Wildness 07
While hunters inside the unique event of the Battle on the Eve of the Wild Sanctuary Gate felt an ironic twist as they suddenly focused on farming work, those watching from outside were witnessing the same bizarre sight.
Gate classification number Ga-8 had formed at the site of a fairly large temple, leaving only the temple building isolated after the gate's emergence.
But now...
A new structure had swallowed the entire building, taking its place on the grounds. A simple cube with doors and windows, topped by a square pyramid roof—that was it. Still semi-transparent, it was impossible to approach and inspect the material due to the expanding forced zone of the gate.
"Have you ever seen anything like this before?"
Jeong Eunhye's voice came through the radio, mixed with static and wind noise—she was clearly on the move somewhere in a hurry.
"Hm."
Kang Cheolhan stroked his chin. A survivor of what was commonly called hellish battlefields, but even he had never seen this phenomenon.
"Not that I recall. What about you, Seongsim?"
"How would I know something even the captain hasn't experienced?"
"Tch. No old records or anything?"
That was why Jeong Eunhye was rushing around. No matter that it was an event—even if it affected the outside of the gate, they couldn't just sit idle.
"Hmmm."
Kang Cheolhan stared at the gate with uncharacteristic seriousness. Then, something occurred to him.
"Who was the liberator here?"
"No. Just asking."
Kang Cheolhan answered immediately. Even a Gate Liberator couldn't directly influence a gate they'd liberated. As one himself, he knew that all too well.
"Especially since the senior's already retired..."
It was just a slight niggle. The red color itself was unprecedented.
"How's it inside? Event proceeding normally?"
"Yes. The rankings are shifting again."
"Current top of the rankings."
As talk turned to the internal situation, the breathing mixed into the radio grew heavier.
"Nade Man. Son Philip. Those two."
A ranking as unexpected as the event's anomalies. And that wasn't all. Neither Yeonwoo nor Shin Gaon's names appeared in the gold zone.
Sagaagak—!
It was utter domination. A rampage.
"Hahat, ahahaha!"
Shin Gaon was especially thrilled. Her laughter went beyond cackling—she was grinning ear-to-ear like a maniac, teeth fully bared.
Was she lost in the thrill of slicing reeds in one swing? Or immersed in the conquest of wielding Yeonwoo? Most likely both.
Takes more effort than I thought.
Yeonwoo, the one in question, didn't mind. She was just extending her arm fully, deep in cost-benefit calculations.
Truth be told, she didn't even need to extend her arm. The massive centrifugal force flung everything outward.
Which was why her side—precisely under her armpit—was pulling taut. The symbol of her voluptuousness was being flung intensely by the spin.
"...Ngh."
Becoming aware of it suddenly made her embarrassed. Yeonwoo hurriedly pulled one arm to her body.
Same weapons could only be fused once, and couldn't expand to 'Dual Weapons,' so she had just the one sickle. One hand was plenty.
After swinging like that for a while—having cleared over half their assigned area in an instant—an unexpected crisis hit.
"Urp."
Intense vertigo assaulted Yeonwoo. Even a hunter's body had limits after spinning like mad.
No matter the Gyroscope trait. It maintained cognition in any situation, but all it did was delay the nausea and vomiting a bit longer.
"Hold up. Stop. Gonna puke."
"Ahahahaha—!"
Regardless, Shin Gaon kept spinning like a lunatic. No intention of stopping until she'd mowed their entire zone.
"...Urp! Stop, I said I'm gonna puke!"
"Oh? Haha! Finally bearing fruit from all that hip shaking? Ahahaha!"
Shin Gaon cackled, spouting nonsense. It took three seconds to parse the mad meaning.
"You crazy bitch!"
It was the first time in her life being teased like this—tears nearly welled up. Mostly from the spin, but she couldn't take it. Cursing, her body reacted on reflex.
Yeonwoo kicked free and stomped Shin Gaon's side with her heel.
Thud!
"You loved it, now you're throwing a fit!"
"Die!"
Another spanking remark—smack—!
"Ack!"
Thud! One more kick, and finally Shin Gaon released Yeonwoo's foot.
Whoosh—
The spin was so fierce Yeonwoo's body flew low and fast through the reeds.
She shot toward the end of the reed field, on a collision course with the dense wall of trees.
But no problem.
Using Gyroscope, Yeonwoo twisted her body. Extending an arm for a smooth landing like sliding—
"Urgh."
Splat! Dry heaving as she hit the tree, then dropped to the ground.
"...This is hopeless."
Still, she learned something new. Spin in moderation. And keep Shin Gaon at a distance.
"Ugh."
Yeonwoo wiped her mouth and tried to stand.
Or tried to.
"Hm?"
But as her whole body hit the ground, she felt a vibration beyond the dense tree wall.
What’s that?
Maybe the next event phase. The current one was nearing its end.
Yeonwoo glanced up at the ranking board in the twilight sky. She extended a finger to find her and Shin Gaon's names.
"..."
Her finger moved, but no easy find. Past gold, silver—until it hit the bronze zone.
"Why? How?"
There they were. An incomprehensible anomaly.
Even if their area was overwhelmingly larger than others', their mowing speed was overwhelming too—no way they'd fall in rankings.
"Hold still."
Yeonwoo dashed to Shin Gaon, stepped on her shoulder to climb up, and surveyed their area versus others'.
"Ah..."
The full view hit—her mouth gaped blankly. The difference was stark, even from a glance.
Other hunters' zones were a mess. No pattern, just hacking whatever reeds they saw, cut ones scattered everywhere.
Theirs? Pristine. Thanks to Reaping bundling all cut reeds neatly into the Bag—no debris.
Making the zone differences crystal clear.
The assigned areas divided into three: reed field, plain dirt ground, and clean bare ground revealed after mowing reeds.
Others' messes blurred the lines, but theirs showed perfectly. And atop the clean zone lay some reeds Shin Gaon had irritably ripped and tossed.
"That's it."
Obvious once seen. Nothing else made sense.
"Forward."
Yeonwoo nudged Shin Gaon with her foot.
"Uh, yeah."
Shin Gaon, head held high admiring the view, felt the slight pain and obediently moved ahead.
Crossing the reeds to the pure bare ground, Yeonwoo tapped her earring.
Thudududuk!
A massive pile of reeds poured out. More like tumbling down.
The falling reeds landed in orderly bundles—precisely counted and sized.
So that's what 'stacked' meant?
Yeonwoo's eyes widened at the reed stacks.
Magical as the ability was, impressive. No ropes in the event or Bag, yet neatly bound with straw ties.
"What, some monster from the hills playing farmer?"
"Hold on."
After dumping heaps onto the zone.
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
A welcome sound rang steadily.
"We're climbing."
Their names shot up the rankings. Yeonwoo's lips curved up.
Shin Gaon's gaze followed.
Tick. Tick.
Their names hit the gold zone.
"Easy."
The second phase was clear now. Secure the zone, fill it with reeds. That was the key.
From here, pure time play. Time to reclaim overwhelming first place.
"Huh. What."
Then Shin Gaon, looking up, scowled. Sudden shadow blocked the view above.
"Sun already set here too?"
Shin Gaon shrugged it off and moved forward, back to twilight brightness, resuming her admiration.
Seemed trivial.
"...Why the scenery."
But to Yeonwoo, it landed differently. Riding Shin Gaon's 180cm height gave a clear view of the entire twilight landscape.
No change expected, yet...
Shin Gaon grumbled, dodging the shadow.
"Wait."
Yeonwoo halted her hand. The reeds stopped pouring.
"Ah. I see it."
Shin Gaon's steps stopped too.
"Aha!"
Yeonwoo's eyes widened. Correlation confirmed.
Filling the zone with reeds also filled it with shadow. Like transitioning from twilight to night.
Other zones matched: more reeds, darker visibly—like a fill bar for quota.
"Mow. Fill. Next phase..."
Added a step to phase two. No action change needed. Keep filling completely as before.
But.
"Something."
Nagged at her. The process felt familiar.
"Why. Let's finish quick."
"Is finishing like this right?"
Yeonwoo alternated gazes between twilight and their plot. Hunter-friendly event or not, too easy felt off.
Maybe veteran instincts from groveling days. Too smooth? Suspicious.
So she recalled event entry, retracing steps.
"Decisive Battle."
First encounter. Facing wolves—a true showdown.
"Eve."
Brief rest. Or this pre-night moment as eve.
"...Sanctuary."
Final phase: sanctuary. Assigned plots, gathering reeds to build—fit the word perfectly, especially the 'fruit.'
"Then Wildness?"
Of Decisive Battle Eve Wild Sanctuary, the most aggressive, trouble-brewing term.
"What. Smash a ton to death or something?"
Shin Gaon chimed in. Yeonwoo agreed. 'Wildness' evoked that.
"Probably wolves again."
"Yeah. Decisive Battle Wildness."
Vast area, wolves, reed material. Final wildness to sanctuary.
"Wait. This feels like something from..."
Yeonwoo's words trailed, spinning smaller. Familiar pattern.
Even recalled the shabby orphanage. Meager food, toys, books—rereading the few endlessly.
"...Ah."
Yeonwoo muttered blankly. Ridiculous thought surfaced.
"No way...?"
Body moved first. Yeonwoo leaped off Shin Gaon, dashed to zone's edge—toward trees.
"Hey, not finishing? Where!"
"Wait!"
Running, Yeonwoo swapped weapons. For matchup, two-handed axe Must Cut appeared in hand.
"H-Hey! You bitch, that's—!"
Shin Gaon naturally spat curses.
"I said wait!"
Yeonwoo swung the two-handed axe.
Craack!
Axe for trees. Sharp matchup drove power deep.
Rumble—Boom!
Frenzied swings toppled the tree.
"Wha, what?"
"Huh. Trees too?"
Hunters' attention snapped over. But Yeonwoo didn't stop, heaving the tree up.
"You grab too, quick!"
"Ha. Fine."
Shin Gaon lifted the other end. As the two carried it to their zone—
Swoosh—
Shadow fell over the plot. Trees counted as material too, not just reeds.
"...What?"
Shin Gaon asked incredulously. Not questioning, though.
"Finally, something for me to do?"
Shin Gaon licked her lips, regripping her two-handed axe. Raring to smash trees.
"No."
Yeonwoo shook her head.
"What. Not trees?"
"Yeah. Gotta be more."
"More what here?"
Yeonwoo eyed the tree-dense zone end.
"Bricks."
"Huh?"
"That's the order."
Definitely vibrations beyond.