Busan Giant Gate (1)
The reason I fought the Demon King was simple. He had the treasures I wanted. And he kept expanding his territory, even showing up near my lair from time to time. Anyway, what I realized back then was that Demon Kings are just brutishly powerful. I had to battle for days on end, after all. Of course, I ended up with the treasures...
It felt similar to that infernal resolve.
"Fascinating."
"D-Demon King...?"
"Wait, Earth had a Demon King too?"
"Oh yeah, I remember. Think I heard about it during socialization training."
Yeah, all the world's hunters had banded together to fight back then.
"My dad... he participated back then too..."
"Oh, really?"
Earth's Demon King, huh. So many weird things around here. What is this planet, some kind of interdimensional hub where everyone from every world shows up?
...Not that I can talk, being a dragon and all.
As I mulled that over, Ha-eun, still stuck on the word "Demon King," quietly asked,
"It won't turn out to be something weird, right...?"
"Similar to a Demon King, not the same. For one, your flame feels pretty gentle."
"..."
"Isn't that a good thing? You're not gonna become a Demon King or anything. Seems like a pretty strong power."
I snapped my fingers as I said it.
Mana Infusion
"Anyway, it's intriguing, but figuring out exactly what power it is will take some research. That doesn't change what we need to do right now, though. You gotta get stronger first if we're gonna study it properly."
I infused mana into Ha-eun's body, and she gripped her sword tighter, looking back at me.
"...Is that how it is?"
"Yeah. But just because I'm using the skill doesn't mean your body won't tire out, so don't push too hard."
Hard work is great, but overdoing it can backfire. Especially for someone like Ha-eun, who's collapsed from it before—you gotta be extra careful.
"Tell me if it gets tough. Human bodies are fragile, after all."
With that, I spent nearly two more hours sparring with her.
"Haaah..."
"Here, drink some water."
Ha-eun flopped flat on the ground, done for. I handed her water, and she chugged it down greedily.
"Still a bit lacking on producing that small spark, huh."
"Yeah... It's, not easy..."
"That's fine for now. The fact you can ignite it at all is what matters."
No rush anyway—I'd already seen her unleash a massive blaze yesterday. Her growth potential is clear. She just needs to fine-tune her control and get comfortable with the artifact.
Speaking of which...
"Ha-eun, quick question: how exactly do you use an artifact?"
"Huh...?"
"I don't have one, so 'custom weapon' doesn't really click for me."
She stared intently at her sword for a moment, choosing her words.
"It's like... swinging a part of myself."
"A part?"
"Yeah. Feels like this sword was always part of me from the start."
"Might not be wrong?"
The chat was just spewing random stream-of-consciousness nonsense. Helpful comments barely hit 10%.
I turned away. "Anyway, you good? Nothing broken?"
"Y-Yeah."
She finally sprang up from the floor.
"Don't overdo it, seriously. You'll just stall your progress."
"Got it...!"
Keep training her steadily, and I could mold her into a knight captain easy. Her form was already shaping up with a few corrections. Especially since her flames synergized so well with her sword.
Pat pat.
I lightly tapped her shoulder.
"Trust me, I've got a good eye for this."
"Huh?"
"You've got talent. This is a Gold Dragon's verdict, you know?"
"..."
She opened and closed her mouth for a second. Then,
"...Thank you."
She smiled, like a weight had lifted.
"Keep up the hard work."
"Yes...!"
Still a long way to go before I'd be satisfied, but I kept that to myself.
Time to head back to the dorms.
"Hmm~ We're in Busan till tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah?"
"So we should grab drinks tonight~"
"N-No... I hate alcohol now..."
"What, compliment time?"
I wagged my tail a little as I peeked at chat.
Suddenly the chat pivoted to my tail bait.
"Y'all are talking nonsense all of a sudden."
I checked the time—three hours already in here.
"Let's head out first. We'll figure out what to do outside."
"O-Okay! Then first..."
Beep beep!
"Hm...?"
"What's up?"
"I got... a notification. Looks like an emergency summons...?"
Beep.
My Hunter Watch pinged too. Must be a broadcast to all nearby hunters.
Something happen around here?
Ding.
[Hunter Emergency Assembly Notice - Busan]
[Giant gate detected near Yeongdo-gu, Busan. Urgent summons for quick clear.]
[Rank: C (Estimated)]
[Time: Tomorrow, 8 AM]
A fun-looking word caught my eye.
"Giant gate?"
I'd heard gates come in varieties, but giant gate was new.
"Means exactly that, sis—a huge gate. B-But... unlike normal ones, they have a minimum entry requirement..."
Ha-eun explained, reading my face.
Minimum party size, huh. Interesting twist.
"Oh? How many we need?"
"Varies by gate, but... usually around 10. They're rare, so when one pops, local hunters form teams and raid."
So like... occasional large-scale subjugation events?
"Hmm~ Sounds fun. Giant gates gotta have better rewards than normals, right? Wanna check it tomorrow?"
"Haha... Knew you'd say that. My vacation's totally shot..."
"Think of it as for humanity."
"More like filling your greed, sis..."
I chuckled. Not wrong.
I wanted to rank up anyway... Good real-combat spot for Ha-eun too. And treasures for me! Win-win-win.
"Deal. Skipping drinks tonight. Gate instead."
"You'd go even if I said no, right?"
"Hey, follow your master's teachings. It'll help you too."
"Sigh..."
We left the training hall before extra hourly fees hit.
8 AM. At the spot from the text, a crowd had gathered.
While Ha-eun registered entry, I scoped the area.
"Lately gear's been kinda..."
"Stuck at B-rank like this, no escape."
"So sleepy..."
"Barley rice after?"
Bustling vibe, like a village festival. Vendors selling to hunters, civilians just spectating. Mats laid out with potions, small knives. Oh, noodles over there—looks tasty.
"Ha-eun, wanna grab some?"
"...Better empty stomach before gate entry, sis."
"Boo, looks good though."
"We're not here to play... You ate breakfast."
"Dragon stomach says that's not even a snack!"
I glanced around casually. Twelve hunters total—two teams of five, plus us two.
"Neat gear over there. Artifacts?"
"S-Sort of, but not all hunters use artifacts exclusively. Some don't suit combat."
Non-combat artifacts. Right, Bern used regular swords sometimes, though different vibe.
As we prepped entry, chatting...
Thud thud.
"Hello there! New faces!"
A hunter woman approached—black hair in a topknot, goggles, pile bunker on her right arm.
"Name's Na Ha-rin. Same gate, so figured I'd say hi!"
"Oh. Hi, C-rank Goldie... I mean, Lee Se-yeon."
"C-rank too! Beastkin, right?"
"...Yeah, you could say that."
She grinned wide, hands on hips, full of energy.
"First beastkin I've met! Nice to team up!"
She laughed heartily, greeted Ha-eun, then headed back to her party.
"Lots of hunters like that?"
"Sometimes..."
Beep.
[Hunters, prepare for entry.]
Announcement blared. Showtime.
"Smash it quick and grab noodles!"
"Haha..."
Hunters lined up at the gate. On signal, we entered.
Whoosh.
Floating sensation briefly. Then ground underfoot, vision clearing.
Felt just like my first gate interior.
"Forest? Familiar enough."
No reply.
I turned.
"...Ha-eun?"
No one around.
Where'd everyone go?