Chapter 89
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Gourmet
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Even after boarding the returning plane, I couldn't catch a single wink of sleep. My body was exhausted to the brink of collapse, but my mind was such a tangled mess that my eyes refused to close.
The update on the Gapyeong Gate situation, relayed through a staff member, was so unbelievable that I couldn't accept it even after hearing it with my own ears.
The Gapyeong D-rank Gate, used for byproduct mining, had suddenly transformed into an S-rank Gate. Into that very same Gapyeong S-rank Gate from decades ago, the one that had exploded and claimed countless lives.
Apparently, S-rank and D-rank monsters had mixed together and spilled out beyond the Gate. Fortunately, the Chairman had anticipated this and stationed hunters on standby, so the monsters were dealt with the moment they emerged.
'Did an Apostle make a move?'
Meaningless speculation filled my head. A tingling sensation slowly spread from the back of my skull.
"Ji-ui."
That's when Se-bin suddenly poked her head over to my seat.
"Get some rest first. You look beat."
"Whoa, ack!"
Se-bin pressed the button on my armrest, and the seat slowly reclined. Before I knew it, I was flat on my back. Before I could even say a word, she draped a thick blanket over me.
"You need to recover your condition if you're going to have the strength to handle the Gate cleanup. We've still got a long flight ahead, so at least close your eyes."
"...Got it."
Se-bin leaned her arm lightly against my seat divider and flashed a grin. But it wasn't a smile that looked entirely at ease.
'Maybe I should be grateful it wasn't Se-bin's doing.'
Se-bin returned to her seat. I wasn't sure if I'd actually fall asleep, but I closed my eyes anyway.
All I could hear was the low hum of the plane's engines and the rattling of carts being wheeled around by the crew.
"Hunter Shin Ji-ui~"
"Hunter Shin Ji-ui!!"
"Mina-ssi, Muha-ssi!"
The moment we arrived in Gapyeong, familiar faces came into view. The Azadivar siblings were wearing windbreakers provided by the Association. They rushed toward me and clung to both my arms.
"Congrats on setting the new record! Oh, and the Phase Skip too! It was so cool!"
"Is that the legendary item you're wearing right now? That... uh..."
"Aiter's Robe!"
"Yeah, that's it. Exactly."
The siblings chattered away nonstop. I watched them fondly, but when I absentmindedly looked up, the devastation hit me like a punch to the gut—worse than I'd imagined.
Blue liquid that looked like monster blood was flowing into the river. The frames of pensions and restaurants were shattered beyond recognition. Even the pier to Nami Island had completely collapsed, its debris scattered across the gravel shore.
The only thing standing tall right in front of the river was the stone arch of the Gapyeong S-rank Gate.
"Kids, quit bothering her and get back to your posts."
"Y-Yes, ma'am!"
Mi-rae appeared alongside a drone and shooed the Azadivar siblings away. Mina waved until the end as she headed back to the tent piled with equipment.
"Was it a Gate explosion?"
"Something like that, but not exactly."
Mi-rae added in a nonchalant tone.
"After that one monster surge earlier, things inside have been dead quiet."
"Even without a dispatch team entering?"
"Yep."
This was definitely different from a Gate explosion, where monsters keep pouring out until the dungeon is cleared and the boundary is resolved.
Click.
"Congrats on the time attack. I'd love to hand out a big reward, but the circumstances aren't ideal."
The Chairman approached us with a wry smile. Dark circles shadowed his eyes heavily.
"Did Heavenly Command reveal anything?"
"It showed up as a disaster on par with an explosion. Or maybe even worse."
A brilliant blue aura gathered around the Chairman's hand before bursting in a shower of sparks.
"I just used it recently, so I can't see anything precise yet. From what I glimpsed, it looked like a space very similar to a boundary."
"What about the monster types?"
"Inanimate objects. I even saw something like a pepper shaker."
While Se-bin talked with the Chairman, I stared quietly at the Gate.
The Traitor was someone who could manipulate Gates at will. The fact that they'd pulled out the long-vanished Gapyeong S-rank Gate meant there was a high chance the one behind this mess was the Traitor.
But if it really was the Traitor, one question lingered.
'Why choose such a remote spot?'
This area around the Nami Island pier had been under restoration for decades due to the Gapyeong S-rank Gate explosion. Most of the monsters from that Gate had potent venom, so it had taken years just to purge the toxic residue.
It was, quite literally, far removed from any populated areas.
If the Traitor had wanted to kill a lot of people, they'd have swapped an ordinary Gate in the city center with an S-rank one. That way, at least hundreds would have died.
Thud.
"Ah, Hunter Choi Min. Welcome."
At that moment, Choi Min Hunter landed lightly amid crimson flames. The warmth touched my skin, chilled by the river breeze.
'Ah.'
Our eyes met. Choi Min Hunter glanced down at Aiter's Robe before looking away.
I wonder if she's okay. She still seemed haunted by the Gate explosion trauma.
Gapyeong was the place that had given Choi Min Hunter an indelible nightmare. It was the root cause of her losing her smile.
Yet Choi Min Hunter gazed down at the Chairman with her usual expressionless face.
"Haa, ha... Sorry I'm late!"
Han Jin-woo Hunter joined us after hopping out of a van, gathering all of Korea's top-tier hunters in one spot.
Beep.
A short alarm rang from the tablet Mi-rae was holding.
"Ah, the environmental analysis results are in."
"Let's hear it."
Mi-rae stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray held by a drone and held up the tablet toward us. The screen was filled with complex graphs of data and images resembling monsters.
"Looking at the byproducts captured when the Gate opened earlier and tissue samples from those monsters... the composition matches closely with what we extracted during the Gate explosion."
Mi-rae clicked her tongue and looked up at the Chairman.
"But there's one thing that bothers me."
"What is it?"
"Saliva was detected."
'Saliva?'
Mi-rae pulled another cigarette from her lab coat pocket, lit it, and took a drag.
"Well, if it's monster saliva, that's plenty detectable, right?"
"If it were definitely monster saliva, do you think I'd be hung up on this, you idiot? It's clearly saliva, but it only matches monster saliva by 25%."
After snapping at Ha Mi-jun Hunter, Mi-rae inhaled deeply, sucking on the cigarette like it was the elixir of life.
"Any chance it's not saliva?"
"It's definitely saliva. The proportions are off just a bit, but the composition is identical."
"Closest match to monster saliva?"
"Yes. Everything else is just common byproduct components, iron, that sort of thing."
After answering the Chairman, Mi-rae ruffled her hair roughly.
"I feel... super uneasy about it too. That Gate looks like some kind of mouth."
A heavy silence followed. Saliva from an unknown entity, the Gapyeong S-rank Gate overlaid on a D-rank one, and whatever was behind it all.
It all gnawed at me.
"For now, we'll send in only the elite members."
The Chairman spoke up and spread his palm wide. Transparent droplets formed around his hand before floating toward us.
Drip.
The droplet fell onto my palm and vanished in a blue glow.
"Ah."
Ha Mi-jun Hunter made a sound. I turned to see a vivid red drop of blood pooling in his palm.
"I divined your fates simply. A bad omen doesn't mean certain death, so take it with a grain of salt."
"So my life's hanging by a slight thread, huh."
Ha Mi-jun Hunter shook off his hand as he replied. The Chairman nodded and turned his gaze to us.
"Hunter Shin Ji-ui, Hunter Kang Se-bin, Hunter Cha Do-yun, Hunter Han Jin-woo, Hunter Choi Min."
"......"
"I want you to resolve that Gate."
The other four, including me, nodded solemnly.
"Follow the Gate explosion response manual for now. Contact us immediately if anything unusual comes up."
"Supplies are set up right in front of the Gate."
Mi-rae jerked her chin toward the Gate.
As we moved toward it, a waiting hunter handed me various items. I quickly stowed them in my inventory.
"You really obtained Aiter's Robe."
"Whoa!"
Choi Min Hunter appeared out of nowhere and spoke to me.
'Almost screamed there.'
She grabbed her supplies, stored them in her inventory, and stared straight at me.
"I'm glad you don't seem to have any major injuries."
"Y-Yeah? Oh, right."
Her voice was cold, but the sincerity in her words felt warm.
Choi Min Hunter headed to the Gate first, and I followed behind her.
Unlike my expectations, the inside of the Gate was a well-maintained garden. Neatly pruned trees formed a fence around it.
It even had a round table and chairs, taking the shape of a proper garden.
'Somehow, it feels incredibly familiar...'
ZZZzt.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, my vision shook violently. Noise like from a malfunctioning TV buzzed in my ears, and my status window flickered open and closed repeatedly without me accessing it.
[The Fragment's Owner has entered.]
Thud!
The moment I saw the dark blue text, my heart sank. The unpleasant familiarity that reacted every time the mission One Who Steps on Karma triggered gripped my throat.
That's right. I know this place.
I died here without putting up any resistance, and time rewound.
Every sensation in my body sharpened to an extreme; even swallowing felt like agony.
But right now, all I could do was accept it.
'This is inside the Creator's Fragment.'