Chapter 5
“Huh? I knocked and Seowoo opened the door. He wouldn’t wake up no matter how hard I tried, so I just brought him along!”
Maybe I’d temporarily lost my mind?
“Oh, and don’t worry about Seowoo. My disciple took him. That guy’s got a prickly personality, but his skills are top-notch. Haha! Well, I taught him, so of course they are.”
Otherwise, how could I have possibly forgotten this event?
‘It wasn’t tomorrow—it started today!’
In the original webtoon’s second chapter, Kwon Seowoo returns home after completing the test and is immediately thrown into hellish training that same night.
Just like me, he collapsed from exhaustion, only to wake up in an unfamiliar place. That’s how his training began.
‘That “disciple” the team leader mentioned must be Baekgyeon.’
As the protagonist of the original story, Kwon Seowoo starts elite training under the top-ranked Hunter as soon as he awakens—and the reason Baekgyeon takes him in is simple:
‘Because Kwon Seowoo has the nullification ability—the only known counter to Najin.’
After Najin’s betrayal, Baekgyeon focused on training successors. Everyone who knew anything knew this.
Anyway, if Baekgyeon had found out I was a Gate user, he would’ve come for me already. Since he hasn’t, it seems he hasn’t heard about me yet.
[Hyung! Hyung! Help me! Hyung, wait… AHHH!]
[You won’t die from that. Block it!]
Poor guy.
He must be suffering under Baekgyeon’s hellish training—disguised as “guidance”—just like in the original.
Of course, being dumped in the middle of Jirisan like I was isn’t exactly great either, but at least I’m better off than him.
“Alright, now let me explain today’s training! You need to make it down this mountain safely before sunrise. You can use your abilities freely. If anything comes up, just contact me with this communicator.”
“Huh?”
But any sense of relief vanished with his next words.
“A communicator? You’re not coming with me?”
“I’ll be waiting for you down there! You’re probably hungry after waking up, right? I brought cup noodles so you can eat as soon as you finish training.”
“Wait, what? Team Leader, hang on.”
At that moment, I thought I heard an eerie bird call echoing in the pitch-black darkness.
So he wanted me to go down the mountain alone, with no flashlight or anything?
I fumbled in my pockets. Nothing.
Right—I’d left my phone charging on the desk. A chill ran down my spine.
“…By myself?”
“Yeah! You’ll be fine. You’re A-rank!”
“Team Leader, I only awakened yesterday!”
“Exactly! But you can do it. Now that you’re awakened, your potential is limitless.”
“What?”
What kind of cult speech was this? Was he going to make me do a shamanic ritual next?
“You can’t use skills right away just because you awakened. You need a trigger. This training is that trigger.”
But even as I stared at him in disbelief, Team Leader Woo just laughed heartily.
“People sometimes break in extreme situations, but they also become stronger from them! I’ll give you the communicator, so don’t worry. If something happens, I’ll be right back.”
“Wait, no—!”
Before I could protest, he casually waved his hand through the air.
A small crack appeared, and then a glowing blue portal opened where there had been nothing before.
He hung the communicator on my ear, grinned, and stepped through the portal.
He wasn’t bluffing. He really disappeared.
As soon as he stepped in, the portal closed, and the surroundings went dark again.
What the hell…?
“W-What is this…?”
“Oh, right! Asol!”
The portal reappeared.
My face lit up. So it had been a joke!
“Teacher! You came back—”
“Forgot to tell you the time! It’s 12:07 AM. Good luck!”
And then the portal really shut for good.
“….”
Maybe he’d come back again?
I waited with a foolish glimmer of hope, but of course, it never reopened.
Once I finally accepted reality, all I had was a normal, powerless body and the knowledge that it was 12:07 AM.
Only then did I understand why, in the original story, Woo Seokwoo wasn’t called a “Tiger Teacher” but a “Lion Teacher.”
…Because lions throw their cubs off cliffs, right?
“Team Leader Woo Seokwoo… threw a student into Jirisan.”
Without a single weapon…
And just like that, I was left alone in the middle of Jirisan. I wanted to believe the sudden sting in my nose was just my imagination.
30 minutes later…
“Huff, huff.”
No phone, no map, thrown alone into Jirisan.
I’d been stumbling through the bushes by moonlight and gut instinct for half an hour when I stopped dead in my tracks.
I was gasping so hard my voice shook. I couldn’t take it anymore. I’d tried, but I’d hit my limit.
“Where… am I?”
What was I trying to hold back? My tears?
I understood now how people get lost in the mountains. It was so dark, I couldn’t even tell if I was going uphill or downhill. Sounds ridiculous, but it was true.
‘No way they dumped a newly awakened person at the mountain peak, right?’
They probably made it sound scarier than it was. I was probably near a hiking trail. Hopefully. But I couldn’t shake the ominous feeling.
“This isn’t some retro variety show…”
To wake up in a mountain, and not just any mountain—Jirisan?
‘They’re all insane.’
I couldn’t just blame Baekgyeon for being unhinged. Clearly, both teacher and student were nuts.
Maybe Woo Seokwoo was why Baekgyeon turned out that way.
‘Years of this kind of training would drive anyone mad.’
Anyway, this path felt endless, and I was already worn out.
‘Guess I should check my status window again.’
Earlier, I hadn’t really gotten a chance. I should probably take a closer look at that “trait measurement” thing too.
“Status window.”
A blue screen appeared in the air, and just like earlier, the same messy skill descriptions filled the space.
Still full of question marks and locked entries. Some sections didn’t even have visible text. A truly unique status window.
Those blank spots did make me curious—but I held back.
The only usable skills were “Gate Open” and “Beast Summon.”
No way was I going to try either of those alone in a mountain with no supervision.
That’s when I looked to the side.
“….”
That warning sign looked shockingly real.
Whoever painted it had quite the imagination.
Drool dripped from the open mouth of a bear drawn to look like it could lunge out of the woods and tear me to shreds like string cheese.
“….”
I calmly raised my hand and pressed the communicator.
The bear’s glowing eyes lit up.
「Oh, Asol? What is it?」
“Team Leader!! Sir!! Woo Seokwoo sir!!!”
“GRRROOAARRRR!!”
I instinctively turned and ran downhill.
The bear’s thunderous roar echoed behind me.
「Asol? Asol! What’s going on?!」
“Sir, huff, a bear! A BEAR! AAH! I’M GONNA DIE!!”
「I’m coming now! Stay calm until I—」
“Wait! Ack!”
A thick branch whipped my face, knocking the communicator out of my ear.
Before I could retrieve it, the bear’s heavy paw crushed it.
—WHOOOM!
“Gasp…!”
Its claws ripped through the spot I’d been standing just seconds ago.
Damn it, damn it—!
I cursed as I bolted again.
‘Why the hell is there a bear here?!’
I still couldn’t see a thing, but somehow my body moved naturally, balanced, instinctively navigating the terrain.
‘So this is the human survival instinct… but I’d rather not learn it this way!’
‘What do you do if you meet a bear? Play dead?’
But stopping here would mean actually dying!
“…Ugh!”
I slipped on a slick rock and nearly fell.
I regained balance, but the bear was already closing in.
“Please, anything! Some useful info—!”
Play dead? Anything else? Think! THINK!
That’s when a subtitle from a variety show flashed through my mind:
<A bear will tear a person to shreds…>
“Not helpful!!”
No answers.
Team Leader Woo had promised he’d come right away, but I’d moved far from the starting point—it’d take him time to get here.
Which left me with one choice.
“…Gate Open!”
A blue notification window appeared.
【You lack desperation!】
If I could, I would’ve punched that status window right in the face.
“Gate Open! Gate! GATE, YOU DAMN THING, OPEN THE GATE!!”
【You lack desperation! You lack desperation! You lack desperation!】
No matter how many times I screamed, the message didn’t change.
I was about to die, and it said I wasn’t desperate enough?
I wasn’t even scared anymore—I was just furious. My lungs burned, and I could barely think straight.
Fine. You want desperation?
“GRROOAAARR!!”
I stopped running and turned to face the bear.
It hesitated, as if surprised by my sudden change. Its eyes flashed red, and then it charged.
Let’s see if this counts as “desperate” enough!
I stared it down, squeezed my eyes shut, and shouted—
“—Gate OPEN!!!”
【Personal Gate is being created!】
【You’ve achieved your first milestone!】
【Achievement: “Create a Gate” (1/1)】
【Reward granted!】
A clear bell chime rang out, and light exploded in front of me.
When I opened my eyes, a blazing red portal hovered there.
The bear flinched at the sight of it—maybe mistaking it for fire.
Just then, another new message appeared.
【Reward Trait: “Iron Heart” (D)
❙ In moments of danger, you remain calm and think clearly.
※ The higher the danger level around the caster, the stronger the effect.
Current Danger: 82%
(Time remaining: 5 seconds)**
Seconds?
I stared dumbfounded as the timer dropped to 4 seconds.
What kind of useless trait was that?!
But there was no time to complain.
【Your personal Gate is empty!】
【You have no controllable beasts!】
What?
The moment I saw that message, my racing heart settled.
Not because of the reward trait—but because I was just too dumbfounded.
Still, I had a moment to think.
Anything would help right now.
If I could just deal with that bear—
“Beast Summon!!”
【Trait measurement complete!】
【Personal beast <Lovely Teddy Bear Plush> is being summoned!】
【Due to low proficiency, Gate control has failed. Beast <Lovely Teddy Bear Plush> bursts out of the Gate!】
Something exploded out of the open Gate.
I know that sounds dramatic, but there’s really no better way to describe it. Because…
“W-WHAT IS THAAAAAT?!”
From the Gate, dozens of pink teddy bears started pouring out—literally pouring out—like water, in the middle of this life-or-death chase scene…!
