps in this poorly lit corridor?
I inhaled deeply.
Flashlight in mouth, necklace raised, I inched forward.
The necklace didn't fail.
Each glow, I moved.
First trap: head-seeking arrow.
Second: floor dropping out.
Third: barrage of poison needles.
All would've shredded me without the warning.
The fourth...
I cursed as a spear thrust from the wall.
I rolled, but it grazed my calf. Burning pain surged. Clutching it, I dove aside.
A chunk of flesh was gouged out.
"Fuck, fucking hell."
How lucky was that guy to dodge all this?
I was drenched in sweat.
The necklace helped, but I was battered. The calf wound was worst.
"Kuh."
First-aid kit from my pack. I'd brought potions aplenty, but hated using them. Sprayed on, smoke rose—like cauterizing the wound.
I gritted my teeth, but groans escaped.
The potion devoured rotten flesh, slowly regenerating. Skin writhed like maggots crawling.
New skin would be fragile for days—prone to tearing.
Clenching my jaw, I stood.
Thirty meters took a full hour.
Good news: a shortcut soon.
As the lucky hiker described, a hole in the wall—hidden in shadow. How he spotted it...
I squeezed through.
Follow this path, skip the whole labyrinth.
A stroke of luck worthy of his talent.
Emerging, a corridor ahead. Straight to the gate's heart.
In the vast chamber's center, a box bathed in light from above.
"Oh, nice."
About to enter, the necklace glowed at my neck. I blinked.
"Ah, no way?"
Tried another angle—brighter glow than ever.
Unlike prior traps, nothing triggered.
No direction safe. The whole room was the threat.
"He left something out."
I realized. That hiker—later ranked 8th in Korea—hid this room's secret.
Necklace effect ending soon.
No time.
Biting my lip, I grabbed prepped gear. Gas mask on. Thick armor too—heavy, but perfect for impact.
Two breaths.
Advance.
Door slammed shut behind me. No retreat.
Water rose from the floor.
"Fuck."
We're screwed.
No hesitation—I opened the box. No traps on opening. Entering was the trigger.
Inside: a white egg, ostrich-sized. Unchanged.
He'd cracked it for his power.
The talent that turned a luck-only hiker into Korea's 8th rank.
Thousand Changes, Myriad Transformations.
Unlike fixed-attribute talents, his mana shifted endlessly.
To avert that bastard's apocalypse, I needed it.
Fist clenched, I smashed the egg.
Shell shards pierced my hand.
"Argh!"
Pain beyond glass—burning metal searing flesh. Shards burrowed, devouring blood and meat, melting into me.
Agony poured sweat from every pore.
Meanwhile, water reached my knees.
"Hah, ugh, haa."
The egg's power absorbed fully. Pain vanished instantly.
But it wasn't over.
Water still rising.