INHO 05

End and Beginning (5)

What a gate with no sense of fairness.

Seriously, how is this level of difficulty even allowed?

I spat curses into the air.

When I turned my gaze, Min Hajun was—at least for now—still holding out.

‘He looks exhausted, though…’

Every time the ice wall melted, he reinforced it with magic. The melted ice didn’t even have time to pool on the floor before evaporating in the heat. That alone said everything about how hot it was over there.

Any ordinary hunter would’ve been reduced to ashes by now.

“It looks like you found a way to endure, but moving forward isn’t possible, right?!”

I shouted, and Min Hajun shouted back just as loudly.

“The attacks are coming from the front—! The closer I get, the stronger they become! I don’t think I can push ahead!”

“Then just stay there and hold out!”

“What are you planning to do?!”

I rolled up my sleeves and pant legs. It’d be a disaster if my clothes caught fire while I moved.

“Just stay where you are! It can’t attack forever—once it runs out of mana, it’ll stop!”

“Then it should’ve stopped already!”

Even what it had unleashed so far was beyond regulation.

‘If I leave this as is, he’ll die.’

I tied up my short hair, bit down on my dagger, and squeezed every drop of remaining mana from my body.

“I’m going up! Make me a thin wall underneath!”

‘[Body Reinforcement].’

Then I jumped straight back into the flames I’d just escaped.

“No, don’t—!”

I heard Min Hajun’s voice roar behind me.

And then—

‘Got it!’

I managed to cling to the ceiling.

‘I said thin!’

Apparently, “only underneath” translated to “cover everything” for him. My surroundings were completely encased in ice. When I looked back, half of his own barrier was gone.

I shook my head slightly to tell him it wasn’t necessary and turned forward again. He’d figure it out. I had to focus now.

From here, I noticed something—the flames didn’t reach the ceiling. That was the opening I needed. Moving above and getting closer this way, I could land safely on either side, out of the flames’ range.

Channeling mana into my limbs, I smashed small holds into the stone ceiling and moved forward slowly. It was a brute-force method—but it was all I had.

‘Damn, the sweat…’

Heat always rises. Even with some distance and Min Hajun’s ice helping, sweat poured down like rain. My bangs stuck to my forehead, my hands were slick, but I kept going—barely, desperately—until I finally reached close enough.

After checking the range below, I dropped safely to the ground.

‘Safe!’

God, I was going to die.

Saving people was too damn hard. This was extreme difficulty mode.

The moment I landed safely, the ice that had been protecting me vanished.

Up close, I could finally see it—the red thing. It was a perfectly round sphere.

‘Is that… a Gate Core?’

Normally, to clear a gate and close the passage, you had to defeat every monster wave or destroy the core. But this one looked completely different from any I’d seen.

‘I’ve never even heard of a gate core that attacks directly.’

And unlike the usual marble-sized ones, this one was as big as my fist—and almost… alive.

There were a dozen things that didn’t make sense, but now wasn’t the time for questions. I didn’t hesitate. I slashed the blazing, lava-like orb with all my strength.

Clang!

My dagger bounced off.

The ■■ imbued with the will of ■■■ cannot be destroyed.
Damage absorbed.
The ■■ imbued with the will of ■■■ absorbs faint energy and grows stronger.

Damn it. The flames didn’t get stronger…

Well, at least the energy was “faint.”

I exhaled in brief relief, then snapped back to focus.

“It says it can’t be destroyed!”

“!@#!@#!”

“What?!”

“@!@#!#!”

We were too far apart now, and his ice wall completely blocked the front—shouting was useless.

‘I’ve already wasted too much time.’

I rifled through my inventory and scanned the area, hoping for anything useful. Nothing. How do you destroy something that can’t be destroyed?

While I was wracking my brain, a system window suddenly popped up.

You have fulfilled the conditions for reward calculation through contact with ■■■.
Would you like to receive your reward?
[YES / NO]

A reward? Out of nowhere? I froze for a second, then remembered the phrase I’d seen on my status window that morning.

It must be about that “unclaimable reward.”

‘So… the system planned for me to reach this point?’

The thought that the system had intent made my skin crawl. Just like how it had made me regress in time…

But I didn’t have the luxury of hesitation. If there was even a small chance to turn this around—to change the future—I’d take it.

I pressed YES.

Congratulations!
You have met the conditions and earned the following reward.
Reward: Skill Selection Ticket
You may select one of the following three skills.
※ Note: This choice is irreversible.

1. Purification (S)

2. Absorption (S)

3. Infernal Flame (S)

‘Is this for real?’

Normally, after Awakening, new skills don’t just appear. You can only improve the ones you already have.

‘Even my [Purification] only rose to B-rank.’

That was already extraordinary—probably because I’d pushed it to its limits while cleansing my comrades.

But new S-rank skills? For a B-rank hunter like me? Completely unbalanced.

For the journey ahead, [Infernal Flame] looked like an overwhelming offensive option, and S-rank [Purification] could be a lifesaver…

But right now—

“I need to survive first before I can think about anything else.”

I might’ve been given a second chance at life, but I knew better than to count on another miracle.

Ahead of me was an unknown core. Behind me, Min Hajun. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, but I steadied my hand and made my choice.

You have used the Skill Selection Ticket.
New skill acquired: [Absorption (S)]
S-rank skill acquisition detected. Adjusting Hunter rank…
@!@$!@#!@!~#!$!$
System error. Rank adjustment failed.

A cascade of windows flashed before my eyes—but I had no time to care.

I immediately reached out toward the orb.

‘[Absorption].’

As the skill activated, an immense flood of mana poured into my body.

It was far beyond my limits. Every vein felt like it was burning, but I gritted my teeth and endured. I was nothing if not stubborn. In a dying world, I’d learned one thing—once you give up, that’s it.

My hand trembled violently.

The flames weakened. Slowly. Then—finally—stopped.

You have cleared S-rank Dungeon ■■■’s ■■.
The gate passage will close in 5 minutes.

“Damn it—stay right there!”

Min Hajun dispelled his barrier and ran toward me. His white hair fluttered like it was in slow motion.

‘You’re a pain, you know that?’

He was alive. Seeing him move eased all the tension in my body. Relief washed over me like fog—dulling my senses.

‘No… I said I wouldn’t collapse again…’

You have absorbed ■■■’s ■■.

I tried to hold on to consciousness, but it was no use. My vision blurred. I saw something flash before me—but my body grew heavy, and darkness swallowed me whole.

“Damn it!”

Min Hajun cursed under his breath—words he’d never normally say—running with everything he had. He caught the slender woman just before she hit the ground.

“Got you!”

Her body didn’t move. Not even a twitch. She was completely unconscious.

“…What are you?”

His hands trembled slightly. He clenched and unclenched his fists a few times.

His mana depletion was extreme. His body was on the brink. He’d only pushed himself this hard a handful of times in his life—like the time he cleared an SS-rank dungeon alone.

And yet even with that much power, he hadn’t been able to clear this place. Just surviving had been almost impossible. Watching the walls melt, he’d genuinely thought this would be his end.

‘Or not even bones left, really.’

The flames were gone without a trace now, but he still remembered the unbearable heat.

He looked down at the woman in his arms. She was clearly no ordinary hunter. And that ability he’d sensed before entering the gate…

“When she wakes up, I’m asking her name first.”

He muttered softly, adjusting his hold on her. The sharp, cold edge that usually defined his face was gone, replaced with something almost peaceful.

Even from a distance, he had seen it clearly—how she’d reached into the flames without a moment’s hesitation.

And yet, not a single burn marked her hand. Nothing about this made sense. The attack had stopped, the gate had been cleared… there was far more to ask than just her name.

“At least I kept my promise. Thanks to you.”

Still carrying her lightly—she felt almost weightless—Min Hajun stood and began walking toward the gate’s exit.

It was time to leave.