Chapter 14
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 014
Chapter Title: The Second Summon (3)
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It took about 45 minutes by car from the Anomalous Disaster Response Agency to the Yeouido Gate.
The moment he arrived at the scene.
Jeong-woo was met by Victory Blood Guild's gate management executives.
And the swarm of reporters they had gathered.
"Hunter Shin Jeong-woo! Just one look over here!!!"
"Hunter Shin Jeong-woo has appeared at the Yeouido Third Gate site! The atmosphere on the ground is......"
"Any news on the agency's merchandise release?!"
Jeong-woo understood instantly.
'PR stunt, huh.'
They were drawing public attention to create an alibi.
On the surface, it was a show of actively cooperating with the corporate audit to demonstrate their intent to reform.
Regardless of whether they knew each other's true intentions, now that the situation had escalated this far, even these minor actions carried extra weight.
Jeong-woo bowed slightly to the reporters flashing their cameras at him and said,
"I'm on official duty, so interviews will have to wait."
With that, he turned toward the gate.
Someone greeted him warmly.
"Hunter Shin Jeong-woo, nice to meet you like this. I'm Yang Seong-geun, executive director of Victory Blood Guild."
The man in his mid-50s, with a mild-mannered face and a beaming smile, extended his hand.
Jeong-woo shook it.
That was the moment.
"I've heard you've been making waves lately."
"Thanks for the kind words."
"Aren't you working a bit too hard?"
It was a jab.
But it didn't faze Jeong-woo at all.
"Gotta hustle when you're on the government's dime. That's why I'm here."
Jeong-woo smiled brightly.
The executive's lips twitched for a split second—too brief for anyone but Jeong-woo to notice.
"......Youth is wasted on the young. I had my days too."
Even that nostalgic tone felt like mockery.
And beyond that, the whole thing struck Jeong-woo as a farce.
They must know by now.
This wasn't just some eager young hunter's passion.
The agency was challenging the Hunter Management Bureau's position, aiming to dismantle the infrastructure they'd built.
That's why this trap had been set.
With daggers hidden behind smiles—how could it not be laughable?
Playing along in this political game might have sparked self-loathing.
That's why, in a way, Jeong-woo was grateful for them.
'At least if my opponents are these kinds of people, it makes my sense of justice crystal clear.'
He knew all their corruption, so he could be certain.
No matter how dirty Jeong-woo tried to get, he could never sink to their level—not even close to the toes of their crimes.
That fact was a huge relief.
"Let's cut to the chase. Contamination level nearing A-Rank limits. Failed internal purge report. Major issues: two counts. Minor: violations of reporting protocols."
"Haha, our apologies. We should've been on top of it, but managing three gates led to this oversight."
"Not something you can brush off as a mistake. Gate management violations aren't."
Even then, the man grinned nonchalantly.
His casual attitude toward such a grave matter showcased the clout of Victory Blood Guild's political cartel.
Jeong-woo smiled back.
"I'll reset it. Open the gate."
"Humbly obliged."
What had they prepared?
Even so, the Teddy Warrior had put on quite the show alone.
If they had a plan, the trap they'd laid could handle at least that one.
For that moment, he dropped his guard.
On-site, he stayed cool and steady.
A habit ingrained since his days as an exploration team leader.
With that, he entered the gate.
"Entering."
He realized what they'd prepared right after.
Beep―!
"E-emergency! Gate pressure exceeding limits!!!"
A desperate, theatrical voice crackled over the comms gear.
"Hunter Shin Jeong-woo's mana is reacting with the gate! Gate mutation! Rank...... S-Rank!!!"
The inner sky turned blood-red.
The atmospheric pressure intensified, goosebumps rising on his skin.
Screeeeech―!
From the distance, the cries of countless monstrous birds echoed.
Ice crystals towered like mountain ranges.
Behind them emerged massive dragon-like flying beasts, their bodies encased in ice.
Dangerous.
Jeong-woo could feel it himself, no words needed.
But in that moment, rather than the intimidation, he let out an admiring chuckle at their transparent scheme.
'Ah, right. It's their favorite method, after all.'
A memory surfaced from the depths.
'How many were buried as accidents by the bureau again?'
By the exposed info, at least three digits.
That was how much they loved disguising hits as 'tragic accidents.'
Made sense, didn't it?
Setting aside power struggles, they pulled off stunts like this without hesitation, so no one dared touch the bureau lightly.
Anyway, now Jeong-woo saw the full picture.
'S-Rank gate outbreak due to mismanagement. Didn't matter who entered. Whoever did would trigger the mutation with that external factor—the internal pressure was primed for it. And by chance, it was me......'
He was the only one who could respond on-site, so backing out would crumble his built-up position.
He had to show resolve and solve it somehow.
Then, the underdeveloped Shin Jeong-woo nobly perishes in the forced S-Rank gate entry.
Follow up with emergency deployment of the top three guilds' S-Rankers to clear it.
Sacrifice a few management scapegoats, quell the outrage, done.
'"A tragic sacrifice from our mismanagement mistake. We'll take responsibility and reform the structure." Something like that? Sanctifying me would make swaying public opinion easier too.'
Seemed reckless, but it worked surprisingly well.
Layer on other issues as follow-ups, and the public's anger quickly lost steam.
Of course, it hinged on one precondition.
'Me dying. That's it.'
S-Rank gates were death traps for inexperienced hunters, no matter the rank.
Hunter case studies even highlighted international examples to warn rookies.
Still, Jeong-woo didn't see it as a real threat.
What was there to say?
He knew too well how overwhelming class differences created insurmountable gaps in the hunter world.
Perhaps he embodied that power best in Korea right now, quantified at the precise level.
After all, wasn't he the only one who'd witnessed firsthand how the S-Rankers bloomed and fought during the Seoul Zero Gate incident a decade from now?
This couldn't be a serious threat.
The situation was within expectations from the start.
'S-Rank gate environment setup, as expected. No champion spawned. They probably couldn't handle that far. Can't just whip up champions on demand anyway—that's national collapse territory.'
The Teddy Warrior's specs were already verified.
He was confident it could handle up to S-Rank gates without champions, ending them with its barrages.
But now there was one more.
He hadn't figured out the mechanism, but its power was on par.
The difference between having a one-shot strategic weapon and having one too was self-evident.
They'd banked on the Teddy Warrior's big blast being the end.
S-Rank gates came in waves, so one massive hit should suffice.
Even if the Sea Otter was one-shot only, it'd be fine.
Class provided stability.
Alternating skills from two summons, buying recharge time, turned waves into manageable work.
'They took a big risk. Too bad it failed.'
Jeong-woo's lips moved.
"Come out."
He activated the skill.
Not the Teddy Warrior they'd expected, but the other summon.
[All-Ages Filter] activated!
[Kids Need Heroes!] triggered!
Slot 2! Sea Otter Archmage (S) summoned!
Pop!
The Sea Otter in its conical hat appeared with a puff of smoke.
Clutching its shell, it gazed at the gate's reddening sky.
Test run for now.
Jeong-woo said with considerable anticipation,
"Show me what you can do. No pressure. If the environment doesn't suit, I'll call the Teddy Warrior."
That was when.
Pop!
As if offended, the Sea Otter stomped its foot and roughly shoved its paws into the hat.
Rummaging around, it pulled out a magic stone—who knew when it'd stashed it there.
Grunting, it wedged it into the shell.
Did that action mean something?
As he pondered and watched.
Pew-pew-pew-pew-pew!
The beasts entering the All-Ages Filter zone morphed into plush toys.
Their charge paths simplified.
Turning cute made their wing flaps comically disrupt formations.
That's when.
Pop!
The Sea Otter raised the shell with the magic stone high.
Then slammed it to the ground.
Groooowwwwm―!
The sky thundered.
Lightning surged, sketching something in the air.
Jeong-woo's eyes widened in shock.
'What's that...?'
The lightning-formed shape was the massive turtle-type champion, an A-Rank he'd subjugated at the Dongjak-gu Gate recently.
As if wasting no time, the lightning beast roared.
Then,
Craaaaaack―!
Shell cannons fired from its carapace, raining shells everywhere.
Bombarding everything in sight.
Jeong-woo finally got it and let out a hollow laugh.
The magic stone in the shell was the special one from that turtle.
The shell acted as a staff.
Now he saw the scale.
'Copy?'
The Sea Otter Archmage's ability: replicate skills from magic beasts imprinted on special stones.
Outside the gate.
Reporters reeling from the sudden S-Rank mutation erupted in excitement for a whole new reason as the Sea Otter cast its spell.
"Oh! Not the teddy bear! Sea Otter! The Sea Otter's out!!!"
"Predicted as Hunter Shin Jeong-woo's second summon! Has any high-rank hunter grown this fast before?!?!"
"Just one month! Unlocked back-to-back summons with that output in a single month!!!"
Higher-rank summons demanded exponentially tougher quests.
Finland's Red Dragon was a prime example.
Its quest? Survive five minutes submerged in lava.
S-Rank unlock conditions were that brutal.
Yet Jeong-woo had snagged two summons that toyed with gates like playthings, no quests needed.
Astounding—and the visuals.
The hat-wearing Sea Otter grunting through spells melted away tension.
Reporters' commentary turned adorably goofy to match.
"Oh! Sea Otter pulls another stone! Won't fit in the shell! It's struggling! Ah! Help from Hunter Shin Jeong-woo! Oh~! Brushes it off! Such an independent summon!!!"
Cheers swelled.
The atmosphere was anything but an S-Rank outbreak site.
One man couldn't laugh.
'Why? Why?'
Yang Seong-geun, Victory Blood Guild's executive director, was drenched in cold sweat.
This wasn't in the script.
Couldn't have been.
'Not just the one bear?'
He'd thought an S-Rank gate would do it.
The teddy's combat mechanics were predictable from public footage.
'Intense burst shot. Delay. Survive the opener, exploit the gap—should've been defenseless......'
But how did it come to this?
A disaster.
Fail to take out Jeong-woo, and the backlash was inevitable—this was a gamble.
Seong-geun gritted his teeth.
He hastily pulled out his smartphone to report up......
[The number you have dialed is no longer in service.]
Crack!
The phone shattered.
Contact number erased.
What did that mean?
'Those bastards...!'
Betrayed.
The sacrifice on the altar was now him.
Treating him like this?
Fury surged; he even considered going down together—but no.
[Executive Director.]
The elders' audit.
A whisper via ability from the shadows.
[I trust you'll make the wise choice.]
Those with something to lose knew fear.
Seong-geun chose dying alone over losing his family and foundation too.
Fist trembling, shoulders slumped.
Then, the gate cleared.
Vwoooom!
"Yesss! Clear complete! Enemies beyond the gate annihilated―!"
The Sea Otter, swapping stones, dropkicked the last beast's neck amid flames.
Fwoosh!
The sky beyond cleared to blue.
Vegetation sprouted on the ground.
Gate purified.
One of Victory Blood Guild's cash cows reset fairly.
As Jeong-woo exited, flashes bombarded him.
Reporters shouted.
"Hunter Shin Jeong-woo! Comments on the second summon?!"
"Your stance on the gate mutation?!"
"Just one word, please!!!"
The knife was now his.
Jeong-woo straightened his tie, smiled brightly.
His gaze fixed on Seong-geun.
"Tragic, this accident."
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
Was it illusion?
The flashes sounding like gunfire.
Jeong-woo's voice like a verdict.
"A bewildering incident, but relieved it was resolved safely. Regarding this, we'll spare no means—full investigation and all......"
"An S-Rank gate is a national disaster. Should it prove pursuit of private gain......"
"Ah, on the merchandise questions flooding in, we'll say it's in internal planning stages."
Seong-geun's vision went white.