Chapter 192
Translator: uly
Chapter: 192
Chapter Title: Part 2, Chapter 55
A Hysis Gate suddenly erupted in Busan.
Without any warning, a base-type gate appeared in the Busan sea and was named the Hysis Gate. Around it, outbreak gates sprang up in droves.
One base-type gate and three outbreak types. The central base gate was rated C-Rank, with one A-Rank and two B-Rank outbreak gates among the rest.
All four gates were clustered tightly together, earning them the collective name of Hysis Gate.
Given their unusual size and ratings, the Hunter Association President personally came down to Busan to assess the situation.
'The gates are clustered even more densely than I heard. And the rank differences... Is this a camouflage structure?'
It was a phenomenon commonly seen with camouflage-type gates.
If it was a camouflage setup, the base gate would register as C-Rank but be something higher in reality, while the other gates would be lower than their displayed ranks.
[Push. Humans. Push through!!!]
"Block them!!!"
The rankers up front were hurriedly holding back the outbreak monsters trying to descend toward the civilian areas.
Shiiik!
Just then, Lee Kyung-seop, passing through the area, drew his sword and sliced through the clustered monsters in a single stroke.
A gust of wind arose around him, scattering the shredded corpses toward the sea.
"Whoa..."
"Every swing of his sword takes down two or three... Insane..."
"Abyss is badass."
With Lee Kyung-seop leading, other hunters joined in to clear the monsters on the beach. In less than five minutes, the area was spotless.
Soon, more monsters would respawn, and the beach would be a mess again.
Thanks to that, though, Yi Yu-hyun had bought a brief moment to hurriedly devise a strategy for closing the Hysis Gates.
The association's strategy team had provided a roadmap based on drone camera scans of the gates, but with civilian evacuations severely delayed, some adjustments were needed.
Protecting civilians and the city was the top priority, so the dilemma was whether to close the outbreak gates first—lest they spread monsters everywhere—or take out the base gate that empowered them, weakening the outbreaks before shutting them down one by one. His head throbbed.
Factoring in that this was likely a camouflage gate with mismatched measured ranks made it even trickier.
"President! Whew, perfect timing."
"Hunter Han Soo-hwan!!"
Fortunately, support specialist number three, Han Soo-hwan, had finished reconstructing Gwangju's defensive wall and rejoined the Hysis Gate standby team.
"How's it looking? Can we wrap shields around the whole gate area?"
Yi Yu-hyun asked Han Soo-hwan with hope in his voice.
"Hmm... Seeing it up close, the gates are spaced too far apart for a Triple Dome Shield."
Han Soo-hwan checked the gate positions Yi Yu-hyun had relayed and clicked his tongue.
"But I can manage one shield at least, so I'll hold it as long as possible."
"If we supply you with mana, can you dispel and recast it a few times?"
"Hmm..."
Han Soo-hwan gazed at the distant gates, pulled some supplements from his pocket, crunched them down, then chugged a thermos of medicinal tonic.
"Hya!"
He rolled up his sleeves and extended his hand. A massive dome shield formed over the four gates.
"Judging by my current stamina and mana, I can do it one or two more times!"
"It's a relief you can maintain it even with the support team rotating in."
With the enormous dome-shaped shield now covering the gates, the threat to civilians was greatly reduced.
Now they could focus fully on assaulting the gates.
With the strategy crystallizing in his mind, Yi Yu-hyun updated the roadmap.
The base gate boosting the outbreak gates' ranks would be handled by Abyss's top rankers, Moon Se-rim and Lee Kyung-seop, leading the close-assault team.
Protection for the outer dome shield would be commanded by Woo Ji-yoon and Joo Ho, who excelled in wide-area magic. The three outbreak gates would be tackled by elite assassin-class hunter Byeon Woo-jin, Yeo Woo-hee, and top ranker Yoo Hee-ah's team, who could swiftly locate and sever monster hearts.
This lineup had its risks and variables, but it minimized danger to the participating hunters and civilians alike.
Yi Yu-hyun gathered the assault teams and briefed them on the updated strategy.
After the meeting, as the hunters grabbed their gear and boarded boats, Yi Yu-hyun watched with a worried expression.
"Please come back safe."
"Don't worry."
"Got it~"
Most were tense, but the Abyss hunters in command looked utterly confident, without a shadow of doubt.
Yi Yu-hyun couldn't shake his anxiety as he watched their backs while they boated off to their assigned gates.
* * *
Byeon Woo-jin wore lenses that let him see clearly underwater and steered the boat indifferently with one hand.
"......"
En route to the gate, various monsters lunged to smash the boat, but Byeon Woo-jin harpooned them first.
The outbreak gate assigned to Byeon Woo-jin was the farthest from land.
Since he'd aced the underwater breathing test, the president must have placed him here for that reason.
Byeon Woo-jin was simply grateful and happy to be teamed with Yeo Woo-hee—no, wait, thrilled not to be.
They were both assassins, so they often got paired for high-rank outbreak gates, and it was always torture.
Whenever she had a chance, Yeo Woo-hee would provoke and snipe at him. He always yielded kills to avoid fights.
That's why his rankings always tanked, but he didn't care much.
'Troublesome.'
Byeon Woo-jin, who wanted nothing more than to head home fiercely after wrapping up, snapped his head in signal for the team to prepare for combat.
Upon reaching the gate, Byeon Woo-jin gestured.
"Alright, heading in!"
While the team safely entered the gate, he raised his harpoon and skewered the monsters like fish.
Shuuuk!
He extended the blade from the concealed dagger in his wrist guard, then neatly decapitated the impaled monsters with precise motions.
[Kieeeek!]
The 100cm-tall lizard-human monsters shrieked oddly and went limp.
Since no teammates surfaced, they must all have entered safely.
After clearing the outer monsters, Byeon Woo-jin took a breather and pulled up a photo on his hunter band.
It was Lee Sa-byeok's ID photo.
'Pretty.'
A brief admiration brought a sense of calm and faint longing.
Every time he'd entered a gate with Lee Sa-byeok, they'd all come back alive.
That's why viewing her photo before a gate run had become a ritual.
Unable to raid gates together now, he carried it like a talisman.
'I'll come back safe.'
Tucking the precious photo away, Byeon Woo-jin slipped on black flipper-like swim gear and dove toward the gate, swimming in.
The gate interior Byeon Woo-jin entered was completely filled with water.
Underwater gates could be flooded or air-filled; this one had no air pockets.
The team was composed of strong swimmers in preparation, but it severely limited the rankers' range.
While teammates handled the front and mid monsters, Byeon Woo-jin dodged attacks and slinked toward the boss area.
Drawing daggers from both wrist guards, he hunched his shoulders and scanned around.
True to its camouflage nature, he reached the boss area far easier than its A-Rank rating suggested.
The space was a labyrinthine interior.
Byeon Woo-jin gripped the walls and navigated the maze faster.
The boss area was spherically shaped overall, requiring three-dimensional consideration of up, down, left, and right to find the exit—twice as hard as a flat maze.
'Where's the heart?'
To turn it into an open gate (a halted monster-spawning gate), preserve the heart and destroy the monster core. But to close it, smash the heart or damage its zone until it dies.
Given the humanoid grunts, the main body was likely dormant at the maze's end.
'Seol Do-yoon would love this gate.'
Byeon Woo-jin swam up, down, left, and right through the maze, then paused.
In the spherical maze, directions blurred—which was up, down, left, right? It was disorienting.
Left led to a dead end up top; backtracking felt like repeating paths.
Each blind wall amplified his frustration.
Thinking of his teammates fiercely battling outside the boss area turned frustration to urgency.
At this rate, closing the gate seemed impossible. Laboriously returning to the start, Byeon Woo-jin calmly mapped the paths in his head.
'From entrance: 2 upper forks, 3 lower, 1 left, 4 right. First upper fork's up-down-left-right...'
As he sketched the map mentally, it felt like a dead end. He buried his face in his hands and sobbed—a rare helplessness.
Rummaging his hunter band, he pulled Lee Sa-byeok's photo and gazed. He exhaled water instead of air, inhaling more.
'I have to see Sa-byeok enter college.'
In one minute, sobs stopped. Calm now, he refined the 3D map, categorizing paths and connections.
Clutching Lee Sa-byeok's photo tightly, he swam swiftly, eliminating dead-end routes.
Methodically checking, options narrowed.
Feeling hope, Byeon Woo-jin sped up unraveling the maze.
"!!!"
He'd swum far ahead when it happened.
The surrounding water temperature plummeted rapidly.
Ice crystals formed one by one. Byeon Woo-jin's brow furrowed.
A white current approached from behind, freezing everything it touched.
'Must close it fast.'
Pale-faced, Byeon Woo-jin swam desperately. Panic blurred his mental map.
Swimming on, faint light glimmered ahead.
'Exit light?'
He raced toward it. The water behind froze steadily.
If not this path, he'd freeze solid. Facing death's despair again, Byeon Woo-jin grimaced.
He couldn't die yet.
The pain he'd endured was too great for such an end. He hadn't truly tasted peace.
He hadn't witnessed his family's—whom he wanted happiest—success. And her success and happiness required him by her side.
He'd seen endless misfortune and setbacks for Lee Sa-byeok; now it was time for her joy.
It gnawed at him that she alone still struggled.
His timid nature had kept him watching her sharp edges, unable to help—deepening his regret.
So he couldn't die yet.
She was just finding stability.
He'd hoped her settled self would embrace them openly again, living together like before. He couldn't end it so vainly...
Desperately swimming, Byeon Woo-jin reached the light.
No awaited exit or boss.
Halting, he stared blankly at the dead-end wall ahead.
'Fake light...'
Even the light was a trap.
Realizing he was a rat in a trap, Byeon Woo-jin's face darkened into a daze.
Stopping his flight, the icy current sharpened into spears, piercing him.
Transparent water turned crimson.
Byeon Woo-jin's clenched fist slowly unclenched, staining Lee Sa-byeok's photo red.