[Horned Boars of Flame Valley]
-Reach the end of the path ahead.
CRASH—!
Eight Horned Boars charging at Uncle Choi Cheolgi's Flying Dragon Flash were sent flying through the air.
The boars caught in the gust fell into the lava.
"Ugh, I'm dying."
Though they had not been inside the Gate for long, Uncle Choi Cheolgi was already gasping for breath.
"Get some rest. You went too wild."
He had overused Flying Dragon Flash in a short span of time. It was inevitable—his mana was not especially high.
For a Hunter who could not use skills to survive until level 14, he had to focus on Strength, Agility, and Stamina.
"Kid. I know."
"Well, I probably wouldn't have been able to hold back either."
"Right? You couldn't resist either, could you?"
Uncle Choi Cheolgi, who had pursed his lips, raised his eyebrows and looked at me. I understood how he felt.
Just as I had when I first used Wind Cleave, he had used Flying Dragon Flash with an incredibly happy expression.
No, he had probably been even happier than I was, considering the hardships he had suffered in the early days of the Gate Crisis.
And the skill's performance was exceptional.
It barreled forward in a straight line, disregarding the mass of the charging boars. It was practically unstoppable.
The ones directly in front were pierced by the lance and flung away, but that was not all.
Those approaching along the edges of the formation were blown away by the wind pressure, falling into the lava and flailing about.
"Flying Dragon Flash makes collecting magic stones a pain."
Since they lived in a lava region, they did not die immediately after falling into the lava. They flailed as they approached us.
But killing the boars floating in the lava and extracting their magic stones was incredibly troublesome.
"Cut me some slack. It's my first time using these skills."
"Hmm. Can't you keep using them from now on?"
"I'll give you all the magic stones instead."
"What are those magic stones worth, anyway?"
I answered with a confident expression. Magic stones were expensive, but 12 billion won had just landed in my account.
Rummaging through boars in lava just to collect magic stones did not seem worth the trouble.
"Ahem."
Perhaps he knew that, for Uncle Choi Cheolgi cleared his throat.
"I'm joking. Go ahead and enjoy yourself today. Starting next time, let's do this properly."
"Thanks."
Uncle Choi Cheolgi smiled.
"Get some rest. I'll handle them while you recover."
After letting the exhausted Uncle Choi Cheolgi rest, I stepped forward. THUD, THUD—. Dust rose from the far end of the path.
I waited until they were close, then stretched out my hand.
WOOONG—
An entrance to the Subspace formed before me—larger than usual. It expanded until it filled the entire path.
THUD—! THUD—! Unable to cross it, the leading boars rammed their heads into the Subspace.
"Oh."
Uncle Choi Cheolgi exclaimed in admiration.
This was a new use for the Subspace that I had come up with. It could serve as a shield, but it could also block a route like this.
Having dealt with them easily, I continued along the path, only for more boars to appear.
Uncle Choi Cheolgi's mana had not recovered yet.
Without hesitation, I swung the Windflow Sword. A blade of wind surged forward.
It was not as flashy as Uncle Choi Cheolgi's Flying Dragon Flash. Flying Dragon Flash kicked up dust in its wake.
But the blade of wind had an appeal of its own. It was quiet and sharp.
SLASH—!
The bodies of the leading boars, cut by the blade of wind, split in two. Their severed bodies slid forward from momentum.
The boars caught on the corpses behind them fell as well. Some tumbled into the lava, while others got back to their feet.
SLASH—!
But they could not withstand the next blade of wind. It took care of all of them.
I did want to try Fighting Rooster in real combat, but it was difficult to use body arts against boars, which was a little disappointing.
We had entered this Gate because it was a good fit for Flying Dragon Flash and us, but the next Gate should be somewhere I could have a proper fight.
When I turned around, Uncle Choi Cheolgi's eyes were wide.
"Damn, that's impressive too."
"You can use it too once your stats are high enough. Want to give it a try later?"
"I'd appreciate that."
Uncle Choi Cheolgi's eyes gleamed. I was a little disappointed.
"Ah, I want to try Flying Dragon Flash too."
"Heh heh. If you don't like it, you should've Awakened as a Dragon Knight."
What was that supposed to mean?
So that was how he was going to play it?
"Ah, then you can't swing the Windflow Sword, Uncle. It came from Subspace."
I grinned and continued.
"The same goes for Yongyong, who came through the Subspace. Well, even if you're not a Dragon Knight, you can still ride a Dragon, so I'll put it to good use. You know, right? If you don't like it, you should've Awakened as a Subspace..."
"Hye."
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry."
Uncle Choi Cheolgi quickly changed his tune. That was how heavy the burden of being the head of a household was.
"Krrr!"
Yongyong rumbled contentedly. Perhaps because it was a Red Dragon, it seemed more comfortable here than outside.
The same was true for us. It had become a little more comfortable than when we had first entered.
[The level of Fire Resistance(A-Grade) rises.]
Perhaps it was because we had been continuously exposed to the heat, but Fire Resistance had leveled up. Uncle Choi Cheolgi said that his Elemental Adaptation had leveled up too.
That was also why we were not using the Blue Mage Tower Icestone from the other world inside the Subspace.
It would have made us more comfortable, but we would lose the opportunity to raise our skill levels.
Then Uncle Choi Cheolgi, walking beside me, looked upward.
Amid the bubbles rising from the lava filling both sides, cliffs tens of meters high stood beyond it, as befitted a valley.
Uncle Choi Cheolgi was looking at the top of those cliffs.
"Once Yongyong grows up, we might be able to fly up there and take a look, right?"
"Probably. Why?"
"There could be something up there."
"We could get up there now too, though."
Riding Yongyong up was impossible, but I thought we could manage it using my Subspace.
Portalization, in other words.
The limit was 20 meters for a single move, but if I linked them continuously, I could climb up.
I only needed to keep my body straddling the entrance and exit while setting them up one after another. But why bother?
"But places like that usually don't have anything."
"Really?"
"Yeah. If I had to guess, there's a better chance that something's hidden in the lava."
Uncle Choi Cheolgi's level was higher than mine, but I was more knowledgeable about Gates.
I had been an Unawakened Hunter until recently, while Uncle Choi Cheolgi had retired years ago.
"In the lava? How would you even find that?"
Of course, hidden items were not easy to obtain. They were merely more likely to be in difficult-to-reach places.
And there was no guarantee that anything would be there.
"If there's something within about 20 meters, I can check. But the odds are low."
The topic had just come up, but I had been focusing on my spatial sense since we entered the Gate.
My ability was better suited than any other Hunter's to finding hidden things.
"Still, we're almost there."
I could see the Gate's exit in the distance. Maybe it was about one kilometer away. Its blue light made it clearly visible even in the lava region.
The path was not very long. I estimated it to be about five kilometers. It had taken around an hour and twenty minutes, but...
Excluding the time spent fighting and extracting magic stones, it had not taken very long. We were a good match for the Gate, after all.
I was thinking that we should finish up and go have a company dinner.
"Huh?"
It happened the moment I took exactly three steps.
Something registered in my spatial sense, which allowed me to feel the space within 20 meters around me three-dimensionally. It was here already?
"What's wrong?"
"There's something in the lava."
"What?"
Uncle Choi Cheolgi hurriedly raised his lance, on guard.
"Which side, left or right?"
"The right, but it's not an enemy."
"Then what is it?"
"I don't know either. There's something round."
There was a small pillar in the lava, and something circular sat atop it.
"I-Is it the rare item you were talking about? Speak of the tiger."
"We need to check what it is. It could just be an unusually shaped rock."
For now, I opened Subspace. Because it was inside the lava, I had to be careful when making the entrance and exit.
The lava could not be allowed to flow into the Subspace.
I opened the entrance directly before my hand, and the exit directly above the round object in the lava.
That way, the Subspace entrance would block the flowing lava.
"Hup!"
Just in case, I quickly pulled out the round object the moment the doors opened, then closed the Subspace doors.
In my hand was a circular jewel as red as lava. Having been inside the lava, it was quite hot.
"W-What is that?"
Uncle Choi Cheolgi was startled too and shoved his face close to my hand.
[Fire Crystal Jade(C-Grade)]
-A jewel that naturally forms in lava regions at an extremely low probability. It is called the heart of a lava region.
-It holds powerful fire energy and cannot be ingested. It seems useful for forging magical equipment.
"Ah..."
"Ah..."
But after checking its description, we could only sigh at the same time. It was a rare item.
It was undoubtedly difficult to obtain. Even so, we were disappointed because there was no way for us to use it.
Gates occasionally produced metals or jewels that did not exist on Earth. The problem was that they could not be refined.
It was not a matter of technology. Refining metals like this required mana.
"We picked up precious trash."
"Yeah."
That was not the only requirement, either. An Awakened could refine something like this, but they could not draw out its performance properly. They could not even shape it well.
It was worse than not doing it at all. The prevailing belief was that it could only be used properly once a Rare Class like a Blacksmith appeared.
"Sigh, getting a C-Grade item in a Gate like this is nearly impossible."
Uncle Choi Cheolgi lamented. He was right. It was similar to when I had obtained the NoP in the Dead End of the Labyrinth.
Normally, it was not easy to obtain C-Grade items or higher from a low-level Gate.
"Should we give it to Minseok?"
It could be sold for research, but not at a particularly high price. Most Hunters did not sell items like this either.
They could use it one day if a Rare Class like a Blacksmith appeared. It was, in a sense, a Gate metal coin.
"Is that okay?"
"If I sell it, it's only worth a few magic stones. Besides, I found it, so I'll be the one to give it to him."
"Either way, I'm grateful."
RRRRRUMBLE—.
That was when a massive tremor rang through Flame Valley. The ground nearby shook as though its foundation had been disturbed.
The Gate notification updated at the same time.
[You have collected Fire Crystal Jade. Volcanic Valley rages. A Flame Guardian appears.]
[The Gate transforms.]
.
.
.
[Guardian of Flame Valley]
-Recommended Level: 25~30
-Reach the end of the path ahead.
THUD, THUD—.
Then a familiar sound reached us. Horned Boars that had appeared at some point were charging at us from ahead.
And the same was true from behind. There had definitely been no path behind us, yet...
I did not know where they had come from, but Horned Boars were charging at us from both the front and rear.
That was not all.
Before us, the lava where the Fire Crystal Jade had been began to rise. It soon began taking on a thick, enormous shape.
'The recommended level changed!'
The recommended level had risen by fifteen. That meant it was harsher than an ordinary Transformed Gate.
Even though my stats were close to level 20, this was not a situation I could overcome easily.
"..."
As I assessed the situation, my eyes met Uncle Choi Cheolgi's.
"Run!"
"Run!"
As we began sprinting at the same time, the Flame Guardian that had risen beside us completed its form.
It looked like a giant.
Its lower body was submerged in lava, so only its upper body was visible, yet it still looked to be six meters tall. Its palm was thicker than our torsos.
"Just when I thought this was going smoothly!"
Uncle Choi Cheolgi shouted as he ran.
He was right. All sorts of things happened inside Gates. Naturally, Gates transformed.
If anything, things had been too smooth until now, aside from the first Gate where I had faced the Red Dragon.
"Don't say it!"
FWOOSH—. At that moment, I heard a heavy sound splitting the air. I did not need to look back to know through my spatial sense.
A palm thicker than our torsos was targeting us from behind. Given its mass and the lava beneath us.......
It was obvious that everything on this path would be flung into the air, swept into the lava, and smashed apart.
Opening the Subspace, I shouted.
"Break through with Flying Dragon Flash!"