Just as the Meteorological Administration predicted a heavy downpour the next day, the association generally foretold and warned of the appearance of gates.
However, in the case of a burst gate, as its name suggests, it was an unexpected gate that even the association could not predict.
When a burst gate appeared, it was necessary to confirm it, and a disaster notification alarm would be sent not only to the hunters' terminals but also to the mobile phones of the general public.
But times have changed.
No one shivered at a disaster alert anymore. The next episode of a manhwa was more urgent than the annoying alarm.
Look at the present. Pedestrians stopped on their way and shot videos with a series of exclamations.
Police officers herded them and set up barricades.
"It is dangerous here. Please step back."
However, the passersby only moved a few steps backward and did not completely leave the place. Eunha did the same.
"Isn't that a gate?"
A police officer who was helping with the barricade looked up at Eunha. She wore jeans and a white tee. With her long hair tied up, she was at best a young woman in her early twenties. In other words, this person was also a spectator.
"Yes, it's… as you can see."
The policeman quickly turned their gaze away from Eunha and went back to work. Eunha stared at the police officer's face and opened her mouth again.
"But why are firefighters coming instead of hunters?"
"That's because hunters are dispatched only after a gate auction is over and the winning bid is completed."
It was like that. The process of the procedure. A burst gate was no different.
What are you even asking for? The policeman did not hide their annoyance.
If a gate was cleared within seven days, the monsters inside wouldn't come out.
The damage wouldn't spread much, and the value of the magic core dropped by the gate boss would also grow with each passing day. So, in modern times, it wasn't uncommon to start clearing the gate only after the seven days had been deliberately waited out.
It was the story she heard from Jehwi. So, Eunha knew it well. However…
"Come on, go away."
The policeman motioned to Eunha, who was standing idly, as if they were being disturbed.
After all, the 'Corps' guild hunters would come soon. They were especially famous for only relying on advanced gates, so you wouldn't have to wait for seven days to fly by. Their only job was to minimise damage until they arrived.
Many people were busy, including the firefighters who were putting out fires with long, thick hoses, rescue workers moving people with serious injuries, and police officers installing blockades at the gate entrance.
Then, without any warning, the fire suddenly began to grow.
"I-it's crazy! The fire…!"
"If this continues, I'm moving to a nearby building!"
The onlookers stirred. The voices of the firefighters who were putting out the fire became urgent.
"Raise the water pressure as high as it can go!"
"B-but we won't be able to endure it?"
"The hose! Pull out more of the hose! What are you doing!"
Then, one of the firefighters holding the firehose yelled.
"Ack!"
Their body couldn't stand it because the water pressure had been raised too much.
The uncontrolled firehose began to run wild like a living snake. The firefighters around them were in a hurry to get the hose which had flown out of their hands as it flapped and sprayed water.
In the end, behind a firefighter who had been hit in the back of the head by the hose's iron tip, a fireman opened his mouth.
"Th-the fire! Get away!"
Flames swirled in Eunha's dark eyes.
'Cha Eunha. Everyone here has lost a family member. I also lost my daughter.'
'There will be far more people you will save in the future than the people you didn't save.'
Eunha slowly blinked in front of the thick smoke that made her throat sting.
'I hope that will comfort you.'
Paah!
She moved her body reflexively.
Eunha supported a board caught in the flames with one hand and held the fallen fireman with the other.
"W-what?!"
The eyes of the policeman who had been talking to Eunha widened.
What Eunha was supporting was a sign that had fallen off the surface of the hotel. It did not have a weight or size that could be held in one hand. What's more was that it must have been very hot from the fire.
'A-a hunter?'
They thought that she was just a normal person, but she was a hunter? However, it was surprising that she was holding a signboard that had been heated by fire with her bare hands, even if she was a hunter.
"Y-you should retreat! The fire is coming!"
The policeman came to their senses and shouted loudly.
Eunha looked back. The fire that grew larger was right in front of them.
In that short period, Eunha judged the situation.
One hand was holding a sign, and the other held a fallen fireman. Since neither of her hands were free at the moment, her movement was limited.
Then, there was only one answer.
Whoosh!
Just before being swallowed by the flames, Eunha threw the firefighter she was holding at the policeman.
"…!"
Before the policeman could even shout, Eunha was swallowed by the fire.
* * *
The special ability that Eunha had gained through awakening was 'fire'.
Perhaps because of that, Eunha was able to withstand the flames that made it difficult to even breathe.
In the first place, she could make fire with her bare hands. In other words, her fire resistance was almost maxed. The fire on her skin didn't create burns.
"Cough."
However, the thick smoke was a little difficult.
Eunha walked inside the hotel while fanning the smoke. It wasn't long before she realised that she had entered the gate. It seemed like she had been swept away while walking through the fire.
'Is it a gate with fire properties?'
Ding!
[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' is coughing! Keugh, keugh! It asks what the hell this black smoke is and urges you to get out of here quickly.]
"That's what I was planning to do even if you didn't rush me."
Eunha took out her phone from her back pocket. She opened a yellow app and tapped on the screen.
Only one person was registered on the messenger. She left him a short message.
[You] [7:41 PM] You should eat first.
…
[Message failed to send.]
"Ah."
Eunha then realised that her cellphone was useless inside the gate.
To use her phone inside the gate, she would need a special data plan provided by a telecommunication company, which cost a whopping 79,900 won per month.
Not even all gates supported data. From the perspective of the realistic and frugal Eunha, such a plan was not worth the money.
The terminal is…
'It's not urgent, but it looks like it's broken. Can you fix it?'
It had been entrusted to Siwoo.
She couldn't help it. Eunha put her phone in her back pocket and started walking again.
'Come to think of it, what colour was the opening?'
When she was suddenly swallowed by the flames, she didn't have the time to figure it out. At the moment when she was deeply immersed in thought.
[Lv.22 'Fairy of Blazing Fire' is attacking you!]
Shhk!
Something flew in. Eunha quickly spread her palms.
Bang!
The fire struck and caused an explosion.
"…Level 22."
Eunha murmured as she avoided the aftermath of the explosion. If that was so, then this seemed to be a B-Class gate. With that said, there was no need to be nervous.
Fire sparked in all directions, leaving holes in Eunha's t-shirt. Of course, the damage was zero. There was no impact, just a slight feeling of heat that was close to a sting.
[Lv.22 'Fairy of Blazing Fire' starts singing a strange song. Skill ▸ 100 Degree Melody]
But it was the same for them. Fire attribute monsters had resistance to the fire attribute, just like Eunha.
'I should have worn the dress.'
Of course, she didn't know this would happen. Eunha sighed a little as she looked at the t-shirt and jeans she was wearing.
When the Princess of Dark Flare Set was equipped, the set effect, Dark Flame, would be activated.
Dark flames could even burn normal flames, so to speak, it was a weapon that transcended flames. It would have been able to inflict a huge blow and ignore compatibility. What's more, it would have been easier to get out of here if she had the parasol.
'There's no other way.'
She just had to put in more effort.
Eunha gently touched her palm and raised her head. With the fairy's '100 Degree Melody' skill, red energy in the form of notes was flying at high speed.
It was difficult to fight against the same attribute because there was no easy way to settle it.
Fwooom—!
However, that was only under the assumption that they had the 'same firepower'.
* * *
About an hour later.
[Lv.22 'Fairy of Blazing Fire' is attacking you!]
[Lv.22 'Fairy of Blazing Fire' is attacking you!]
[Lv.22 'Fairy of Blazing Fire' is attacking you!]
"Woah, what are these guys!"
A hunter wearing a military beret jumped. The monster in front of them, a 'Fairy of Blazing Fire', was level 22 and not even a very threatening monster.
But the number was just astonishingly large.
"How many are just at the entrance? What kind of ant den is this?"
"Looking at these guys, it seems like they're born from the flames."
Another hunter standing next to them calmly murmured. Likewise, they were also wearing a beret.
"In other words, they'll regenerate almost indefinitely in this fire-engulfed gate."
The hunter who was ahead wrinkled their face, as if bothered. If they weren't dealt with in one blow, the flames would split into two, and there was a high possibility that the number of monsters could duplicate.
"Even so, there are too many."
No matter the fact that the gate was created at the site of a fire, there was an overcrowding of the fire attribute monsters.
—As if someone had fought them earlier and had already broken them up.
"Is there a problem? If they regenerate infinitely, you can just kill them by hitting them infinitely."
It was a simple and obvious answer.
"That's our way."
The hunter smiled and fluttered his cloak leisurely.
There were seven stars embroidered with gold thread on the dark green cloak. Below that, there were dignified Chinese characters for 'Corps'.
"Isn't that right, Master?"
They looked back.
"…Master?"
The figure that should have been there was nowhere to be seen. The five remaining hunters looked around at the same time.
"Hey, where's Master?"
"They were here a moment ago…?"
"You should have been watching!"
"Then, were you paying attention?"
The adult men started arguing, shouting, and screaming. In the meantime, a short-haired hunter calmly opened their mouth.
"Everyone, stop. Master isn't a child. He doesn't like to be bothered, so he probably went straight to the boss."
"…"
At their words, the hunters who were fighting shut their mouths.
Yes, that made sense. Their master didn't have the ability to get injured in a B+ Class gate.
It was a fact that all the Corps members gathered here agreed on.
"He was pretty excited to try out the newly developed 'Flame Blast Bazooka'."
"It's possible if it's Master."
The Corps members nodded in unison.
"Let's see if there's anything worth money before the gate closes. Didn't we invest our money in this gate? We should get our money's worth."
They didn't even hire gatherers just to save a little more money. They each carried tools such as pickaxes and shovels on their shoulders.
"That's right."
The moment a hunter expressed his agreement.
Paah!
As if someone had pulled a trigger, they scattered east, west, north, and south at the same time. It was as if this simulation had been repeated dozens of times.
But they too were not people who would collapse at this level of gate.
The guild they belonged to was one of the strongest guilds representing Korea. Surprisingly, there were only seven people. However, all of them were famous rankers. In terms of unity and individual fighting power, there was even a saying that they were one step above the famous Wolf Guild.
A small number of elites who gathered their core power. That was what Corps was.
And Corp's guildmaster, 'Trickster'.
He was Korea's fifth S-Class hunter and was famous as a military maniac. He didn't stop at purchasing all kinds of military supplies at high prices, but also produced his own guild Corps uniforms in the form of military uniforms.
The guild members of Corps called their master a military otaku, and he was commonly known as 'militaku'. Of course, it wasn't an insult. They were proud of that fact.
Meanwhile, at the same time.
"Ah."
Corp's guildmaster, Trickster, found something half-buried in ashes.
Trickster squatted down, as if drawn to it, and began to dig it out of the ashes. When the dark ashes were swept away, a shiny object was fully revealed.
"Hmm."
Trickster picked it up with one hand and waved it in front of him. Looking at it, it was definitely,
'A military tag?'
It was also golden.
Why did a legendary item that only first-generation hunters had fall into the middle of the gate?
Trickster also had a few similar items, but most of them were well-made imitations. Most of the originals had been donated to the Hunter Museum.
—However.
Trickster judged and looked at it carefully.
Wait a minute. 1998.01.03. There was an exact date of issuance and a military service number below it. The name was… scratched off.
This time, he checked the back. The words 'MADE IN KOREA' were not engraved.
The tip of his hand began to tremble faintly as it held the dog tag. Before long, his eyes filled with ecstasy that neared madness.
"…Woah, this is real."