Episode 11: Gate Helper

“Is this the place?”

In front of an old building in Jakjeon-dong, Incheon.

Someone was scrutinizing the building closely.

A man in a large hoodie. It was none other than Tae Ihyun.

As he slowly examined the exterior, he pulled something out of his pocket.

A hunter license engraved with ‘F-rank Hunter.’

This was the new identity created for Tae Ihyun by Chairman Park Daehan. A so-called alternate persona.

Ah, the taste of power. Haha.

Though his name remained unchanged, Tae Ihyun was only known by his alias, Thunder Emperor, so it wasn’t much of an issue.

“Alright, then.”

With a satisfied smile, Tae Ihyun slowly entered the building.

* * *

“…Ah, why again!”

A man with a rough demeanor scratched his head furiously, annoyed.

“We’re teaming up with those guys again for this raid? Why! I said I’d never work with those thugs again.”

“What can we do?”

A middle-aged man with a bear-like build sighed.

He was Man Saseong, the guild master of the ‘Harmony Guild.’

“We ended up applying for the same spot. It was too good an opportunity to pass up.”

“Why not just raid it solo?”

“A small-time guild like us? How could we take on a high-level gate all by ourselves? Be reasonable. To tackle a gate like that, you’d need at least a B-rank evaluation, but how could our C-rank guild manage that alone, you fool.”

“Then wouldn’t it be better to look for another gate now?”

“After all the effort to secure this spot? Where would we find another? Oh, right. Maybe there’s an unclaimed gate somewhere in the northern Siberian mountains. Right?”

“Still, if we look hard enough with determination…”

“With your immense determination, why don’t you become the guild master instead? Huh?”

“Tch, I’m sorry.”

“Why do your expressions and words never match? You need a good scolding today…”

“Hey, why are you doing this in front of the kids?”

“Kids? Who here is younger than you?”

“Still, as a senior who started earlier…”

“Alright, that’s it. You’re getting it today. Come here.”

“Hey, even if you’re my brother, I won’t stand for… Ouch! It hurts! I surrender! I surrender!”

Just then.

Ding!

The sound of the door opening caught everyone’s attention.

“Hello.”

“Who are you?”

The man who had been getting a headlock from the guild master turned to Tae Ihyun, who had just greeted them, with a scowl.

“Hey, where are you from, what’s your deal, how’s your mood today? Speak quickly, quickly, can’t you?”

Thud!

“Ouch!”

“Move quickly, quickly, won’t you? Are you crazy? Why are you threatening someone you’ve just met, thug?”

“No, I was just asking…”

“Move, now!”

“Tch.”

The large man pushed the scowling man aside and smiled warmly.

“Ah, sorry about that. Where are you from?”

“I’m Tae Ihyun, and I’ll be working here as a gate helper for a while.”

“Ah, so you’re the gate helper the association sent over? Nice to meet you. I’m Man Saseong, the guild master of the Harmony Guild.”

Man Saseong extended his hand with a hearty laugh, and Tae Ihyun, smiling, shook it.

“Yes. I look forward to working with you.”

* * *

Gate Helper.

Another term for someone who handles all sorts of miscellaneous tasks during a gate raid—a runner and porter.

For guilds to enter a gate, a gate helper was an essential resource.

However, choosing a helper wasn’t as easy as it seemed.

Typically, gate helpers were lower-tier Awakened individuals, ranging from F-rank to D-rank, who lacked the ability to be gate raiders but were sturdier than regular people.

Though it was menial work, it was still done inside the gate. Given the high risk, the compensation, including a life insurance allowance, was higher than that of an average office worker.

The problem arose from this.

There were cases where ordinary people, with no abilities, pretended to be lower-tier hunters and entered as gate helpers with fake hunter IDs.

Large guilds raiding high-level gates had their own dedicated helpers, so it wasn’t an issue for them, but it was different for small to medium-sized guilds.

News had already reported several times about guilds failing a raid because they took in ordinary people as helpers, who then couldn’t avoid situations that even an F-rank Awakened could, resulting in fatalities.

In the end, the association proposed a solution where it would act as a bridge between guilds and helpers.

While going through the Hunter Association was more expensive than recruiting helpers personally, no guild complained about the policy.

The damage from mistakenly taking ordinary people as helpers was enormous, not just for the individuals but also for the guilds.

Since the Hunter Association intervened, the number of ordinary people entering gates drastically decreased.

And today, through this method, Tae Ihyun came to the Harmony Guild as a gate helper.

A few days later, somewhere in Odaesan, Gangwon-do.

A considerable number of people gathered a bit away from a gate emitting a blue light.

“Is this your first time?”

“Yes.”

“…Sigh, a newbie, of all things.”

At Tae Ihyun’s response, a man who had been working with the Harmony Guild as a gate helper for quite some time clutched his head in frustration.

Gate helpers were typically organized into teams of three per guild.

These were the helpers who had arrived earlier to work.

Hearing Tae Ihyun was a newbie, the existing helper sighed deeply, while a more senior-looking man beside him chuckled.

“Hey, hey. Don’t be too hard on him. Everyone’s been a newbie at some point.”

“Still, right? It’s already tough as it is, and now I have to teach from scratch. It’s daunting. Hey, you.”

The man who had been clutching his head looked at Tae Ihyun with a serious expression.

“Listen carefully. A gate is a place where one wrong move can send you to your grave. Just follow what we do, and don’t pay attention to anything else. Got it?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t even think about messing around. Always go to the bathroom before entering a gate, prepare your basic supplies thoroughly, check at least three times if anything’s missing, and always ask if you’re unsure.”

“Yes.”

“I like your responses. Except for being a newbie, I like you.”

“After rolling around today, you’ll get a rough idea of how things work. If you survive, that is.”

“Is today particularly tough?”

“Probably. We’re entering a B-rank gate today. It’s known to be quite challenging. Why else would three C-rank guilds team up for the raid?”

There were only a few reasons a guild would attempt to raid a gate above their rank.

First, it was lucrative, and second, they aimed for a rank-up.

Today, both reasons applied.

It was clear that today’s gate raid would be far more dangerous than usual.

“…Ah, I see. A B-rank… haha.”

The man smiled at Tae Ihyun’s peculiar expression.

“But we’re not going to die, so there’s no need to be so scared. We just need to be cautious. The hunters will handle everything. As long as those guys don’t start some pointless power struggle.”

Power struggle?

Following his senior’s words, Tae Ihyun’s gaze turned in the direction he pointed.

“Well, well, who do we have here? It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Our dear Sa-seong.”

“……”

“Not happy to see an old friend? That’s disappointing.”

A man as large as Man Saseong chuckled and nudged him.

With red hair and exotic features, he looked like a grizzly bear.

He was Bear Richard, the guild master of the Grizzly Guild.

Man Saseong looked at Bear Richard coldly.

“We’ve grown too distant for me to feel disappointed. Thanks to the thug antics you pulled when you left the guild.”

“Heh, wasn’t the guild too small for me? Always talking about loyalty, wasting your prime years on dumb and useless guys.”

At Richard’s words, the rough-looking man behind Man Saseong flared up.

“Hey, watch your mouth.”

“Oh? Our little Ki Seungho. You’ve grown a lot, interrupting when the elders are talking?”

“Elder, my foot. Stop grinning like that. It’s sickening.”

“Ha, this punk. I call you cute, and you start climbing over me. Want to die?”

“Yeah, try killing me, punk.”

In the increasingly tense atmosphere,

Clap, clap!

Someone appeared.

“Let’s stop, shall we? We have a lot to do to waste energy like this.”

A man with a thin frame reminiscent of a mantis and a sly smile.

He was Sa Maryong, the guild master of the Mantis Guild.

Even among C-rank guilds, there were clear differences.

The Mantis Guild was rumored to be on the verge of a B-rank upgrade, making it the most powerful among the three guilds gathered today.

Thanks to this, the tense atmosphere quickly dissipated.

“Tch.”

“Now, shall we have a meeting?”

“Do we really need a meeting?”

Bear Richard chuckled.

“Isn’t it obvious our guild will take the lead?”

“Well, that’s true.”

Sa Maryong nodded.

“Then we’ll take the lead, so don’t tell us what to do. Even if today is a bit tough, it’s not like we haven’t raided a gate before.”

“Alright then.”

“Hmph.”

Bear Richard, clearly displeased with stopping the fight at someone else’s word, glared at Man Saseong and Sa Maryong before leaving.

Soon, Man Saseong had a brief conversation with Sa Maryong and turned away.

Watching Man Saseong’s retreating back, Sa Maryong muttered.

“Those worm-like bastards.”

Sa Maryong’s face, which had been smiling just moments ago, turned cold in an instant.

After this raid, the Mantis Guild would rank up.

That meant they wouldn’t have to deal with such incompetent worms anymore.

For now, they decided to focus solely on quickly raiding this gate.

“Well, I can show those punks a taste of hell anytime.”

Sa Maryong’s gaze turned to the gate, glowing a brilliant blue.

The gate raid was about to begin.