Chapter 52: S-rank Gate Hunt (1)

The 3rd Squadron of Hwarang…

Unlike the 1st and 2nd Squadrons, which were respectively guarding the S-Rank Gates in Suwon and Pohang, they were in charge of investigating crimes committed by Players.

'I believe she was the captain of the 3rd Squadron.'

Oh Kang-Woo stared at Baek Hwa-Yeon, who had bright silver hair.

It was weird for an Asian to have silver hair, but because of her beauty, it didn't feel weird.

'She's probably strong.'

He looked at her with his eyes narrowed.

At first glance, she looked really frail, but there was no way that was actually the case.

He could feel a sense of dignity from her expressions and how she acted.

She looked like one of those people who wouldn't break.

He wasn't sure exactly how strong she was, but he felt that she was probably among the strongest.

"Hmm, I see you already have a guest. I apologize for the interruption. Is he the person you're supporting?" Hwa-Yeon asked while looking at Kang-Woo.

"He is," said Cha Yeon-Joo.

"Is he part of the Red Rose Guild?"

"No. He isn't part of our guild. Hmm… It's more like an alliance."

"Oh? To think you'd give such huge support to a Player who isn't part of your guild. That's surprising."

"He's worth it."

Hwa-Yeon looked at Kang-Woo with interest and extended a hand toward him.

"Nice to meet you. I'm the captain of Hwarang's 3rd Squadron, Baek Hwa-Yeon."

"I'm Oh Kang-Woo."

"Oh Kang-Woo…?"

After hearing his name, Hwa-Yeon narrowed her eyes and searched through her memory.

"Oh! You're the young man I met at the C-rank Gate that time!"

It seemed she finally remembered having seen Kang-Woo previously. She grabbed his hands while her eyes shone.

Yeon-Joo tilted her head.

"Have you two met before?"

"Yes. He was a very polite and just young man. Haha. Cha Yeon-Joo, you have a good eye for people."

"… What?"

After hearing what Hwa-Yeon said, Yeon-Joo looked at Kang-Woo unpleasantly.

Kang-Woo, a polite and just young man? That was nonsense.

There weren't many people in the world whom those words couldn't be further from than him.

'What the hell did he do?'

Yeon-Joo looked at him with suspicious eyes.

Kang-Woo scratched the back of his head while making a silly smile.

"Haha. You flatter me. You having such a positive view of me really—"

"Blegh," Yeon-Joo interrupted.

"… What?"

"Nothing, I just felt a bit disgusted."

Yeon-Joo shrugged and turned her head to Hwa-Yeon. "Well, I can't agree with him being polite or just, but he's definitely skilled."

"Hmm, I see."

Hwa-Yeon sat down while nodding.

Yeon-Joo turned her head to Kang-Woo and asked, "So, where were we?"

"Hmm…"

Kang-Woo glanced at Hwa-Yeon.

Yeon-Joo noticed what he was worried about and said, "You don't need to worry about Hwa-Yeon. She has a deep relationship with us."

"Hmm. Well, if you say so. I want a regular S-rank Gate access permit this time."

"… What?"

Yeon-Joo was surprised by the unexpected request. She looked at Kang-Woo with narrowed eyes.

"Don't tell me you're actually planning to hunt in an S-rank Gate?"

"Yeah. Didn't I tell you that I got a summoned beast? It would be dangerous if I were alone, but I'm okay now that I have a summoned beast."

"Wha…"

Yeon-Joo looked at him in disbelief.

He didn't seem to be exaggerating. The Kang-Woo she knew wasn't someone who would recklessly challenge the impossible.

If he said he could hunt, it was because he could do it.

"… You know what monsters appear in Suwon's S-rank Gate, right?"

"Giant Ogres, Mountain Giants, Wyverns, and…"

"El Cuero."

Yeon-Joo mentioned the boss monster of the S-rank Gate.

"Even if you hunt there, don't go near the lake. Understood?"

"I know."

Kang-Woo nodded.

The giant lake that covered half of the S-rank Gate… Surprisingly, there were barely any monsters living inside the giant lake. The reason for that was the monster named El Cuero that Yeon-Joo had just mentioned.

El Cuero was a monster that looked like a stingray, and its size reached thirty meters. Its wide fins were covered in thousands of poisonous needles, and its body radiated high-voltage currents.

Because El Cuero had eaten most of the monsters within the lake, those that couldn't walk out of the water hadn't survived. The only monsters left in the lake were the small fish that El Cuero didn't consider food.

The lake of Suwon's S-rank Gate looked beautiful from the outside, but in reality, it was a place where one single predator had devoured most of the monsters that'd lived within it.

"Huu. Okay, then I'll ask them to convert your temporary access permit into a regular one. You'll be able to enter it as soon as tomorrow."

"Thanks."

Kang-Woo's eyes shone when he heard that he'd be able to enter the Gate the next day.

"W-Wait!" Hwa-Yeon, who had been listening to the conversation between the two, shouted in surprise. "S-rank Gate? What are you talking about? He was in a C-rank Gate up until a few weeks ago…"

"Oh… You see…"

Yeon-Joo sighed.

Just like Hwa-Yeon had said, until a few weeks before, Kang-Woo was a Player who'd hunted in a C-rank Gate.

But now…

'He's a monster who can even enter S-rank Gates.'

Yeon-Joo looked at Kang-Woo in disbelief.

She knew he was talented, and she thought that maybe he would be able to surpass Baek Kang-Hyun, Korea's strongest Player. However, he had more potential than she'd thought.

His growth rate was unprecedented.

'The only one I can think of is First Lady…'

First Lady, Grace McCubbin.

She was the first person to awaken as a Player and was ranked first in the world.

'No, he's growing even faster than Grace.'

It had been only a month since Kang-Woo had awakened as a Player, yet he had already become as strong as a national ranker.

Even though First Lady had grown fast, she hadn't grown as fast as Kang-Woo.

'How much of a monster will he become in the future?'

Yeon-Joo looked at him, half excited and half worried.

"Well, things happened, but you can believe me when I say you can trust this guy's skills."

"Hmm. Even so, an S-rank Gate is…"

Hwa-Yeon looked at Kang-Woo in disbelief.

An S-rank Gate was a place where even national rankers were wary about hunting in alone.

Of course, El Cuero was the biggest reason why people avoided going to Suwan's S-rank Gate, but the normal monsters that appeared in it were also quite strong.

'Did he awaken an S-rank Trait on his Third Awakening or something?'

Hwa-Yeon stared at Kang-Woo with her head tilted in confusion.

'No, even if he has an S-rank Trait, it's impossible to go from hunting in a C-rank Gate to an S-rank one in just a few weeks.'

That meant that he may have awakened a Trait with a higher rank than that.

"… It seems you've found an amazing Player," said Hwa-Yeon.

Yeon-Joo smiled bitterly and shrugged. She looked at Hwa-Yeon and said, "Well… I'm not sure if I found him or he found me, but oh well."

"Then I'll be going," Kang-Woo said as he stood up, now that he had finished what he had come here to do.

He had already talked to her about Echidna's ID and an S-rank Gate access permit.

Since he had already solved both things, there was no reason for him to stay any longer.

'They seem to want that too.'

Kang-Woo turned around while peeking a glance at Hwa-Yeon.

"Be careful. S-rank Gates are very dangerous places. I went a couple times and almost died once because I had pulled attention from too many monsters."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Kang-Woo. He then walked out of the office.

Clack.

As Kang-Woo walked out of the office, a heavy silence fell.

Yeon-Joo looked at Hwa-Yeon, who sat down where Kang-Woo had been.

"So, why are you here?"

"It's about the Demon Cult."

After hearing the words

Demon Cult

, Yeon-Joo frowned angrily. Unconcealable bloodlust seeped out of her.

"Have you found them?"

"No, not yet."

"… Fuuu."

Yeon-Joo sighed in disappointment after hearing Hwa-Yeon's answer.

Hwa-Yeon said, "But this time, we can have our hopes up."

"We can?"

"You've heard that one of our agents had successfully infiltrated the Demon Cult, right?"

"Oh, yeah. I've heard."

"Last night, Agent Kang Dong-Hun secretly sent me a message saying that he had managed to secure key video footage, so he would set up a rendezvous point and hand me the footage."

Yeon-Joo's eyes shone when she heard Hwa-Yeon's words.

"Key video footage?"

"Yes."

"Then can't he just send it as a data file? There's no need to meet him and put both parties in danger, is there?"

"Communication devices are highly restricted, so he can't. You also can't send or receive messages from inside the Demon Cult."

"… They're terribly thorough."

"They have to be, considering what they do."

Hwa-Yeon frowned, as if just thinking about it angered her.

The crazy people who kidnapped Players and used them as live sacrifices… Even that was only one of the many things they did.

Hwa-Yeon didn't even know what other secrets they had in store.

Yeon-Joo asked, "Did the agent infiltrate their headquarters?"

"No, just a branch. We don't know where their headquarters is. We aren't even sure if it's in Korea."

"… Are you saying the Demon Cult might be spread throughout the world?"

"Judging by their size, there's a good chance that's the case."

"Wha…"

Yeon-Joo sighed.

"Just what the hell is the Demon Cult…?"

To think that a cult full of lunatics who used living Players as sacrifices was a global organization… She couldn't believe something like that was happening in the twenty-first century.

Hwa-Yeon said, "Nothing is known for sure yet. This is just my guess, so don't be too hasty."

"So, where's the rendezvous point?"

"Suwon."

"Suwon?"

"I'm meeting up with him tomorrow near Hwaseo Station."

There wasn't anyone in Korea who didn't know about Hwaseo Station in Suwon. After all, it was the location of one of Korea's two S-rank Gates.

Hwa-Yeon said, "I'd like to ask for your guild's cooperation. I want to meet him as discreetly as possible, but… just in case something goes wrong, I'd like your guild's help."

"Okay."

Yeon-Joo nodded without hesitation. Things related to the Demon Cult were her current priority.

"I'm coming too."

"… Is it because of that girl?"

"…"

Yeon-Joo frowned at Hwa-Yeon's question.

"Don't talk about Ha-Eun."

"… My apologies. Understood. It will be very reassuring to have you with us."

Hwa-Yeon softly patted Yeon-Joo's shoulder while smiling bitterly.

"That aside, Hwaseo Station, huh…?"

Yeon-Joo thought of Kang-Woo, who had said he would go hunt in an S-rank Gate.

'I'm sure I won't meet him there, right?'

All they had to do was receive the video file from the agent.

There was no way for him to somehow get involved.