Muster
"Have you both been doing well?"
"Of course," Seo Seung-yeon answered cheerfully.
"..."
Shin Chang merely gave a quiet nod, as taciturn as ever. Even so, his complexion looked noticeably brighter than usual. It wasn't my imagination either—the corners of his mouth were tipped upward in the faintest hint of a smile.
"You seem to be in high spirits today."
"..."
Shin Chang immediately pulled his lips flat at my remark, but Seung-yeon gladly volunteered the reason.
"I think his solo training bore some fruit."
"Ah, from back then?"
"Yep."
"...It was nothing," Shin Chang muttered, clearing his throat. "Let us spar."
"Sure. We don't have much time anyway."
With that, our training began. Since I had a briefing scheduled for late afternoon, I welcomed the lack of dallying.
We kept things straightforward at first, returning to the drills from our last session. To sharpen my spatial perception, Shin Chang thrust his spear at me in relentless flurries. It wasn't nearly as easy as last time. In fact, it was brutally demanding—he was drawing on far more of his strength now.
"Ugh!"
"...You've improved."
Hearing that I had improved right after taking significantly more hits than before left me with... mixed feelings, to say the least.
Seung-yeon beamed from the sidelines. "Taking down that high-tier ogre wasn't just a fluke, was it? Just like you said, oppa, he dodges well even when you turn up the heat."
Her teasing tone made it sound like mockery, but it was genuine praise. Even with his attacks coming noticeably faster, I was managing to slip past them.
Next came the phase where I went on the offensive, using Leap to close the distance against Shin Chang.
Clack!
Clang!
I varied my approach far more than before, leaping in head-on one moment, then chaining two consecutive Leaps the next. Yet, true to Seung-yeon's claim about his personal breakthrough, Shin Chang parried my strikes with far greater ease than in our previous bout.
A light sparring match followed. Naturally, the intensity far exceeded our last encounter. My swordsmanship skill level didn't advance during the bout, but I still learned a great deal. The angles and paths of Shin Chang's spear were fierce, deceptive, and completely novel to me.
"...As expected. You have grown as well."
Though it had been a while since we crossed blades, Shin Chang recognized my progress and offered a rare, satisfied smirk. He seemed genuinely pleased.
During the brief recess that followed, our conversation drifted naturally toward the Trial Gate.
"I asked an acquaintance over on the Chinese side," Seung-yeon said, "and they told me their lips were sealed. Said it was classified as top secret."
"That serious?"
"Yeah. Seeing how quickly they're preparing another expedition, I bet they caught a glimpse of what the subjugation reward is."
Everyone seemed to reach the same conclusion.
"Then again, it might just be spite," she added. "They suffered heavy losses, so maybe they can't stand the thought of another country clearing it first using their data."
"That wouldn't surprise me."
They were notoriously prideful, after all. Perhaps they hadn't seen any clue about the reward and were simply nursing a bruised ego. Of course, thanks to Chunbae, I already knew for a fact that the payoff was massive.
"Regardless, be careful," Seung-yeon warned. "Liu Zhen might act like an arrogant fool, but his skills are the real deal. If someone like him failed, the difficulty has to be through the roof."
"Understood. I'm expecting it to be rough."
Taking advantage of the flow of conversation, I decided to seek their advice on another matter.
"Actually, on that note... I acquired a new skill recently, and I was hoping to get some insight on it."
"What kind of skill has you asking us for advice?"
"It's an S-rank skill called Incineration."
A heavy silence dropped over the room. Both Seo Seung-yeon and Shin Chang stared at me with wide eyes.
"...?"
"...Excuse me? S-rank?"
"Yes. An S-rank skill."
"Are you out of your—"
Seung-yeon let out an incredulous bark of laughter.
"You already have an S+ rank skill, and now you go and pick up an S-rank on top of it? Isn't that just straight-up cheating?!"
"Haha, things just sort of fell into place..."
Right then, Shin Chang wordlessly extended a fist toward me. The faint smirk playing on his lips made his meaning clear: congratulations.
After a few sparring sessions with him, I had gotten a pretty good handle on how to interpret his silence.
"Thank you," I said, bumping my fist against his.
Shin Chang gave a firm nod. Seung-yeon looked even more flabbergasted.
"Hold on, oppa! You're just letting it go at that? You're not even surprised?"
"...It is simply an occasion for congratulations."
"Well! I mean, you're right, but still... Congratulations, Han Hye." Seung-yeon belatedly offered her own well wishes.
Watching the dynamic between the two of them made a chuckle slip past my lips.
"Haah, must be nice," she sighed envyingly. "An S-rank skill... Barely anyone on this planet holds two S-rank abilities."
"Barely anyone holds even one, to be fair."
"Hearing you say that makes it sound obnoxiously smug, you know that?"
Her grumbling was clearly in jest, so I just chuckled and brushed it off.
"So, what does it do?" she asked.
"It's a fire-based skill called Incineration, and it can burn mana itself. It's only level one right now, though."
Seung-yeon's eyes rounded once more. "Wait a second. It burns mana?"
"Yes."
"Isn't the gate you're about to enter called the Trial of Mana? Doesn't that make it the ultimate counter?"
She hit the nail on the head. I had been thinking the exact same thing.
I demonstrated the Incineration skill and asked for their tactical opinions, but for now, they couldn't offer much practical advice. The skill's level was simply too low. It manifested only as a tiny flicker of flame, and true to its S-rank designation, burning mana came with a punishing cost that made it difficult to sustain.
"It's going to be monstrous later on, though. A flame that devours mana...?"
"If it can burn through active spells, wouldn't that make you virtually untouchable against most mages?"
Still, as an S-rank ability, its potential was undeniable. For now, my only choice was to grind its proficiency.
Besides, once I stepped into the Trial of Mana, an unexpected use might present itself. When hunters trained their mana harmonization, didn't they often practice in chambers packed with mana stones where the ambient mana density was suffocatingly high? If the inside of the gate resembled an environment like that, Incineration might serve as the perfect tool to burn away the density.
"I never imagined we'd end up raiding a gate together."
"Same here. Funny how opportunities come around."
Later that afternoon, Sang-yeop greeted me with a warm smile at the Hunter Association headquarters. He introduced me to his guildmates as well.
"Everyone, this is Han Hye, the Spatial Mage I told you about."
The members of Miro Guild eyed me with open curiosity. One of them even muttered, "Whoa, it was true." Sang-yeop and I had snapped a photo together before, but perhaps they hadn't believed we were actually close acquaintances.
In any case, pleasantries were exchanged between our Dinosaur Guild and Miro Guild. The subsequent arrivals followed the same routine. The individually conscripted mages and healers arrived alongside the members of the Iron Wall Guild, and we all traded casual greetings.
"Let us begin the briefing."
With so many people gathering, there wasn't time for extended small talk. Park Seo-woong, the Association President's chief secretary, stepped into the briefing room to lead the meeting alongside Lee Hongju of the Iron Wall Guild.
"As of this moment," Seo-woong announced, "the only nations actively preparing to enter the Trial Gate are China—who already suffered one defeat—the United States, France, and South Korea."
"While other countries are holding back and testing the waters, we are moving forward because we believe our talent pool among Level 25 to 40 hunters is the strongest in the world."
Seo-woong surveyed the room as he spoke. The assembled hunters nodded in solemn agreement. Even amid the crowd, his gaze lingered on our group a beat longer than the rest—a detail I knew wasn't just my imagination.
"We project that the United States and France will need a few more days to deploy," Seo-woong continued, "but China appears to be mounting a second attempt tomorrow, right on schedule with us."
"Given that their timetable shifted immediately after news broke that the Dinosaur Guild was joining our strike team, it seems they are either driven by rivalry—or there is something critical hidden inside that gate."
Once the brief status report concluded, the discussion shifted directly to the strike force's roster and formation. With China having been routed despite fielding a prodigy wielding S-rank swordsmanship, a grim, determined weight hung over every hunter's face.
"The raid squad will consist of seventeen members in total: five from Iron Wall, five from Miro, four from Dinosaur, plus two freelance mages and one freelance healer who graciously agreed to assist us."
"Some may wonder why we are not filling the maximum quota of twenty. However, the Association concluded it is far safer to leave slots empty than to field personnel who do not meet our rigorous standards."
Everyone nodded in consensus. Three dependable guilds, supplemented by two mages and an auxiliary healer tailored to the gate's namesake. Considering China's devastating retreat, dragging along dead weight who might become liabilities was out of the question.
"I am Lee Hongju of Iron Wall, appointed as raid leader."
Lee Hongju, the Knight of Iron Wall, took over the floor from Seo-woong.
"Allow me to outline the tactical formation. As a baseline, we will operate by guild units."
In multi-guild raids, squads were often restructured by combat class, but that approach assumed ample preparation time. With no time to drill together and synchronize our skills, fighting within our familiar guild units was far more effective. The individual mages and healer would likely be slotted into the existing squads to reinforce them.
"Since the Chinese side has kept their mouths shut, there isn't much detailed intel to share... so let us focus on our deployment," Hongju said, gesturing toward the presentation screen.
"At the core, Iron Wall and Miro will anchor the main battle lines—whether taking the vanguard, holding the rearguard, or forming a unified frontline together."
One curious detail immediately stood out: across all the formation diagrams displayed on the slide, the Dinosaur Guild was nowhere to be seen. Every configuration showed either Iron Wall as vanguard and Miro as rearguard, or both standing abreast on the frontlines.
"I am sure you are all wondering why the Dinosaur Guild is omitted," Hongju said, turning his gaze toward us. "I have decided to designate the Dinosaur Guild as an independent strike unit."
"An independent strike unit?" a mage from Miro tilted his head, puzzled.
"Their roster features a Dragon Knight mounted on an actual dragon, and a Spatial Mage capable of instantaneous teleportation. They cannot be managed like standard hunters."
Murmurs of realization swept the room, followed by approving nods.
He wasn't wrong. Our team fought best when given the freedom to maneuver across wide-open battlefields unconstrained by rigid formations.
"If an objective requires a targeted strike, having a Dragon Knight or a Spatial Mage bypass the terrain is vastly superior to the main force trying to breach it," Hongju explained. "Wasn't it Hunter Han Hye over there who cleaved through a high-tier ogre in a single stroke?"
Between Uncle riding Yongyong and my spatial abilities, spatial constraints simply didn't apply to us.
Feeling every set of eyes suddenly pivot toward me in high appraisal, I cleared my throat softly.
"Furthermore, the Dinosaur Guild's archmage commands destructive firepower rivaling that of a veteran B-rank wizard, and their healer is renowned for her inexhaustible healing output."
Hearing themselves praised, Minjae cracked a satisfied grin while Lee Shinhee kept her face impassive and modestly lowered her eyes.
"This is not a party you can evaluate simply by their early Level 30 status. Their ability to reinforce us in a crisis is unmatched. For that reason, I concluded it would be far more effective to let them operate independently as a detached force."
To sum up Lee Hongju's plan: Iron Wall and Miro would form the raid's sturdy body, while we acted as its wings.
"Of course, this might feel like placing a disproportionate burden on the Dinosaur Guild... but seeing how brilliantly they handled the recent Outbreak Gate crisis, I have full confidence in their capabilities. Does anyone object?"
Not a single voice spoke up.
Well now... having hunters a higher level than us place all their expectations on our shoulders feels a little surreal...
'Still, it shouldn't be an issue.'
My raw stats alone rivaled those of a Level 40 hunter, to say nothing of my skills. The same went for Uncle, a Dragon Knight with an honest-to-goodness dragon at his side. And just as Hongju pointed out, Seo Minjae and Lee Shinhee were exceptionally skilled for their levels as well.
All we had to do was live up to those expectations.
"Let us move out, everyone."
And so, the following day.
Our strike team stepped forward to breach the Trial of Mana—one of thirty synchronized gates that had manifested across the globe.