Chapter 08. The Request
A gate—Ghost Town—had appeared in a small park at the center of a commercial district.
Nearby, in a quiet café:
Click.
A woman with long hair and glasses, who wore them well, smiled politely as she handed over a business card.
"I'll introduce myself again. I'm Lee Yowon, team leader of the Gate Management Division, Seoul Team 1, from the Hunter Association."
"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you. I'm Kim Suho. Uh… I don’t have a business card."
"That’s perfectly fine."
"Ah, okay."
Kim Suho placed the card in his worn-out wallet and looked at Team Leader Lee Yowon again.
"So, you mentioned you had something to ask of me…?"
"Yes. Let me get straight to the point. Subspace—open."
With a nod, Lee Yowon whispered a small incantation. A black box appeared beside her.
Awakened.
Ignoring Kim Suho, who stared curiously at the box, she reached into it.
What she pulled out and placed on the table was a large drone.
"After one verification step, I’d like to formally request you to attack the gate."
"...Huh?"
Gate assault.
When a gate appears within a guild's territory, that guild is responsible for handling it—neutralizing and clearing the gate.
The same rule applies if a gate appears outside any territory. In that case, the nearest guild takes over, or if they decline, the Hunter Association steps in.
But does that mean only guilds or the association can attack a gate?
Not necessarily.
"You’re asking me to clear the gate?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because Ghost Town has undergone a third transformation. Its max level limit is 15. However, based on the report, the Dark Specter’s level is already 15. The guardian—the gate boss—is estimated to be over level 20."
And yet, there were no hunters available to take it on. At that, Kim Suho thought of the brute-force strategy—overwhelming numbers—but quickly closed his mouth.
"Ah, it's a spectral-type monster."(monsters made of spiritual energy, often invisible or ghost-like)
"Correct. Ghost Town is a gate where specter-type monsters appear, and they can only be hunted under specific conditions. Not many low-level hunters meet those criteria."
"But it’s not that none do, right?"
A vague answer.
Lee Yowon tilted her head slightly.
When a hunter clears a gate, the Earth System recognizes their contribution and rewards them according to the gate’s difficulty—artifacts, skills, buffs, and more.
"This isn’t a request to purchase assault rights. It’s a formal request to assault the gate."
"I understand. But it’s a life-or-death mission, so I’ll need to think carefully."
"I understand."
Lee Yowon fell silent, waiting for his decision.
"Hmm…"
This wasn’t a case of an unaffiliated hunter buying the right to attack the gate from the association. This was the Hunter Association paying him to clear it. Naturally, any system rewards would also go to him.
No hunter ever turned down a direct request from the association.
If they’re requesting me, that means the association believes I can clear the Ghost Town gate...
Kim Suho looked away from the drone and back at Lee Yowon.
"Team Leader Lee."
"Yes, go ahead."
"You mentioned there’s a verification step?"
"That’s right."
"You showed me the drone and said you needed confirmation, so…"
She nodded.
"Yes. We’d like to verify your capability through footage of your gate activity."
"And if you decide I’m not capable?"
"In that case…"
She pulled two contracts from the black box and laid them on the table.
"We’ll propose a joint operation instead of a solo request."
"Huh? Not cancel it?"
"Right now, you’re the only hunter active in Ghost Town. If we had more time, things might be different—but we only have ten days left."
"Ten days?"
"Yes. Didn’t you scan the gate? After the third transformation, the time until a Break phenomenon dropped to just ten days."
Kim Suho turned to look out the window. But the gate was too far away—he couldn’t use his appraisal skill from this distance.
Lee Yowon pulled up the Hunter Map on her phone and showed him the current state of Ghost Town.
"It’s real."
"Yes. Not that it matters—we weren’t planning to clear it manually anyway, even if there was more time."
"Oh."
The plan had been to wait for a Break to weaken the gate's monsters, then send in a team to clear it.
"So, what do you think?"
"...?"
"Are you considering it?"
All he had to do right now was record his activity inside the gate. If the association approved, he’d go in solo. If not, he’d work with them. Nothing to lose.
No downside.
Kim Suho placed his hand on the drone and asked:
"Should I just record myself moving normally?"
"If possible, please try to reach the interior of the castle where the gate core is. But if it gets dangerous, retreat immediately."
After explaining how to use the drone, Team Leader Lee walked with Kim Suho to the gate entrance.
As they stopped in front of the gate, Kim Suho spoke quietly.
"Sarang."
"Huh?"
Sarang?
Her polite customer-service smile faltered for a moment. Then Kim Suho said, very plainly:
"Summon."
Pahhh.
A magic circle formed in midair, and from it appeared a red-furred Norwegian Forest Cat.
"...!"
The cat landed on Kim Suho’s head and started grooming itself. Lee Yowon’s eyes widened in surprise.
"Demon King. And Sword Demon."
"Demon King? Sword Demon?"
What terrifying names.
Just as she raised a hand to her mouth in surprise, Kim Suho continued.
"Summon."
From the magic circle emerged the Demon King and Sword Demon.
Tap, tap.
—"Maahhh."
—"Ma!"
The Demon King landed on his left shoulder, the Sword Demon on his right.
Now covering her mouth with both hands, Lee Yowon gasped.
"Oh my..."
One adorable cat.
And two ridiculously cute little wooden dolls (?).
Turning around, Kim Suho introduced them.
"This one’s Sarang. This one’s Demon King. And this one’s Sword Demon."
"They’re so cute… despite the scary names."
—"Maah!"
—"Maah..."
The Demon King raised its tiny arms in joy at being called cute. The Sword Demon, less pleased, drooped its shoulders.
"They don’t have real names yet. I just call them that."
"Huh? Then what do those names mean?"
"Race and rank?"
"...?"
Lee Yowon tilted her head, confused. Kim Suho chuckled and added:
"Anyway, I’m heading in."
"Yes. If things get dangerous, escape immediately. Oh, and call the number on the card when you're done."
"Will do."
"Huh?"
Just as he entered the gate, Kim Suho stopped walking.
He had instinctively started following the specter mana—just like yesterday—but then paused.
"Sword Demon."
—"Ma."
"There are more today, aren’t there?"
—"Ma!"
The number of Dark Specters had increased.
Monsters rarely multiply inside a gate. Breaks tend to happen before breeding can increase their numbers.
Some monsters reproduce differently, but specters weren’t one of them.
And this wasn’t a small increase—it was a lot.
Double? No, triple.
He didn’t even need to spread his mana. Just by sight, he could tell there were way more than yesterday.
He glanced at the drone.
Crafted by an artisan with a Production skill, the drone had a built-in stealth spell. Once activated, it was invisible. No one in Ghost Town could spot it except Kim Suho, who infused it with mana.
"Even using the same strategy as before…"
There were too many monsters. Even with fireballs to scatter them, he’d likely face two to five grouped together.
If it were just him and Sarang, he couldn’t do it.
But it’s different now.
The Demon King boosted his mana regeneration and distribution.
The Sword Demon had excellent swordsmanship.
And the specters’ distress call issue? Solved.
Thanks to Team Leader Lee, who had verified he borrowed a Silence-enchanted artifact via the Hunter Association’s equipment rental service.
She even lent him one—for free.
"Sarang, let’s get started."
Fwoosh!
A fireball formed in front of Sarang and shot into the sky.
BOOM!
It exploded.
Sarang, using Suho’s mana, controlled the forced detonation and split it into dozens of smaller fireballs, scattering them across the area.
He immediately sensed Dark Specter mana dispersing everywhere. Drawing his sword, Kim Suho waited. The Sword Demon tapped his shoulder and pointed in a direction.
Suho took off running.
Whoosh!
Three Dark Specters flew toward him.
The man waited calmly. His eyes darted as he studied them, but he didn’t move—until they got closer.
Then he burst forward.
The wooden doll on his shoulder leapt with him, raising its wooden sword.
Suho slashed one specter cleanly.
The Sword Demon followed up, striking the other two with perfect sword energy.
The struck specters turned from black to translucent gray—their cores exposed.
In that moment, Sarang, who had prepared flame arrows behind Suho, controlled them with precision and pierced the exposed cores.
"Whoa."
"That little wood doll is seriously strong."
Suho still lacked polish. But not the doll. Its swordplay was fluid. Its sword energy—perfectly shaped.
"And that cat is no joke either. It fired three arrows at once, all hitting the weak spots."
"Summoned creatures use the summoner’s mana, right? That must drain a lot."
"The one sitting on his other shoulder boosts his mana regen."
"Wow."
"The summoner's still inexperienced, sure. But look at his footwork—no fear in close combat. That’s raw talent. He just needs time to grow."
In other words: a promising hunter.
While the staff watched and shared their thoughts, Team Leader Lee Yowon kept glancing between the big monitor and her phone.
Cute, but powerful.
Her phone displayed the photo from before the gate entry—Sarang, Demon King, and Sword Demon all posing with Suho.
She stared at the footage of the gate activity, then back at the photo with a goofy smile, then back at the footage—repeating.
Eventually, she snapped out of it and said to her team:
"He’s entering the castle now. Focus."
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