World Gate #012

Thanks to some absolute lunatics, the planet’s rotation cycle had stretched from twenty-four hours to thirty, the Florida Peninsula had become the Florida Archipelago, and freak weather patterns had slammed into the Great Mountain. It was the mid-twenty-first century, and the world had drawn one step closer to the end times. Even so, what students loved could still be summed up in a single word.

“Picnic!”

A day without classes. And aside from actual vacations and holidays, field trips were the undisputed peak of that joy. Sure, the word “learning” was still attached, so there was technically room for education, but if that were the case, why call it a picnic? In practice it meant going somewhere to have fun, and the vast majority of the time studying never entered the picture.

In that sense, today’s outing was a trip to enjoy a location tied to hunter work.

“Everyone sit down and fasten your seatbelts!”

Nobody was sitting. Nobody was buckling up. Still, as the model student I was, I stayed quietly in my seat. A drowsy song played through the speakers while I watched the city outside, wrapped in the Korean Peninsula’s miserable climate. I was just starting to drift into the peaceful freedom of being away from textbooks when—

“Those fucking bastards! They were winning every game before, so why the hell are they losing now?!”

I couldn’t. Because the rich girl beside me was foaming at the mouth in a way that really didn’t match her elegant face.

“When are they going to disband these losers?”

I had sat next to her after hearing she didn’t have any friends, but it was seriously too loud. Actually, she was always loud, but today she was on another level. I turned and glared at the girl in the next seat, hoping she’d shut up.

Cheon Mari, as if showing off her platinum bob and crimson eyes, wore an expression so tragically wronged it looked like she was attending a funeral. Anyone watching would have thought someone had died.

Clunk!

The bus jolted. We seemed to have entered a section that required slower driving. When I glanced out the window, today’s destination shimmered like a sea of light.

Stories straight out of a history textbook. What the books never mentioned was that the moment a World Gate was planted, the surrounding region became a random spawn point for Dungeon Gates. That was why hunter guilds had sprouted up all around Sariwon like mushrooms after rain. Not that I’d ever been allowed anywhere near them.

The bus circled the gate once and stopped. Students piled out and joined the teachers who were already waiting. Since this was a picnic on the other side of the gate, everyone’s outfits were all over the place. Some, like me, had dressed for a simple winter outing. Others ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were lugging swords, spears, or wearing thick plate armor.

“Ugh, this is heavy.”

Of course, there were people who had brought way too much. I stared at Cheon Mari, loaded down with gear and bags like she was about to summit the Himalayas.

“Today’s just a picnic. Why did you come dressed for war?”

“Well, it’s ruin exploration, isn’t it? You never know what might happen, so it’s better to be prepared, right?”

Was she saying that because she was a regressor who already knew the future? No—ever since admission she had acted like the hunter middle school itself was alien to her. Given that, her preparations were clearly sincere. It was strange, but for someone who loved going overboard, it made sense.

I sighed and glanced at the equipment hanging from her belt. First-aid kit, canteen, lighter, longsword, ice axe, garrote wire…?

Why the hell did she bring a garrote?

“And honestly, I think you’re the one who underpacked.”

“Me?”

“No matter how you look at it, showing up to explore ruins dressed only warm enough to avoid freezing is a bit much, don’t you think?”

“Then how should I have dressed? Like you?”

“It’s common sense for a middle-schooler going on a picnic to at least bring an axe.”

Common sense? At this rate I’d have to worry about her showing up to the actual school trip carrying a battle-axe. I shook my head. Cheon Mari immediately clung to me, asking, “Want me to lend you a dagger at least?” and pressed one—still in its sheath—into my hand.

“It’s a five-million-won blade, so don’t lose it and make sure you return it later~”

“If it’s that expensive, maybe don’t lend it out in the first place…”

I had no idea what to say. Still, it was a kind gesture, so I fastened it around my ankle. While I was bent over tying the strap, the teachers circulated through the group carrying plastic bins.

“Anyone with electronic devices, hand them over to the teachers!”

Bringing electronics past the World Gate was difficult. More precisely, you could bring them, but they wouldn’t work.

“Electronic devices may fail due to power surges when crossing the World Gate, so please submit them all~”

“Shareltea’s physical laws differ slightly from Earth’s. Even if they survive, they can still behave strangely, so just hand everything over, dears.”

“And don’t wait until the end and then complain that it broke or started acting weird because of a rift storm! Regular electronics are useless over there anyway, so hurry up and submit them!”

Honestly, for anyone who enjoyed modern IT life, the other side of a gate was not a fun place. People only went because it was directly tied to money and the future. Compared to Earth, there wasn’t a single advantage.

“Everyone, proceed inside!”

Still, some people claimed there was a pastoral, magical romance to worlds where modern devices didn’t work. It was the medieval-fantasy vibe I had only experienced through novels and games in my previous life—an incredibly attractive world to me.

That was my perspective as a transmigrator. To the people born here, such feelings were obvious and cliché. Naturally, anyone chasing that kind of romance was usually ignored.

Whoooosh!

Crucially, unlike other countries, Korea’s World Gate had one fatal flaw. Instead of a flower-filled medieval meadow, it connected straight to a white, snow-packed refrigerator.

“Kyaaaah!”

“Kyaaaah!”

“Kiyaaaah!”

It wasn’t the Arctic of the other world, but welcome to the Far North.

The moment we stepped through the gate, a blade-like white gale slammed into us. The kids who had worn thin clothes just to look cool immediately started complaining about the cold. The teachers, as if they had expected it, quickly draped them in warming-magic blankets. Meanwhile, those of us who had dressed properly looked around.

The scenery of Seolgyeong—Shareltea’s core stronghold in this country—opened before us.

“Whoa—”

“I’ve only seen Seolgyeong online. It really looks like this.”

“It’s way too cold. Are we seriously going to have to hunt monsters in places like this later?”

“Might as well just immigrate to Japan or Britain. At least they have jungles and mountains.”

“Everyone, form an orderly line toward the train station!”

Even in a frigid region, the meticulously built metropolis was impressive. Old stories said it had once been nothing more than a cold-weather village. But when the true value of magic stones—once dismissed as mere blue rocks—was rediscovered, the village’s fate changed completely.

From bottom to top. From center to periphery. To build more facilities. To acquire more technology. To obtain more magic stones. Supplies flowed in endlessly, and the city kept expanding. The result was what we saw today.

“Are the other countries’ strongholds like this too?”

“More or less. The scale differs a lot, though. America’s is especially huge.”

“Oh, you’ve been?”

“A few times by chance. It’s in the desert, so it wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience.”

The story of Gray Zone had centered on the American stronghold. As both a core axis of the game and a regressor, there was no way Cheon Mari wouldn’t know the American base in the middle of the desert. Naturally, I—who had been dragged into that game world—also knew what it looked like. I had only asked to make conversation.

“Everyone, collect your train tickets and board your assigned cars!”

Steam and soot rose from the train station. Since this was another world, I had half-expected a medieval or Victorian aesthetic—maybe even Platform Nine and Three-Quarters—but it was completely modern. The station was modern inside and out, and so were the trains. The only difference was the old-fashioned chimneys on top.

Under the teachers’ guidance, all the students boarded. While it carried a slight retro flavor compared to Earth trains, the fundamental design was still contemporary. Because of Shareltea’s nature, supplying and controlling electricity was difficult, so the lighting relied entirely on magic. The floating orbs of light drifting through the air instantly told you what kind of world this was.

After a moment of quiet appreciation, I sat beside Cheon Mari just like I had on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the bus.

“Our next stop is a recently discovered ancient ruin. Please do not wander off and get lost!”

“““Yes~”””

Another world. Recently discovered. Ancient ruins. The words sounded dangerous enough to make someone say we were going there to die, but the site had long since been commercialized as a tourist destination, so I wasn’t worried. If people visited it for sightseeing, how dangerous could it be? Anything that might cause real trouble would have already been cleared out by hunters or officials.

“I’ll just sleep for three hours.”

Without the slightest suspicion about what the future might hold, I closed my eyes for a short nap to save energy for more tourism.

It was right after Kang Sian had fallen asleep and Cheon Mari had begun assembling something beside him. From the far rear seats, a certain group was staring intently at the pair.