It was raining on the day of the gate-clearing, so the sky was very cloudy. A car stopped in front of the guild through the humid air.
"Good morning."
Park Geon-ho, dressed in a combat uniform, rolled down the driver's window and winked at me. Disgusted, I asked, "I heard a driver was coming… Are you the driver, Team Leader?"
"The best driver ever. Get in."
It was quite far from here to Area N23, so there was no choice but to get a ride. I got into the car, dragging Kim Woo-jin, who was staring at Park Geon-ho.
"Oh. The car is different from last time, Team Leader."
"This time I got a new one. How is it?"
"I don't know much about cars, but… this looks great!"
"Right?"
Park Geon-ho and Min Ah-rin, who sat in the passenger seat, chatted amicably. As I watched, I passed a lollipop into Kim Woo-jin's mouth, who seemed unhappy all the time. It was a snack I received from Min Ah-rin earlier.
* * *
Over an hour later, the guild members and Woo Seo-hyuk were waiting for us to enter the N23 gate together.
"Team Leader!"
"Team Leader's here!"
"Team Leadeeer!"
When the guild members who had gathered together saw Park Geon-ho getting out of the car, their eyes flashed as they rushed over. I flinched at their force without realizing it, but Park Geon-ho only spoke with a tired look on his face.
"What is it now? You guys haven't even entered the gate yet; what happened this time?"
"Lee Dong-joo (이동주) used his powers on me! Look at this, it hurts!"
"Park Min-jae (박민재), this bastard, left behind the snack bag he prepared yesterday!"
"How disgraceful, Dong-joo. The bastard that gets hit first should accept defeat."
"Dong-joo is just like that. But to leave the snack bag behind… I put my chocolate in there, too."
"Ah, Team Leader. Hurry up. It's annoying watching them arguing."
"Did you see the expressions on the healer team's faces when Lee Dong-joo and Park Min-jae fought? They were really very pitiful. They have to stay with them in the gate for the next three days. If it were me, I would be embarrassed and run away."
Ten stocky guild members began to pour out a huge amount of words around us. It felt like my ears were being attacked.
"But, Team Leader, who are the people that came with you?"
"Oh, I know him!" The man named Lee Dong-joo looked at me and shouted, "SS-ranks in both hands!"
"Pftt—" At the same time as my expression darkened, Park Geon-ho, who was standing next to me, burst into laughter.
"Ah~ That A-rank mercenary? So it's true?"
"Hey. So you're Han Yi-gyeol, right? It's nice to meet you."
"Shake hands with me, too."
"Ah, right…"
I received handshakes from all over the place one by one. The corners of Kim Woo-jin's eyes, who was watching, became sharper.
"Are you close with our Team Leader?"
"Oh my gosh. Well, Team Leader? Do you know Han Yi-gyeol-ssi?"
"Team Leader is close with the Master. Maybe he introduced him?"
Park Geon-ho, who was asked the question, grinned and put his arm on my shoulder. Though, as soon as that happened, Kim Woo-jin threw it off of me for my sake.
"We met at the SS-grade gate."
"Ah, right. Team Leader had been there, right?"
"I forgot about that…"
"Who are the two behind Han Yi-gyeol-ssi?"
"These two are members who have been to the SS-grade gate. Healer Min Ah-rin-ssi and Master's Attendant Kim Woo-jin."
"Ah~ Healer Min Ah-rin. It's a pleasure to meet such a famous person like this."
"Doesn't it seem like Attendant Kim Woo-jin really hates Team Leader?"
"I hate our Team Leader, too. He'll fit right in."
Park Geon-ho, who shook his head as if he couldn't stop the noisy team members, introduced them.
"These guys belong to the Special Operations Division. Everyone's a little noisy, but they're more than capable, so don't worry."
The explanation reminded me of the words I heard at the SS-grade gate.
'They said it's a den of crazy people. Several people said they were laughing happily, covered in blood in the hallways…'
Min Ah-rin must have heard as well, but she shook hands with her team members with a bright smile on her face as if she knew nothing.
"Nice to meet you. Please take good care of me in this gate."
The male team member, who was lucky enough to shake hands with Min Ah-rin, grinned. Men*.
"After you're done greeting each other, I hope you will be ready to depart soon," Woo Seo-hyuk, who was watching us from behind, interrupted with a stern voice. He had a point since there were only 15 minutes left until departure.
"Is there anyone who hasn't prepared for departure yet?"
"What about you, Team Leader? You just came, when are you ready?"
"All the Team Leader needs is an iron ball, what does he need to prepare? What about you; where's your sword? Did you exchange it for candy?"
"Don't you have eyes? It's on my back."
"What… Is that a sword or a guitar on your back? This guy is a joker."
"Pahahak! Look at this bastard! You brought a broken dagger along!"
"Oh, it's all banged up. Hey, does anyone have any daggers left?"
"Who else carries such a thing other than you? Go to the guild now and get one or something."
"We have 12 minutes left, is that possible? If there's no time, let's just throw it away."
The louder the guild members were, the colder Woo Seo-hyuk's expression became. In the meantime, Park Geon-ho, rather than stopping it, was busy babbling between them.
Seeing this, I think I can understand why Woo Seo-hyuk hates Park Geon-ho.
Be strong, Woo Seo-hyuk. I sent support to Woo Seo-hyuk, who touched his forehead with a tired expression as if he had a headache.
* * *
In the end, we entered the gate 10 minutes later than the originally scheduled time.
"It's 'cause Secretary Woo Seo-hyuk is too stiff."
"What do you do on the weekend, Secretary?"
"Would you like to bet on what he does? I vote for work."
"Work on the weekends? Does such a person exist?"
"If it's Secretary Woo Seo-hyuk who lives a boring life, I think it would be possible."
"Hm. It's hard to imagine him watching movies, drinking beer, and playing games like everyone else."
"You idiots. People like the Secretary go to a club and have a lot of fun. Look at his face. Would any woman leave him alone?"
"He has a better face than you."
"Are you done talking, Shim Soo-yeon (심수연)?"
Upon hearing this, Woo Seo-hyuk sighed with a tired look on his face. Perhaps oblivious to the suffering that Woo Seo-hyuk was going through, Park Geon-ho, who was in charge, looked around with a refreshed look on his face.
"Let's go. There may be some problem with the gate so be careful."
"It's a desert again."
"Yes. But it is different from the SS-grade gate. We're going inside that historical site."
At Min Ah-rin's words, Park Geon-ho pointed to the historical site in front of him.
The triangular-shaped ruins, similar to pyramids, were huge. The historical site that stood alone under the bright sunlight was pretty cool.
Park Geon-ho pushed open the door of the huge historical site. Geugeugeugeuk, the door slowly opened as sand fell from above.
Torches were burning at regular intervals in the wide sandstone corridor. Park Geon-ho, who was moving forward with careful steps, stopped his steps while looking to the right.
Kirk. Kirrk.
Within five minutes after entering the historical site, the sounds of beasts roared all over the place. I remembered the gate material I had looked at beforehand.
There were three types of monsters that appeared in the beginning. Goblins, kobolds, dwarf zombies (고블린, 코볼트, 난쟁이좀비). Among them, the monster that appeared this time was—
Kieeek!
Kieek! Kururuk. Kuruk.
It was a bunch of kobolds. A kobold with a wrinkled face, skinny limbs, a bulging belly and a blood-stained saw, drooling green saliva— they looked quite disgusting. The healer team, including Min Ah-rin, frowned and retreated.
"Close-ranged team."
As Park Geon-ho rolled his iron ball into his hand and spoke, the five men came forward with their weapons.
"Oh, Team Leader. Are you going to throw the balls when we fight again?"
"It was at which gate two months ago? Who was the one who got his back burned because of the Team Leader's ability?"
"Was it Jae-hyuk?"
"Stop talking and get to work. OK?"
Park Geon-ho threw the iron ball that he was bouncing on his finger. Kieeek! The explosion spurted fire and the kobolds screamed. At the same time, the close-ranged team attacked, wielding their weapons.
Kobolds were B-grade monsters, but they were not easy to deal with due to their large number and vicious habits. I watched the close-ranged team kill the kobolds that ran in front of the healer team.
'Amazing.'
Whatever the rumours were, they were famous for a reason. The Special Operations Division, which went to the Middle East Gate, famous for its atrocious environment, were not pushed back by the kobolds' viciousness.
"Ah, some blood splashed into my face!"
Among them, the one who drew the most attention was a guild member with a long spear. With a similar height to Han Yi-gyeol and a ponytail holding up his hair, golden electricity flashed and strong muscles bulged as he swung his spear around.
I couldn't help but marvel at the sight of him clad in the green kobold blood as he swung his spear around. I thought his name was called out when he was talking with the other team members. Was it Shim Soo-yeon?**
More than 20 kobolds were slaughtered in 10 minutes. The close-ranged team returned covered in green blood.
"Ah, this is why goblins or dwarf zombies are better. I'm gonna have to throw away my clothes."
"Can't someone develop a potion that cleans things off when you spray it?"
"Why would the research team make such a thing?"
While the close-ranged team grumbled while shaking off their clothes soaked in kobold blood, the identifier finished measuring.
"Umm…"
"What?" Park Geon-ho, who was waiting for the results next to the identifier, questioned the ambiguous reaction.
"This is a bit odd."
"Did the grade go up?"
"No, rather…" The identifier, who hesitated for a moment, continued, "The grade has gone down."
"Hmm?"
It dropped? I approached Park Geon-ho for a detailed explanation.
"How far did it fall?"
"The previous record was 56.8% B-grade, now it is 12.99% B-grade. Of course, the numbers are slightly different each time, but… it's the first time it's fallen this far."
"So the grade didn't rise, but instead fell… Should this be considered an anomaly?"
So far, there have been several occasions where the numbers soared and the ratings went up but never before had the number fallen as much as this time.
"For now, it's fine. If there are any other problems, please report them immediately."
"Yes."
When the identifier returned, Park Geon-ho sighed, looking dissatisfied. "I expected an S+-grade monster to appear, but the numbers fell instead…"
"Aren't you relieved? The risk is lowered."
"Disappointed…"
"Be an adult, Team Leader Park Geon-ho."
I was clicking my tongue looking at Park Geon-ho, who seemed truly saddened, when Woo Seo-hyuk approached.
"What's going on?"
"The ratings are weird."
"Did the grade rise?"
"No, the other way around; it fell. It is an anomaly, but… it's an unusual case."
Woo Seo-hyuk also looked surprised at my explanation. "That's a rather surprising result."
"That said, I still feel a bit uncomfortable."
Perhaps it was because I worked hard every time I entered the gate, so even if the difficulty level was lowered, I was not easily relieved.
At the words, Woo Seo-hyuk nodded his head with a calm expression.
"It is true that the gate has changed due to an anomaly, so it is right to be alert like Han Yi-gyeol-ssi. I will pass this on to everyone."
I turned my body and looked at Woo Seo-hyuk's back as he walked towards the guild members. The sticky blood from dead kobolds was clinging to the soles of his shoes.