Welcome. First Time Seeing a Gate Boss Like This?

"Ugh... I really don't want to go in."

"It's a little unsettling, but with your mana capacity fixed at F-rank, it should be okay, right?"

"If anything happens, we'll jump in right away. Please don't worry too much."

The Japanese hunter Kato Satsuki's muttering was quickly soothed by the team members beside her. After all, Satsuki was the team's core, responsible for scouting. That meant mental management always fell to the rest of the group.

"The Korean hunter team all returned safely, didn't they? We can't just back out completely without even doing a proper reconnaissance."

"If we pull away now, it'll follow us around forever."

It wasn't just a money issue. The team's reputation was on the line too. Satsuki knew this, so she gave a small nod.

"We'll stay close to the exit! Absolutely do not wander far, and we'll only scout with the creatures. Honestly, that much should fulfill our duty to the client, right?"

"Yes, yes. That's more than enough."

"Above all, the contract with the administration says they'll pay extra as long as we bring back solid information."

While the conversation continued, the vehicle reached the temporarily erected barricade. The staff on site greeted the party with tense faces. After identity checks, they were allowed through. The atmosphere shifted dramatically once they moved inside. The roads were so utterly empty it was hard to believe this was Seoul. At the far end stood the gate.

After parking nearby, they inspected their gear before stepping into the gate. Throughout the process, Satsuki kept stealing glances at the gate entrance. A blue dimensional membrane rippled like water with no fixed shape. It created an alien disturbance, like heat haze rising on a scorching summer day or like peering through frosted glass. The mysterious maw leading to the dungeon—to another world—hovered before their eyes.

No matter how many times I see it, I never get used to it.

Some claimed it was simply part of nature. Others insisted it was an invasion from another realm. Satsuki personally thought of it as the universe's constipation. All sorts of grotesque things built up inside, then burst out uncontrollably the moment the opening appeared.

It's honestly the perfect metaphor.

That was why her face naturally twisted into a frown. It was just that disgusting.

Korea was in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠serious trouble. A single gate like this could cause a catastrophe even worse than the one with China. And this was Seoul—the capital.

"Miss Satsuki, are you ready?"

"I have my space magic, so yes."

"Then we'll begin entry."

The prepared team members approached the gate one by one. They melted into the incomprehensible ripple and vanished without a trace. They had moved into the dungeon. Some gates would devour every human nearby the instant they were touched, but at least this one was ordinary in that regard.

Stability below five percent...

In short, it was a wildly unstable dungeon where a dungeon break could happen at any moment, regardless of remaining time. Satsuki quietly repeated the thought to herself before entering last.

The moment she blinked, the distinctive scent of mountain grass and soil rushed into her nose. On the surface it looked like an ordinary mountain landscape. But it was completely different...

Huh? Now that I think about it.

Last time, the mana waves leaking from the gate alone had sent chills across her entire body. This time, even with the dungeon energy locked at F-rank...

This really is just a normal mountain?

If she hadn't crossed the gate herself, she wouldn't have suspected a thing. It was that perfectly ordinary, with no detectable trace of anything unusual.

"Tsk..."

That only made her more anxious. Nothing had even happened yet, but she rubbed at the goosebumps rising on her arms.

Satsuki summoned a special creature from the sub-space she kept them in. These required direct control inside the dungeon, but in exchange they delivered crystal-clear information. The large, round eyeballs with wings began flapping around, sweeping through the dungeon.

Satsuki focused, gazing through multiple viewpoints at once. It demanded intense concentration. Her team members formed a fan around her, watching the surroundings warily.

How much time passed like that?

Ah, here it is.

The barren field where the Korean hunter team had discovered the boss monster. Unlike the other areas, it was a vast, empty plain. On one side of that scenery sat an out-of-place yet charming flower bed, and a little farther away was the entrance to a small cave.

"The cave!"

Satsuki unconsciously blurted it out.

This was valuable information.

Did the boss leave its spot?

She calmly scanned the area, but nothing registered. Maybe she could push her luck a little more. Satsuki exhaled sharply and moved her mana. The eyeball creature flew toward the cave interior.

Then, in that instant—

Crunch!

"...?!!"

One creature suddenly exploded. There had been no warning at all.

Wh-what was that?!

Hiding her inner panic, she tried to assess the situation through another creature that was still looking around when—

Crunch! Crack!

With that, every creature in the field burst apart. The sensation of something forcibly twisting her mind made Satsuki's eyes lose their light and go unfocused, like mackerel eyes at a fish market. Then—

"Gurgle——"

"S-Satsuki?!"

"Damn it. We're pulling out! Grab Satsuki and head for the exit, now!"

The team members scooped up Satsuki, who had fainted while still standing, and frantically fled the dungeon.

"Hah, they're fast..."

Was it a trait of that group of humans? Their escape skills were truly impressive. The mana had suddenly cut off, making it impossible to continue the punishment.

Well, that should have been warning enough.

Ari gave a small nod. Damaging the flower bed and trespassing on her residence. That guy had sworn the moment he saw her that he would definitely get revenge. She wasn't going to go out of her way to hunt him down, but still.

Thinking that, she walked forward with light steps. At the spot where the mana had abruptly vanished, a strange ripple lingered. When she reached out to touch it—

Crackle—!!!

A powerful force surged like a barrier, refusing entry.

Interesting.

She clenched her fist tightly, then released it, repeating the motion. Soon she turned and headed back to the field with the cave. She had a feeling time would take care of it without her needing to interfere.

"Hmm-hmm~"

Instead she hummed a tune while carving wood. She sliced down with the edge of her hand, smoothed the bumpy protrusions with her fingers, then cleverly secured a thick branch. Crude, but the wooden sign was finished!

Not bad at all.

A satisfied smile bloomed on her previously blank face.

Now it was time to write a message for the humans who might return.

Please hug me... doesn't feel right.

She narrowed her eyes, pondering what to write. After a moment—

"Ah, got it."

She clapped her hands, then brought over the corpse of the strange creature she had burst earlier. Using its blood, she wrote:

Perfect. The color really stood out too.

"Mm, mm."

If you have no teeth, use your gums. Anything could be used depending on how you applied it.

Shall I resume my mana control practice now?

She didn't want to make the humans pop like those creatures earlier. Surely some of them were decent enough to understand the concept of respect.

There are still many questions left, though...

Why had people appeared wearing clothing from her past life that felt so familiar? And how were they able to handle mana?

Still, this space itself is special.

She could figure it out gradually. Ari squatted on the ground, drawing up her mana as she thought. In her past life there had been a saying: ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠"Kind words sent out return ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as kind words." She hoped humans who approached kindly would come. Just like her, who had even kindly set up a signpost.

The additional information from Kato Satsuki's team was delivered to the Korean Hunter Administration. Key personnel immediately gathered at headquarters and the meeting began.

"While we failed to obtain detailed information on the boss monster, we have additionally confirmed that it appears to reside near the cave."

"Furthermore, the possibility of anomalous phenomena has been raised in relation to the landscape and the alien flower bed."

Dungeon experts from across Korea reported their analysis. Among their findings, the keyword "cave" eased the conference room's heavy atmosphere somewhat. Forming a raid party would be far easier now.

High-grade dungeon raids required the participation of major guilds. Guilds were organizations that moved only after meticulously weighing risk against ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠profit. In that context, the inclusion of a cave—popular due to the possibility of resource gathering—was huge!

On top of that, there were no significant threats along the path from the gate entrance to the boss. With this much information, there was no way major guilds wouldn't bid on it, even if it was a special gate.

"Good, good. Compile all the gathered data and distribute it to the major guilds. Move the bidding process forward as quickly as possible."

"Yes, sir!"

At the deputy director's orders, several staff members hurried into action. Meanwhile, the deputy director turned to the person beside him.

"What's the gate's current condition?"

"Violent fluctuations have started again. The energy levels are swinging wildly up and down."

"Sigh... Just what kind of monster is lurking in there?"

The deputy director let out a deep sigh and pressed his temples. Could Korea overcome this crisis? No—they had to. There could be no other answer.

......And so, not long afterward.

A major guild representing Korea won the bid. They recruited additional personnel and assembled a formidable raid party. Ignoring the fluctuating energy levels, they gathered with the mindset of tackling a pure S-rank dungeon raid.

"Entering!"

They all rushed into the unprecedented special gate.