Chapter 008….
A New Mage (2)
Hunters enjoy the respect of the people, gaining popularity that rivals even that of celebrities.
Some critics argue that their fame is excessive, but such opinions are rare.
Ultimately, the reason hunters can enjoy such widespread popularity is…
“Because you never know when you’ll die fighting monsters!”
Kim Gil-hyun, a D-rank hunter and leader of a small guild, gritted his teeth and swung his weapon.
The worst…!
Screeeech…
A harpy, falling like a bolt of lightning from the sky, had its neck sliced clean by his fierce sword strike.
For Gil-hyun, a D-rank hunter, dealing with an E-rank monster like a harpy in a single blow was easy.
Yet, his expression was far from satisfied.
“Ahh!”
“Support!”
“Someone shoot that bastard already!”
“Die—!”
The scene was chaotic. Hunter shouts mingled with the harpies’ piercing cries, so loud it felt like your ears might bleed.
“Huh… Even if Aegis predicts the gate, it doesn’t mean everything goes smoothly…”
This situation was especially unlucky.
A heavy snow during this Christmas had blocked the only road leading to the village.
Fallen trees could be cleared by hunters, but the ice-covered road was impassable.
They had abandoned their vehicles and ran, but time had already been lost.
What the arriving hunters saw was a fully activated gate, pouring out harpies.
“Good thing we evacuated the villagers in advance, or there would’ve been casualties.”
And as luck would have it…
The location of the gate itself was infuriating.
“Right above the lake?!”
The frozen lake was so slippery that it was impossible to tell if it was a lake or an ice skating rink.
All the hunters struggled to keep their balance.
Meanwhile, the harpies?
Kya-ha-ha!
Hee-hee!
They flew around, mocking the struggling hunters. Some even sang a “song” mid-flight.
[“Song of Temptation” is invading your mind.]
[Resistance successful.]
“Damn it! Shoot those little bastards down!”
“Already shooting!”
“Hey, his eyes rolled back!”
“Hit him to wake him up!”
“Phew… this is insane.”
Gil-hyun sighed and deflected a stone thrown by a harpy.
Even just the harpies that came out of the gate were more than ten, and more kept poking their heads out.
“Should we retreat to the village hall and hold our ground?”
Ah, if anything broke, it would all come out of the guild’s funds…
But if they didn’t act, someone would surely die. Gil-hyun was about to order a retreat, tears welling in his eyes, when—
“Huh?”
“G-Gil-hyun hyung! The gate—!”
“Suddenly… what…?”
Seeing the gate, Gil-hyun’s eyes widened.
The gate, which had been spitting out hateful harpies, was closing for some reason.
Above it, a complex magic circle had appeared.
“You…?”
He instinctively glanced at the new mage.
“I-I didn’t do it!”
“Of course.”
Gil-hyun quickly accepted it. If the new mage had cast it, he wouldn’t have been in Gil-hyun’s guild.
A spell that could close a gate? Gil-hyun had been hunting for almost ten years and had never heard of such a thing.
The magic circle glowed brighter and brighter until—
Pop!
“…G-Gone.”
“Crazy.”
Kyaek?!
Hunters and monsters alike were stunned by the unprecedented disappearance of an unclaimed gate.
The first to recover was Gil-hyun.
He threw his sword with all his might.
Thunk!
Kyaaah!
A harpy pierced through the stomach screamed and fell.
Now, only about ten remained.
“Damn it, finish them off!”
“Uwaah!!”
“Die!”
Momentum is everything in a fight; those who had been screaming just moments ago now roared as they attacked the harpies.
The tide had quickly turned in the hunters’ favor.
“If the gate hadn’t disappeared, this wouldn’t have been possible.”
Gil-hyun, after slicing a harpy’s neck and landing, slid across the ice, staring at the spot where the gate had been.
Looking at the magic circle, it was clearly unnatural.
Someone had interfered.
“But who?”
Who could possibly intervene in a gate!
Gil-hyun swallowed hard, sensing the prelude to a major event.
He couldn’t even imagine… that the vanished gate might have been “snapped shut” at the flick of the Magic Tower Lord’s finger.
[Function: “Hunting” activated.]
[Searching for gate…]
What had only been known to the association’s upper echelon, the “Gate Disappearance Incident,” was now known to ordinary hunters.
Exams—how thrilling that word can be.
The more you’ve prepared, the faster your heart races, while worries churn in the back of your mind.
No matter how much preparation, such anxiety never disappears entirely.
[Function: “Hunting” activated.]
[Searching…]
“Phew…”
Sitting upright, Shin-woo took a deep breath to calm himself.
“I’m fully prepared.”
On the other side of the screen, two mages waited in the now-clean lobby of the Magic Tower, tidied up in advance.
If combat spread indoors, nothing should hinder their movements.
Of course, they preferred to finish the fight outside.
“The key is where the gate appears.”
It would be ideal if it appeared from the direction the goblins came, but there was no guarantee.
Fortunately, both mages could fly, so they could reach the gate regardless of where it appeared.
Shin-woo marveled at just how overpowered flight was.
“…Orders have already been given.”
Whether the mages would follow them properly would determine the outcome of this hunt.
And as Shin-woo steeled himself—
[Search complete!]
[Summoning gate.]
Crrrack—
The semi-frozen ground cracked, familiar now, and the plain split open.
Shin-woo immediately gave the two mages orders.
“East!”
The opposite direction of the goblin gate.
At the same time, he let out a quiet sigh of relief.
“It appeared here last time, so it should appear here again. If I’d assumed wrong, it’d have been a disaster.”
Both Shin-woo and the mages were prepared for contingencies.
Crrrack—
By the time the gate fully activated, they were ready.
The moment the mages landed, harpies poured out of the gate.
But their expressions were…
“They look surprised?”
Being humanoid, their emotions were easier to read than other monsters.
Though Shin-woo couldn’t know why they looked startled as they came out of the gate—
“Well, a startled prey is good for us hunters.”
[Mage response to cunning intruders activated.]
A’s magic kicked off the fight.
“#@!%!@#”
Whoosh!
Shouting in an unknown language, A created a net of flames above the gathered harpies.
The nimble harpies had no time to dodge.
Just as B had been influenced by “Elemental Control,” A reacted to “Frozen Armament.”
Kyaah!!
Shriek!
Caught in the fiery net, the harpies screamed in pain as they fell.
Plop—red flowers bloomed across the barren plain.
“Ugh.”
Shin-woo averted his gaze as A retreated, channeling successive spells.
The less mana one had, the harder it was to resist the Song of Temptation. Particularly for men, it could be fatal.
“Even if they entered the tower, I can’t guarantee they’d escape the song’s influence…”
[Mage A moves to “Meditation Chamber.”]
Flying, A settled cross-legged in the meditation chamber—not to leisurely recover mana.
[Tip! Mages meditating are less susceptible to external interference.]
“The song counts as external interference.”
Now, A couldn’t be charmed by the harpies and taken hostage.
Of course, this left only B to handle the harpies—but B was clearly the star of this hunt.
Kyaaah—!
The harpies chased after the vanished A in anger.
B acted then.
Swoosh—
Floating only a single ice sword created via Frozen Armament, B walked among the harpies.
Calm and composed, despite the mass of deadly creatures before him.
Shin-woo’s tension spiked, legs trembling.
“If it gets too dangerous, I’ll send Barkus and wake A…”
Kyaaah—
Sharp harpy cries broke his thoughts, as they dived like birds of prey, claws ready.
Swoosh—
Thunk!
A harpy’s neck struck the ground.
The culprit? The ice sword now stained red.
And it was only the beginning.
Swoosh—
“…Crazy.”
Every slash from the ice sword struck vital points, sending harpies plummeting in a spray of blood.
Shin-woo gaped at the massacre executed with a single sword.
Yet B seemed relaxed, as if it were effortless.
Perhaps it provoked the harpies’ rage.
―!!
They screamed and charged en masse.
The ice sword drew red streaks in the air, but one hand can’t block ten claws.
A harpy dodged, extending its claws—
Thunk!
B created a new ice sword, piercing its chest.
Shin-woo silently admired B’s reflexes.
And noticing B’s gloves, he admired for another reason.
“Great discoveries often seem trivial at first glance!”
Using gloves to handle ice magic—Shin-woo buried his head in his knees, feeling foolish.
A brief period of humility followed.
“…Still, even if I held a weapon, I couldn’t fly around like B.”
B, who wielded the sword with ease, was extraordinary.
A seemingly ordinary water mage, revealed as an ice mage, then an ice-element sword mage.
“Our B has layers like an onion.”
Zhah—
Even freezing off the blood from the blade was flawless; B was the MVP of this hunt.
Still, Shin-woo remained vigilant.
“Harpies are known for numbers rather than strength.”
Records showed up to 60 could appear from a single gate.
A second group likely awaited beyond the gate.
“B looks tired, so I’ll hand it over to Barkus and take them out in one strike.”
It was a perfect plan.
But then…
[Check Magic Tower Mage’s Gate conquest.]
[Reward for “Nest of Temptation (E)” granted.]
[Seong Shin-woo’s body and mana grow.]
[14 Low-Rank Mana Stones granted.]
Low-rank mana stones poured from the air.
Shin-woo blinked.
“…Huh?”
Why’s it already over…?
