Chapter 104
Chapter 104
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Yeonhwa, Intrusion
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Tap, tap.
The man brushed the dust from his suit's shoulder.
No one would pay attention to such tiny specks.
No, they were so small that ordinary people couldn't even see them.
Even so, tap, tap.
Hwayeon's vice guild leader, Choi Hyuk-jin, deliberately brushed them away with force in his fingers.
A kind of obsession. Or compulsion.
He always had to appear perfect in front of others.
That was his philosophy.
"Ahem."
Hyuk-jin cleared his throat one last time.
He smoothed out his slightly hoarse voice and stepped inside.
Whirr.
The automatic door slid open smoothly.
Yeonhwa Palace basement level 2, Hwayeon Gate Central Control Center.
For the past month, Hyuk-jin had been making regular appearances at Hwayeon's most important location.
"Ah, Vice Guild Leader! You've arrived!"
The director ran over barefoot to greet Hyuk-jin.
His hair was half-bald, far from the perfection Hyuk-jin pursued. Droplets of sweat clung to the limp ends of his strands.
At director level, he should have enough authority to manage his appearance properly.
At least his competence made up for it.
Tsk. Hyuk-jin clicked his tongue inwardly and asked.
"How's it going? I heard there was an attack a few days ago."
"We handled it without any issues! No need to worry!"
The director replied with a forced smile. His confidence was overly abundant. It was probably fine in reality.
That was exactly the problem.
Hyuk-jin's face twisted in displeasure at the unsatisfactory response.
". . .I-Is there a problem?"
The director paled immediately.
A learned fear pressed lightly on his shoulders.
Hoo. A long sigh escaped from Hyuk-jin. The director sensed a deep malice in it.
"Why are you the one deciding if there's a problem or not? I clearly told you to report every situation thoroughly and without omission."
"S-Sorry! I'll report it right away."
The director scurried back to his office as fast as he could—
Bam!
Before even a few seconds passed, he kicked the door open and rushed back in front of Hyuk-jin.
In his hand was a tablet.
He roughly wiped the sweat trickling down his forehead with his hand and reported to Hyuk-jin.
The report was simple.
There had been something like a virus infiltrating the server.
They had used the staff's abilities to eliminate it completely.
"You handled it completely?"
"Yes, absolutely! The info security team confirmed it too."
If the security team confirmed it, it should be fine.
Even so, an unpleasant intuition scratched at Hyuk-jin's throat for some reason.
But he couldn't nitpick without cause.
That itself would be imperfect.
"That's enough. Back to your seat."
In the end, Hyuk-jin stroked his chin needlessly and ordered the director.
"Yes, sir!"
The director bowed politely and returned to his seat.
Clack, clack.
Hyuk-jin deliberately made crisp sounds with his polished shoes as he headed to the very back of the control center.
Then he sat quietly. In the head seat prepared only for him, the best view of all the screens.
Hwayeon Gate Central Control Center.
Its very purpose was to centrally control all gates owned by Hwayeon.
He did handle some related work.
But that was never the main focus.
They had a special assignment to manage a particular gate.
[S-Rank Gate: Yeonhwa]
[Current Safety Level: Moderate]
S-Rank Gate Yeonhwa.
The foundation of Hwayeon Guild, the fifth gate to appear in Korea, located at the bottom of this basement.
Few knew of its existence, and it held incredibly abundant resources.
Based on Hwayeon's secret investigations.
It was the most valuable gate in the world.
". . ."
Hyuk-jin pulled a stubby item from the inner pocket of his suit.
A premium custom cigar. He stylishly sliced off the end with a snip—
Click!
He savored the clear sound of the lighter as he lit it.
"Hooo. . ."
Thick black smoke billowed out. The aroma was quite pungent. It was the strongest among cigars made for Awakeners.
Some of the staff inwardly seethed with anger.
But they couldn't voice their complaints openly.
Not just because he was the vice guild leader.
He was the most essential presence here right now.
The highly valuable Yeonhwa Gate.
Naturally, Hwayeon devoted enormous attention to managing it.
Especially since.
Yeonhwa Gate was what academia called a "cyclical gate."
Meaning its activity signs followed cycles.
And sometimes, extremely dangerous monsters were frequently born.
Was it 15 years ago?
Hooo, Hyuk-jin exhaled an extraordinarily long puff of smoke and reminisced about the past for no reason.
At that time, 150 S-Rank monsters had appeared inside Yeonhwa Gate.
Having many S-Rank monsters was good from a material-gathering perspective.
But from a management standpoint, it was a massive disaster.
The more monsters, the exponentially higher the escape rate.
If even one S-Rank monster escaped to the city, it would be a horrific catastrophe.
'. . .We had quite a hard time back then.'
Outwardly a natural disaster.
In truth, a man-made one due to poor management.
If the incident had been just a bit worse, Yeonhwa Gate's existence would have been exposed to the world.
After that, Hwayeon poured in maximum effort.
That was why unofficial S-Rank hunter Choi Hyuk-jin visited every cycle.
Click!
The cigar had burned down before he knew it. Hyuk-jin took out another and lit it.
It was strange. Even to him.
Usually one was enough.
Today, an inexplicable thirst and stuffiness tormented him.
A suffocating feeling that even the harshest cigar smoke couldn't dispel.
Finally, unable to endure it, Hyuk-jin spoke up.
"Run the program once."
"Yes! Right away!"
What he requested was like running a vaccine.
Checking if the current gate management program had any issues.
No matter how he thought about it, something felt off.
According to the cycle, monster activity signs should have been detected by now.
At least five days ago, or late the day before yesterday at latest—the safety level should have escalated.
But the program remained unchanged.
It showed extraordinarily peaceful readings.
Maybe it was in a dormant phase?
Gates occasionally stayed quiet without heightened activity.
It happened once every few decades, but if it was this year, that wasn't strange.
Ding!
"Vice Guild Leader! No problems!"
". . ."
Was it just excessive obsession after all?
Click!
Even after multiple checks, the discomfort lingered. Just as Hyuk-jin was about to light his third cigar.
Meooow!
". . .What was that sound?"
A bizarre noise filled the control center.
Meeeooow!
A clear, cute voice.
The meow of a cat, easily heard anywhere in the world.
That made it all the more out of place here.
"What was that sound?"
Hyuk-jin's voice sank in an instant. Crack. The cigar in his fingers snapped in two.
Seeing that, the director bellowed at the staff.
"Who was it! Who brought a cat in here!"
Of course, no one responded.
"Come out right now!"
The director raised his voice, but still silence.
It was only natural.
No one had brought a cat in the first place.
But now, in this space, there definitely was one.
A cat watching everyone with playful eyes.
Meooow!
Another clear meow echoed vividly.
The cat, which had been hiding so well, finally began to move.
The moment it had been waiting for had arrived.
Crackle!
Sparks flew.
Right in front of Hyuk-jin's eyes, the director's eyes, and all the staff's eyes.
"Kyaaah!"
Someone screamed at the intense black light. At the same time, flicker, flicker.
All the monitors shut off simultaneously.
". . ."
Hyuk-jin spread his mana widely to grasp the situation, but it was already too late.
Crackle!
The monitors flickered back on.
The program, now starting to function normally, displayed a striking status to everyone.
[S-Rank Gate: Yeonhwa]
[Current Safety Level: Extremely Dangerous]
". . .What? What does that mean? Check it immediately!"
Extremely Dangerous.
A phase swarming with S-Rank monsters requiring immediate subjugation.
Normally handled at the Dangerous level, it was a rare state.
Naturally, most thought it was just a glitch.
Maybe a power supply issue causing a momentary malfunction.
Tap-tap-tap!
The moment the staff began pounding keyboards to assess the situation.
——Boom!
A horrific rumble reached everyone.
Not from anywhere else.
But from right beneath their feet.