Chapter 6: Goblin Gate (2)

On the way to the gate, I heard from Park Hyena.

The Hunter Association uses its technology to predict where gates will appear, control the surrounding situation, and then mediate auctions for gate entry rights between guilds.

But that’s for C-rank or higher gates where guilds are interested in fighting over rights, meaning big money.

“For normal gates, the Association distributes the opportunity to clear them to lower-rank hunters or independent hunters who are not affiliated with a guild. Thanks to that, D-rank independent hunters like me can work as freelancers like this.”

Park Hyena told various stories after that.

From information about guilds scouting hunters who have awakened good skills or are noticeable, to stories about independent hunters with good track records being snatched away by guilds with large and robust salaries after the Association tried to recruit them.

“It’s like a man who supported his girlfriend who was preparing for the civil service exam and helped her become a functioning member of society, only to be dumped for a man working at a large corporation, saying that he is no longer needed.”
“Cough…! Well, if you put it that way, it’s similar, I guess…”
“But if you’re affiliated with an organization, you don’t have to look for gates or parties on the job site, and you can go around comfortably, right?”
“Ah, it’s definitely more comfortable to be affiliated with a guild or the Association.”

Park Hyena smiled slightly bitterly.

“But, you know, hunters aren’t known for having good personalities, right?”
“Ah, that’s true.”

‘Most hunters start acting crazy from the moment they enter the gate.’

It’s a job where they risk their lives. There are always dangers lurking inside the gate.

It’s understandable that hunters’ personalities would become crazy since they spend anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks in such a place.

‘She’s saying that because she’s considerate of the fact that I’m a former porter.’

A hunter who is considerate of others.

Based on what Park Hyena has shown so far, she was in the top 5% of hunter personalities.

‘Or is it just because I’m a man?’

In the previous world, there were also many male hunters who were suspiciously sweet to women.

They probably wanted to leave descendants since they didn’t know when they would die inside the gate.

So most hunters had much stronger sexual desires than ordinary people.

‘And the queen bees caused havoc.’

It may sound crazy, but there were many crazy b*tches who took advantage of that situation and acted like queen bees among the hunters.

And this is a gender-reversed world.

A world where the common sense between men and women that I know is reversed.

A world where there are suspiciously sweet women to men and vicious men called king bees.

‘It’s dizzying.’

“Most hunters will freak out if you stop to film. It’s also too dangerous to film if I go to a gate that matches my rank. So I’m filming strategy videos for lower-rank hunters while going around lower-rank gates.”
“It would certainly be difficult to work with other hunters if you’re filming while raiding gates.”
“But there are quite a few hunters who raid gates while filming like me. I collaborate with them too. We form a party together and film vlogs inside the gate…”

The stories of Park Hyena and Jo Hyeonchan were more interesting than I thought.

I should look for their videos after the raid is over.

We arrived at the rooftop of a small building.

The shimmering blue gate looked like a storm of time and space.

Next to the gate, a civil servant from the Hunter Association was standing guard with a haggard look.

“Are you the F-rank Goblin Gate raid party? Han Suhyeon, Park Hyena, Jo Hyeonchan. Confirmed. If you don’t have a weapon, please use the weapons here. You must return the borrowed weapons after the gate raid.”

Park Hyena had a decent longsword and shield, and Jo Hyeonchan was not a combatant in the first place.

I stood in front of the pile of weapons and agonized.

‘I can’t use Cutie♡Angel, can I?’

It’s quite regrettable that I can’t hold Cutie♡Angel, but it can’t be helped.

Unlike when we were on a journey together in Grandia, Cutie♡Angel has become too strong a weapon now.

It’s easy to think of it like a level restriction in a game.

If I wield this guy without accumulating a certain amount of strength, not only will it not perform properly, but I could also be seriously injured by the recoil of the force.

I scanned the scattered weapons.

The condition wasn’t good, probably because they were provided for free.

The weapon I chose after much deliberation was a rapier.

It was in relatively better condition than other weapons.

And the biggest reason.

‘I’ve always wanted to properly use a rapier someday.’

I still remember it when I close my eyes.

Anastasia, who taught me swordsmanship before I met my barbarian master.

– This rapier? Hmph. I didn’t know you were interested in rapiers. I’ll teach you specially.
– Ughhhhh! You barbarian! That’s not how you handle a rapier! Don’t swing it like a greatsword!
– …Hmph. It’s become bearable to watch. The princess is watching. Strive harder.
– I am Princess Anastasia Raines’ knight. I will give my life. To protect! The princess!
– …You, run away quickly. Don’t… Don’t cry so much. Humans die someday. I’m just closing my eyes a little earlier.
– I entrust the princess to you. Hero… No, Suhyeon.

It’s a bitter memory.

It’s been 7 years since I shed tears in front of Anastasia’s tombstone.

But my body still remembers the techniques she taught me.

I held the rapier.

“Let’s go in.”

I moved my feet beyond the gate.

The scenery in my vision completely changed.

I was standing in a wide, damp, and eerie cave.

“Ah. Wait a moment. Let’s just get one shot.”
“Ah, yes. Feel free.”

When Jo Hyeonchan held up the camera and captured Park Hyena in the angle, Park Hyena started speaking fluently.

“Park-ha! Long time no see, everyone! Today, it’s the eternal gateway for lower-rank hunters. It’s an F-rank Goblin Gate raid video!”

‘Oh, ohhhh…’

Park Hyena’s voice tone changed instantly. She naturally speaks while staring at the camera.

It feels fresh, like watching a movie or drama filming scene.

“There’s one party member today. I happened to meet a male hunter who is new to being a hunter!”

The camera that was filming Park Hyena, who was reciting the lines, turned to me.

“I’m newbie hunter Han Suhyeon. Nice to meet you.”

I greeted the camera appropriately.

It was strangely awkward.

After filming a few more scenes of Park Hyena’s lines, Jo Hyeonchan lowered the camera.

I approached Jo Hyeonchan.

Because I was curious about how it looked on camera.

Jo Hyeonchan readily showed me the recorded video.

‘…What is this?’

Was my eyesight this bad?

The quality of the video I saw was unbelievably bad.

It was barely 360p.

“Hyeonchan, the image quality is weird?”

“Ah. Mr. Suhyeon said you haven’t watched gate-related videos, right?”

“Yes.”

We had that conversation on the way here.

“Most electronic devices can’t be used inside the gate.”

“? This camera is also an electronic device.”

“Ah. That’s. It’s because of this.”

Jo Hyeonchan separated the camera and took out a small jewel.

It was a byproduct created inside the corpse when a monster dies, a mana core.

“Through this modified mana core, we can partially use electronic devices. Of course, it’s not just a solid mana core. It’s a special mana core with special technology from a large corporation.”

“Oh… How much is that?”

“This? This is about… 1500 I think?”

“…1500 won?”

“No. 15 million won.”

“Hueeeek! F*ck!”

15 million won? That tiny thing is 15 million won? 300 times my total assets?

“Ahaha… But even though this is a relatively new product. Live streaming is out of the question. It barely records. The sound quality is so-so. And you saw the image quality, right? It’s completely crushed.”

“Wow… But people watch videos with this quality?”

“They watch it a lot. Gate filming videos are the most popular content on iTube. The second is virtual reality games.”

“Wow…”

I was like a reaction bot, constantly expressing admiration.

1500… 1500… The overwhelming number seemed to paralyze my sense of economy.

Park Hyena approached.

It felt like we were about to start the gate raid, so I focused.

“Hmm. I think we’ve got all the scenes we can get in this situation. Shall we start? First, we need to organize the formation…”

“I’ll stand in front, and Hyena can take the center while protecting Hyeonchan.”

“Eh? Uh… Yes. I guess… that would work.”

Park Hyena was momentarily flustered.

‘…How is he so quick to judge?’

Park Hyena was also planning to organize the formation that way.

Jo Hyeonchan had to hold the camera, and Han Suhyeon was a beginner.

She thought that she should be in the center to balance the situation in case something unexpected happened.

‘A man. F-rank. A beginner hunter who hasn’t even awakened can make such a quick judgment?’

Most of the male hunters Park Hyena had formed parties with were whining king bees.

‘Crazy b*stards.’

It was fine if they were just causing discord, managing multiple relationships, and engaging in power struggles within the party.

They were a hundred times, a thousand times better than those who were going ‘Ottoke ottoke’ (What do I do) in urgent combat situations.

But even such male hunters were not easy to find.

Because most male hunters awakened mental skills.

Female healers and mages, who could be treated reasonably comfortably and had a certain amount of guts, had their value skyrocketing, and most of them joined good guilds.

Mid-low-rank independent hunters had no choice but to pick flawed guys with tears in their eyes because most of the healers and mages they could get were men.

Therefore, Park Hyena could not understand the man in front of her with her common sense.

Han Suhyeon had taken on the role of a leader countless times while crossing numerous battlefields in Grandia.

Because when he didn’t have quick and accurate judgment and prompt decisiveness, the precious people he cared about faced death.

He had no choice but to become competent, even if he didn’t want to.

The party walked inside the cave according to the formation.

Even if it was F-rank, it was still a gate.

There was always danger nearby, so there was no carelessness.

“Kieeeeeeek!”

A sharp voice echoed through the cave.

Han Suhyeon focused all his nerves.

About 25 meters away, four monsters with the physique of middle or high school students were approaching.

They were goblins.

“Kieek, kiek. Kikekek.”

“Kreekkreek. Keeeeeek.”

The goblins ran, expressing their joy at finding prey.

“Four goblins in front. All armed with knives. We’ll engage.”

“Then I’ll take three, so Suhyeon can take one…”

“No.”

“?”

Han Suhyeon smiled as he drew the rapier from his waist.

“There’s something I want to test.”

The rapier aimed at the goblins shone in the faint light of the cave.

“I’ll handle all of them.”
Han Suhyeon kicked off the ground.