Chapter 108: Hero and Saint (2)

The conference room fell silent, a natural reaction to what they had heard. Did Kim Ki-Rok actually intend to make the Gate permanent?

Since the very first appearance of the Gates, the threat of a Gate Break had loomed as a grave danger to humanity.

Whenever a Gate appeared, the Association, the guilds, and the government would prioritize subjugating as many monsters as possible within it. Only after that would they attempt to clear the Gate. All of this was done to minimize potential damage if a Gate did break open.

While the Gates held unique possibilities, for now, they were regarded more as threats than opportunities. Even in cases where a Gate offered considerable benefits and was deliberately maintained rather than cleared, it would still be subject to strict management.

"Did you really say... you want to make the Gate permanent?" President Kim Tae-Hoo asked, staring in disbelief.

"Yes," Kim Ki-Rok replied with a nod.

"That's far too dangerous," he protested immediately.

"I believe it's necessary," Kim Ki-Rok countered. "We cannot be complacent just because we've succeeded in reviving the World Tree. The Black Wizards, monsters, and demons will keep trying to destroy it."

The president shook his head. "It may sound harsh, but we cannot risk Earth for the sake of helping another dimension."

Kim Ki-Rok pressed on. "Most of the Gates appearing on Earth right now are connected to the dimension where we're going to revive the World Tree. If that dimension becomes more unstable, the Gates on Earth will naturally become more dangerous too. Now, let me prove my hypothesis with an example. Please look at the files in front of you."

Everyone slowly lowered their heads to examine the file placed before them. When they opened it, the first thing they saw was a date.

Date: April 14, 2033

Contents: The appearance of the B-Class Gate, Ackrack's Lair

Everyone raised their heads and looked at Kim Ki-Rok once again.

Kim Ki-Rok began his explanation. "This Gate appeared on Earth seven years ago. At that time, Gate difficulty ranged from Levels 1 to 60. In terms of Hunter ranks, that would be from E-Class to C-Class. But on April 14, 2033, a B-Class Gate with a difficulty rating of Level 75, known as Ackrack's Lair, appeared in Canada."

It all began on January 1, 2030, the day the World System was born. As Gates and monsters began appearing across Earth, the System responded by creating the Awakened. Some of them became known as Hunters, stepping into the Gates to face the monsters within.

Then, three years later on April 14, while the strongest Hunters were only around Level 60, a Gate rated Level 75 appeared in Canada. Hunters from around the world were called there to confront it.

Although Hunters these days were above Level 80 are classified as A-Class, no one had even come close back in 2033. The Awakened had only been around for a few years, barely enough time to scratch the surface of their potential.

"In that case, allow me to introduce someone who can help you grasp the true significance of this Gate's appearance," Kim Ki-Rok said, pulling a spirit mana stone from his subspace pocket.

With a sudden gust of wind, the spirit of an old man holding a staff emerged from the stone.

"I see many familiar faces, but there are also quite a few I don't recognize. Let me begin with introductions. I once lived in the Yuashiel Dimension and served as an elder of the Western Continent's foremost institution for magic-users, the Tower of Wizards. Please, call me Kan Cho-Woo," the old man said.

Everyone bowed their heads in greeting.

Kan Cho-Woo turned to Kim Ki-Rok. "So then, Master Kim, how far have you gotten in your explanation?"

"We've just begun," Kim Ki-Rok replied. "Could I ask you to introduce them to Ackrack's Lair?"

"Of course." Kan Cho-Woo nodded, turning to address the room. "There was once a Black Wizard named Ackrack. Along with several other Black Wizards, he took part in a rebellion against the entire continent. Even among Black Wizards, Ackrack was especially infamous. He wasn't known for his combat skills, but rather for his research and creation of chimeras, artificial creatures made by fusing various monsters together." He paused for a second, then recalled an additional tidbit. "Ah, and Ackrack's favorite type of chimera had animal forms. According to rumor, his dream was to artificially recreate a legendary demonic beast from the demon realm, the Hydra."

"The Hydra..." Lee Yeon-Hwa breathed, her eyes snapping to Kan Cho-Woo. As an A-Class Hunter who had Awakened back in 2031, she wasn't one to startle easily.

Across from her, Association President Kang Man-Ki let out a low groan.

Back then, he hadn't been able to participate in the clearing of the Gate, having been told that he lacked the necessary skill. However, President Kang Man-Ki still knew what had transpired afterward. He had flown to Canada as part of the team assigned to monitor the Gate from the outside in case of an emergency.

That was why he knew one of the conditions for clearing Ackrack's Lair had been to eliminate the six-headed rotten Hydra.

"Well, I'm afraid I can't tell you what happened to Ackrack in the end," Kan Cho-Woo confessed.

As everyone raised their heads inquisitively at the spirit, Kan Cho-Woo smiled and explained, "Because I was already dead before the news of Ackrack's fate could reach me.

Hohohoho.

"

Laughter rippled through the room, the attendees amused by Kan Cho-Woo's lighthearted take on his own death. Meanwhile, Kim Ki-Rok was already channeling mana into the spirit mana stone once more.

This time, the spirit that emerged was that of a beautiful woman.

As everyone's eyes turned to her, the woman gave a graceful bow. "Hello everyone."

Kim Ki-Rok stepped forward. "Allow me to introduce her. This is a spirit Ji-Hee encountered last December, shortly before forming a spirit contract with her. Her death is fairly recent."

"Ah yes, I did pass away not too long ago," the spirit confirmed.

"Her name is Raident von Schutzendier Huntvar Agnilli Arghan Kashmaria. But you can call her Miss Maria for short."

She nodded with a gentle smile. "Indeed, that is my full name. But please, just call me Maria. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"She's a member of an otherworldly race, the vampires," Kim Ki-Rok explained simply. "And her age is probably aroun—"

Before he could finish, Maria interrupted with a sharp smile, "Master Kim?"

Under her piercing gaze, Kim Ki-Rok quickly amended his statement. "Well... she's younger than Miss Ayl."

Maria let out a sigh, then turned to the other spirit. "Sir Kan Cho-Woo, how far along are you in the explanation?"

"There was once a Black Wizard named Ackrack. He was notorious for creating chimeras, and his dream was to create an artificial Hydra," Kan Cho-Woo recapped briefly.

"Ah, I see," Maria said with a nod, picking up where he left off. "Ackrack, the Black Wizard and chimera maker, is already dead. He was killed during an unexpected power struggle among the Black Wizards. The real problem is what happened next. After Ackrack died, the chimeras he created went on a rampage."

After destroying a country, the Black Wizards who had settled in its ruins soon turned on each other, initiating a fierce internal conflict. Ackrack was killed during that struggle, and with his death, the chimeras he had created ran wild. The area around his workshop was then declared a forbidden zone.

Maria continued with her explanation. "The internal power struggle was already chaotic, but when the Continental Alliance launched a counterattack shortly afterward, the Black Wizards had no choice but to put off dealing with the chimeras. Fortunately for them, the chimeras never left the forest that had once been Ackrack's territory, so managing them wasn't too difficult at first. But three years after Ackrack's death, all the chimeras suddenly vanished without a trace."

A source of potential trouble located in the very center of their country had suddenly vanished. Shouldn't that have been good news? For the Black Wizards, this unfortunately meant that someone had infiltrated the forest without their knowledge and wiped out all the chimeras.

"The Black Wizards had kept the forest under surveillance after declaring it forbidden. But as time passed without incident, they eventually lifted their watch. So when they discovered the chimeras were gone, panic set in. Ackrack's forest was close to the royal capital of the newly founded country of the Black Wizards, the Black Kingdom."

The Black Kingdom had quickly dispatched someone to investigate.

"Their investigation revealed that tens, maybe even hundreds of people, had somehow entered the forest to hunt the chimeras. But since they couldn't identify who had done it, the Black Kingdom had no choice but to tighten their defenses even more," Maria reported.

"Um..." Lee Yeon-Hwa cautiously raised her hand. "Miss Maria?"

"Yes, Lady Yeon-Hwa?" Maria responded politely.

"Well, it seems like you're very familiar with the circumstances of the Black Wizards..." Lee Yeon-Hwa observed, a hint of suspicion in her voice.

"The heir of the Raident clan, my eldest brother, has been working as a spy, infiltrating the Black Kingdom and gathering intelligence on the Black Wizards."

"Ah!"

"Please rest assured. The vampire race is not among those cooperating with the Black Kingdom."

"My apologies... ah?" Lee Yeon-Hwa looked puzzled.

Maria blinked, mirroring her expression. "Ah?"

"Did you say the vampires

aren't

cooperating with the Black Wizards? So... there are races that are?" Lee Yeon-Hwa asked.

"Several races have indeed chosen to betray the continent and are actively supporting the Black Wizards," Maria explained with a wry smile. "Though I can't entirely blame them. Most of these races were foreign to the continent and had been rejected by the established races long before the Black Wizards led their uprising."

She turned to Kim Ki-Rok, awaiting his direction. For a moment, everyone in the conference room sat silently, absorbing all the revelations Maria had shared about the Yuashiel Dimension. When they realized she had finished, all eyes shifted to Kim Ki-Rok.

Kim Ki-Rok clapped his hands. "Well then, I trust everyone now understands the importance of what we're doing?"

He was met with silence.

The nation founded by the Black Wizards, the Black Kingdom.

The chimera creator, Ackrack.

The betrayal of the continent by the foreign races.

So much information had just been thrown at them that they momentarily forgot why any of it mattered.

"Uh... what were we even talking about again?" Jang Baek-San voiced the thought on everyone's mind.

Kim Ki-Rok smiled, then played a video from a camera mounted on the conference table.

"Most of the Gates appearing on Earth right now are connected to the dimension where we're going to revive the World Tree. If that dimension becomes more unstable, the Gates on Earth will naturally become more dangerous too. Now, let me prove my hypothesis with an example..."

As Kim Ki-Rok's recorded voice filled the room, Jang Baek-San nodded. "Ah."

Everyone now remembered that they had reviewed the documents at the start, then listened to Kan Cho-Woo and Maria's testimony, just as Kim Ki-Rok had asked.

To clear up any lingering confusion, Kim Ki-Rok repeated the core of his argument. "We need to create a permanent Gate to establish communication with the elves. Only through cooperation with them can we stop the Black Wizards and monsters from making their repeated attempts to burn down the World Tree."

Why was this necessary? Just as Kim Ki-Rok was about to explain, President Kim Tae-Hoo spoke up first, "The Gates appearing on Earth mostly lead to the Yuashiel Dimension. So, the safety of the Yuashiel Dimension must be ensured. If we can stabilize that dimension, the difficulty of the Gates appearing here will decrease."

Kim Ki-Rok nodded in agreement. "That is correct. Though this decrease applies only to the Gates connected to the Yuashiel Dimension."

***

The group had been given a short break to process everything they'd just heard.

President Kim Tae-Hoo, wasting no time, had already canceled the rest of his appointments for the day. He leaned back in his chair and sighed, eyes fixed on the screen, which had returned to the start of Kim Ki-Rok's presentation. The project's title stood out clearly:

Hero and Saint

.

Unlike their previous efforts, which had helped the Yuashiel Dimension indirectly by clearing monsters inside the Gates, they would now be offering direct support. By doing so, they would also reduce the danger posed by Gates appearing on Earth.

Even with all of this, the risks couldn't be eliminated completely. But if they created the permanent Gate, as Kim Ki-Rok had suggested, and successfully protected the World Tree in cooperation with the elves, the difficulty of future Gates linked to the Yuashiel Dimension would indeed be reduced.

This was because one of the many blessings bestowed by the World Tree weakened the power of both Black Wizards and monsters.

"So, what do you think?" President Kim Tae-Hoo asked one of his aides.

"It doesn't seem like a bad idea," the aide replied.

"You really think so?"

"Yes, the Hero and Saint Project... it really does seem like it could work."

President Kim Tae-Hoo fell silent, about to say something, but instead muttered to himself, "Ah, that's right."

Amid the flood of information and the tempting prospects of establishing a permanent Gate, he had nearly lost sight of why they were here in the first place: to decide whether to approve the Hero and Saint Project.

"Hm? But do you really think it's a good idea?" he asked his aide again, still frowning.

The aide nodded. "Yes. I don't see any problems with it. If Heroes and Saints truly are respected figures in the Yuashiel Dimension, as we've predicted, then the elves shouldn't be overly hostile to us just because we're human. Also, if the Gate can be made permanent, we'll be able to gather regular information about the Yuashiel Dimension, and we could even purchase enchanted weapons and artifacts crafted by the elves."

"So, because the elves are hostile to humans, we should pose as Heroes and Saints to reduce their hostility?" President Kim Tae-Hoo mused aloud.

"That's right," the aide confirmed.

"Hmmm..." President Kim Tae-Hoo let out a thoughtful sound, his gaze drifting back to the screen.

Others in the conference room, including guild representatives who had been resting, were listening closely to the exchange. The same thoughts were beginning to stir in their minds.

At first, the project had seemed like a joke. Many of them had arrived annoyed, thinking this was just another distraction. They were already exhausted, preparing for an extremely difficult campaign, only to be called into a meeting about something that sounded absurd.

However, as strange and ridiculous as the proposal seemed, it was far from a joke. This was a practical solution to the delicate situation they faced: the elves might be open to cooperation with humans, but they didn't trust them.

"Do we have any alternative solutions?" President Kim Tae-Hoo asked his aide again.

"Even though they've united under the name of the Continental Alliance, they don't truly trust each other," the aide replied. "They've even divided the battlefronts where they're fighting the Black Wizards and monsters. The discord between races is much deeper than we expected, and we've concluded that a better solution isn't possible."

President Kim Tae-Hoo raised an eyebrow. "Even if we're from another dimension?"

"Yes. According to Miss Maria's explanation, the elves don't trust the human race at all. Even if we're from another dimension, as long as we appear human, they won't be able to fully trust us. They might work with us because of the oracle, but after the World Tree is revived, they could reject any further cooperation."

President Kim Tae-Hoo grunted. "In that case, it seems we really do have to proceed with this

Hero and Saint

project."