Chapter 56
Chapter 56
56. Beware of Falling (1)
As Han Hye entered the Gate, a clandestine call was being made in a nearby building.
“The Spatialist has arrived at the Gate, confirmed. They are preparing for a meal. What should we do?”
-If we leave now, there won’t be a problem getting there… But Shin Chang being the escort and a sniper is unexpected.
“With our current forces, isn’t it worth a try?”
They had prepared a lot.
“Even if we can’t win, if we take advantage of a moment of carelessness when the Spatialist comes out, we might be able to snatch them…”
-No, stand by. Unless a Dragon and a Dragon Knight come, now is not the time. We’ll only suffer losses.
The person on the other end of the line sighed. The main target of this operation was indeed the Spatialist.
They had expected an escort. However, they hadn’t anticipated that the escort would be ‘Shin Chang.’
Shin Chang was too big a figure to start a fight over just one Spatialist.
-Just stand by. Tell the guys who infiltrated Saudi to pull out. Report any movements.
Shortly after that.
Just as the observer was about to start reporting again.
“I’ve relayed the order to the infiltration team, and now the Spatialist is entering the Gate… Huh?”
-What’s wrong?
“The eyes are…”
However, the person on the other end of the line didn’t hear anything more.
-Murti?
“……”
Instead, they only heard the sound of something falling—thud.
.
.
.
The moment Han Hye entered the Gate.
Sniper Seo Seung-yeon turned and immediately sniped the ‘observer.’
Bang-
A swift movement that left no room for error.
The observer didn’t even react to the sudden attack and simply collapsed.
“……”
Shin Chang stood next to her, silently watching Seo Seung-yeon.
“What?”
“…….”
“Hey, don’t tell me you’re asking why I didn’t shoot in advance. If I shot in advance, Han Hye might have been unnecessarily anxious.”
The people around were taken aback by the sudden shooting, but Seo Seung-yeon nodded towards Shin Chang with a nonchalant expression.
“I’ll guard this place, so go quickly and check it out. There might be colleagues nearby.”
* * *
[Beware of Falling]
-Reach the highest point.
This jump map-like Gate, which had no time limit, looked like it would have been quite bewildering even if I had just entered it.
But the fact that none of the information from Saudi matched made it even more surprising.
“What is this?”
-Stay calm.
Chunbae advised. That’s right. There’s no reason to be impatient. I regained my composure and racked my brain.
Could Saudi be playing tricks?
As far as I know, they used the Escape Secretary twice to pre-inspect the Gate.
Once because there were numerous casualties, and again for cross-verification when they asked us for Hunter cooperation.
Based on the information obtained that way, the Dawnlight Guild Gate analysis team helped me.
-They said a Great Worm would appear from the ground. They said the Great Worm wouldn’t attack directly.
-However, the collapsed ground is wide, making it easy to fall. Then the worm’s offspring attack, and you can avoid them by using your Spatial Sense or using platforms and Leap…….
I felt disappointed that I couldn’t use the newly learned swordsmanship, but there was no need for that.
From the start, the information and advice I had received in advance were all useless.
‘I don’t know.’
I doubted that they would have sent the wrong information twice, but it was possible that both were traitors.
I can’t know the truth here.
Still, I didn’t feel any immediate sense of crisis.
I won’t die in this Gate. It’s the same whether Saudi has joined hands with Ubermensh or not.
The reason Ubermensh is targeting me is not to kill me, but because they want my abilities.
That means there’s no reason to set up a scheme to kill me.
‘Besides, I have the Escape Secretary.’
I can pass through the Gate without any problems.
Nevertheless, the reason they concealed the information is to kill the Saudi Hunters and my escort and call me in.
If they isolate me and clean up the situation outside, they can easily kidnap me when I come out.
I wonder if that’s why Seo Seung-yeon raised her gun.
‘But my escort is a bit special.’
They probably didn’t expect it. As long as my escorts are Shin Chang and Seo Seung-yeon, I don’t have to worry about the situation outside at all.
…If there really are kidnappers, aren’t they getting beaten so badly that they can’t even collect their bones?
‘I should clear the Gate first.’
I can talk about the rights and wrongs later with Shin Chang and Seo Seung-yeon when I get out, and they’ll take care of it.
They were so reliable. If I had come to Saudi alone, I would have been quite flustered.
‘The changed Gate is no problem either.’
Jump map.
The entrants are Hunters, and it’s a level 21-25 Gate. The distance between the platforms is quite far.
But it’s not harmful to me at all. Didn’t I use Subspace as a platform even in Arachne's Labyrinth?
And there’s Leap too. In a way, I’m specialized in this kind of space more than combat.
‘It’s just a freebie Gate.’
There are flying Monsters in the sky, but considering the characteristics of the Gate, they probably aren’t very strong.
I looked up at the sky. It’s quite high. I couldn’t see the end right away because of the clouds.
‘How high do I have to go?’
Just as I was about to jump onto a high platform that I could reach with Leap, something suddenly flashed through my mind.
It was the possibility of a hidden stage. Two things came to mind right away.
A speed run or something hidden.
Jump maps, like Arachne's Labyrinth, have the potential for better rewards if you arrive quickly.
The latter could mean that something is hidden in the middle of stepping on the platforms. Why, even in games, there are cases where there’s something in the middle of a jump map.
In a way, it could be both. I was slightly conflicted.
-It’s quite rare to arrive quickly and receive a reward.
Chunbae also advised. Come to think of it, I haven’t heard of speed run cases either. Arachne's Labyrinth was a special case.
Because I cleared it at an unbelievably fast speed. Since I’ve tried it once in the last Gate, I’m leaning towards the latter.
‘Should I just run normally and quickly?’
That wasn’t bad.
If I don’t ignore it with Leap, my Spatial Sense will definitely catch something.
Furthermore, my Stats are incomparable to Hunters of the same level. I can reserve time and rest in Subspace, so a speed run is also possible.
And frankly, I wanted to try jumping over those. What I had only done in games had become a reality.
‘Besides, there’s no risk of falling and dying.’
That was enough thinking.
Huff, I took a short deep breath and kicked off the ground.
* * *
When I started to climb in earnest, the problem was the Monsters flying in the sky.
-Caw!
They were heron-like birds, but they were as big as my torso. Of course, they weren’t very strong.
If the Monsters were strong due to the characteristics of the Gate’s internal environment, it would be a structure that could never be cleared.
-Caw!
However, these guys were very smart. They kept circling around and watching me.
Then they rushed at me just as I was about to jump. As if they were going to hit me with their bodies.
Whoosh-!
I was surprised at first. Because they launched a head-on body check. Fortunately, their bodies themselves weren’t strong. I wasn’t injured either.
Thud-!
I was pushed back by the impact and couldn’t step on the next platform, but it wasn’t a big problem for me since I had Leap.
However, it was still bothering me.
They didn’t bump into me every time. They would fly up rapidly and then suddenly turn their bodies.
As if threatening me to pay attention to them.
“These bastards won’t even hit me.”
Still, the birds weren’t a big threat to me.
My balance was shaken when they collided, but my body wasn’t injured. I just had to Leap.
‘This is so annoying.’
I swung the Elegant Sword whenever I had a chance. I cut down a few with Wind Split, but it didn’t seem to have any effect.
-Caw!
As Chunbae said, their numbers didn’t decrease. When one died, more birds appeared from somewhere.
So I just gave up. I could just Leap away if they bumped into me. It’s not like I completely gave up.
Swish-!
I swung the Elegant Sword at the enemies rushing at me while Leaping. Swordsmanship in the air, so to speak. Coincidentally, the newly acquired swordsmanship was related to quick swords.
I didn’t mind thinking of it as training against the flying birds.
These were things that would have really flustered me if I didn’t have the composure, but… It was funny that I was thinking of it as training because of the situation.
If I didn’t have Leap, I would have fallen down there a long time ago.
“Hoo.”
As I did that, I climbed quite high. I still couldn’t see the end point. When I ran out of breath, I rested in Subspace for a while and came out.
It’s not for nothing that I called it a freebie. It wasn’t a problem for me.
‘Is this okay?’
That’s what I thought because there was no threat.
However, it was certain that this was a Gate that would never be easy if it wasn’t me.
‘Because I have double insurance with Leap and Subspace platforms.’
Furthermore, the distance between the platforms is quite wide. One or two might seem okay, but the problem was that I had to keep climbing.
I have to keep in mind that I, who am running like this, have Stats of at least level 30 or higher.
That means the level 21-25 Hunters who were originally supposed to enter here can’t even dream of running like me.
They’ll have to run with all their might every time they jump.
‘So that’s why there’s no time limit.’
I suddenly wondered what it would have been like if I had brought Yong-yong. I wouldn’t have to Leap.
I could just ride and fly. I’m not a Dragon Knight, but wouldn’t I have been able to fight the birds like a Dragon Knight?
‘Would it have been fun? It might have become a real speed run.’
That’s when I was climbing for a long time. I felt a slight abnormality in the gravity I felt on my body.
“Huh?”
It was because the platform I was stepping on had started to fall.
“Crazy.”
I was startled and quickly ran forward and Leaped to the next platform. Is this one okay? After 3 seconds, the gravity became strange again.
It seemed to be a section where the platforms were falling.
“You scared me.”
I found a safe platform after jumping across 20 platforms in a row. When I turned around, the fallen ones had already been regenerated.
Even though I had insurance, I was still surprised. It happened so suddenly.
I thought everyone would have died here if it wasn’t me.
Would they have thought that the platforms would suddenly fall after climbing slowly for a long time?
Of course, it wasn’t a big problem for me, though.
Anyway, I still couldn’t see the end, but I thought it would be soon.
‘I’ve experienced a new trap and I’ve come quite far.’
The only regret was that I hadn’t found a hidden stage. If that was the case, I should have just cleared it with Leap.
Well, that’s just hindsight. It’s too late to regret it.
It didn’t seem like it would be a speed run even if I went up with Leap right now, so I did what I had been doing.
That’s when I was climbing step by step.
“Huh?”
I looked up for a moment and saw something strange. It was a platform that was quite far away and alone.
In other words, the others were something that other Hunters could jump on if they created momentum somehow…….
That one was about 50m away on its own. I would have never seen it if I had just looked at the top roughly.
The moment I saw it, I could sense it.
‘It’s a hidden stage!’
It was located in a place that no one could go to unless they had a Skill like me or a ride like Yong-yong.
Even if I did a backflip, it was a hidden stage.
Still, it’s worth it.
I opened Subspace with excitement. I didn’t step on other platforms like before.
‘I’m going straight to the hidden stage.’
Now that I’ve found it, there’s no need to see anything else. That’s when I reached a distant place by connecting the platforms of Subspace.
I was really surprised.
“…An angel?”
The reason was that something like a person, no, an angel, was standing on that platform.
The reason I thought it was an angel when I first saw it was because it had the shape of a person and had white feathered wings.
It was only natural that I was flustered. People often come out in Gates. I had also encountered a Black magician, hadn’t I?
But I didn’t think I would encounter a person in this Gate.
‘It’s a jump map-like Gate.’
I thought there would be a treasure chest or just a hidden stage on the platform.
What made me open my mouth even wider was that the angel-like being smiled at me.
“Have you come? Spatialist. Or should I call you Han Hye?”
While calling my name.
“What is this……?”
“I’ve been waiting.”