Chapter 243: The Second and Third (1)

Right after the appearance of the Hell Gate, elite Hunters including Kim Ki-Rok entered to gather intelligence, fighting off Hell monsters and collecting crucial data. Everyone who watched the video footage from these initial missions was stunned by how drastically different this Gate was from any that had come before.

The Hunters had been caught off guard, blocked by powerful monsters almost immediately upon entry. Thanks to Kim Ki-Rok's quick thinking and support, no one was killed or suffered life-threatening injuries, but their brief expedition was enough to confirm just how perilous Hell truly was.

The sight of high-level Hunters barely eking out a hard-won victory at the entrance convinced both the Hunters Association and the government to classify the Gate as extremely dangerous.

In response, the government and Association launched into high alert. Despite having a year before the Gate's Break phenomenon was predicted, they declared a national emergency and began recruiting Hunters.

The Intelligence Department pored over battle footage day and night, analyzing every monster and detail of the Gate. They even interviewed incarcerated Hunters nearing release, then conscripted them for the Gate clear. Around the world, Hunters Associations and governments scrambled to assemble a clearing team and initiate the operation.

Ordinary people and lower-ranked Hunters, unable to join the clear team, spent their days anxiously awaiting news. But when new videos appeared online and on television, broadcast simultaneously across the country, the public's attitude changed almost overnight.

The program was called "Clearing the Hell Gate." Those who watched out of idle curiosity or with the usual detached optimism—believing it would pass like every other crisis—soon realized how wrong they were.

Initially, despite the national emergency, people had not truly been worried. The government had used the same term when dozens of S-Class Gates appeared, or even during the emergence of an SS-Class one. Nevertheless, those Gates had been cleared, and peace prevailed.

If there had been massive casualties in the past, public sentiment might have been different. But the Hunters had dealt with previous threats quickly and safely, so the population felt little sense of crisis, even when the emergency was declared. Many tuned in to the broadcast in high spirits.

At first, viewers smiled as they watched Hunters racing about, building walls, and strategists gathering under big tents. However, they soon noticed something odd.

The videos showed strategists from around the world gathered, devising tactics with subtitles provided. If it had only shown units being organized and search directions assigned for the Hell Gate, this detail might have gone unnoticed.

The footage showed strategists displaying monsters on massive screens, discussing the abilities and combat styles of renowned Hunters with their peers from other countries as they built specialized units. Attentive viewers felt a chill of unease.

As construction progressed and the walls rose, people's hearts pounded with anticipation, though they still smiled. That lasted until the moment monsters, grotesque and terrifying, charged from beyond the unfinished defenses.

People who had expected to see dazzling displays of Hunter prowess watched their expressions freeze. The sight of hard-pressed Hunters standing stiffly before the oncoming monsters wiped the smiles from their faces.

The video showed a Hell monster relentlessly attacking, despite grievous wounds. In another scene, a Hunter unfamiliar with these foes retreated to receive treatment for serious injuries. The once-cheerful audience watched in silence. When the battle ended and commercials aired, their faces remained grave. Only then did the true sense of crisis sink in.

People did not see the world as it was, but as they were. At the government's request, civilians took part in evacuation drills. Retired Hunters who had seen the footage returned to the field, working with the government to clear Gates that had appeared on Earth beyond the Hell Gate.

Even Awakened criminals who had previously ignored government requests ceased their illicit activities. They donned masks to hide their identities and, like the retired Hunters, started clearing Gates elsewhere on Earth.

Though upload and broadcast times varied by country, new Gate clear videos appeared daily, showing Hunters locked in grueling battles against Hell monsters.

Some anxious civic groups and politicians demanded the broadcasts be halted and the videos removed, but the government and Association refused. If the Gate clear failed, Earth would fall. They needed everyone to grasp the severity of the crisis and prepare for the worst. Even if they did not say so outright, their intentions were clear. They kept releasing the videos without pause.

If the footage had only shown Hunters being decimated, panic would have erupted. Despair would have overtaken hope, and each day would have felt like Hell.

But the Hunters, though struggling, managed to defeat the monsters. They pressed on, building walls and expanding their territory, little by little. People found hope in these efforts, at times feeling joy, at others, despair.

Then came the footage of the first successful subjugation in which Poison Duke Aspera was defeated. The world erupted in cheers. When Kim Ki-Rok, splattered with monster blood, brought the camera close to his face, viewers leaned in to listen.

—This is a message to all companies, nations, and associations worldwide. By now, you've seen the Gate clear videos and learned about the Hell monsters' weakness.

That weakness was Hunter mana.

—When you infuse an S-Class or SS-Class synthetic mana stone with a Hunter's mana, you create an S-Class or SS-Class Mana Bomb capable of weakening Hell monsters.

Kim Ki-Rok's arm slipped out of frame, and the scene shifted. It showed a Hunter reattaching a severed arm using holy edicts, skills, and potions. Viewers winced at the gruesome sight but didn't look away.

—This monster that injured an SS-Class Hunter isn't even the Gate boss. It's just one of several monsters ruling the Hell territory, which is divided into north, south, east, and west.

The camera returned to Kim Ki-Rok.

—Clearing the Gate, however, will be much more difficult. The strategy team estimates the Hell King to be at least ten times stronger than this monster.

He was warning them that many sacrifices would be needed, and even then, the Gate clear might fail. Just before despair could set in, Kim Ki-Rok made his request.

—Therefore, we ask companies, associations, and nations to donate mana stones. S-Class, SS-Class, and SS-Class synthetic mana stones.

***

"We have skills, right?" a man asked, standing in the smoking area near the Gate.

"Yeah, we do."

"And stats. Even if we can't pick which ones to increase," the man continued.

"That's right. Stats and levels," the other replied.

"The Gate is a portal to another world, but if you look at it like a game, you could call it a hunting ground."

"Exactly. We've got skills, levels, stats, and monsters to fight."

"Right. Sometimes, I wish..."

The man exhaled smoke, raising his eyes to the unnatural sky of Hell. Thanks to regular patrols by those with flying skills, no monsters had invaded their territory recently.

"If this whole system is based on a game, it would've been nice if they'd included a restart button," he said with a rueful smile.

"You only say that because here, our lives are really on the line," the other observed.

"Yeah. If we misjudge the monsters' abilities, or underestimate them, unlike in a game, Hunters die for good."

A week had passed since the successful subjugation of Poison Duke Aspera in the north. The strategy team barely slept more than three hours a day. One mistake, whether it was poor judgment or misinformed advice, could cost a Hunter's life.

Kim Tae-Won, head of the Korea Hunters Association's strategy team, tapped ash into the communal tray and turned. The man beside him wasn't a smoker, but had accompanied him outside at Kim Tae-Won's request after leaving the meeting tent.

"Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok," he began.

"Yes, Team Leader Kim Tae-Won?"

"Do you think it's possible?"

"It has to be."

Kim Tae-Won fell silent for a moment. "Right. It has to be."

If they failed, it wouldn't stop at losing a Hunter. If the Gate clear failed, the world would be finished.

Guns? Missiles? They'd tried them all. Test runs proved modern weapons couldn't hurt the monsters.

Of course, there were weapons that dealt significant damage: nuclear arms. But nukes only worked on ordinary monsters. Unlike regular foes who vanished without a trace upon death, the Hell King and the Four Dukes merely sustained injuries. And those wounds healed with time.

"Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok," Kim Tae-Won called once more.

"Yes?"

Kim Tae-Won stubbed out his cigarette, hesitated, then said, "Wouldn't it be better to increase our numbers?"

"It would help. But if we bring in more people, we'd have to shrink our territory."

"Then we shrink it. We already know where the Four Dukes and the Hell King are."

"Increasing numbers by reducing territory..." Kim Ki-Rok trailed off, considering.

Kim Tae-Won had suggested reducing the area to protect, thereby freeing up more personnel for monster subjugation. It wasn't a bad idea.

"But if we do that, we'll rely more on teleporters, and teleportation scrolls will be used up quickly," Kim Ki-Rok pointed out. "Plus, headquarters won't be able to lure monsters away. The Four Dukes' subjugation team will have to deal with more regular monsters as a result."

"Right..."

If headquarters hadn't drawn off and eliminated the regular monsters, the Aspera team would've faced not just "Poison Duke Aspera and hundreds of swamp monsters," but "Poison Duke Aspera and thousands of Hell monsters' all at once.

"Headquarters acts as bait to cluster the regular monsters, then the subjugation team takes down the Four Dukes," Kim Tae-Won said. "But if we shrink our territory, would the subjugation team grow from three hundred to four... maybe five hundred people?"

"I'm thinking a thousand," Kim Ki-Rok replied.

"

A thousand?

"

"We'll have to fight a thousand monsters at once."

Hunters who weren't top-ranked still formed teams of three or five to bring down a single Hell monster. Though overall Hunter levels had risen, the monsters the Gate clear team now faced were far stronger than those at the entrance. Even SS-Class Hunters had to go all out.

"

Ugh...

Then we're stuck clearing the Four Dukes with the current team of three hundred. What about the Archduke?" Kim Tae-Won asked.

"Six hundred," Kim Ki-Rok said.

"Even with no regular monsters nearby?"

"It has twelve heads and three attributes. Honestly, I think even six hundred isn't enough."

"This is insane."

The Archduke guarding the south was a twelve-headed monster named Hydra.

Kim Ki-Rok watched as Kim Tae-Won let out a heavy sigh, then added, "Still, if we get enough mana stones, things might change."

At that moment, people began disembarking from a large bus that hissed to a stop nearby. The craftsmen, looking lost, followed the Hunters' guidance. Then a truck pulled in, and workers rushed to unload metal chests packed with mana stones.

"Mana Stone Bombs," Kim Tae-Won said, realization dawning.

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Right. Thanks to the mana stone bombs, which weaken the monsters, the tide has shifted ever so slightly."