Is Being a Gate Owner Such a Big Deal?
I watched my family with interest. But nothing particularly unusual stood out about any of them. It seemed like they wouldn't get messages unless they opened their status window inside a gate, just like me.
But none of that mattered anyway. Why? Because it was delicious.
"Whoa, since when was wild boar this good? Amazing!"
Si-yeon chomped away at the meat, making a huge fuss. Her antics brought a smile to my face without me even realizing it. Si-yeon and I were twenty years apart, so she felt more like a niece than a little sister.
"How's school?"
"Huh?"
"You studying hard?"
"Of course I am, bro... like, super diligently..."
"You're slacking off, aren't you?"
"How'd you know, you ghost?"
I'd done pretty well in school myself. I didn't make it into one of those so-called "SKY" universities, but I got into a solid school one tier down with decent grades and graduated the same way. I'd planned to join my dad's company after, but when his business tanked, I ended up at my current job. It was the best option at the time.
"So how'd you find Hoya anyway?"
Si-yeon's question made me pause for a moment before I answered. I decided to hold off on talking about the gate for now. No guarantee it was safe inside. Once I was sure it was, maybe I'd bring the family in someday.
"He just came home yesterday."
At my words, Si-yeon scooped Hoya up and hugged him tight.
"You little rascal! No more running away, or you're in trouble!"
Nyaaang?
Hoya let out a meow that sounded like he wasn't thrilled, but his voice was so cute that Si-yeon didn't catch the attitude.
"Aww, did our Hoya make Daddy sad? Grandma's gonna scold you!"
Nyaaang.
Hoya played up to Mom for a bit, then quickly snuggled back into my arms. He'd been alone for so long; he must've been lonely.
"This guy's all about his dad, huh. Hmph."
Si-yeon pouted jealously, but the family just laughed it off.
With the island boar meat party wrapped up, I headed back to my room and flopped onto the bed. Hoya promptly used my arm as a pillow.
"What should we do from here on out, Hoya?"
Given the island's unique setup, there probably weren't any real resources worth exploiting. It wasn't exactly Jeju-sized. Yeah, probably nothing. So making money off gate resources like other owners? Not likely.
Nyaaang?
"True, I never planned on grinding cash from the gate anyway. Let's just pick up some life skills like I thought at first and live cozy lives together. Oh, right—can we farm here too?"
Nyaaang nyaaang.
Hoya seemed comfy in my arms, purring happily as he burrowed deeper. I stroked him gently and drifted off to sleep.
"Huff huff huff!"
"Ho ho ho ho ho!"
"Hiya!"
The family's racket woke me up. What chaos were they causing first thing in the morning? I had to check it out. Stepping outside, I saw...
"What're you all doing?"
Dad was lifting weights, Mom doing jumping jacks, and Si-yeon swinging a wooden sword around like crazy. She'd been doing kendo for years and was even the school team rep. Mom and Dad had always liked exercise, but this early?
"Feels like my energy's just surging outta nowhere."
Dad's words.
"I feel twenty years younger."
Mom's words.
"I'm about to shoot sword aura any second now."
Si-yeon's insane claim.
"Suddenly?"
"Yeah, woke up like this. Your mom and Si-yeon too. You not feeling it?"
Energy surging. That clicked something for me: the island boar meat.
"Really? That's great news."
I played dumb.
"That meat you brought isn't ordinary. Probably from that gate place, right? Ask your friend about it."
Dad, with his business experience, had sharp insight.
"Could be. I'll check."
"Do that. And send the guy who gave you this treasure a gift or something."
"Got it, Dad."
I ate breakfast with the family, then headed home.
The luck handed to me wasn't something I'd earned through effort. But that didn't mean I should ignore it. So as soon as I got home, I faced that luck head-on again.
"Let's go!"
Nyaaang!
Thankfully, Hoya had no qualms about crossing the gate. I'd worried he might, but he just nestled in my arms and hopped right through without hesitation.
Inside, nothing had changed much. Considering the 1:5 time dilation with the outside, a ton of time should've passed, but everything was intact.
"Maybe read a book?"
Nyaaang?
Hoya grabbed my collar with his teeth and dragged me toward the fishing rod.
"Fishing, huh? Hoya wants fish?"
Nyaaang!
"Alright, but not sure if Dad's any good. I went with Grandpa a lot as a kid, but he did most of the work."
Still, I had the basics down. I baited the hook and managed a rough cast. The reel was mechanical, but for some reason, it worked fine. I let the line sit and cracked open a book.
It was an older one—not some healing story where the protagonist bounces between gates and reality to get rich and happy. No, the protag accidentally triggers a gate invasion and spends the whole book sweating to stop it.
"Hoya, monsters in this one too?"
Nyaaang?
"Y'know, besides island boars."
Hoya tilted his head, then stared one direction.
"What, what? Over there?"
Nyaaang!
Seemed like yes.
"Monsters here for real? Nothing confirmed about monsters still living in gates..."
Were they only here? Doubt it. Sure, hypotheses abounded that not all gates were identical, given the different environments. But the idea they only existed here didn't sit right.
"Someone's probably hiding the info."
Why? Lots of reasons, but the world's full of one big one: money. Monsters probably made cash, or revealing them killed the golden goose.
"So, dangerous?"
Nyaaang.
Hoya shook his head no and rubbed against me.
"True, you're a max-level cat... not bunny. Well, not max, but still. Dad hasn't slighted you, right?"
Nyaaang nyaaang nyaaang!
A lot, apparently. I turned back to my book. If monsters were here and dangerous, could Hoya have survived alone? That eased my mind a bit. Felt like I'd stumbled into a free max-level pet. Tamers don't attack themselves—that's the rule!
Then the bobber twitched.
"Gotcha!"
I yanked, braced for a fight, but the fish came up easy. Kinda anticlimactic.
"Whoa, maybe I've got talent."
Did it hear me?
Fishing (Active) Level 1 skill created.
The system responded. Finally, another life skill unlocked. Fishing just said it made me better at fishing. Seemed straightforward—no frills.
"Lemme see. What's this?"
I stared at my catch.
Observation skill used.
Name: Rainbow Fish
Fish living off the island coast. Chewy flesh, extremely delicious.
First consumption: +3 Intelligence.
Subsequent consistent intake: +1 Intelligence per set amount.
Rainbow Fish. Iridescent like its name, but visually... unappetizing. Still, the description screamed "eat me." Path to smarts right here.
"Do all creatures here boost stats like this?"
Nyaaang?
Hoya gave me a blank look. Did he see status windows? Could he read them? Random thought.
"Sashimi it is!"
Nyaaang!
Hoya's excited meow cracked me up.
"But can I even slice sashimi? Seen Dad do it tons, though. Let's try."
I'd come prepared with a sashimi knife. Seon-woo sold it—thorough guy. Or maybe I was the sucker. Anyway, not everything he pushed was useless. My one and only friend.
I scraped the scales and carefully sliced. Surprisingly, I had a knack for it.
Dexterity +1.
Cooking (Active) Level 2 skill created.
"Whoa! I could be husband material, Hoya."
Guys who cook were trendy these days. I might join the trend. Cooking was a life skill I'd targeted. Figured it'd happen eventually. Surprise was starting at Level 2—probably from all my solo cooking experience.
"Here, you first."
Hoya devoured the sashimi happily. I took a bite too.
"Damn, it's unreal."
Chewy and delicious didn't do it justice. I hurried to rebait and recast, sharing the rest with Hoya.
+3 Intelligence didn't feel different. Smarter? Nah.
"Makes sense. Hit 100 and I'd be Einstein, right?"
Silly thought. Back to fishing. I'd go all out today.
But my skill was still trash. Three hours, zero more catches.
"I'm a quick quitter."
I gave up clean and returned to base camp. Time to set up the big tent. The 2-million-won monster Seon-woo hawked with sparkling eyes, swearing I'd regret it. Military field tent vibes. Still, I'd splurged.
Build a log cabin? Easier said than done. Modern gear it was.
Tent up, and...
Dexterity +1.
This stat rose nicely. Unexpected.
"Below baseline or something?"
That thought hit just as—
Hraaang!
Hoya switched to battle mode.