Chapter 4 (2/2)

There wasn't a single gate connecting the two worlds of course. Mins.h.i.+k must've headed to Mount Halla to acquire the Magic Swordsman cla.s.s. There was no way he could've returned in a few days if he went to the other gates. Monsters wouldn't come pouring out just because a gate was open.

I don't know the exact reason, but they came in waves with stronger and stronger beings appearing with every subsequent wave. We could only speculate that some sort of law was set in stone.

'Even the weakest monsters can rend human flesh with ease.'

I planned to enter inside the gate. This was the only way to acquire the power of the Ancient One.

I wasn't really entering through the rift. To put it into perspective, it would be like stepping foot into the entrance way instead of truly entering the house.

Among the various hidden pathways in the gate, one would lead to a plethora of ruined altars. And one of them was the altar of the Ancient One.

'Receiving the power required one to pa.s.s a trial.'

Trials were different for each altar. I knew where the altar of the Ancient One was, but I had no knowledge of the trial it would present.

I can only find out my going.

Nonetheless, the person who acquired the power of the Ancient One in the past completed the trial as an ordinary person. There was no reason why I couldn't do the same. 30 minutes later, a soaring mountain peak came into view. Only a few people were in the area because today was a weekday.

”Thank you.”

I paid the taxi driver and stepped outside the vehicle. A breezy gust of wind blew around me. No one would ever suspect this calm and peaceful scenery in nature to be a gateway to h.e.l.l.

I tied my shoelaces and started walking up the mountain.

'It changed a lot.'

I looked around my surroundings to admire the scenery.

Despair was always present near the environment surrounding the gate. A shade of gra.s.s couldn't be found even when one rinsed their eyes with soap. Mountains, rivers, lakes and other natural environments would be polluted with filth slowly choking the life out of living beings.

This was why a beautiful scenery like this felt so unreal to me.

'Not yet. It hasn't started yet.'

Two years. Many things can be accomplished in this time period. I can change destiny. If Mins.h.i.+k truly wanted to walk the path of a hero, I couldn't be more thankful.

A hero was an existence that would safeguard humanity from harm. However, I didn't want to be burdened with this responsibility again.

'The gate will continuously s.h.i.+ft its location.'

The gate situated in Mount Buckan will s.h.i.+ft itself around looking to gather power. Since it was opened recently, it was in the stages of feeding off the life force of small animals. When the gate appears to suck the life force off an animal, I will enter before it s.h.i.+fts to another animal.

'This is one of the reasons finding a gate is difficult.'

But this situation would only last for 2 years. The gate will be fixed in place once the official appearance of monsters starts 2 years later.

Once the gates were satiated with enough life force, it stabilized and began to spew monsters from the abyss. Once that happened, it would be extremely difficult to enter inside the gate. I followed the mountain trail to head deeper into the mountain. Subsequently. I took out a bird hunting rifle from my backpack.

'Nothing is more suitable to hunt small animals than a bird hunting rifle.'

A bird rifle was one of the most efficient weapons to hunt small game. It was cheap and easy to buy, and my gun could fire 9.52mm wide shots. Even a layman like me could piece the skin and break bones without much effort.

Whoos.h.!.+

Thwack!

For practice, I loaded a couple of rounds and pulled the trigger. The branch I was aiming at fell to the ground with a thump.

”My skill is still with me, heh.”

When I first became a Magic Swordsman, I couldn't find a suitable weapon for me to use, so the first weapon I used was a hunting rifle. I was afraid of diving straight into close combat against monsters, and I couldn't shoot an arrow because I wasn't trained as an archer.

Hunting goblins were easy enough with a bird hunting rifle. The only flaw was its short range, but that only improved my reaction and allowed me to become quick on my feet. After practicing several more times with the rifle, I changed my location.

'Let's see.'

The gate would ensnare small animals to feed upon their life force. Barring humans, the gate would progressively target bigger animals until it finally matured in 2~3 years time and settle down in a specific location.

The path beyond each gate led to unique areas such as a nest of monsters, a treasure cove, a pitfall to a volcano etc… And the gate of Buckan led to ruined altars. To locate this gate, I had to find small animals. Thankfully, it wasn't birds. There were some gates that targeted specific types of birds, but the gate of Buckan only preyed on land animals.

'There is no going back until I find the gate.'

I was dead set on completing this mission. In the past, I was also famous for being stubborn; letting go once I bit down was out of my character.

I was able to prevail against the Demon Lord due to this trait of mine and discover Aletheia's location after years of searching. It wouldn't be any different this time around. I will not be descending this mountain until I find the gate.

I directed my attention towards large gatherings of shrubberies and began to look for signs of small animals.

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