Illegal Gate (4)
He was barely wearing pants, his body otherwise exposed—clearly one of the miners working here. Caked in dust, his face was impossible to make out properly. They must have been working him to the bone.
I relaxed my tension. A miner, at least, meant he was on my side. Not ideal that he'd seen my face, but he wasn't an enemy. Maybe I could sweet-talk him into keeping my identity under wraps...
"Y-you... K-Kang... Ishin?"
My train of thought derailed the moment I heard that voice.
"Han Jo-hee?"
Incredibly, this ragged vagrant was someone I knew.
"How... how the hell did you end up here?"
Han Jo-hee looked like death warmed over—like he could drop dead any second without anyone batting an eye.
Damn it. I'd warned him to steer clear of Im Hyun-su, and yet here he was. Not that it was his fault, of course. Desperate times called for desperate measures.
I wiped the grime from my face.
Running into someone I knew here... good luck or bad? Han Jo-hee glanced sidelong at the corpse, clamping his mouth shut. His face had gone pale—not just from mana poisoning, it seemed.
I glanced at my blood-smeared hands and the body, letting out a hollow laugh.
"Misunderstanding."
I'd meant it as a reassuring chuckle, but his face somehow drained of color even further.
Why?
—Right now, looking at you... ugh, never mind.
Hey, old man. Why start and then bail? Ray's tone made my blood boil for a second, but right now, calming Han Jo-hee took priority.
"Look, I'm on the side of the people dragged here. These bastards? My enemies."
As I spoke, I wiped the blood from my dagger. Lame explanation, but I couldn't spill my full plan. Han Jo-hee nodded, his face still etched with unease.
At least he'd bought that I wasn't the enemy.
"How long you been here?"
"A week."
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
—Managed to survive this long, huh.
Ray was right; Han Jo-hee was at his limit. Even if I got him out now, the mana seeped into his body would shut down his organs soon enough.
He was already living on borrowed time.
Under my gaze, Han Jo-hee dropped his eyes.
"Haha, shoulda listened to you."
What do you even say to that? No words from me could comfort him.
He gave a bitter smile at my silence and asked,
"So why'd you come in here?"
"Does catching bad guys need a reason?"
I brushed it off. Acquaintance or not, no need to share my intel. Especially now that he'd seen my face.
As I dragged the corpse toward a rocky crevice, I asked Han Jo-hee,
"You know when the last group came in?"
His face paled further.
"About five days ago."
Shit. Everyone here's in rough shape, then. Even if they escape, they'd last a week tops.
"How many guards?"
"Four."
"Leaves two, then."
Excluding the one I took out at the entrance, I'd handled two more. Two left.
They couldn't radio out, so they wouldn't know I'd infiltrated. But the noise might've alerted others—like Han Jo-hee. I bit my lip at the presence beyond the hill.
That's why I'd brought the mask. And it shatters like an idiot.
As I pondered, Han Jo-hee spoke up.
"Trying to hide who you are?"
"Yeah. No upside to getting exposed."
I shrugged toward the body hidden behind the rock.
"Stay here. I'll cover for you."
"You can do that?"
"If it helps."
Han Jo-hee approached the miners cresting the hill first. I pulled my cloak's hood low and watched. Worried he might turn on me? But no—he stuck to the plan.
The miners relaxed at his words, shoulders slumping; some even tossed their pickaxes aside. He shot me a look: You're good here.
Didn't expect the assist. Things were looking up.
Mana left: about 50%.
Two or three attribute shots max.
Two guards remaining.
Can I pull it off?
I gritted my teeth and stood, downing a potion from my belt.
Not like the top-grade stuff that healed instantly—my body still creaked—but better than nothing.
—Whining over a few busted ribs. Back in my day, we powered through with grit.
"Heh, you said you don't remember."
I chuckled dryly at Ray, but he was subtly cycling my mana to boost regeneration. Worried about me, huh.
—The rest are small fry.
Here's hoping.
* * *
Luckily, Ray was spot on. The last two were pushovers.
One was straight-up dozing. The final one panicked without using his ability properly—I cut his throat mid-fluster.
These clowns call themselves hunters?
Talent's wasted if you don't hone it.
I spat on the ground. They'd ditched proper gate raids for bullying the weak—of course they sucked. Still soured my mood.
Maybe 'cause it reminded me of my past life, scraping by without talent while trash like this had it handed to them.
"Haa."
I bandaged my wounds and rose.
Time to claim my cut.
Mana stones were piled everywhere, not yet hauled out. I pulled a compression bag and stuffed it full. Billions of won, easy.
Even after filling my pockets, plenty left. Split it with the miners. Not enough compensation for their death sentences, but something. Han Jo-hee had a little brother, after all.
Rifled the bodies and quarters for artifacts. Mostly junk, but one gem.
—To think these losers had this.
"Probably communal."
A shelter artifact—creates an isolated safe zone. Space manipulators cost a fortune.
Essential for raids, but few teams could afford one.
Emergency stash, looks like. Jackpot. Black market bound.
"Gotta dismantle the gate sustainer now."
—You mean the thing keeping the gate open?
"Yeah. Won't work on high-grades, but low ones like this? Perfect. Lets them strip this dimension clean."
—Portals collapse when spent. Halting that... impressive, humans.
The mana flow shifted the instant I removed it.
Collapse in an hour or two.
Time to bail.
Headed to Han Jo-hee's group. Hoped he'd rounded everyone up.
Didn't take long to spot them.
Hood low, I approached.
Fifteen or so behind him, including those who'd fled my commotion.
"Everyone here?"
"Yeah."
Fifteen survivors. Not all who'd entered, but the living were wrecked.
No mana filter in a place like this? Obvious outcome. Even out, normal life was off the table.
"Tell 'em to grab the mana stones over there first."
I handed over pre-packed bundles.
'Could be poison to them, too.'
No sales contacts? Stones could draw trouble. But after this hell, they deserved more than the shirts on their backs.
Han Jo-hee eyed me complexly.
"Thanks. Won't pry into your deal. Saving me from this hell's enough."
I pressed a bag into his hands.
"This..."
"You and the others mined it. Gotta take your share."
"I'm dying soon."
Couldn't deny it. He was.
Treatments existed, but they cost a fortune and barely halted symptoms. Cure? Dream on.
Someone who'd come here for every penny couldn't afford it.
Still, stones were his.
"For your little brother, right?"
Unlike me, rolling in here from inferiority to Jeong Hosan, he'd come for family. Sacrifice. Couldn't ignore that, even if it backfired.
Not many love family that fiercely.
Once they'd grabbed their shares, I said,
"Let's get out."
"Thanks. Don't even know how to repay you."
"If you're grateful, say I died here. That I was in but couldn't make it out."
He blinked.
"Lie about your death?"
"Made enemies of the operators."
"Ah."
"Tell the rest, too. Can't have my identity out."
"...You share stones, save our lives, and that's all you want? There's surer ways."
He knew.
—If you really wanna stay hidden, kill 'em all. Seals lips for good.
They knew he didn't have to spare them. Slaughter was safer.
Sure, but that'd make me no better than the scum.
'I won't end up like Seol Rokjin—that monster.'
One lifetime as a villain was enough. No more excuses eroding my humanity.
Han Jo-hee relayed my request.
"That really all?"
The miners asked; I nodded.
"Just say you escaped on your own."
"Who'd buy that?"
"Who cares? Gate's closing soon."
Once it shut, this space vanished. Evidence gone.
"Thank you."
"Thanks. Thought we were goners."
"Won't forget this."
I pretended not to hear their gratitude.
Resentment I could handle; thanks like this? Alien. And I hadn't fully saved them—they'd all be gone by month's end anyway.
Still, I turned from the heavy thanks and walked.
Screams erupted at the corpse near the gate entrance. Whatever. Bad guys, right?
Now, open the gate and freedom.
I stepped through.
And...
Faced the unexpected.