Chapter 10
A gate? Here? All of a sudden?
No, wait—wait. Calm down.
I carefully checked the gate alert.
The gate’s location: the mountain behind the village of Gyehwa.
Pretty close. But thankfully, the village itself was just barely outside the danger zone.
“Grade… E-rank.”
Not a dangerous gate.
The sun hadn’t even risen yet, so no villagers would have gone hiking this early.
After confirming that, I finally let out a sigh of relief.
Soon enough, the Hunter Guild would dispatch a team to deal with it, and as a civilian, I had no reason to get involved.
Once, I would’ve been the one deployed for this sort of thing.
“…Team 5 always handled small gates like this.”
Hearing the alert made me realize, once again, that I had truly retired as a hunter.
My sleep was gone for good, so I sat up.
It was only an E-rank gate, no need for evacuation, but…
In this village, aside from me and that kid from the store yesterday, everyone else was elderly. The so-called “Youth Chairman” of the village was in his sixties.
Most probably didn’t even know what a gate was, so it would help to reassure them.
If I asked the village head to make an announcement from the community center, that should do it.
“Lorr, wake up.”
“Byaaahhh… hmmm… why? It’s still dawn…”
Lorr buried his face under the blanket, mumbling sleepily. No matter how many times I called or shook him, he didn’t budge.
I decided to let him sleep. It was just an E-rank gate—nothing would happen.
I considered bringing the clay dolls, but—
“We prefer to stay here. Go without worry.”
They said this as they gathered comfortably on the damp soil under the porch.
…Honestly, Foreman Clay Doll seemed more mature than Lorr.
Feeling lighter, I stepped outside.
Even at this early hour, the village was buzzing from the gate alert.
Several residents were gathered near the community center, including the village head and Grandma Deok-hee. I hurried over.
“Good morning. You must’ve been startled.”
“What’s all this? My phone started ringing before dawn…”
“Isn’t that gate thing only in Seoul? If monsters come out, aren’t we all doomed?”
They were clearly shaken. I spoke calmly, trying to sound reassuring.
“Don’t worry. Hunters will arrive within two hours. Just stay home and rest today—nothing will happen.”
“That’s… that’s true?”
“Yes. I’ve seen this plenty of times in Seoul.”
Gradually, their panic subsided. Being “someone from Seoul” seemed to boost my credibility.
“Sir, could you use the broadcast system to make an announcement? It’ll help everyone stay calm.”
“Oh? Right, that’s a good idea! Just a moment, I’ll do that.”
Just as the village head was about to turn on the broadcast system—
“Hey! You’re all here!”
“Mr. Kim!”
Old Mr. Kim, the owner of Gyehwa General Store, came running, out of breath.
“H-have you seen Daon anywhere?!”
Daon? Wait—that kid from yesterday?
“You mean the boy who was at your store yesterday?”
“Yes! I can’t find him anywhere! There’s talk about a gate—what if he went somewhere dangerous…?”
The village head patted his shoulder.
“Now, now, calm down. Miss Hee-su says hunters are on the way, so everything will be fine.”
“Here, have some water,” said Grandma Deok-hee, handing him a bowl. He drank it down, gasping, until his breathing steadied.
“Daon-ah! Where are you?!”
“Jung Daon! Your grandpa’s calling you!”
We all searched the village together, but…
The boy was nowhere to be found.
Then—
“Wait! This—this is Daon’s book!”
As we passed the narrow forest trail behind the village, a book lay on the ground. The same biography he’d been reading yesterday.
That path led straight up the mountain where the gate had appeared.
Meaning… the boy might’ve gone straight into the danger zone.
“…”
Stay calm. Stay calm.
By law, the national guild had to dispatch a response team within two hours of a gate forming.
Even if the boy went inside, the dispatched hunters would find him soon enough.
Plenty of hunters had tracking skills. If we waited—
“Oh no! Daon!”
“Get a grip, man!”
But then—
Bzzzzt—Bzzzzt—
My phone buzzed again.
Not another gate alert this time—news notification.
I almost ignored it, but the headline caught my eye.
[Breaking News]
A sudden B-rank gate has appeared off the coast of Songdo, Busan. Residents are being evacuated. Hunters en route.
What…? Another gate? A B-rank one?!
“Maybe the boy went up the mountain?”
“No, that can’t—!”
I wanted to tell them not to worry, that hunters would save him soon, but… I couldn’t.
Because I already knew.
Sudden gates—“wild gates”—fell under the jurisdiction of the national guild, Baekam Guild.
Meaning… it was under Baek Yooseong’s command.
And I knew exactly what his decision would be.
Since rural regions always had fewer stationed hunters, manpower was already tight.
With a high-ranked gate in a major city, the priority would shift immediately.
“In that case… this E-rank countryside gate will be last on the list.”
Eventually someone would come, sure—but who knew how long that would take?
Maybe the guild master’s “efficient” decision would be justified.
But back when I was a hunter, the thing I hated most was that so-called efficiency.
“I became a hunter to save people… yet somehow, I never felt like I truly saved anyone.”
“…”
What could I do now?
I wasn’t a hunter anymore. My body was broken.
Mr. Kim looked at me with desperate, pleading eyes.
He wanted hope. Any hope.
That Daon hadn’t gone far. That things would be okay.
I couldn’t lie. I should’ve told him that help might come late.
But instead—
“I’ll go.”
“What? Don’t be reckless!”
“It’s fine. I’ll bring Daon back. Just wait somewhere safe.”
“H-hey! Where are you going?!”
And I ran.
First, I headed home—not the mountain.
As soon as I entered, I yanked open the drawer in my room.
Inside was my old magic gun.
A relic from my hunter days—useless now, but I could never bring myself to sell it.
“Haa…”
No time for nostalgia. I gripped the weapon tightly and took a deep breath.
Magic guns only fired when infused with mana.
But with my broken mana circuit, it was little more than scrap metal.
Still… if I forced my remaining mana through my body, maybe—just one shot.
It would hurt like hell, of course.
Maybe even shave off what little life I had left.
<ugh!>
I’d felt that pain before.
Maybe I was being stupid. Reckless.
But somehow, I knew—I’d need this gun.
I braced myself, placed my hand on the magazine, and began to draw mana up from deep inside.
And then—
[Your bond with ‘Asphelor’ has deepened.]
Bond Level: 1 → 2
You’ve received a bond reward!“Increase your bond with Asphelor for luxurious rewards—pow, pow, pow!”
[You’ve obtained the Mythical Dimensional Dragon’s Blessing: ‘Blessing of Mana (Level 1).’]
“Huh…?”
FWOOOOSH!
A brilliant blue light flared inside the gun’s chamber.
