The next day.
The moment I woke up, I searched for information on Challenge Zone.
“There is nothing.”
【What is there not to be?】
“You startled me.”
Excuse me.
Sir Isra?
Could you at least give me a warning before you start speaking?
I have no privacy.
【My sense of time has dulled from being in Death Space.】
“Ah.”
I should take it out before going to sleep.
It had said it could turn its consciousness on and off.
If this happened a few more times, my heart would not survive it.
【So what is it that does not exist?】
“I searched for news about the SSS-rank clear.”
I had asked the Hunters who came with me to keep it secret.
Still, I thought the odds of them keeping quiet were low.
Yet after checking the news, everything was quieter than expected.
【You have quite an inflated ego.】
“You may not know it, but an SSS-rank clear causes quite a commotion.”
【Is it comparable to receiving an S-rank advancement evaluation?】
“It is not quite that significant.”
With enough expensive equipment, it was possible to achieve a high-rank clear in a D-rank Gate.
Unlike an advancement examination, it was not primarily an evaluation of talent.
Still, an SSS-rank clear was certainly newsworthy.
The appearance of an exceptional Hunter was bound to cause a stir.
If they had identified me, there would have been articles about it.
Or Guild representatives would have been waiting in front of my door, eager to shake my hand.
Hm.
Thinking about it made me nervous.
I carefully opened the window, but there was not even an ant outside.
【You were not checking whether anyone had come looking for you, were you?】
“Let us keep quiet.”
【Hahahaha! It appears you truly do have an inflated ego.】
“Quiet.”
I issued the command with force.
Sir Isra silently moved its mouth.
No more sound came from it.
Whew.
At last, it was quiet.
After searching a few more times, I opened the Hunter 24 app.
“How long are you going to sulk?”
【……】
“Fine. You can speak now.”
【……】
Excuse me.
Why were you not saying anything?
“Sir Isra?”
【……】
It was sulking. Definitely sulking.
“It cannot be helped. Today, I will clear a Gate with the new undead.”
I pressed a button in Hunter 24 and searched for D-rank Gates near my room.
I could feel Sir Isra glancing at me.
Sir Isra.
Stop making your eyes glow.
Was it difficult to pretend you were not interested?
Feigning ignorance, I held my phone at an angle where Sir Isra could see it clearly.
Let us see.
Where was the closest Gate to my home?
“Here it is.”
[Deep Swamp]
Location: Misa Lake Park, Hanam City
Difficulty: D
Entry Restriction: D-Rank (10 people)
Appearing Monsters: Elicro
【A swamp. I do not like the sound of it.】
Sir Isra casually added a comment.
Even though I had said I would clear it with the Armed Zombie Warrior, it was already assuming that it would come along.
Resisting the urge to tease it further, I continued.
“The terrain debuff in a swamp is rather troublesome.”
【I simply dislike the sticky sensation.】
“You are undead.”
【As you know, I still have my senses.】
“You can turn them off and on whenever you want. Why are you acting weak?”
【I dislike it regardless!】
Our knight was truly difficult.
“Then should I go with only the Armed Zombie Warrior?”
【It cannot be helped. I cannot entrust you to such an unreliable subordinate, so I shall accompany you.】
The purpose of entering the Gate was to test the Armed Zombie Warrior’s performance.
Still.
“As expected of Sir Isra, the greatest swordsman on the continent.”
【Hahahaha! I am deeply moved that you recognize my loyalty!】
I decided to leave that inconvenient truth alone.
Honestly.
It felt as though I had a master to serve, not a subordinate.
***
After thirty minutes on public transportation, I arrived at Misa Lake Park in Hanam.
A temporary booth had been set up in front of the Gate.
“Yaaawn.”
A man in a suit stretched as he yawned.
He must have been from the Rift Management Agency.
【Hm. His work ethic is unacceptable.】
“It happens when things are quiet.”
【If one of my knights had behaved that way, I would have disciplined him severely!】
Sir Isra.
It had been an old-fashioned hardliner in life.
Now I was curious about how old it had been before it died.
【Were you just thinking something disrespectful?】
“No.”
【Hm.】
Sir Isra.
You do not have mind-reading skills.
There was no use pretending that you could see through me.
Since we were in front of the Gate, I brought Sir Isra out of Death Space.
The undead suddenly appeared in midair, startling the Rift Management Agency employee.
“Ah. You are a Hunter.”
“May I enter the Gate?”
“Yes. Let me check your Hunter registration card first.”
[Hunter Registration Card]
Name: Park Minho
Rank: E
Ah.
Since I had advanced, I needed to have this updated.
“I recently advanced to D-rank.”
“I see. The entry requirement is D-rank, so you would not have been able to enter if you had not advanced.”
The Rift Management Agency employee held a laptop-sized device against the Gate.
“Please wait a moment.”
BEEP, BEEP, BEEP—
[Mana Distribution — 78%]
“That is unfortunate. If it were 2% higher, you would receive a reward bounty.”
“It cannot be helped.”
【A reward bounty?】
“If Mana Distribution exceeds 80%, the Rift Management Agency gives out a bounty.”
When a Gate’s Mana Distribution reached 100%, a Break occurred.
It was a phenomenon in which a Gate overwrote reality.
The monsters inside would spill into the outside world.
If the Gate Core was not destroyed in the early stages of a Break, the surrounding environment would become permanently altered.
【Once it exceeds 80%, it is considered dangerous.】
“Yes. It is classified as a Break-risk Gate.”
The reason a Gate’s Mana Distribution rose was simple.
The monsters constantly generated inside had been left alone.
In other words, its Mana Distribution could be considered a rough count of the monsters inside.
【It is a Gate others avoid. Will it not be dangerous?】
At Sir Isra’s words, the Rift Management Agency employee let out a small gasp.
He looked worried that I might decide not to enter.
Come now.
You should not hit people with facts.
“It will be fine. Let us go in.”
“Thank you for your service, Hunter.”
It would be more troublesome to find another D-rank Gate now.
And I had the greatest swordsman on the continent with me.
It would be fine.
“I will explain the points you should be careful of during the clear.”
Elicros were close-combat monsters with great strength and Toughness.
They had low magic resistance, so the ideal strategy was to kill them before they could approach.
“……That would be ideal, but they hide in the swamp, so it is not easy.”
They hid in the marsh and approached while concealed.
Once they closed the distance, they used a charging skill to rush in, making them extremely dangerous.
“They are more troublesome than Living Armor, so please be careful.”
Ah.
Then there was nothing to worry about.
“I will take it easy and get a feel for the place.”
“You are not giving up on clearing the Gate?”
“Turning around the moment I arrive would look bad.”
Leaving the relieved employee behind, I stepped into the blue wormhole.
***
The light filling my vision vanished.
My first thought was—
SPLASH!
“This is miserable.”
Mud rose to my ankles.
The viscous swamp clung to me like a quagmire.
Its pull was not particularly strong.
I could lift my feet with a little strength.
Still.
It was not a pleasant sensation.
[Slow Lv. 3]
The disgusting feeling was not the only problem.
The swamp’s effect had slowed my body.
【You knew this before coming here.】
“I did, but still.”
【Endure it.】
Oh?
Who was the one that had complained about the sticky feeling earlier?
GURGLE—
Bubbles rose nearby.
At almost the same time, unwelcome guests thrust their faces out of the swamp.
They were Elicros, monsters that looked remarkably like crocodiles.
【Vermin. Who permitted you to show that ugly face before me?】
SLASH—
A monster more than two meters long fell to a single strike from Sir Isra’s sword.
Amazing.
It was art every time I saw it.
The Elicro looked as though it had willingly offered up its neck.
The problem was that there was not just one enemy.
“GRAAAAR!”
Five Elicros emerged behind it.
“Sir Isra.”
【Do not concern yourself.】
Sir Isra stepped backward and widened the distance.
By a hair’s breadth.
An Elicro’s claws brushed against its armor.
“GRAAR!”
A third Elicro attacked from the side and swung its arm.
Sir Isra could not avoid this one.
CLANG!
The Bone Sword lightly deflected the claws.
Sparks flew from the point of contact.
Perhaps it was the influence of Heavenly Martial Physique.
In that brief exchange, Sir Isra’s swordsmanship stood out clearly to me.
“Wow. Is that even possible?”
If it had received the attack head-on, Sir Isra would have been pushed back by the difference in strength.
Instead, it used swordsmanship bordering on the miraculous to redirect the claws.
Then it used the enemy’s force against it, throwing off its center of balance.
A second strike followed immediately.
【Hm. Too shallow.】
Sir Isra stepped back once more.
A wound opened across the Elicro’s chest.
Green blood poured from it, but the monster did not die.
CLANG! CLANG!
The situation differed somewhat from the battle against the Living Armor.
This was an open space rather than a narrow passage.
The Elicros had lower defense than Living Armor, but they were faster and stronger, gradually pressuring Sir Isra.
Even so, I did not think it was in danger.
Sir Isra would win.
The insight granted by Heavenly Martial Physique told me so.
Still, I could not just stand there and watch.
That was why I had entered this Gate today.
“It is your turn to shine.”
[Death Space]
[1/10 → 0/10]
A white giant emerged from my shadow.
The Armed Zombie Warrior turned its head slightly and looked at me.
“Grrrugh.”
Was it asking for an order?
It differed from the Zombies I had made constantly during my E-rank days.
Was it because of its higher rank?
Or was it the influence of the Fragmented Soulstone?
I would need to find out later.
“Kill the monsters.”
“Grrrugh. I obey.”
SPLASH! SPLASH!
The Armed Zombie Warrior waded through the swamp.
“GRAAAAR!”
“Grrrugh.”
The two giants collided head-on.
With their hands interlocked, they competed in a contest of strength.
“Graaah?”
The Elicro’s fingers bent backward.
Its eyes widened.
“It really is strong.”
Its Strength was four times Sir Isra’s.
When I saw that number, I had merely thought, So that is how it is.
But when I saw it bend the giant’s fingers backward, its arm on the verge of snapping as well, I understood just how extraordinary a Strength stat in the 400s was.
“GRAAR!”
Another monster extended its jaws.
Teeth as sharp as blades clamped down on the Armed Zombie Warrior.
CRACK.
They broke.
The Elicro’s teeth, that was.
“Grrrugh.”
“Graaaah?”
Poor thing.
Losing its teeth had even ruined its pronunciation.
Still, it was fine.
It would never need to eat again.
The Armed Zombie Warrior slammed its fist down onto the Elicro’s head.
The creature’s skull caved in deeply.
“Grrk.”
The monster collapsed.
Only the Elicro that had first competed with it in strength remained.
【Vermin. It is time for you to die.】
SLASH—
It had been there a moment ago.
Then it was gone.
The monster’s cleanly severed head traced an arc before falling into the swamp.
【This is not a place where I wish to remain for long.】
“I agree.”
An ambush near the entrance.
It was unusual.
But with Mana Distribution this high, strange things were bound to happen.
More importantly.
“Its performance is quite good.”
It was amazing.
The Armed Zombie Warrior’s performance made the Rift Management Agency employee’s warning seem meaningless.
【Its only flaw is that it lacks decisive power.】
Which was why.
“How about giving it this?”
【Hm. I thought you intended to sell that.】
“It will not wear out simply because we use it a little.”
【Do as you wish.】
I retrieved the [Resentful Axe] from my spatial storage and gave it to the Armed Zombie Warrior.
“Grrrugh. Master gave weapon.”
“Show me your axe technique.”
“Grrrugh. Understood.”
A moment later.
【Th-this is impossible!】
Sir Isra cried out.