Chapter 59
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Milky Way TV
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I bolted out of the Wol family estate as if running for my life, wandering the streets in a half-dazed stupor.
"Ugh... This is driving me insane."
Yesterday, I'd gone to Ha Yun-seok and made a huge fuss just to let them know how much I was struggling with the girls' temptations, only to fail to find any solutions and end up groaning in agony.
In a moment of bad judgment, I'd tried to comfort her a bit by going with the mood, and now things with Wol Ha-yeon had gotten even weirder.
"...Well, at least it lowered the chances of heading down that bad end route a little, right?"
Now I finally understood why Wol Ha-yeon inevitably sacrificed herself and died during the Apostle Descent event.
Who would've thought that Hunter Lee Sung-ha was Wol Ha-yeon's mother?
There must have been some subconscious pressure.
Her mother had saved Incheon's citizens and sacrificed herself like that, so she felt she couldn't tarnish that legacy—something like that burden.
That's why, even when the fourth Apostle Descent happened, no matter how much the player tried to stop her, she chose the worst option of mutual destruction.
"......"
Thinking of that horrific future made my chest ache sharply.
A predetermined future—one that had never changed no matter how many playthroughs I'd done. An event that was guaranteed to happen.
Part of me wanted to storm the mine bastards before they could fully prepare for the Apostle Descent and wreck everything...
But the location of Apostle Descents was completely random except that it always happened in South Korea, and more importantly...
As a current re-enrolled student at the academy with an unclear past, any wrong move would just heighten suspicions against me.
"...No, let's not think about it yet."
I shook my head vigorously and, as usual, gazed up at the clear blue sky.
Apostle Descents were the biggest quest in the mid-to-late game main story anyway.
It was still a long way off for me, just starting the early game.
By timeline, it wouldn't happen for almost two years.
I just had to get as strong as possible and prepare everything I could before then.
Then... I could stop it.
Without seeing that worst ending.
"More importantly... what's with this ominous vibe I've been feeling since earlier?"
It had been thirty minutes since I fled the Wol estate and started moving.
Now I was walking through some urban area after emerging from a mountain path.
But at some point, a prickling sensation started from the east? It was a familiar yet slightly off mana aura.
A thorny vibration of mana that felt like it was pushing up against my skin from below.
I instinctively knew.
This wasn't just mana leakage or a barrier rupture.
So I stopped in place, closed my eyes gently, and began sensing the mana very slowly, analyzing it bit by bit.
And soon, I recalled where I'd felt this mana before.
"This is... similar to what I felt at the entrance to the Silent Tomb dungeon... Actually, a bit stronger. Something added... Wait."
A gate in the heart of Seoul—a place with the world's tightest security where all seven major guilds had bases?
And it was emitting mana strong enough for me to sense, yet still standing unmolested? Is that even possible?
"Damn it, no way?"
Realizing something, my body naturally tried to turn in the opposite direction.
However.
"No... The academy's on break for the next week anyway."
Thinking about it, there was no real rush to get back to the dorms.
No assignments.
No training.
There were some online lectures and miscellaneous stuff, but... I could cram them later.
And—
Focusing again, that mana wavelength was bigger than I'd thought.
And unstable.
If it fully opened and a gate break happened... civilians could get massacred.
"...Sigh, let's check it quick and report it."
In the end, I turned my feet eastward.
The closer I got, the thicker the mana vibration became.
An alley between buildings, a trash disposal area in a back spot where hardly anyone passed.
And—there it was.
Wuuuuuuuuum—!!!
A massive gate where reality's fabric warped, light and shadow clashing and blending.
The mana felt like C to C+ level gate.
But the entrance was twice the size of a normal C-rank gate.
And the color wasn't field-type green or labyrinth-type yellow—it was crimson-black.
This wasn't a normal gate.
This was a high-level demon-made descent formation gate, at minimum for an elite-rank demon or above.
"We're screwed."
Having identified the gate, I immediately pulled out my smartphone to request support from the association and the nearest guild.
But I had to stop my hand midway.
Because I spotted a mana tendril slowly emerging from the gate's center.
Meaning someone inside was gradually prying the gate open.
I took a long breath.
"Haaaa... Damn it, we're really screwed. It's about to pop out soon."
If that unidentified demon emerged from the gate and completed its descent, everyone in the area—civilians—would die.
Association support or guilds didn't matter.
Even if they rushed, it'd take at least five minutes.
So there was only one option.
Enter before the gate fully broke.
Even for a descent formation gate, once a mana-bearing lifeform entered, the entrance sealed shut.
It was a world rule, like the Book of Restraints—no demon, no matter how strong, could defy it.
The problem was...
"Fuck, I used Tidal Binding earlier and my mana's bottomed out, and more than that... I can't handle an elite-rank demon yet?"
Yeah.
With my current stats and magic level, I couldn't face a soldier-rank demon or higher.
And the demon inside that gate was at least elite-rank—could even be higher.
"...... Aaaah!!! Do I really have to go in? Or not?"
I froze in front of the gate, repeating the same thought dozens of times.
Go in? Dead. No chance of survival. Certain death.
Not go in? Everyone nearby gets shredded.
Neither was a choice I could make.
"Haa... Giving me a choice like this in this situation is straight-up torture..."
Aftereffects from Tidal Binding had my fingertips still trembling slightly, and my mana recovery was only halfway.
Request rescue fast? And buy time against a descended demon?
Five minutes until support—three if quick. If the gate fully opened by then...
I couldn't block it, and this whole area could vanish from the map in seconds.
"...Screw it. Enter first and think later."
With that—block the break first and figure it out—I gritted my teeth and slowly closed the distance to the gate.
That was the moment.
Bzzz—!
Right behind me, a sound like someone turning on a camera.
Followed by an incredibly light, even bubbly voice.
"Yesss~ Hello, everyone! This is Choi Eun-ha of Milky Way TV~! I was on my way to do that mukbang at MM Cafe with you viewers as promised~! But I found something fun, right?"
"What? Choi... Eun-ha?"
The voice was one I'd never heard, even possessed, but the familiar name made me slowly turn my head to check.
And seeing the source, I froze solid.
There stood a girl with lemon-blonde bob hair sparkling in the sunlight, her right eye hidden by bangs, holding a small camera right up to me.
"Ta-da~! See this, everyone? Right in the middle of Seoul— Whoa, is this a gate? Holy crap, it's the real deal??"
"You... how are you here?"
Choi Eun-ha.
The game's final heroine, appearing if you didn't raise Wol Ha-yeon's affection sufficiently within the first semester of freshman year, and made almost no progress with the other heroines.
Transferring in during the second semester of freshman year, with the lowest capture difficulty and fastest approach speed, she stole every player's heart.
Easier than even Sophia Litwell, who still needed some affection grinding and dialogue.
"Haa... What kind of luck is this?"
It was really her, Choi Eun-ha.
But why was she popping up here?
Choi Eun-ha scanned my face once, her clear sky-blue left eye sparkling.
"Whoa?! Wait... you're an academy student? OMG, no way. So you're here to handle this gate?? Wow, as expected from a prestigious school~!"
"......"
I barely peeled my dry lips apart and spoke.
"Uh... could you turn off the live stream first?"
"......"
Eun-ha blinked blankly for a sec,
"Oh! Right. Hold on, everyone~! Gotta pause the stream real quick, poof☆"
She quickly shut off the camera.
And—the instant she did, her expression changed completely.
60% of the smile vanished, replaced by a serious air.
"...... This is a demon descent gate, right?"
"Yeah. At least an elite-rank demon inside about to come out any second... If I enter now, I could probably stop the break..."
"You were gonna go in alone?"
Her tone and gaze.
The brightness was the same, but somehow warmer.
And... for some reason, since she arrived, the pressure eased and my heart felt calmer.
"...You, how do you make people's emotions settle so soothingly?"
Choi Eun-ha's eyes widened round, and she giggled.
"Me? I'm Choi Eun-ha from Milky Way TV—don't know me? Wait, before that, the emotion thing? That's one of my sub-traits."
Clear Serenity Thread—makes breathing easier for people nearby. I don't really get it, but everyone around says so?"
"Clear Serenity Thread?"
'Ah, right, she had a trait like that.'
Clear Serenity Thread (). An auxiliary trait that eases people's emotions and mana flow a bit.
That's why my anxiety washed away the moment we met, and words came easily.
"...Anyway, not sure who you are, but how'd you end up here?"
Choi Eun-ha shrugged.
"Eh~ Nothing big, just wrapped up my overseas tour schedule recently and came to Korea to transfer into the academy~
But I stepped out to sightsee Seoul before enrolling and stumbled right into this!?"
And she asked oh-so-casually, like it was nothing.
"Wanna go in together?"
"...What?"
"C'mon, it's obviously about to go berserk, and support would take over five minutes anyway, turning this whole area into a wasteland, so you were planning to block it solo, right?"
"...Yeah."
"Exactly! Not sure why you don't know me, but I'm a close-range S-rank awakener too. Pretty strong, y'know?"
It was so natural.
I felt relieved without realizing it.
"You sure you're okay? It's at least elite-rank or higher, fully descended."
"What hunter work isn't dangerous? It's all risky!"
Choi Eun-ha flashed the world's brightest smile through the hair covering one eye.
"So, we going in together or what?"
"...."
I bit my lip for a moment.
Then the gate's vibration roared loudly behind me again.
Meaning gate break imminent.
No time left now.
I had to choose.
Why she was here was still a mystery, but she was definitely an S-rank awakener.
Strong enough not to lag behind the others, clearly stronger than me right now.
So... I took a breath.
And cautiously extended my hand.
"Yeah, let's go together."
"Okay!"
With that, we stepped into the gate at the same time.