Urgent Double Gate
What would happen if an S-rank Gate Break occurred in the capital of a country? It would obviously turn into complete chaos. That exact disaster had struck North Korea. It was three years ago—roughly six months after the X-rank Gate was resolved—when an S-rank Gate appeared in Pyongyang. North Korea had asked the world for help, but the responses were ice-cold. In a way, it was only natural. After all, they had been one of the few nations that refused to send hunters during the X-rank Gate incident. There was no chance the international community would look on them favorably. For that reason, North Korea was forced to tackle the S-rank Gate with only their own hunters. And they failed spectacularly.
The real problem came afterward. The monsters that poured out of the gate devoured the North Korean citizens at random, swelling their own numbers. Then, seeking fresh prey, they turned their eyes south—toward Korea.
“Fortunately, we were able to block the attack and defeat the boss-level monster thanks to Hunter Baek Wol’s power.”
This period was Hunter Tactics and Strategy. Just as the name suggested, we studied the various tactics and strategies hunters employed. The instructor was Kang Yun-seok, the same man who served as my class advisor.
“However, we did not eliminate every single monster. Even now, beasts are still hiding throughout North Korean territory. The military and the Association continue to pour every resource into eradicating those creatures and stabilizing the region.”
The man taught well, but his voice was so soothingly calm that…
“The issue is that this cleanup demands an enormous amount of time and manpower. Handle it too carelessly, and accidents will occur later when non-awakened personnel enter to install infrastructure. Handle it too thoroughly, and something could go wrong back home in the meantime.”
I had gone to bed so late last night, too…
“Therefore, the Association keeps Hunter Baek Wol on standby within our borders to prepare for emergencies… Among the three major guilds of our nation…… efficiently handling the aftermath of the S-rank Gate……”
So…… sleepy……
…………
“…ki…”
“…Excuse me…”
“Excuse me…”
“Huh?!”
Oh. What the—? Just a second ago I had been locked in a final battle against flying spaghetti alio olio—
“Ah, you’re awake now.”
The low voice finally dragged my consciousness back to reality.
It had been exactly one week since I entered the academy. Monday meant regular classes. These damn Association bastards treated me like some universal skeleton key that could solve any problem, summoning me without fail every single day for the past week. Always at dawn. Having been repeatedly yanked out of sleep, my brain was currently running at half capacity.
Who had woken me? The instructor? The moment I turned my head and met the person’s eyes, I couldn’t stop myself from frowning. It was the late student who had taken the seat beside me—Cheon Ma-ru.
“I apologize for touching you without permission. The instructor was signaling me, so…”
“Yeah.”
I cut him off bluntly and turned to face forward again.
“…”
I could feel a wounded atmosphere radiating from beside me, but I ignored it. That reaction was nothing but an act anyway. The guy would do literally anything to get a woman into bed. Catching someone’s weakness and blackmailing them was basic. He’d destroy relationships with clever lies, corner them psychologically and gaslight them, or even commit outright fraud. Once he got his hooks in you, you became nothing more than a female.
“Ugh—”
It had been twenty years since I became a woman, yet the instinctive revulsion toward men still hadn’t faded. That didn’t mean I lusted after women, either.
I’ll just live alone without getting married. What’s the problem?
What did I have to lose by obsessing over marriage? Of course my parents, who adored children, would be disappointed about not having grandchildren, but—
I trust my little sister to handle that much.
Unlike me, she had dating experience. She would definitely get married and have kids someday. Then my parents wouldn’t have any reason to complain to me.
Because there’s no way in hell I’m ever going to act cute for a man and let him fuck me.
That matter was just as important as curing my parents.
After somehow enduring the Hunter Tactics and Strategy lecture, lunchtime finally arrived. I debated whether to eat or catch up on sleep, then decided to do both. Eat fast, sleep fast. I finished my meal at such blinding speed that even Kim Chae-eun looked stunned, which left the rest of lunch for a much-needed nap.
Unfortunately, a full week of sleep deprivation wasn’t going to be fixed by a single hour. If anything, my brain threw a tantrum, demanding even more rest.
“Ughhh…”
“Um, are you all right?”
“I’m fine, so please leave me alone.”
“Yes…”
My head already hurt, and this Cheon Ma-ru guy kept trying to talk to me. I had suspected it, but had he really set his sights on me? With one more thing to worry about, my condition only worsened.
In that sorry state, the pink-haired instructor’s Introduction to Gates class began once more.
Come to think of it, I still don’t know that instructor’s name.
I’d have to look it up later.
“Hello, everyone~! Did you all enjoy your lunch?”
The pink-haired instructor was as energetic as ever today.
“Did you pay attention in your electives? They’ll be a huge help when deciding your future careers, so I recommend experiencing as many different ones as possible during the first semester of your first year!”
First-years didn’t actually choose their electives in the first semester. We were simply allowed to sample them freely and then pick the ones that suited us in the second semester. Naturally, there were no exams either. It was practically a gift from heaven.
“Then shall we continue? Today we’ll be covering the monsters found in gates by rank—”
Still, that bouncy voice made the class at least somewhat bearable.
After sixth period ended, I was about to head home and finally catch up on sleep when—
Weeeeing~~!!
That wretched ringtone blared.
“Ah… Please, no……”
If that sound went off, the reason was obvious: a gate had appeared that the Association’s remaining personnel couldn’t handle.
“Yes… Hello…”
“Hunter Baek A-rang… Are you all right?”
“Not really…”
Still, I could endure it a little longer. I had never heard of anyone dying from lack of sleep.
“An A-rank Urgent Gate has appeared in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul. I’m terribly sorry, but we require your immediate assistance.”
“An Urgent Gate.”
Urgent Gates appeared without warning and dragged anyone within a wide radius inside—civilian or awakened, it didn’t matter. Entry was free, but leaving was impossible. The only solution was to clear it as quickly as possible and rescue the trapped people. It was the most dangerous type of gate currently known.
My exhausted, half-melted expression instantly sharpened into focus.
“Send me the exact coordinates. I’ll depart immediately.”
“Thank you. We’re counting on you, Baek Wol-nim.”
Normally, clearing and managing gates was the job of guilds rather than the Association. Seoul fell under the jurisdiction of the Mirinae Guild, so there was originally no reason for me to get involved. The reason I had to step in was simple: nearly all of the Mirinae Guild’s main combat forces were currently in North Korea handling cleanup operations.
Honestly, I could probably defeat a single guild on my own, but cleanup required meticulous searches across a vast area. A guild could handle that far more efficiently than I could alone. The problem was that I was now forced to cover the Mirinae Guild’s entire district by myself.
“Baek Wol-nim, it is an honor to meet you.”
“Likewise. I’m honored to fight alongside you.”
I couldn’t act tough with the Association president. I owed him far too much from the past. The very fact that I could live with my identities as Baek A-rang and Baek Wol kept separate was thanks to him. Even without that debt, I couldn’t possibly whine about being sleepy in a situation like this.
“If everyone’s ready, let’s not waste time and enter immediately.”
“Understood.”
Me, one team leader who at least looked somewhat competent, and eight complete rookies trailing behind him. A few of the chicks had decent magic power, but their aura and eyes screamed that they were still beginners. They didn’t look like a team assembled to clear an A-rank gate at all.
In the end, they were telling me to handle it myself. It wasn’t that they wanted to harm me. On the contrary, they trusted me too much.
Still, it didn’t matter. I wasn’t being arrogant, but at this point an A-rank gate was something I could clear al—
“Huh?”
“T-Team leader?!”
“Damn it, it’s a Double Gate!!”
“Ah…”
Ah, shit.
A Double Gate. A rare phenomenon where one gate contained two separate dungeons. There were two major problems with Double Gates. First, the exit was completely blocked. Second, the team was forcibly split. The moment you entered, you were randomly assigned to one of the two dungeons. Until you cleared the dungeon you were sent to, you could neither leave nor provide support to the other side.
The forced team split was especially dangerous. The distribution of personnel wasn’t something we could decide—it was completely random. The fundamentals of a raid relied on each person performing their assigned role, and every position was important. But if the teams were divided poorly? One side might end up with only close-combat dealers and tanks, while the other had nothing but long-range dealers and mages. In other words, proper positioning became impossible.
The ones separated with me are… just one rookie.
Of course, for someone who could clear a dungeon alone, it wasn’t that big of a problem. Once one team finished, they could head over to support the other.
The other side has the remaining eight people. They should at least be able to calm down and hold out for a while. First, I need to take command of the civilians who were dragged into this side with me.
I could sense a group clustered not far away. Roughly a little under a hundred people.
“Um… Hunter Baek Wol-nim.”
“There’s a group of civilians nearby. Let’s head there first.”
“Y-yes!”
When we arrived, they were huddled together, holding their breath and eyeing one another nervously.
“Is anyone injured?”
“Who… Huh? Hunter Baek Wol-nim?!”
One person’s shout drew every eye in the group.
“Wait, is that really Baek Wol?”
“Looks like the real deal…”
“Baek Wol-nim!! I’m a huge fan!!!”
The tension dissolved in an instant. They seemed to have already forgotten they had been sucked into a gate. I could sense monsters inside reacting to the noise and drawing closer. Swallowing a sigh, I issued commands.
“I will take full command of this situation. Everyone stay calm and do not run forward under any circumstances.”
The monsters this time… centipedes, spiders, and the like. Poisonous insect types.
“I’ll finish this quickly.” Within ten minutes.