A Breath of Fresh Air

The first thing I felt after stepping into the Cross Gate was how refreshing it was.

Sniff. Sniff sniff.

Was it the air? It was so clean it almost stung.

"Does even a gate put out phytoncides?"

I'd seen forest terrain plenty of times. None of them had ever felt this crisp. The cool, clear rush opened up my sinuses and sent energy rolling through my body.

"The mana density of the atmosphere is high indeed."

"Mana density?"

"Aye. Train in a place rich with mana, and your progress comes all the faster."

Whoa.

High mana density actually did that? Meaning just coming to the Cross Gate to train was already a win.

"Even the domestic Top Five pump mana into the training grounds for their prospects, you know."

"Yeondu said she's tried it too."

"Wow. I'm jealous."

Wait.

Everyone knew except me?

A vague sense of betrayal made me side-eye the support team.

"Master. In an environment like this, the monsters will be strong as well."

"And why would they be strong?"

"Because during their generation, they would have absorbed that much more ambient mana."

Figure at least ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠twice the strength of outside standards.

Ugh.

Now I understood why Master Craftsman Han Yohan had insisted the Gigant Armor was essential.

"Welcome to Hyunmoo Base."

"Are you with the Rift Agency?"

"Ah. I'm Major Jo Seungcheol, currently serving with Capital Defense Command."

The term Hyunmoo Base. An awakened officer from the military doing the reception. This was not a normal setup.

"Hmm."

A look around made a little more sense of it. Concrete walls sealed all four sides, and rows of prefab barracks and buildings ran in lines that screamed military post.

"Aside from the central building, you're free to use the facilities as you like."

"Ah. Thank you."

"Once you leave Hyunmoo Base, monsters appear without warning. Just keep that in mind."

The Cross Gate was a dimensional seam and, at the same time, one enormous gate. A dangerous land where monsters could spawn from anywhere. Only a constantly projected dimensional barrier could suppress that generation.

"Widening the safe zone would help with exploration, wouldn't it?"

At Seongsu's question, the officer shook his head left and right.

"The devices that generate a dimensional barrier at all times are expensive."

"How expensive?"

"For an area the size of Hyunmoo Base, the budget runs into the trillions."

What.

Not hundreds of millions. Trillions? The base didn't even look that big. The number hit like a truck.

"This place was built with the people's tax money. We'd appreciate it if you treated it with care."

"Yes, sir."

Sheesh.

The second I heard the word trillion, my heart started hammering. My earnings had gotten a lot better lately, sure—but a figure like one trillion still refused to feel real on the skin.

After the briefing and a quick inspection, we were done.

"Let's go."

Master Craftsman Han Yohan strode out in front, eyes bloodshot with focus.

Uh. Teacher?

If you drop subject, object, and every other word and just say "let's go," how are we supposed to know where?

"He means the mine."

Ugh.

Somehow I'd known he meant we should leave right now. Han Yohan's head held nothing but smithing work. He'd entered the Cross Gate for the sole purpose of digging rare metals with his own hands.

"Shall we?"

"Hunter Park. Shouldn't we look around Hyunmoo Base first?"

"We can't exactly send Master Han alone, can we?"

"Master isn't the kind of man you can stop by talking him out of it."

Nam ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Jinwoo let out a long sigh.

Grrroooan—

The thick iron gates ground open to either side with a heavy, grinding roar.

"Fortune favor you, Hunters."

A soldier on gate duty offered the farewell. I dipped my head lightly in answer.

Through the parted iron, the landscape of another world opened up. In the middle of dense forest, a footpath just wide enough for one or two people lay waiting as if abandoned.

"These aren't like the trees on the hills back home."

"No kidding."

"Hyung-nim. These plants are otherworld species that only appear inside gates."

Seongsu ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠launched into the explanation without missing a beat.

"Judging by the leaf shapes, this looks like a Beta-dimension environment."

"Beta?"

"WHU classifies gate interiors by shared environmental traits."

Multiple gates shared the same world-setting, so they tagged similar environments in order—Alpha, Beta, and so on.

Fair enough. Ingrid and Megus came from the same world, just different eras. It stood to reason that several gates would share a single world's background.

"Did the boss make you study again?"

"He said that if you know the environment, you can predict what enemies will show up."

Incredible. President Baek for making him study, sure—but watching Seongsu show up this thoroughly prepared left me caught between pride and guilt.

"In terrain like this, trolls are the usual spawn."

Shiiing—

"Your words ring true."

Sir Isra drew her blade and pointed into the undergrowth somewhere off the path.

Footsteps, distant. Short strides. The rustle of brush came low to the ground. Thanks to the senses sharpened by the Heavenly Martial Body, I could read the data clearly.

"Dire Wolves."

Had it even been a minute since we left Hyunmoo Base? Looking back, the massive iron gate and concrete walls filled my vision immediately. Monsters swarming even around the base itself…

Cross Gate. What a fantastically charming place.

"Hyung-nim. Leave the first fight to us."

Seongsu stepped forward.

"You sure?"

"We want to test how much stronger they are than ordinary monsters."

Dire Wolves were C-class. I'd hunted them myself, so they'd make a decent control group.

Swish-swish!

Dire Wolves burst from brush grown as high as a man's knees. Five of them total.

"Haaahp!"

Seongsu, already in front, gripped a short sword about fifty centimeters long in each hand.

Blades spun in tight, whirling arcs. The lead Dire Wolf ran straight into the storm of steel.

Shhhk-shhk!

The short swords sheared through fur and bit into hide without hesitation. Blood sprayed in every direction, but the blades didn't sink deep. Even though I wasn't the one swinging, the Heavenly Martial Body let me know from the sound alone whether a cut was landing clean.

"I'll open you a gap."

Jonghyo, on tank duty, slammed a Dire Wolf back with his shield.

Whssshh!

A volley of arrows leapt from the bowstring and rained into the Dire Wolves coming up behind. Almost none of them were clean hits. The wolves' tough hide and dense fur cut the arrows' power way down.

"Magic would've done more damage."

"That's exactly why mages are no good."

"What?"

"Those arrows were never meant to deal damage."

Sir Isra was right. The point was harassment—to isolate the lead wolf. In that opening, Seongsu cleanly severed the Dire Wolf's throat with a decisive shhk.

"Nice. Going big!"

Crack-crack-CRACK!

A swollen mass of ice swelled and then smashed down, crushing one Dire Wolf flat.

"You've gotten a lot better."

Honestly, I was a little surprised.

"Did you not watch us train, my lord?"

"Live combat is different."

Even in the D-class Challenging Realm, the support team had struggled. After months of nothing but gate hunting, their skill had improved by leaps and bounds.

"Hah. Hah."

"Whew. They're tough."

A hunt finished with no major damage. The support team wiped sweat and stood panting over the fallen Dire Wolf pack.

"How do they look to you, Sir?"

"On the level of B-class monsters."

I agreed with Sir Isra. Then what about the corpse grade?

I checked the information with Spirit Eye.

"Huh?"

I rubbed my eyes and looked again. The byproduct information didn't change.

"Is something amiss?"

"No. The options are way too good for the grade."

"Then that is a fine thing, is it not?"

"They're options on the level of a B-class monster. That's the issue."

When making undead, you couldn't just slap on the highest-grade materials you found. Materials one grade above my own—right now, up to A-grade—I could use without penalty. S-grade and above meant the options wouldn't fully transfer when I crafted an undead.

"This is huge."

If I got byproducts from monsters like ogres? I could handle S-grade-spec materials with zero penalty!

"Oh. Then we ought to hope stronger monsters appear quickly."

"Would it be all right if this humble servant sat a little of that out?"

"You thief. Don't you dare back out."

You little retainers. We came to the Cross Gate to escort the craftsman, remember? Hoping for stronger monsters is putting the cart before the horse.

Still.

Honestly, I was looking forward to it a little myself.

This was Chief Apprentice Nam Jinwoo's fourth time entering the Cross Gate.

To get rare minerals in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the quantities they needed, they had to put in the legwork themselves. Neither of the two craftsmen was used to combat, so they always hired one of the domestic Top Five.

This is a special case, though.

Hiring a freelance hunter—Minho—for protection instead of one of the Top Five was a first. He wasn't particularly worried. With the finished Gigant Armor on, they could handle even A-class monsters. A powered combat suit with stat amplification and automatic combat functions, installed by CEO Bang Gyeongrok for Master Craftsman Han Yohan, who was no fighter.

If Hunter Park alone looks like too much, we can always put on a Gigant Armor demonstration.

With that loose mindset, they set out for their destination. It wasn't long before they ran into monsters.

The Dire Wolves had been the easy part.

"GRRRAAAAAAH!"

A four-meter gray giant. Not one troll—six of them. Specs enhanced beyond ordinary gate standards. Tough hide and regeneration made them a nasty matchup.

"Hunter Park. What about a forced breakthrough?"

"Breakthrough?"

"We only kill the ones blocking the path and run at full speed."

Trolls were slow enough to shake. The two craftsmen would wear the Gigant Armor; the support team and Minho could ride the undead and put distance between them.

"Leaving the trail puts you in monster territory, so opening a path is enough."

He'd seen plenty of news about how skilled Minho was. Even so—one B-class hunter alone could not take on six Cross Gate mountain trolls. Even Top Five hunters who'd come as escorts had struggled against these things.

"Opening a path is fine, but…"

Minho scratched at his head with one hand.

"If it looks like it'll be hard, I can put on a Gigant Armor as well and—"

"Would it be a problem if we just dropped all the trolls?"

Five question marks popped up over Chief Apprentice Nam Jinwoo's head.

Six trolls. Drop them all?

"Kids. Let's loosen up a little."

"KWA-RUUUUUR!"

"Grrrngh!"

A restored primeval predator and monsters bearing the blood of dragons took form.

"I alone would have sufficed."

Sir Isra raised her sword with absolute confidence.

CRACK!

SHHK!

The trolls were being butchered one-sidedly.

What am I looking at right now?

Remembering the advice he'd offered only moments ago, Nam Jinwoo's face went scarlet.