Chapter 9. The Hunter Who Hunts the Gate (1)

The day after the Awakened rating test.

Jang Sahoo and Jang Jiye, having returned home, made a video call to their parents.

As soon as the signal connected, their parents' faces appeared on the screen.

The father, who had been approaching the screen, suddenly arched his back like a bow and rolled to the side.

The mother, who had taken his place, appeared on the screen, waving her hand, which had turned red from hitting the father's back.

"Hey! Mom and Dad? Is everything okay there?"

While answering, Jang Jiye subtly adjusted the angle of the phone, revealing a dark, green space behind her mother.

Seeing the gloomy scene, Jang Jiye stuck out her tongue.

"It's always dark and gloomy there. My brother and I just finished the rating test."

Since their mother was not an Awakened and thus didn't understand the information, Jang Jiye briefly explained what an Awakened was.

After hearing the explanation, the mother nodded.

"Is that so? But apparently, the rating isn't fixed. It can change based on potential, and it can vary depending on the level or skills you gain!"

"When did you hear that explanation?"

Jang Sahoo, who had been listening from the side, tilted his head at the information he didn't know.

"Oh, you wouldn't know. They told us right after the rating test, but there was a problem with your test."

"..."

As Jang Jiye continued her explanation, Jang Sahoo turned his head and looked at the fragment of the monolith that the giant hound had secretly passed to him with its mouth.

Surprisingly, this fragment, small enough to fit in his hand, emitted no power, but it felt like an immensely vast system, almost as if it were nothing.

While it seemed illogical, as a necromancer, he knew of similar cases.

'If the seal is broken, or if this is the core.'

If the large monolith was actually a seal for this, or if this stone was the core of the large monolith, it would make sense.

He couldn't understand why the giant hound had found this core, which was only the size of a tennis ball, from the large monolith, but it was clearly not an ordinary object.

'Ah, what if...'

Suddenly, Jang Sahoo wondered what it would look like from a spirit's perspective, as he had seen in the hospital. He activated his spectral vision.

When he looked at the monolith's core from a spirit's perspective, he saw something entirely different from what he had seen with his ordinary eyes.

"!"

Jang Sahoo's eyes widened as he saw the incredibly complex and robust mana circuits inside the monolith's core.

The core itself contained no power, but that wasn't a problem.

The core's true value wasn't in the power it contained.

It was more like a device that showed its true worth when energy was input.

However, the problem was that he couldn't properly determine what kind of power it was.

While Jang Sahoo was holding the core seriously, Jang Jiye clung to his back.

When Jang Sahoo, who had been focused on examining the monolith, turned around, he saw Jang Jiye shining a light on his face with her phone.

Seeing her father being knocked down by her mother's fierce backhand smash, Jang Jiye sighed deeply.

"Mom, stop hitting Dad! He must be in pain!"

The mother, who casually brushed off her daughter's concern, alternated her gaze between Jang Sahoo and Jang Jiye through the screen.

"Okay, I understand. When are you coming back? Is the work there not finished yet?"

In response to her mother's question, Jang Jiye awkwardly saluted and put on a reliable expression.

The mother shook her head at her daughter's playful gesture.

As the endless greetings continued, the call ended with the sound of the mother hanging up.

As Jang Jiye giggled and was about to put away her phone, both her and Jang Sahoo's phones simultaneously received text message notifications.

"Huh? What is it? No way?"

Jang Jiye exclaimed in surprise, and Jang Sahoo also opened his phone to check the message.

As expected, it was a text from the government to the Awakened, informing them of their status as Hunters.

"Hunter? They call Awakened Hunters?"

Soon, Jang Jiye excitedly shouted, "I'm a Hunter! A third-year Hunter!" and jumped around.

Jang Sahoo opened his phone and searched for information about the Hunter certification on NewTube.

Dozens of videos appeared, some uploaded just a minute ago, and new ones were continuously being uploaded.

When he clicked on a video titled "What is a Hunter? A Super Simple Summary!", to his surprise, Lieutenant Han Siyeon, who had led the soldiers during the Awakened rating test, appeared.

She seemed a bit uncomfortable with the camera, showing her newly issued Hunter certification and explaining what a Hunter was.

It seemed that the government's Awakened had been summarizing the information they had gathered over the past month.

Hearing the explanation from the video, Jang Jiye stopped jumping around and leaned on Jang Sahoo's shoulder for a more comfortable position.

The content of the video could be summarized as follows:

A Hunter is someone who has awakened and enters the Gate to hunt monsters from another world to eliminate potential threats.

Hunters are superhumans who can enter the Gate, which ordinary people cannot.

However, once inside the Gate, they cannot leave until they kill the core monster, known as the "Boss," that maintains the Gate.

The Gate is blue when stable.

When the Gate breaks down and monsters start to emerge, known as a Gate Break, it turns red, and a Gate Break will occur within 12 hours.

As long as a Hunter survives inside the Gate, the Gate Break is postponed, and the Gate remains yellow.

The explanation, which sounded like game rules, poured out like a waterfall, but Jang Sahoo calmly memorized the information provided in the video.

"What? Then students? Third-year students?"

Ignoring Jang Jiye's indignant outburst, Jang Sahoo continued to memorize the content of the video.

According to the government, Hunters can receive rewards for clearing Gates of different levels.

Items from the other world, known as "Items," obtained from the Gate belong to the Hunter who acquired them.

There was additional content about civil servants, but Jang Sahoo skipped it as it didn't apply to him, and the video had already ended.

"Bro! Bro! They say the reward for the easiest F-class Gate is one million won! That's a jackpot!"

"It's not a jackpot. Considering the danger pay, it's a steal."

While the amount was significant compared to the 4,000 won per day danger pay for mine clearance soldiers, Jang Sahoo and Jang Jiye were not soldiers.

Moreover, the video mentioned that once inside the Gate, Hunters cannot leave until they kill the Boss, which could take a day, a week, or even a month, and the reward was only one million won upon completion.

With no solid information yet, Jang Sahoo remained cautious.

However, Jang Jiye was already gleaming with the prospect of earning one million won.

"So, ten F-class Gates would be ten million won, and a hundred would be one hundred million... Then we can buy a new phone and get gifts for Mom and Dad..."

"First, we need to understand how dangerous an F-class Gate is."

Jang Sahoo stood up.

"Let's go."

"Huh? Where to?"

Surprised by Jang Sahoo's sudden words, Jang Jiye tilted her head in confusion.

"They say we can get our Hunter certification at the administrative welfare center. While it can be downloaded through an app, it's better to have the physical copy."

Always adhering to the principle of gathering information before taking action, Jang Sahoo's decision was a careful one.

While people were still unfamiliar and scared of Gates, they wouldn't consider challenging them, but Gates would continue to appear in the future.

Eventually, Hunters would be necessary to enter Gates, whether sooner or later.

It seemed like a good choice to act now.

"Eh, that's a hassle. I'll just get it through the app~"

But Jang Jiye, contrary to his thoughts, rolled her body, finding it troublesome.

"...And we can also have pork cutlet."

"Lead the way, bro."

At the mention of pork cutlet, Jang Jiye sprang up immediately.

* * *

After receiving their certifications, Jang Sahoo and Jang Jiye went to a pork cutlet restaurant and ordered double-sized pork cutlet sets.

Jang Sahoo, as if possessed, added a slice of pork cutlet to Jang Jiye's plate, who was cutting and eating it with relish.

"Take your time."

"Mmm."

While Jang Jiye stuffed her mouth with pork cutlet, Jang Sahoo installed the app he had been told about at the administrative welfare center, chewing on his own pork cutlet.

After entering his certification ID and password, a map with dots appeared on the app.

"Bro, what does EX mean?"

"I'm not sure. The government decides it, and even the civil servant didn't know."

Jang Sahoo, who wasn't particularly interested in the rating, glossed over it, and Jang Jiye, unimpressed, focused back on her pork cutlet.

As Jang Sahoo looked at the map on the app, his eyes lit up.

"Here, this place. Isn't it quite close to our house?"

Jang Sahoo handed his phone to Jang Jiye, who nodded after checking the location.

"Yeah, it's a 20-minute drive. But what is this?"

"F-class Gate scheduled to appear."

"Whaaat?!"

Jang Jiye, who had been eating pork cutlet, made a strange sound, put down her fork and knife, and started zooming in on the map.

"Bro! It says a Gate will definitely appear here in three hours!"

"Yeah, I saw it."

Jang Sahoo, who had been eating pork cutlet, answered calmly but was startled by Jang Jiye's sparkling eyes.

"...What's with that look?"

"Let's go!"

Jang Jiye shouted as if it were the most obvious thing, and Jang Sahoo sighed deeply.

However, unlike what Jang Jiye expected, Jang Sahoo didn't immediately say "no" but looked up thoughtfully.

"...Really, are we going?"

"It doesn't seem impossible."

Based on the information from NewTube and the administrative welfare center, Jang Sahoo had a better understanding of his own strength.

When he had blocked the giant hounds at the hospital, there were no other Awakened around.

This meant that Jang Sahoo had single-handedly prevented a Gate Break at the hospital.

Moreover, the giant hound was an E-class monster, so Jang Sahoo had essentially cleared an E-class Gate on his own.

Since the danger level decreases from A to F, an F-class Gate was likely to have weaker monsters than the giant hound.

Considering there might be other Awakened who wanted to enter the Gate, the risk would be even lower.

"How many applicants are there?"

"Applicants? Let me check... Oh, two A-class and one B-class!"

"So, including us, there are five people."

Moreover, the team consisted of two A-class and one B-class, which led Jang Sahoo to make his decision.

"Opportunities to go on a low-level Gate with high-level Awakened are rare. Let's go."

Going on an F-class Gate with high-level Awakened was a rare opportunity.

"Okay, I get it!"

Jang Jiye, shouting enthusiastically, handed her phone and Jang Sahoo's phone to him.

When Jang Sahoo looked at her in confusion, Jang Jiye crossed her arms and said confidently.

"I didn't hear the explanation! You do it!"

"..."

Seeing his mischievous sister smiling at him, Jang Sahoo sighed deeply.