The Cleared Gate
The Myeongnyang Gate had never been cleared once since it was first observed. It was an uncleared gate that even Korea’s most renowned hunters had challenged, only to fail. The government had long since designated the Myeongnyang Strait as a prohibited zone and washed its hands of the matter. That was how it should have stayed….
The Myeongnyang Gate has been cleared.
Clearance Rank: SSS
Clearer: Connector
The notification that the Myeongnyang Gate had been cleared was broadcast to every hunter on the Korean peninsula. Chaos was inevitable. The media rushed out breaking news, and HuntWeb was flooded with posts about the Myeongnyang Gate.
Yet no hunter stepped forward to claim they had cleared the Myeongnyang Gate. As a result, every agency in South Korea was frantically searching for the mysterious clearer.
“Still no luck finding out who cleared the Myeongnyang Gate?”
“I’m sorry, ma’am. We’re still investigating.”
Baek Seorin, Guild Master of Samdocheon, wore a puzzled expression.
‘How on earth did they manage to clear that place?’
She was more curious about how it had been cleared than who had done it. After all, the Myeongnyang Gate wasn’t the kind of place that could be conquered with raw power alone. If it were, she would have done it long ago. Even she—an S-rank Mage known worldwide as the Black Witch—had deemed the gate impossible.
The Myeongnyang Gate existed on the seabed, not on land. Clearing an A-rank gate or higher took at least ten hours at minimum. No matter how strong an S-rank hunter was, holding their breath for that long was impossible. On top of that, the gate exerted crushing mana pressure that could pulverize a body. Before even reaching the boss room, a hunter would either drown or be crushed to death. That was why even a hunter powerhouse like Korea had no choice but to leave the Myeongnyang Gate alone.
And yet it had been cleared.
At first, everyone assumed it was the work of a famous S-rank hunter and that the name “Connector” was just a joke. But astonishingly, none of the well-known hunters claimed responsibility. There was only one conclusion.
A new talent had appeared. And if that talent was powerful enough to clear the Myeongnyang Gate?
‘We have to secure them at all costs.’
That was why every Korean agency had gone on high alert to find the clearer.
“The clearer is probably still inside the Myeongnyang Gate. Keep the entrance under strict surveillance. The moment they come out, bring them straight to us. Do not let the Association steal them.”
Scouts from Samdocheon and other major guilds, along with the Hunter Association, set up camp at the gate entrance. News crews had also gathered, cameras rolling, ready to capture the first glimpse of the person who had conquered the impossible gate.
But one hour passed. Then two. The clearer still hadn’t appeared.
While the eyes of the entire nation were fixed on the entrance of the Myeongnyang Gate…
“Ah, that feels good.”
I stepped out of the shower and dried my wet hair with a towel. The moment I had entered the gate, I’d been completely soaked by seawater. After thoroughly scrubbing every inch of my salt-crusted body, I finally felt refreshed. I dried my hair with a blow-dryer, changed clothes, then grabbed a cola from the fridge and chugged it down.
“Yeah, that’s the stuff.”
Sipping my cola, I leaned back on the sofa and turned on the TV.
Every channel was talking about the same thing.
No matter which channel I flipped to, it was all Myeongnyang Gate, all the time. The same went for YouTube and HuntWeb. Everyone was waiting for the clearer to emerge from the gate entrance. They wanted to witness with their own eyes the birth of a new star who had conquered an uncleared gate.
‘I feel a little bad about this.’
Since I had entered and exited the gate from inside my room, there was no reason for me to actually go to Myeongnyang. But the people who didn’t know that were staring endlessly at the gate entrance, waiting for me to come out. The attention felt satisfying, but at the same time, I was relieved.
‘It’d be exhausting if my identity got out.’
Being famous might feel good at first, but it was bound to bring nothing but trouble. Especially if you were a hunter. People automatically assumed that famous hunters would step up whenever a gate appeared. In Korean society, that was considered common sense. Refuse, and you’d get flamed. Having watched Baek Seorin risk her life clearing gates every single day only to still get cursed out, I had zero desire to deal with that kind of fame.
Who in their right mind would risk their life like that? Better to just live comfortably.
“Still, the money’s insane.”
I smiled contentedly at the lump of magic stones sitting in the corner of the room. Clearing the Myeongnyang Gate hadn’t only given me a new skill. I had also obtained a full kilogram of high-quality magic stones. In cash, that was easily worth thirty million won.
“This is exactly why people become hunters.”
I should send some money home. Dad’s been stuck at home with a bad back lately and hasn’t been able to work. Without hesitation, I transferred five million won to Mom’s account. The phone rang immediately.
“Seojun, what money do you even have to be sending five million won?”
“The store’s been doing well lately, so I sent some over.”
“You didn’t sneak into another gate and do something stupid again, did you?”
“No, so stop worrying.”
My mother, Lee Eun-ha, had always disapproved of me hanging around gates ever since my days at Samdocheon. She was terrified that her only son would get hurt chasing money. A voice suddenly cut in from the other side of the phone.
“You saw the news, right? They say that Myeongnyang place is super dangerous. Don’t you dare go near it.”
“Mom! Stop worrying so much. There’s no way a coward like my brother would ever go to Myeongnyang.”
My little sister Choi Seo-yeon’s voice rang out. She was a second-year high school student now and had gotten a lot sharper.
“Hey, your brother’s been around plenty of gates, you brat.”
“Yeah right. I bet you were just a pack mule the whole time.”
“You don’t want your allowance anymore?”
“Oppa, you know I’m just worried about you, right?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m hanging up now.”
“Hey!”
I ended the call and flopped down on the sofa.
“Ugh, I’m exhausted.”
Since I’d pulled off something big, I figured I could just relax and take it easy for a while.
“Looks like they’re in deep trouble over there too.”
I clicked my tongue while watching the TV.
The Guild Master of the Constellation of Dawn was being put through the wringer at the National Assembly. The Noryang Gate was causing even more of an uproar than the Myeongnyang Gate. While the media was keeping quiet, the fact that the Noryang Gate was on the verge of a rampage was an open secret known to the entire country. The assemblymen were using that fact to berate the Guild Master right to her face.
‘She’s gonna punch one of them at this rate.’
I had no idea where non-hunters got the nerve to raise their voices like that in front of a guild master. I was mindlessly flipping channels when another segment caught my eye.
The Constellation of Dawn is currently seeking water-attribute artifacts from the Imjin War era in order to clear the Noryang Gate.
📍 If you possess such an artifact or know its location, please contact the Constellation of Dawn immediately.
Imjin War water-attribute artifact?
That reminded me—I had gotten one thing from clearing the Myeongnyang Gate.
◈ It seems like it could be useful for clearing a certain gate.
‘Its durability is garbage, but…’
I might as well sell it. I dialed the number displayed on the TV.
“The current estimated wait time is eight minutes.”
“Guess I’ll have to call back later.”
As expected of a major guild. The call volume was ridiculous.
While Choi Seojun was calling the Constellation of Dawn, a secret meeting was taking place inside a small Chinese restaurant in Seoul’s Daerim-dong.
“The Noryang Gate clearance must fail at all costs.”
“Don’t worry. I anticipated this and bought up every water-attribute artifact I could find. Even if Kim Hayun tries, she won’t be able to get her hands on any.”
“Well done.”
A-rank hunter Yi Taejun smiled with satisfaction. As the second team leader of the Constellation of Dawn, he had once been a regular on television. But ever since Kim Hayun’s rise, his own fame had taken a sharp nosedive. Yi Taejun was bitter about it.
‘What’s so special about clearing gates?’
Just because she had cleared more gates, Kim Hayun was always the one in the spotlight. Of course, Yi Taejun had his own scandals—drunk driving, getting into fights with women at clubs—but he considered those trivial matters that most hunters experienced. In terms of pure skill, he didn’t think he fell short at all.
But that was all about to change. Kim Hayun would fail to clear the Noryang Gate. Wouldn’t that cause a gate rampage and release monsters, putting civilians in danger?
‘That’s even better.’
There would be some civilian casualties, but if he stepped forward and defeated the monsters himself, his stock would skyrocket. He had already finished all the necessary preparations.
“I’ll be counting on you, Mr. Wang Wei.”
“Haha, leave it to me. In return, any artifacts belonging to Yi Sun-sin that emerge from the Noryang Gate will belong to China.”
“Don’t worry. I will make sure to bring them out myself.”
Yi Taejun had made a deal with a Chinese contact, trading his reputation for their cooperation.
Meanwhile, at that exact moment…
“Ah, it finally connected.”
“I have an Imjin War artifact I’d like to sell. Yes, it’s water-attribute.”
Choi Seojun was in the middle of disposing of the artifact.