Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Nameless Sword Gate
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Jeong Cheol-min stared at Su-ho with eyes as wide as saucers.
"You're... joking, right?"
"I'm not."
Su-ho was utterly serious.
And why wouldn't he be? It wasn't a lie.
Perhaps that's why.
Jeong Cheol-min swallowed dryly at Su-ho's completely earnest expression.
After a brief silence, he asked,
"Why? Why?"
"Pardon?"
"No, I mean... how?"
"That's a secret."
"A secret?"
"Yes."
"Oh..."
A deeply disappointed sound.
Of course it was.
This was a sealed gate, after all.
Su-ho thought to himself.
'Sealed gates are all rated S-Rank difficulty. That's why they're called sealed gates. So it's only natural he'd be curious if I know how to clear one.'
But he couldn't tell.
He had no obligation to.
There was no rule saying he had to reveal the strategy to get permission to enter a sealed gate.
Sure, Jeong Cheol-min could throw a tantrum if he dug in his heels, but Su-ho already had the association president's approval.
Jeong Cheol-min was powerless now.
Plus, the one claiming to know the strategy was none other than Su-ho—the guy who'd solo-cleared the Tower of Challenge, which no one even thought was possible.
He had no choice but to believe.
Su-ho added,
"You can think of how I learned the strategy as similar to the Tower of Challenge. So please trust me, approve the Nameless Sword Gate, and I'll clear it first, then the others one by one."
"Ot-other sealed gates too?"
"Yes."
"Whoa..."
Knowing how to clear the Nameless Sword was unbelievable enough, but all the others too...
Jeong Cheol-min's mouth fell open unwittingly.
And in that moment, he could feel it.
Su-ho's words weren't bravado.
He couldn't argue anymore.
To Jeong Cheol-min, he was a dog and Su-ho was a tiger.
How could a dog fathom a tiger's intent?
Resigned, Jeong Cheol-min swallowed a sigh and said,
"...Understood. I'll contact you as soon as it's ready."
"Don't wait—let's head out now. I'm all set."
"Right now?"
"Yes. The Nameless Sword is in Gyeongju, right?"
"It is, but... you're serious?"
"Yes. As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot—I want to clear it today."
"Uh... hold on a sec."
Urged by Su-ho, Jeong Cheol-min stepped aside to make a call.
A short while later, he returned with an awkward smile.
"Approval granted. Will you come with us to Gyeongju?"
"No, I'll go separately. Got someone to bring along. Oh, and I know the sealed gate's location, so meet at the entrance."
"...Got it."
Jeong Cheol-min choked back a hollow laugh at the crisp reply and began preparations to leave.
***
"It's coming into view."
Vroom!
A car sped across the highway.
It was Jo Jin-hwi's sedan.
As soon as Su-ho left the National Hunter Association, he'd called Jo Jin-hwi and Guild Master Bae Dong-hyeok.
He'd informed Bae about securing entry to the sealed gate and asked Jo, as a reporter, to tag along.
That's why they were riding together now.
He'd planned to take the train, but a comfy sedan was better.
Moving together beat going alone.
Soon after entering Gyeongju, Jo's car pulled up to the sealed gate entrance.
As expected, the military managed it, and the atmosphere was tense.
After ID checks, they entered the gate area, where the item effect hiding the sealed gate slowly revealed itself.
'The Square's still the same.'
Square.
It was a sealing structure built around the gate portal from the outside, named for its square shape.
Made of ultra-hard alloy and steel, it contained leaking monsters and suppressed shocks.
As Su-ho stepped out, Jeong Cheol-min and the Nameless Sword Square's manager approached.
"You're here."
"Ah, yes. You beat us."
"Took the train. But who's this...?"
At Jeong Cheol-min's question, Jo Jin-hwi handed over his business card with a greeting.
"Pleasure to meet you. Jo Jin-hwi, PBS reporter."
"A reporter?"
Su-ho answered Jeong Cheol-min's surprised tone.
"Not publishing right away—just brought him for on-site photos. Only post-clear shots. That okay?"
"Oh, sure, no problem. It's not exactly top secret anyway. Just surprised you'd bring your own reporter, Su-ho."
"Thanks for approving. And while I'm at it—good to know him. You'll see him around a lot."
"Ah, got it."
Then, Square Manager Kim Jong-woo greeted them.
"Square Manager Kim Jong-woo, Major."
"You're the manager. An Su-ho."
"Honor to meet you. But... you're really soloing the Nameless Sword, Hunter An Su-ho?"
Even after Jeong Cheol-min's briefing, Kim double-checked.
He had to.
A solo clear here was hard to believe no matter how you sliced it.
'No wonder he's shocked. How many players have died here?'
By Su-ho's count, casualties already exceeded 200.
That's why it was sealed and rated S-Rank.
Su-ho said,
"Yes, solo."
"Uh... mind if I ask your level?"
"51."
"Oh..."
Kim let out a faint sigh.
But Su-ho brushed it off.
"I get your concerns, Major, but nothing will go wrong. Just trust and wait."
Kim glanced at Jeong Cheol-min, who nodded.
Kim swallowed a sigh.
"Understood. We'll pray from outside."
"Thanks for the trust."
"Square's cleared inside. You can enter right away."
Even prepped it for him.
Nice touch.
Before entering, Jo Jin-hwi asked,
"How long?"
"No surprises? Under an hour."
"Clearing a sealed gate in an hour..."
Anyone overhearing would call him crazy.
But Jo believed without question.
"Be careful."
"Will do."
After goodbyes, Su-ho entered the Square entrance opened by the soldiers.
The moment Su-ho stepped inside,
"Sealing the entrance!"
Soldiers shouted.
The outer seal locked tight, and everyone watched via internal cameras.
Su-ho scanned the faintly glowing Square interior.
'They cleaned it spotless.'
A faint blood scent lingered.
Uncleared gates periodically spewed monsters, so the military swept them with heavy weapons.
If effective, military handled it; otherwise, association or external guilds helped.
Fortunately, Nameless Sword's monsters were manageable with heavies.
At the far end, the Nameless Sword portal shimmered.
'Been a while. Here too.'
Su-ho had come before.
Exactly seven times.
First visit, he barely escaped the boss monster.
Nameless Sword let you exit without killing the boss.
So he trained bloody hard to take it down.
Five more challenges, six total losses.
But he didn't quit.
On the seventh, with seventh-heaven grit, he cleared it.
'This gate means a lot to me.'
He knew its strategy better than anyone.
Everyone else failed, but he succeeded after seven tries.
The moment Su-ho entered the gate.
[Entering the gate.]
[Loading gate information.]
[Nameless Sword]
- Entry condition: Anyone.
- Max entrants: 1.
Anyone could enter, but only solo.
Difficulty skyrocketed.
Su-ho's vision flickered.
***
"He's in."
"Phew... think he'll be okay?"
"Have to trust him now."
Outside the Square control room.
Jeong Cheol-min, Kim Jong-woo, and Jo Jin-hwi watched the cameras tensely.
A flash—Su-ho vanished into the gate.
Right after, Kim said worriedly,
"Even so... I'm still concerned. This isn't a place high stats or levels alone can clear."
"Yeah. The Sword Emperor's inside the Nameless Sword Gate."
"And Hunter An Su-ho's a healer, right?"
"Doesn't matter."
Jeong Cheol-min answered Jo's concern for Kim.
"Doesn't?"
"To me, he's a healer in name only."
"In name only?"
"Yeah. Among all players I've seen... hell, all humanity, no one wields a sword like Hunter An Su-ho."
Kim furrowed his brow.
"...Serious?"
"I observed his practical exam live when he took the hunter test. As a healer, he did the healer practical—but he passed by slashing every test orc to death."
Jo Jin-hwi exclaimed in shock.
"What? Isn't the healer practical about protecting patients to the death? It's to test healer professionalism... sacrifice spirit."
"Yes, exactly. But Hunter An Su-ho protected his patient differently. Not by dying with them, but holding the line. He grabbed a nearby sword and killed every orc."
"Crazy..."
News to him.
Only known fact: Su-ho topped the exam.
So Jeong Cheol-min thought,
'Don't know his strategy, but maybe this time the Sword Emperor falls.'
His eyewitness account had them watching the screen with renewed eyes.