Chapter 6
“Oh, oh!”
“The gate is shaking!”
“No way?”
“Oh, the gate line is disappearing?!”
“Does that mean the gate has been cleared?”
When a gate is cleared, the gate line that appears outside collapses.
The people outside can tell if the gate has been cleared by observing the collapsing gate line, and they were all stunned to see it happen.
This was because it was almost unheard of for an uncharted gate to be cleared on the first attempt.
Seeing this, the association staff hurriedly reported to Jeong Cheolmin.
“Team Leader! The gate has been cleared!”
“Oh… I see it too…”
Jeong Cheolmin, who had been watching the situation in real time, had eyes as wide as saucers.
According to the firefighter’s report, the person who went inside was definitely a healer.
Moreover, they went in alone.
And now they had cleared an uncharted gate?
Naturally, everyone was abuzz and focused on the gate, since Jeong Cheolmin wasn’t the only one who knew this fact.
Soon, journalists who had heard the news began to gather quickly, and a portal that would serve as the exit formed after the gate line completely collapsed.
From within, a single figure slowly emerged.
It was Suho.
“He’s out!”
“What? He really was alone?”
“Crazy, did that person clear it solo?”
The sunlight was bright. Suho, who walked out of the portal, squinted at the swarm of people like bees and looked around.
‘Quite a crowd.’
But no one could approach Suho yet. A boundary was automatically set around the exit portal of a cleared gate to prevent anyone except the clearer from approaching.
“Excuse me! Look over here!”
“Who are you?”
“I’m a scout from the Immortal Guild…!”
“I’m from the Hwarang Guild…!”
So, people were raising their voices and cameras from beyond the boundary, desperately trying to get Suho’s attention.
But Suho ignored them and looked for someone in the crowd.
After a while, he finally found them.
Suho approached the boundary and stood before a person who was staring at him intently.
“Are you Team Leader Jeong Cheolmin from the Korean Hunter Association?”
Jeong Cheolmin was startled by the question.
“Yes? Ah, yes. I’m Jeong Cheolmin, a team leader of the Gate Management Department of the Association… Do you know me?”
Jeong Cheolmin quickly introduced himself, surprised that Suho knew him. Seeing this, Suho smiled quietly.
‘It’s great to see him again.’
Suho knew who Jeong Cheolmin was.
In fact, they were not just acquaintances, but very close.
After all, Jeong Cheolmin was the man who would one day lead the Association as its chairman.
‘I’ve never met anyone who works as hard and is as dedicated as Cheolmin-hyung.’
If this was truly the past he knew, Suho intended to work with Jeong Cheolmin again.
Suho planned to join the Korean Hunter Association and become a civil servant hunter this time as well.
Suho spoke,
“Let’s discuss the details at the Association. I need to go there to get my hunter’s license issued anyway.”
“Yes, of course… Wait, what?”
A hunter’s license?
Does that mean you’re a newly awakened player?
Jeong Cheolmin blinked in disbelief at this seemingly impossible fact.
***
Back at the association, Jeong Cheolmin looked up Suho’s information and was speechless.
As it turned out, Suho was indeed an unregistered hunter.
Moreover, he had the class known to be the weakest among the four, the healer.
‘This is unbelievable…’
So, he had recently awakened as a player, and in that state, as a healer, he had cleared an uncharted gate solo?
The situation was getting more and more astonishing.
But it was all true. Suho smiled leisurely as he proceeded with the aptitude test for issuing his hunter license.
When all the tests were completed, Jeong Cheolmin looked at Suho’s test results and was once again shocked.
‘What the…’
Jeong Cheolmin couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The results showed that Suho had scored average in all aptitude tests, including the innate class potential test.
‘No, he’s actually slightly below average for a healer.’
Judging by the test results alone, Suho should have chosen the path of a warrior or an archer, not a healer.
But Suho was already confirmed as a healer class.
Jeong Cheolmin had personally witnessed Suho using Light of Healing and Cure.
‘How do I even explain this…?’
Jeong Cheolmin looked up from the test results and asked Suho,
“…If you don’t mind me asking, what did you do before this?”
Suho thought for a moment and replied,
“I was a university student.”
“Was a student? So, you’re not anymore?”
“Yes, I dropped out.”
He remembered it clearly.
Suho had been caught in the GreenRed Gate on the day he submitted his dropout papers at school.
The reason for dropping out?
Nothing special.
Suho was a student in the physical education department but felt that the hierarchical atmosphere and the rigid ‘discipline’ known as ‘ddonggun-gi’ were highly unjust.
(T/N: ddonggun-gi – refers to the act of unfairly harassing a subordinate by physically or mentally suppressing them by taking advantage of their status, connections, or characteristics for the purpose of gaining unfair advantage, or to manipulate them to force it )
So, even though he had worked hard to get into the school, he decided to drop out boldly.
Jeong Cheolmin nodded and asked,
“Were you a medical or nursing student by any chance?”
“I was in the physical education department.”
“Physical education… Then why did you choose to be a healer?”
To Jeong Cheolmin, this didn’t make any sense at all.
If Suho had been a medical or nursing student, choosing to be a healer might have been understandable, but he was a physical education student.
Shouldn’t he have been a warrior or an archer instead?
At that, Suho replied nonchalantly,
“I chose to be a healer because I hate being sick.”
“…What?”
“It’s true.”
The real reason was because of the All Poison, but it wasn’t a completely wrong answer.
At this point, though, Suho’s answer only baffled Jeong Cheolmin further.
After closing his eyes briefly, Jeong Cheolmin continued slowly,
“Is it true you cleared the gate solo?”
“Yes. You saw me come out of the exit portal alone.”
“That’s true, but… Can you tell me about the clearing process?”
“Monsters appeared, I fought them, and as I killed all the attacking ones, the gate was cleared. For reference, the monsters inside were hobgoblins.”
“H-Hobgoblins?”
“Yes.”
With those words, Suho pulled out the Hobgoblin Chief’s head from his inventory and placed it on the desk. Jeong Cheolmin’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“It’s real…!”
“This is the head of the boss monster, the Hobgoblin Chief.”
Next, Suho placed the Hobgoblin Chief’s magic stone on the desk.
“And this is the magic stone it had.”
“Hooh…”
Magic stone and the boss’s head—irrefutable evidence.
As Jeong Cheolmin was too stunned to speak, Suho opened his mouth first.
“I understand why you’re surprised. You’re wondering why a physical education student didn’t choose to be a warrior or archer but chose to be a healer, and how an ordinary person until recently managed to clear an uncharted gate solo, right?”
“Yes, well… I can’t deny it.”
“But everything I’ve said is true. I killed them because they were there, and I chose the Beginner’s Sword because it seemed familiar. Also, I chose to be a healer because I hate being sick. And now that I’m getting my license, I plan to continue working as a hunter.”
“May I ask what made you decide that?”
“I hate monsters and gates. If you check my background, you’ll see that I lost my entire family in a gate shock incident. Because of that, I was exempt from tuition and military service, but what does that matter when my family is gone?”
“So, entering the gate alone this time was…?”
“It was an impulsive decision, but I saw it as a chance to release some of the resentment. Besides, I was on my way back from submitting my dropout application to school today. The reason for dropping out was the unreasonable ‘discipline’ within the department. So, I was quite angry.”
“Hmm.”
Jeong Cheolmin nodded quietly. Hearing Suho’s story, he could imagine how much anger Suho had been suppressing in his daily life, even though the decision seemed impulsive.
Suho continued,
“I chose to attend the physical education department thinking it might be helpful if I awakened. I hadn’t learned proper martial arts, but I thought it was related. But now that I’ve become a player, I think dropping out was a good choice.”
Jeong Cheolmin listened attentively to Suho. Seeing his serious demeanor, Suho decided it was time to stop the emotional appeal and throw out some bait to pique his interest.
“But that doesn’t mean I plan to live in anger. Living in anger won’t bring my dead family back.”
Jeong Cheolmin’s expression changed slightly, surprised by the change in topic.
“Then?”
“I want to work as a hunter, but if possible, I want to work for the safety of people. For example, at an organization like the Korean Hunter Association.”
Jeong Cheolmin’s eyes widened in shock. This was something he hadn’t expected at all.
Perhaps because of this, he became even more curious about Suho.
“Joining the Association means living as a civil servant hunter… Are you okay with that? You can easily find out that, to be honest, we pay much less than private guilds.”
“I know. But the Association has free access to and priority in clearing various gates, including uncharted ones. They also have the authority to punish player crimes severely. I want to work for the public good, not for my personal wealth and glory.”
“Ah…!”
Jeong Cheolmin couldn’t help but exclaim out loud. Everyone says they chose this path out of altruism during interviews, but in reality, they often prioritize the job security that it comes with and the fact that they can make money without entering gates.
It was true.
Although hunters affiliated with the Korean Hunter Association have priority in clearing uncharted gates, most of them give up this right and auction it off to private guilds.
Why?
Because it’s dangerous.
‘Not many civil servant hunters are willing to enter and clear gates for a low salary.’
That’s why Jeong Cheolmin felt his heart pounding. Trying to contain his excitement, he asked,
“If you work at the Association, where would you like to be stationed?”
“I want to be active in the field as much as possible. If possible, in gate clearing.”
Hah.
Jeong Cheolmin nearly felt dizzy from Suho’s response.
