Howling Wolves' Canyon (1)

A message arrived from Kim Hancheol.

The Korean Hunter Association had agreed to throw its full weight behind his rehabilitation, providing every ounce of material and medical support he could possibly need. It was only natural; from the Association's perspective, Korea ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had just secured one of the world's absolute greatest vanguards without having to lift a single finger.

Naturally, both the Association President and Sang-yeop reached out to me personally.

"Please, don't mention it," I replied modestly.

I saw no reason to boast or act like I had done something grandiose. I had already received countless favors from the Association in the past, and bringing a premier tank into my own guild was just as beneficial to me. If anything, at this rate, people might start branding me a national hero.

The only reason the formal signing had been postponed was Kim Hancheol's current physical condition. The curse had thoroughly wasted his core stats. Although the debuff had been wiped clean from his status window, he insisted on recovering his original parameters before putting pen to paper.

It's honestly for the best.

When the news broke across domestic outlets, public sentiment toward Dinosaur Guild soared to even greater heights.

For everyday citizens, the addition of a world-class vanguard hunter was staggering news. Hunters served as the backbone of national defense and gate security; the international transfer of an elite awakener could literally sway an entire country's stock market. It was only natural that the public rejoiced. Thanks to the announcement, Dinosaur Guild maintained its permanent spot atop the national trending boards.

After discussing matters with Kim Hancheol, he estimated his rehabilitation would take approximately two months. According to Chunbae, that was the absolute quickest recovery trajectory possible under ideal conditions.

"Consuming an elixir or mystical herb tied to mana will expedite his recuperation somewhat," Chunbae had previously advised.

Taking Chunbae's counsel to heart, I had brought it up to Kim Hancheol during our phone call.

"Why not ask the Association to include mana-enhancing elixirs or spirit herbs as part of your contract terms?"

—A mana-restoring elixir?

"Since the root affliction was the curse of Collapsing Mana, replenishing and circulating pure mana should speed up your body's recovery."

—I will bring it up with them right away.

"Oh, and by the way, a little delivery should be reaching your door shortly."

—A delivery?

It was nothing extravagant. I had simply sent over a spirit herb recently harvested from the greenhouse in my subspace. Although my higher-tier alchemical experiment had sadly failed, I had successfully reaped a decent C-rank mana-boosting herb. Initially, I considered offering it to Minjae, but the raid party had already gained astronomical amounts of mana during the Trial of Mana. I dispatched it via an Association courier roughly thirty minutes ago, so it was bound to arrive any second.

—Wait... it seems to have just arrived at the front desk.

Right on cue. A moment later, Kim Hancheol gasped into the receiver, his voice brimming with shock.

—Th-this... what in the world is this...?

"I figured it might help jumpstart your recovery."

—Th-thank you so very much! Sparing an Elixir was already a debt I could never repay in a lifetime, and now this...!

Even across the phone line, the raw depth of his gratitude came through vividly. Despite his ferocious battle cries on the frontline, Kim Hancheol was a dependable, deeply solemn man by nature. To hear him sniffling on the verge of tears was genuinely moving.

"Come now, you don't need to thank me like that. We're teammates who will be covering each other's backs from now on. Focus on recovering quickly so we can dive into gates together."

Later that afternoon, the members gathered at our guild house. We needed to tackle regular gate expeditions while Kim Hancheol focused on his rehabilitation. Frankly, today's gathering was more of an informal briefing than an intense strategy session.

"Hyung, did you wrap up the gate application?" I asked.

"Yep, submitted it right away," Uncle replied.

Ever since the werewolf topic came up, I had submitted an inquiry to our administrative staff, and fortunately, an ideal gate had been available on the roster. Because lycanthropes were notoriously troublesome to deal with, gates featuring them were widely avoided by most strike teams, leaving one right within our level bracket up for grabs.

"Howling Wolves' Canyon. Recommended level: 31 to 35. Party limit: seven people. Chance of werewolf spawns: roughly ninety-five percent."

"Sounds perfectly tailored for us," Minjae noted.

"It should serve as a comfortable combat training ground, wouldn't you say?"

"Sounds great to me," Uncle agreed with a hearty grin, clearly delighted by the arrangement.

"If you're that excited, you should just step up and spar with me sometime," I teased.

"I told you, once my spear arts rank up, I'll take you on! Besides, sparring and real combat are two entirely different beasts. I prefer the thrill of actual bloodshed."

"Well, to each their own."

Combat preference was a matter of individual taste, and I respected Uncle's judgment that he wasn't quite ready to duel me directly.

"Supplies are being assembled as we speak. Since the site is nearby, we'll head in two days from now."

There was little need for complex logistics. My subspace and the guild warehouse were already packed to the brim with provisions and gear. All we really needed were a few silver-infused blades and spears to exploit the werewolves' known racial weakness. Even that wasn't strictly necessary, as imbuing our standard weapons with thick mana still inflicted severe damage. However, silver weapons had the unique property of suppressing lycanthropic regeneration, making fights significantly cleaner.

Normally, we wouldn't bother and would simply overpower them. But since we intended to let Lee Shinhee gain hands-on melee experience against werewolves, having silver weaponry on hand was a prudent measure to balance the battlefield.

"Let's meet tomorrow afternoon for guild training, spend some downtime at the house, and then head out together. Works for everyone?"

"Sounds fine."

"Understood!"

With our brief meeting wrapped up, Minjae leaned forward during our casual chatter, eyes bright with curiosity.

"By the way, hyung-nim, when ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠are you opening the new beef joint?"

He was referring to Yongyong Beef. Come to think of it, I was curious as well. After the initial mention, I hadn't heard much about its progress beyond the fact that preparations were underway.

"Pretty soon," Uncle answered cheerfully. "Probably after we clear three or four more gates, including this one?"

"Oh, that fast?"

"The interior layout is practically identical to the pork belly restaurant, so we hired the same contractors. Finding the right commercial plot took a bit of time, though."

"Hehe, make sure you invite us again!" Minjae smacked his lips. Ever since our inaugural feast at Yongyong Pork Belly, he had become a regular patron, dropping by frequently for meals. For guild members, Uncle even kept the doors open after official business hours.

I had heard that Lee Shinhee also visited quite often, bringing along her father and grandfather. I had briefly contemplated greeting them in person when they came, but ultimately decided against it. It felt a bit overbearing and awkward; after all, I wasn't the owner of the restaurant.

"Why don't we set up a tasting session right after this gate?" Uncle suggested. "I've actually been torn between two different meat suppliers. Having you guys do a blind taste test would help immensely."

"A taste test?"

"Yeah. I need to settle on one of the two. Both are stellar cuts, but there are subtle differences in texture and marbling."

"Count me in!" Minjae beamed.

Uncle chuckled heartily. "Hye will obviously be there. Shinhee-ssi, would you like to join us?"

"I would be honored if you invited me," Lee Shinhee replied, nodding with a modest smile as she discreetly swallowed hard. If even the heiress of a massive chaebol conglomerate reacted like that, the meat had to be extraordinary.

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the UN Gate Countermeasures Committee...

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Are you telling me the surge in global atmospheric mana density might be originating from Australia?"

"Yes, sir. Ever since the 3rd Gate Outbreak, mana concentration has been climbing steadily, centered directly around the Australian continent."

"......"

"While the current levels are not yet severe enough to cause catastrophic shifts to Earth's biosphere, the relentless waves of mana pouring outward from Australia are steadily driving the global baseline upward."

It was deeply unsettling news.

"Does that mean if we leave Australia completely unattended, atmospheric mana will continue to rise indefinitely?"

"In all likelihood, yes. Unless this proves to be a temporary anomaly."

"And what are the odds of it being temporary?"

"We have monitored the region continuously since the 3rd Outbreak, and the upward trend has been remarkably steady. Naturally, we cannot rule out a spontaneous return to baseline, but..."

The unspoken conclusion hung heavy: the probability was virtually zero.

"Then we have no choice but to keep watching," the director murmured with a grim grimace. "No... watching is the only thing we can do. Even if we wanted to act, what could we possibly accomplish?"

It was an undeniable, bitter truth. Humanity's hunters were still nowhere near strong enough to reclaim the Australian continent. Australia had become a sovereign realm of monsters.

The primary terror was Catoblepas, the calamity-class entity that had emerged from the ultra-large gate. Yet that monstrous titan was far from the only problem.

"What is our current estimate on the monster population across the continent?"

"At a conservative estimate, tens of thousands."

The vast expanse of the Australian outback was already teeming with legions of high-tier monstrosities that had flooded out from the gate. To make matters worse, the eleven tactical nuclear warheads detonated in an attempt to annihilate Catoblepas had left the entire ecosystem thoroughly irradiated and desolate.

While awakened hunters possessed far higher resistance to ionizing radiation than ordinary civilians—a fact corroborated by the monsters themselves, as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠non-awakened organisms mutated rapidly while awakened entities showed significant resilience—mana was not an absolute shield.

"Radiation remains a lethal hazard as well. Mana does not confer invulnerability," the official noted.

"Indeed, sir. Even awakened organisms eventually succumb to prolonged exposure."

Catoblepas had emerged completely unscathed from eleven direct nuclear blasts thanks to its absurd mana forcefield, but ordinary awakened beings enjoyed no such miraculous defense. This meant deploying human hunters for long-term campaigns was out of the question. If a hunter suffered an open wound and collapsed onto the irradiated soil, catastrophic radiation sickness would follow almost instantly.

And above all else, the fundamental obstacle remained: the sheer combat capability of Earth's awakeners.

"It will take years. Several years at minimum."

To permanently collapse a gate anomaly, a strike force had to eliminate the core boss monster that led the breach and cull the surrounding mob density below a critical threshold. Yet at present, killing Catoblepas was utterly impossible for any force on Earth. Even the veteran vanguards clearing high-level gates worldwide unanimously agreed: challenging Catoblepas right now was nothing short of suicide.

"Still, hope is not lost," the analyst pointed out.

"Indeed. There is hope."

Beyond the current pioneer tier, exceptional talents were emerging among the new generation of super rookies: Blake in the United States, Mateo in France, and despite political controversies, Liu Zhen of China possessed extraordinary martial genius. And then, there was Dinosaur Guild in South Korea.

The Dragon Knight, who had caused an international sensation during the dawn of the gate era, had returned accompanied by a living, breathing dragon. It was the return of a king. Remarkably, that very dragon had achieved astonishing physical growth in less than a single year on Earth. Once the beast matured fully, its destructive potential would be immeasurable.

Yet even more anticipation surrounded the young Spatial Mage standing beside him. Was he not the miraculous rookie who had cleanly severed an elite, high-rank ogre in half with a single sword stroke in his late twenties? He was currently the most promising hunter on the planet, advancing at an unprecedented, reality-defying growth rate.

"The real question," the director sighed softly, "is whether those elite hunters will be willing to march onto Australian soil when the time comes..."

Whether top-tier hunters tightly bound to national contracts would risk their lives for a global crisis remained an open dilemma.

"If the crisis escalates into an existential threat, they will have no choice but to mobilize."

"Let us pray that is the case. And that our hunters grow strong enough before the catastrophe spirals entirely out of control."

The gate we entered was a classic hunt-type dungeon. The mechanics were as simple as could be—identical to the very first gate where I experienced my awakening. All we had to do was track down and slaughter fifty monsters, and the portal home would open.

In practice, hunt-type gates generally fell into two structural categories: those containing exactly fifty monsters, and those holding far more. In the former, you simply combed through the entire perimeter and eradicated every living threat, with the only annoyance being the hunt for stragglers hiding in remote crevices. The latter played out similarly, except the moment the fiftieth kill was logged, all surplus monsters instantly dissolved into light.

"The moon is remarkably bright," I remarked.

The moment we crossed the dimensional threshold, a luminous full moon dominated our field of vision. We found ourselves standing midway up a craggy mountain ridge bathed in pale silver light.

"Looks like we picked the right place, doesn't it?"

"Certainly," Uncle agreed with a satisfied smirk. "With a ninety-five percent werewolf probability, we'd have to be extraordinarily unlucky to hit that five percent deviation."

Given the gate's moniker, werewolves were almost guaranteed. Almost, but not entirely. There was always a slim margin for unexpected variants—perhaps a sacred mythical wolf comparable to a white tiger, or a specialized tribe of beastkin using wolves as spiritual totems.

Right on cue, a long, mournful howl cascaded down from the crags above. Instinctively shifting my gaze toward the source, I was relieved to spot our target.

Perched atop a jagged precipice, perfectly silhouetted against the grand backdrop of the full moon, stood a massive werewolf howling into the night sky.

"Feels like watching a scene from a Hollywood horror movie," Uncle chuckled.

"It really does," I replied.

With its hulking, muscular silhouette centered dead in the middle of the lunar disc, the creature presented quite a dramatic spectacle.

"Doesn't look like it intends to charge us right away."

Having delivered its theatrical roar, the lycanthrope melted back into the shadows of the rocks. In its wake, a chorus of answering howls echoed from multiple ridges across the canyon, weaving a tapestry of eerie reverberations through the ravines.

"Let's head up."

As I took my first stride toward the ascending path, Uncle reached out and tapped my shoulder.

"Hye."

"Yes?"

"You're keeping your spatial awareness focused, right?"

"Of course," I answered with a light grin. "The odds might be low, but you never know when a hidden piece might be tucked away, even in an ordinary gate like this."

We had spent so much time diving into abnormal, high-stakes ruins recently that it was easy to forget: even seemingly mundane dungeons often concealed secrets beneath their surface.