Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Clumsy E-Rank Gate Subjugation Operation (2)
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Gates were largely divided into two types. Those intentionally opened by the government or corporations for resource procurement, and those that popped up randomly somewhere in the city. Up until now, I'd only ever done missions in the former kind.
But judging from the atmosphere around us, it looked like we'd drawn the short straw this time—a gate that had opened up right in the middle of the city.
The soldiers controlling the perimeter cautiously approached our vehicle. Yu-jeong sunbae flashed her hunter license and spoke up.
"Yes. We're the three who accepted today's subjugation mission. 'Kim Yu-jeong' Kim Yu-jeong, 'One' Ichie, and 'Ada Bomber' Jeong Su-hyeon."
"...Sorry, could you say that again?"
"'Kim Yu-jeong' Kim Yu-jeong, 'One' Ichie, and 'Ada Bomber' Jeong Su-hyeon."
"Oh, wait—are you the one from behind there, the guy who won Rookie King this time?"
"Yep. That's right."
"Sorry about this, but... could I maybe get an autograph?"
I already wanted to die. Yu-jeong sunbae smiled and replied.
"We're on the job, so please hold off on that. This isn't a private gate—it's just one that opened up naturally. We want to dive in as soon as possible. Where's the person in charge here?"
"Ah, yes. I'll go fetch them right now! Park over there and gear up, please."
"Got it."
Yu-jeong sunbae gripped the wheel and swung the car around sharply. It spun in place, revealing the full scene of the ruins. Next to a shattered storefront sat a civilian puffing on a cigarette. He scowled at our car and grumbled.
"You guys the hunters?"
"Yes. You the shop owner?"
Yu-jeong sunbae responded with a smile, but the man's face didn't soften one bit.
"Hurry up and clear that gate already. Can't fix my shop like this—driving me nuts. Damn it."
"Yes. We're sorry. We'll handle it as fast as we can."
We climbed out of the car. By a small tent where the soldiers were gathered sat our gear and a large cardboard box. The box was labeled [EDF], which let me know right away it was mine. Humming a little tune, Yu-jeong sunbae popped open the trunk. Inside was some gear I'd never seen before in my life—it looked just like a drill from a video game.
"Yu-jeong unnie. What's that?"
Ichie shot her a curious glance too. Grinning at the question, Yu-jeong sunbae explained.
"It's a gauntlet. There's an engine on the back, and the front's loaded with separate explosives. Press the button while swinging your fist, and it speeds up—then boom on impact."
"Sounds dangerous."
"That's why only auto-regenerators like me use it. Even I end up in serious pain after a few swings, so I can't use it often."
"But if you're gonna use something like that, wouldn't a bomb be better?"
Yu-jeong sunbae shook her head at Ichie's question.
"Grenades have too wide a blast radius. If I toss one, I'd have to drop flat right there—and getting hurt like that would be so unfair."
"Fair point."
"See that sharp tip up front? It pierces the enemy's tough hide, then blows up their insides. Way more efficient than a rocket launcher."
Ichie nodded. Watching her and Yu-jeong sunbae geek out over weapons, I picked up the gear EDF had just sent over. The shield and spear were painted stark white, giving off a plastic model kit vibe. But between the turtle-shell curves of the shield gleamed cold steel edges, and the spearhead was wickedly sharp—far too risky to set down carelessly.
I took a quick stance and thrust forward. It shot out lighter and snappier than I'd expected. Gripping the spear properly, I couldn't help but marvel again. This was combat-ready right out of the box.
"Su-hyeon-ssi. All set?"
"Yes!"
I hurriedly swapped into the rest of the gear and dashed over to Yu-jeong sunbae. The safety suit had a design straight out of a sci-fi flick—tough, form-fitting leather with reinforced metal plates over the vital spots. I ran a hand over the thigh plate and asked.
"So, we diving in right away?"
"No. We hand off from the scouting team first. The last one just sent their return signal."
Yu-jeong sunbae stowed her so-called gauntlet in her backpack and led the way toward the gate. Just then, a scouting team emerged from the other side, sacks bulging with hides and ores. She waved, and they waved back with bright smiles.
"Huh?"
Then they spotted me and looked shocked, pointing. I nodded in simple greeting. Ichie waved too.
"Academy folks. Nice to see you."
The scouting team for this gate was also from the Academy—students and mentors. They seemed genuinely pleased to run into us, greeting us energetically. Yu-jeong sunbae and their mentor exchanged quick hellos before jumping into handover.
"According to the signals right now, the boss's marker is strong in this sector."
The gate map data they'd passed over showed a massive interior. Yu-jeong sunbae frowned at the boss's position. It was hours away even at a brisk pace—meant we'd be spending the full day inside for sure.
"That's far."
"Yeah. We thought about clearing around there but bailed. Be careful—these kinds of gates are unstable."
"Thanks for the heads-up. You all worked hard. We'll take it from here."
"Sure."
Yu-jeong sunbae nodded at us. People nearby were bustling about. Their group was on the phone with the client, while soldiers pushed back the growing crowd of onlookers.
We huddled quietly by the gate amid the commotion. I asked Yu-jeong sunbae.
"Sunbae. Do scouting teams usually do handovers like this?"
It was because private gates skipped that step entirely. She shook her head.
"Private gates come fully scanned, so no handover. Only these random ones—since you have to extract boss data yourself, they just pass on the map info."
"Complicated."
"Life's full of that. Ready to head in? We gotta subjugate it so everyone here can clock out."
I glanced back without thinking. Exhausted soldiers standing guard, civilians chain-smoking while waiting for the gate to vanish. Onlookers staring blankly. And someone yelling while pointing at me.
"Isn't that the winner guy? What was his name again..."
"Let's go, sunbae."
I said urgently.
"Yeah."
Since we'd confirmed the area around the gate was cleared, we leaped inside together. The moment my head crossed the threshold, a strange air hit me—like diving into the humid heart of a jungle. I double-checked my backpack and gear, then we exchanged looks. Yu-jeong sunbae spoke in a serious tone.
"Alright, quick briefing. Our goal's subjugation ASAP, so we'll blitz through the areas the scouts already mapped. Minimal searching en route to the boss—just drop monsters on sight. Got it?"
Ichie raised her hand.
"What happens if we kill the boss? Gate collapses?"
I'd heard this in theory class, so I explained.
"Gates are sustained by the mana stone inside the boss, not the boss itself. Pull it out, and the collapse starts—no issues getting back."
Ichie nodded. Yu-jeong sunbae said.
"Then let's move? Boss is far, so we need to hustle."
"Yes."
We nodded in unison. She locked eyes with us, adjusted her pack, and pointed the way. On the dim jungle floor rolled chunks of Jungle Cat flesh, hides stripped away. The forest, noisy with all sorts of sounds during scouting runs, was dead silent now save for our footsteps.
Sunlight sparkled through the dense trees like disco ball lights. Yu-jeong sunbae stood tall in the beams, checking the map repeatedly before redirecting us. In her hand was a detector tracking strong energy sources—it projected a red arrow in midair to guide us as we went.
We trekked long through the muggy woods. No normal animals in sight, no matter how far we went. Just downed monsters, stripped naked of their usable parts. Felt like wading through the middle of an unsanitary butcher shop.
Ichie spoke up.
"Smells like blood."
"Common sight on subjugation runs. Messy, right? Some people wear masks when diving in."
Today, Yu-jeong sunbae struck me as especially dependable. And so we pushed through the forest of meat chunks in silence.
The woods were long, hot, and humid. Just walking drained my stamina. At least since we'd entered in the afternoon, the sun was setting fast. The boss wasn't far now, but as the sky darkened, Yu-jeong sunbae said.
"Probably two or three more hours to the gate's owner... I think we should camp here for the night, scout terrain at dawn, then take it down. What do you say?"
"Sounds good."
"Agreed."
With everyone's buy-in, we set up camp before sundown. Lucked into a cave, so we pitched tents inside and lit a fire. Watch rotation: Yu-jeong sunbae, Ichie, then me.
I hit my sleeping bag and passed out like I'd been hypnotized.