#311. Cooler Than Expected.
Joo Se-ah stared at the ominously flickering gate entrance.
The blue light undulated like rippling waves, beautiful enough to soothe the soul if you just gazed at it—but what lurked inside were vicious monstrosities beyond compare.
"Heard 'gate-gazing' is the latest trend among hunters these days?"
Joo Se-ah turned at the voice. Seong Seon-je stood there with a smile. She tilted her head at the unfamiliar term.
"Gate-gazing?"
"Staring at a fire is fire-gazing. Staring at a gate is gate-gazing."
"People have the weirdest hobbies."
"Why? We actively encourage it at Slayer."
"Is your guild master nuts? Did he lose it after I quit?"
"I started it."
"Oh... Seong Team Leader, I'm sorry. Get a grip. Want me to hook you up with a doctor?"
Seong Seon-je chuckled softly.
"It's a form of mental care. Once you step through a gate, hunters have nowhere to put their minds. Gotta hold on somehow."
"When has it ever been different?"
"Iron Will's tied down by the safe zone law, so you wouldn't know, but the other guilds are backed up on gates because of the Northeast Defense War. It's raid, rest, training on repeat—but these days, they're skipping rest and even training, just chaining raids. Mental management is crucial now."
"Then scrap the safe zone law. I could solo most gates and close 'em myself."
"Ha? That's the problem—focusing only on closing them. You gotta loot everything worth taking first, right? Not that you'd know, but back when you were in our guild, controlling you was a nightmare."
Seong Seon-je shook his head, still incredulous at the memories.
"I was hooked on hunting back then. Full of youthful vigor."
"Hooked or not, you should've eased up for the guild's sake. Sure, it plumped you up... Why'd you draw your sword?"
"You saying I got fat?"
"S-rank. I'm talking about S-rank."
"Oh."
Joo Se-ah sheathed the sword she'd drawn without realizing.
"Speaking of, what's that sword? Looks solid."
Seong Seon-je eyed the blade at her waist.
Joo Se-ah smirked and shook the sheathed sword teasingly.
"Pretty good, right? Makaru In. Rare top-grade—handles nicely."
"Ho, so this is Makaru In? It vanished after that auction ages ago. Never figured Guild Master Joo got it. Must sting, though? Downgrading from a demon sword to something a few grades lower. And an S-rank without even a unique? Those are tough to snag, huh?"
Joo Se-ah's temple throbbed at his teasing tone.
"Must sting for you, huh? Can't use that demon sword yourself, so it's rotting in a drawer. Even Woo-young or Ha Hye-seong aren't ready for 'Dyne Slice' yet. Why not lend it to me? I'll pay top dollar."
"Hanging with Guild Leader Kang sharpened your tongue. You used to stammer whenever I talked to you."
"You gonna make me stammer? How many years ago was that? Everyone's like that in middle school."
"From what I recall, high sch— Why draw again? Does it turn into a spear too? Definitely the real deal."
Joo Se-ah aimed the transformed Makaru In at him and shrugged.
"My control's still off—it keeps shifting on its own. Let's play nice before I skewer you."
"This is so unfair."
"Then hurry up and reclaim S-rank."
"......"
Seong Seon-je hesitated before speaking carefully.
"You noticed?"
"Hiding from an S-rank? It's obvious—this is your bottleneck."
"They say it's not far off. Energizing to hear."
"That last step's a killer. Don't get cocky. Plenty of folks stagnate forever. If it were easy, S-ranks would be everywhere."
"Appreciate the advice."
"Show it—give orders on handling that."
Suddenly, Joo Se-ah swung her spear tip toward the gate. The blue waves were turning red. Unlike previous monster spits, a massive surge swelled up.
"Here it comes."
Seong Seon-je recalled the report on Bukhansan South 21 Gate's boss monster.
Pterosaur.
The pterodactyl folks commonly called it.
A wyvern evolution with overwhelming size and power—worthy of dragonkin despite being a lesser breed. But its bloated body limited flight to barely hovering. If it didn't resemble a pterosaur, it wouldn't even qualify as a bird.
With top-tier flight, no average guild could touch it.
Of course, clumsiness doesn't make it easy.
Covered in tough scales unfit for "feathers," the large-type pterosaur was notorious for long raid times.
But.
We've got a monster on our side too.
Seong Seon-je glanced at Joo Se-ah. Meeting his eyes, she checked the raid intel.
"Pterosaur—the fat bird that can't fly well?"
"You've hunted it before?"
"Wasn't tough back then. Wyverns are trickier. What's hard about grounding a flightless one? The problem's the hatchlings."
"On that note, orders. Simple stuff. While we handle the mother and hatchlings, Guild Master Joo takes the pterosaur."
"Not tanking?"
"Used to buy time that way, but you're S-rank now. You can solo it."
"Trying to coast?"
"I do love sashimi."
"What? Picking that up from our leader? So corny... Huh? It's coming."
Light coalesced in the gate's center, forming a liquid face that protruded. Limbs and torso pushed out next, shoving aside the light.
"Formation as ordered."
Seong Seon-je commanded the Slayer hunters.
They formed a semicircular encirclement around the gate.
Joo Se-ah stepped forward, spinning her spear overhead. The hunters adjusted formation instinctively—no orders needed. They'd raided together countless times. They knew her style better than Iron Will's own hunters.
"I'll grab the pterosaur as ordered."
As Joo Se-ah advanced, Seong Seon-je fell back. Arms crossed, he watched like a spectator. He shouted to the surrounding hunters.
"Rare S-rank hunt—eyes wide open, everyone."
The pterosaur burst from the gate like ripping fabric.
Forty meters long, with a neck far outpacing its short tail. Wingspan hit thirty meters side-to-side, small relative to its bulk.
A sharp, ore-like crest spiked from its head. A thick throat pouch sagged below the beak, reminiscent of the Upu Mangbau from Russia.
Wings linked to arm-like chest limbs. It could bipedal but preferred quadrupedal for speed.
"Been a while. Bones fetch a fortune."
Joo Se-ah welcomed the pterosaur warmly—her first hunt since Slayer raids.
Hatchlings followed, dozens—no, over a hundred at a glance.
"Lots of babies. Don't let a single one escape."
Even without her warning, Slayer hunters tightened the net—no ant would slip through.
Then, something unexpected.
The hatchlings spread wings and took flight en masse.
Unlike their flightless mother, they soared freely.
"Airborne assault!"
Someone broadcast it—but wrong.
Seong Seon-je saw instantly.
"They're fleeing! Ranged, open fire! Mages, bullet hell up top!"
He revised orders swiftly, but couldn't block them all.
More hatchlings than average, and raids usually had them clustering by the mother—too few air interceptors.
Even with proper setup, monsters plotting escape from raid start were no joke.
Judged too easy from gate intel. Inside, no retreat—they fight with mom. Never guessed they'd scatter outside.
Not really his fault. Monsters hid more unknowns than knowns.
Pterosaurs rarely exited gates—no one expected mass flight.
"Flying-magic hunters, pursue!"
Mage leader Yeo Mun-gi and Slayer mages lifted off. Others hurled weapons, but it was tough.
The pterosaur moved.
"Kieee! Kieeek!"
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Ear-piercing shrieks as it charged the hunters.
"You're with me."
Joo Se-ah planted under its leg. It tried stomping her.
She hopped back, dodging, then punched as it landed.
A scream—pterosaur rolled. Dust billowed from its mass.
She vaulted onto its exposed belly.
"Finally, time to use this."
Joo Se-ah raised the spear-form Makaru In skyward.
Light boiled from the shaft, piercing the blade-tip and surging dozens of meters high.
Gigas Manus
Joo Se-ah's original skill. A giant's sword forged from mana.
Defense-specialized by nature, she struggled against large-types. After grueling effort, she mastered Gigas Manus—but its mana drain caused exhaustion, limiting use.
S-rank changed that. No strain now.
She'd held back big moves while adapting, but now she was fully synced.
Hunters were awestruck by the massive mana blade.
Beautiful—and terrifying in power.
"Hup!"
Breath steady, Joo Se-ah swung down.
The pterosaur split. It thrashed in agony—futile. Mana pinned it.
Mana sliced flesh, burned blood, melted bone.
Skull parted, brain liquefied. Beak parted like butter under a hot knife.
Undigested prey spilled from the throat pouch—smashed by acid, but some human-like corpses visible. Raid hunters, by their gear.
Joo Se-ah gnashed her teeth in rage, yanking the shaft. Mana blade carved chest to gut. Heart ignited. Organs cooked.
Blade burst from the tail.
"Huuuuh—"
She exhaled deeply.
The blue gate boss fell effortlessly.
Hunters finally grasped it.
Another dimension.
S-rank. Just words before—didn't know the gap was this vast.
Even Ha Hye-seong, who hated her guts, felt awe.
"Cooler than expected."
Seong Seon-je voiced his thought aloud. Worthy scene.
Unlike others' respect, his gaze held expectation.
Satisfied glimpsing the S-rank facet he'd envisioned. The majesty cleared his vision anew. That vague realm felt closer.
"Seong Team Leader! You have emergency nets with other tiers? Request sniper teams. Gotta catch those escapees."
"Orders out already. They'll respond, but they're swamped chasing their own leaks. This gate's nasty—most are fliers."
Flight-types were hell outside gates. No walls meant global spread if ignored.
Joo Se-ah lamented her grounded state.
"Tch! S-rank my ass—can't catch 'em."
"Want me to make you fly?"
A familiar voice from above.
"Thomas!"
Iron Will's rare mage—and unheralded S-rank prospect—descended from the sky.