Special Gate (2)
Park Jihun and his group had decided to head to a pension in Gapyeong, a place just under two hours away by car. They had originally considered somewhere farther like Busan or Jeju Island, but...
"Let's just go somewhere to relax and heal instead of sightseeing." Lately, Jihun felt like he'd been running nonstop without a break. So for this trip, he wanted the theme to be pure healing. That's why they chose Gapyeong — a spot not too far, far from the city, where they could enjoy nature and unwind.
"Then let's get going."
After excitedly loading up on groceries and all the stuff they'd need for the trip, Jihun and Shin Jiyeon climbed into the car. The familiars weren't used to riding in vehicles, and since the drive would take over an hour, they might get motion sick. So Jihun had sent them into his subspace. The entrance to the subspace would lock once he stepped inside, but as long as he stayed out, he could open it from anywhere. It was the perfect solution.
"Hehe, it's been so long since we've gone on a trip."
"Yeah, it's been ages."
The two of them chatted as they drove. Shin Jiyeon sounded excited about the rare getaway, while Jihun nodded along, seemingly lost in thought. He was wondering when the last time he'd actually gone on a proper trip had been.
Before awakening as a hunter, he'd been an orphan, a high school graduate scraping by on part-time jobs. His life had been at rock bottom, so real vacations were basically nonexistent. But now?
Just yesterday, the settlement money from the troll forest had come in. He had hundreds of millions of won in cash. And if he felt like it, he could fill his bank account as much as he wanted. On top of that, he had a ridiculously capable, busty goddess of a girlfriend right beside him.
"Heh, so this is what success feels like."
Jihun wore a satisfied smile. Ever since becoming a hunter, only good things had happened to him. That's what he believed.
"Oh, there's barely any traffic now. Must be because we're in the countryside."
At that moment, they turned onto a quiet rural road in Gapyeong where cars and people were almost nonexistent.
"It's the end of March, but there aren't many tourists."
"Yeah. That's probably for the best. Too many people would just make it uncomfortable."
"True."
They were both chuckling happily when it happened.
Crack—
Right in front of them, the air suddenly tore inward, and a swirling gray vortex appeared.
"...Huh?"
In the next instant, the car they were in was sucked straight into the gray vortex.
......
"God fucking damn it!"
Lee Hyeondong, the branch manager of the Hunter Association's Bupyeong branch, spat out a curse as the nonstop breaking news alerts flooded in. As the person in charge of managing Park Jihun for the Korean Hunter Association, he was already under immense stress from reporters hounding him with accusations of negligence.
"How the hell... of all places, they get sucked into a Special Gate?"
But just as he'd said, this really was nothing more than an unfortunate accident. They had simply been on their way to a trip when a gate suddenly formed right in front of them and swallowed them whole.
Special Phenomenon Gates — commonly called Special Gates — looked nothing like normal gates, which appeared as black fissures torn through the air. Instead, they resembled holes ripped from within, with gray vortices swirling inside. And there was one more crucial detail. This was the reason the media and public were losing their minds.
With a normal gate, you could just hide for thirty minutes and slip out. But Special Gates were different. Once someone entered, there were only two outcomes: either every hunter inside died and the gate reopened, or they could never leave until it was cleared. Until then, no one else could enter. The system would block access with a message saying someone had already entered, just like with normal gates.
In other words, Jihun's group had only two choices — die, or clear it.
"Haa... And of all things, the gate rank is at least B-rank or higher."
The measured rank was a minimum of B. That was why people were freaking out, saying they were going to lose the Tamer Hunter. They still thought Jihun was F-rank, and even the most reliable member, Shin Jiyeon, was only B-rank. Naturally, they assumed the party would be wiped out.
Even the Association, which knew about Jihun's true abilities, was in despair.
No matter how much stronger he's gotten, a B-rank Special Gate is still impossible!
Jihun's stats, when boosted against females, put him at mid C-rank level. He had three D-rank familiars and one B-rank hunter, Shin Jiyeon. That was enough to comfortably clear a C-rank gate. But this was B-rank. On top of that, it was a Special Phenomenon Gate where anything could happen — far more unpredictable than normal gates.
It was often said that normal gates were simply "phenomena," while Special Gates were invasion routes deliberately opened by monsters who had prepared thoroughly to invade this world. That meant even more meticulously prepared monsters were waiting inside.
We'd need at least an A-rank raid team...
The one silver lining was that even though two hours had passed since the gate was discovered, it still hadn't reopened. That meant there were still survivors inside.
But...
Everyone naturally assumed Park Jihun was already dead and that Shin Jiyeon was the only one left, hiding somewhere.
Please... please don't let it be true...
Branch Manager Lee Hyeondong prayed desperately in his heart. Even though the Association wasn't at fault, they had taken on so much risk recently by investing in Jihun. They couldn't lose someone like Park Jihun so pointlessly.
#
"Ugh... what the hell?"
"Mmm... we were definitely in the car..."
Right after getting swallowed by the vortex, Jihun and Shin Jiyeon staggered to their feet and opened their eyes. They had definitely been driving, but the car was nowhere to be seen. They were lying flat on the ground.
The surroundings were nothing but a vast wasteland under a dull gray sky and yellowish earth. No one would mistake this for Gapyeong in late March, when fresh green sprouts should be everywhere.
"...Looks like we got pulled into a gate."
Shin Jiyeon wore a serious expression as she scanned the air around them. She was clearly checking the system window.
"Seems that way."
Jihun did the same, pulling up his system window. If they'd been dragged into a gate, the system would definitely have something to say. It always gave information whenever you entered one.
Warning! This is a Special Gate. Exit is impossible until it has been cleared.
"......"
B-rank. And Special. Shin Jiyeon swallowed hard, visibly tense at those words.
"This is bad. It's a Special Gate."
"...The kind where once you go in, you can't come out?"
"Yes."
Jihun's expression grew equally serious. On top of that, it was B-rank.
This is seriously dangerous...
If they couldn't clear it, they couldn't leave. A B-rank gate normally required at least two B-rank hunters or higher to have any chance of clearing. And since it was a Special Gate, the difficulty would be even higher...
With our current party...
Three D-rank familiars, himself at best upper C-rank combat strength, and only one B-rank hunter — Shin Jiyeon. No matter how he looked at it, this didn't look like a raid party that could clear the gate.
...Wait, what?
In this seemingly hopeless situation, Jihun suddenly noticed something in the system window and tilted his head.
"Jiyeon, look at this..."
"Huh?"
When he pointed it out, her eyes widened as she noticed it too.
"Succubus...?"
What had caught their attention was the gate's name.
Land of Succubus Sira
"Succubus" referred to the lewd demons that drained people's vitality in their dreams — in other words, succubi.
"S-Succubi..."
"No way... how is this even possible?"
Both Jihun and Shin Jiyeon wore shocked expressions. It was understandable. The weakest low-class succubi were already B-rank. Mid-class succubi were said to possess A-rank level strength. Rather than raw physical specs, they specialized in status effects like charm and hypnosis, lowering their victims' stats and attacking in cunning ways. They were extremely dangerous.
"Kyaaaaah! Succubi! Succubus ladies! I never thought I'd get to see real succubi before I die! Where are they?! Where are those sexy bodies?!"
"Sunbae. I'm being completely serious here — if I get surrounded by succubus sisters and they suck me dry, I think I'd die with zero regrets."
Jihun was running around wildly, craning his neck in every direction and shouting like a madman. Shin Jiyeon, with a completely straight face, had just declared she'd be fine dying if it meant that. As expected...
These two were seriously abnormal.