Chapter 7
Instinct to Evade
It was a Saturday off from school.
After having lunch, my father and I left the house.
“We’ll be back! Probably by dinner time.”
“Don’t overdo it. Come back safely without getting hurt.”
“Yes, I will. I’ll be back.”
My mother, upon hearing that I was going to compete, couldn’t shake off her worries.
But she didn’t stop me.
There were parts where she was convinced by my father, and she decided to support me in my endeavor to become stronger.
I reassured her not to worry, then turned away from her.
“Shall we go then?”
“Yes, let’s go now.”
Our destination was the closest branch of the Regulus Clan from our house.
Also my father’s workplace.
I rode in the car my father drove towards that place.
How much time had passed like that?
A building came into view.
At the top, a blue sign resembling a lion was sparkling.
“Is that the building?”
“Yeah, that’s where I work. First time coming here, huh?”
“Yeah. I roughly knew the location but never visited.”
The Regulus Clan, which could be considered the origin of the Sacred Gear System.
The clan established by the prestigious family during the Great Upheaval had expanded its branches throughout the nation.
This place was one of them.
“And my father is also the leader of this clan.”
That was why I had come here.
To enter dungeons, gates managed by the government, or monster habitats, one needed a hunter license.
As someone without that license, there was nothing I could do.
However, things were different if your father was the clan leader.
You didn’t have to abide by restrictions.
You could exercise some flexibility using your father’s authority.
“For example, entering the gate owned by the clan.”
That was exactly where I was headed.
To confront the monsters inside the gate in real combat.
Eventually, my father parked the car.
“Alright, let’s get out. Don’t forget your sword.”
“Here it is.”
Of course, I hadn’t forgotten.
I raised the sword high so my father could see it.
◈
According to the game’s setting, this world had become highly unstable after the Great Upheaval.
As a result, dimensional distortions occurred frequently, impacting the world.
Monsters emerged from these distorted dimensions, which then solidified into dungeons.
Gates were born from this phenomenon as well.
As dimensions distorted and met with distortions from other worlds, gates were created, forming a new world.
“If this phenomenon isn’t resolved in time, the world within the gate will explode and spill into reality.”
Commonly known as an Outbreak.
Players had to keep this in mind along with the storyline.
Gate outbreaks occurred randomly in the city of academies, and unlike dungeons, there was a time limit to conquer these gates to avoid affecting the ending.
“So, to reach the desired ending, one had to pay attention to the gate erosion rate.”
As a result, in my past life, I often launched the game to check if any gates had appeared.
In that sense…
“Looking beyond just a simple game content, gates could be considered quite an intelligent feature.”
Keeping players engaged in the game.
Injecting freshness for players tired of the storyline.
Assisting in character growth, and more.
Gates served various functions.
One of the charms of the game.
Moreover, by conquering gates, one could obtain gate keys.
‘With that key, you could tackle a gate you’ve already conquered.’
It must have been the game developers’ consideration for players to enjoy tackling the gates they had already conquered.
That aspect was properly reflected in the world I was reborn into.
“Let’s go get the gate key first. It’s essential.”
“Where is the gate key?”
“We keep it stored in the warehouse.”
Regulus Clan’s Songpa District branch.
My father and I descended into the underground where the warehouse was located to retrieve the gate key.
During that process, we encountered the people working alongside my father.
“Wow! Is this the branch manager’s son? So adorable!”
“Yeah… he looks so gentle. Doesn’t seem to take after the branch manager, thankfully.”
“Why is it lucky not to resemble me? Are you openly mocking me now?”
“Hello… I’m Dogyunwoo.”
Cheeks pinched, touched, poked…
Encountering fiercely loyal clan members led to some rough experiences.
When a muscular man embraced me, it left me feeling incredibly gloomy.
“… “
“Dogyun, are you okay?”
“… No.”
Only after being touched by people could I finally break free.
I never wanted to experience that again.
Fortunately, the people I met after that belonged to a relatively normal category.
“You look kind. How old are you?”
“The branch manager’s son, in this world… Tell the truth! You were picked up, right!?”
“Well, Lady Song was a beauty.”
“Wanna take a picture with me?”
“I want to put you in my pocket and take you with me….”
…Relatively normal.
Politely greeting those people, I quickly made my exit.
“Dad.”
“Oh, Dogyun.”
“Are all hunters like that?”
“Well, um… not all, but there are some.”
“… “
“Dogyun, try to understand. It’s not easy to stay sober when risking your life fighting monsters every day.”
“Oh, I see….”
It sounded like an excuse, but I decided to let it go.
Finally, we arrived at the warehouse.
The woman at the warehouse reception warmly welcomed us.
“Hello, Director Ji. I heard about the story yesterday. You’re going to enter the gate with Ad, right?”
“Yes, do you have the key?”
“Yes, please wait a moment. I’ll bring it out soon.”
The woman went into the warehouse.
And shortly after, the woman returned from the warehouse, holding out a small box.
It was slightly larger than my hand.
“This is the key you requested. Please check if it fits.”
“Hmm… it fits. Thank you. Can you also tell me the room I reserved?”
“It’s Room 2.”
“Room 2… Thank you for letting me know. Well then, good work.”
“You too, Director Ji.”
The business in the warehouse was finished.
Father, having checked the contents of the box, turned his body at the reception.
I quickly followed behind him.
“Where are we going now?”
“We need to go to the room with the artificial gate. We’ll go to Room 2.”
The gate key couldn’t just be used as is.
Just like there’s a door when you have a key.
To activate the gate key, there needed to be a slot to insert it into.
That slot was the artificial gate.
Man-made, a kind of artifact.
However, creating an artificial gate required a huge cost.
“With maintenance and management fees added…”
As a result, only large clans like the Regulus Clan could afford to have an artificial gate.
According to Father, there are said to be three artificial gates here.
I walked along the corridor listening to Father’s story.
“So, what grade is the gate I’ll be entering? White? Gray?”
“It’s a white grade.”
Meanwhile, gates could be classified into seven grades based on their color.
White, gray, yellow, green, red, blue, and finally black.
The difficulty of conquering the gate increased from white to black.
The gate I would enter today was the lowest difficulty, white grade.
Soon, we entered the room marked with the number 2.
“…”
“You must have seen it once at the main house, but that’s the artificial gate.”
It was a vast space made up of square tiles on the floor.
There were hardly any items decorating the space.
But on the opposite wall of the door, there was one massive door.
A circular-shaped iron door.
In the center of that iron door, there was a keyhole.
“Now, we are going to enter this gate. Are you really prepared? Think carefully even now. Once you go in, you can’t come out until you conquer the gate.”
My father spoke to me as I gazed up at the gate, as if urging me to reconsider my thoughts.
But my response remained unchanged.
“I’ve already thought enough. It’s okay. And if I can’t conquer it, you’ll do it for me, right?”
“That brat… Fine, I got it. As you say, if you can’t conquer the gate, I will. Don’t push yourself. Don’t get Mom mad for no reason.”
As if resigned, my father chuckled softly.
Then, he took out a box from his arms.
“Let’s activate the gate then.”
The handle part was a white key.
My father took the key out of the box and inserted it into the artificial gate.
And as he turned the key to the right, a white ripple spread out from the keyhole.
Wiiing
Dimensions distorted.
The iron gate was dyed white.
The gate had been activated.
“Now, let’s go inside. I’ll enter first, so you come in about 10 minutes later.”
“Yes, be careful.”
“Got it.”
Once the gate is activated, it will maintain this state until the gate is conquered from the inside.
And the key transforms into the gate, so without conquering the gate, it cannot be turned back into a key.
I watched as my father entered the gate, and after a few minutes, I took a step forward.
A bright white light enveloped me.
* * *
The overlapping world created when distorted dimensions meet, the gate.
The exact reason was not revealed, but system messages that seemed to come out of a game were displayed in the gate.
‘It’s natural since it’s a world based on a game.’
Now I knew the reason, and that’s why I no longer harbored doubts.
When the light-drenched vision returned, a message was floating in front of me.
[Entered the gate.]
[White Gate: Pink Crystal Cave II]
Below that message, conditions for conquering the white gate were displayed.
[The conquest conditions are as follows:]
[Slay the monsters.]
[Goblin (Rank. 01) x 15]
Mission to subdue 15 Rank 1 goblins.
Perhaps due to being a white-grade gate, the strategy conditions were very straightforward.
After confirming the message, I immediately looked around.
“Where are the goblins….”
The world surrounded by pink crystals was surreal.
In that world, I, on high alert, headed towards the direction where the sound was coming from.
Father was there.
“You came.”
“Have you captured all the goblins?”
“Yes, these are all the ones here.”
Goblins, their weapons released, tied with ropes, lying on the ground.
I counted the number of goblins struggling under my father’s feet.
Exactly 15.
It matched the number of goblins specified as the condition for conquering the gate.
By defeating these creatures, the gate conquest could be completed.
“Then let’s start right away.”
“If you’re ready, let’s do it. Since you can’t face a group from the start, shall we begin with one?”
I positioned myself at a distance from the goblins.
Father scanned the goblins and cut the rope of the smallest one.
“He’s the weakest among the group. But don’t let your guard down. You know as well, goblins are…”
“Crafty creatures, right?”
“…Yes. Don’t forget that.”
Having knowledge from the game and learning about monsters as a Sword Master, I responded to my father and gazed at the freed goblin.
Keyeak?
The creature looked back at Father as if unable to comprehend the situation.
Father silently pointed towards me with his chin.
The goblin’s head turned back, and its gaze fixed on me.
At that moment, it seemed to understand.
Keyeak!
Even if it was just a faint hope.
The only way for it to survive was to confront me.
Its face transformed, and it charged.
Picking up the fallen fist axe, it swiftly closed the distance.
It felt like it had just risen without any stumble moments ago.
“Whew….”
It was that desperate.
All living beings struggle until the moment they face death in order to live.
No different just because they are monsters.
They resist to the end to avoid death.
That’s why, in order to kill them, one must be prepared to possibly die in return.
That is the reality of combat.
I took a deep breath, twisted my body, and swung my right leg back.
＜Basic Form 5 of Suwangryu＞
Posture of Penetration
Stepping forward, arms stretched back as far as possible, in a thrusting stance of the Divine Sword.
Based on that stance…
＜Attack Form 4 of Suwangryu＞
From Noble mtl dot com
Lion’s Return Needle
Manifesting inner mana, activating mana circuits from the legs, waist, heart, to the right hand holding the sword.
At the same time, mana flowing outward envelops the blade.
Like so…
Kieeek!
Shifting weight onto the forward foot, twisting the waist, and forcefully thrusting the right arm back while gathering strength.
Releasing the power gathered from holding my breath.
As the elbow moves in a straight line, the blue-glowing sword cuts through the air.
At that moment, subtly twisting the wrist to add rotational force.
That strike…
Fwoosh!
I plunged it with all my might into the mouth of the leaping goblin.
…eeek….
The goblin hung in midair, pierced through to the back of its neck by the sword.
As if about to move its limbs, it met its end without a sound.
“First one down.”