Episode 23
Team 01 transferred the corpse outside the Gate, re-entered, and advanced forward.
Nam Gyuil couldn't stop thinking about the dead man's last words.
'Steel? Something huge? A ball?'
It seemed this wasn't a Gate that simply spawned hobgoblins.
'Just what kind of monster comes out of here?'
In Gates where hobgoblins appeared, the boss monster was a Shaman Hobgoblin.
It was a mage with healing abilities.
With strong magical attack power and healing ability, it was an extremely troublesome foe.
Without killing the Shaman Hobgoblin, clearing the Gate was practically impossible.
As long as it lived, the hobgoblins wouldn't die easily and would keep charging.
'The National Hunters who entered the Gate before us should have known that too.'
Hobgoblins were stupid, so they didn't actively protect the Shaman Hobgoblin during combat.
If you exploited that, you could win easily.
Yet the National Hunters who entered first hadn't just been wiped out—they'd left strange last words.
'Could the boss monster be something else?'
If so, it made sense.
Nam Gyuil called his teammates to a halt.
"Hold your positions."
Everyone stopped walking.
With a grave expression, Nam Gyuil looked at them all and spoke.
"This Gate could be dangerous. A boss monster different from what we're expecting might appear."
Hong Sinu broke into a cold sweat.
"Staff Sergeant Nam Gyuil, what kind of monster do you think will appear?"
"I don't know either. But a new species of monster might appear, so everyone needs to move carefully."
Nam Gyuil emphasized the need for caution.
Lee Chanu let out a long breath and scratched the back of his head uneasily.
"A new monster species... Come to think of it, new monsters have been appearing constantly these days. The news has been reporting on it too."
Nam Gyuil gave orders to everyone.
"Since we don't know the boss monster's identity, avoid combat as much as possible while moving. Conserve your stamina and go all out when we encounter the boss. Understood?"
"Understood."
Team 01 moved forward, silencing even their footsteps.
Whenever hobgoblins appeared, they climbed trees to avoid engagement and assessed the situation.
The creatures were so stupid that they couldn't find Team 01 hiding in the trees.
And then.
They arrived at the location of the Core.
Since the Gate only closed when the Core was destroyed, the boss monster always lurked nearby.
That should have been the case, but...
'What? Why is there no boss monster?'
Nam Gyuil was puzzled.
Team 01 hid in the trees and surveyed the area around the Core.
They waited for a long time, but there wasn't even a shadow of the boss monster.
'Does it have no intention of protecting the Core?'
Nam Gyuil found the entire situation suspicious.
There was only a large steel ball nearby; no one was trying to guard the Core.
Not even hobgoblins were in sight.
Team 01 looked at Nam Gyuil and awaited orders.
- Are we going to break the Core?
Hong Sinu asked in sign language.
Nam Gyuil didn't give the order, falling into thought for a moment.
Everything was suspicious.
Perhaps that was why the dead man's last words kept swirling in his head.
'Steel, something huge, a ball.'
He stared intently at the steel ball beside the Core.
'So that's what it was.'
With an expression of finally understanding, Nam Gyuil leaped down from the tree.
The Team 01 members tilted their heads.
They followed Nam Gyuil and jumped down from the trees as well.
"Hyung, what's going on??"
Lee Chanu couldn't contain his curiosity and asked.
Nam Gyuil snorted.
"I figured out what this Gate's boss monster is."
"Huh?"
Nam Gyuil approached the steel ball.
Throwing a brief remark to everyone.
"If you guys found a steel ball in a Gate, what would you do?"
Lee Chanu's eyes rolled up and to the left.
After thinking deeply, he answered.
"I'd try to take it outside the Gate, of course."
"Right?"
"Yes, iron found in a Gate has high research value, so it fetches a high price."
Lee Chanu was right.
Iron acquired from Gates was valuable.
So the National Hunters who had entered the Gate first must have tried to take the steel ball near the Core.
Without even knowing what it really was.
Nam Gyuil stood before the steel ball and raised his longsword high.
Clang.
The blade struck the steel ball.
A dull impact sound echoed throughout the area.
The Team 01 members' faces went blank.
They were bewildered, not knowing why Nam Gyuil was doing this suddenly.
It was then.
The steel ball that had been struck began to wriggle.
The Team 01 members were shocked.
They never dreamed the steel ball would move so suddenly.
Screech, screech.
As the sound of metal interlocking rang out, the steel ball revealed its true form.
Six legs.
A body composed of a head, chest, and hips.
A frame larger than a human.
Grotesque hook-like teeth moved from side to side, making clacking sounds.
Nam Gyuil revealed the identity of the steel ball.
"It's a new monster. It's an ant with a body of steel, so be careful."
He didn't say its official name.
This monster's name was Steel Ent.
Normally, it curled its body into a ball and lived like a steel sphere, but when prey approached, it pounced and devoured them in an instant.
This was the reason the National Hunters who entered the Gate first had died so tragically.
They had approached it thinking it was an ordinary steel ball and suffered for it.
And from within the Steel Ent's embrace, a certain being revealed itself.
It was a Shaman Hobgoblin.
It seemed the Steel Ent had been embracing the creature while curled into a ball.
Nam Gyuil assumed a sword stance.
He carefully observed the necklace the Shaman Hobgoblin was wearing.
'A pearl necklace on a pig's neck.'
The necklace the Shaman Hobgoblin wore was an item.
'A Tamer Necklace. I never thought a mere Shaman Hobgoblin would have something like that.'
Using the Tamer Necklace allowed one to tame monsters.
Of course, there were restrictions.
You could only tame exactly three, and the ability only worked on unhatched monster eggs.
In other words, you had to hatch the eggs and raise them from infancy.
It was an extremely tedious condition.
But once you succeeded in taming one, it would obey its master's words unconditionally.
The Shaman Hobgoblin seemed to have obtained a Steel Ent egg somewhere by chance.
"Gwak, gwak!!"
The Shaman Hobgoblin jumped up and down making strange noises.
It climbed onto the Steel Ent's head and pointed at Nam Gyuil.
It looked thoroughly enraged.
The Steel Ent also clacked its teeth, showing its displeasure.
The Shaman Hobgoblin shrieked something.
"Tatatata-!!"
As the ear-splitting noise rang out, hobgoblins swarmed in from the surroundings.
Team 01 was surrounded in an instant.
Lee Chanu swung his sword to break through the encirclement.
However, the hobgoblin cut down by his blade was healed instantly and stood up unharmed.
It was thanks to the Shaman Hobgoblin's healing ability.
Nam Gyuil immediately charged to cut down the Shaman Hobgoblin.
Clang-
He swung his longsword, but it was repelled.
The Steel Ent had deflected his attack with its steel teeth.
Nam Gyuil stepped back slightly.
'Tch, things got annoying. Is this why the National Hunters who entered first were wiped out?'
The Shaman Hobgoblin possessed the ability to heal its kin. And the Steel Ent protected it thoroughly.
The situation was heading in an unfavorable direction.
If they kept fighting like this, the hobgoblins—fighting while being healed—would have the advantage.
If they were dragged into a prolonged battle, they might lose.
'Somehow, eliminating the Steel Ent is crucial.'
Nam Gyuil gave orders to his teammates.
"I'll take the boss monsters. You guys deal with the hobgoblins."
"Understood."
Everyone shouted in unison.
The Steel Ent charged at Nam Gyuil.
Its long, slender legs kicked the ground mercilessly as it moved quickly.
The creature aimed its hook-like teeth at Nam Gyuil.
As if trying to swallow him whole!!
Tap.
Nam Gyuil moved swiftly to evade the assault.
The Steel Ent boasted a defense so solid that not even a K2 rifle could pierce it.
Ordinary attacks couldn't even leave a scratch.
'There's only one way to inflict damage on the Steel Ent.'
And that was the Mana Sword.
Nam Gyuil knew this, but he didn't use it immediately.
'My skills are still lacking, so I can't maintain the Mana Sword for long.'
He could probably only use it once.
So he had to use it at the decisive moment and kill it in a single blow.
Nam Gyuil continued to focus on evasive maneuvers.
The Steel Ent launched fierce attacks with its sharp teeth, and the Shaman Hobgoblin healed its kin while attacking with magic whenever it had a chance.
Perhaps because of the Tamer Necklace.
Their attacks meshed so well that they showed no openings.
Even Nam Gyuil could only focus on evasion and defense.
At this rate, winning would be difficult.
'First, I need to break their teamwork.'
Nam Gyuil dodged attacks while deliberately moving slightly toward the hobgoblins.
He grabbed the shoulder of a nearby hobgoblin.
Swish.
And threw it toward the Steel Ent and Shaman Hobgoblin.
"Kruk?!"
The Shaman Hobgoblin's eyes went wide.
It was visibly flustered at its kin suddenly flying toward it.
It stopped the Steel Ent's attack to avoid the flying hobgoblin.
Thanks to that, an opening was created.
Tap.
Nam Gyuil didn't miss the golden opportunity and charged in.
The Steel Ent reacted to his movement, whipping its antennae like a whip. The sound of wind being cut was ominous.
One wrong hit and his head would fly off.
From Nam Gyuil's perspective, it was a breathtaking sight.
'Stay calm. There has to be a gap I can dodge through!'
He stopped breathing and focused his concentration to find a way out.
'There!'
Tap.
With quick footwork, he threw his body forward as if hurling himself.
The Steel Ent's antennae barely missed his body, grazing past him.
Nam Gyuil landed beside the creature's head.
'The perfect timing to attack!!'
He focused his mind to the extreme and infused his blade with mana from within his body.
The longsword was enveloped in blue light.
Nam Gyuil glanced at his teammates with the corner of his eye. They were all fighting hobgoblins and hadn't seen him use the Mana Sword.
Slash.
Nam Gyuil beheaded the Steel Ent with his Mana Sword.
Its head separated from its body.
Perhaps because the nerves hadn't died yet, its antennae moved and its legs staggered.
Thud.
Soon, its body and head stopped moving, becoming cold corpses.
At the same time, the mana gathered on Nam Gyuil's blade dispersed like smoke, and the Mana Sword deactivated.
"Kruk?!"
The Shaman Hobgoblin couldn't come to its senses as all this happened in an instant.
Stab-!!
Nam Gyuil plunged his blade into the creature's head, ending its life.
And so, he ended the battle with the boss monsters.
With the Shaman Hobgoblin dead, Team 01 easily dealt with the other hobgoblins.
Thanks to that, they killed all the monsters.
"Phew, that was pretty rough."
Nam Gyuil muttered.
He stared at the Tamer Necklace and formed a faint smile.
'It was a tough fight, but the reward is plentiful.'
He pocketed the Tamer Necklace first.
It would surely be of great use later.
Next, he plunged his hand into the Steel Ent's head, rummaged around, and grasped something.
Squish.
He pulled out the object in his hand.
The Steel Ent's exterior was steel, but its insides were just protein, making it easy to extract.
'I got my hands on this.'
Nam Gyuil looked at the item he'd taken from the Steel Ent's head.
It was a jewel about the size of a fingernail.
'I needed this, but I didn't expect to obtain it like this.'
This jewel was very special.
Because it was a material for a transformation item.
Nam Gyuil recalled the hide he had obtained from killing a mutant Werebeast.
If he combined the jewel in his hand with the hide, he would complete a Form Change item with the special ability to change one's appearance.
'I'm already looking forward to it.'
He envisioned a future where he would transform into others and utilize various strategies.
'Of course, having the materials doesn't mean crafting it will be easy.'
But it didn't matter.
Because he could get the information from the Akashic Record and make it.
Nam Gyuil looked back.
"If the job's done, let's get out quickly."
Team 01 destroyed the Core and ran out of the Gate.
***
There were various departments within the Hunter Bureau.
Among them was a department that arrested deserting National Hunters.
"Damn it all."
The National Hunter Desertion Arrest Department.
The team leader of this place, commonly called HA, Staff Sergeant Jo Huiyeong, spat out a curse.
She clicked her tongue and looked at the documents.
The probability of a National Hunter being discharged with all four limbs intact was less than 37%.
Because of that, everyone shied away from enlisting in the Hunter Bureau.
That trend led to desertion.
There were many who ran away because they didn't want to enter Gates where the chance of death or disability was high.
HA's job was to catch these guys.
However, peculiarly, not a single Awakened was in this department.
They were all Unawakened.
It was because National Hunters to send into Gates were in short supply, and because they could suppress Awakened with guns as well.
'No matter how you look at it, this is definitely not an easy job.'
Jo Huiyeong sighed.
Monsters might be strong, but they were dumb.
Deserters were the opposite.
Even if their bodies weren't particularly strong, they knew how to use their heads.
They would hide overseas where they couldn't be found, or move systematically.
HA had numerous records of arresting deserters, but these days it had become nearly impossible.
Jo Huiyeong threw the documents she was reading onto the desk.
"Sigh, those crazy bastards."
A headache came over her, and she pressed hard on her temples to massage them.
'If they deserted, they should have hidden quietly. Instead, they gathered and formed criminal organizations, escalating their crimes?!'
Kidnapping.
Illegal gambling.
Even contract killings.
They abused the fact that Awakened were stronger than civilians to commit all kinds of crimes.
They investigated in cooperation with the police, but with little success.
Furthermore, an HA department employee chasing deserting National Hunters had even been shot.
Those bastards had managed to acquire firearms.
Because of that, Jo Huiyeong had been reprimanded by her superiors until her ears were calloused.
To be honest, the situation was becoming so extreme that she wanted to borrow even a cat's paw.
'HA and the police alone aren't enough.'
The only fortunate thing was that they had recently arrested one of the organization's members.
She needed the help of National Hunters.
'I need the help of National Hunters to even attempt an infiltration investigation. Don't they only accept Awakened who deserted the Hunter Bureau as members?'
She needed capable National Hunters.
'I heard there's a team making a name for themselves lately. Team 01, was it?'
She rested her chin on her hand and picked up the receiver.