When I first arrived in front of the Gate—
—You can wait inside the car!
After hearing that, I quietly waited inside the vehicle.
No matter how noisy things became outside—
‘I should make sure I do not get in their way.’
I stayed put, worried that I might interfere with the Special Division Hunters.
‘There are a lot of people here.’
Countless people stood outside the window.
Quite some time had passed since I fell into this world, yet I still could not get used to it.
Ordinary people who were not leaking brain matter and did not have half their faces torn away.
Whenever I watched them talking to one another, I found myself wondering whether all of this might be a dream.
That was why.
“…….”
I began to feel uneasy.
‘Why did they tell me to wait here? Am I really no help at all?’
They had told me to stay behind even before we departed.
Even so, I had stubbornly insisted on following them here.
Because I wanted to show them my determination.
‘But what changes if I just sit here doing nothing?’
I had no mana.
I was not even a Hunter.
SLIDE.
Even so, was there not something I could do?
I quietly stepped out of the vehicle.
‘I should approach slowly so I do not interfere.’
They seemed to be discussing something important, so I walked over slowly in case my presence caused a problem.
Surely merely getting out of the car would not cause any trouble.
And so I came to stand in front of Park Min-ho.
“…….”
Why was everyone so quiet?
I should say something, at least.
‘My mouth will not open.’
It had been far too long since I had stood in front of this many people, and I could not get the words out properly.
Then—
“……! Some of the Gate's entry conditions have been lifted!”
A Special Division Hunter shouted.
Then everyone's gaze snapped toward me.
“It looks like only Hunter Kim Si-hyeon can enter!”
“……!”
“No, it has to be Hunter Kim Si-hyeon.”
Honestly, I did not really understand what they meant.
“What are you talking about?”
Park Min-ho's urgent voice rang out.
“…I do not know why. The moment Hunter Kim Si-hyeon approached the Gate, the entry conditions were relaxed.”
“…How does that make any sense?”
The others looked just as bewildered.
“What… I have never heard of anything like this in my life. The entry conditions of an Anomalous Gate being relaxed?”
I wanted to ask what they were talking about, but I held back.
Even if they explained it, I probably would not understand anyway.
“Who the hell is that man?”
A pretty-faced man asked while looking at me.
But the thin man who, for some reason, had his shirt off moved faster.
“Are you a Special Division Hunter?”
“Chief Secretary Choi Tae-woo!”
Park Min-ho grabbed the man as he approached, but the man did not seem to care.
A gaunt frame, sharp eyes, neatly styled hair.
I had seen people with that kind of appearance in the past.
They had the look of snakes—people whose minds worked faster than anyone else's and whom you should never keep close.
Normally, I would have ignored him.
Or split his head open with an axe.
“…I am.”
“Please!”
But his eyes were different.
Sincere.
Before I knew it, the man had flattened himself against the ground and was shouting toward me.
“Please save the twins! I will grant you anything you want!”
His face lifted slightly.
His eyes were filled with desperation.
“…If I.”
People with eyes like that were different.
They were precious.
People who knew how to sacrifice themselves for others.
People who had not abandoned their humanity even in a ruined world.
“What do I need to do?”
I looked at Park Min-ho as I spoke.
“…….”
After thinking for a moment, Park Min-ho slowly opened his mouth.
“Would you be willing to enter the Gate?”
Enter the Gate?
“…Two civilians are trapped inside. We cannot enter, but for some reason, it seems that you can, Hunter Kim Si-hyeon.”
Park Min-ho continued explaining, but before I had even heard all of it, I was already standing in front of the Gate.
Entering a Gate.
“I will go in.”
It was exactly what I wanted.
I had already been told about Gates.
They were places where creatures called Monsters appeared.
I had also heard that the level of the Monsters differed depending on the Gate's rank.
Some could apparently destroy buildings with their bare hands or even cause earthquakes.
To be honest—
‘How are you supposed to beat something like that?’
By my standards, I could not imagine defeating Monsters like those.
But it did not matter.
“More than anything, rescuing the civilians is the priority. Can you do it…?”
The objective was not hunting Monsters.
It was a rescue.
That was fine.
I had once infiltrated a CoXtco packed with thousands of Zombies just to get a single can of food.
“The Monsters in this Gate are believed to be Dark Elves. They specialize in fast movement and stealth.”
“Here, take these Potions. As for additional armor….”
“Please.”
After receiving all sorts of warnings and equipment—
“…So this is a Gate.”
At last, I stepped inside.
I quietly lowered my body and surveyed my surroundings while recalling Park Min-ho's words.
—Once you enter a Gate, you will feel a strange pressure.
He said I would feel pressure?
—Your body will feel heavier… and it may take some time to get used to it.
He had also said my body would feel heavier.
But I could not understand why Park Min-ho had said those things.
RUSTLE.
My steps felt lighter than ever.
Far from feeling heavy, my body felt so light that I could almost fly.
‘I guess every Gate is different.’
They had called this an Anomalous Gate, a special kind of Gate.
That was probably why it differed from Park Min-ho's explanation.
‘Interesting.’
The scenery around me was a devastated forest.
After quietly sensing my surroundings—
‘So those are Dark Elves.’
I spotted strange creatures that resembled humans but were taller, with pointed ears and black skin.
They were looking around as though they too were searching for something.
Quietly—
RUSTLE.
I began moving forward.
At the same time, I deliberately brushed against a broken tree.
WHIP!
The Dark Elves' gazes snapped toward the sound.
‘Their hearing is quite sensitive.’
At the same time, I reflected the moonlight using the polished surface of my sword sheath.
‘Their eyesight is not that good?’
I reflected the light toward the Dark Elves, but they barely reacted.
Normally, I would have lured one or two away to test their physical capabilities as well.
‘They said there is not much time.’
I had to rescue the civilians.
That was my priority too.
In a ruined world, people were precious.
If they were children with their entire futures still ahead of them, they were even more precious.
SHHH.
I stepped only where there were no fallen leaves, suppressing the sound of my footsteps.
I lowered my body and blended into nature.
I had survived in a ruined world for thirty years.
Escaping without being discovered was practically routine.
‘Tracks.’
Shoeprints that appeared to belong to humans.
I had found the path I needed to follow.
I moved quickly while following the tracks.
Even if it meant pushing myself a little.
SWISH!
I threw a stone, broke a tree branch, and drew the Dark Elves away while continuing forward at speed.
Since there was a chance their sense of smell was sharp as well, I smeared mud all over my body when I came across a swamp.
I kept moving.
What mattered most for surviving in a ruined world was concentration.
I took in every detail of the surrounding environment and stored it in my head.
TATAT.
I identified the optimal action and minimized the time between making the decision and moving my body.
Thinking slowed the body.
I had repeated every sequence of actions until it became habit, minimizing that delay.
And finally—
“…….”
I reached the end of the tracks.
A small cave.
The tracks ended in front of it.
The children I needed to rescue were inside.
One step.
Then another.
I moved carefully forward.
SWEEEEESH! THUNK!
An arrow flew from somewhere and buried itself in the ground directly in front of my foot just as I was about to step forward.
“Kie.”
I had expected this.
There was no way Dark Elves with senses this developed had failed to find two untrained civilians.
No.
They must have found them long ago.
“Kieee….”
Rather, these things were—
“Hunting them?”
They must have been driving the Yuseong twins and their Mercenary around for their own amusement, hunting them.
So I had expected it.
That I might have to fight once I finally found the children.
‘Nine Dark Elves in sight. Five hidden.’
Could I do it?
These creatures were different from Zombies.
They knew how to use tools.
They knew how to think.
And that arrow just now had been remarkably fast.
‘So these are Monsters.’
And what about me?
I was an ordinary person who had not even awakened mana.
I had survived for thirty years in a world overrun by Zombies, but I could not breathe fire or make ice erupt from the ground.
But—
‘I do not feel like I will lose.’
It was instinct.
The survival instinct I had built over thirty years.
Something like big data created from experience and knowledge.
And this survival instinct had never been wrong.
SHING.
I drew my sword.
There was one thing I had become certain of while coming this far.
‘I cannot use mana.’
I definitely could not use mana.
I still had no idea what kind of power it was or how it was supposed to be used.
But my body was different.
I had run nonstop to get here, yet my breathing had not become ragged even once.
Even when climbing a shallow cliff, I had only needed to kick off a few times.
Most importantly—
‘I could see it.’
The arrow the Dark Elf had fired.
Its trajectory.
Even where it would land.
I could see everything.
My body and senses had changed so drastically that there was no comparing them to how they had been before.
So I could do this.
‘I survive.’
As always, I survive.
And to do that—
“I kill.”
The moment I aimed my sword at the Dark Elves—
CRACK. CRACK-CRACK!
Cracks began spreading across the Brass Knuckles the Special Division Hunters had given me.
‘Huh? Why are these doing this?’
They could not break.
They were the first gift I had received from the Special Division Hunters.
But regardless of what I wanted—
CRACK!
The next moment, the Brass Knuckles shattered and scattered into powder.
And at the exact same time—
“KIEEEEEEE!”
“Kie!”
“KIEEEEK!”
The Dark Elves suddenly screamed as though they were wailing.
THUD. THUD.
THUD!
THUD!
The Dark Elves surrounding me collapsed one after another, their eyes rolling back into their heads.
“…What the hell?”
What in the world was happening?
Even so, I did not lower my guard.
I threw a dagger.
THUNK!
The blade sank into a Dark Elf's skull as easily as if it were soft tofu.
Even then, the Dark Elves did not react.
It was as though something had crushed them to death.