The next day…
KangWoo put the equipment he had received from the Red Rose Guild on and went to Uijeongbu.
Clunk Clunk-
'This is too uncomfortable. I should get a car.'
KangWoo frowned while taking the train to Uijeongbu.
He didn't need a million-dollar car like Chae YeonJoo's, but he definitely needed one.
'Once I finish this work, I'll ask them to get me one.'
While thinking that, since it was free, he should ask for an expensive one, he exited the train.
"Let's see…"
KangWoo looked up the the monster that’d appeared in Uijeongbu's B-rank gate.
'A wide variety of monsters appear here, huh?'
A wide variety of elite monsters with ranks ranging from D-rank to B-rank appeared in Uijeongbu's Gate.
'The representative B-rank monster is a Minotaur, huh?'
It wasn't as strong as an Ogre, but it didn't fall behind in terms of pure strength.
Each of the monsters that appeared there was comparable to boss monsters that appeared in C-rank gates, so it wasn't a gate where people went without a party.
'Well, it's not like I'm targeting that guy.'
KangWoo wasn't after the minotaur but a demonic monster that gave more rewards than it.
Mumble-
"Huh?"
KangWoo frowned after hearing a noise comparable to a market.
"We're a party of five. Why aren't you letting us in?"
"Do you know how long it took us to get here?"
The players gathered in front of the gate were complaining to the soldiers.
'What?'
It wasn't just the players.
There were people who looked like reporters in front of the gate as well.
KangWoo walked toward where the noise was.
"A variant monster has appeared, so we're restricting access to the gate. I hope you cooperate with us."
"What's a variant monster?"
"We don't know the exact identity of the monster, so we cannot give you information on it. But more than 10 players have lost their lives to this variant monster. We're restricting access to the gate for the safety of players, the restriction will remain in place until we have more information."
The players shrugged after hearing the soldier's words.
'A variant monster, huh.'
A short exclamation came out of KangWoo's mouth.
It wasn't hard to imagine what the monster they called a variant monster was.
'It seems like the demonic monster has already been running around inside the gate.'
If that wasn't the case, there was no reason for them to restrict the access of players.
'I wonder what it is.'
From the 1st to the 9th Hell, there were more demonic monsters than demons.
And among them, some were almost as strong as the archdukes.
But he hadn't fought against many demonic monsters since they didn't attack you unless you entered their territory.
"T-ten…"
"S-so many people died?"
"Isn't it a really dangerous monster?"
There was a stir among the players after they heard that 10 players had already died.
It wasn't uncommon for players to die inside the gates, but players that entered a B-rank gate were above average.
It wasn't normal for 10 players of that level to die because of a monster.
"Give us a bit more information about the variant monster!"
"The people are starting to get worried."
As the players shrugged, the reporters approached the soldiers.
"We haven't received details about its identity. We just heard that it had an outer appearance similar to that of a lion, and it has five legs… It's a monster that hasn't been seen before."
The soldier seemed troubled by the sheer amount of reporters coming at him.
'An appearance similar to a lion and with five legs…'
KangWoo's eyes shone.
He only knew one monster that matched that description…
'Buer.'
It was one of the strongest predators of the 2nd Hell.
'As expected, monsters from the 2nd Hell have started to appear.'
With that, it was more or less confirmed that, in higher ranking gates, stronger demonic monsters appeared.
'A buer, huh…?'
KangWoo thought about the number of people killed while thinking about that demonic monster.
'The buer probably appeared two days ago if 10 people have been killed.'
The buer had a unique characteristic that made it different from other demonic monsters…
That rule was that it never hunted more than five prey per day.
It didn't matter whether the prey was big or small because, after hunting five, it didn't attack unless you did first.
The fact that 10 people had died meant that it had appeared in the gate two days prior.
'If it's the buer, it's easy.'
KangWoo was sure he could win against it in a fight, but it was a demonic monster that could be hunted more easily.
He just had to hunt five monsters and throw them to the buer—then he could hunt it comfortably.
"Should I get going?"
* * *
KangWoo walked toward the soldier.
He wasn't planning to use the Authority of Blind like before.
'I don't need to do that anymore.'
With a smile on his face, KangWoo took out the phone.
He pressed a name that appeared in his contact list.
[What happened?]
He heard Chae YeonJoo's voice in his ear.
"There's a favor I wanted to ask."
[Something you wanted to ask?]
"I want to enter a B-rank gate, but the government is blocking the entrance."
[You… Don't tell me you're in Uijeongbu.]
"Yes."
[And you want to make you be able to enter the gate?]
"You can do it, right? After all, you have a good relationship with important people in the government."
[Oof.]
He could hear Chae YeonJoo sigh.
[Do you have to go there no matter what?]
"It's important."
[…]
There was a short silence.
Chae YeonJoo clicked her tongue.
[This is going to cost you a lot.]
"Don't worry. I'll definitely pay you back."
[Yes, yes. Of course, you will. You aren't going to die at the hands of that monster, right?]
"If I were someone who would die so easily, you wouldn't have given me your support."
[…]
He thought he could hear her cursing, even if she hadn't said anything.
[Wait a bit. There's a soldier at the entrance, right? Get him on the phone.]
"Okay."
KangWoo approached the soldier and showed him his phone.
"Once again, we aren't letting anyone enter…"
"It's a call from Chae YeonJoo of the Red Rose Guild."
"Yes…?"
The soldier blocking the entrance received the call with an anxious expression.
The reporters looked at KangWoo with dumbfounded expressions on their faces.
"Chae YeonJoo…? Is he talking about that Chae YeonJoo?"
"Who is he? Was there someone like him in the Red Rose Guild?"
Amid the noisy atmosphere, the call between the soldier and Chae YeonJoo continued.
The soldier protecting the entrance started making calls and finally sighed.
"Mr. Oh KangWoo has been authorized to enter the Gate. In the case you manage to kill the monster, you must give the government details about the variant monster. Do you agree?"
After seeing that he was authorized after just a few minutes, KangWoo smiled, satisfied.
"Of course, I'll investigate the variant monster so people can stop worrying about it."
KangWoo spoke words he didn't mean.
"Oh!"
"Hey! Q-quickly. Take a picture!"
The reporters who smelled breaking news began pressing the shutters toward KangWoo.
It was at that moment…
"Since the Red Rose Guild received an authorization, I guess we'll also be able to enter. Right?"
A group of six people appeared.
A party of five men and one woman walked toward the gate while glaring at KangWoo.
"It's Mir Guild's Kang SeongSoo!"
"That rookie that's being supported by the Mir Guild?"
"I've heard that it's only been three months since he became a player. He's already hunting in a B-rank Gate?"
Kang SeongSoo, a young man with a ponytail, approached KangWoo.
"You're the guy who recently started to receive the support of the Red Rose Guild?"
He looked KangWoo up and down.
His arrogant attitude made KangWoo frown a little bit.
"I guess it's true, judging by how you're wearing unique equipment."
Kang SeongSoo smirked while looking around.
"What? Did you come here alone? Is this all the support the Red Rose Guild can give you?"
KangWoo's mouth slightly distorted.
With a forced smile, he talked.
"Haha. I prefer to move alone, so I haven't asked for party members."
"Hmph. From what I heard, you were hunting in a C-rank Gate until recently… Do you think that this is going to be as easy as a C-rank one?"
"…"
He wasn't sure where Kang SeongSoo had heard about him, but he knew quite a lot about KangWoo.
It seemed like the news that he was being supported by Chae YeonJoo had spread quite fast.
He kept trying to pick up a fight with KangWoo.
"Guys like you always die fast."
"…"
The smile disappeared from KangWoo's face.
He was starting to get annoyed at the way Kang SeongSoo was trying to pick a fight with him.
"It seems you want to get famous by killing the variant monster. You're too arrogant for someone who just did the fourth Awakening."
'SeonSoo.'
"Huh? How about you say something?"
'Is there something wrong, SeonSoo?'
"Hahaha! What, did you become deaf?"
'If you keep going on like this, you'll die.'
It seemed like Kang SeongSoo became more excited after seeing that KangWoo wasn't saying anything. He put his arm around his neck and kept talking.
"How about you join our party and go inside the gate together? Isn't it better than suffering a horrible death?"
"…"
There was a heavy silence.
A smile appeared on KangWoo's face, and he nodded.
"I don't know what to say at such generosity."
He extended his hand toward Kang SeongSoo and requested a handshake.
"Let's go into the gate together. Honestly, I was getting a bit scared at the thought of going alone."
He looked at Kang SeongSoo's party members with a kind smile on his face.
He needed five prey for Buer to be full.
'There's one left…'
The corners of KangWoo's mouth went up.
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