Chapter 175
Chapter 175
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: Part 2 Episode 38
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Dun stood before the gate, a blue rift swirling with faint energy. Looking closer, waves of light were gathering toward the inside.
The gate didn't seem like an emission type, but a base type. Base-type gates didn't release monsters out into the world.
They simply existed there like a single outpost.
However, the presence of this gate boosted the attack power of nearby emission-type gates' monsters, making base-type gates the next priority after emission types near civilian areas.
But the influence of an F-Rank base-type gate was practically negligible.
They usually weren't closed unless the nearby emission gates' ranks rose alongside it.
That's why F-Rank base-type gates were occasionally used by hunters with spare time or those looking to raise their rank for practice.
This freshly spawned, unpopular gate should let Sanghun Pyo close it at his leisure.
There was little chance of people barging in mid-way like with Lee Yoo-hyun, causing annoyance.
"If you're not about to die, I'm not helping. Handle everything yourself."
"Got it."
Sanghun Pyo nodded and stepped into the gate.
The interior was incredibly humid. Reaching out to touch the wall, he found it extremely damp.
The floor and ceiling were the same, with a thin layer of moisture on their surfaces. Droplets gathered on the ceiling, plinking down to the floor one by one.
"It's kinda dark in here."
Muttering to himself, Sanghun Pyo turned on his phone camera's flash and shone it around. Nothing that could be called a monster was in sight yet.
Splash, splash.
Raising his sword, he lowered his stance and advanced.
Screeech!
The echoing cry of monsters came from far away. But their forms weren't visible.
The corridor that began right after entering the gate was extremely long and silent.
Screeeeech!
The unidentified monster's cry rang out again. It sounded closer than before, so they seemed to be approaching.
He kept his eyes fixed ahead and walked for a bit.
"Baldy, upper left."
"What? ...Ugh!"
Suddenly, a thick-shelled, bumpy lizard-like monster dropped from the ceiling right above him.
Sanghun Pyo backpedaled a few steps, barely dodging the lizard monster's attack.
But he couldn't fully evade the claw swipe, and flesh tore from his leg, leaving a red gash.
It was supposed to be F-Rank, but something felt off. It should have been something simple like a slime.
"Baldy, focus."
"...Ah."
Before he could check the wound, the monster's tongue shot toward Sanghun Pyo. He rolled sideways to dodge.
[Screeeeech!]
Frustrated that its attack missed, the monster bared its teeth and cried out.
'Stay calm and figure out its attack pattern first.'
Exhaling deeply, Sanghun Pyo predicted the next attack coming his way.
Sharp front claws suggested they were the main attack method. Pull in the target with the tongue and finish with claws?
He tensed his legs to roll away from the next attack, but unexpectedly, the lizard monster's tongue lashed toward Dun.
"Dun!!!"
"Save me~"
Panicking, Sanghun Pyo swiftly sliced the long tongue yanking Dun toward it.
Splurt!
Blue blood spurted from the severed tongue's stump, spraying everywhere.
Seizing the moment of pain, Sanghun Pyo charged the monster.
Focusing mana in his legs, he smashed down on its head and pinned it to the floor with force.
Then, gripping his knife tighter, he stabbed into the slight gap at the crown of its head.
Crunch!
The knife caught on what felt like bone before grinding through, sinking deep.
Monster blood splattered onto Sanghun Pyo's face.
The thrashing beast shuddered violently and soon breathed its last.
"You look fine."
After slaying the monster, Sanghun Pyo ran his gaze up and down Dun, then plopped down on the spot.
Unscathed and utterly relaxed.
His low stamina made him tremble daily, so it was easy to forget how strong this guy really was.
Pulling an emergency bandage from his hunter band, Sanghun Pyo deftly staunched the bleeding gash.
"What is this? F-Rank gate, but it's not straightforward. Camouflaged type?"
Dun muttered while flipping the dead monster's corpse with his foot.
With its varied attack patterns, it didn't feel F-Rank at all. The teeth and claws were sharply honed—not weak monster material.
"Camouflaged type?"
Sanghun Pyo tilted his head. He'd thought he knew gate theory inside out, but this was a new one.
"Since it's base-type, the gate suppresses mana emission at the entrance. Then it picks off easy prey to safely raise its rank."
"First time hearing about it..."
"It's a newly emerging type."
Camouflage emission gates deliberately poured mana at the entrance to fake a high rank, while camouflage base gates did the opposite to appear low-rank.
Camouflage gates mostly appeared en masse when high-rank monsters moved in organized groups.
Lots of people had died because of them. Back when he roamed Nakilgo, even new awakeners practicing their powers often got caught in them.
He'd wondered when these vicious camouflage gates would show up—they seemed to be starting now.
"...The vibe here's kinda weird, right?"
Starting to feel uneasy, Sanghun Pyo's breathing quickened.
Splat, splat.
From afar came the sound of small feet pattering on moisture-covered surfaces.
Splat-splat-splat.
The sounds continued.
Splat-splat-splat-splat-splat-splat-splat-splat-splat-splat-splat-splat-splat-splat-splat-splat.
The tongue lizards were swarming along walls and ceiling. Killing one had brought the horde.
"Ah... We're screwed..."
Sanghun Pyo shone his phone light on ceiling and floor, trying to gauge the approaching tongue lizards' numbers.
Countless yellow eyes gleamed densely from the dark ahead.
Fear and disgust welled up. The gate's heavy humidity made breathing even stuffier.
"Breathe. Think straight—you can take them all."
Dun swept the damp floor and flicked water droplets from his hand in front of Sanghun Pyo's eyes. Tiny drops splashed on his cheek.
"I'll watch your back, so no worries about dying."
Dun patted Sanghun Pyo's rigid shoulders and spoke in a serious tone.
'Don't chicken out! Not one of the kids I cleared gates with died!!!'
Someone random popped into his head.
Sanghun Pyo glanced at Dun's face, and his trembling eased slightly.
He closed his eyes and exhaled.
Soon, sparks flew from his hand. The knife he gripped glowed yellow, crackling as yellow flames danced at its tip.
Lowering his stance, Sanghun Pyo dashed toward the monsters, swinging the arm with the knife.
Sparks erupted from the knife, forming a thick yellow line toward the nearest tongue lizard.
The thick line splintered into finer yellow threads, enveloping the tongue lizard.
Zzzap, zzzzap!
Electrocuted, the tongue lizard thudded to the floor, convulsing.
He'd been saving mana for the boss, but in this pinch, better not hold back.
He swung the knife toward the next cluster of nearby tongue lizards, but the target dropped to the floor on its own.
Zzzzap!
Not just the lead tongue lizard—every one touching the damp floor and walls convulsed and rained down.
"???"
Sanghun Pyo raised an eyebrow at the pile of tongue lizards on the ground.
"Why're you spacing out? Kill 'em while they're paralyzed."
"What just happened..."
"You don't know electricity conducts better in water? Humid gates like this are common, so develop it right and your power's super useful."
"...Didn't know."
No wonder his ability zapped all his friends on rainy days.
They'd chewed him out for aiming weird, but there was a reason...
"Study up on elements when you get out."
Under Dun's pitying gaze, Sanghun Pyo nodded while stabbing the paralyzed tongue lizards' crowns.
"You knew all along, huh? Smart cookie."
"You're the dummy."
"...Am I?"
Sanghun Pyo quickly averted his eyes from Dun's electrocuted, lion-maned frizz before he got mad.
He smoothed his twitching lips back to neutral.
"...Yeah, skipped studying. Guess I should."
Tension gone, Sanghun Pyo strode deeper into the gate with bolder steps than before.
New tongue lizards appeared? Easy—blanket them with lightning net, paralyze, finish.
"Whoa, what's this? Everything's cleared?"
"Yeah... Thought it was C-Rank gate, got all tense..."
Voices suddenly came from behind.
Camouflage gates revert to true rank display after enough monsters are killed.
With the gate rank properly shown, priority shifted, dispatching hunters.
"Using electric powers here would roast the follow-ups too, right?"
"Shut up."
Dun combed his electrocuted, tangled hair down with his fingers.
The gate near the association HQ let hunters arrive extra fast.
As they neared the boss area, tongue lizards attacked more relentlessly, more fiercely.
He'd cleared this far with just electricity, but with backup here, he couldn't swing freely.
"Call it today. Team's here—let's bail."
"Bail?"
"No greed. Save risky adventures for when you need 'em. You'll get phobia."
Dun tapped Sanghun Pyo's wounded leg.
Feeling fresh blood seep through the bandage, Sanghun Pyo nodded and followed Dun out.
"Oh, hey. Heading out after closing the gate?"
They ran into the arriving hunter team on the way. They greeted Sanghun Pyo and Dun casually.
Luckily, Dun's mask and hat kept him unrecognized.
"Nah, no potions left and I'm injured—withdrawing for now. Boss is still there, so finish it off."
"You guys killed all these monsters?"
Sanghun Pyo nodded awkwardly. He wished they'd ask about traits or weaknesses first.
"This monster grabs targets with its tongue and slashes with front claws. Moves fast on walls and ceilings, sometimes fakes position with cries. Heads up."
"Ah, got it. Thanks for the tip. If it's not rude... what's your rank?"
"E3 Rank."
"Huh? Then the one next to you...?"
Dun nodded shamelessly.
"But C-Rank gate, this far in... Uh... Abyss origin?! Nah, GAL Rank not 1... Anyway, you got lucky. Association HQ's close—get treated quick!"
Sanghun Pyo nodded vaguely, ignoring the rest as he headed for the exit.
Ranks were just for assigning hunters to appropriate gates, but evaluations and snubs bred victim mentality.
Rubbing his stiff neck, Sanghun Pyo's lips twitched.
"So, how was facing C-Rank monsters?"
Dun, following quietly, spoke up.
"Feels doable if the environment fits. They were strong, yeah. Without electricity, the swarm would've ended me quick."
"Not that. So, not scared?"
Sanghun Pyo recalled the heaps of monsters he'd felled at the "not scared?" prompt.
Too focused on how well his power worked—no room for fear.
"...Better than I thought."
Excitement bubbled at his massive growth from the past.
Like when he was little, he could raid gates and kill hated monsters again.
Freely slaughtering monsters meant the world to him.
"Yeah? Lesson over."
"?"
Dun rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a round portable mana meter.
He'd been checking mana output and rank during attacks.
"Max output at calm is B Rank. See?"
Dun showed the screen's mana value and the 'B' beside it.
"Re-test and your rank's up. Still, hit a few more easy gates of other types to be sure."
"..."
"Good work."
Sanghun Pyo blinked blankly at the words for a moment.
"Good work" and "lesson over" didn't compute right away, so he stayed silent before murmuring softly.
"Really done?"
Dun nodded.
"Yeah, bumped your rank—clean end. Told you pure help, no strings. Didn't believe me? Rest is on you."