Chapter 7
I clutched my hair and screamed.
“I just awakened as an F-rank, and now a gate?! Isn’t that basically telling me to go in and die?!”
“Points or whatever—I can’t do it!”
The shop? Important. Bungeoppang? Sure, great.
But more important than anything was my life. I had no intention of getting trampled to death by monsters just to gather some unknown herb.
“There’s no need to worry about that, nya. You are under my protection.”
Hanyang explained that the monsters inside the gate would perceive me as part of nature—like a rock or a patch of grass.
They might sense something off if I made loud noises or attacked, but otherwise, I shouldn’t have any major problems.
“So if I just stay quiet, I won’t die?”
“That’s right, nya.”
“Well… that’s a relief, at least….”
But there was another reason I was reluctant to enter the gate.
My parents had died in a gate incident.
‘More precisely, because the initial suppression failed.’
These days, technology had advanced to the point where we could predict when and where gates would appear, and even enter them in advance to eliminate the danger.
But just a few years ago, it was normal for hunters to deal with gates only after they had already opened.
And when a gate erupted, it often resulted in hundreds of casualties.
‘That’s what happened to my parents.’
They were on their way home after closing the shop when a gate suddenly appeared. Hunters were dispatched immediately, but the scale was far larger than expected, and the initial suppression failed.
And just like that, my mother and father met meaningless deaths at the hands of monsters.
“…No matter how I think about it, I don’t think going into a gate is a good idea.”
I bit my lip, the vivid memory of my parents’ deaths still haunting me. Even if Hanyang’s protection reduced the danger, the fear remained.
If I gave up the mission, the reward would be a shame to lose. Having points would be really helpful.
“It’d be great to get points for running the shop… isn’t there another way?”
“Don’t worry, nya. When the shop upgrades, your equipment will naturally improve as well.”
“Upgrade? You mean this?”
I checked the remaining number needed to unlock a new menu.
438 out of 500. I only needed to bake about 50 more to get a new item.
“That’s right, nya. So if you don’t want to, there’s no need to force yourself into getting points.”
“If you’re okay with it… can I think about this mission a bit more?”
“If you don’t want to, there’s nothing I can force you to do, nya.”
Hanyang approached me and rubbed against me as if to comfort me.
Maybe there was another way to solve Hunter Ria’s problem. After a moment of hesitation, I closed the mission window.
BEEEEEEP—
A piercing ringing tore through the silence. The peaceful expression on a woman’s face twisted sharply, like crumpled paper.
Outside, a steady winter rain was falling.
“…3:07.”
She checked the time and let out a sigh. She had finally fallen asleep after tossing and turning for so long—only for barely ten minutes to have passed.
‘Ha… I’m exhausted….’
Her name was Ria Minogue. An A-rank hunter—part of the top 5% in the world.
And she suffered from a terrible side effect of awakening: sensory overload.
After tossing and turning for a while longer, Ria finally got up.
Her head felt heavy, her eyes throbbing. She was desperately tired, yet the moment she closed her eyes, every surrounding sound tormented her, keeping her from sleeping.
“It’s still raining….”
She stared blankly at the falling rain for a while before changing her clothes.
Sleep wouldn’t come, and her mind felt foggy, as if submerged underwater. At times like this, moving her body was better.
She packed her gear out of habit, tied her hair tightly back, and stepped outside. The cold dawn air carried a faint, metallic scent of rain.
“It feels just like the day I first awakened.”
Four years ago, when she first awakened, she had been showered with expectations. Even the Prime Minister of Australia had visited her home to encourage her.
Recalling that day, she let out a bitter smile.
‘What was the point? I couldn’t do anything in the gate.’
Contrary to expectations, she had frozen like a stiff piece of wood during her first gate mission.
Inside that gate were hundreds of yellow spiders, each larger than an adult man. They spewed venomous webs and shrieked with horrifying cries.
‘Aaaah! Help me!’
‘G-get away! Stay back!’
No matter how many she cut down, the spiders kept charging at them. She saw her comrades being bitten, their flesh torn apart, their skin melting from the venom.
Among them was a friend who had awakened alongside her.
‘R-Ria! Help me!’
As the monster approached, her friend called out in terror.
But Ria’s legs were frozen solid, like they had been dipped in wax.
‘Come to think of it… I don’t think I’ve slept since then.’
Whenever she closed her eyes, she felt hundreds of spiders crawling all over her body. At the same time, the agonized screams of her comrades echoed in her ears—along with her friend’s desperate plea for help.
Even when she managed to doze off, she would wake up drenched in cold sweat soon after.
Eventually, she decided she needed a new approach.
She resolved to grow stronger—strong enough that even recalling monsters wouldn’t faze her.
‘You’re really leaving?’
‘Yeah. I’ll come back stronger.’
That resolve led her to leave Australia and head to Korea.
The friend who had barely survived the gate and came to see her off at the airport hugged her tightly.
‘I’ll work hard here too, so if things get tough, come back anytime!’
Ria nodded—but inwardly, she swore she would never return until she became stronger.
Her goal was to surpass Korea’s S-rank hunter, Lee Hyun-woo. Even if she couldn’t defeat him due to the rank difference, she wanted to at least reach a comparable level.
‘Not that I’m anywhere close… I’m just holding him back.’
The skill of an S-rank she had witnessed firsthand was terrifying.
Unbelievable reflexes. The audacity to dive straight into hordes of monsters. Overwhelming strength.
She struggled desperately just to reach even a fraction of his level—but he showed no interest in her at all.
‘…If anything, he seems annoyed.’
It was all because she was weak. Because she couldn’t protect her comrades. Because she couldn’t earn her leader’s recognition.
‘If I want to prove my worth… I have to try harder.’
Ignoring the piercing headache, she stepped into the cold dawn air.
She no longer wanted to remain someone who could do nothing inside a gate.
“Hunter Ria got injured?”
A few days later, I heard shocking news.
Ria had been seriously injured in a gate.
“They said she suddenly lost her balance and staggered during combat.”
“Oh no… that’s so worrying.”
“They say it’s because of her awakening side effects. I had no idea it was that severe.”
Hunters who were her fans sighed with worried expressions.
It had only been for a moment—but in a gate, even a split second could determine life or death.
Thankfully, nearby hunters noticed something was wrong and responded quickly, preventing a major incident. Still, it had been a dangerous situation.
“Awakening side effects?”
“Yes. Apparently, she hasn’t been able to get proper sleep for a long time, so the fatigue has really built up.”
“Ah….”
I bit my lip.
I remembered how she had staggered in front of my shop before.
“I thought she only had the loss of taste as a side effect….”
“That’s just the basic one. Side effects vary from person to person.”
Ria’s side effect was sensory overload. Her heightened senses kept her constantly on edge.
‘And on top of that, she’s been doing high-intensity training every day….’
The Ria I had seen was someone whose body was screaming from lack of rest.
“We’ll be going now….”
The hunters, who usually brightened up when receiving bungeoppang, left today with gloomy expressions, chewing silently. My mood sank along with theirs.
“You don’t look well, nya.”
“I can’t help but worry… hearing that Hunter Ria got hurt.”
In the meantime, I had baked all 500 bungeoppang and unlocked the new menu: cream-filled bungeoppang. The shop upgrade was complete.
But I hadn’t obtained any special effects, so that slot remained empty.
In other words, I had delayed entering the gate, hoping to find another solution.
“…Would it have been different if I had unlocked a special effect?”
The thought suddenly crossed my mind.
If I had bravely entered the gate and gathered the herb… if I had made bungeoppang with special effects… would she have avoided getting hurt?
“Don’t think like that, nya. This isn’t your fault.”
“I know… I know that. But still… I didn’t do something I could have done.”
No matter how much I tried not to think about it, it kept bothering me.
Especially every time I saw the words ‘Special Effect Combination Available’ blinking beside the cream bungeoppang.
In the end, the next day—
When the recovered Ria came to my shop, I made up my mind.
“Hunter! Are you feeling okay?”
“The news travels fast. I’m fine—it was just a brief lapse in concentration….”
But her face still carried undeniable fatigue.
I had heard she received treatment from the administration, but it seemed awakening side effects couldn’t be cured that way.
At this rate, I felt like something truly terrible might happen.
“Hunter, if… if, hypothetically….”
Before handing her the bag of bungeoppang, I spoke carefully.
“What would you think about bungeoppang that helps you sleep?”
“…Bungeoppang that helps with sleep?”
She looked down at the bag in her hands, as if asking whether I was serious.
When I nodded, she fell into thought.
“I’ve tried every method there is for insomnia. Items too.”
After a brief pause, she shook her head.
“…But nothing worked for me. So I don’t expect anything anymore.”
She spoke calmly, but I could tell how many times she must have hoped—and been disappointed.
I placed the bag firmly in her hands.
“Could you trust me just one more time? I’ll prepare something special just for you.”
“With this bungeoppang?”
I nodded.
She didn’t seem convinced—but instead of arguing, she simply gave a small nod.
“Well… alright. I appreciate the thought.”
After checking the time, she gave a slight bow, saying she was late for training, and left.
I watched her go for a moment before turning to Hanyang.
“Let’s go. The gate.”
“Really, nya?”
“Yeah. I can’t just sit around when there’s something I can do.”
The gate was still terrifying—but I decided to trust in Hanyang’s protection.
I’d go in quickly, stay unnoticed, gather the herbs, and get out.
Conveniently, tomorrow was the weekend—perfect for closing the shop briefly.
“If I press the ‘Enter’ button, I’ll be transported straight into the gate, right?”
“That’s right, nya. Same principle as moving to the shop.”
Luckily, I didn’t need to ask anyone for help to enter—it was perfect for moving quietly.
Not knowing what kind of place the gate called “Red Plains” was, I prepared at home first.
“Water, snacks, emergency medicine….”
I even grabbed a hammer from home, just in case.
Spare clothes, and even a sleeping bag in case it took longer than expected. It was practically like preparing for an overseas trip.
If I didn’t have an inventory, I might’ve needed a suitcase.
“This should be enough. Hanyang, ready?”
“I’m always ready, nya!”
“Alright. Let’s go.”
I reopened the mission window and clicked the ‘Enter’ button next to the gate.
Would you like to enter the gate ‘Red Plains’?
Yes / No
‘…Alright. Let’s do this.’
Holding Hanyang tightly in my arms, I pressed Yes.
And with the sensation of the ground dropping beneath me—
My vision shifted in an instant.
