Bullshit

China's official announcement was such absolute bullshit that an immediate rebuttal from South Korea was only natural.

It was downright absurd, like watching a petulant toddler throwing a temper tantrum in the middle of a grocery aisle. Since none of it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was true in the first place, there was obviously no proof they could ever offer.

Eventually, Korean Hunter Association President Kang Seok-doo stood at the podium in a formal press conference to address the circus.

Wrapped up in diplomatic rhetoric though it was, the translation was simple enough.

Cut the bullshit.

Keep running your mouths, and all hunter exchanges between our countries are finished.

China was undoubtedly one of the world's hunter superpowers, but when it came to awakened forces, South Korea was hardly one to bow its head. In fact, international geopolitics had shifted dramatically. Before the catastrophic Gate Outbreak, China had wielded colossal global influence, but afterward...

Korea sent out tons of international hunter relief.

While China practically barred its hunters from traveling abroad to hoard domestic power, Korea had stepped up aggressively on the world stage. That humanitarian intervention had forged sturdy alliances and goodwill with nations across the globe.

The international community mirrored domestic sentiment. Everyone was scratching their heads, wondering why China was embarrassing itself so openly.

Uncle, who had cracked open a cold beer in my living room after reading the Chinese government's statement on his phone, shared the exact same disbelief.

"The hell is wrong with them?"

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

I, however, had an inkling.

"I think it's because of the Mana Core."

"The Mana Core?"

"It supplied nearly infinite magic power, right? They probably assumed it was something you could haul out as loot."

According to Chunbae, it wasn't truly infinite. It had simply gathered ambient environmental mana across an enormous territory through a continental magic circle. But even that would make the eyes of any scientist on Earth spin out of their sockets. After all, the very reason national governments purchased monster magic stones at exhorbitant rates was to research clean energy and magical power.

Having laid eyes on what lay inside the gate, it made sense that the Chinese regime would covet it desperately.

Seeing as they dispatched a second subjugation force right after their prized elite Liu Zhen got driven ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out, they clearly couldn't bear to let it slip away.

Still, just as Chunbae had explained, the Mana Core wasn't an item anyone could pick up and carry off. It was merely the focal structure of a pre-cast grand magic circle.

Uncle scowled, setting his can down with a thud.

"Sure, it turned out to be immovable. But imagine if it could be taken, and those bastards had conquered the gate first. We'd have been in serious trouble."

"Because a super-large gate would've erupted right in China?"

"Exactly. Setting aside their country going down in flames, China's a continent. Monsters would have spilled out in every conceivable direction. I hear things are already getting hairy off the coast of Australia, with beast sightings ticking up."

He was right. The surge of monsters churning in the waters around Australia had become one of the hottest global topics recently. On top of that, the UN had issued a grim report warning that the land surrounding Australia's permanent, wide-open gate was mutating in bizarre ways.

If monsters in the Australian seas dispersed across the Pacific and Indian Oceans, catastrophe would ensue. Because of that, international discussions were brewing about scouring the surrounding waters or launching an all-out expedition to reclaim Australia.

Well, not that any country is stepping forward to take the lead.

Which was predictable enough. Nobody wanted to burn their own blood and treasure until the fire crept to their own doorstep.

'Hey, what happens if we just leave that place alone?' I asked internally.

Chunbae's voice echoed back with an answer that sent a cold shudder running down my spine.

—The erosion of mana will accelerate.

'Accelerate?'

—Discharge-type gates must be closed with the utmost urgency, no matter where they manifest. If the erosion of mana gathers momentum and cascades across the world, it will quickly spiral beyond all human containment.

'...Wait. Hasn't it already been open for quite a while?'

—A deeply unfavorable state of affairs. While it may not trigger total collapse tomorrow, closing it as swiftly as possible is imperative.

That meant Australia, an issue I hadn't given much thought to, could easily balloon into a world-ending calamity. But knowing that didn't mean I could sprint over and solve it right now. It was far beyond my current pay grade.

Catoblepas is squatting there...

I had previously visualized Catoblepas's appearance for Chunbae, but even Chunbae hadn't recognized the beast.

—I am unfamiliar with this entity. However, judging by the ambient presence you describe, Master Han Hye would need to attain at least Level 60 before entertaining such a confrontation.

'By your standards for me, right? Not normal hunter standards?'

—Affirmative. Level 60 by your metrics, Master Han Hye.

Considering that my combat power outstripped ordinary hunters by roughly fifteen levels, that meant an ordinary awakener would have to be Level 75 to stand a ghost of a chance. And it wasn't as though Catoblepas was sitting alone on an empty continent, either.

"That's a real headache," Uncle muttered when I carefully hinted at the danger. His face darkened. If leaving that gate open eventually endangered the rest of the planet, Korea wouldn't be spared.

The trouble was that we couldn't just blab the truth to the outside world.

"Well, nothing we can do about it tonight," Uncle sighed, tossing back the rest of his beer. "Let's keep an eye on it for now. Neither we nor the rest of the world have the firepower to take Australia back yet."

He was right. Earth's highest-ranking hunters hovered around the low Level 60s. It wasn't a problem that could be fixed overnight. By the time humanity reached that threshold, the world would likely recognize how dire the situation in Australia truly was.

And if push really comes to shove, I'll just have to lay all my cards on the table.

The secrets in my subspace were vital, but if the planet turned to ash, an S-rank skill wouldn't mean much anyway. Though hopefully, we'd figure out another angle long before things got that desperate.

My current status window was frankly ridiculous. I had already been in a league of my own compared to ordinary awakeners, but this latest haul was pure insanity.

I had gained twenty free points in Mana from this single gate alone. Twenty stat points! That was practically equivalent to leveling up seven times while sitting on my ass. Factor in the ten extra points I'd manually dumped into Mana during the battle to avoid running dry while channeling Incineration, and the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stat had rocketed up by thirty points in one go.

I really cleaned up.

Under normal circumstances, such a grotesque surge in a single stat would have worried me. Chunbae had repeatedly stressed the importance of balanced growth, hadn't he? Besides, before acquiring Incineration, I hadn't even needed that much mana. My base stats were already high, and if I ever felt drained, I could simply duck into the subspace for a quick rest.

Now, however, things were different. A flame that consumed magic power itself demanded a toll just as terrifying as its destructive power. Incineration was an absolute mana guzzler.

Considering I almost passed out from mana depletion, keeping it above 70 is practically a baseline requirement if I want to use it reliably.

I comforted myself with the thought that I was merely investing early in stats I'd need eventually. Moving forward, I could focus my point distribution on Strength, Agility, and Stamina to bring things back into harmony. It was going to take some diligent grinding to balance out the scales.

Following China's absurd tirade, the Korean Hunter Association received the official post-action report from our strike team and made the details of the Trial of Mana public. The public reaction was one of utter astonishment.

Naturally, the spotlight swiveled straight onto Uncle and me.

With the report out, internet users also began to connect the dots regarding China's unhinged tantrum. Not that anyone sympathized with them, of course.

The public narrative was cemented when China abruptly clamped its mouth shut following our report, ceasing any further nonsense. Of course, behind the scenes, there had been some turbulence.

Seo Seung-yeon had tipped me off over the phone: "Word is they caught a few internal moles."

Apparently, there had been quiet movements inside the Korean Hunter Association trying to verify the validity of our draft report before its release. When security traced the leaks, they caught several staff members who had been taking under-the-table bribes from the Chinese government.

A storm of media attention had slammed into Liu Zhen. China had failed; South Korea had triumphed. Comparisons were inevitable, especially given that Liu Zhen and I—both celebrated super rookies—had engaged in a publicized war of words prior to the incident.

Confronted with the stark reality of the results, Liu Zhen ignored the reporters entirely, pushing past them without a word. Yet the look in his eyes had been razor-sharp.

Who told you to fail, buddy?

They had entered first and then spewed baseless accusations when beaten to the punch. Seeing him glare at cameras was almost comical. But the ordeal made one thing abundantly clear:

Whenever another Trial Gate manifested, we had to be the first ones through the threshold.

Other nations would undoubtedly scramble next time. Having witnessed the competitive gates in thirty countries vanish into thin air the moment we conquered ours, no one would hesitate again.

Chunbae wasn't kidding when he said these gates are designed to consume hunters.

If this pattern continued, every country would recklessly charge in trying to claim the first clear. And haste always invited fatal mistakes.

—Trial Gates are calibrated to the median level of active awakeners at the moment of their creation, with the required level steadily climbing as time elapses.

Based on Chunbae's explanation, future Trial Gates would likely keep pacing around my level. My growth rate outpaced everyone else's, but deep down, an inexplicable intuition nagged at me.

The God of Play is out there. The only god said to have survived.

I hadn't encountered that entity again, but the memory was etched so vividly into my mind that it never left me. Peculiar anomalies had occurred during the last discharge gate, too. Even now, that whimsical deity might very well be watching me from beyond the veil.

The Association's compensation process for our emergency deployment was still underway. With so many high-ranking personnel involved, bureaucratic gears turned slowly. Before entering the gate, the terms had clearly dictated tiered rewards based on individual battlefield contributions.

It's not like the Association can suddenly conjure a dozen top-tier elixirs out of thin air, either.

A gate priority pass paired with a decent elixir, like last time? Or maybe two gate priority passes would be even better. Elixirs were nice, but I had only fond memories of using gate priority passes. Thanks to my spatial perception, uncovering hidden pieces inside lucrative ruin gates was practically second nature to me.

While waiting for the Association's final settlement, we organized a celebration dinner for our raid team.

"Whoa, this is my first time here!"

Naturally, the venue was Yongyong Pork Belly, owned and operated by Uncle. We gathered right after the restaurant closed its doors to the public for the night, and every single raid member was beaming.

"Man, Chulgi-hyung and Han Hye did all the heavy lifting, yet here we are getting treated to a meal at this famous place..."

"Don't sweat it," Uncle laughed boisterously, slapping Sang-yeop on the shoulder with his trademark sociability. "Good food with good people—that's what life's about!"

"This is seriously so good!"

"It's criminally delicious!"

Amid the clinking glasses and sizzling pork, Sang-yeop walked over to me, a hint of mild regret in his expression.

"Haa, to be honest, I was kind of hoping for a brawl where we stood on the frontline side-by-side, swinging our blades together. It's a bit of a shame."

He was talking about the battle itself, separate from any talk of rewards. Truth be told, all the strike team had done was endure spells while marching up the stairs. It felt blunt to admit, but Uncle and I had essentially completed the raid by ourselves. Once the Mana Core shattered, the rest had been smooth sailing.

"There'll be plenty of other chances next time," I replied with an easy smile.

Just as the atmosphere reached its peak, my phone vibrated. The caller ID showed Seo Seung-yeon.

"Yes?" I stepped slightly away from the noisy table, wondering what had prompted the call.

Her answer was the very thing I had been desperately waiting for.