Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Unregistered Gate
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“Woojin-ssi is still an uncut gem.”
Oh Yeonseo said with an ecstatic expression.
Han Chaewon thought it looked just like the face of a romance webtoon's heroine.
“Besides the Great Spirit contract, you blew away the monsters and even the tree spirit I summoned? I have no clue what you attacked with. I barely sensed the presence.”
Oh Yeonseo had particularly sharp senses among S-Rank Hunters.
She could accurately read the attack patterns of swords and bows that erased their trajectories with artifacts.
For even Oh Yeonseo to only barely sense the presence?
“If that's all you picked up, I wouldn't have even known I was under attack. Definitely not your average Awakener.”
“Exactly. It felt like he was hiding even more than that.”
“At that level, the Hunter Agency wouldn't just sit still. So why are they being so quiet?”
“I asked before we left...”
Time rewound to the Blue Gate—
“Just tell me this. Is Woojin-ssi a Hunter or a Manager?”
Na Woojin had replenished her Yin Energy and transferred the Great Spirit's power.
Before entering the boss area, he'd taken out monsters with attacks invisible to the eye.
She'd never heard of an Awakener possessing all these abilities in one body.
“With Yin Energy, I can do anything it's capable of. I can give it to other Hunters, attack monsters with it, and summon spirits that crave my Yin Energy.”
Oh Yeonseo's mouth fell open wider and wider as she listened to Na Woojin.
This went beyond simple Hunter or Manager territory.
The more she looked, the more she coveted this man's abilities.
“What about handing over the Great Spirit's pattern? Is that one of Woojin-ssi's abilities too?”
“The Great Spirit told me to give it a shot, and it worked, so yeah, it counts. Haha.”
He grinned like a kid.
Pulled in by his bright smile, Oh Yeonseo found herself smiling back.
S-Rank was currently the pinnacle, but everyone suspected there was something beyond.
The top Hunters competed fiercely to be the first to reach it.
Na Woojin standing before her looked like he'd already arrived there.
'There's definitely more.'
A man who didn't so much as blink no matter how much Yin Energy he absorbed.
A man who casually handed over the precious pattern needed to summon a Great Spirit.
A man who obliterated monsters and familiars alike with techniques whose presence couldn't even be felt.
A man who laced his Yin Energy with ecstasy that drove her insane.
Every single one was a game-changing ability that could turn Hunter society upside down.
For the Hunter Agency to stay silent after an Awakener like this appeared was downright bizarre.
They just kept repeating that they were verifying his abilities in collaboration with their affiliate labs.
“Does the Hunter Agency know about Woojin-ssi's abilities? If they did, they'd never let it slide.”
“They don't. It's tricky to even tell them. There are restrictions.”
“Restrictions?”
“Yeah. It's not something I can use on every Hunter.”
Ah.
“Not just anyone can feel the, uh, ecstasy from receiving Yin Energy. To Hunters who can't feel it, I'm no different from a regular Semi-Awakened.”
The puzzle pieces clicked.
Only a tiny handful of Hunters had ever felt that ecstasy.
As long as Na Woojin kept quiet, the Hunter Agency had no way of knowing he could wield Yin Energy as a weapon.
“So far, it's just been Chaewon and me?”
“One more, but it's a Hunter Yeonseo-ssi doesn't know.”
Since Awakening, Na Woojin had entered gates several times.
Not a single Hunter he'd gone with had reacted to his Yin Energy.
Right now, the Hunter Agency registered him as a standard Semi-Awakened.
'It's like an unscratched lottery ticket.'
Oh Yeonseo praised herself for choosing Na Woojin as her partner.
Praised the gate that had let her meet him.
Thanked Han Chaewon for cluing her in on his Yin Energy.
Back to the present—
“Only three Hunters have reacted to his Yin Energy?”
“That's right so far. That's why the Hunter Agency has no idea of Woojin-ssi's true value.”
“Why did only we feel it like that?”
“No clue. I asked Woojin-ssi, but even he doesn't know.”
Oh Yeonseo stretched, cupping her breasts.
Even the shadows cast by the sunlight streaming through the window were beautiful.
“Aren't you thrilled? Woojin-ssi chose us.”
“He says he doesn't know either. What kind of choice is that? It's just luck.”
“No way. Something this huge happening by pure chance? We met the man who's going to change our destinies!”
“Yeonseo. We've barely met him once. More getting-to-know-you time before all the fate talk...”
“Obviously we'll learn more. Next time, it'll be in bed.”
“B-bed?!”
“He came to grope my tits, and the living room feels off for that. The bedroom's perfect. We can go even further.”
Those eyes said she wouldn't hear any objections.
Han Chaewon wondered if he was really that good of a guy as she recalled the moment.
Achoo!
Suddenly, a sneeze hit while she was boiling ramen.
Someone talking about me?
“The test results show nothing outside the normal Semi-Awakened range. No unusual traits detected.”
Cha Yona sat across from him, her face expressionless as she spoke.
Her suspicious glare lingered, but he ignored it completely.
He hadn't done anything in the gate during testing that could give them leverage.
“So the tests are done now?”
“Yes. The lab won't call you anymore, and we won't assign you any gates.”
The fat part-time pay was a shame to lose, but he hadn't planned to stick around long anyway.
Stay too long, and tails get caught—better to bail from the Hunter Agency here.
“What now? If you're applying here, I can hook you up with bonus points.”
“I was thinking of it pre-Awakening, but not so sure anymore. Gates have opened up opportunities for me.”
“Collecting magistones in White Gates pays like a regular office job, but let's be real—it's not something sustainable. No real sense of accomplishment.”
Cha Yona lazily scratched her leg.
The way her thigh shifted against those sheer stockings was pure temptation.
He kept wondering why premium goods like her were wasting away at the Hunter Agency.
“No thoughts on joining a guild?”
“A guild?”
“Yeah. Way better than going freelance in every respect. Even Semi-Awakened can go exclusive if their abilities check out. Hunter-Manager synergy is key, after all.”
Cha Yona rattled off the perks of guilds.
It felt less like casual advice and more like pressure to enlist.
“The four major guilds will reach out soon enough. Think it over. Pay's leagues better here. Plus, Woojin-ssi has that 'one-of-a-kind' rarity value. Best to cash in while the hype lasts.”
He said he'd consider it and left the Hunter Agency.
Cha Yona was right—for diving into gates, guild affiliation was the smart play.
You just focused on clearing; the guild handled everything else.
'Gotta ask Oh Yeonseo.'
In the gate, she'd explicitly said the four majors weren't recommended.
He was curious why she wouldn't push her own guild.
Of course, he'd get the answer while sucking on Oh Yeonseo's nipples.
Guilds could wait—sucking came first.
Blame it all on testosterone.
He was speeding down the highway with Nayeong in the passenger seat.
The unregistered gate sat on private land in Dangjin.
“Get a new car already. I'm dying in this cramped thing.”
“Freeloading and still mouthy. Why haven't you bought one?”
“Was gonna after graduation. I'll show you a ride that'll make you drool.”
He'd been scouting loans, but the Hunter Agency gig had bulked up his wallet.
Magistone runs in White Gates before graduation would cover a car easy.
“Dream car, my ass. A guy trawling used sites—what, you gonna snag a Lambo?”
“Heh heh. You have no idea how much cash I printed from the Agency. I'll get one roomy enough to eat your pussy in the backseat.”
Thwack!
Even while driving, that hand wouldn't stay put.
“You fucking perv, is your head full of pussy? What's with you lately?”
“Spot on. Nothing but your nipples and pussy up here. So let's wrap this raid quick.”
“Crazy deviant dog.”
Her face flushed red as she floored the accelerator.
Drive safe, damn it.
The gate hid inside a farm machinery storage shed.
Impossible to spot from outside—looked like they'd built the shed post-discovery to camouflage it.
From the low-profile structure to the awkward entrance, it screamed pro job.
Gates on private land used to get reported out of break fears, but once word spread about the government's shitty compensation, reports tanked.
The gov made reporting mandatory by law, but unregistered gates still dotted the country.
Inside the shed, Guild Master Jo Mihee was already waiting.
“Introductions. These are the folks heading in with us today.”
He greeted the four people waiting by the gate entrance.
Raid teams were usually full guild squads or tight-knit freelancers, so this stranger-meet felt off.
Gatherings like this? Everyone assumed special circumstances—no prying into backstories.
The four startled at the sight of him, then quickly looked away.
A random dude popping up would spook anyone.
But with the Hunter Agency's official announcement, everyone knew his face.
The two Jo Mihee called had plain looks, but the pair from the loan sharks? Not so much.
Forget the flashy clothes—nose piercings, lip piercings, and one woman with a snake-like split tongue flashing when she licked her lips.
“Hunters actually dress that loud?”
He whispered to Nayeong.
“Loud, sure, but it's their style. That snake tongue though—gives bad vibes. Feels familiar, like I've seen it before.”
As they chatted, the guy who looked like loan shark staff walked in.