Dungeon-Type Gates
Today was the final day of classes at the Academy. After that unpleasant incident yesterday, I had been a little worried. When I walked into the classroom, Jihye was already there. Naturally, I glared in her direction. The moment she saw me, she flinched in surprise and hurriedly averted her gaze. It seemed my warning had worked wonders.
After all, she needed some kind of wound to report me, didn't she? How could she file a complaint without a shred of evidence? Even if she did, I would just deny everything. Do you have proof?—that would be the end of it. I could practically read Jihye's mind. She probably thought I might retaliate. To her, I was someone who resorted to violence without a care for what others thought... She must have been terrified.
Humans are funny creatures; they never truly understand until they experience it themselves. But once they taste it, they quickly learn what is scary and what is dangerous. Anyway, I decided to keep a low profile today. After all, it was the final day of a training program that had dragged on for months. A day like this deserved a pleasant wrap-up.
If she pulled something like yesterday again? I doubted I could hold back next time. I'd drag her to some secluded spot—like inside a Gate—and give her a proper education. Or maybe a good thrashing disguised as a sparring match. If she got hurt? I could just heal her right up. Anyway, the instructor appeared for our final class.
But the class wasn't actually about teaching us anything new. First, the instructor congratulated us on completing the course, praised our hard work, and handed out our Hunter licenses one by one. Then, we were given the opportunity to speak with scouts sent by various guilds. It seemed the Academy had shared our profiles and skills, as the scouts were calling out specific individuals or approaching those who caught their eye. Naturally, someone came up to me as well...
"I'm not interested."
I had a hard time turning them all down. Being a healer, I was in high demand. Almost every single scout approached me, and when I refused, they practically begged me to at least take their business cards. But if I were to join a guild, I would join the one my sister was in. There was absolutely no reason to join one of these small-to-medium-sized guilds. Listening to the scouts' pitches, some of these guilds didn't even have twenty Hunters. Why on earth would I join a tiny guild like that?
"If you ever change your mind..."
They handed over their cards, telling me to contact them anytime. I accepted them for now and slipped them into my handbag. I had already amassed dozens of cards this way. Most of the other students spoke with at least one scout, but very few actually accepted any offers. Their reasons varied: some had decided to form parties among themselves, others were already slated to join different guilds, and so on. In any case, the training was finally over...
"What are you planning to do now, Nix?"
I stared quietly at the girl who had approached me, Ah-young. I suppose she was one of the few relatively normal people I had met here. Even her reason for becoming a Hunter was fairly ordinary. Her only real flaw was her belief in that pseudo-religious cult, the Status Window Church.
"Well, I should probably check out a Gate."
"Would you... like to go together?"
Going together, huh... If we went as a party, I would have to hide my true strength. I could still fight, of course, but I wouldn't be able to use my full power. Then again, this was meant to be a sort of test run anyway, and we'd only be going to a low-level Gate, so maybe it didn't matter... My mind was a tangle of thoughts.
"I'm not sure."
Ah-young's skills were Taunt and Protection—classic tank abilities. For a female Hunter, these were arguably the worst possible skills to have. Since she had to fight on the front lines, she needed physical strength and raw power. But no matter how much a woman trained, her body was naturally at a disadvantage when it came to muscle mass. Not to mention how incredibly dangerous it was... As a woman, she couldn't help but care about her appearance, and some people were highly sensitive about getting scars. That was probably why she needed me, a healer.
"U-um, today..."
"Yes, I understand. Someone with mediocre skills like me shouldn't expect to party with a rising star who's being scouted by so many guilds..."
She thought I was rejecting her...
"I'm tired today, so I'm going to head home. I'll contact you tonight."
We had already exchanged contact information anyway.
"Really?"
"Yeah. I haven't decided which guild to join yet."
So, before making a final decision, I figured it wouldn't hurt to run a light Gate raid. After parting ways with Ah-young, I returned home...
"Seohee? Weren't you supposed to be at work?"
"Ah, you're back, Sis."
My sister looked as if she had been waiting for me.
"Were you waiting for me?"
"Yeah. Your Academy training finished today, right?"
I chuckled and pulled my Hunter license out of my handbag.
"Ta-da."
"Congratulations."
It was a completely half-hearted congratulation, but it still made me happy.
"Anyway, what's up?"
"Remember we talked about the guild the other day?"
Ah...
"Speaking of which, I got a ton of business cards today."
I pulled out the stack of cards I had saved instead of throwing away.
"Sigh... Sis, are you going to join our guild?"
She looked slightly annoyed.
"Well..."
I knew the situation of the Murim Alliance Guild from what my sister had told me. I understood why they wanted to recruit me, given my exceptional healing abilities. However... if I joined her guild, I wouldn't be able to act as freely as I wanted. I'd probably just be stuck in the rear, casting heals. The only real benefit would be getting to hang out with my sister. Seeing my hesitation, Seohee watched my expression closely and spoke up.
"Is it because the terms aren't right...?"
I had seen the contract they offered; it came with a generous signing bonus and a hefty base salary.
"If I join that guild, I probably won't have much freedom."
"Well, that's true..."
"So for now, I'm thinking of working independently."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I met someone decent during training, so I'm thinking of running some raids with her."
Seeing my sister's disappointed face made me waver slightly.
"This won't cause any trouble for you, right?"
I was worried they might take it out on her because she failed to recruit me.
"Oh, come on. The people in our guild aren't like that."
True, my sister was practically a founding member, so they wouldn't dare do anything to her.
"I'll work on my own for a bit, and if I feel like I need a guild, I'll keep yours in mind."
"Then can I throw all these business cards away?"
"Go ahead."
Delighted, my sister swept up all the scout cards I had received and tossed them straight into the trash. Well, since things had turned out this way... I messaged Ah-young and told her we should hit a Gate together. As we texted back and forth, a plan quickly came together. Our destination was a D-Class Gate in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, commonly known as the "Goblin's Den." But there was a problem. Ah-young was a tank and I was a healer, meaning we lacked a main damage dealer to actually defeat the monsters. Fortunately, Ah-young was well aware that we needed a DPS. She mentioned she knew a damage dealer and suggested we bring her along to form a three-person party.
"Hmm..."
Honestly, I could easily play the role of the damage dealer myself, but... While there wasn't a strict need to hide my power, I figured it was safer to keep it under wraps. After sending a message of agreement, I lay down on my bed. A Gate... I had studied them diligently, but what would a real one feel like? The place I had first dropped into when I returned to Earth was technically a Gate, but I had been too disoriented then to properly observe my surroundings. This would essentially be my first time facing a Gate properly. What would it be like?
I was also looking forward to moving in a party again. Would it feel like the days when I traveled with the Hero? That feeling of sweeping across the battlefield alongside comrades... I knew it wouldn't be exactly the same, but I wanted to capture even a fraction of that feeling. It would take about two hours by public transit to reach tomorrow's destination, so I had to wake up early. I needed to sleep. But my heart was fluttering with anticipation, making it hard to drift off. I chuckled softly and squeezed my eyes shut.
I woke up earlier than usual and got ready to head out. My hands were much lighter today than when I went to the Academy; I didn't even bring my usual handbag. I just wore comfortable sweatpants, grabbed my phone, and left. I took a bus, transferred to a taxi halfway through, and finally arrived at our destination: the Goblin's Den Gate in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province.
"Is this the place...?"
It wasn't even 10:00 AM yet, but there were already quite a few people gathered around the Gate. Some were recruiting party members nearby, while others were checking their gear before entering. Looking around, I suddenly felt... incredibly underdressed. Even if I was just a healer staying in the backline, had I come in too casual an outfit? I hadn't even brought a weapon, making me look like someone who had just stepped out for a morning stroll.
Well, it wasn't like I was completely weaponless... I lightly touched my bracelet. With this, I could handle any dangerous situation. Besides, I didn't really need armor anyway. My Holy Power would automatically heal any minor scratches, so I could easily ignore them. As I lingered near the Gate, scanning the crowd, someone approached. I immediately recognized her as Ah-young. And...
"Nix...?"
"Ah, you're here."
It was indeed Ah-young. But there was a stranger standing behind her—a woman radiating a faint trace of mana. More importantly, both of them were fully geared up. Ah-young wore sturdy, practical armor and held a small shield in her left hand. The woman behind her wore similar gear, with a decent-looking club hanging from her waist.
"Is this her?"
"Yeah, she's a healer."
"Hmm..."
The woman had a haughty air about her, accompanied by a beauty that matched her attitude perfectly.
"I'm Kim Gyuri."
She was a D-Class Hunter who had only recently started her career. Even so, she told me that since she was the experienced senior here, I should follow her instructions. I just watched her with a smile. As a Saintess who had fought on countless battlefields, I was infinitely more experienced. She only acted this way because she didn't know any better. Still, I found her attitude rather cute, so I let it slide.
"Anyway, I'm a damage dealer with two offensive magic skills. I can easily handle goblins on my own."
She spoke with absolute confidence.
"B-but... Nix, don't you have any gear?"
Ah-young looked at me with concern.
"I'm a healer anyway. Why would I ever get attacked?"
"But goblins are..."
She worriedly explained that goblins were cowardly creatures prone to launching surprise attacks. I knew that all too well. But I was genuinely fine.
"She says she's fine."
Gyuri said, then leaned in to whisper to Ah-young.
"She'll change her mind once she gets a taste of reality."
I smirked. She probably thought I couldn't hear her, but I heard every single word.
"Shall we go then?"
"Ah, yes!"
After finishing our introductions and forming a party, we headed straight for the Gate. There wasn't any formal verification process. We just gathered a few supplies before entering: a large sack, several flashlights, water, and some snacks. Some of the flashlights had straps so they could be worn on the head or waist. Apparently, the sack was for carrying Mana Stones. As for the flashlights... they were necessary because the Goblin's Den was a cave. Since I had the lightest load among the three of us, I volunteered to carry these supplies.
"Some parties actually hire porters just for this reason."
I see... They hadn't mentioned it at the Academy, but it seemed such a role existed. The Hero's party never had a porter. For starters, our mage, Liselotte, possessed subdimensional pocket magic, so we never had to carry heavy luggage. And when it came to cooking, Balder and Eina were excellent at it. But without those conveniences, a large group of people moving together would inevitably require a porter. In any case, as we stood before the Gate...
I noticed a subtle difference from the first Gate I had experienced. First of all, the inside of the Gate was completely opaque. The Gate I had originally fallen through allowed you to see from the inside out, and vice versa. But this one didn't. It was probably because it was a Dungeon-type Gate. I recalled what I had learned at the Academy. Had they said we had to enter in order? I saw another party entering ahead of us. The Gate was glowing faintly; if we entered now, we would end up in the same dungeon instance as them. After waiting about a minute, the light faded. Entering now meant we would enter a completely different instance of the dungeon.
"Fascinating..."
Perhaps because it was my first time entering a Gate properly, my heart was pounding with excitement.
"Let's go."
Gyuri took the lead as if she were the party leader. I quietly followed behind her. However, unable to hide my rising excitement, the corners of my mouth twitched upward.