Chapter 160: 2045 (2)

"If I remember correctly, it was called the Patera Dimension," Kim Ki-Rok mumbled to himself.

At this point, the name of the dimension conquered by the Mechanical Monsters remained unknown to the world. No one had yet encountered any humans inside the Gate who could share this information. It was only in 2045 that Earth's Hunters would learn the name of the dimension conquered by the Mechanical Monsters, after meeting humans in an S-Class Gate that appeared in Japan.

"Hmm. For now... they're just pure physical monsters with high mana resistance, after all."

Kim Ki-Rok tapped at his keyboard and scratched his neck. After a few seconds lost in thought, he stood up from his seat, left the Guildmaster's office, and got on the elevator. The elevator slowly descended and stopped on the third floor, the doors opening with a resounding ding.

"Oh, Miss Ji-Yeon."

The red-haired beauty Lee Ji-Yeon looked up from what seemed like a report and smiled when she saw Kim Ki-Rok. "Guildmaster. Are you headed somewhere?"

Kim Ki-Rok nodded. "I'm going to pick up Ji-Hee. Would you like to join me?"

"Ah, great. I was disappointed I couldn't attend the entrance ceremony."

Despite being tired from clearing the Gate around 10 a.m. and returning to the guild, Lee Ji-Yeon didn't hesitate to agree. She and Kim Ki-Rok left the building together. As one of Korea's top five most beautiful S-Class Hunters, Lee Ji-Yeon turned more than a few heads as they departed. The reporters stationed around the DG Guild excitedly pressed their camera shutters. After Kim Ki-Rok enthusiastically posed for the cameras, the two headed straight to the parking lot.

"But isn't it strange?" Kim Ki-Rok said suddenly.

"What is?"

"It's been five years—five whole years—and yet no one has ever wondered?"

"A doubt about what?"

"I know many beautiful female Hunters. You, Ms. Lee Mi-So from Baekdusan Guild, and even our Miss Cha Min-Ji, who's gone from DG Guild's representative high school student to a representative university student."

"I've had quite a few occasions where I was alone with these women who, while not stunningly beautiful, are certainly pretty enough to have their own fanbases."

What on earth was he getting at?

Lee Ji-Yeon looked at him, baffled, as Kim Ki-Rok opened the passenger door for her.

"Why aren't there any scandals about me?" he asked.

Not once had there been any dating rumors about him, even when he was alone with all these women. Not even a hint of a scandal.

"Uh... are you serious?"

"Yes. Why haven't I seen a single dating rumor about me in these five years?" Kim Ki-Rok closed the passenger door, tilted his head, and moved to the driver's seat.

It was only then that Lee Ji-Yeon spoke up. "Maybe it's because you're the Guildmaster."

"You think so?"

"Yes."

She was lying. Fans of the female Hunters always brushed off rumors whenever their admired Hunter was seen alone with Kim Ki-Rok. Everyone knew exactly what kind of nutcase he was.

After driving out of the DG Guild, Kim Ki-Rok spoke again. "Miss Ji-Yeon, did you know?"

"Know what?"

"An actress who admired Hunters once visited after finishing a drama shoot nearby. I shook hands, exchanged autographs, and took a picture with her. And this wasn't in the Guildmaster's office, but in the lobby, visible from the main entrance."

"Okay?"

"Then why weren't there any dating rumors then?"

"Uh... Um..." Lee Ji-Yeon had nothing to say when he brought up the incident with the actress.

A moment of awkward silence passed. When Kim Ki-Rok stopped the car at a red traffic light and turned to look at her, she finally responded. "Maybe... it's because the person in question was you, Guildmaster?"

***

Kim Ki-Rok stopped the car and got out with Lee Ji-Yeon upon arriving at the gates of the school for underage Awakened aspiring to become Hunters, located in Seongdong District, Seoul.

"Wow! It's the crazy guy!"

"That's Crazy

Bastard

to you!" Kim Ki-Rok corrected the shouting reporter with a bright smile.

The reporters laughed at Kim Ki-Rok's behavior and hurried over. Before they could barrage him with questions, however, he clapped his hands to silence them with a broad smile.

"Well, hello there, ever-curious reporters. I'm sure your questions will be similar, so to prevent any chaos, I'll neatly summarize everything for you."

Preemptively blocking the flood of questions, Kim Ki-Rok pulled out a magic mic-stick from his subspace pocket and spoke into it, "First question. I heard that Ji-Hee enrolled in Hunter School today. How do you feel about it?"

He proceeded to answer his own question. "Well, it's quite a peculiar feeling! Our Ji-Hee has already graduated from elementary school. She's so smart that she graduated early, and now she's enrolled in Hunter School, not to mention as a representative of the new students. It's strange to see. I'm both happy and sad. I guess this is what it feels like to be a parent."

He paused to stare blankly at the reporters, then picked up the microphone again. "Here's the second question. According to the latest news, an S-Class Gate has appeared near Osaka, Japan. Do you have any information to share with the Hunters and the public?"

"Huh? An S-Class Gate?" one of the reporters blurted out.

"Hm? You weren't aware?"

The reporters stared back at him in silence, their heads tilted in confusion. "Huh?"

"Hmm? Well, this will be old news in an hour, so consider this early access," Kim Ki-Rok generously offered. "This new S-Class Gate does not lead to the Yuashiel Dimension inhabited by Black Wizards, Undead, and other monsters, but to a dimension dominated by Mechanical Monsters. I suspect clearing the Gate will take a long time because these machines are highly resistant to mana."

The reporters slumped to the ground, immediately pulling out their laptops from their bags to transcribe Kim Ki-Rok's answer. Some pulled out their smartphones to send his explanation to their companies.

"Here's the third question. Ms. Lee Ji-Yeon!" Kim Ki-Rok suddenly shouted, pushing the magic mic-stick toward her.

"Huh?"

"I have a question for you, S-Class Hunter of DG Guild. How do you feel about being selected as one of the top five beautiful Hunters representing South Korea?" Kim Ki-Rok asked.

"W-What?" Lee Ji-Yeon stammered.

"Miss Lee Ji-Yeon! Gang Geon, one of the most handsome actors in South Korea, has said you are his ideal type! May I ask for your thoughts on this?" Kim Ki-Rok pressed.

"W-What?"

Lee Ji-Yeon, as well as the reporters, looked at Kim Ki-Rok in bewilderment.

"Miss Lee Ji-Yeon! I know a lot of time has passed since you became an S-Class Hunter, but may we get your thoughts on how you feel about it?"

"Guildmaster?" Lee Ji-Yeon asked, perplexed.

"Miss Lee Ji-Yeon!" Kim Ki-Rok peppered her with question after question, as if suddenly possessed by the spirit of a journalist.

After staring at him with barely concealed annoyance, Lee Ji-Yeon sighed and finally answered the questions. Spurred on by Kim Ki-Rok's antics, the reporters eagerly raised their smartphones and poised their fingers over laptop keyboards, ready to capture every word.

"Ah, look! The current mascot of DG Guild! The angel of DG Guild! DG Guild's angel Kim Ji-Hee is coming out of school!" Kim Ki-Rok interrupted the ad hoc interview, running over to her with the reporters trailing behind.

From afar, Kim Ji-Hee could be seen walking toward them, holding hands with two girls. She seemed to have made friends on her first day of school. Kim Ji-Hee stopped at the school gate, blinking as she stared at Kim Ki-Rok.

He approached her with a bright smile, launching into his questions without missing a beat. "Miss Ji-Hee! Nice to meet you! Congratulations on your admission to the Hunter School! We'd like to hear your thoughts on you graduating from elementary school and entering middle school."

Because Kim Ki-Rok was famous, the girls walking home with Kim Ji-Hee didn't get flustered. Instead, they burst into laughter and turned to their classmate and adorable younger friend.

How should I react?

Kim Ji-Hee had been nervous all day because of the entrance ceremony, but now the tension had melted away. She chuckled, leaned closer to the magic mic-stick in Kim Ki-Rok's hand, and declared, "I'm happy!"

"That's great! You're happy! Next question, Miss Ji-Hee!" Kim Ki-Rok said enthusiastically.

"Yes?"

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"An S-Class Gate has appeared in Japan!"

The reporters turned their heads, and the girls who had been watching the interaction between Kim Ki-Rok and Kim Ji-Hee with smiles now wore puzzled expressions.

"It's a Gate where very tricky, purely physical Mechanical Monsters with extremely high mana resistance are expected to appear. The Guildmaster of DG Guild is considering proposing Ji-Hee join the Gate clear team," Kim Ki-Rok continued.

"Hmm... Mister."

"Yes?"

"Then who are you right now?" she asked.

"Me? I'm Kim Ki-Rok, a reporter for DG News."

"

Kyahaha!

"

Kim Ki-Rok squatted down and extended his magic mic-stick toward her. "Mechanical Monsters can't see spirits. They can't attack or block the attacks of spirits. Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok of DG Guild said that you might be the most needed Hunter for the S-Class Gate clear that appeared in Japan."

"Hmm. Mister. Mister."

Switching from reporter Kim Ki-Rok back to Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok, he responded to Kim Ji-Hee's call. "Yes?"

***

It wasn't only newspaper reporters waiting at the entrance of the Hunter School. Broadcast stations had also come to cover the school, or more precisely, to cover Kim Ji-Hee.

—Mechanical Monsters can't see spirits. They can't attack or block the attacks of spirits. Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok of DG Guild said that you might be the most needed Hunter for the S-Class Gate clear that appeared in Japan.

Kim Ki-Rok's voice echoed from the TV, drawing every viewer's attention to his every word.

"Ah... I see," Association President Kang Man-Ki said to himself.

The Mechanical Monsters were pure physical-type monsters that fought only with their own bodies. Therefore, the Hunter who could shine the most in the S-Class Gate, as Kim Ki-Rok said, was the Spiritualist Kim Ji-Hee, who could borrow the power of spirits.

Kang Man-Ki watched the chaotic news surrounding Kim Ki-Rok's sudden appearance on broadcast and the fact that Kim Ki-Rok had informed the reporters about the S-Class Gate in Japan before the Association and the government. Hearing his phone vibrate on the table, he looked over to see the caller ID displayed on his screen.

"Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok never ceases to amaze me."

It was clear that the Japan Hunters Association had also been watching the broadcast. The president of Japan's Hunters Association reached out to him just as Kim Ki-Rok began explaining the weaknesses of the Mechanical Monsters to Kim Ji-Hee.

—Mister, Mister.

As Kang Man-Ki reached for the call button, his hand hovered in the air as Kim Ji-Hee's voice rang out from the news broadcast, pulling his gaze toward the screen.

—Yes?

—Are you going too, Mister?

Kim Ji-Hee asked Kim Ki-Rok.

—I have to. It might take a little longer than before, but I think I can figure out a way to deal with the monsters.

The president's eyes widened.

—Deal with the monsters?

Kim Ji-Hee immediately asked the same question on the president's mind, as if she were on the same wavelength as him.

—Do you remember Mr. Travis?

—Yeah!

—Mr. Travis told me that if we could inspect what we call A-Class Mechanical Monsters, we'd be able to figure it out.

Many tilted their heads at the mention of Travis. But among the Hunters who had cleared the S-Class Gate, Dwarven Mine, there was a sharp intake of breath. Travis wasn't just any dwarf; he was a master craftsman and the official representative of his kind. With no way to confirm the monster data from the dimension overtaken by Mechanical Monsters, Kim Ki-Rok had decided to seek help from the Yuashiel Dimension.