Chapter 3: Gate.

Episode 2 – The Gate.

“Damn it! Damn it!”

The C-rank guild, Crow.

If it were an ordinary guild, it would be very ordinary, but they had come to clear a gate and were now being chased instead.

The difficulty of the gate the Crow Guild was challenging seemed to be C-rank, which shouldn’t be a big problem, but in fact, the Crow Guild was a newly formed guild that had barely managed to get promoted this time.

As a result of their overconfidence in their abilities and immediately challenging a C-rank gate, the guild master, Baek I-hyun, and his party members found themselves in danger.

“B-brother, I didn’t hear there was a monster like that!”

“Damn it! I know!”

Something flew towards them at high speed.

Baek I-hyun clicked his tongue and forcefully threw his body to dodge something.

What flew at him was a plant’s vine.

However, it had blades that were far too sharp to call it an ordinary vine.

“Hiek!”

“Damn it… Redvine of all things!”

Redvine.

It was a plant-type monster, a cannibalistic plant that attacked and devoured people with its blade-like leaves and vines.

Fortunately, no guild members had died yet, but at this rate, annihilation was only a matter of time.

‘I… I can’t die here!!’

As Baek I-hyun pushed aside a nearby guild member to avoid a vine targeting him, the guild member was impaled by the vine and held fast.

“Kuaaak!! S-save me!!!”

The man was dragged into the darkness and never returned, accompanied by a horrific scream.

However, as if still lacking nutrients, the Redvine sent more vines towards the Crow Guild.

“G-guild Master! It’s a dead end!”

“What did you say?!”

Furthermore, this gate was dark and labyrinthine, making it easy to get lost.

Normally, it would have been standard to slowly create a map and prepare for approaching monsters, but the price for underestimating the gate was too gruesome.

“I wanted to save this!”

Baek I-hyun, annoyed, pulled out a magic stone glowing with blue light from his pocket and threw it towards the approaching vines.

As the magic stone shattered, blue flames incinerated the approaching vines.

“Kieeeek!!”

“This is a magic stone containing guild property! Taste the power inscribed with magic formulas, you trash!”

“Now! Run!!”

As the vines disappeared with the Redvine’s scream, the Crow Guild members quickly followed Baek I-hyun.

Perhaps thanks to the magic stone he had just thrown, the Redvine’s vines no longer appeared.

The guild members thought it was effective because it was expensive, but at the same time, they also wondered if fewer people would have died if it had been used earlier.

However, there were no fools who would openly make such a remark in this situation, so everyone tactfully kept silent and put more strength into their moving legs.

And finally, beyond the narrow labyrinth, they reached a very wide space.

“Haaah, haaah, did we lose it?”

As they escaped the narrow space, the guild members naturally relaxed, one by one sitting down to recover their stamina, while Baek I-hyun wiped away cold sweat and thought.

‘A wide space from a labyrinth? Something’s strange…’

“How many are left now?”

“Including Guild Master, there are seven in total.”

“Hah, three were taken out.”

There were a total of ten guild members who challenged this gate.

Three of them being taken out was a considerable burden for a C-rank guild.

More than anything, it was the worst possible situation, where casualties, including himself, could increase, and they could even be annihilated.

Instead of blaming himself for challenging a C-rank dungeon out of his own greed, Baek I-hyun was about to blame the incompetent guild members and lash out at them when—

“Uwaaaak!!”

“!!!”

Suddenly, three guild members behind them were caught by Redvine’s vines that had quietly approached from the ceiling.

“Kuaaak! My leg!!”

“It hurts! Save me!!”

“Aaaah!!”

“Damn it, is there no time to rest?!”

The vines constricted the guild members’ bodies like living snakes, and their flesh was cut by the blade-like vines, splattering blood.

As the guild members were flustered by the cruel sight, one guild member discovered something and trembled.

“G-guild Master! B-behind you!”

“…!”

At the guild member’s words, Baek I-hyun turned around and felt his blood run cold.

It was hard to see in the darkness, but in this space, a reddish, enormous flower with a gaping maw full of massive teeth was moving its vines.

“The Redvine’s main body…!”

Baek I-hyun regretted that he should have saved the magic stone and used it now, even if it meant sacrificing a few guild members in the dead end earlier.

Even if they tried to escape now, finding their way and fleeing in the labyrinthine gate was nearly impossible.

In that case, there was no choice but to defeat the Redvine here.

“Everyone, prepare for battle!!”

Despite Baek I-hyun’s shout, the guild members already under attack by the vines were no longer in a state to hear him.

As if the previous attacks were just a game, an immense number of blade-vines began to seize the guild members one by one.

“Damn it, this… this body is going to die here!?”

As Baek I-hyun sensed his impending death and even shed tears, the sound of chains clattering- came from somewhere.

And the guild members who had been bound and dragged by the vines were released.

“Kieeeek!”

Countless vines were severed in an instant.

“W-what is it?”

The Crow Guild members, bewildered, looked behind them and saw a small child dragging silver chains as she walked.

“A kid?!”

But this was inside the gate.

It was a gate with a limited number of entrants, so it was logically impossible for anyone else, especially a child, to enter here.

“Damn it, is it a new monster!?”

At the same time, chains emerged from the girl’s heart and flew straight towards the guild members.

“Whoa!?”

“What the hell!!”

“Dodge!”

But before they could react, the chains pierced each of their hearts.

The same happened to Baek I-hyun, but for some reason, there was no pain, not even blood.

“Chains? What on earth did she do..”

“Guild Master, behind you!!”

“!!!”

Baek I-hyun had been distracted by the chains, forgetting about the most dangerous Redvine, and countless vines pierced him from behind.

“Guild Master!!!”

One guild member shrieked in horror but noticed something strange.

For some reason, Baek I-hyun didn’t look like he was in pain; instead, he seemed surprised and confused by the situation.

“Cough.”

Then, wounds appeared on the body of the still white-haired girl, and she coughed up blood.

Chillingly, the wounds on her body were exactly the same as where Baek I-hyun had been impaled by the vines.

“Could it be…?”

Baek I-hyun belatedly came to his senses, escaped from the vines, and surveyed the situation again.

Even now, the guild members who were still fighting were not getting injured when attacked or caught by the vines.

Instead, wounds and blood increased on the body of the girl connected by the chains.

They were clearly painful wounds to anyone, but she didn’t show any change in expression, as if accustomed to it, merely wiping the blood from her mouth with her sleeve.

Baek I-hyun didn’t quite understand, but having experienced death right before his eyes, he thought desperately, faster than he ever had in his life.

‘I don’t know what’s going on, but that kid is taking our injuries! If that’s the case…!’

“Everyone! Abandon defense and charge in!! I don’t know why, but right now, we’re invincible!!”

It was clearly a despicable situation where a child was being injured in their place, but they deliberately averted their eyes from the guilt.

Because they all wanted to survive.

I didn’t know if I could use Eun-wol’s abilities just because I became a game character, but instinctively, I felt that Eun-wol… no, that all the techniques and skills I used in the game were perfectly usable.

“Is someone fighting nearby?”

Because I had become small, each step was short, but I diligently moved my legs and headed towards where I sensed activity.

Occasionally, strange vines tried to catch me, but I lightly swung my chains and cut them all down.

“They die in one normal attack. Is this some kind of beginner dungeon?”

I wasn’t sure, but they were monsters I’d never seen before, which made me even more curious.

If so, besides the items and weapons I already have, would there be new ones too?

As I walked, thinking such thoughts, I finally emerged from the labyrinthine area and arrived in a wide room.

And there, seven people were gathered, fighting a giant plant.

I hid my small body near the entrance and quietly observed the situation, peeking my head out.

‘Are they raiding? Is this like a beginner dungeon, giving off newbie vibes?’

Watching newbies fight hard was like rain in a drought for a veteran player.

I was watching the fight with a pleased expression, but soon my expression darkened.

‘Weak…’

They were weak.

So incredibly weak it was unpleasant.

They weren’t fighting properly at all, merely scrambling to block the monster’s attacks.

‘That’s not how you raid.’

I wanted to rush over and defeat the raid boss for the newbies right now, but that would hinder their growth.

But if things continued like this, annihilation was only a matter of time…

“It seems I should give them a little push.”

I immediately saved the newbies who were on the verge of death and used a certain skill.

“Chain of Sacrifice.”

Chains appeared from my heart and connected with the newbies in the room.

Chain of Sacrifice is my exclusive skill, a skill that transfers teammates’ damage to me instead.

However, it has a demerit: it penetrates my almost invincible defense…

“Cough.”

My HP is exceptionally high, even beyond my defense.

Defense and HP are essential elements for a tank, so it’s only natural.

Of course, now that it was reality, I was worried about how the damage would come in, but even with significant wounds and bleeding, it didn’t hurt.

If I had to describe it, it felt like being lightly poked with a finger?

Hmm, anyway, with this, I can watch the newbies’ raid from a prime spot!