At my words, everyone’s gaze focused on me.
“Ha, easy for you to say.”
Yoo Seon-je first sneered at my words. Yoo Seon-je always had a face overflowing with composure, but in this situation now, he looked anxious as if he had no answer at all.
“How exactly? The 7-Circle hunter is dead, and almost all the 6-Circle hunters supporting him are dead! All the porters are dead! With only us left, how?”
Yoo Seon-je’s words poured out sharply.
“What Circle are you?”
I calmly received those words.
“I should be 5-Circle. Ah, I also have a colleague. He’s 6-Circle.”
At those words, Yoo Seon-je openly sighed, ‘Huh.’ He doesn’t even look at my face. I already knew he was a rank discriminator, but to have such a temperament even in this situation.
Lee Hye-won said:
“I think we should first worry about where to stay tonight. Since our accommodations and all the luggage the porters brought seem to have burned.”
“Don’t worry about that. I have some food too. I also have tents.”
I turned my gaze to the support team.
Out of over twenty support team members, only three survived. Rather, it was fortunate that the number decreased. We should be able to last about 2 weeks with the food I brought.
“Ha, you’re saying you’ll conquer the Gate with just this many people? Crazy talk.”
“Then do you want to die?”
I said looking at Yoo Seon-je.
“I know the situation is bad. But if we do nothing, there’s only death.”
“…”
“If there’s no sharp escape method, please follow my words.”
It’s the end of being swayed by your conceit, Yoo Seon-je. At my words, Yoo Seon-je closed his mouth and went out of the banquet hall.
Lee Hye-won looked at me and smiled apologetically. Since I know that guy’s temperament is like that from the beginning, I wasn’t particularly hurt anew.
I stayed in the banquet hall, gathered the corpses and burned them all. Some of the support team burst into tears. It must be due to various emotions coming from barely surviving themselves while those couldn’t.
Unlike the support team where at least a few survived, none of the combat hunters survived. That’s because Trickster focused on targeting this side.
Lee Hye-won’s expression changed seeing the corpses burning vigorously.
It must be because she clearly saw me shoot ice spears earlier. Now wasn’t the time to hide my talent.
Lee Hye-won carefully asked me:
“Agent Smith, what exactly is your talent?”
“Nature.”
“Nature…?”
“Yes, it seems I can handle pretty much all attributes that exist in nature.”
“Huh.”
Lee Hye-won, who let out an exclamation, said as if surprised:
“I haven’t heard of such a talent.”
“That’s why I’m working as a secret agent thanks to it. If my ability becomes known, it would cause a lot of ripples in society.”
Let’s just gloss over it. I didn’t have the strength to come up with a proper lie. After burning all the corpses, I went to Han Seo-hyeon who was sitting with a face exhausted from the aftereffects of the illusion.
“Agent John!”
I got in first before Han Seo-hyeon could call me boss. Lee Hye-won and the support team were sticking close to my side after all.
“Uh, um!”
Han Seo-hyeon hurriedly closed his mouth seeing the people following behind me.
“So you were here. It turned out as we expected. Those guys escaped in the end.”
I quickly added before Han Seo-hyeon could continue speaking.
“So we need to find a way somehow.”
Han Seo-hyeon just nodded at my words. Well, his voice and mask don’t match at all.
“Let’s find a place to rest first.”
Everyone was too exhausted. I looked at Yoo Seon-je resting in the corridor. Yoo Seon-je, who had fired all his mana at mere illusions, also had a tired face.
Even his clothes, which he usually managed to not have a single wrinkle, were full of wrinkles.
Knowing he has obsessive-compulsive disorder, it must be quite difficult.
We quietly headed outside the village. Our base set up outside the village had burned down due to Gemini’s attack. People’s expressions hardened seeing the corpses of the porters.
I also found the corpse of the captain who had called me brother-in-law. He had burned black in a posture of charging at someone with a shovel in hand. It seems he tried to stop Gemini somehow.
I gathered all the corpses around. We need to clean up this area thoroughly and set up a base.
I took out temporary tents from my pocket. I only brought two since Han Seo-hyeon and I were supposed to stay, but given the size per tent, it should be fine for our 7 people to stay.
“Team Leader, could you set this up in a suitable place? I need to clean up this place and check if there are any supplies left just in case.”
Although Gemini burned it, there might be something useful left if we search thoroughly.
I said looking at the support team:
“Could those who have room help me? Ah, it would be good to state your talents too.”
Lee Hye-won said:
“Sword talent, Lee Hye-won.”
Led by Lee Hye-won, each person passed their name and talent to me.
Sword talent that receives a bonus when handling swords.
Lee Jae-eun with talent in exploration and search.
Oh Hyo-rin with eyes that can see the boss’s weakness.
Shin Ma-ru with buffs that raise physical abilities and mana efficiency.
“Yoo Seon-je, aren’t you going to introduce yourself? Even though we all know.”
“Yoo Seon-je. Lightning.”
After saying that, Yoo Seon-je sat down tiredly. Well, that guy’s stamina isn’t very good either. It’s probably because he put off physical training to focus everything on mana. A typical glass cannon, you could say.
“Alright. I’m Smith who can handle natural attributes. This friend here is John who can handle sand.”
“Are those really your names?”
“We’re secret agents, so please understand.”
I simply ignore Lee Hye-won’s tackle. There was a lot to do.
“Jae-eun, please search for anything useful around here with me. I’d appreciate if the rest of you could help clean up this place. If there are any corpses… or such, please gather them in one place and I’ll take care of them.”
Since it’s a low temperature place, there’s no worry about corpses decaying, but it was better to process corpses right away in case persistent monsters pop up. With Will-o’-the-wisp around, it wouldn’t be strange if there were things like banshees.
That’s why I processed the corpses before moving earlier too.
“Agent John, please scout the surroundings.”
Han Seo-hyeon nodded and disappeared.
I rummaged through the burned luggage with Lee Jae-eun. Lee Jae-eun fully utilized her ability.
“I think there’s something here!”
Although Gemini’s flames were strong, there was quite a bit of luggage left thanks to not having much time.
Although the accommodations were all destroyed, there were still intact parts here and there, so it seemed we could make things like showers or toilets if we tore them down and modified them appropriately, even if not full accommodations.
We also found two intact food packages. With this, we’ve secured food for 2 weeks, plus an additional 2 weeks.
We should be able to endure inside here for at least a month. At that moment, Han Seo-hyeon who found me took out paper from his bosom.
“That friend…”
“Can’t speak.”
I quickly covered for him. As I expected, it seems Han Seo-hyeon was about to communicate through writing.
[I found the location of what’s presumed to be the real boss monster earlier.]
It was quite helpful information. At my gaze telling him to say more, Han Seo-hyeon quickly wrote down letters.
[The boss is sleeping in that visible spire. Actually, I’m not sure if it’s the boss or what. Anyway, the only monster in this castle is the woman over there.]
A sleeping woman, huh.
“Let’s go conquer it as soon as we recover our strength.”
I shook my head at Yoo Seon-je’s words.
“No. It’s still too early.”
I added to Yoo Seon-je with a displeased face:
“This ice palace is certainly strange. Hiding that woman, the monster, in the spire too. And having the form of a palace but no one being here. For now, it would be better to investigate this castle as much as possible before going to the spire.”
“What difference will investigating make?”
Yoo Seon-je was still crooked. I slowly opened my mouth.
“This is a special Gate. The point that monsters don’t appear to a strange degree, and that the only monster, whether it’s a boss monster or trigger monster, is there in a ‘sleeping state’.”
I added looking at Yoo Seon-je:
“Surely you’re not going to say nonsense like let’s eliminate it in one strike because it’s sleeping? This Gate is S-rank. The monster is ‘single’. Theoretically, the number of hunters needed to conquer this Gate is…”
“At least three 7-Circle hunters are needed, right?”
“Yes.”
The reason this conquest team entered with only two 7-Circle hunters in the first place was because the rest of the 6-Circle hunters could sufficiently cover. But now that all the other hunters who were supposed to support Yoo Seon-je are dead, we can’t clear it even if we die and come back to life.
Yoo Seon-je looks like a perfectionist at a glance, but he’s actually quite hot-tempered. Knowing he’s great, he probably hasn’t even tried making strategies.
Until now, he probably solved everything with brute firepower, but here even that brute firepower doesn’t work.
“We have enough food for the time being. There’s probably no one sloppy enough to suffer mana addiction. Let’s enter after obtaining as much information as possible.”
There’s no need to rush unnecessarily.
We had to do our best.
“We don’t know what will happen after waking that up yet. We only have one chance.”
Even Yoo Seon-je nodded at my words. Lee Hye-won’s eyes shone looking at me. It seems the accommodation setup was all finished in the meantime.
We decided to sleep divided into women and men. Four women, three men. We decided the women would use the slightly larger tent.
Yoo Seon-je, Han Seo-hyeon, and I entered the tent. Yoo Seon-je took the only bed as if it was natural. That sight was quite annoying, but I endure it since he has OCD and is a young master.
“Is that friend really mute?”
To think the first thing he asks is this.
“Isn’t that not the important thing? Huh, to answer for him, that friend indeed can’t speak. Surely you’re not thinking of making fun of someone else’s disability?”
At my words, Yoo Seon-je shut his mouth with a gasp. It seems even he thought his statement just now was a bit trashy. Only for a moment though, as Yoo Seon-je asked me once again:
“Do you really think we can clear this place?”
Unlike before, it’s a deflated voice. Well, Yoo Seon-je can’t help but be worried about the current situation too.
He’s rude, but that guy is also only twenty-one. He’ll soon be twenty-two, but still young. An age where you can’t help but fear death.
“We might not be able to clear it, but we have to think we will for now. I don’t want to die here either.”
The situation is certainly bad, but I was planning to try somehow.
For now, it was fortunate that Lee Hye-won with the sword talent and Yoo Seon-je survived. Han Seo-hyeon will also have tremendous destructive power as long as he’s holding the staff.
Three outstanding dealers. And three supports. Plus me, the all-around jack-of-all-trades.
The minimum requirements for conquering an S-rank Gate have been met.
“Let’s rest well today and think about it tomorrow.”
* * *
As soon as they came outside, the Assembler burst out complaints towards Trickster.
“Wouldn’t it have been better to definitely end their lives?”
“This is enough.”
If Yoo Seon-je had aimed for mutual destruction, someone would have been seriously injured. That’s how tremendous the destructive power of lightning was.
“Those guys absolutely can’t clear the Gate. How could they clear it?”
The Assembler also nodded at those words. Certainly, that team looked hopeless.
“That strange guy bothers me a bit though.”
“Indeed. Well, it would be fortunate if that guy dies there too.”
At that moment, Gemini cut in with a lively voice:
“What should we do with this guy?”
The support team hunter who helped them escape. Kim Chun-tae was trembling. Is he going to be killed now? Am I going to be killed? The voices of the villains were heard over his panicked state.
“By the way, who is this guy?”
“I hear he grew up in an orphanage that wasn’t properly registered. He awakened his ability just three months ago. Jin Yeon-hwa found out about that and diverted him.”
At the Assembler’s explanation, Gemini’s eyes shone.
Jin Yeon-hwa found this child just three months ago. And during those three months, the child never came out even once.
This was the card Jin Yeon-hwa had hidden. There would be an uproar if it became known there was such a card. Being able to ‘escape’ anytime is a precious talent after all.
Seol Rok-jin told the Top to take this awakener. He said he didn’t care what they did, whether they killed him or whatever.
It was a bonus for this job.
“How on earth did that man find out about this kid?”
“Who knows. But thanks to that, only we benefited.”
The Top had no intention of giving up this child. With this guy alone, she could burn all the hunters she hates in this world.