Chapter 55
Chapter 55
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Collapse, Help!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In the heart of Seoul. A black pillar was soaring toward the sky.
It didn't seem like ordinary fire smoke.
That made me want to peer into the depths of that dark thing.
'The distance is too far.'
I should've kept a telescope or something handy if I'd known this would happen.
But it wasn't time to give up yet.
After all, I had eyes far better than any telescope.
"Let's see..."
At a time when all the monsters were asleep.
In the cluster of red threads that had been utterly peaceful, there was one single thread that twitched.
Bzzz!
I sent mana into it.
Then, the sound of wings slicing through the autumn sky pierced my eardrums from afar.
Purrr!
Had it been rolling around in the mud or something? A completely filthy clump of feathers landed on my shoulder.
"Puffy, mind checking it out for me?"
Before it could rub mud on my neck, I quickly gave the order.
Purrr!
Puffy shot into the sky without the slightest hesitation.
The balloon lapwing was a monster with an adorable appearance, but it was also an A-rank beast boasting top-tier flight capabilities.
There probably wasn't another living creature under this sky that could fly faster than it.
That's why I kept it outside and raised it like that.
That's why it was perfect for reconnaissance in a situation like this.
Vrrr!
A strong signal came through the red thread. It had arrived at a good spot and was urging me to check it out myself.
"..."
I took a deep breath, feeling the cool air fill my lungs, and closed my eyes.
As my vision went dark, I focused all my consciousness on that single thread.
Zzt-!
In an instant, a storm of sensations hit me like a slap to the head.
The fierce winds at high altitude, the dizzying cityscape, fragments of countless noises—all came flooding in at once.
The sensory overload made me nauseous, as it was my first time experiencing it.
Purrr!
But soon, a new world unfolded before my eyes.
It was a technique usable by summoners of B-rank monsters and above.
'Sensory Assimilation.'
I'd only known about it in theory until now; this was my first time using it in the field.
But it worked out okay.
Purrr!
Puffy stared intently at the fire site from the open sky, free of obstacles.
Thanks to the balloon lapwing's special vision, I could see an unstable rift flickering beyond the roaring flames.
Grooo...
What was burning was the gate itself.
Given the location...
'White Night Gate, right?'
The A+ rank White Night Gate owned by the White Night Guild.
A gate explosion out of nowhere.
It was an accident I'd never heard of in my lifetime.
Anyway, I'd gotten a rough idea of what happened.
Now, time to find out why.
I reached for my smartphone to check the hunter community and online news.
"...They probably won't know."
I stopped.
At best, they'd just parrot official statements from those involved—nothing particularly useful.
After all, didn't I have the best source of information right here?
No need to take detours when the optimal path was available.
Tap tap.
[WantToRaiseDragon: The exploded gate—White Night Gate, right?]
"Hmm..."
Just as I thought there might be no reply in this urgent situation, a notification rang.
Ding!
[White Night: You've heard the news.]
[WantToRaiseDragon: What happened?]
[White Night: The gate has started collapsing.]
[WantToRaiseDragon: ...Huh?]
Gate collapse.
Wasn't that way more dangerous than I'd thought?
From past incidents, they exploded like missiles had hit.
[White Night: Fortunately, the chance of a secondary explosion is low, and it's proceeding toward the gate itself disappearing.]
[WantToRaiseDragon: Disappearing? So no one can enter it again?]
[White Night: Yes. There are hunters still trapped inside the gate, so I'm heading there now.]
Looks like it wouldn't turn into a massive disaster.
But with missing hunters, I couldn't relax yet.
Joo Haneul was an S-rank hunter, for sure.
As a rescue operative, she was near-perfect.
But even she was just one person.
I doubted she could save everyone safely.
'I should help out a little.'
A business partner's crisis is my crisis.
That's what alliances are for, right? With all the bond we've shared so far, we should pull together.
Vrrr!
I sent a pulse to twelve additional threads.
...!
The ones still dreaming happily jolted awake.
They began assembling on the first floor in accordance with my command.
Tap tap.
[Quick Service request completed. Delivery location: White Night (Gate), Recipient: White Night]
[Payment amount: 6,000,000 won (includes A-rank courier designation and additional weight-based fees)]
[Estimated delivery time: 10 minutes]
[Courier will arrive within 2 minutes. Please place the items to be delivered in front of the door.]
**
"..."
A throbbing headache. Haneul let out a faint sigh toward the sky.
[White Night Gate begins collapsing... What caused it, and what's the current situation?]
Just when things were going great, something always came up to trip me.
And of all things, the worst kind of gate accident.
On top of that, it was our A+ gate, which accounted for a huge chunk of revenue.
How precious it must've been—we even named it 'White Night' after the guild.
"Guild Master, we'll arrive in 5 minutes."
"Can you go a bit faster?"
"Got it."
But the water was already spilled.
Trying to scoop it up could lead to a bigger fire.
Countless past disasters proved that.
As the gate's owner right now, what I should regret losing wasn't money, but lives.
Abandon the gate cleanly and rescue the hunters inside first.
If there was even a slim chance of a massive explosion...
"..."
I'd force the gate shut, even if it meant taking some heat.
Screech!
They arrived at the accident site.
"Guild Master!"
The gate management team leader ran toward Haneul, panting.
Behind him, team members scurried around busily.
"The situation?"
"As in the last report..."
Fortunately, there wasn't major damage.
Being an A+ gate, they'd built sturdy barriers around it.
The now-collapsed barriers had done their job absorbing the blast cleanly.
"And according to the entry logs, 20 hunters are confirmed trapped inside."
"Time until disappearance?"
Gate disappearance.
The rift leading into the gate was slowly closing, just as the term implied.
"Not exact, but we're estimating about 1 hour left."
One hour.
Considering the gate's size, it might be a tad tight to save everyone.
"Let's head in right away. The rescue team's all here, right?"
"Yes. As you instructed, we've assembled mainly A-rank hunters. But..."
Perhaps due to his ragged breathing, the team leader took two steady breaths before continuing.
"A mana spring erupted near the gate entrance, making it hard to approach."
Mana spring.
A kind of hot spring made of pure mana.
Just like hot spring water scalds, mana springs boiled fiercely.
Their temperature easily exceeded several hundred degrees... So unless you were a top physical hunter, breaking through wouldn't be easy.
"No protective gear?"
"Well... The B-rank gear we had for emergencies got destroyed in the explosion."
"No choice then. Starting with me..."
Ding-a-ling!
A sudden notification blared.
It wasn't the usual tone, but one reserved for special contacts, so Haneul instinctively checked her smartphone.
[WantToRaiseDragon: Thought you might need these, so I sent them.]
"...What?"
A mysterious message from the Molrangtori maker.
As Haneul frowned, unable to grasp the intent, a staff member ran up to her.
"Guild Master...? This just arrived for you. They said to deliver it personally."
The staff set down a large box.
A big Molrangmol logo on the side caught the eye.
One odd thing: a squirming sensation emanated from inside, like something about to burst out.
Just like during the slime show before.
Rip!
And right on cue, monsters tore out of the box.
"Mini... golems?"
Woo-ee!
Mini golems—a monster not too rare, but not common either.
Two larger ones in the lead, the remaining ten formed neat ranks in two lines.
Purple cores—ones I'd never seen before—bore Molrangmol badges on top.
Woo-ee!
Was this their leader?
The foremost mini golem handed something to Haneul.
[Use them as much as you want. We help each other to survive.]
A short note.
Wondering what it meant, she checked the inside of the half-torn box.
"...Molrangtex."
Ten suits of properly shaped Molrangtex were packed in.
The initial batch made for first sales, handed over to use as hazmat suits.
The support didn't end there.
Woo-ee!
The leader mini golem gestured, and the ten behind it dashed forward.
They used their bodies to block the slowly closing gate rift.
Wooo...
It looked like they were trying to slow the gate's disappearance.
But as is, their power was insufficient. At best, they'd buy a few minutes.
Vrrr!
As if they knew that, the cores of the larger leader and one other golem began to glow.
Mana transfer.
They were passing their mana to the ten golems.
Not just the golems' mana, but a strange mana mixed in too.
Woooo...
"...How long can they hold?"
"At least... 30 more minutes. We'll look for ways to delay it further."
"Call the rescue team here first. We're going in right now."
As the team leader went to summon the rescue team, Haneul began donning the Molrangtex.
She might've just incurred a big debt to the maker.