Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Ran and Aren didn’t slow down for even a moment.
“The one that just attacked the Team Leader was a plant that grew inside the gate.”
Rua flinched at Aren’s calm explanation.
“…What? Then that means…”
“It doesn’t possess intelligence. It simply reacts on instinct to protect its territory.”
Monsters were beings that contained mana and carried mana stones within their bodies.
They had individual intelligence driven by the instinct to protect those mana stones.
But that tree just now had none of that.
“B-But it attacked the Team Leader!”
“That’s because we invaded its territory. It reacted reflexively. It’s not a monster—it’s the will of the gate’s internal world.”
“But plants like that don’t exist…”
“Not in reality. But they do in gates.”
It was something Aren had learned the hard way over ten years.
Inside gates, things that don’t exist in reality happen as if it’s nothing.
Not just GT-078.
Even in C-rank gates, there were countless internal worlds that shattered common sense.
He and Ran had even lived as childhood friends in one, and mortal enemies in another.
Inside a gate, anything could happen.
“Don’t try to understand it. Just survive somehow.”
Aren gave the advice seriously and swung his sword.
Slice—
“Kyaaah!”
A vine creeping up toward Rua’s leg was cut cleanly.
Shaking, Rua instinctively clung to Eric beside her.
Eric paid no attention, his eyes fixed solely on Aren’s sword.
“How did you know just now?”
“I heard it.”
“…You enhanced your hearing with aura?”
From Eric’s perspective, it made no sense.
The aura he could sense wasn’t remarkable.
Just E-rank level.
But the movements were anything but.
At least ten years’ worth of experience.
And more than anything, the way he used 200% of his ability stood out.
As Eric’s thoughts grew more tangled, Team 3 kept moving.
“Ugh… something sticky got on me again. Get it off, Aren.”
“What are you, a child?”
Just listening to them, it sounded like a casual walk.
Whoosh—!
In reality, it was anything but.
“…If I mess up my strength control, this could get bad.”
“Then don’t use fire.”
Aren was impressive.
But compared to Ran, he was nothing.
Only Aren had seen Ran’s dual blades being drawn and sheathed.
Even that was only because the flame element left a trace.
Otherwise, Eric and Rua wouldn’t have seen anything at all.
Which, ironically, made sense.
Ran was a C-rank hunter.
She was simply performing at her level.
“Aren, behind you.”
“Confirmed.”
That only made Aren’s skill feel even stranger.
How could he synchronize so naturally beside a C-rank?
Was that level of coordination possible just because they were close?
Crunch!
Eric cut down an incoming branch.
It wasn’t satisfying.
‘Even aura control is on a different level.’
Compared to Aren, his movements felt crude.
Where Aren sliced cleanly—
Eric’s strikes broke things apart.
“Sniff… b-be careful, Eric…”
“…You should be more careful than me.”
He let out a long sigh.
Even while protecting the trembling Rua as she recorded everything, his gaze never left Ran and Aren.
“Here it is.”
“Oh… looks like they dug everything out.”
“They dug it out too thoroughly.”
They arrived at the location where the mana devourer tree once stood.
Whether the research team had been diligent—or simply overexcited by a new discovery—
There wasn’t even ground left that could still be called “earth.”
Ran glanced around, then turned to the team.
“For now, aside from the moving plants, nothing seems abnormal. Should we look around a bit more before heading back?”
It was a reasonable decision.
After that, no monsters appeared.
Only plants that whipped their stems like lashes.
Slice—
Aren dealt with them effortlessly.
‘Same as before. When the monsters disappear, the plants become aggressive.’
He knew because he’d experienced it.
After losing all of Team 3 in this place before regression, he had participated in the aftermath.
Back then too, once the monsters were gone, the plants began to move on their own.
‘He’s been staring for a while.’
The difference now—
Was that his teammates were alive.
‘Did I mess something up?’
What stood out was Eric’s constant gaze.
Or rather, it felt like a glare because of the intensity.
Aren hesitated to ask, so he kept cutting vines and branches.
Then—
“I think I found a mana stone extraction point.”
They discovered mana stones—the gate’s byproduct.
Without realizing it, Aren had followed the same path as before.
“…But how do we mine that?”
Rua asked cautiously from the back.
Normally, mining meant agents entering with pickaxes.
Mana stones were usually embedded like ore.
But—
“…It looks like it’s saying it’ll kill anyone who comes close…”
At the center of a white tree—
Branches were raised like spears, guarding the neatly gathered mana stones.
“Since it’s such a low-rank gate, I guess the mana stones are precious. It’s protecting them desperately…”
Ran smirked.
Compared to gates that summoned entire armies of dragons—
This felt almost pathetic.
“Should we just cut the branches? If we take all the mana stones, it might become more aggressive.”
“M-more aggressive?”
“If you take too many, the gate collapses. It’s like destroying its core, so it tries to protect the mana stones.”
“A-ah…”
Rua quickly scribbled notes.
In truth, this was knowledge no ordinary hunter would have.
It was something future researchers had uncovered through sacrifice.
“You seem to know a lot, Team Leader.”
Eric’s gaze sharpened.
Aren also had suspiciously deep knowledge—
But his sword skill overshadowed it.
Ran, however—
How did she know all this?
Being a freelance hunter didn’t explain it.
Neither did being the chairman’s daughter.
Then why?
Nudge.
Aren jabbed her side with his elbow.
“Ahem… I guess I study a lot.”
It was a terrible excuse.
Clap!
“Alright then—everyone, prepare for combat!”
Shing—
Eric immediately drew his sword.
Aren had already been holding his.
“C-combat?!”
Rua jumped like a startled rabbit.
“I said we’d trim the branches, right? They won’t just sit still. So let’s deal with it all at once and get out!”
“Y-Yes!”
Ran pushed forward with momentum.
Rua nervously drew her weapon.
“Don’t be too tense. I just want to see your fighting styles. If it gets dangerous, I’ll step in.”
If Ran moved, she could end it instantly.
But she chose to observe.
A leader needed to understand her team.
The first to charge was Aren.
Branches shot toward him like spears.
Slice.
They didn’t even touch him.
Minimal mana. Optimal trajectory.
Efficiency and safety defined his swordsmanship.
Ran didn’t even bother watching him.
Next was Eric.
He tried to replicate Aren’s technique.
Clang!
“…Tch.”
It didn’t work.
With minimal mana, he couldn’t even cut a single branch.
So he gave up.
Hummm—
He coated his blade with thick aura.
Crash!
Instead of slicing, he broke it apart.
“Now it’s your turn, Rua. Like I said, no need to be nervous.”
“…O-Okay…!”
But that didn’t help.
Her hands trembled.
She stepped forward.
Whoosh—
“Ah!”
A branch pierced in from her blind spot.
Thunk.
Her sword got stuck.
Before she could react—
Another branch aimed straight for her chest.
Crackle—!
A bolt of lightning split it in half.
Click.
The sound of a sheath closing.
Only then did Rua realize—
When she had shut her eyes in fear—
Ran had already cut it down.
“Okay. That’s enough. We’ve figured out their attack patterns. The rest can be handled by the research team.”
Assessment complete.
Pruning complete.
“….”
“Huff… huff…”
Aren stood calm.
Eric breathed heavily.
Rua clasped her hands, steadying herself.
As Ran waited—
“Team Leader.”
“Yes?”
“You said you’d train with Aren after this, right?”
Eric wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“Yes. After submitting the report, we’re heading to the training grounds.”
“Take me with you.”
“…Huh?”
Unexpected.
“I’ve been thinking something’s off.”
Eric stared at Aren’s sword.
“How can two people use the same weapon and be this different?”
His eyes held envy, jealousy, inferiority—
And admiration.
“Aren.”
“Yes.”
“No matter how I look at it, you’re not E-rank. Did you fake your rank?”
“…What?”
Aren doubted his ears.
Falsifying rank was illegal.
A serious crime.
For a moment, he thought Eric was picking a fight.
‘Was he always like this?’
As Aren tried to recall—
“No, that’s not it.”
Eric shook his head.
“You used to be at E-rank level.”
Then—
He bowed.
“Teach me.”
“…What?”
“I want to know how you got strong. I want to learn by crossing blades with you.”
His tone was sharp, his expression suspicious—
But his posture was that of a student.
“I need to get stronger. As soon as possible.”
“Is there a reason?”
Eric answered immediately.
“A-rank disaster-type gate, GT-033. Name: Footprints.”
His eyes burned.
“I need to take revenge on the gate that destroyed my hometown.”
Aren understood instantly.
‘A survivor.’
Not like Rua, with hidden potential—
Eric was driven by hatred.
And people driven by revenge—
Didn’t die easily.
Since he was heading to train with Ran anyway—
“I don’t know much, but I’ll help however I can.”
He decided to take a chance—
On Eric.