60 Chapter 59 (1/2)

”A Red Gate?! Just what on earth is going on here!!”

The CEO of the White Tiger Guild, Baek Yun-Ho, ran straight to the Gate's location as soon as he received the urgent call.

The complexion of Hyun Ki-Cheol could only be described as ashen.

”Well, sir…..”

”I'm going to see for myself first.”

Baek Yun-Ho walked past the Guild employees who looked like they were in the middle of a funeral.

'It really is a Red Gate!!'

Baek Yun-Ho's own complexion hardened instantly after checking out the Gate's colour.

What was a Red Gate?

It was a terrifying phenomenon where the dungeon beyond it would actually connect to a whole new world, not some underground cavern. And in order to escape from it, either you had to kill the boss of the area, or wait for the dungeon break to occur.

In other words, once you stepped inside, it'd be the end.

Once the Gate changed its colour to red, all external influences would be completely cut off. Escaping from it, and trying to enter it – both of these activities were now impossible.

Baek Yun-Ho pressed his hand against the Gate's surface. As he thought, it was hard, impossible to enter.

'God d*mn it.'

From here onwards, there was no way to lend aid to those trapped inside.

Baek Yun-Ho asked Hyun Ki-Cheol.

”I thought this was supposed to be a rank C Gate?”

”Sir, it was a rank C.”

”Did you call the Association to confirm it?”

”Yes, sir. However….. The Association is insisting that it's still a rank C Gate….”

”Those god dmn sons of btches!!”

Baek Yun-Ho angrily cussed out.

A Red Gate would only occur when the dungeon itself was ranked very high, to begin with.

There was a whole new world on the other side of the Gate, yet the leaking magical energy only equalled that of a rank C dungeon? That crap wouldn't fly anywhere.

Even from a casual glance, he could tell this thing should've been ranked B, at the bare minimum. If unlucky, rank A. Or worse, something even higher than that.

However, the only reason why the Association still had the audacity to insist they were not wrong?

”Sir, should we use our own equipment to measure the magic energy?”

When Hyun Ki-Cheol asked him, Baek Yun-Ho shook his head.

”No magic energy leaks out from a Red Gate, so it's impossible to measure it now.”

….Because, it would be almost impossible to take another measurement, that was why.

There was no concrete way to find out what the problematic Gate's actual rank was at this point in time.

And besides, the rank of this d*mn Gate wasn't important anymore.

”How many of our people went in there?”

”Total of 12, sir.”

”How many are high ranked Hunters?”

”As the leader, rank A Kim Cheol Hunter-nim, and there are also seven rank B Hunters, as well.”

”One rank A and seven rank Bs….”

”The new recruits…. Will they be alright?”

Baek Yun-Ho slowly shook his head.

”We don't have a choice but to think of them as all KIA. If lucky, the rank A, and two, three rank Bs might make out alive.”

….Only if those trapped inside enjoy lady luck's blessing, that was.

That was how lacking these numbers were. With the current composition of the raid team, they should only be enough to barely conquer the weakest of rank B dungeons.

Anything tougher than that, and you'd be asking for way too much.

Without some kind of a miracle, the odds of their new recruits returning alive was as good as none.

Baek Yun-Ho's complexion darkened even further.

Hyun Ki-Cheol studied the mood of his boss and cautiously opened his mouth.

”Sir, actually… there was someone else who also entered the Gate along with our recruits.”

Baek Yun-Ho shifted his gaze to his subordinate, his expression changing slightly.

Could it be that a high-ranking Hunter was in the vicinity and entered along with the team after getting curious about the training process?

What else could qualify as a miracle?

This would certainly be it!

Baek Yun-Ho's voice rose up.

”Who was that person?”

”He's the Hunter I've been trying to scout for the last few days, sir.”

The reply came from behind, instead.

When Baek Yun-Ho and Hyun Ki-Cheol looked over to confirm who it was, they spotted Ahn Sahng-Min, soaked in his own sweat and breathing roughly.

”Apologies for being late, sir. The traffic was unexpectedly heavy.”

Ahn Sahng-Min's home was furthest from everyone here so he ended up arriving last.

Ahn Sahng-Min shifted his gaze over to the Gate. The Red Gate reminded him of the entrance to an impregnable fortress. Just looking at it made it harder to breathe.

'However, if it's Hunter Seong Jin-Woo, then…..'

A man who overcame several 'incidents' already unscathed could potentially create a new miracle all by himself.

That's what he thought.

Baek Yun-Ho hurriedly approached Ahn Sahng-Min.

”Are you saying that the Hunter you've been keeping an eye on is in there, too? Is that it?”

”Yes, sir.”

”Ah!”

Baek Yun-Ho suddenly recalled something.

'Now that I think about it….'

Chief Ahn had been rather busy lately. And as it so happened, there was a Hunter he had been trying to scout to the Guild.

Chief Ahn's instincts were almost always never wrong.

'What if….'

A spark of hope was lit in Baek Yun-Ho's heart.

”What is his rank? Is it A? Or maybe, a B?”

If this Hunter was ranked S, then Baek Yun-Ho would've known the identity of this mystery Hunter. There were less than 10 rank S Hunters in the whole of South Korea, after all.

However, Ahn Sahng-Min was shaking his head!

'Oh my god!'

Baek Yun-Ho's hardened face finally brightened up considerably.

”Are you saying that a rank S Hunter also went in there?!”

Ahn Sahng-Min calmly replied.

”No, sir. He's a rank E.”

Almost right away, Baek Yun-Ho's expression crumpled to a man who accidentally chewed on bugs.

Jin-Woo couldn't help but get flustered here.

'Could this be the Gate that supposedly takes you to another world?'

It'd be his first time experiencing one, but he had read all about it online, from the testimonies of those who managed to survive it. And they all said the same thing – that it felt like they were being sucked in.

Jin-Woo had to agree with that assessment, too.

As soon as the Gate sucked him in, a deep darkness swallowed him, and a little while later, he felt like he was being slid across something slick and smooth.

'Heok!'

When he opened his eyes, he was standing in the middle of a wintery forest, completely covered in white snow.

”What is this place?!”

”This doesn't look like the interior of a dungeon, does it?!”

”Hey, look! The Gate's disappeared, too!”

Other Hunters were looking around in confusion, unable to hide their panic as well.

While they were getting more and more flustered, Jin-Woo calmed himself down, narrowed his eyes, and scanned the surrounding area.

'I don't sense anything suspicious.'

Thanks to the System repeatedly sending him to weird places, Jin-Woo had gotten used to being in an unexpected foreign environment, which also meant that he could gain his calmness quickly.

The first thing that entered his view was a huge tree.

Not just one, but countless coniferous trees, the kind never seen before on Korean soil, were shooting up straight to the sky with nary a visible gap in between them.

As he scanned his surroundings, his eyes ran into someone else's. And it was the rank A Hunter Kim Cheol, who was also cautiously scanning the vicinity like him.

'....'

'....'

The two of them glared at each other for a little while, before looking away.

Hahn Song-Yi had approached him and began tugging at his clothes in the meantime.

”Uhm, excuse me… something bad happened just now, right?”

She looked really scared. Her previous self-confidence was nowhere to be found.