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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: The D-Rank Gate Party
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“I’ll handle this, so just wait.”
With those words, Kang-jun took a step forward.
“Who’s the leader of this group?”
“I’m the party leader.”
A young man with a kind face answered, raising his hand slightly.
“Are you hesitating to hire us because we look unreliable? We may not look like much, but we’re both confident in our strength.”
“Yes, well, it’s just that…”
“I guarantee you, we will never get tired before you do, nor will we ever be a burden.”
The kind-faced young man couldn’t answer right away, his lips merely twitching.
‘What should I do…?’
Kim Bong-gu, the leader of this D-Rank Gate raid party, was known for his kind heart.
He found it difficult to refuse anyone’s suggestions or requests, and because of this, he often ended up on the losing end.
But a Gate raid wasn’t just any matter; it was a matter of life and death.
That was why he couldn’t give a ready answer and had to deliberate.
Even when accompanied by seasoned, veteran porters, unexpected situations could arise, and a single moment’s mistake could put one on the line between life and death. That was the reality beyond the Gate.
Still, he hesitated.
Ever since his father passed away when he was young, Kim Bong-gu had been shouldering the responsibilities of being the head of his household.
To make matters worse, this very week, he had to pay a portion of the hospital bills for his mother, who lay in a coma…
He also had to pay for his precious little sister’s academy fees and her school trip.
‘I need a lot of money this week…’
If he canceled today’s Gate raid, he might find himself in a very difficult situation.
‘Right, it’s just a D-Rank Gate, isn’t it? What could possibly go wrong?’
A total of three Hunters were participating in this D-Rank Gate raid near Guro Digital Complex Station.
First, there was the party leader, Kim Bong-gu, who was considered one of the top C-Rank Hunters.
Then there was the party’s tanker, a bald man with a formidable physique named Lee Byeong-cheol, who was also a C-Rank Hunter.
The problem was the last person.
He was an F-Rank Hunter who had been allowed to join the party on the condition that he would cover all the expenses for the raid but would not receive any share of the profits.
An F-Rank Hunter was, for all intents and purposes, no different from an ordinary person with slightly above-average strength.
In short, he couldn’t be considered part of the party’s combat strength.
‘Besides, I only let him join because I figured the two of us could clear a D-Rank Gate on our own…’
Having made his decision, Kim Bong-gu looked at the bald man and asked for his opinion.
“I think we should just go ahead. What do you think? It’s only a D-Rank Gate, so I doubt anything will happen…”
“Are you serious?”
“As you know, I have to cover my mother’s hospital bills, my sister’s academy fees, and her school trip costs all this week…”
“Well, damn.”
The bald man, Lee Byeong-cheol, hesitated for a moment.
Finally, he reluctantly nodded and replied in a low voice.
“Fine, it’s just a D-Rank Gate. Nothing should happen. But let’s be as careful as possible, just in case.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Come to think of it, we have that reject Hunter, don’t we? He’s useless in a fight anyway, so we can just have him share the luggage with the porters.”
At those words, Kang-jun tilted his head slightly and asked.
“There’s another person?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Hasn’t he arrived yet?”
“Well…”
As party leader Kim Bong-gu hesitated, unsure how to respond, Lee Byeong-cheol suddenly grinned and answered.
“Sent him on a coffee run.”
“A coffee run…?”
“Yeah, he’s gotta be good for something.”
Finishing his words, he gestured with his chin toward the distance.
“Speak of the devil, here he comes.”
Turning to look, they saw a gaunt, haggard-looking young man hurrying toward them, a single cup of takeout coffee in his hand.
The bald man, who had been watching him silently, began to berate him in a rather overbearing tone.
“Hey, reject! Are you gonna run?”
“S-Sorry…”
After taking the coffee from the gaunt young man, the bald man asked in a voice laced with irritation.
“What took you so long to buy one cup of coffee?”
Seeing this, Kang-jun tilted his head in confusion.
‘Can you just order around a Hunter of a lower rank like a servant? It seems Earth has become no different from the Anux Continent.’
Was it because the word ‘safety’ had become utterly incompatible with this world since the Gates appeared?
Even Earth, the home he had longed for so much, now seemed to be a world governed by the logic of power.
A place that strictly followed the law of the jungle and the survival of the fittest, where the strong trampled the weak to rule and dominate.
It seemed the Earth of today was not the home he had so dearly missed.
‘This feels strangely bitter.’
Soon, the bald man, Lee Byeong-cheol, casually tossed his bag onto the ground with a thud and spoke in a low voice.
“What’s everyone doing? Are we going to leave tomorrow?”
Then, he added, looking at the haggard F-Rank Hunter.
“Oh, and you. Just stay back and help carry the luggage. You think that old geezer and that scrawny kid can carry it all properly?”
“What? But even so, that’s…”
“We let you join, so you should just say ‘thank you’ and do as you’re told. Who are you to talk back, you reject? To be blunt, you’d just get in our way if you tried to fight up front, wouldn’t you?”
At those words, the F-Rank Hunter lowered his head, looking thoroughly intimidated.
“Yes, I understand…”
“Good, that’s more like it.”
Finally satisfied, Lee Byeong-cheol nodded and shifted his gaze to Kang-jun.
“Hey, dunce.”
“Dunce?”
“Yeah, you, pal.”
The man stepped closer to Kang-jun and added menacingly.
“Let me warn you in advance, don’t you dare hold us back. The moment we step inside that Gate, none of us will have the luxury of worrying about your life.”
Then he looked at Crabslie and added again.
“Same goes for you, old man.”
With that, Lee Byeong-cheol was the first to start walking briskly toward the Gate.
Crabslie let out a long sigh, “Hoo,” and muttered under his breath.
“Did you see that insolent whelp!”
And so, everyone began to prepare for the D-Rank Gate raid.
The Hunters checked their equipment, while the porters divided the luggage among themselves.
“I’ll carry the heaviest bag.”
The haggard Hunter said cautiously, but Kang-jun shook his head.
“I think it’s fine if we just divide it equally.”
“No, I may be F-Rank, but I’m still an Awakener, you know?”
The haggard Hunter replied with an awkward smile, hoisting the heaviest bag onto his shoulder.
“I might not be able to contribute to the fight, but I can certainly carry a few bags.”
Kang-jun handed him one of the bags designated as his share.
“Well, if you say so.”
Then, he began to stare intently at the haggard F-Rank Hunter with suspicious eyes.
Becoming conscious of Kang-jun’s blatant stare, the haggard Hunter tilted his head and asked.
“Is something wrong?”
At that, Kang-jun shrugged.
“Let me give you a piece of advice.”
“Advice, all of a sudden?”
“I absolutely have to earn money today.”
“Huh? What does that…”
“I have no patience for trouble.”
Kang-jun finished his words and added in a flat tone.
“So for today, just keep up the act until the very end.”
“What?”
“Just keep pretending to be that clumsy and weak, help us carry our luggage, and go home quietly.”
Then, he added in a chilling tone.
“That’s not so hard to understand, is it?”
With that, Kang-jun turned to Crabslie.
“Hey, let’s go.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
The haggard F-Rank Hunter simply stared at their backs with a blank expression, as if he had no idea what was going on.
Soon, the party leader, Kim Bong-gu, began to speak with the Bureau employee controlling access to the Gate.
‘Is this the entry procedure?’
After fiddling with a device in his hand, the Bureau employee gestured with his chin toward a document on the desk.
“Kim Bong-gu, C-Rank Hunter, plus four others. Your reservation for the Gate near Guro Digital Complex Station has been confirmed. You may enter now.”
Kim Bong-gu took a long, deep breath.
“Alright, let’s get going.”
He was about to take the first step toward the Gate.
“Mr. Kim Bong-gu, just a moment.”
The official who had stopped him adjusted the rimless glasses perched precariously on his nose and added.
“I know this is only a D-Rank Gate, but there have been a series of fatal accidents here recently. I think it would be wise to be careful.”
“Fatal accidents?”
“Yes, the Bureau has marked this place for investigation. The Hunters who have cleared it all say the difficulty isn’t that high, but we don’t know why there have been so many fatalities.”
He then added, “Please be careful.”
“Thank you.”
Kim Bong-gu then took his first step into the Gate…
*Shwoooosh-!*
The moment his body touched the rift, it was sucked in, spiraling like water down a drain.
Following him, the bald man, Lee Byeong-cheol, and the F-Rank Hunter, laden with bags, stepped into the Gate one by one.
“Let’s go, too.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
Kang-jun also took his first step toward the other side…
For a moment, his vision went black, and a strange voice began to speak.
[ Commencing registration of player information. ]
[ Quantifying player’s combat power. ]
[ Loading player’s achievements. ]
[ 10%... ]
[ 40%... ]
[ 80%... ]
[ Player’s physical abilities exceed standard parameters. Unable to load precise values. ]
[ Player information registration complete. ]
Soon, his five senses, which had momentarily ceased to function, slowly began to return…
A desolate forest with a somewhat eerie atmosphere came into view.
No, that wasn’t quite right.
It was too ambiguous to be called a forest.
It was merely filled with rows of trees so thoroughly withered that it was impossible to guess when they had died.
“Wow, this Gate has a creepy vibe. You said it was full of undead-type monsters, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. Let’s buckle down and clear it quickly.”
Everyone was busy craning their necks like meerkats, taking in the suddenly changed scenery.
Except for one person.
Kang-jun was simply staring intently at the empty space right in front of his eyes.
“Hmm…?”
Or, to be more precise, he was engrossed in examining the translucent window he was seeing for the first time in his life.
[ Player Name: Lee Kang-jun ]
[ Class: Necromancer ]
[ Level: 1 ]
[ Titles: Ultimate Necromancer (SS), Dimensional Invader (SS), Demon Slayer (SS), Dragon Slayer (S), He Who Plundered the World Tree (S)… ]
[ Strength: ??? ]
[ Agility: ??? ]
[ Stamina: ??? ]
[ Magic Power: ??? ]
[ Divine Power: ??? ]
[ Unallocated Points: 0 ]
[ Retainers: ??? (Player’s level is too low to summon any retainers.) ]
