Belief
Here are people who live with a firm belief.
They fundamentally claimed that this world was heading in the wrong direction.
Hunters must do what Hunters were meant to do—hunt.
Ordinary people must fulfill their roles as members of society.
They simply need to live in their proper place, following the natural order and their fundamental purpose.
The world had become chaotic because wealth, fame, and a sense of superiority had been injected between them.
Therefore, they ultimately declared:
A return to the fundamentals. Those who cried out for the normalization of the world.
They called themselves ‘Fundamentalists,’ and the people gathered in this dark underground laboratory were one of the branches of that ideology.
Passively advocating was an act of cowardice.
As workers of the fundamentals, they had to act more aggressively…
“This is a revolution… This is the discovery of the century… Once this is completed, the Bureau will be buried in the gutter…”
They had to act…
“Justice always wins. We are justice. We who protect justice are the true guardians of the fundamentals…!”
They had to act…
“We can fire it. We can definitely fire it. We are the bullets that will change the world, hehehehe…”
…Anyway, this was a gathering of people who chose to act.
This place was the Korean branch of the Radical Fundamentalist faction.
And the woman here, scratching her greasy black hair with a fierce glint in her eyes while puffing out smoke like a chimney with not one but three magic cigarettes in her mouth, was none other than the branch leader, JJ (Double J).
“Hey, pass me some reagent over there. I’m talking about the stuff I ordered from those Russian bastards. Huh? Ptooey! This is vodka! You fucking idiot, you can’t even manage the reagents properly!!”
It was a common story.
The tale of a once-promising magician who had been talented enough to join the Bureau, only to be consumed by desire and lose all the glory she once enjoyed.
And so, the magician who could not accept her own mistakes dreamed of revenge and became a villain!
It was a cliché so stale it bordered on trite, but the reason clichés became classics was precisely because they appeared so often in everyday life. Just like the woman here.
“Goddamn it… What’s the big deal if I beat up a few brats? They lost one arm, and suddenly it’s abuse? Fuck that noise.”
As could be seen, JJ had no grand beliefs.
All she wanted was to destroy the Bureau that had abandoned her.
Her life’s goal was to get revenge on those who had ruined a brilliant talent like hers over something as trivial as ‘disciplining’ a stupid subordinate.
That was why she was sitting in this underground hole with these pathetic losers.
“Fuck.”
Irritation surged through her, so she popped another ‘special’ magic cigarette into her mouth.
The euphoric rush of rising magic power and the dizzying effect on her nervous system soaked her brain, and JJ’s expression finally stabilized a little.
“Yeah, calm down. We finally found it.”
Twenty whole years.
Ever since she first screamed for revenge, this was what she had devoted herself to.
The Bureau’s Achilles’ heel and the very reason for its existence.
That is—
“The Gate.”
JJ had returned to the very starting point of Gates.
Why could the Bureau monopolize and control Gates?
Because of Jamal Popper’s ‘Popper Observer’? Because they possessed ‘Administrators’ who could control the Gates?
No. She had approached it from a far more fundamental level.
“Because Gates are fixed in place.”
Gates fixed at specific coordinates.
That was why precursor phenomena like magic power wavelengths could be detected, and why advanced magical engineering could prepare countermeasures against them.
However.
“What I created is different…!!”
A pure white magic stone held in her hand.
It absorbed magic power and grew on its own. If left alone, it would suck in the mana from the surrounding atmosphere and multiply at an explosive rate.
And even if one tried to dispose of it, it would accelerate its growth in proportion to the magic power of any magic user it came into contact with.
“Since it has no fixed location, there are no precursor phenomena either. There’s no way for you to notice it!!”
The result of twenty years of accumulated resentment! A masterpiece that would never appear twice in her lifetime!
A completely new concept device that had never existed in this world before.
Its name: Terror Gate.
“If the safety of Gates can no longer be guaranteed, will people still follow the order you’ve established? Hehe.”
Of course, creating this had required raiding the organization’s vault, but that was fine.
“As long as this thing succeeds… As long as my plan succeeds…”
The League that the Bureau had so desperately championed would be finished in a single blow.
While cackling, her eyes suddenly locked onto a handsome man on the flashing screen.
The world’s number one most lethal man.
The world’s number one most influential man in the League.
Yes.
Lee Shin would be the first sacrifice.
“Become the offering for my rage.”
And so, not long after—
A suspicious vehicle briefly entered the campsite where Lee Shin had arrived. The car circled the parking lot for a long time as if it had taken a wrong turn, then soon left the campsite.
And before anyone knew it, a pure white stone had been left beneath a camper van.
“It’s overrrrr!! Hahahahaha!!”
Twenty years of revenge was finally bearing fruit.
·
·
·
“Hmm??”
A small hand searching for a bouncy ball that had fallen under the vehicle touched the magic stone.
The moment the plump, short little hand made contact, the magic stone that had been gathering atmospheric magic power stopped.
It immediately recognized the contactor and began measuring their magic power…
The magic stone trembled.
For a moment, it vibrated as if in panic.
Then—
Pshhh…
The vibration stopped. The white magic stone turned transparent.
And on its smooth surface, Kim Soyeon’s clear eyes were reflected.
“Hmm? What’s this?”
Twenty years of revenge.
Failed spectacularly in three minutes.
* * *
The stream gurgled gently.
A cool breeze whistled through the lush greenery.
The air was distinctly different from the city.
Perhaps because the sky was so clear, the air felt incredibly fresh too. The sunlight filtering through the leaves sparkled like jewels.
But was beautiful scenery enough?
No. A vacation needed one essential thing.
Laughter.
“All aboooooard!!”
“All aboooooard!!”
Toot toot!
When Yu Rira, tucked inside a metal basin, made a train whistle sound with her mouth, all the children at the campsite copied her.
Hearing their noisy calls, Park Su-bin, who had been grilling meat in front of a Baek Yeon-woo style grill, smiled warmly.
“Noona, why are you in there?”
“Biiiiiin!!”
“Hyyyyuuung!!”
“Oppaaaa!!”
“Alright, alright.”
They really were impossible to stop.
Park Su-bin soon pulled something from his pocket and held it above his head. The miniature Gigant lounging lazily on top of his head perked up, its eyes sparkling.
“Sir Gigant, I’m counting on you.”
What Gigant had been eyeing was none other than a battery.
Not even AA— it was an AAA-sized battery.
It had become Gigant’s favorite snack lately.
For reference, it only ate the long-lasting, high-power brands. Apparently those tasted best to it.
Anyway, the moment Gigant put the battery in its mouth and bit down, sparks flew. It looked extremely satisfied, its eyes curving into happy arcs.
That was when the magic power rippled.
Clatter-clatter-clatter——
Rails began forming in midair.
Starting from beneath the basin, they stretched across the forest, crossed the valley, and wove through the sky in every direction…
Safety belts fastened.
And then they were off!!
“Whoaaa!!”
“Ooooooh!!”
Rattle-rattle-rattle——!
Everyone on Park Su-bin’s instantly created mini roller coaster—Yu Rira and all the children—screamed with delight, nearly losing their breath.
At that moment, Park Su-bin shot a look at Baek Yeon-woo, who was eating grilled meat.
What about you?
Baek Yeon-woo chewed his meat and pointed behind him with his finger.
He had set up four support poles and turned Cheonbong into a net-like structure to increase elasticity.
If anyone was worried about safety accidents, don’t be. If you wrap it properly in a rectangular prism shape, it’ll be fine.
And just like that, a makeshift trampoline area was completed in an instant.
Let’s jump!
“Whoa!”
“Kyaaaaa!!”
“We’re flying!!”
With far higher elasticity and stability than a normal trampoline, the children were in paradise.
Interestingly, this one was also popular with the mothers.
“Oh my!”
“It’s a real bouncy castle! Look how high they’re jumping.”
“They say it’s good to expose kids to magic power.”
“I don’t know, it’s just fun. Eek!”
When would they ever get to ride ‘amusement rides(?)’ created by active Rankers?
They would have loved to ride the basin roller coaster slicing through the air, but since that seemed too difficult, they had flocked to the trampoline instead.
Once the mothers and children disappeared, the fathers began to stir.
“Oh shit, check out this air conditioner. What the hell! Is this a PC bang?!”
“Ooooh! This is a PlayStation Z!! And that’s a racing game machine made by Symphonia!”
“Is Lee Shin a god?”
“I don’t know, but this place feels like heaven.”
No matter how much they loved their families, sometimes they needed time just for themselves.
In the makeshift game room set up in one corner of the campsite, the fathers had become boys again.
Watching their bright, innocent laughter—something they rarely showed—Lee Shin, who happened to be passing by, smiled softly.
“Yeah. This is what healing looks like.”
No matter how good the air or how beautiful the scenery, what was the point without that laughter?
“What are you smiling about?”
“Ah, Hyung-nim. I was pondering the nature of happiness.”
“Out of nowhere?”
“Hehehe.”
Lee Shin took the watermelon Kim Yu-shin offered and bit into it as he looked around.
“Have you ever heard this saying? You can’t buy happiness with money.”
“I have. It’s a pretty common saying.”
“Then you must have heard this one too. If you can’t buy happiness, maybe you just don’t have enough money!”
“Haha, yes. It’s a famous quote.”
“I believe I have now transcended that level!”
There was no need to think about it.
I am happiness itself. If I wish to be happy, then all of you shall be happy. The east, west, north, and south, the sky, the rivers—everything shall be filled with laughter!!
“I dominate the emotions of the world. Uahaha!”
Lee Shin spread his arms wide as if holding up the world and shouted.
It was a classic Lee Shin-style over-the-top performance. If Chae Dong-ha had been there, he would have clutched his head in embarrassment, saying the shame was his to bear. But Kim Yu-shin was different.
He simply smiled warmly at Lee Shin.
“Of course. You really are a good person, Representative-nim. I know just how kind you are.”
Even though he could enjoy everything by himself, he always looked after those around him and gave without hesitation. Even if he usually ate kimbap and ramen for meals, he only gave the very best to the people around him.
No matter how rich someone was, doing that was difficult. Though young, Kim Yu-shin genuinely respected him.
The barrage of praise was so embarrassingly heartfelt that even Lee Shin couldn’t help but feel flustered.
What made it even harder to endure was that it was one hundred percent sincere.
“Th… that’s enough.”
“Why? I can keep going.”
“J-just insult me instead.”
“Haha, why would I insult you?”
“Kieeeek!”
The praise had stopped Lee Shin in his tracks.
As expected of Hwarang. The pressure level was insane.
“By the way, what about Soyeon? Weren’t you going to look for her?”
“I found her. She went to the tent to change clothes. She’s already making a huge fuss about gathering teammates.”
Children her age usually still clung to their parents, but Kim Soyeon was different.
The moment she arrived, she demanded her own tent, then started carefully selecting kids her age to form a team.
The idea of sleeping with kids she had never met before was surprising, but the way she persuaded them showed she was extraordinary from the start.
“Haha, tent mates?”
“Please call it a raid party. It’s the Mir Guild Elementary Division raid team.”
“Wow, even you didn’t know about this team? How many has she gathered?”
“She already has four.”
“Oho! With Soyeon that makes five. They could probably do a competitive match.”
“Don’t be surprised if they come asking for salary negotiations.”
“Oh no… Where did I put the contract forms?”
Hahahahaha.
Lee Shin wrapped an arm around Kim Yu-shin’s shoulder and laughed, and Kim Yu-shin laughed brightly in return.
But did they know?
Surprisingly, Soyeon had not been lying.
* * *
Night had fallen.
The lights in the tents went out one by one. Perhaps because they had played so happily, the lights disappeared quickly, and soon the campsite grew quiet.
The moment the light in the camper van where Mom and Dad were staying finally went out—
“Kids.”
Kim Soyeon’s eyes snapped open.
“I’m not sleeping.”
The girl on the second bunk sat up.
“Noona.”
“Can we really go?”
Next, the twin little boys’ eyes sparkled.
“…Hey Soyeon, I’m the older brother… Never mind.”
The timid-looking boy wilted under Kim Soyeon’s gaze.
With all preparations complete.
Let’s go!
“Just follow me.”
Kim Soyeon threw open the makeshift wardrobe.
And there, astonishingly, a magic field was rippling.
It was a white Gate.