5. Fate (4)
"Gate, as the term suggests, is often equated by many hunters with those from the pre-Yggdrasil connection genre—commonly called 'hunter stories.'"
Of course, much of the modern terminology here is borrowed from there, but the reality is entirely different.
Not only are the official terms used in public different, but the gates in genre fiction and real gates are on another level altogether.
The environment inside a real gate constantly shifts, harboring dangerous lifeforms that can claim human lives, alongside phenomena that defy the laws of physics as we know them.
Before you begin this book, I warn all aspiring hunters about to enter a gate:
Suspect, guard against, and fear everything inside a gate. That mindset will save your life.
This was the text on the very first page of the Gate Walkthrough Compendium I'd just bought.
Suspect, guard, fear. It perfectly captured the precepts you must always follow when handling spatial mana.
Seemed like it was written by a hunter with tons of experience—someone whose "instincts" were top-notch, in human terms.
Spatial mana was uncertain and unstable energy, indescribable in words.
Tak—
I snapped my phone shut and looked around.
"Can't... see a damn thing ahead."
The environment inside this gate was pretty rough.
Fog so thick you couldn't see an inch in front of your face, and the surroundings were eerily quiet. Not even the scurrying of a mouse.
And this fog—it was laced with faint mana. For anyone with weak mana affinity, even breathing would be a struggle in this harsh setup.
"Location... a city? Where the hell?"
Couldn't make out anything right in front of me to describe it, but what I was standing on was asphalt. The kind used for roads.
Guardrail right next to me, road stretching out on both sides from it—yep, smack in the middle of the highway.
"Wonder if I'll spot anything like this."
I set up my phone and started the stream. It lagged a bit, but no issues kicking off the broadcast.
Cheon Ji-ah has started streaming!
Stream Title: Cheon Ji-ah Devours Gates
Viewers started pouring in once the stream went live. My regulars who'd been waiting, plus newbies pulled in by the "gate raid" hook.
No Baek Seol-yeon managing chat this time, so I needed temp mods. Couldn't handle chat mid-raid anyway.
Mod powers went to ApprenticeMage441 and...
Not full mods, really—just kick privileges. Once booted, they couldn't chat for this stream. Good enough.
"Daily mods, take good care of the chat today."
I gave the two their heads-up, then started walking. Nothing visible nearby, so slow and steady.
"From what I just read in the compendium... looks like a Road Stage with Fog Incident."
Stage and Incident—straight from the book. In practice, folks just say Road Fog, skipping the fancy terms.
Anyway.
Sniff sniff.
This fog... smelled familiar. Not seen, but smelled. It was the thick mist from the Forest of Fog. Faint, but that crisp, signature scent.
Yggdrasil's Forest of Fog mixed with Earth's highway.
A wild combo.
The biggest risk in the Forest of Fog was getting lost, but on this wide-open road? No worries there.
Step— step—
I trudged mindlessly through the foggy road, checking chat while moving.
Probably tough for humans. But to an elf mage? Just regular fog, nothing special.
Though... this was intense. Visibility down to my feet basically.
Even I felt claustrophobic—must be hell for humans.
Reactions flooded in. Then donations hit.
Trolls too, of course. I played along, shivering dramatically and glancing back. Nothing there, as expected.
"N-n-noth-ing... there..."
React casually, done. My protective barrier would've caught anything sneaking by—unless they had some assassin-grade stealth gear.
Plus, no spatial mana vibes from the crowd outside earlier, like that one tool.
Yeah, I got why people watched gate raids. Thrill of scaring the streamer without the risk.
Risking your neck for dopamine hits? Totally get it.
"......"
Then—something snagged my barrier. Front, dead ahead.
"Something up front."
I whispered just for the stream phone, staying on high alert. Ignored chat. Full focus mode.
"......"
Stepped closer—there. Silhouette in the fog. Humanoid. Limbs, head, torso. Pointy ears... elf? Alone.
"Who goes there."
Edged my voice with warning. Still sounded kid-like, though.
"Huh?"
Reply came—familiar voice. Where'd I hear it...?
"Ji-ah!"
The convenience store clerk from before. We'd swapped numbers; Earth name Lee Ga-eun.
"Ga-eun? Why're you here...?"
Random encounter left me stunned. She burst through the fog, way more pumped than at work.
"Oh, got my B-rank hunter cert ages ago. Raid gates on breaks. Helia loves it in here."
Helia—her spirit. Barely a blob before, now fully manifested.
"She really digs this place. Weird—she doesn't usually push this hard."
"...Whole area's drenched in mana. Makes sense."
Quick chat, then checked stream. Chat was chaos over the surprise elf girl.
Realized too late I hadn't asked permission. Fixed that.
"Uh, Ga-eun? I'm streaming. Cool with that?"
Checked her over. Her fingertips trembled.
"Yeah, fine. More like... can I stick with you, Ji-ah?"
"Sure."
If Baek Seol-yeon was right, this gate had a bit more bite.
...And yeah, definitely tougher than last time. Spatial mana density was way higher.
"Let's take it slow."
Sensed the spatial mana as we walked together. Two cuties chatting? Stream lit up.
We kept at it for an hour maybe? Fog thinning—visibility to about 20 meters now.
Spotted a car—rear end of a compact sedan. Driver's door wide open.
"What's that?"
Sticky purple goo plastered on it, damp clothes peeking through. Victim.
Ga-eun headed to check. I blocked her.
"...Hold up."
She froze, sensing the vibe. Gulped. Dead silent.
Bzzz— barrier trembled faintly. Nothing snagged, but that goo was in range.
My barrier detects mana-bearing lifeforms. Plants, bugs, humans, animals—all have traces.
Two conclusions:
"......"
Either that writhing purple goo wasn't as dangerous as I thought. Or it wasn't alive.
Shlrk!
Goo converged inside the car, morphing into something familiar—a "hand."
"Dodge!"
Ga-eun leaped aside. Black, rotten-flesh arm of goo lashed at her spot.
"Kyaa, kyaack!"
Reasonable freakout. Purple, black, gray monster rising right there. Wielding a K2 rifle, spatial mana-formed hand gripping it, finger on the trigger.
"......"
Unease hit. Vortex swirled from driver's seat, spitting out chunks. Thud! Splatter! Flesh-toned mush—man smoothie, basically.
"F-fuckin' insane!"
Ga-eun backpedaled, cursing. I stood firm, glaring.
It mimicked human and car—grotesque, sloppy imitation.
Zzeeeeng!
Surged spatial mana at me like a threat. Aimed rifle too. Head throbbed from it. But just that.
I dodged. Rat-tat-tat! Fired—pro marksman. Would've pierced my heart if I'd stood still.
DODGED
— Keeeeeee!
Hated me evading; screeched—human voice mixed with car horn, dissonant nightmare.
Tossed rifle, swung long spindly arm.
Thud!
I blasted mana. Arm halted mid-air. Phone gear hummed high-frequency—stream still on, vibrating like crazy.
"......"
Even with my mana burst, it didn't flee. Stared like it was amused.
"A-ahh..."
Ga-eun collapsed, leaking fluids from every orifice. Done for. Helia vanished.
Step—
It approached slowly. Finally, I spoke.
"......!"
No sound, no resonance. No waves. Language from beyond this mortal realm.
Zzt—crack!
Space around it fractured, ripping open.
— Keeeeeee! Zzeeeeng!
Sucked into the rift, screaming—nails on chalkboard. Final spasm, spewing goo. Useless. Shredded to spacetime scraps, gone.
Left a glowing core behind.
Core Dropped
"Hoo..."
Plopped down post-spell. Spatial magic. Could've handled it without, plenty ways.
But protecting a terrified Ga-eun? Had to go nuclear.
...Why I usually just manipulated spatial mana, no full spells? Simple.
"U-ueeek! Uwheeeek!"
Puked up everything. Eyes, optic nerves, skull-splitting pain.
Once said spatial magic was god's domain, forbidden to mortals. Literal truth.
Hundreds, thousands of times I'd seen, felt, pondered—still held.
Not impossible from complexity. It was self-evident.
God's exclusive turf, off-limits to mortals.
Price for trespassing, peeking their knowledge? Not light.
They gouge eyes to unsee, purge mana by inverting guts, smash skulls to forget. That bad.
Still, I stood. Routine suffering.
"...Hoo."
Wiped the watery drool, rose. How long since I wielded spatial mana for a direct cast? Nostalgic, loathsome, horrific memories flooding back—but forward.