Before the Gate.
Sinhyeok, who had been overseeing the Gate while yawning, sensed something amiss.
Another proctor seated beside him looked at Sinhyeok, who had sprung to his feet.
“What? Another cheating incident?”
“Already noted that. But I’m detecting an energy that shouldn’t be felt.”
‘This familiar yet filthy, gloomy energy… it’s dark mana?’
It was growing stronger.
“I’ll go in and take a look around.”
“Right now?”
“Aye. I think I need to check it out once.”
At those words, the operations chief on standby looked at the two.
“You two go together.”
First Lieutenants Bak Inho and Seong Jihun stood up together.
“Aye.”
Sinhyeok entered the Gate and looked around.
‘That way?’
After confirming the direction, he looked at the two.
The two, clearly sleepy, let out long yawns and asked Sinhyeok.
“Haaaahm. Where to?”
Sinhyeok looked at the two for a moment and fell into thought.
‘What to do.’
The two immediately sensed something odd upon seeing his troubled expression.
“What did you really come in here to do?”
“That expression says you were about to stir up some shit, but now that we’ve tagged along, you’re screwed.”
Sinhyeok sighed as he looked at them.
“Only sharp when it comes to pointless stuff…….”
Convinced they’d guessed correctly, the two bumped fists.
“Nice.”
“I haven’t seen that expression on him in a while, but I know it in a heartbeat.”
They stared at Sinhyeok with sinister grins.
“So what are we doing?”
“What are you scheming?”
Sinhyeok quietly drew his firearm, loaded it, and asked.
“Kidnapping, coercion, torture, interrogation?”
At the brutal words spat out in succession and his murderous expression, the two took a step back.
“You heard it, so you’re accomplices now.”
“Hey?”
“E-Excuse me?”
He pressed the scope to his eye and regulated his breathing.
Then he checked his mapping.
‘Four o’clock.’
He turned the muzzle and poured mana into it.
As mana seeped into the firearm, as if recognizing its long-unseen master—
The thing thrashed wildly, bursting energy in all directions.
“Why does he still have that!”
“Ah, damn it! Hey!”
The two immediately remembered the hideous K14 upon seeing it.
Startled, the two recoiled immediately from the pressure.
The mysterious energy erupting in all directions was forcibly compressed into points and gathered.
“Shh.”
Familiarly, yet smoothly, Sinhyeok pulled the trigger.
Bang!
A pitch-black round tore through the air and struck somewhere.
The bullet fell to the ground, and the surroundings were dyed in black energy before soon flickering.
“Got it.”
Sinhyeok lowered his firearm and checked the status.
‘As expected, it’s severe.’
The sealed rift had opened again.
It was worse than before, and twisted power began to leak from the gap.
‘Hmm… I can shoot about two more times.’
“Let’s go.”
Bak Inho and Seong Jihun watched Sinhyeok walking ahead and agonized.
“If we get caught for this, we’ll be running punishment laps around the base… for two days at least.”
“I’m getting buried alive at sea.”
But they were already tangled up in it.
“Hey! Let’s go together! And you’re walking?! Let’s take the wyvern!”
* * *
Inside the Gate, where the exam was well underway.
Various guilds near the center of the Gate were frantically searching for the core.
“Where the hell is the Core!”
The one who shouted in anger was a director of the Association and the guild master of Vitalcore, a corporate guild created by Vital Company.
“Guild Master. At this rate, we won’t find it. We’ve already been searching for over nine hours.”
The vice guild master pressed the guild master with an anxious expression.
“I know too. Damn it. But I can’t see it!”
The guild master, who also served as the search officer, was searching while activating the special skill ‘Thousand-Li Eye.’
“How the hell are we supposed to clear this insane difficulty!”
He searched anxiously, but there was simply no way.
‘Damn it. If I fall out of favor with the Association President like this.’
More frightening than failure was that man, the Association President.
Outwardly, he advocated for the rights of civilian Awakened and acted accordingly, but most knew the truth.
It was merely an external justification to achieve his own profit and ambitions.
‘If that crazy bastard catches you, there’s no answer!’
Just then, someone’s voice echoed in his head.
‘Guild Master.’
He flinched at the voice.
‘A message from the Association President. He says to borrow power from demons if you have to, but find it.’
And the voice cut off.
“Damn it.”
The guild master read the room and called over the vice guild master.
“Who’s around us?”
“Three other Association directors. The Jeokun, Hwarang, and Yukmangseong guilds.”
Hearing the names, the guild master was certain it would be fine.
“They’re all connected to the Association President, right? Correct?”
The vice guild master nodded at the question and raised a doubt.
“Why do you ask?”
“The Association President said to borrow power to pass. So gather everyone. Coordinate your stories and share the burden of offerings.”
* * *
Soon, the guilds searching nearby gathered.
When they saw the Vitalcore Guild Master, they spoke nonchalantly with uncomfortable expressions.
“Did you get the message too?”
“You too?”
Everyone cleared their throats at the fact that they’d all received the message.
“Then we all have the same thing to do.”
The Vitalcore Guild Master was the first to propose.
“I’ll open it. The price for the demon I contracted is the cheapest.”
Everyone agreed.
“But let’s share the burden of offerings. One each.”
At those words, they nodded while eyeing the guild master.
“Then let’s do it right away.”
The guild masters moved quietly and brought guild members from their own guilds in a secluded spot.
“Hoo.”
The Vitalcore Guild Master rolled up his sleeves as he looked at the offerings—the guild members collapsed on the ground.
“O my master. I offer you sacrifices. I request your authority.”
He drew his sword and stabbed the offerings.
“Kurk!”
“Gg-ggack!”
They all let out final cries, bewildered by the sudden attack, and glared at the guild master.
The black demonic seal engraved on the guild master’s arm oozed crimson light and burned the offerings.
Soon, a red portal opened before the guild master, and monsters began to pour out.
Evil Eyes—eyeballs as large as humans with wings—hovered in the air.
“Go and find it! Bring the Core to me!”
Watching the Evil Eyes covering the sky, the guild master smiled slyly.
‘The hardest monster to find.’
Evil Eyes were monsters exceptionally skilled at concealing their presence and detecting their surroundings.
“We finish this before we’re found out.”
Confident of success, he relaxed his stiff shoulders.
Soon, the other guild masters appeared as well.
“Don’t forget to share the location once you find it.”
“I know. I’ll share it with you shortly.”
While stretching his neck and looking at the sky, the Vitalcore Guild Master witnessed a bizarre sight.
A black meteor was approaching, distorting the surrounding space.
“Hm?”
“Vitalcore Guild Master, what are you looking at?”
Everyone looked up.
The black meteor traced a trajectory and arrived right before their eyes.
“Damn it!”
It was already too late to dodge.
It bombarded the ground as it was.
Kwang!
Everyone tried to defend using their own skills.
“Steel Skin!”
“Shield of Iron Blood!”
However, the fragments of the black meteor scoffed at their skills and pierced right through.
“Keugh!”
“Keuh!”
The four guild masters, directors of the Association, all collapsed to the ground.
“D-damn it.”
They all vomited blood and remembered this brute-force attack.
“Y-Yu Sinhyeok!”
“That crazy bastard!”
Not only that, but the bullet’s power had grown stronger than before.
The four A-rank Awakened collapsed on the ground bled as they desperately tried to crawl away.
“R-run away immediately……”
But it was too late.
They spotted a wyvern flapping in the sky.
Even without seeing it, they realized.
“Damn it.”
The wyvern flapping in the sky quickly descended and landed on the ground.
Kuhng.
First Lieutenant Bak Inho held the wyvern’s reins.
Sinhyeok and First Lieutenant Seong Jihun cleared their throats.
“Keuh, look at this dust.”
“Inho, drive more gently.”
First Lieutenant Bak Inho patted the wyvern’s head and spoke.
“Yongyong was super gentle today, okay.”
“Ah.”
Sinhyeok dismounted and stretched his body.
“Phew, almost pissed my pants.”
The two who’d experienced a roller coaster without seatbelts shook their heads violently.
The class of First Lieutenant Bak Inho, who handled the wyvern called Yongyong, was ‘Dragon Knight.’
It was a class that could tame dragon-type creatures and shared skills and traits from the tamed partner.
“Caught them red-handed.”
First Lieutenant Seong Jihun said as he looked around.
The air was filled with Evil Eyes, and the four guild masters were oozing dark mana.
“Shall we call the two right away?”
When First Lieutenant Bak Inho asked Sinhyeok, Sinhyeok thought about the time and nodded.
“Just a moment, wait two minutes and it’ll be a quick thing.”
The Vitalcore Guild Master struggled to escape upon seeing Sinhyeok approaching.
“Get away! Come any closer and I’ll unleash a catastrophe here!”
Sinhyeok scoffed and said.
“You have the offerings you gave, right? Shall I offer you up too?”
“Keuh.”
Mocking him, Sinhyeok drew the K14 and aimed at his head.
Gulp.
The Vitalcore Guild Master swallowed hard.
Because he knew the power of this hideous, calamitous firearm.
“I’ll ask just one thing. Who was watching Persona’s back?”
The Vitalcore Guild Master held his tongue.
Sinhyeok loaded his firearm and asked again.
“What was the relationship between the Association and the Persona Guild Master?”
“.......”
At the lack of an answer, Sinhyeok turned his gun toward one of the guys crawling away beside him.
“Damn it!”
When the gun was pointed at him, he sprang up and rushed forward, but Sinhyeok’s hand was faster.
Kwaang!
At the gunshot, the two in the back shook their heads violently.
“I’m dead.”
“Getting buried alive at sea, confirmed.”
With eyes stained with murderous intent, Sinhyeok asked the Vitalcore Guild Master again.
“The Jeju Break Disaster. Was that on the Association President’s orders?”
“.......”
At the renewed silence, Sinhyeok pressed the gun to his forehead.
“Keep holding your tongue. I already have a rough idea anyway.”
Seeing him truly about to pull the trigger, he hurriedly opened his mouth.
“Keu- keuhak… p-please! Time… just a moment.”
He trembled violently.
The remaining guild masters beside him sighed.
“That’s right! It is! So spare us……”
Sinhyeok fired his remaining round at the guild masters chattering in the back.
Kwaang!
They disappeared without a trace.
The only one left, the Vitalcore Guild Master, shook as he looked at Sinhyeok.
“Answer.”
“T-that’s right. P-please……”
Sinhyeok looked at the K14 covered in cracks and lowered the gun.
“Th-thank you.”
But Sinhyeok immediately reversed his grip on the gun.
“Huh?”
“You bastard, clench your jaw tight. Your teeth will fly out.”
The Vitalcore Guild Master saw the K14’s stock, thicker than a club.
Puk!
Sinhyeok, who had just delivered a headshot with the K14 itself, gripped the gun with trembling hands.
“Let’s go…….”
Bak Inho and Seong Jihun let out deep sighs.
“I’m out of bullets, so take care of the Evil Eyes for me.”
Sinhyeok shamelessly asked the two.
“Damn it. The proctors weren’t supposed to come.”
“Me too, I should’ve just quietly handled the maritime Gate.”
The two moved to deal with the scattered Evil Eyes, and soon the operations chief and the logistics chief appeared.
The two couldn’t string together a sentence upon seeing the scene.
“Ahem, no way.”
“What is this.”
Sinhyeok kneeling obediently on the ground with his hands up, and the scene turned into a total mess.
Losing their words at the sight of the Vitalcore Guild Master with his head bashed in beside him.
“A Mine…… appeared in the Gate, didn’t it. Heheh.”
Major Baek Seokhun’s nape began to throb.
“Ah, I’m screwed. I’m dead when the Battalion Commander hears about this.”
The logistics chief exclaimed upon seeing the K14 in Sinhyeok’s hand.
“You! When did you grab that?! It was definitely broken!”
“I got it from my master.”
At those words, the logistics chief grabbed his nape.
“That old geezer! I told him so many times not to give it to you, and he didn’t listen at all! Kyaaah!”
The two went to report with anxious expressions.
Major Baek Seokhun returned shortly and spoke to Sinhyeok.
“They said just come out. Keep that guy secure.”
Sinhyeok dragged the collapsed guild master away.
Major Baek Seokhun relayed the Battalion Commander’s orders.
“Due to the appearance of a Mine, the exam will be halted, and by the judgment of all proctors, we will proceed as if there are no qualifiers for obtaining B-rank and above Gate closure authority.”
“Yes, sir!”
“You explain it well. Since it happened during your assigned exam.”
“Yes, sir!”
At his spirited reply, the two felt even worse.
“Ahhhh, they assigned us to keep you from causing incidents!”
Their stomachs churned at Sinhyeok’s beaming smile trying to gloss over the incident.
“Heheh?”
“Don’t smile. It makes us want to kill you.”
* * *
Outside, the Association President anticipated the good news that would arrive before long.
Two to three hours passed, and he began to grow increasingly anxious.
‘Why haven’t I heard that it’s done? It should be over by now.’
But the surroundings were noisy.
The three battalion commanders who were observing began speaking busily.
“It’s gone wrong.”
He guessed immediately.
He hastily sought his secretary.
“Secretary! Check on the directors immediately.”
The need to check vanished.
Only one guild master was caught in Sinhyeok’s grip and being dragged out.
“Damn it.”
Yu Sinhyeok spoke while holding him in one hand.
“The exam is terminated as of this moment. The reason is the appearance of a Mine within the guild. Furthermore, by the proctors’ judgment, we rule that all guilds who participated in the exam are disqualified from obtaining B-rank and above Gate closure authority.”
The Association President’s stomach began to ache.
“Keuk. You son of a……”
Sinhyeok smiled slyly and glared at the Association President.
He quietly opened his mouth and warned the Association President.
‘You’re next……!’