A Class-B Gate Expedition
The building felt so empty.
Having finished my morning cultivation, I grumbled aloud in the spacious training hall. The absence of the two guild members struck me far more keenly now that they were gone. At least Kim Na-yeon would return late in the evening; that was some small mercy.
Gate raids followed a strict order. First came reconnaissance and a thorough assessment of the interior. A newly discovered gate revealed nothing about its size or the monsters lurking within. One had to advance slowly from the entrance, expanding the explored area bit by bit. Once the real assault began, the party would even camp inside, often for several days without returning home.
“Who will attend to my bath while Na-yeon is away?”
Food mattered, of course, but the bath service was paramount. Bathing was the thing I loved most in this era. Immersing myself in hot water washed away every trace of fatigue, and those delightful bath salts only enhanced the pleasure. Moreover, only Na-yeon could properly wash and style the long hair that Lee Da-yeon and I both possessed.
Of course, seeing my altered body had been difficult at first. I had been startled when both girls joined me without hesitation in a tub large enough for three grown men. The Heavenly Demon Wiji Yeon had lived a life devoted solely to martial arts, shunning the company of women; the shock had been understandable. Yet now it was tolerable. I had learned from YouTube that humans are creatures of adaptation.
‘The outside world is far too dangerous. Do not leave the guild while your sister is away.’
‘Cult Leader, have you gone wandering the martial world with Taeguk Geomseon again? How can you abandon the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult for an entire year?’
The nagging of Shadow Subordinate Number One, who had once scolded me without fear even in the presence of the supreme one, lingered in memory. In this world, too, I had acquired a subordinate of that same caliber.
“Children, finished with morning training?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“It must be time for… ah, yes, breakfast.”
While I was lost in reminiscence, Yoon Deok-ja, the building manager who also looked after us, entered the training hall. Though still somewhat awkward, I was gradually growing accustomed to using polite speech.
Yoon Deok-ja was nearing sixty. Kim Do-yoon and Kim Na-yeon addressed her casually from the start, but I found it difficult to speak informally to an elderly attendant. She approached us with a warm smile.
“Heh, my own children were just as adorable at your age.”
“Do you have children, ma’am?”
“Did I never mention them? A son and a daughter, both hunters.”
“Oh?”
I nodded. Yoon Deok-ja was a retired B-rank hunter who also guarded the guild in the siblings’ absence. Awakening abilities were hereditary; while not every child of an awakened parent became awakened, the probability was high.
She rubbed her lower back with a groan. “Oof, my back…”
“Are you all right?”
Lee Da-yeon hurried over and began massaging her waist.
“Age catches up with you, and the body pays the price. That’s why I had to retire. Still, this old lady once fought on the front lines of gate raids in her youth.”
“And now you work as a building manager?”
“Watching young hunters start their own guilds is its own kind of fun…”
Yoon Deok-ja winked in our direction. “Besides, I get to see adorable faces like yours every day.”
“I like you too, Aunt Deok-ja!”
Lee Da-yeon clung to her waist with eager affection.
“Haha…”
I laughed awkwardly. Perhaps after more than a month of being treated like a child, one simply grew used to it. It no longer bothered me as much. The fact that this new body was still young could not be denied.
Yoon Deok-ja’s lunch boxes were laid out in one corner of the hall—perfectly cooked rice and nutritious side dishes, prepared with thoughtful care for growing children. Even while eating, my thoughts drifted to Kim Na-yeon out on the raid. My new subordinate in this world—had she been injured inside the gate? Should I go check on her?
I shook my head to dispel the notion. Though her power was still modest and she had only recently come of age, Kim Na-yeon was a proper martial artist and hunter. She would manage. Besides, she had said she would return this evening, however late.
Still… to make This Seat worry—how insolent a subordinate.
Crash! Boom!
“Ghh…!”
“This side’s almost clear! Hold on a little longer!”
“R-right!”
Kim Na-yeon stood at the front, using her hunter ability—combat form “Aegis Shield”—to block the torrent of flames and sparks raining down. Golden armor encased her body without a single gap, and the brilliant shield in her hands deflected the monsters’ attacks.
Thud! Scrape.
“Ugh…!”
A massive burning bear-like beast slammed its body against her shield. The impact drove her back several steps. Gritting her teeth, she raised the shield once more. As a tank-type hunter, she held the line where the monsters’ numbers and pressure were greatest.
The gate’s rank was determined by the level at which a properly assembled party of that rank could barely clear it. An A-rank gate was already an emergency; guild-master-level hunters from across the city had to gather. A+ and above were disaster-class. Even if discovered in advance, they could not be cleared easily. Without at least one S-rank hunter, casualties mounted quickly. The gate near the “Ancient Species’ Sanctuary” that had caused the dungeon break at the underground laboratory site had been A+.
The gate Na-yeon’s party was raiding was B-rank—hardly a dangerous level. A single party of B-rank hunters from a moderately sized guild could handle it. Yet for C-rank Na-yeon, it was clearly overwhelming. Simply enduring the assault of B-rank monsters was already an enormous strain.
“…!”
While struggling to hold the line, Na-yeon glanced over her shield and felt cold sweat trickle down her back. The plant-shaped monsters wreathed in flame had ignited their leaves and begun concentrating fire on her.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Nngh…!”
Her mana was nearing its limit. The shield began to flicker. Still, she managed to weather the final barrage.
“Everyone! This side— I can’t— Kyaa!”
Crash!
The same bear-like monster charged again. With her shield already gone, Na-yeon took the blow with her body. When teeth fail, one uses gums. This was why she had never neglected physical training.
She rolled across the ground. The impact was lessened, but the momentum still sent her tumbling. Even her armor was beginning to fade.
Then—
Whoosh!
“You held out well, Na-yeon!”
A white aura enveloped her. Her teammates, having finished off the monsters in front of them, charged as one toward the direction she had been defending. Na-yeon received healing from the healer and watched them clear the remaining beasts in a daze.
“Whew, the numbers from the entrance alone are no joke.”
“Good thing it’s near Seoul. If this had been somewhere the gate detectors couldn’t reach, a break would have caused massive damage.”
“The monsters are definitely B-rank dungeon level, but there are so many of them.”
“The air inside the gate is scorching. Feels like a volcanic cave. That’s why the monsters are burning?”
The six graduates of the 71st class of the Korea Hunter Academy, including Na-yeon, had faced a considerable wave of enemies on their very first day of exploration and raid. The blue-haired woman, A-rank hunter Shin Ye-in, turned to her teammates with a confident smile.
“How about it? I’ve still got plenty of strength left. Shall we keep going? With me—an A-rank—here, we could clear a B-rank dungeon in a single day.”
“Haa… wait, just a moment. Can’t we rest a little before moving on?”
“Oh? Are you already tired, Na-yeon? Don’t tell me you’ve run out of mana?”
Shin Ye-in covered her mouth with feigned surprise, her expression full of mock pity. Then she added, almost to herself, “The top graduate of the 71st Hunter Academy class, Na-yeon, exhausted after a single entrance monster wave?”
Na-yeon wanted to snap back, but Ye-in was right. With all her mana depleted, she lacked even the strength to argue.
The brown-haired B-rank healer, Kim Hyun-jung, who was treating her, whispered in her ear. “Na-yeon, just endure it. You know Ye-in has an inferiority complex toward you.”
“…So that’s why she specifically nominated a C-rank like me for a B-rank gate raid. A petty little revenge, is it?”
“Among our graduating class, she’s the only A-rank, yet you—the C-rank—took the top spot from her.”
Top rank at the Hunter Academy was not decided by grade alone. Of course, higher-grade students had a far greater chance of claiming it. That a mere C-rank like Kim Na-yeon had achieved it was the fruit of grueling effort.
“Haa, because of you we’ll have to take a break. Still, you held up well. You’re strong, so you can carry the luggage too. Thanks to you we don’t need to hire separate F- or E-rank porters. Heh.”
Ye-in looked at Na-yeon and smiled mockingly. Though they were now official hunters, they were all barely adults. Ye-in’s behavior had not advanced beyond childish rivalry. Yet the transparent pettiness could not be blamed when, in truth, Na-yeon was little more than baggage on a B-rank gate raid. The anticipation of raiding with her classmates and the rare chance for real combat had drawn her here, but outside the academy’s protective walls, ability was everything.
Sitting on the ground, Na-yeon bit her lip. Perhaps she should have refused the nomination after all.