Chapter 8
Chapter 8
In general, there are two situations where a gate management company declares an emergency.
First, when an unexpected incident occurs to agents who have entered a gate.
Second, when mana wave fluctuations inconsistent with the gate’s rank are observed—either suddenly or continuously.
This time, unfortunately, both happened at once.
“F-class spatial gate GT-257, commonly referred to as ‘Museum,’ has completed one year of observation. The presence of mana stones and its danger level have all been verified. However, outside of working hours, a research team member was detected entering the gate, and mental disturbance symptoms—previously unobserved—have now appeared.”
F-class spatial gate ‘Museum.’
Its entrance resembled a massive picture frame, and it earned its nickname due to the numerous beautiful artworks inside.
In fact, before the regression, it had remained an F-class gate until the end. It was even used as a tourist site, with civilians visiting multiple times without issue.
So why was an agent now showing signs of mental disturbance?
And why were mana fluctuations exceeding F-class levels being detected?
Standing among the assembled gate management teams, Aren tilted his head.
“Aren. This didn’t happen before, right?”
Ran whispered so only he could hear.
“Yeah. It’s strange enough for an F-class gate incident to happen once at this time, let alone twice.”
Aren whispered back.
Unable to hold back, Lua, who had been sneaking glances, spoke up.
“Um… excuse me… why is Ran-nim here…?”
All gate management teams had been mobilized. Naturally, Aren stood with Gate Management Team 3.
And Ran was mixed in among them.
With the team leader absent due to injury, it didn’t look strange at a glance—but once the agents noticed her face, confusion spread.
“I was having dinner with Aren. I just came because I was worried when I heard it was an emergency, so don’t mind me!”
“Y-yes… ma’am…”
For someone who “just came,” she had been listening to the briefing quite seriously, but since she said so, Lua nodded.
Of course, that didn’t mean she could actually ignore it.
The chairman’s daughter had dinner with a regular agent.
Then followed him here out of concern during an emergency.
Aren had said they were merely acquaintances earlier—but this wasn’t that kind of distance.
“…Thus, six additional agents were deployed, but all have fallen into mental disturbance and have not returned. From now on, we will select agents with the highest mental resistance for deployment.”
As Lua struggled with confusion, the briefing ended.
Even if agents had already succumbed, there was no choice but to send reinforcements. Gates couldn’t be destroyed from the outside, and elite emergency teams couldn’t be dispatched to a low-level incident.
“Are there any agents with high mental resistance scores or strong self-control?”
At the question, several hands shot up.
Despite it being long past working hours, the enthusiasm was striking. Many who joined gate management companies had lost something to gates and were driven by anger or revenge.
“Five volunteers confirmed—…?”
The briefing officer’s eyes widened.
Beside Aren, who had raised his hand—Ran had casually raised hers as well.
“…?”
“Ran-nim?!”
Eric and Lua were equally shocked.
Wasn’t she just here out of concern? Why was she volunteering?
As murmurs spread, Ran smiled brightly.
“I have high mental resistance. I’m a C-class hunter, so I’ll be a big help.”
The murmuring grew louder.
The chairman’s daughter—a C-class hunter—had suddenly appeared at an emergency mobilization.
And not just to observe, but to enter the gate herself.
…Why?
“Um… Ran-nim, this is the gate management team’s responsibility, so there’s no need for you to—”
“I’m part of the gate management team too!”
“…What?”
Even Aren was caught off guard.
Hadn’t he told her earlier to move quickly into management and reform the system?
“Did I ever say I’d do that?”
“….”
Now that he thought about it, she hadn’t.
He had only asked what she would do—she never agreed to join management.
“…Please wait. I’ll verify that.”
The officer hurriedly checked her profile.
“You’re… assigned to the gate management team…?”
Why a C-class hunter would join gate management instead of emergency response or capture teams was unclear. But the profile confirmed she was awaiting assignment.
“Even so, entering an emergency situation on your first day might be dangerous…”
Ran let out a sigh.
Back before the regression, ability alone determined who entered gates.
Now, people were worrying about rank, status, and hierarchy—it felt suffocating.
‘The world is going to collapse in a few years anyway.’
Annoyed, Ran played her trump card.
“I said I’m fine. If you’re worried, I’ll personally tell my father later that I joined of my own will.”
Making it clear no one would be held responsible, she pointed at the gate.
“More importantly, shouldn’t we enter immediately? We don’t even know the condition of those inside.”
“…You’re right. My apologies.”
The officer bowed slightly, as if scolded by a superior, and proceeded.
“Then we will conduct a quick mental resistance test and deploy those with the highest scores.”
The five volunteers stepped forward.
A simple test was conducted—sending mana into the brain and measuring resistance.
The medic checking results froze in shock.
“W-wait… mental resistance above 30…?”
Both Aren and Ran had scores exceeding 30.
The exact value didn’t appear because it was a simplified test.
Considering an average person scored 1, it was absurd.
Rather than strong minds, it was more accurate to say theirs had already been shattered and reforged beyond breaking.
“Are these results correct?”
“How is that even possible?”
Other volunteers had scores like 3.5 or 5.8—it was understandable they were shocked.
“Y-yes, perhaps the machine is malfunctioning. I’ll retest—”
“Ugh, seriously. Why is everything so slow.”
Ran muttered irritably.
She wasn’t used to waiting through procedures anymore.
“The results are correct. We’re the highest, right? We’ll go. Don’t worry about responsibility—I’ll report directly to my father.”
Clack.
She grabbed Aren’s hand and walked toward the gate.
“W-wait, please—”
Before anyone could stop them,
they entered the massive frame-like gate.
Shuuu—
The scenery warped.
Classical music echoed, white marble floors stretched ahead, and artworks filled the space.
It truly lived up to the name ‘Museum.’
“What were you thinking, saying all that and coming in?”
Aren sighed immediately.
He was just as frustrated, but he had endured it—it was company protocol.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ll just act cute later and fix everything with my dad.”
Ran shrugged.
A regressor wasn’t bound by systems.
Even at thirty, she could shamelessly use charm as a tactic.
“I’m still mad we only ate one drumstick. Let’s finish this fast and go eat something else.”
She marched forward.
It felt absurd to break protocol—and use her father’s authority—over chicken.
“…Yeah.”
But Aren also regretted leaving that long-awaited meal behind.
He quickly caught up to her.
Mental resistance above 30.
It wasn’t something you were born with or could train artificially.
It came from witnessing countless horrors, breaking repeatedly, and rebuilding into something abnormal.
Thanks to that, the Museum’s mental attacks had no effect on them.
“Aren… please come this way… I feel like I’m dying…”
A voice crackled in his ears.
It even mimicked Ran’s voice—but Aren ignored it.
‘Ran would never sound that weak.’
She was the type to die gloriously rather than beg for help.
“This is before your hands got all those scars.”
“You don’t have calluses yet either.”
Instead, they held hands tightly.
Not for romance—but because in mental-type gates, sticking in pairs was standard protocol.
Holding her soft hand, Aren asked,
“So what did you mean by being assigned to the gate management team?”
“Exactly that. I asked my dad before dinner. Starting at the top would look like nepotism, so I said I’d work my way up from the bottom!”
“You think we have time for that?”
“Ran… help me…”
She ignored the hallucination just like Aren.
“Why not? We went back ten years!”
“Watch your pronunciation.”
“What?”
Aren shook his head.
“Ten years isn’t long. We need to fix the system and find the human-type gate fast.”
“Aren, you’re forgetting something. Right now I’m just a naive twenty-year-old who only just returned after doing personal hunter work.”
She smirked.
“Do you think anyone would listen to a twenty-year-old C-class telling them how to run things?”
“….”
He had no rebuttal.
No matter how urgent things were, she couldn’t just overhaul everything overnight.
“So we build achievements first. If I work with you, results will come fast, right?”
“…Don’t tell me.”
A possibility struck him.
The injured team leader.
Ran awaiting assignment.
“Yep. Exactly what you’re thinking.”
She smiled brightly.
“It’ll be announced tomorrow, but since we’re secret friends, I’ll tell you early.”
She leaned in and whispered playfully,
“Starting tomorrow, I’m the new leader of Gate Management Team 3. Please take care of me, Agent Aren.”
“…You really… ha…”
Aren let out a long sigh.
Seeing her grin, it was already decided.
“Ugh… if I just shave off 3 feet and add 8 ounces…”
They also found the affected agent—clutching a ceramic piece and muttering nonsense.
Ran stroked her chin.
“Looks like they touched the artwork and got affected.”
“Seems so. Let’s recover it, return it, and report back.”
“Sounds good. Let’s finish fast and go eat something good!”
And just like that,
Aren began overtime with his new team leader.