Chapter 46

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

Chapter 46: Chaos (2)

“Hey, you crazy bastard! You pushed someone?”

Seo Yerim, the Sword of Justice, charged towards Cho Pilwook, her eyes wide with fury.

When Kim Minwoo was just loitering around near the gate spawn location, she hadn’t thought much of it. She just figured he was another crazy person.

But then, out of nowhere, this actual crazy person had run up and shoved someone into the gate.

And it was clearly a high-level gate, at least B-rank or higher. Since it was the first clear, the difficulty would have skyrocketed.

Even a B-rank gate would require a party of at least 15 people.

And an A-rank gate?

It was a disaster. The recommended number of players for clearing was 30.

On the other hand, Kim Minwoo?

He was now at best an Awakened of the late E-rank.

Flying and gliding were one thing, but this was a far more desperate situation than when he had raided the Level 1 dungeon.

It was doubtful he would even be able to reach the intermediate zone.

“You murderous bastard!”

“Ah, no! What are you talking about! I was just trying to grab his shoulder! But something pushed me back…!”

“Shut up! Everyone saw you shove him away while you were mouthing off!”

She then looked at the gate entrance. The gate was bursting with a brilliant light.

The gate would only become fully activated and divide into zones after the first successful clear.

Which meant.

The moment that light went out, Kim Minwoo would be trapped in there forever until the clear was completed.

She quickly scanned her surroundings.

Everyone was bewildered, but there was one thing they had in common.

No one was trying to enter the gate to rescue him.

It was understandable.

The gate’s rank hadn’t been determined yet.

And they hadn’t even properly prepared to enter.

Even if they had meticulously prepared and selected a team, there was no guarantee of a clear, so why would they blindly rush in?

It wouldn’t be surprising if they were wiped out.

There was an even bigger problem.

If they entered the gate, it would be considered an intrusion and they would be sent to different starting zones.

Even without that, their chances of survival were slim. There was no guarantee that they wouldn’t find his corpse if they went in to rescue him.

‘… Damn it!’

Seo Yerim was torn.

If this had been before she heard the Sword Saint’s words about Kim Minwoo, she would have given up on rescuing him without a second thought.

Why would she risk her life for someone like him?

But things were different now.

―That kid, Kim Minwoo, he’s going to be something great. He’s a genius, a genius! Haha!

Her grandfather’s laughter had increased noticeably lately.

His swordsmanship, which had been stagnant for so long, had also improved by leaps and bounds.

She had been so surprised to hear that he had cleared an S-rank gate in the shortest time possible. And it was all because of that bastard.

‘If he dies…’

The Sword Saint would be heartbroken.

And she would too.

A helpless smile spread across her face.

They said life was unpredictable.

Who would have thought she’d be willing to jump in and save Kim Minwoo?

‘…I’m crazy, I’m crazy!’

Biting her lips, she looked at the masters who had accompanied her.

“…If I die, please put tteokbokki (rice cakes in spicy sauce) on my memorial altar!”

Turning around, she fearlessly jumped into the gate.

“Huh?”

“Hey, the Sword of Justice jumped in!”

“Oh no, what do we do!”

The reporters hastily looked at the guild members around them.

However, no one came forward.

If they succeeded in rescuing her, they would be handsomely rewarded, but that only applied if they came back alive. Everyone only had one life.

And then.

The first clear could be attempted even after those two were wiped out. In the silence, the light of the gate slowly faded.

* * *

A new gate has appeared.

It was natural that public attention was focused on this event, as it only happened once every few months or even years.

This was because the nation’s power could be drastically changed depending on the rank of the gate that appeared.

Naturally, countless people were watching the news alerts. And the fact that Kim Minwoo was sucked into the gate was being relayed without filter.

―Breaking news! Kim Minwoo is sucked into a new gate that appeared in Gyeonggi-do…

―Wtf. What did I just see?

―Fuck. Isn’t that bastard crazy? He just runs up and pushes him in?

―Did he get paid off from abroad? To kill the rookie.

―I think so too. He looked strange from the moment he ran up there, mouthing off;;

―So who is he?

―It seems to be Cho Pilwook from Dorim Guild? He’s the chairman’s son and he’s famous for being a spoiled brat lol

―Oh, the guy who made a NewTube channel and got shit on for swearing?

―Oh yeah. That’s right. Kim Minwoo is one of the salty ones. Looks like they had a grudge lol

―But why did he just push him in like that? Does he have no brain? He should at least have acted it out;;

―I think he just flipped his lid in anger. He didn’t seem to be thinking.

―Look at the Sword of Justice’s swearing; was she close to Kim Minwoo?

―She seems pissed off that he pushed the guy in. It’s just plain murder lol

―But can Kim Minwoo survive this? It’s at least B-rank;;

―;; It looks tough… Even if he’s high level now, he’s still only E-rank, right?

―Even if he’s D-rank… Oh, this is really tough. I don’t think he’ll even reach the intermediate zone; his last challenge was on a whole different level…

Just then.

―Whoa! Crazy! The Sword of Justice went in too!

Seo Yerim was also shown jumping into the gate.

―Oh no;;

―Fck Fck Fck Fck Fck Fck Fck Fck Fck Fck

―PleaseBpleaseBpleaseBpleaseBpleaseBpleaseB

―Can we clear this if it’s B-rank?

―I don’t know; the Sword of Justice is an A-rank Awakened for sure, but even with that, it’s crazy to just go in alone;

―Even Isabella wouldn’t solo a gate like that lol… they’re screwed lmao

―She’s not alone though? Kim Minwoo is there too

―Fuck no; what help is an E-rank gonna be;

―We’re screwed if it’s A-rank. They’re both dead; there’s no way they can clear it…

―There’s a chance if it’s B-rank, right?

―I don’t know; it’s a first clear, so the difficulty is definitely gonna go up. But it’s still better than A…

―Why aren’t the guilds jumping in? Are they just gonna let this end like this?

―Stop with the bullshit; are you gonna go suicide?

―I mean, other guilds might, but what are the Dorim bastards doing? They’re gonna let the shit they started go unhandled?

―It’s unclear; the guild leader looks dumbfounded, so I guess they didn’t expect it…

―Who the hell would have expected that lol

―Anyway, isn’t Dorim at fault for not cracking down on their guild members? I’m starting a Dorim boycott from today on.

―Seriously. Cho Pilwook should be arrested immediately for murder and Dorim should be held responsible too. They messed with the Ilsung, so they probably can’t hush it up with money like they usually do XD.

―Exactly. They’ve been getting away with everything with money. A bastard like Cho Pilwook definitely deserves to go to jail. And the chairman who’s been shielding him with money should go too.

―Whatever the case, Kim Minwoo said he would show us something big soon, and he did it seems XDXD

Just then.

The government officials who were assessing the gate’s rank shouted out loudly.

“Measurement complete! It’s B-rank!”

―According to the news just received, the gate is said to be B-rank, and our broadcaster has invited experts to discuss the possibility of clearing it…

Park Siwoo, who was watching TV, dropped his jaw.

‘Don’t be too surprised, even if you see strange news.’

Could this have been the strange news he was talking about?

Just then.

His phone rang.

“Yes, Chairman!”

Chairman Kim, asked in a hurried voice.

―Siwoo, have you heard anything?

Since they had held a press conference together just that morning, Siwoo thought he might be calling to grasp at straws. He scratched his cheek and spoke cautiously.

“… Well, this is a bit of a… It seems like my brother might have intended this…”

―What? He intended this?!

“He made a few meaningful remarks earlier. He said not to be too surprised if strange news came out…….”

―Huh… So you’re saying he set this whole thing up to bring down Dorim and take over the gate? But how did he know the gate would appear?”

“I’m not sure about that either. It might not be something he said specifically for this incident. But my brother is no ordinary Awakened… so shouldn’t we believe him?”

―……Hmm. Alright. I got it. Thanks. Hang up.

Hanging up the phone, he let out a sigh.

“… He must have had his reasons.”

Kim Minwoo was much, much stronger than the public had expected.

Even if it was B-rank, he might have been able to clear it. And on top of that, the Sword of Justice had joined him.

One thing was for sure.

Dorim, the second largest conglomerate in the industry.

This company was really screwed.

[Entering B-rank gate, ‘Murim’!]

[First to enter the gate!]

[Title, ‘The First Step,’ acquired!]

[Difficulty changed to B+, ‘War of the Stars’!]

―Ugh.

“Oh, my boy. You did well, you did well.”

After entering the gate.

He stroked Whitey’s head, who had followed him in.

‘It went as planned.’

This gate had been conquered by Dorim.

Cho Pilwook was also on the raiding list.

An A-rank achievement Awakened in his 300s.

This was a figure who couldn’t be left out of the raid.

‘I knew this would happen.’

Kim Minwoo knew Cho Pilwook well.

This bastard was a real spoiled brat.

Compared to this guy, Kim Minwoo was just mild.

And on top of that, they had a grudge.

Even without watching the video, it was obvious that a bastard like Cho Pilwook would blame the innocent guy.

As expected.

The hothead was the first to jump in.

With his hand outstretched, ready to crush his shoulder.

‘Good riddance.’

Cho Pilwook would feel wronged, but he wouldn’t be able to explain himself.

Whitey had the stealth skills to penetrate the Ilsung main house’s security system and chase him all the way to the hidden gate.

Even the Sword Saint, who had realized what was happening, couldn’t find him.

So, to anyone who saw it, it would look like he had pushed him in out of spite.

‘He tried to crush my shoulder.’

He must have been prepared to have his own head cracked open.

‘Cho Pilwook won’t be able to cover it up.’

Not only Cho Pilwook, but also Dorim, the company involved, would be in for a lot of trouble.

If a child misbehaves, the parents should be held responsible.

It was clear that Dorim was going to be in hot water.

They were going to lose the gate.

And they were going to bring down their competitor.

It was a two-for-one deal.

Just then.

[Warning!]

[There is currently one outsider inside the gate!]

‘…?’

He tilted his head in confusion.

Someone’s intruding here?

‘An assassin? No, right?’

The gate rank measurement device.

A high-performance device that checks the gate’s mana concentration to determine its rank.

By its very nature, it can detect mana like a ghost.

It was said that it could even detect an assassin’s stealth. And that’s because it’s a skill that uses mana.

Even an S-rank assassin wouldn’t be able to avoid the device’s detection.

‘Whitey should be able to avoid it for sure.’

Would an assassin come to assassinate someone in a place where the eyes of the guild and the broadcast were focused in such a situation?

And that too while the measuring device was being turned on?

That’s crazy.

If that were the case, he would have been caught by the guild before even entering and arrested.

There’s no guild that would just watch a random person enter the gate.

‘Then who the hell came to save me?’

It could be.

But…….

“They came alone?”

At a time when the gate’s rank hadn’t even been determined?

He was very curious to know who would attempt such a novel suicide act.

‘It’s definitely not Cho Pilwook.’

He didn’t get sucked in together after throwing his body at him, but just stopped there.

A spoiled brat like him wouldn’t risk his life for him.

‘Who is it?’

His instincts are telling him nothing.

Kim Minwoo looked around.

The interior of an ancient-looking room.

‘This looks like a wuxia-type thing?’

Even the gate’s name was like that.

It’s called Murim.

‘Nothing strange.’

From C-rank and above, gates with themes often appeared.

Cyberpunk or Yokai-type gates like Hakugyōya Kōro also appeared, so a wuxia-type gate was nothing.

‘I guess I should look for the person who entered…….’

The difficulty changed because it was the first gate.

He couldn’t tell how wide the stage was.

The distance to the intermediate zone was said to be similar, but if the stage was wide, they could be quite far apart from each other.

It was too dangerous to move around without a proper understanding of the situation yet.

“…Well, I guess I’ll meet them if I’m lucky.”

First, he needed to figure out exactly where he was and what the gate’s goal was.

Kim Minwoo got up.

It was time to start the raid.

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]