<Episode 7>
I grabbed my hair and screamed.
I had just awakened as an F-rank, and now suddenly I had to enter a Gate?! Wasn’t this basically telling me to go in and die?
“Points or whatever… I can’t do this!”
The shop? Important. Bungeoppang? Great.
But more important than all of that was my life. I had no intention of getting trampled to death by monsters just to gather some random grass.
“There’s no need to worry about that, nya. You’re under my protection.”
Hanyang said that the monsters inside the Gate would see me as part of nature… like a rock or a plant.
If I made loud noises or attacked, they might sense something strange, but otherwise, there shouldn’t be any major problem.
“So as long as I stay quiet, I won’t die?”
“That’s right, nya.”
“That’s a relief, but…”
There was another reason I hesitated to enter a Gate.
My parents had died in a Gate incident.
‘To be precise, because the initial suppression of the Gate failed.’
These days, technology has advanced to the point where Gates could be predicted, and hunters could even enter them in advance to eliminate threats.
But just a few years ago, it was normal for hunters to only respond after a Gate appeared.
So whenever a Gate opened, it could result in hundreds of casualties.
‘That’s what happened to my parents.’
On their way home after closing the shop, a Gate suddenly opened. Hunters were dispatched immediately, but the scale was larger than expected, and the initial suppression failed.
And my mom and dad lost their lives to the monsters there.
“…No matter how I think about it, going into a Gate isn’t a good idea.”
I bit my lip, recalling their deaths as vividly as ever. Even if Hanyang’s protection reduced the danger, the fear remained.
If I gave up the mission, though, the reward kept bothering me. Having points would be really nice.
“It’d be great to get the points for running the shop… but is there another way?”
“Don’t worry, nya. Once the shop upgrades, the equipment will naturally improve too.”
“Upgrade? You mean this?”
I checked the number remaining until unlocking a new menu.
Out of 500, I had reached 438. Just about 50 more to go.
“That’s right, nya. So if you don’t want to, there’s no need to force yourself into getting points.”
“If you’re okay with it… can I think about this mission a bit longer?”
“If you don’t want to, there’s nothing I can force you to do, nya.”
Hanyang came closer and rubbed against me as if to comfort me.
Maybe there was another way to solve Ria Hunter’s problem. After thinking for a moment, I closed the mission window.
***
Biiiiii—
A piercing ringing filled the air. The brows of a once-peaceful woman furrowed irritably, like crumpled paper.
Outside, a cold winter rain drizzled endlessly.
“…3:07.”
She checked the time and let out a sigh. After tossing and turning for a long time, she had finally fallen asleep… only for ten minutes to pass.
‘Ha… I’m so tired…’
Her name was Ria Minogue, an A-rank high-level hunter, among the top 5% worldwide. And she suffered from a terrible awakening side effect: sensory overload.
After writhing in bed for a while, Ria finally got up.
Her head felt heavy, and her eyes throbbed. She was exhausted to the point of madness and wanted to rest, but the moment she closed her eyes, every surrounding sound tormented her, preventing sleep.
“The rain just keeps coming…”
After staring blankly at the falling rain for a while, she changed her clothes.
Sleep still wouldn’t come, and her mind felt hazy, like being underwater. At times like this, moving her body was better.
She packed her things out of habit, tied her hair tightly, and stepped outside. The cold dawn air carried the damp scent of rain.
“It feels just like the day I first awakened.”
Four years ago, when she first awakened, she was showered with expectations. Even the Prime Minister of Australia had visited her home to encourage her.
Recalling that day, she gave a self-deprecating smile.
‘What’s the point? I couldn’t do anything in the Gate.’
Contrary to expectations, she had frozen stiff like a wooden doll during her first Gate mission.
Inside that Gate were hundreds of yellow spiders, each larger than an adult man. They spat venom-coated webs and screeched horrifyingly.
‘Aaaah! Help!’
‘S-stay away! Get lost!’
No matter how many she cut down, the spiders kept charging.
She saw her teammates being bitten, flesh torn apart, skin melting from poison.
Among them was a friend who had awakened alongside her.
‘R-Ria! Help me!’
As the monster approached, her terrified friend called out to her.
But Ria’s legs were frozen stiff, like they had been dipped in wax and hardened.
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t slept properly since then.’
Whenever she closed her eyes, she felt hundreds of spiders crawling all over her body. At the same time, the screams of her suffering teammates echoed in her ears… including her friend’s desperate cries for help.
Even when she managed to doze off, she would wake up drenched in cold sweat shortly after. Eventually, she decided to find another way.
She resolved to become strong enough that even thinking of monsters wouldn’t shake her.
‘You’re really leaving?’
‘Yeah. I’ll come back stronger.’
Her decision to leave Australia for Korea was an extension of that resolve. A friend who had barely survived the Gate came to see her off at the airport and hugged her.
‘I’ll do my best here too, so if things get tough, come back anytime!’
She nodded, but in her heart, she vowed never to return until she became stronger.
Her goal was to defeat Korea’s S-rank hunter, Lee Hyun-woo. Even if she couldn’t win due to the rank difference, she wanted to at least reach a similar level.
‘But instead of winning, I’m just dragging everyone down.’
Watching him from the sidelines, his strength was terrifying.
Unbelievable reflexes, fearless movement through monsters, overwhelming physical power.
She struggled desperately just to reach even a fraction of his level, but he showed no interest in her at all.
‘…He might even find me annoying.’
It was all because she was weak. Because she couldn’t protect her teammates. Because she couldn’t earn her leader’s recognition.
‘If I want to prove my existence, I have to work harder than this.’
Ignoring the stabbing headache in her brain, she stepped into the cold dawn air.
She didn’t want to remain someone who could do nothing in a Gate ever again.
***
“Ria Hunter got injured?”
A few days later, I heard shocking news.
Ria Hunter had been seriously injured in a Gate.
“They say she suddenly lost her balance during combat.”
“Oh no… I’m so worried.”
“They say it’s due to her awakening side effects. I had no idea it was this severe.”
Hunters who claimed to be her fans sighed with worried expressions.
The moment she staggered lasted only an instant… but in a Gate, even a split second could determine life or death.
Fortunately, nearby hunters noticed something was wrong and reacted quickly, preventing a major disaster, but it had clearly been a dangerous situation.
“Awakening side effects?”
“Yes. Apparently, she hasn’t been getting proper sleep, so fatigue has built up.”
“Ah…”
I bit my lip in concern.
I remembered how she had staggered at the shop before.
“I thought loss of taste was the only side effect…”
“That’s just the basic one. Side effects actually differ from person to person.”
Ria Hunter’s side effect was sensory overload. Her heightened senses constantly kept her on edge.
‘And she’s been doing intense training every day on top of that…’
The Ria Hunter I saw was someone whose body was screaming from lack of rest.
“We’ll get going…”
Normally, the hunters who received bungeoppang would brighten up… but today, they absentmindedly chewed it and walked away gloomily. It made me feel heavy too.
“Your expression doesn’t look good, nya.”
“I heard Ria Hunter got hurt… it’s bothering me.”
In the meantime, I had baked all 500 bungeoppang, unlocked the new menu cream-filled bungeoppang, and completed the shop upgrade.
But I hadn’t obtained any special effects, so that slot remained empty.
Which meant, in the end, I had postponed entering the Gate, saying I’d look for another solution.
“…Would things have been different if I had unlocked the special effect?”
That thought suddenly came to me.
If I had bravely entered the Gate and gathered the grass…
If I had made bungeoppang with a special effect…
Would she not have been injured?
“Don’t think like that, nya. This isn’t your fault.”
“I know. I know that… but I still didn’t do something I could have done.”
No matter how much I tried not to think about it, it kept bothering me.
Especially every time the phrase “Special Effect Combination Available” blinked next to the cream bungeoppang… it pricked at my conscience.
In the end, the next day, when Ria Hunter, now recovered, came to my shop, I made up my mind.
“Hunter! Are you feeling better?”
“Word’s already gotten around, huh? I’m fine. I just lost focus for a moment…”
But even as she said that, fatigue still lingered on her face.
I had heard she received treatment at the Management Bureau, but it seemed ineffective against awakening side effects.
At this rate, I felt like something truly serious might happen.
“Hunter, if… if…”
Before handing her the bag of bungeoppang, I spoke carefully.
“What would you think… about bungeoppang that helps with deep sleep?”
“…Bungeoppang that helps with sleep?”
She looked at the bag.
As if asking… You mean this?
I nodded, and she fell into thought.
“I’ve tried every method said to help with insomnia. Items included.”
After a pause, she shook her head.
“…But none of it worked for me. So I don’t expect anything anymore.”
She spoke calmly, but I could imagine how many times she had hoped… only to be disappointed.
I placed the bag into her hands and said:
“Would you be willing to trust just one more time? I’ll prepare something special for you.”
“With this bungeoppang?”
I nodded again.
Ria clearly didn’t believe such an effect could suddenly exist… but instead of arguing, she simply nodded.
“Well… alright. Thank you for saying that.”
After checking the time, she lightly bowed and left, saying she was late for training.
I watched her disappear, then turned to Hanyang.
“Let’s go. Into the Gate.”
“Really, nya?”
“Yeah. I can’t just sit around when there’s something I can do.”
Gates were still terrifying… but I decided to trust Hanyang’s protection.
I’d go in quickly, stay unnoticed, gather the grass, and leave.
Luckily, tomorrow was the weekend. Perfect timing to close the shop briefly and go.
“If I click the ‘Enter’ button, I’ll go straight to the Gate, right?”
“That’s right, nya. Same principle as moving to the shop.”
Thankfully, I didn’t need to ask anyone for entry; it was perfect for moving quietly.
Since I didn’t know what kind of Gate the “Crimson Plain” was, I prepared at home first.
“Water, check. Snacks, emergency medicine…”
I even packed a hammer from home, though I wasn’t sure it would be useful.
Spare clothes, and even a sleeping bag in case it took long. It was practically like preparing for an overseas trip.
If I didn’t have an inventory, I might have needed a full suitcase.
“This should be enough. Hanyang, ready?”
“I’m always ready, nya!”
“Alright. Let’s go.”
I reopened the mission window and clicked the “Enter” button next to the Gate.
—
Enter Gate ‘Crimson Plain’?
Yes / No
—
‘…Alright. Let’s do this.’
Holding Hanyang tightly in my arms, I clicked Yes.
And with a sensation of the ground dropping beneath me, my vision abruptly shifted.
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