017 - The Next Gate (+) Interest

He slowly began preparing for the next Gate. Based on his usual cycle, it was due to open within the next five days.

He sharpened the blades of his weapons, oiled them, and gave them a thorough cleaning.

He had the white gem sword, a standard-issue iron sword and staff, a bow set, about 20 white arrows, and the Shadow's Fang dagger. In terms of armament, he was in good shape.

In addition, he packed plenty of food and water, and even stored three boxes of nutrient Blocks, one of each flavor, in his inventory.

"I became a Hunter to stop eating these, but in the end, I still have to force them down."

Jinwoo let out a small laugh at the irony.

He entered Gates because he wanted to eat fatty meat and fresh vegetables, but inside the Gate, he had to rely on Blocks for most of his nutrients. He had packed some dried meat and fruit, but when it came to consuming a lot of nutrients in a short time, nothing beat the Blocks. Plus, they required no cooking.

"Camping gear is set, extra clothes and first-aid supplies are packed. And I have the potion basket from Chartia."

He had also packed the flower amulet she had given him. In a dangerous situation, it was practically an extra life.

After checking all his supplies, Jinwoo began to regulate his condition.

He refined the state of his body and mind, raising his tension to an appropriate level. The key was to maintain a state that was neither too relaxed nor too taut. Gate explorations were mostly long-term affairs. If he burned through his concentration too quickly, fatigue would set in fast.

After several days of mental and physical conditioning, Jinwoo was just waiting for the Gate to open.

I'll be E-class after this trip.

The promotion requirement for E-class included entering and living in a Gate twice. There was also a condition to bring back a certain amount of mana stones, but he had already fulfilled that by catching the black bear on his first trip. This time, he would be promoted to E-class just by going and coming back.

Of course, he had no intention of just going and coming back. This time, too, he planned to get plenty of game and ingredients, and he also intended to mine some mana stones.

"She said magic items like the flower amulet are mana stone guzzlers."

Magic items were tools with special abilities, much like the abilities awakened by Hunters. Such tools were known to consume a significant amount of mana stones. The flower amulet Chartia had made was one such magic item, so he needed to have a supply of mana stones on hand for emergencies.

This time, let's focus on finding monsters rather than ordinary animals.

With that goal set, Jinwoo continued to manage his condition.

All preparations were complete. All that was left was for the Gate to open and for him to depart. Just then, a visitor arrived at his house.

"Mister Kang! Are you Hunter Kang Jinwoo?"

A foreigner he had never seen before approached him, speaking slightly awkward Korean.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Bruce Door. Please, call me Bruce."

"Ah, okay, Bruce. So, who are you?"

"Oh, my apologies. I'm from here."

The brown-haired Westerner who introduced himself as Bruce handed him a business card.

It was a card from the New York Hunter Management Bureau, with the word "Headhunter" written on it.

From New York?

Jinwoo’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. After what Chartia had told him before, he couldn't help but be wary.

Ignoring Jinwoo's lukewarm reaction, Bruce spoke with grand gestures and expressions.

"I've come to scout you. I'd like to discuss this in detail. May I come inside?"

"Can't we talk out here?"

"Pardon? Standing here?"

"Yes."

"Oh, a very cautious man. An essential quality for a Hunter. Excellent."

Making a guest stand outside without inviting them in was quite rude, but Bruce acted as if it didn't matter at all. As the one trying to recruit Jinwoo, he wouldn't show any displeasure even if he felt it.

"I heard you have the ability to find the Core of an Erosion. And that you saw through a Shadow's stealth and killed it in a single blow. The New York Hunter Management Bureau holds that accomplishment in very high regard."

"Is it that big of a deal?"

"Cases where an Erosion's Core cannot be found are rare and special. However, because of that, it's an unresearched, unknown field. Whenever such a disaster occurs, we have no choice but to push through with simple, brute force of numbers."

But with Jinwoo, they would have a clear guidepost. They could destroy the Core by deploying an appropriate number of personnel without a massive search of the entire Erosion zone. Not only would it save human resources, but the time it took to destroy the Core would also be significantly reduced.

"With you, we can fill the gap in our disaster response capabilities. For a safer, better New York! I hope you will join us in that future."

"I'm from Seoul, so I don't care what happens to New York. I've never even been there."

"Don't you worry. I've come with a solid offer. Aside from what we'd offer a current S-class, this is the highest level. It even takes into account your potential to grow into an S-class tracker one day."

Bruce took out a bundle of documents and began to explain something complicated.

He mentioned providing a house somewhere in New York, a flashy luxury sports car, designer suits, a massive signing bonus, and even unlimited rentals of magic items owned by the Bureau.

Each condition was truly enticing, but Jinwoo just pressed his forehead as if he had a headache. This wasn't the time to discuss such a complicated contract.

"I'm sorry, but let's talk about this later. The Gate is about to open, so this isn't the time for contract negotiations."

"Ah! My apologies. For an agent of the Hunter Management Bureau to be unaware of a Gate opening! I am truly sorry."

"It happens. In any case, I can't give you an answer right now, so let's meet again next time."

"Understood. I'll be staying in Seoul for a while on other business anyway, so I will visit again in the future."

Bruce retreated with surprising ease. Weren't these kinds of offers usually a bit more persistent? Not that he had much to compare it to, having only ever received offers for newspapers or from cults.

Puzzled, Jinwoo went back inside, leaving Bruce alone in front of the closed gate.

Bruce turned as if to leave, but instead of walking away, he began to move slowly along the wall of Jinwoo's house.

There was no way he, a man from the Hunter Management Bureau, had come without knowing it was time for a Gate to open. He had deliberately chosen this hectic time to visit.

This should be a good spot.

He crouched in a corner of the wall, a spot that was hard to see, and touched his lips a few times with his thumb and forefinger. Then, he placed his hand on the ground.

Ssssssk.

Widely scattered, tiny beings began to gather.

A rat that had been gnawing on a rotten corpse somewhere, an earthworm or an ant digging in the ground, an insect clinging to the leaf of a small flower.

Mana from Bruce's fingers seeped into them. It was a spell to create temporary familiars. Familiars were beings that shared their senses with the caster to relay information. The information that could be obtained from such small insects was limited, but in return, it was stealthy and unlikely to be discovered.

I can't see, but I can hear.

Even an insect familiar could transmit vibrations in the air. And Bruce had the means to interpret those vibrations and eavesdrop on sounds. In other words, he was planting living listening devices around the house.

Chartia has been visiting this man's house quite often, I hear.

Jinwoo was one of the targets, but the more important target was Chartia. Bruce's top priority on his mission to Seoul was to identify Chartia's behavior patterns and movements. Planting familiars at Jinwoo's house was the first step.

Hmph, an S-class Hunter betraying her country, bewitched by a man… She's a woman who deserves to be punished.

The file only said they were close friends, but in Bruce's mind, they were clearly lovers. After all, why else would she visit a man's home who lives alone multiple times?

All done.

His work finished, the man stood up. He was done with this house; next was to investigate the officetel in the city that Chartia had received from Mayor Ma Doo-sik.

As he turned to leave, he froze stiff on the spot.

A deep shadow loomed. He had thought it was just the shadow of the wall, but it wasn't. Behind him was something resembling a giant carnivorous plant with its mouth wide open.

Its leaves were spread wide, like the mouth of a demon.

"Ugh—!"

Before he could even scream, he was swallowed in one gulp. The plant shook a few times as the man struggled, but after a moment, even that stopped.

The sleeping powder spread through the plant rendered the man powerless, and he fell asleep.
The plant that had silenced him slowly receded back into the ground, leaving only a single small flower behind.
The finger-sized flower, swaying in the wind, looked utterly harmless.

Sometime later, at an abandoned building outside the city.
A plant grew on the first floor of the ruined building, then spat the man out with a retch.
“Ugh…”
Covered in a slimy substance, the man barely managed to regain consciousness. He tried to push himself up, placing a hand on the ground, but the slime caused him to slip and hit his head.
The shock fully awakened him, and he shot to his feet, scanning his surroundings.
He didn't have to look far. Standing right before him was Chartia, her expression as cold as ice.
“Ch-Chartia…”
“Who are you? From New York?”
He wanted to shake his head, but seeing Chartia’s face, he knew he couldn’t. A clumsy lie would lead to unimaginable consequences.
“Y-Yes. I’m a headhunter, here to scout Hunter Kang Jinwoo.”
“Hmm.”
Chartia studied the man’s complexion and heartbeat as if savoring a fine wine. Then she asked.
“If you came to scout him, why did you deploy familiars? What were you trying to eavesdrop on?”
“Th-That’s…”
He was at a loss for words. He had been caught doing something unsavory for an unsavory purpose; there was nothing he could say.
Chartia smirked as if she knew everything.
“You were going to make him an offer, and if he refused, you’d try something, weren’t you?”
This, he felt, he had to deny, even if it was a lie. He opened his mouth to say, No!
But a purplish, powder-like substance hung in the air like a faint mist. Having inhaled the powder through the membranes of his nose, Bruce simply stared blankly and answered honestly.
“Yes. And also to gather information on you.”
Chartia’s eyes narrowed.
“Tell me everything. What were your orders, and who gave them.”

And so, a brief meeting took place in the abandoned building. That day, a foreigner with amnesia was admitted to a hospital in Seoul.

A Gate opened.
Jinwoo, who had been waiting for this day, entered immediately.

[1st Floor: Primeval Forest]
[Find the blue portal. If you wish to return.]

Expecting to see a blue forest and sky, Jinwoo was startled to find he couldn’t see a thing.
It was darker than a forest at night; he truly couldn’t see an inch in front of his face. Wondering what was going on, he felt the floor and walls, which had the rough texture of uneven rock.
An underground cave?
It seemed he had been dropped into a cave somewhere in the Primeval Forest.
Fortunately, his senses didn't detect any particularly dangerous creatures nearby. He could only feel the flames of insects and bats living on the cave floor.
He took a flashlight from his inventory and switched it on. Relying on the bright light, he examined the inside of the cave.
The walls reflected the light, glittering like a night sky full of stars.
I heard you can make good money mining rare minerals and gemstones.
He’d heard that since the supply was so much lower than the demand, the profits were substantial.
But it was impossible for Jinwoo, who had no knowledge of the subject. Distinguishing minerals, finding veins, and mining them was not something one could do with just a little knowledge.
Besides, Jinwoo’s interests lay mostly in food ingredients, and growing his flame by hunting monsters was also important. He had no time to devote to learning about mineralogy.
First, let’s get out of here.
There was nothing to gain in a cave like this. Even if he were to look for monsters, it would be far more efficient to do it outside.

About two hours passed. Jinwoo, who had been wandering through the passages with his flashlight, clicked his tongue in frustration.
Which way is the exit?
He wanted to leave, but he had no idea how to get out. He tried to find any place where a breeze might be leaking in, but there was nowhere like that.
Just how deep was this cave? If he couldn't get to the surface or find the blue portal, would he be trapped here for the rest of his life?
If he was unlucky, he could be stuck in this cave for a year, or even two. He had brought plenty of food and water, but not enough to last one or two years.
Besides, being cooped up in a cave for that long would make him lose his mind first.

Just then, his senses caught a different kind of flame. It was completely unlike that of a bat or an insect.
The flame burned like a solid crystal, planted firmly upon its wick.
He was unnerved by this new type of flame, but he desperately wanted to find something in this cave.

As he approached with that thought…
A Dwarf?
He saw a member of a species he had never encountered before.
It was short, with stubby arms and legs. Its shaggy brown beard was thick enough to be used as a blanket, and it wore a gray, hardhat-like helmet.
In its hand was a sharp pickaxe.
“…”
“…”

The Dwarf, who had been busy swinging its pickaxe, noticed him and its eyes went wide. Jinwoo recalled what the official had told him during his first Gate.
If you encounter a Dwarf, place a mineral on the ground and slowly back away!
Remembering her words, Jinwoo took out the mineral he had received back then from his inventory.
He didn't know what it was called, but it was probably something that would interest a Dwarf.
As he slowly bent down to place it on the ground, his eyes fixed on the creature, he noticed something.
The Dwarf was also bending over, its waist and hips pushed back, placing something on the ground.
He looked to see what it was. It was a gold coin.
No way, you too?
The Dwarf saw what he was doing, and its eyes widened in surprise. Realizing they were both doing the same thing, they stared at each other, dumbfounded.