Chapter 79
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: The Second B-Rank Gate (4)
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Myeongwang stared silently at the sole remaining B-Rank Gate in the underground prison of Necro Castle, her eyes unfocused.
"Now only one left."
Kang Sa-hu, who had cleared two C-Rank Gates in less than four hours, broke the heavy silence, but Myeongwang's eyes showed no spark of life.
"Yes... Before you arrived, Sa-hu, I was agonizing over what to do with these—with fifty gates I couldn't touch..."
'...You're not happy about it?'
Kang Sa-hu glanced at Myeongwang's still-dazed eyes, flustered deep down, but her true feelings weren't unhappiness as he assumed.
No, quite the opposite.
'Our Sa-hu has really gotten strong...'
The reason for Myeongwang's silence was pure shock.
Having firsthand experience blocking monsters after a Gate Break, she knew exactly how dangerous C-Rank Gate monsters could be.
Especially since these monsters lacked even spirits, necromancers couldn't employ their signature method—killing the weak first, extracting spirits, and wielding them as power—which made the difficulty sky-high.
Yet Kang Sa-hu had soloed forty-nine such gates.
Practically nonstop, unless she herself had rushed in to stop him.
Of course, with his new awakening power plus necromancer spells, his arsenal was diverse.
Even so, his feats lost none of their shine.
"So, can I take that as passing the test?"
"...Ugh."
As Kang Sa-hu checked, Myeongwang let out a strained groan.
But a promise was a promise.
Besides, hunting gates benefited him too, so blocking him now would just be unreasonable pressure—she knew that.
"...Fine. You can enter the B-Rank Gate."
Myeongwang let out a low sigh and turned to him.
"But Sa-hu, promise me one thing. No overdoing it. No getting hurt. And you won't die."
Kang Sa-hu met her eyes with a solemn look.
"I can't promise the first two, but I'll absolutely keep the last one."
Meaning he'd never die, but no guarantees on strain or injury—Myeongwang bristled with anger, then cooled off.
She was the emotional one right now.
A B-Rank Gate was the sort that would trigger national emergency summons and total chaos if anyone tried hunting it.
Asking for no injuries or overexertion wasn't rational.
It might rile a worrier like her, but his response showed he was judging his situation coolly and objectively.
"Haa—fine. When do you want to head in?"
"I'll double-check my gear first. That okay?"
"Of course. Please do—I'm worried sick."
"Got it."
Myeongwang pleaded with furrowed brows, and Kang Sa-hu bowed his head in thanks for her concern before pulling out a soul core.
Bracing for the heat of another Hell Hound summon, Myeongwang jolted in surprise as an unfamiliar familiar appeared—a King Forest Lizard she looked up at.
-Kue~
The King Forest Lizard, massive as several elephants combined, let out a weary-sounding cry.
"Yeah, yeah. You always have it rough."
Kang Sa-hu slipped a few soul cores he'd secretly pocketed from the C-Rank Gates into its mouth.
The lizard chewed them down eagerly, weariness forgotten, swallowing with delight.
"Alright, now lift the back of your tongue."
-Kue
As the King Forest Lizard obeyed, raising its tongue root, it revealed a large insulated delivery box wrapped in waterproof plastic.
'What the hell is that doing in a monster's tongue root?!'
Myeongwang reeled at the bizarre sight, but Kang Sa-hu and the lizard treated it like routine.
He pulled out the box and opened it, revealing stacks of food.
"Tuna cans, fifty. Sausage packs, twenty. Chocolate, fifty kilos..."
The contents were a sight to behold.
Even a glance showed enough provisions to last months—Myeongwang's jaw dropped.
'Heading off to war or what?!'
She screamed internally at the absurdity, but when he opened another box to reveal combat rations stuffed inside, she just stopped thinking.
"Yep, all clear."
Having once suffered food shortages mid-gate while crafting Divauer, Kang Sa-hu meticulously checked for spoilage and shortages before nodding.
"Good. That's a relief."
Myeongwang, who'd quit thinking, smiled faintly and nodded.
A passing thought wondered if she'd underestimated this kid Kang Sa-hu, but it flitted by without sticking.
Shwoong—
Kang Sa-hu plunged into the gate, scanning his surroundings at a glance without pausing to take in the scenery. Spotting a large tree right ahead, he dashed toward it quietly but swiftly.
Kakakakang—
The [Duke of Hell Demadr's Blood-Drinking Scythe], usually shrunk via its innate Size Adjustment skill and worn at his waist, responded to his will and snapped back to full size in an instant.
Weapon in hand, Kang Sa-hu finally finished his basic precautions, pressing his back to the tree as he surveyed the area.
"...It's quiet."
The sky was pitch black, suggesting nighttime.
No insect chirps or any sounds at all—despite being outdoors, it felt like a heavy silence trapped in a pitch-black room.
Poking his head out from behind the tree, Kang Sa-hu sensed something off.
"...What's with this gate?"
The word alien flooded his mind.
It wasn't an odd impression.
Even seasoned hunters would've felt something similar.
Close, but not identical.
An eerily massive moon hung in the night sky, presiding over utter silence.
And that space was, astonishingly, the outskirts of a colossal mansion.
A grand estate built like Necro Castle, vast and imposing.
Only then did Kang Sa-hu pinpoint the source of his unease.
"...Is the entire gate just this mansion...?"
Back when hunters slacked off and Gate Break risks peaked.
Kang Sa-hu had plunged into gates recklessly for people's safety, unwittingly racking up enough clears to hit the Guinness record.
But this was a first even for him.
Step, step.
With no ambient noise, his footsteps echoed like crashing gongs, but he didn't stop.
No monsters in sight, and judging by the layout, he was at the mansion's outermost edge—the gate map's periphery.
The gloomy vibe and sheer mansion size evoked a horror game stage, but after the underworld Necromancer castle, it barely fazed him.
What had his nerves on edge was something else.
"Why aren't there any monsters?"
Heading toward the mansion from the outskirts, he'd encountered neither monsters nor any signs of life.
Just moonlight pouring into the hush and the mansion radiating eerie vibes under its faint reflection.
And windows spotless, not a speck of dust.
"......"
Before he knew it, he'd reached the entrance. Kang Sa-hu eyed the door gravely.
No changes anywhere—it screamed that the gate wanted him inside.
But he'd never seen a gate with this "luring the hunter somewhere" atmosphere.
Even brimming with confidence in his power, tension was inevitable.
'Really wish I could use a spirit right now.'
A spirit would've let him scout with a ghost.
No option now, so he switched tactics.
"Huu."
Poised to retreat anytime, he raised mana for a defensive shroud.
Hell Hound and Corpse-Eating Ape soul cores gripped, ready to summon—he reached for the door.
Thud—!
"......?"
But astonishingly, the door wouldn't budge.
The panels shifted slightly in the frame with a heavy groan, but refused to open—Kang Sa-hu frowned in confusion.
Whatever it was made of screamed immense weight; normal strength wouldn't cut it.
"Huu."
Having gauged it once, he took a deep breath to tackle the heavy door again.
Stone crumbs rained from above.
Pat pat, pitter-patter—
"Hm...?"
Ready for anything, Kang Sa-hu stepped back from the door and looked up where the debris fell.
Pat pat—
Tracing the crumbs led to statues atop the outer walls and roof structures.
Statues he'd glossed over earlier were now cracking—crack, craaaack.
Sensing danger, he summoned a Hell Hound from the soul core in his hand.
Grrrrr!
Ten Hell Hounds appeared, instantly brightening the area with scorching heat.
The chill air turned balmy in a flash.
The statues, silent till then, shattered their stone shells like hatching eggs, revealing their true forms.
Kuwoooor—!
What had looked weathered stone outlines sharpened vividly upon shedding the shell.
Two arms, two legs like a human.
But crouched with arms extended between legs to the ground, hands flat—ape posture.
Yet bulging muscles writhed, and vast wings unfurled from its back, far from any ape.
The wings resembled bat membranes but refracted moonlight like stone.
Ears far larger than human or monkey pointed upward like horns.
A demon face glared down.
Staring back, Kang Sa-hu spotted the name hovering above it.
"...Gargoyle."
Muttering the familiar name—that let him gauge its power and threat—he gripped the [Duke of Hell Demadr's Blood-Drinking Scythe] tight.