Episode 13: Gate Change

Beep beep beep!

The Situation Room of the Korean Hunter Association.

An urgent alarm was blaring loudly.

“What’s going on?”

A man on duty, looking weary, spoke up in the 24-hour operational room.

One of the staff members, checking a map with a red light flashing, quickly responded.

“It seems there’s an anomaly at the gate.”

“An anomaly? Minor anomalies happen all the time, don’t they? So why all this commotion?”

“It seems a rare phenomenon is occurring.”

“Hmm? What do you mean by a rare phenomenon?”

“Well…”

The agent, staring intently at the screen, suddenly looked alarmed.

“It appears to be a… Gate Change.”

“What? Why is that…?”

Gate Change -

It was an extremely rare occurrence where the level of a gate would change.

The problem was that this phenomenon occurred after the hunters had already entered the gate.

Gate strategies are meticulously matched to hunters of the appropriate level for the gate.

But if the gate’s level changes midway…

“Damn it!”

The situation was quite serious. The man’s face hardened as he received the report.

His voice grew urgent.

“So what’s the current situation? Where is it located?”

“The signal is coming from the Odaesan area in Gangwon Province. The original gate level was B. And the changed gate level is…”

“A? Did you say A?”

“Damn it! What kind of crap is this?”

The Mantis Guild had just exhausted all their strength to subdue the Blue Wolf alone.

Moreover, the other guilds, though in better shape than the Mantis Guild, were also worn out.

In this state, tackling a B-level gate again would be impossible.

The survival rate would likely be less than 5%.

But now the gate level is A?

“Is this a joke? How is this even possible?”

“Damn it. No wonder I had a bad feeling.”

“I’ve only heard about Gate Change in stories. Never imagined I’d experience such a crappy thing firsthand.”

Everyone murmured with pale faces.

Then it happened.

Awooooo!

The true master of the gate, exuding an intimidation incomparable to the previous Blue Wolf, raised its head and howled.

“Ugh!”

Almost all the hunters present covered their ears.

It was a tremendous shock.

Everyone was in a state of panic, feeling as if their ears were being torn apart or their brains were being rattled.

“Form up!”

“Get a grip, everyone!”

Those with relatively higher levels shook their guild members awake and retreated.

But strangely, the Blue Wolf did not attack further, merely looking down at the uninvited intruders of the gate.

Why?

Everyone was puzzled.

But soon, they understood why.

“… What, what is this?”

A massive number of Dire Wolves began to appear from all directions, surrounding them.

“What’s going on? We definitely dealt with all the Dire Wolves inside the gate.”

“Did they respawn with the gate level change?”

“Damn it.”

The bizarre phenomena occurring now were things even veteran gate crossers couldn’t easily explain.

But one thing was clear.

This was truly the worst-case scenario.

Grrrr!

Roooar!

Soon, as if they had waited long enough, the surrounding Dire Wolves began their attack.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The hunters, who had drawn their weapons again, clashed with the Dire Wolves.

The situation was completely different from before.

As the gate level increased, the Dire Wolves’ level seemed to have risen as well, making their attacks quite fierce.

Unlike the near massacre from before, a brutal melee ensued.

One of the Mantis Guild members couldn’t withstand the attack from two Dire Wolves and fell.

“Ugh, s-save me!”

The wolves pounced on him without missing a beat.

At that moment,

Slash!

A pair of swords appeared out of nowhere, shining brightly, and the bodies of the two Dire Wolves split apart and vanished.

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

His face was filled with rage.

Just moments ago, he felt like he had achieved everything.

But due to an unimaginable phenomenon, his mood had plummeted.

“I won’t forgive you. Damn wolf.”

Sa Maryong gripped his sword even tighter.

The visible monster.

He felt he could definitely capture it.

If only he could do as he did before.

He was now in a state of rage-induced irrationality.

However,

“Are you seriously thinking of capturing that monster?”

“It’s impossible. Look at the size difference from before. This is a suicide mission. Gasp!”

Sa Maryong’s sword pointed at the guild member’s neck.

“If you utter another weak word, you’ll die by my hand.”

Sa Maryong shouted, glaring at the entire Mantis Guild with gleaming eyes.

“Don’t be scared. We’ve already captured it once. Just because it’s bigger doesn’t mean anything changes. Got it!”

Everyone nodded.

Judging by the atmosphere, anyone who dared to argue would likely lose their head to the crazed guild master before being mauled by the wolves.

Amidst the chaotic melee with the massive number of Dire Wolves, Sa Maryong led the Mantis Guild toward the gigantic monster.

Even in battle, all eyes were on him.

Then,

“We have no choice.”

“We’re going too. Follow them!”

The main forces of the Bear Guild and the Harmony Guild joined in behind them.

There was only one solution to all the problems that had arisen.

To subdue the master of the gate.

Whether he knew or not that the main forces of other guilds were following, Sa Maryong charged, focusing solely on the Blue Wolf.

Then he gathered all his strength into his dual swords and swung them.

“Uwoooo!”

“Dieee!”

The entire Bear Guild and Harmony Guild mustered all their strength.

And as if on cue, all the hunters’ attacks began to concentrate on the Blue Wolf.

Boom!

Bang!

Crash!

With a loud explosion, a massive cloud of dust rose.

“Huff. Huff… Did we get it?”

“Surely, with all of us pouring our strength into the attack… Gasp!”

Was it not enough power?

A giant shadow reappeared through the dust.

Awooooo!

With a tremendous howl, a massive claw struck the ground.

As Sa Maryong leaped high to avoid the wolf’s attack, he momentarily locked eyes with the Blue Wolf.

Chill!

It was then that Sa Maryong realized.

Something was seriously wrong.

“Damn it…”

Thud!

The Blue Wolf’s claw struck Sa Maryong, sending him flying into a wall.

“Ugh…”

Sa Maryong was the strongest among the hunters gathered here.

Seeing him knocked out in one blow, the morale of the hunters plummeted.

“R-run!”

With someone shouting the first word, everyone began to flee.

But the Blue Wolf’s merciless attack was just beginning.

Horrific screams erupted from all around.

And then,

“Aaaah, get, get away!!”

Ki Seungho screamed as he looked up at the Blue Wolf towering over him.

Then the Blue Wolf’s claw came down towards him.

Thud!

Just when he thought it was all over, nothing happened.

When he opened his eyes,

“Hyung, hyung.”

Sa Maryong had appeared out of nowhere, blocking the Blue Wolf’s claw with his axe.

Blood was dripping from his mouth.

Surely, even blocking this one attack was too much for him.

“Run, Seungho.”

He wanted to. But where could he run now?

And how could he leave behind the man who took him in?

He absolutely couldn’t.

Ki Seungho, trembling, stood up and gritted his teeth.

“I’d rather die here than run away without you, hyung.”

“Crazy fool.”

“Besides, escaping the gate is impossible. We either catch that thing or hide and survive for a few days. Who knows how long that will be. I’d rather die here with you, hyung.”

“I’m not dead yet, you fool. Enough with the unlucky talk. Anyway.”

Sa Maryong gripped his axe again.

Ki Seungho also raised his weapon and swallowed hard.

Most of those who had entered the gate had already fallen to the newly appeared Blue Wolf and Dire Wolves.

Fortunately, though there were severe injuries, miraculously, there were no fatalities yet.

But at this rate, total annihilation seemed inevitable.

“Get out here! You bastards! If you’re useless, at least be a shield!”

In the distance, Richard was seen pushing his dying guild members forward and fleeing.

“Let’s not survive as disgracefully as that bastard.”

“Of course.”

Then the two men began to run toward the Blue Wolf.

Prepared for death, or rather, certain of it, it was their final battle.

But then,

“Investigation complete.”

A clear voice pierced the ears of the two men despite its low tone.

And then,

[ Annihilate. ]

Zzzzzzz!

Rooooar!

Crackle!

A massive number of Dire Wolves began to vanish with horrific screams.

Golden currents surged across the ground.

But the currents didn’t approach the hunters.

The faces of the two men, Sa Maryong and Ki Seungho, went blank as they ran fiercely.

Their awkwardly halted run looked ridiculous, but there was no time to worry about such things now.

They couldn’t even comprehend what was happening.

“I wanted to investigate a bit more, but it seemed like there would be casualties. So I’ll stop here.”

The two men turned their heads toward the direction of the unfamiliar voice.

There,

“You, you.”

A familiar face stood.