Episode 22
Nam Gyu-il left Major Park Hui-ryeong’s office.
He pulled a long-term service application from his pocket.
‘I said I wouldn’t do it, yet they keep pushing.’
Returning to Team 01’s office, he immediately crumpled the long-term service application and threw it away.
Then he sat down at his desk.
Lee Chan-woo looked at the trash can and asked a question.
“Gyu-il hyung.”
“What?”
“What did you just throw away? What did Major Park Hui-ryeong say to make you do that?”
“…She told me to think about long-term service.”
“!!”
Lee Chan-woo’s eyes went wide.
His surprised expression soon turned into a mischief-filled grin.
“Long-term service? Puhahaha.”
“Don’t laugh.”
“Come on, it’s because you’re amazing that they made the offer, right?”
“That’s true, but still.”
“Well, personally, I’d love for you to stay at the Hunter Bureau for a long time!”
Nam Gyu-il furrowed his brow.
“Are you teasing me because I got offered long-term service?”
“That’s not it. If you’re here, I think I can be discharged in one piece. You’re incredibly strong.”
“You brat. Say something mean so I can at least get mad…”
Nam Gyu-il snickered.
Well, anyway, since he had already said he didn’t want long-term service, they probably wouldn’t pressure him too hard.
There would probably be a few interviews, though.
‘I’ll think about this later. I need to continue today’s schedule.’
Nam Gyu-il rose from his chair.
“To hell with long-term service. I’m going to go train.”
Lee Chan-woo spoke in a disappointed voice.
“Hyung, we even got a commendation today. Let’s at least have a team dinner. Why do you only train every day?”
“You guys can do it without me.”
“That’s upsetting. What’s the fun without you?”
A hollow laugh escaped Nam Gyu-il.
He didn’t particularly dislike Lee Chan-woo’s desire to hang out with him.
Still, he couldn’t skip today’s training.
“Anyway, I’m going to train. You too—don’t just think about having fun, train hard today.”
“Okay.”
Lee Chan-woo pouted.
***
Team 01 followed Nam Gyu-il to the training grounds.
Nam Gyu-il began his mana training and swordsmanship practice.
Especially to increase his concentration, he devoted meticulous effort to each and every stance.
The other Team 01 members glanced at him repeatedly.
Wanting to become strong like Nam Gyu-il, they had secretly followed his training, but it had no effect at all.
Everyone harbored doubts.
They were following along diligently, so why couldn’t they grow at all?
Why was there such a difference?
Unable to contain his curiosity, Lee Chan-woo asked him point-blank.
“Hyung, teach us your training too.”
“What?”
“I mean, we tried following your training, but it didn’t work for us at all.”
At Lee Chan-woo’s words, Nam Gyu-il fell silent for a moment.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to teach his training methods to the comrades who had been with him for so long.
The problem was keeping the training method secret.
If it leaked outside, the major guilds wouldn’t sit still.
So it was natural that he couldn’t readily share it.
While Nam Gyu-il hesitated, a sound blared from the speaker mounted on the wall.
It was a deployment signal.
“Hey, hurry up and get ready to deploy!”
Nam Gyu-il shouted.
Thanks to that, Lee Chan-woo’s request to be taught the training fizzled out.
Team 01 hurriedly deployed to the location of the Gate.
***
The soldiers had sealed off the Gate in full combat gear.
They set up machine guns on the ground.
And installed as many as ten claymores facing the Gate entrance.
A few soldiers were chatting.
“Geez, the National Hunters who went into the Gate haven’t come out even after two days.”
“They must be dead.”
“Tsk, is this Gate really that hard?”
“I’m not sure.”
Just then, a military bus approached from afar.
Screech.
The military bus came to a stop.
The door opened and Team 01 disembarked.
The soldiers blocking the Gate pursed their lips in admiration as they saw them.
“Ooh! Don’t they look cool.”
“They’re National Hunters, and their armor and weapons are all brand new?”
The soldiers couldn’t take their eyes off Team 01.
The National Hunters they had seen until now only used cheap daggers and shields covered in scars.
It was the first time they had seen such fully armed hunters.
Nam Gyu-il approached the soldiers.
“Where is the Gate?”
“It’s over there.”
The soldiers escorted Team 01 to the Gate.
A commander was there.
“Oh, are the National Hunters here?”
As the commander approached and acknowledged him, Nam Gyu-il saluted.
“Loyalty, sir.”
“Are you Team 01?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ve heard the news. That you received a commendation.”
“Thank you for your interest, sir.”
“Hahaha, the most prominent team in the Seoul Hunter Bureau is here, so I can breathe easy. I specifically asked them to send you.”
The commander sized Nam Gyu-il up.
He was quite pleased with the fully armed appearance from head to toe.
Nam Gyu-il inquired about the monsters.
“What kind of monsters are coming out of this Gate?”
“Hobgoblins. We confirmed them jumping out of the Gate.”
“Understood.”
“Right. But don’t let your guard down. The National Hunters who entered first haven’t had a single survivor for two days now.”
“Does that mean they’re dead?”
“I suppose we can take it that way.”
Nam Gyu-il couldn’t understand it.
Hobgoblins were different from normal goblins.
Their intelligence was similarly lacking, but their bodies were as large as an adult male.
They were also quite strong.
Their overall physical abilities were roughly on par with the Awakened.
Still, since they were stupid, you could take them down with minimal casualties if you planned well.
But no survivors at all?
There might be deaths or injuries, but it wasn’t at a level where it couldn’t be cleared.
It didn’t make sense.
If it truly was a Gate with hobgoblins, it should have been cleared long ago.
‘There must be some kind of trap.’
Otherwise, this situation couldn’t be explained.
Seeing Nam Gyu-il’s puzzled expression, the commander let out a sigh.
“The National Hunters who entered haven’t even made it back alive. I have no idea what’s happening inside.”
The commander patted Nam Gyu-il’s shoulder.
“I’ll be counting on you.”
“Yes, sir.”
“To be honest, I said we needed another team besides yours… but they said they don’t have the capacity, what with so many Gates appearing.”
The commander gave a faint bitter smile.
Nam Gyu-il fell into thought.
If National Hunters had been wiped out in a Gate, it was no ordinary matter.
At this point, the major guilds should step in as well.
“Commander. I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Shouldn’t a support request have been sent to the major guilds at this point?”
“It was.”
The commander put his hand on his waist, face scrunched up.
He looked furious.
Nam Gyu-il realized what was going on.
“Did the major guilds refuse this support request as well?”
“They did.”
Nam Gyu-il didn’t ask any further.
He could see where this was going.
The major guilds’ intentions, that is.
When a Gate appeared that was difficult to close with the Hunter Bureau alone, the government sent a cooperation request to the major guilds along with support funds.
The more serious the situation, the larger the support fund.
There was probably only one goal for the major guilds.
‘They want to make the government beg them with a bigger support fund to close the Gate. That’s why they’re deliberately letting the situation worsen.’
He really didn’t like it.
He already hated how they monopolized proper training methods for profit, but to refuse closing Gates just to inflate their own interests…
‘They become more and more despicable the more I see them.’
Nam Gyu-il clicked his tongue without realizing it.
He looked at his comrades.
“We’re entering the Gate now! Given that there have been no survivors so far, there’s a high chance of a trap. Everyone, move carefully!”
At Nam Gyu-il’s warning, everyone shouted at the top of their lungs.
“Understood.”
“Yes, sir!”
Nam Gyu-il nodded.
He liked their crisp responses.
They performed a final check on their weapons and entered the Gate.
***
Nam Gyu-il’s group entered the Gate.
A dense forest was visible.
Dark tree shadows enveloped them all.
Tree roots covered the ground, and the refreshing scent of grass wafted from everywhere.
It looked like an ordinary forest.
Nam Gyu-il drew the long sword on his back and slowly advanced.
Team 01 maintained vigilance in all directions.
They were taut with nerves due to the lack of survivors in this Gate.
It was then.
“Kyaek!!”
“Kieeeeng-!!”
Ear-piercing shrieks rang out.
In the distance, hobgoblins were charging while holding daggers.
Green skin and thick legs.
They were around 170 cm tall, and their protruding bellies caught the eye.
Their bellies jutted forward, but strangely, their arms and legs were muscular.
They gave the impression of giant wrestlers.
Nam Gyu-il gave an order.
“Everyone, circular formation!”
The Team 01 members gathered in a circle and formed up.
“Kuaaaa!”
As the hobgoblins drew close to Team 01, they shrieked with their shoulders heaving.
They were greatly riled up.
They swung their daggers as if delivering a decisive blow.
Ting.
But the hobgoblins’ daggers couldn’t pierce the armor.
They only let out dull thuds.
“Kruk?!”
The hobgoblins flinched when their daggers didn’t work.
After pausing for a moment.
“Kwaaaak-!!”
They shrieked again and swung their daggers blindly.
Team 01 swung their weapons in response.
The battle was almost one-sided.
The hobgoblins barely covered themselves with rags, so they had no defense at all.
They didn’t even have a concept of swordsmanship.
Of course, their strength was at the level of the Awakened, so letting one’s guard down was forbidden.
Another team would have struggled, but against the fully armored Team 01, their onslaught didn’t work.
The stupid hobgoblins didn’t retreat and fought until they were exterminated.
Thus, the first battle ended.
Since they had fought with perfect equipment and in formation, none of Team 01 were injured.
“Hah, hah.”
“Huk, huk.”
Instead, they had expended a lot of stamina fighting them.
Nam Gyu-il decided to rest for a moment for his exhausted teammates.
Lee Chan-woo made a strange expression.
“They’re just ordinary hobgoblins.”
He had expected something special since there were no survivors, but they were just ordinary.
Even Nam Gyu-il felt something was strange.
‘Hobgoblins aren’t easy monsters, but they aren’t at a level where the National Hunters who entered first would be wiped out. And there was nothing particularly special about them.’
The more he thought about it, the more he couldn’t figure out what had happened in this Gate.
Team 01 rested for about ten minutes and moved again.
They walked carefully in case of traps, so their marching speed was slow.
However.
“There aren’t any traps?”
Lee Chan-woo looked even more puzzled.
Nam Gyu-il agreed.
‘Did the National Hunters who entered first get wiped out simply because they lacked skill?’
At that very thought.
Hong Shin-woo discovered someone and pointed with his finger.
“Over there, there’s a person.”
At those words, everyone looked toward the spot.
A blood-soaked man leaning against a long tree trunk was visible.
“Kuluk.”
The man let out a labored breath.
His clothes were stained dark red with blood, losing their original color.
Since he was inside the Gate, he was undoubtedly a National Hunter who had entered earlier.
Team 01 hurriedly approached him.
“Are you all right?”
The man gasped and looked at Nam Gyu-il’s group.
And then muttered something.
“…Iron… huge… go… gong….”
With that, the man breathed his last.
Team 01 gulped.
They had no idea what was going on, but everyone intuited it.
That something was in this Gate.