‘You close your eyes, open them again, and suddenly you’re in another world.
This is ridiculous.’
I hadn’t noticed it at first, but after taking a closer look, I realized I was inside some kind of building.
A ceiling so high it felt as though a giant from mythology could walk through it.
White hallways stretched ahead.
The back and sides were blocked by walls, and the only path led straight forward.
“So this really is inside a Gate?”
How do weak creatures who can’t even use basic fire magic survive things like this?
‘Someone save this alien…’
For now, I wanted to avoid the worst-case scenario of running into a monster at a dead end.
Shivering slightly, I started walking.
After a while, I arrived at a strange place.
“Hm?”
A square chamber connected to four passageways.
The path directly ahead was blocked by a massive door that looked impossible to move with human strength alone.
The other three paths were open.
One of them, of course, was the hallway I’d just come through.
“There’s writing on it.”
More eye-catching than the door was the monument standing in the center of the room.
I crouched down to inspect the mysterious stone tablet.
At the same time, footsteps echoed from the passageways on either side.
‘Ah!’
There was someone else here.
Sometimes, knowing you aren’t alone is comforting.
Other times, it’s terrifying.
I tensed instinctively.
‘Wait.
Aren’t those human footsteps?’
Step.
Step.
Step.
Not long afterward, the owners of those footsteps appeared.
A large man who looked to be in his thirties emerged from the left passage.
A neat-looking man slightly younger than Kim Ki-ryeo appeared from the right.
Fortunately, one of them was familiar.
“Kang Chang-ho?”
“Hm?”
I called out his name without thinking.
Kang Chang-ho responded with a casual wave.
Putting aside the question of why Kang Chang-ho was here, there was only one mystery left.
‘Black hair.
Black eyes.
Very ordinary.’
While I wondered who the man from the right passage was, Kang Chang-ho suddenly spoke up.
“Ah, Jeong Ha-seong!”
He greeted the other man warmly.
“I heard you were in Singapore.”
“I returned today.”
But with a response that stiff, were they really close?
“Do you two know each other?”
I walked over and asked casually.
The moment I spoke, both of them turned to stare at me.
Why?
“Hunter Kim Ki-ryeo.
Just asking to be sure…
do you really not know who Jeong Ha-seong is?”
It’s only my second week on Earth.
What do you expect?
Naturally, I couldn’t answer that.
I simply stayed quiet.
Kang Chang-ho immediately burst out laughing.
“Haha!
See?
He really doesn’t know.”
“…”
“I guess I need to work harder.
Look at this.
The guy standing right in front of him is Jeong Ha-seong, and he couldn’t care less.”
Who exactly was this person?
As someone who didn’t understand the context, I had nothing to say.
I turned away awkwardly, but Kang Chang-ho kept talking.
“Anyway, since you don’t know each other, introductions are in order.
This is Jeong Ha-seong.”
“Ah…”
“Korea’s number-one ranked Hunter.”
Holy shit.
“Outside, people call him a national hero and all that, but since you don’t know him, just ignore it.”
He was much more important than I’d expected.
Feeling vaguely nervous about being exposed as an alien, I glanced toward Jeong Ha-seong.
But he simply maintained his cold expression without saying a word.
“And Jeong Ha-seong, this is Hunter Kim Ki-ryeo.
F-Rank.”
“Ah, hello.”
“Yes.”
Jeong Ha-seong’s gaze lingered on me for quite a while.
Then he asked a brief question.
“Were both of you suddenly dragged here as well?”
When Kang Chang-ho and I nodded, Jeong Ha-seong seemed to think for a moment before manipulating the watch on his wrist.
Then, surprisingly—
“Oh.”
A square blue screen appeared in front of him.
It resembled a hologram.
At any rate, it was clearly made of light.
[Information: No Gate data available.]
[Rank: EX]
Was that some kind of analyzer too?
‘Earth’s technology is incredible…’
I had no idea analyzers could look that sophisticated.
While I stared in amazement, Jeong Ha-seong read the screen and nodded.
“At least we’ve confirmed this is a Gate.
Rank EX.
Annoying.”
What was an EX Rank?
I pulled out my phone to search for the unfamiliar term.
However, the screen only displayed rainbow-colored static.
“Oh.
I came in without a protective case too.
If we stay here too long, the interference will ruin my phone.”
Judging by Kang Chang-ho’s comment, ordinary electronic devices didn’t function properly inside Gates.
‘Then there’s no way to contact Ahn Yun-seung.’
I swallowed nervously and put my phone away.
Silence followed.
“Could you come over here?
There’s writing on the stone tablet.”
Jeong Ha-seong was the one who broke it.
Kang Chang-ho and I followed him toward the center of the room.
The strange monument bore a single sentence.
< It shall become the symbol and key of true faith.
>
A meaningful message.
“Is this some kind of hint?”
Judging by the wording, this Gate wasn’t simply about killing monsters.
“I think the only way forward is through that door, so let’s move first.”
If I opened my mouth carelessly, I’d only expose how little I knew.
Forced into silence, I followed Jeong Ha-seong.
The next room we entered looked strangely familiar.
‘Isn’t this the same as before?’
We left the white room only to arrive in another enormous white room.
The details, however, were slightly different.
There was only one exit.
And where the stone tablet should have been—
Something else stood in its place.
A lion statue with its mouth wide open.
Inside its mouth was a circular opening.
“The hole is just large enough to fit a person’s arm.”
Kang Chang-ho observed from behind the statue.
Naturally, nobody volunteered to stick their hand inside.
Who would?
We were already trapped inside a Gate.
Putting your arm into a lion’s mouth sounded insane.
“…Hunter Kang Chang-ho.
Could you help me for a moment?”
“Me?”
Then—
Jeong Ha-seong, standing near the exit, calmly asked for assistance.
His request wasn’t shocking.
What came afterward was.
“The door won’t open, even with my strength.”
Did people understand what S-Class Hunters represented on Earth?
These were humans blessed with extraordinary talent after awakening to mana.
They possessed literal monster-like strength.
And yet—
Two S-Class Hunters working together couldn’t open a single door.
‘This is insane.’
A few minutes later, Jeong Ha-seong even resorted to explosive magic.
The door didn’t budge.
‘You can’t force it open!’
Then how were we supposed to proceed?
After every other method failed, everyone’s attention shifted toward a single object.
‘No way…’
We stared at the lion statue.
The room was completely empty.
It was the only thing worth investigating.
“Should we destroy it?”
Several more attempts followed.
None succeeded.
The lion statue remained completely undamaged.
The door remained shut.
Ten minutes passed.
‘I entered here completely unprepared.
If this keeps up, food…’
Given Kim Ki-ryeo’s cause of death, I was particularly sensitive to the prospect of starvation.
Apparently Jeong Ha-seong had reached a similar conclusion.
As though making up his mind, he stepped in front of the lion statue.
Then he slowly inserted his arm into the lion’s mouth.
“…!”
At that instant, the lion’s white eyes turned red.
The enormous door that had refused to move slowly opened.
“Oh.”
“It opened.”
But—
Something was wrong.
Jeong Ha-seong’s expression looked strange.
He was panicking.
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Only then did I notice the red bite marks covering his hand.
As though an animal had sunk its teeth into him.
Jeong Ha-seong raised his injured hand.
“It drank blood.”
“Excuse me?”
“It startled me.
I tried to pull my arm back immediately, but it wouldn’t let go no matter how hard I pulled.
Cutting off my shoulder would’ve been faster.”
Fortunately, the amount of blood taken wasn’t significant.
Without further discussion, we proceeded to the next room.
‘I feel like a lab rat trapped in some giant experiment.
Everything is white.’
Then we entered the next chamber.
And immediately froze.
“…”
“…”
Both Jeong Ha-seong and I fell silent.
Because standing in the center of the room—
Was another lion statue.
‘You’re telling us to do that again?’
Was the creator of this Gate really that obsessed with Roman Holiday?
‘Ugh.’
Regardless, Jeong Ha-seong showed no hesitation.
As though determined to leave this dungeon as quickly as possible, he shoved his arm into the lion’s mouth.
The door opened once more.
‘Whew.
At least we’re making progress.’
Insert your arm.
The door opens.
Simple.
Easy.
A puzzle even a rat could solve.
“Oh.
There’s another lion statue in the next room too.
If we just repeat the process, maybe we’ll eventually get out.”
Perhaps because of that, the tension eased slightly.
“Hunter Kang Chang-ho, I’d like to discuss something.”
Then Jeong Ha-seong spoke.
And the atmosphere immediately became volatile.
“Could you open the next room?”
“Why?”
“The amount of blood being taken is increasing.”
“…”
“The first time was fine.
After the second, I started feeling dizzy.”
“Really?”
“And Gates like this usually escalate their requirements.”
Let’s take turns.
That was his suggestion.
His tone remained polite.
Kang Chang-ho answered with a mocking smile.
“Well.
You’ve been doing fine so far.
Why not continue all the way to the end?”
Jeong Ha-seong appeared to have anticipated that response.
“You’re refusing to cooperate.”
“Do you know my Hunter ranking?”
“I’ve never cared about meaningless titles that merely rank people by how many Gates they’ve cleared.”
A sharp metallic sound rang out.
Jeong Ha-seong had drawn the sword hanging at his waist.
Kang Chang-ho watched lazily.
“I’ll ask one more time.
Hunter Kang Chang-ho.
Let’s take turns.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Then shall we find out whether a severed arm can open the door?”
Hm.
At this rate, they were really going to fight.
“Excuse me…”
I tried to intervene.
Then Kang Chang-ho spoke first.
“Jeong Ha-seong, try considering my position too.
What if I take my turn and end up having my blood drained until my life is in danger?
At the very least, I should have the right to decide when I participate so things remain fair.”
Right.
Why hadn’t I thought of that earlier?
Everyone in the room had finally grasped the true nature of this Gate.
Advancement required offering human blood.
And the collection hole was only large enough for a single arm.
In other words—
This dungeon’s solution required someone to become a sacrifice.
Only then did I remember how dangerous EX-Rank Gates were.
Right.
I’d seen the statistics once.
The survival rate was around sixty percent.
To put it simply—
This place was full of monsters.
It was not safe.
Perhaps Kang Chang-ho was right.
At some point, the lion might drain a person’s entire body dry.
And now a rather serious problem had emerged.
“Hmm.”
I was trapped inside a Gate that demanded one of us become the sacrifice.
And what exactly were the ranks of the two people trapped here with me?