Chapter 27

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 27

Chapter Title: Grace Period That Won't Last Long

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After returning home having protected the lettuce with my outstanding charisma...

I was able to spend the entire day in a state of pure bliss.

"Uhheung~."

Humming a little tune, I tidied up the disaster zone that was my house.

"Ugh, the potatoes sprouted. I was saving them... but if I just cut off the sprouts, they should be okay, right?"

I whipped up some delicious curry using my stockpiled ingredients.

Today's special ingredient? A hefty slab of premium Korean pork!

The chewy texture was worlds better than any imported stuff—nice and nutty, too.

"Fwaa, so full."

I'd polished off two heaping plates of curry and my belly was stuffed to the brim.

But somehow, it still wasn't quite enough.

"Ah! Chocolate milk!"

I suddenly remembered the PET bottle I'd filled to the brim yesterday.

I bolted straight to the fridge and grabbed it.

Ugh, though... the fridge isn't cooling properly anymore.

Well, it is ancient, after all.

Guess I need to buy a new one.

Sure, it'll be pricey.

But a fridge is an essential lifeline, right?

"Fwaam, delicious."

The thought of the big expense had bummed me out for a second.

But after gulping it down—glug glug glug—my mood lifted right away.

Still, nothing beats that chocolate latte I had at the Titan Guild.

God, it was so good.

Wonder if I have any excuse to swing by there again.

"Uum..."

As I pondered that for a moment, my eyes landed on the phone I'd left on the table.

Come to think of it, last time the item sale money came through the same day.

Today's taking forever.

Should I message Choi Geonwoo?

If it's sold, I could use that as an excuse to head over in person.

Might even score a chocolate latte on the side.

"Won't that be a nuisance, though?"

But when it came time to actually send the message, I hesitated.

I mean, I was the one who said I'd handle sales myself from now on.

Yet here I was, dumping it on the Titan Guild again.

He said it was fine, but still—this had to be annoying for him.

"J-just a quick message. Yeah. Messaging doesn't cost anything."

Waiting around was making me antsy, so I finally wriggled my hand out from my baggy sleeve and grabbed the phone.

Start ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠casual. Everyday chit-chat. If the convo drags on, then bring it up.

Yep, I'm a genius.

[Me] - Uncle

[Me] - Whatcha up to?

I hit send, but the little "1" notification lingered for ages.

Yeah, he's probably swamped.

Makes sense—he's a guild master, after all.

Business must pile up like crazy.

This wasn't bothering some busy person or anything.

Over a bit of cash? What was I even doing?

Self-loathing started to creep in.

Right as I went to send a "nvm" correction...

[Uncle Geonwoo] - Kinda a big mess came up

[Uncle Geonwoo] - What's up?

"Eh?"

The reply hit at the perfect moment, like he'd been waiting.

Big mess? What the heck?

Was he just slammed with work?

[Me] - Nothin'

[Me] - Hehe...

[Me] - What happened tho?

[Uncle Geonwoo] - Uh

[Uncle Geonwoo] - Yeohae just came back from the Layered Gate

[Uncle Geonwoo] - Only four survived

What?! Yeohae?!

Yeohae—the top guild in the country.

They sent in nothing but their absolute elites, and they still couldn't clear it? Nearly half wiped out?

[Me] - For real??

[Uncle Geonwoo] - Yeah

[Uncle Geonwoo] - Sorry, head's all over the place rn

[Uncle Geonwoo] - Hit you up later

[Me] - Ok!

Doesn't seem like the time to bug him.

I shelved my curiosity and let him be.

Yeohae failed, though? Sure, that message popped up when we hit the third layer,

so I figured it was dangerous...

But what the hell happened?

Any way to get the inside scoop?

Might be something on Hunter Gallery.

Grasping at straws, I logged into Hunter Gallery.

Posts were flying in even faster than usual.

As expected, most of it was about Yeohae Guild.

I clicked on a post that seemed to be from an actual Yeohae member.

Quick rundown of what I can share first.

Place is total chaos inside right now.

No one even dreamed we'd fail to clear it.

Guild master's mentally wrecked fr ;;

You probably saw the member list in the news already,

but everyone went except guild master who never joins these.

Lee Gyumin too, decked out in top-tier gear.

Excluding lost gear costs,

pure doping and potions alone probably burned 30 bil+.

Factor in four Dimensional Distortion Devices and it's around 400 bil.

With gear? Easily 500 bil down the drain.

Gate internals are classified, can't spill.

But word is they got near-totalled right on entry.

Battle lasted less than a minute.

Ask away.

"Hieeek...!"

A strangled gasp—half choke, half scream—slipped from my lips as I scrolled through the comments.

500 billion gone in one raid attempt?

Is that even possible?

Okay, Yeohae's loaded, so maybe they can swing it.

But it's such ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an astronomical number—it doesn't even feel real.

"Uncle was gonna use that on me...?"

And on top of that...

Choi Geonwoo planning to drop something that priceless on little old me? I felt grateful all over again.

Apparently, it's so rare you can't buy it no matter how much cash you've got.

For someone like me? He's a saint.

"But what happens if the gate doesn't get cleared...?"

And another thing nagging at me:

What if even Yeohae can't pull it off?

If that Layered Gate sticks around?

I dug around for more info out of curiosity.

That's when I spotted someone wondering the exact same thing.

Not super clued in on hunter stuff,

but does leaving it be cause big problems?

It's that dangerous, so wouldn't it make more sense to just avoid it?

Can't wrap my head why they're so desperate to dive in.

"Whaaat?!"

Monsters come out?!

Sure, Assault Gates let monsters spill into reality sometimes.

But an already-formed gate does that too?

"That's insanely dangerous...!"

And with Yeohae's forces gutted like that,

how many guilds could even attempt it right now?

Not a single one, I'd bet.

So it'd just sit there.

If they don't clear before overflow hits?

Seoul—no, the whole country—could turn into a wasteland.

"What do I do? Even going back with yesterday's party would be impossible."

Yesterday's raid team wasn't weak by any means.

But that message we saw?

Even from that alone, our power was nowhere near enough.

Unless we gear up better, grind harder,

or find some genius strat—clearing the Layered Gate is straight-up impossible.

"At least we've got time..."

The silver lining?

Observed data says we've got about half a year before overflow kicks in.

Not an immediate crisis.

But half a year isn't that long.

It means we gotta prep perfectly starting now just to have a shot.

Can we really kit out with god-tier items in that window

and boost our power beyond yesterday's levels?

Or make those raiders unrecognizably stronger?

No clue.

Hell, it'd feel more realistic if some comet-like powerhouse showed up

and filled our gaps.

"...Huh?"

Right as that thought crossed my mind,

a fresh post caught my eye.

...Sword Empress?