As he headed for the mine entrance, he saw the Deputy Squad Leader checking the supplies.
“Deputy Squad Leader, are you heading inside?”
“Yeah, I should head in now.”
He put the items he had received back into the subspace pouch.
Sinhyeok recalled the supplies he had requested and asked.
“But what are you going to blow up? You requested a bomb and a miniature spatial movement device.”
“Ah, the core is underground in the mine. Several dozen meters down, at that.”
The Deputy Squad Leader sighed at the truly troublesome core location.
“Thanks to that, all the kids are resting. Of course, the rookies are getting a semi-forced bus ride.”
The Deputy Squad Leader glanced at Sinhyeok and said.
“Don't you need to level up too? You’ve been in the workshop, so you haven't had a chance to raise your level, right?”
“Well, I just wondered if I really need to. I’m an Alchemist. If my stats are lacking, I can just compensate with items.”
At those words, the Deputy Squad Leader looked at him with envious eyes.
“Must be nice. You’ll be playing comfortably in the back. This is why I should’ve awakened as a healer or a production class. *Sigh.*”
“I had my fair share of suffering back in the day too. You’ve got it rough.”
Sinhyeok simply smiled as he watched the Deputy Squad Leader let out a deep sigh.
Once they had gone a fair distance into the mine, the heat became noticeable.
“It’s getting hot.”
“This is nothing. Down below is literal hell.”
Following the Deputy Squad Leader’s words, they proceeded down the passage that grew progressively darker.
They headed endlessly inward.
Clang! Clang!
The sound of swords clashing against something hard echoed from inside.
“Rookie, you’ll dull your sword like that. Aim for gaps and deflect attacks.”
Looking inside, Arin was struggling fiercely, while the seniors watched from behind.
“Ichan, your ghost is playing around. What are you doing? You should coordinate seamlessly on your own.”
Clang!
Ichan was quite busy in his own way.
He was fiercely clashing against rock-encased spiders.
He gritted his teeth, pushing back the spider’s forelegs with two daggers.
“I-I’m busy!”
“If you have time to say you’re busy, bring out your ghost.”
“Kuk! Yes, sir!”
Ichan gritted his teeth and summoned an evil spirit, sending it at the monster Arin was facing.
“Ugh!”
Ichan slashed in the brief opening, and the observing senior spoke.
“You need to heal! What are you doing, Baek Arin! Aren’t you checking your allies? Heal immediately even while fighting!”
“Kuk! Yes, sir!”
Baek Arin pushed the rock spider back with her sword and reached out her hand.
A warm light shone forth.
“Good, memorize that with your body. But when are you going to kill it?”
“Kuk.”
“Haaap!”
Sinhyeok watched the scene with a smile.
“Fighting!”
The two flinched simultaneously at the sudden shout.
Due to that moment of carelessness, the rock spider threw a rock.
The two nimbly dodged the attack, but it headed straight for Sinhyeok behind them.
The 3rd Team Leader urgently turned around.
“Oh!”
Sinhyeok saw the flying rock, slightly twisted his body to dodge, and lightly snatched it out of the air with his hand.
Looking at the rock, he thought of ‘Melting,’ which he had awakened not long ago.
‘Will it work?’
[Melting the object.]
He unconsciously thought of Melting.
Ssshhh.
Watching the rock melt away in his hand, Sinhyeok sighed in relief.
“Ooh. That surprised me.”
The 3rd Team Leader looked at him and asked urgently.
“You okay?”
“Yes, yes. I’m fine.”
“Phew.”
Just then, the Deputy Squad Leader stopped them.
“Stop! Wrap up the operation right away.”
At the mention of wrapping up the operation, the 3rd Team Leader cracked his neck and stepped forward.
“Then training is over.”
The senior members immediately dashed forward and simultaneously cut down two rock spiders with aura-covered swords.
“*Sigh*, these rookies are so feeble. How and when are they ever going to pull their own weight?”
Arin and Ichan gasped for breath and shook their heads.
“Our levels just passed 20.”
“I’m 18. *Huff huff.*”
The 3rd Team Leader stared intently at Hong Ichan’s level.
“No, I’m really level 18!”
“You’re not doing this on purpose to mess with me?”
“Ah, I feel wronged.”
The Deputy Squad Leader smirked as he passed by.
The 3rd Team Leader roughly rubbed Ichan’s head and said.
“There’s no soul in it.”
“I feel wronged!”
“No, put a little more soul into it!”
“I feel wronged!”
“Why, you.”
The two exchanged banter.
Baek Arin wiped her sweat and looked at Sinhyeok.
“Mister, what brings you here?”
“Field support. Someone requested supplies.”
“Ahh.”
Sinhyeok glanced at the Deputy Squad Leader heading inside and asked.
“Is this the last Gate?”
At those words, Arin looked at the 3rd Team Leader.
“Team Leader. Is this our last operation?”
“Yeah, probably? We don’t have any other assignments right now, so I think we’ll return to base after this.”
At his words, both Arin and Ichan smiled.
“Everyone pray we don’t get suddenly assigned another operation.”
“Yes, sir!”
Sinhyeok decided to wait a moment upon hearing it was the last operation.
“Then we can go back together.”
The 3rd Team Leader nodded.
“Yeah. Since you’re here, watch for a bit before you go. It’s not every day you see a bomb go off.”
Leaving the two aside, the 3rd Team Leader cautiously approached Sinhyeok and asked quietly.
“But is it okay if I ask what your real relationship with the Battalion Commander is? Everyone says you’re the Battalion Commander’s son?”
He asked out of curiosity about the behind-the-scenes story of Sinhyeok, who was surrounded by rumors.
“Ah, that’s not it. My father was just close with the Battalion Commander.”
“Damn. Hey, that’s basically the same thing. So jealous.”
The 3rd Team Leader laughed and patted Sinhyeok’s shoulder.
“Your father’s doing well?”
Sinhyeok smirked at that.
“……He passed away.”
“Ah.”
He laughed awkwardly and removed his hand from Sinhyeok’s shoulder.
“W-well. But your mother is doing well, right?”
The flustered 3rd Team Leader tried to find a way out by digging in another direction, but that too was a dead end.
“My mother also passed away in the Gate Calamity eight years ago.”
The 3rd Team Leader pressed his lips shut and silently stepped away a few paces.
“S-sorry.”
“Hey, what are you doing…… *chuckle.*”
The Squad Leader, who had entered late, laughed upon seeing the 3rd Team Leader on the verge of kneeling.
“Ah, no…… it’s just.”
Sinhyeok laughed along and said.
“It’s fine.”
The 3rd Team Leader glanced around for cues and then went inside.
Sinhyeok giggled at the sight.
“Ah, fun.”
“Your personality is still terrible.”
First Lieutenant Gang Siyun smiled at Sinhyeok’s unchanged personality.
“Ah, it’s not terrible, it’s humorous.”
“Teasing the kids as always, anyway.”
The 3rd Squad Leader looked at Sinhyeok, who remained, and asked.
“Are you heading out with us?”
“Yes. Isn’t this the last operation?”
“That’s right. We don’t have any other assignments. I think the return order will come down once we finish here.”
“Then I’ll wait and head out with you.”
“Very well. Take that mutt and the rookies outside the mine and wait.”
Because their stats were still low, the three headed outside the mine.
Arin and Ichan, who had come outside, looked at the mine.
“We grinded away in there for over two days.”
“I only remember grunting for two days straight.”
Sinhyeok simply laughed at their complaints.
“You’ll have to do it for a few more weeks~ You need to get your stats up.”
“Ah, I’m already sick of it.”
“If you’re sick of it, you should think about leveling up faster.”
At Arin’s by-the-book remark, Ichan shook his head.
“Ugh.”
As Ichan did so, he leaned his head against Sinhyeok’s back but flinched at the cold sensation.
“What? Hyung, your back is damp? Huh? Huh!”
Blue turned its head 180 degrees to look at Ichan.
And then barked.
“Blue!”
Hearing the name Blue, Arin looked at Sinhyeok’s back.
She broke into a beaming smile at the familiar form perched on his shoulder.
“Oh my, oh my. It’s our Blue~”
She grabbed a handful of it with her hand.
Blue simply grinned.
“Hyung, did it hatch?”
“Yeah, it hatched.”
Of course, a lot had happened, but what mattered was that it had hatched in the end.
Sinhyeok detected the faint mana wave spreading from the mine.
“Looks like it’s about to blow.”
The 3rd Squad was coming out from inside.
The 3rd Squad Leader shouted, waving his hand.
“Get further away!”
At his words, the three scrambled back.
Sinhyeok asked the approaching 3rd Squad Leader.
“But has the boss monster been dealt with?”
“No! I thought it would come out with us?”
At those words, Sinhyeok wondered if they should get further away.
“Is it okay if we don’t move back more?”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s just a B-rank boss monster, so it’s fine!”
Boom!
Just then, the ground shook.
A heavy vibration spread from the ground, followed by a blast from below.
Boom! Crash!
The ground began to shake.
Sinhyeok quickly cast Mapping.
[Initiating Mapping.]
He began to scour the surroundings thoroughly.
‘The entire ground is rising!’
He immediately warned the 3rd Squad Leader.
“Squad Leader! The ground! The entire ground is rising! It’s huge!”
At his words, the Squad Leader muttered a curse under his breath.
“Damn it, everyone scatter and prepare for combat!”
The mine collapsed, and a figure over ten meters in height revealed itself through the dust.
“Ugh……. What the hell is this now?”
The 3rd Squad Leader was greatly flustered by its considerable size.
“It’s pretty big?”
A massive golem made of rock and iron ore glared at them intently.
A mineral that appeared to be a core was embedded squarely in the center of its chest.
“Fire!”
As the 3rd Squad Leader gave the order, the team leaders and ranged attackers who had been ready let loose their skills simultaneously.
Kwaaang! Boom!
Dust billowed, and the golem toppled straight backward.
“Fire in order starting from the 1st Team.”
The 3rd Squad Leader issued commands calmly and watched.
“Smooth. Sinhyeok, thanks~”
Sinhyeok gave a thumbs-up and scanned the surroundings.
‘Is everything else normal?’
Something was off as he looked around.
“Hmm?”
Looking again, he saw an alien mana collision in the surrounding atmosphere.
‘What’s going on?’
He had definitely experienced this feeling somewhere before.
‘The Priest’s Gate!’
When he looked at the sky, a tear was drawn in the air, and other demon beasts could be seen through it.
“Damn it! Squad Leader! The sky! Look at the sky!”
The 3rd Squad Leader looked up at Sinhyeok’s urgent words.
A clear tear drawn in the air, and the wave of demon beasts pouring through it.
The Squad Leader looked back and forth with a bewildered face.
“Ah, damn…….”
Sinhyeok looked at the collapsed golem and thought of ‘Melting.’
“Squad Leader! We’ll take care of that, so please stop those demon beasts!”
The Squad Leader was skeptical of Sinhyeok’s words.
“Just the three of you?”
Those three were Sinhyeok, Hong Ichan, and Baek Arin.
Hong Ichan and Baek Arin looked at Sinhyeok in surprise when they were called out.
“Uh……?”
“U-us?”
“Mister?”
Since it was Sinhyeok who said it, the Squad Leader trusted him and nodded.
“Okay. 3rd Squad! Deal with the demon beasts pouring through the tear! Scatter by team!”
As everyone truly scattered, Ichan reached out in panic.
“H-hey?”
Sinhyeok took Blue, who had been hanging on his shoulder, and checked the boss monster that had fallen backward.
“I think Blue and I can just chew it up with Melting.”
Baek Arin calmly drew her sword first and kept watch on the boss monster trying to get up.
“Mister, what’s the plan?”
“First, you and Blue are a team.”
He handed Blue to her.
Blue naturally burrowed into Arin’s body.
“Ungh!”
“It’ll melt the rocks and remove them. Protect our Blue well.”
“Yep.”
“Ichan, you’re my backup and pulling aggro. Take good care of things with your ghost.”
Ichan looked at the sizeable golem and asked again.
“That? With just the three of us?”
“Yeah, and we have Blue too.”
“T-that’s what that is!”
Thud.
The boss monster pressed against the ground and slowly rose.
Sinhyeok and Arin immediately dashed out.
“You, the right leg! I’ll start with the left!”
She grabbed Blue and shouted.
“Go, Blue!”
[Initiating Melting.]
Sinhyeok likewise reached the risen golem’s left leg and placed his hand on it.
[Extracting material from the target.]
[Extracted rock.]
A house-sized rock turned to liquid and poured down.
As rocks flowed away and disappeared from both sides, the golem collapsed once more.
Boom!
The golem, fallen to the ground, looked at the two with a bewildered expression.
“Now, let’s calmly chew it all away.”
Ichan looked at the two with a dumbfounded expression.
“Hyung! What am I backing up?”
“Check if there are any additional attacks!”
[Initiating Melting.]
[Extracting material from the target.]
[Extracting rock and iron ore.]
Thud…….
After repeating this process, all that remained was a shining crystal.
“All done.”
Only the scattered remains of the golem filled the surroundings.
“Squad Leader?”
Sinhyeok, clutching the core, looked around for him, wondering if everything was finished.
“Yeah, we’re wrapping things up here too.”
The Squad Leader walked over leisurely, pushing back his disheveled hair.
He checked the dismantled golem.
“Wow, you just completely dismantled it. What kind of skill is that?”
“Oh come on. Squad Leader, you’re trying to steal someone else’s secret technique.”
“Oh you.”
The 3rd Squad Leader laughed as he looked at Sinhyeok’s cheeky expression.
“You just do everything by yourself, huh.”
“Haha.”
Everyone gathered shortly after.
Once he confirmed everyone was assembled, Sinhyeok handed the core to the Squad Leader.
“Let’s confirm one last time. No monsters remaining?”
“No!”
“No, sir!”
“Then let’s close it. Deputy Squad Leader, record it.”
The Deputy Squad Leader immediately checked the cam to see if it was recording.
The surroundings shook as the Squad Leader crushed the core with his grip strength.
[Closing the Gate.]
[B-rank Gate Chromiya Mining Village is being closed.]
[As the core is absorbed by Yggdrasil, experience points are distributed according to merit.]
[Absorbing a large amount of experience points.]
[Reached Level 10.]
[Class advancement is possible.]
[We will show you the class advancements available for your class.]
[1. Alchemist]
[2. Alchemist]
[3. Alchemist]
[4. Alchemist]
[Please choose carefully.]
Sinhyeok was speechless at the biased options.
‘What am I supposed to choose?’
[Please make your choice quickly.]
[Time expired. Proceeding with random selection.]
‘This is…….’
[Alchemist has been selected.]
[A quest for class advancement has been assigned.]
[Class Advancement Quest Triggered]
[Title: Transmutation]
[Description: Acquire all prerequisite sub-skills required to learn Transmutation, the unique authority of the Alchemist.]
[Potion Crafting 1/1]
[Synthesis 1/1]
[Enhancement 1/1]
[Melting 1/1]
[Extraction 1/1]
[Mana Heart 1/1]
[Insight 1/1]
[1st Circle Magic 1/1]
[Enchant 0/1]
[Reward: Transmutation]
“Long.”
‘What are they going to give me that I have to learn all this just to advance?’
“Sinhyeok, let’s go!”
The surroundings were shaking.
The Gate was collapsing, and its interior was breaking apart and disappearing.
“Yes, sir!”
Everyone was heading beyond the portal.
Sinhyeok hurriedly moved as well.