Quick Gate

The review had already gone through, and this was the feature that came out of it.

I could finally apply a subscription system to my stream.

"I'll treat you a little better. Plus you get a sub badge next to your chat."

Put simply, it meant I was going to legally sort people into classes and discriminate accordingly.

"I'll cut you some slack depending on the situation. I'll go easier on Tier 2 than Tier 1, for sure."

"Ah, for fuck's sake."

He'd subscribed, so I didn't ban him.

"Tier 3 does have benefits, but they're pretty similar to Tier 2."

"For the ones whose true names I've figured out. That's how I collect from them."

Normally, once a Constellation's true name was revealed, they'd start paying one or two thousand Coins a month. But from that point on, the affection dried up — they'd just drop by the stream for a second each month, dump their Coins, and leave. That was the story, anyway.

So even if you knew a true name, if the Constellation was already donating more through regular sponsorships, some streamers just never brought it up. You couldn't afford to lose either side, which was exactly why I'd built this system — the subscription system.

I'd set the prices low, layered in the perks of being a sub, and made it so that even if a true name got out, the burden wouldn't feel crushing.

…Of course, whether it'd actually work out that way was anyone's guess.

"Of course. Looking forward to working with you all!"

Honestly, I still wasn't sure how important true names really were. Han Nami had told me there were things you could do once you knew one, but none of them were things I particularly needed.

WolfMama — the same one who'd tried to drop Heavenly Punishment on me just a little while ago — had subscribed too.

"Thank you for the sub, WolfMama! Looking forward to working with you!"

They'd already dumped a pile of Coins as an apology fee, so I wasn't sure why they felt the need to subscribe on top of that — but more subs was more subs. I wasn't complaining.

"I was planning to keep this stream short, but it ran longer than I expected."

A troll had barged in out of nowhere, I'd nearly gotten hit with Heavenly Punishment, I'd formed a dantian based on something I'd seen in a porn game, and then I'd rolled out the subscription system and gotten a bunch of Constellations to sign up. The stream had been meant to just open subs and wrap, but it ballooned — which, to be fair, was just what happened when you streamed.

I still had time before my next appointment.

"Alright then — see you next time!"

I finished my end-of-stream bit and shut the broadcast off.

"Haaah……."

Every time I killed a stream, the exhaustion hit all at once. On air I forced the energy up more often than not, and the crash always came in a single wave. On top of that, today had included an actual near-death experience, so I was even more wiped than usual.

I pulled a teddy bear out of my inventory, hugged it close for a moment to settle my nerves, then pushed myself up.

"Time to get ready to head out."

I had somewhere to be today. Han Nami had said she'd look into housing for me, and she'd messaged earlier.

Only a day had passed, and she'd already found something. Originally I'd planned to go house-hunting with her, but she was swamped with work and said she'd send someone else instead.

She's that busy and she still found me a place.

I figured I owed her a meal at the very least.

Getting ready didn't take long. I'd already showered, and I was still in the outdoor clothes I'd worn for the stream, so all I had to do was put on shoes.

I headed for the meeting spot.

The meeting place was a plaza somewhere in Seoul. From what I'd heard, a ton of guilds had their headquarters nearby.

Han Nami had said she'd send a friend of hers, but I had no idea who that was, so all I could do was wait.

Is that her?

I eyed a woman walking past.

I'm prettier.

The woman met my eyes, immediately dropped her gaze, and hurried away.

Not her, then.

Around the time our appointment was due, a man approached me.

"Excuse me……."

I looked him over. Heavy dark circles under his eyes, the kind that said he was running on fumes, and a build that suggested he worked out — muscle showing faintly through his clothes. He was in a suit with his forehead bare, looking every bit the Association staffer.

"Hello. I'm Kim Dongmin — here in Han Nami's place."

Two thoughts hit me at the exact same time.

What? She said 'friend,' so I figured it'd be a woman. It's a guy?

First: mild panic that the friend Han Nami had sent was a man.

Holy shit, if I'd just flat-out rejected him I'd have been screwed.

Second: relief ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that I hadn't immediately blown him off thinking he was trying to hit on me.

"Hello. Park Sohee."

"Shall we go?"

Kim Dongmin took the lead with a thoroughly businesslike attitude. We headed to a real estate office he'd arranged in advance, and the three of us — him, the agent, and me — went to look at places.

The price range was reasonably fair. Affordable enough that if another Sudden Gate hit the way the last one had, I could still manage a move. I was broke for the moment, so I decided to take out a bank loan. Hunters got approved pretty easily, apparently. As for future income, I'd earn that through hunter work.

"I'll take this one."

Thanks to that, I locked down a decent officetel in no time. Less than five minutes to the subway, solid amenities all around, tight security, and since it was an officetel the management was clean. And cheap on top of all that. It almost felt too good to be true.

Kim Dongmin inspected the place carefully for any defects, then gave it a solid review.

"But a place like this at this price? How?"

When I asked, the real estate agent beamed.

"The building owner nearly died once, and a hunter saved him. Ever since then, he's been letting hunters stay here at a discount."

Someone who owed their life and had been doing good turns ever since, the agent said.

"Honestly, I always recommend this place. If I were a hunter, I'd live here myself."

If the agent was right, not living here would make me a sucker.

"A lot of other hunters stay here too. Of course, once they've grown a bit, they tend to move somewhere else."

That tracked. Hunter income was substantial. Work hard for a single year and you could stretch for an apartment on the outskirts of Seoul. I'd taken down one orc and already banked enough to loaf around the house for months like an unemployed bum, so that said it all.

"Oh, right."

There was one critical question I'd almost forgotten.

"How's the soundproofing here?"

For some reason, both Kim Dongmin and the real estate agent put on deeply uncomfortable faces.

"Ah — cohabitation isn't allowed here. Living alone is a condition of the lease, so……."

You son of a bitch.

They'd completely misunderstood.

Clearing up the misunderstanding didn't take long. Whether they actually believed me was another matter, but I'd said my piece, so that was that.

In the car on the way home, riding shotgun with Kim Dongmin.

"…Thank you."

I offered my gratitude for him coming along to check out the place with me.

"Don't mention it. I had my own reasons for coming."

Reasons?

This bastard, don't tell me—

"My business card. If you're looking for a guild, I'd appreciate it if you contacted us first. We're short on people these days."

Oh. Not that.

And here I thought he was going to dig up my address and start stalking me.

Then again, anyone Han Nami trusted enough to send wouldn't be that kind of weirdo.

I took the card.

So he was a hunter with a guild called Eclipse.

"Our guild isn't exactly the best out there, but……."

And then—

Screeeech—!

Kim Dongmin slammed the brakes. If I hadn't gotten stronger since becoming a hunter, the jolt would've put my face through the dashboard.

I looked ahead to see what was going on. Every car had stopped dead, and beyond them a blue light was pouring out.

"…It's a Gate."

"What?"

Kim Dongmin stared forward as he spoke.

"If we leave it, it'll turn into a Sudden Gate! Get out!"

He already had a weapon in hand as he climbed out of the car. I got out too and followed after him — and at the same time, I fired up the stream.

Chat started rolling in, but I ignored it for now and closed the distance to Kim Dongmin.

"It's a Quick Gate."

A Quick Gate. Unlike a Sudden Gate, which started spewing monsters the instant it appeared, a Quick Gate had a short latency period before it went berserk. If a hunter entered it in time, it converted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into a normal Gate — but that window was so short that responding was a nightmare. Sometimes people like me and Kim Dongmin spotted one right away, but more often than not, a Quick Gate went critical before backup could arrive.

"We're going in."

Kim Dongmin said it while staring at the Gate.

I knew this was coming.

The second I saw that Gate, I felt it. That was a Gate I was supposed to enter. If it hadn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been, I wouldn't have even turned the stream on.

"Let's go."

Kim Dongmin and I moved toward the Gate.