17 chapter - D-Class Gate (3)
“The fog is too thick, Boss.”
The dense fog obscured both above and below, making it impossible to see the edges of the cliff.
Visibility was barely 15 meters.
Beyond that, everything was swallowed up in a murky gray haze.
‘This is a real pain.’
A fog-covered cliff.
And the monsters that appeared here were bird-type creatures as big as a person.
‘It’s an environment that’s way too advantageous for them.’
Regardless, we had to move either up or down to proceed with the raid. But with the ground completely obscured and no way to predict when or where the monsters would strike, it was a treacherous situation.
‘There’s too little information.’
This was a newly discovered monster.
There was no data on how many of them roamed in groups or how many would appear in a single Gate.
After a brief moment of contemplation, I made a decision.
“I’ll handle the scouting alone. The rest of you stay here.”
“It’s too dangerous to go alone, Oppa!”
Lee Yuna protested vehemently.
“If you’re going, then I’m going too.”
I looked straight at her and asked,
“Have you ever climbed a cliff before?”
“…I can do it!”
“Even if you can, all you’d be able to do is barely keep up.”
“….”
Lee Yuna’s face was full of frustration, but she couldn’t argue back.
“In this fog, monsters could pop out of nowhere. If we’re climbing and a monster attacks, I won’t be able to protect you.”
I pointed at the dead monster bird with my finger.
“That means you need to be able to handle that thing alone. Understand?”
“….”
Lee Yuna lowered her head, biting her lip in frustration.
I felt bad for her.
I understood she was worried about me and wanted to help.
But even so, I had to push her away like this because I was the party leader responsible for five lives, including my own.
Im Jin-sol wrapped an arm around Lee Yuna’s shoulders, offering her some comfort.
“Come on, Yuna. The boss is right. And besides, even if you went, you wouldn’t be able to do anything with your abilities anyway. You’d just be a burden.”
…Is that supposed to be comforting?
Lee Yuna shot Im Jin-sol a disbelieving look.
Meanwhile, Im Jin-sol continued with the same earnest expression.
“Let’s each focus on what we can do best. If you just use your ability on the boss before he leaves, you’re already doing your part.”
Well, at least that seemed to lift her spirits a little.
Lee Yuna’s expression eased slightly as she offered a different suggestion.
“Then… why not take Yohan with you? Wouldn’t that work?”
Now that she mentioned it, she was right.
Seong Yohan was also a physical enhancement ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ type.
I turned to look at Seong Yohan.
He scratched his head awkwardly.
“Well, um… I actually have a fear of heights…”
And we were back to square one.
Then, at that moment—
“…I’ll go with you.”
It was Hong Soo-ah.
She was already geared up with a climbing rope and equipment she had taken from the kit.
“You sure about this?”
Hong Soo-ah nodded firmly.
The way she held the rope and equipment looked way too natural.
She had clearly experienced this kind of terrain during a previous raid.
‘This is why it’s smart to recruit experienced people.’
Keeping Hong Soo-ah in the party had been the right call.
“Okay. Hong Soo-ah and I will go for the reconnaissance. The rest of you stay here and keep watch.”
I opened my own kit, took out the necessary equipment, and connected myself and Hong Soo-ah together with a rope.
Watching us gear up, Im Jin-sol muttered,
“Cheap kits, huh? No proper safety devices.”
Should I have kicked out Im Jin-sol instead of Hong Soo-ah?
“If a monster shows up, lure it over here, Boss! I’ll handle it for sure!”
I made a decision.
Once I secure some bolts in the cliff face, Im Jin-sol will be joining us.
‘To deal with flying monsters, we need a ranged attacker.’
It wasn’t because he was annoying. It was just the rational choice.
“I’ll move first and set the bolts. Hong Soo-ah, you follow and keep an eye out for any monsters.”
“…Understood.”
Before starting the climb, I applied the eye drops to my right eye.
Vitality surged through my entire body.
‘Max duration: 10 minutes.’
As long as the redness remained in my right eye, the skill would stay active.
After ensuring everything was secured, I fastened the rope around my waist and stepped outside the cave.
Lee Yuna leaned out from the cave entrance and held her hand out toward me.
“Be careful, Oppa.”
“Got it.”
As I lightly clasped her hand, a faint light enveloped my entire body.
“I’m going. Get back inside.”
I hammered the first bolt into the rock above the cave entrance and hooked the rope through the metal loop.
Driving the bolt into the rock wasn’t difficult. I had enough strength for that.
The crucial part was making sure the bolt was properly secured once it was in place.
I tugged on the rope a few times.
The bolt held firm, solid enough to support the weight of two people.
‘Alright.’
Now, the actual climb began.
Climbing a sheer cliff barehanded required a considerable level of skill, but fortunately, there were enough holds to grip onto, making it not too difficult.
Besides, it wasn’t like I was completely new to climbing.
‘You never know when something you learned will come in handy.’
Climbing had been one of the many skills I had learned while searching for a Trait.
I had even climbed real cliffs a couple of times.
Of course, the small cliff I had climbed back then was nothing compared to this Gate, but it wasn’t as tough as I thought it would be.
‘Actually, with my enhanced body, it feels easier than back then.’
I glanced down.
Hong Soo-ah was following along with practiced ease.
‘Good. No need to worry about her.’
Although she wasn’t a physical enhancement type, Hunters generally had physical abilities that far surpassed ordinary people.
As a Hunter, the more mana one possessed, the stronger their physical capabilities became.
With a mana reserve of 1,600, she was already stronger than the average adult male even without training.
In terms of experience and mana reserve, Hong Soo-ah was practically on par with a C-Class Hunter.
Thunk.
I had climbed a fair distance and was just about to hammer in the second bolt when—
Flap. Flap.
I heard the sound of wings approaching.
Enemy sighted.
After inserting the nut into the newly placed bolt, I carefully turned around.
Then, I pulled out a dagger from inside my jacket.
Down below, Hong Soo-ah was already preparing for battle.
She had created a platform of ice beneath her feet and was standing atop it, eyes fixed in the direction of the sound.
‘So that’s how she uses her ability. Impressive.’
Compared to me, awkwardly twisting around, she looked much more stable.
‘She’s better than me.’
The flapping of wings grew louder, drawing closer.
Swoosh!
A sharp sound sliced through the air.
Instinctively, I knew it was aimed at me.
‘It’s coming!’
A second later, the monster burst through the fog.
It dove straight at me, leading with its solid beak.
I focused all my strength into my eyes, locking onto it.
The beak was now mere inches from my face.
Thud!
I jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack.
Crack!
The monster’s beak embedded itself deep into the cliff wall.
Simultaneously, I drove the dagger into its neck.
Then, I twisted it hard and yanked it out.
Squelch!
Along with fragments of rock, the monster’s blood splattered everywhere.
The creature struggled for a moment before losing strength and plummeting downward.
I gripped onto the crevice it had created, watching its descent.
Down below, Hong Soo-ah was looking up at me.
Just as I was about to wave at her—
Suddenly, Hong Soo-ah activated her ability.
Crack-crack-crack!
A stream of ice extended from her hand, reaching toward me.
‘What the hell…?!’
The timing was way too perfect.
No witnesses besides the two of us, and I was completely defenseless right after a fight.
There would be no better opportunity to kill me than right now.
‘Damn it!’
It seemed like Hong Soo-ah’s grudge against Choi Changshik was far deeper than I had anticipated.
At the end of the extended ice stream, a sharp ice spike shot out.
Squelch!
“……!”
When I looked up, the monster bird was impaled through the belly by the ice spike, dead.
Another one had been approaching behind the one I had just killed.
I let out a strained, awkward laugh.
“Thanks. I didn’t realize there was another one coming.”
Hong Soo-ah looked at me with a calm, unblinking gaze and said,
“Don’t worry. I’m not planning to kill you before your memories return.”
“That sounds like you’re saying you will kill me once my memories come back.”
“That’s right.”
Hong Soo-ah continued to stare at me as she spoke.
“I will kill you with my own hands. Once you go back to how you used to be.”
Isn’t that the kind of thing you’re not supposed to say to the person you plan to kill?
Well, at least I wouldn’t have to worry about dying at her hands for now.
“And one more thing. I never gave you permission to speak to me informally.”
“Oh… Sorry.”
After an awkward silence, I finally said,
“Anyway, thanks for saving me. You saved my life.”
“……”
“Ahem. By the way, your ability seems a lot stronger than before.”
I wasn’t just saying that.
Compared to what she had shown against the bloodsucking bats, her power now was far more destructive.
Hong Soo-ah remained silent and simply pointed upward.
“Oh! The humidity!”
Hong Soo-ah nodded.
The dense fog meant that the humidity was extremely high.
And that meant her ice magic could manifest much more powerfully.
“Alright, let’s keep moving.”
We continued climbing the cliff in silence.
‘Hmm?’
Up above, I noticed another cave.
It looked similar to the cave where the Gate entrance had been, but larger.
‘Could it be the boss’s nest?’
If we could fight the boss inside a cave, the difficulty of the raid would drop significantly.
We could completely neutralize its advantage of being able to fly.
‘I’ll end this in one strike.’
Before entering the cave, I took out my dagger and made a shallow cut on my finger.
The diluted blood from the eye drops wasn’t going to be enough.
I wanted to end this decisively.
I dripped the fresh, red blood into my right eye.
My vision turned crimson, and a surge of energy flooded through my entire body.
Fully prepared, I gripped the dagger and aimed the headlamp’s beam into the cave.
From the entrance, I could clearly see the interior.
There was a single, massive nest—twice the size of the one we had seen at the Gate entrance.
‘I found it.’
All I had to do was wait here.
Just as that thought crossed my mind—
Boom!
A sound like a massive explosion echoed from outside.
The rope connected to Hong Soo-ah suddenly went taut, then went completely slack.
I stared blankly at the now limp rope, then looked up at the sky where the wind was howling.
“!!!”
In the sky was a muscular monster bird flapping its wings furiously.
It was at least twice the size of a normal specimen, its wings powerful enough to disperse the fog around it.
Anyone could tell at a glance—this was the boss.
But its lower body was encased in thick ice.
That ice was undoubtedly Hong Soo-ah’s doing.
‘Where’s Hong Soo-ah?’
I scanned its legs, but she wasn’t there.
Instinctively, I looked downward.
Where Hong Soo-ah should have been, there was nothing but shattered cliffside and the frayed end of a severed rope swaying in the wind.
All the bolts and nuts had been set by me.
The only rope connecting to Hong Soo-ah had been the one connected to me.
I quickly made a decision.
I swung the dagger and severed the rope tied to my waist.
Then, I leaped toward the cave entrance’s ceiling.
With my feet planted against the rocky surface, I focused all my mana into my legs.
Crack!
My muscles surged with explosive power.
Boom!
My body shot forward like a missile, plunging downward toward the fog-covered abyss.
It didn’t take long to spot Hong Soo-ah.
She was falling, her eyes wide with shock and despair.
“HONG SOO-AH!!”
She looked at me, her face twisted in a mix of terror and disbelief.
“Reach out your hand!”
With tears brimming in her eyes, she extended her hand.
After a few desperate attempts, I managed to grab hold of it.
I pulled her toward me and wrapped my arms around her.
Together, we fell.
Down into the abyss with no end in sight.