The Frozen Gate

"Dungeon entry. I'm Tak Byeong-cheol, vice-captain of the Third Assault Team from the Cheonrang Guild."

"I'm Gong Gyun, branch manager of the Superior Guild."

"Vice-combat director of the Warriors Guild..."

People poured in one after another, each introducing themselves in front of the stage. Quite a crowd had gathered. Just from Class J there were twenty-five people, which meant two hundred and fifty in total when everyone was counted.

"Why are all the titles so all over the place?"

"Not every guild specializes only in monster hunting. They each have their own path forward."

After hearing Kim Chan-yong's explanation, I realized I'd been mistaken. I'd assumed every guild was focused on hunting, but some of the names sounded more like merchant groups.

Thud! While the three of us sat in the back listening to the explanations, someone stomped loudly and strode toward the front of the hall.

"I am Hwang Hyun of the Chunha Musang Guild!"

The man looked as though his entire body had been forged from steel. His voice boomed through the auditorium. When Hwang Hyun appeared, murmurs rippled through the students who had been sitting quietly. He must be someone important.

While that was happening, another person stepped forward beside Hwang Hyun.

"Yoo Bit-na, vice-captain of the Silver Wing Guild."

Another round of impressed murmurs rose from the students. Yoo Bit-na, who had stepped out beside Hwang Hyun, turned her head and met my eyes. She was the one who had shoved me into the academy as a parachute student.

"Why did the purple pot come all the way here?"

"Gasp. Ga-eul, shh."

Hwang Hyun was glaring steadily at the purple pot, as if their relationship wasn't good. Baek Seol, who had been playing on the desk, seemed interested in the candy.

"Candy!"

"Baek Seol, want some candy?"

"Yeah!"

Crunch. When I bit into the lollipop I had in my mouth, it shattered into small pieces. I popped a tiny fragment into Baek ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Seol's mouth and she chewed happily. She must like it.

"I'm Jang Ik-hyun, combat captain of the Third Combat Unit from the Jungchu Guild."

"That concludes the introductions from the guild representatives. From now on, I will call the parties that will be assigned to each guild."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Quite a few big shots had come to see the first-year students, who were too fresh to even be called green. Professor Hwang, who was speaking so neatly, was a sight I had never seen before.

"Shin Yong-dae..."

Professor Hwang stopped calling the team name and glared at me.

"Haa... The Shin Yong-dae Loan Team will be with the Silver Wing Guild."

"Oh."

Laughter broke out among the students who had been tense.

"Wait a moment!"

At that moment, Hwang Hyun approached Professor Hwang.

"What is it, Hunter Hwang Hyun?"

"Professor. The team you just mentioned is coming with me."

"Pardon? There should have been a prior agreement. This team is..."

"Professor. Don't make me say it twice."

Hwang Hyun cut Professor Hwang off and began radiating a heavy presence. Professor Hwang's complexion rapidly worsened.

Thwack! The candy I threw landed squarely on the guy's face.

"...Candy?"

"You little shit. Why are you barking at our teacher, you brain-dead bastard?"

"Aack! Ga-eul!"

Wisdom Academy had a privilege reserved only for new students. The country's major guilds would watch over the new students' first dungeon run. They didn't do anything special. They simply observed and only extracted the students if they were in a life-threatening situation.

At first, it had been a system to pair small guilds with promising new student teams and create connections. It was a measure by the nation and Wisdom to prevent any single guild from becoming disproportionately powerful. However, over time, this measure transformed into an opportunity for large guilds to snatch up talented new students.

Today was the day when the big shots from major guilds, who were usually impossible to meet, all gathered in one place. How impressive could a new student who had just finished blooming really be? Still, there were always a few shining gems among them. The people who had gathered today had come to make contact with those new students. For both the wide-eyed students sitting in their seats and the people who had come to pick out raw gems, today was a field of opportunity.

Thud! Hwang Mi-ran, a scholar affiliated with the academy and a professor at Wisdom Academy, thought she must have seen wrong. But no matter how many times she looked, the thing stuck to the face of the third-in-command of the Chunha Musang Guild was definitely a piece of candy.

"You little shit. Why are you barking at our teacher, you brain-dead bastard?"

It was a candy that had already been chewed several times and was falling apart. Hwang Mi-ran covered her face with both hands. Even though she had clearly told her yesterday not to cause trouble, the one who threw the candy was the student with pink hair fluttering behind her.

'That crazy bitch. Where the hell did her brakes go? I want to die. Should I just retire?'

While Hwang Mi-ran was worrying about her future, Hwang Hyun's laughter burst out.

"Ha... Haha. Uwahaha!"

Hwang Hyun of the Chunha Musang Guild had encountered something so absurd that it was a first in his life. The guild master of the guild he belonged to was a harsh man. Even toward his own son. It was only natural that Hwang Hyun, who had grown up watching his father, resembled him in personality.

"How dare you, people who normally can't even meet my eyes."

"So what, you retard? Your head looks like a camel's dick. You pathetic loser."

Even rudeness had its limits. No one had ever spoken to him with such vulgarity before.

"That tiny mouth sure talks a lot..."

"Wipe your mouth before you speak. Is that debuff from the shit smell coming out of it? You're a curse sorcerer, right?"

"You bastard!"

"Waaah. Go wipe it off and live properly."

Hwang Hyun wanted to tear apart that mouth that kept chattering without a single word of respect. The Chunha Musang Guild was still recovering from a raid failure a year ago. That was why his father had repeatedly urged him to suppress his temper and win people over. But this had gone too far.

"...I'll kill you."

"Your ugly mug is already killing me. The whole planet's gonna dry up and wither at this rate."

"Kuaaaak!!"

Unable to hold back any longer, blue aura surged from Hwang Hyun's body as he drew up his power.

"Thanks to you, we spent a lot of money. Good for us."

The pink-haired crazy bitch kept spouting incomprehensible words to the very end.

Whoosh! The moment he tried to use his power, Yoo Bit-na, who had been in front of him, instantly drew her sword and pressed it against his neck.

"Hwang Hyun. What do you think you're doing in the academy?"

Under normal circumstances, he would have responded immediately.

"Th-this is...!"

But suddenly dizziness and an unpleasant feeling surged up. At the same time, the status window went into an uproar.

Hwang Hyun felt as though his brain was twisting and burning. He could feel himself going insane in real time.

'Ah... I want to kill myself...'

"Uwaaaah! No!!"

People around him were staring as if he were strange.

"Hwang Hyun. If you do this, it will be the Chunha Musang Guild that suffers. Get a hold of yourself."

"Ah, I understand..."

He suddenly drew up his power, then began nodding obediently to her words while drooling.

Seeing that, Yoo Bit-na immediately realized something was wrong with Hwang Hyun's condition.

"Hwang Hyun, sorry but I'll have to knock you out..."

Before Yoo Bit-na could finish speaking, a figure with pink hair fluttering shot out like an arrow from where the students were sitting.

Crunch! The flying student's knee met Hwang Hyun's jaw, and the weaker side caved in and twisted.

Thud! With his jaw twisted, Hwang Hyun's eyes rolled back and he crashed into the corner.

"Pest, eliminated!"

It was a picture-perfect flying knee kick.

Light shimmered before my eyes.

"What rank gate is this?"

"Estimated E-rank."

"Estimated?"

The rank of a dungeon you were risking your life to enter was only an estimate. It was absurd.

"If you place your hand on the gate, you'll know."

Following Yoo Bit-na the purple pot's words, I placed my hand on it, and some information floated up.

"Everything's question marks?"

"The closer the gate's color is to white, the lower the difficulty. Conversely, the closer it is to black, the higher."

"That's it?"

The information about a dungeon you were risking your life to enter was pathetically lacking.

"That's why scholars exist."

"What's that?"

"An orc habitat."

Even so, it was too vague.

"You don't have to worry too much. Newly opened gates always have extremely insufficient information, so we set the safety margin high."

"And the result is that?"

When I pointed at the man who had been frowning beside Yoo Bit-na the whole time, he stepped forward as if he couldn't hold back any longer.

"I told you last time too, didn't I? Watch your mouth."

"I told you last time too, didn't I? If you don't manage your eyeballs, I'll pluck them out."

"Stop!"

When Yoo Bit-na raised her voice, the frowning man stepped back as if nothing had happened.

"Bong Sang-hoon. Were you so pathetic that you had to pick a fight with academy students?"

"N-no, ma'am."

"Think about my position, trusting you and sending you here."

"I'm sorry."

Bong Sang-hoon bowed deeply toward Yoo Bit-na. Seeing how his expression didn't change even under scolding, it seemed he respected her a lot.

"Ugh. Bong-bong Sang-hoon, let's do this properly, okay?"

Grind.

"Oh? Does your guild provide implants too? Wow, nice benefits."

When the atmosphere seemed to be heating up, the three who had been beside me stepped in front of me.

"Ga-eul, what's wrong?"

"That bastard's been picking fights since the first time we met."

Yoo Bit-na, who had been shaking her head, moved to block both Bong Sang-hoon and the three of us.

"Bong Sang-hoon is a B-rank elite hunter. Our Silver Wing is an elite group, so you can trust him. Originally you should be going to an F-rank dungeon, but since you were called an elite party, we prepared this gate."

When Yoo Bit-na finished speaking, four Silver Wing Guild members in full gear with large bags on their backs approached the gate.

"There are always variables inside the gate. Come back safely."

"You're not coming?"

"I'm busy, even if it doesn't look like it."

"Got it. Thanks for preparing this."

"Don't mention it."

After Yoo Bit-na's straightforward farewell, the Silver Wing Guild members entered the gate. As I tried to follow, Bong Sang-hoon, who had remained until the end, stopped us.

"Wait."

"Why?"

"There are cases where monsters are right at the entrance. We enter after five minutes have passed."

The confrontational attitude from earlier was gone, and only a veteran hunter remained. Bong Sang-hoon, who had been checking the time, gave a hand signal.

"I'll go in first."

Following Bong Sang-hoon into the gate, the world instantly flipped.

Whoosh! Inside the gate, a bitterly cold wind blew.

"A snowy mountain?"

I saw a moment of bewilderment cross Bong Sang-hoon's face. Something must have gone wrong.

How long had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it been since we visited a scorching uninhabited island, and now they were trying to freeze us to death?

"Baek Seol, look, it's snow."

"Fun!"

Baek Seol, who had been in my arms, wiggled her butt and jumped into the piled-up snow.

Poof! The white creature disappeared after burying herself in the snow. Everyone's expressions were dark, but only Baek Seol was excited.

"Shin Yong-dae Loan Team, assemble!"

The three who had been silently looking around gathered. I took out various cold-weather gear, and their gazes focused on me.

"If you don't want to freeze to death, wrap up tight. And share your opinions. Let's compile them and move."

The top student, Shin Yong, who had been wearing earmuffs, spoke first.

"As the professor said, adapting to the environment is the priority."

Everyone nodded at Shin Yong's words.

"We need to figure out the dungeon's clear conditions first. This field-type dungeon is likely an extermination battle."

Everyone nodded again at Kim Chan-yong's words. As expected of elite students, they all gave reasonable opinions. While we were compiling information, a beast-like howl quietly drifted in from afar.

"Prepare for battle. Form a defensive formation centered around Han Ga-eul."

When Shin Yong finished speaking, the three instantly formed the formation.

"Baek Seol, come here. Play later."

When I called her, the piled snow shifted and she peeked her face out.

"Fun!"

In the short time she had been playing, her whole body was covered in snow. Baek Seol shook herself once to shake it off, then jumped into my arms. For a moment, the image of our bathroom, always flooded with water, flashed before my eyes.

"I'll support you."

At my words, the three nodded.