Chapter 12 …
EX-Class Reincarnation
[■ Warning.]
[■ If you fail to clear this gate, your contamination level will increase by 10%.]
A dazed feeling washed over me along with the system message. When I finally opened my eyes—
[■ You have entered the gate.]
[■ Achieve the objective.]
[■ The goal of this gate is “Salvation.”]
[■ Save the world.]
“Salvation?”
I frowned as I read the system message. Save the world—just like that? I looked around as I read the message.
‘Where am I…’
This place was unfamiliar. If the last gate was in a field, then this place…
‘Seems like a forest?’
It was a dense forest. As I was dumbfounded by the strange surroundings, I heard voices.
“Did you just see that message? Contamination rises by 10%? What the hell is this?”
“……If we fail the gate, contamination rises by 10%? That’s nonsense.”
I turned my head and saw three people talking, everyone except me.
‘Who are they?’
I could tell they were superhumans, but I didn’t recognize them. At least, not to me.
They seemed familiar with this situation.
“There are four of us. Finally, a party gate.”
“After how many months?”
“Since last autumn, I think.”
A party gate—this was a gate that required a team to operate together. Unlike a single gate with hundreds or thousands of participants, multiple teams of four were distributed across countless worlds to clear gates. Only one of the many parties needed to clear it to succeed.
‘So there are four this time.’
I had seen this in the network. As soon as news came that four were needed, other parties had already started forming.
‘…You can form a party before entering.’
It was possible to form a party in the network before connecting to the gate. Since I hadn’t done that, I must have been randomly assigned.
‘Like those people.’
I looked at the people in my party one by one.
They seemed to be introducing themselves.
“I’m Toshiyu Yuji. B-class superhuman.”
A Japanese-looking young man, probably in his mid-twenties.
‘Interesting.’
Even though he was foreign, I understood him. Inside the network or gate, languages were supposedly translated automatically, but it really just sounded like Korean.
Next, a woman introduced herself.
“I’m Jave Rain, B-class superhuman.”
Her nationality was ambiguous, but she appeared Western, probably in her thirties. And the last member:
“I am Lin Xiao.”
A man with a cold demeanor scanned the surroundings as he spoke.
“S-class superhuman.”
“…!”
The atmosphere froze instantly. S-class superhuman—the intimidation of that word alone was violent.
‘S-class?’
He seemed Chinese. But S-class?
‘I guess I don’t know much about overseas ones.’
A new face. It wasn’t easy to memorize S-class overseas superhumans. Only the famous ones would be recognizable.
‘…China is particularly hard.’
Superhumans in China were extremely low-profile. Even if you could recognize most S-class faces elsewhere, here it was impossible.
‘At least the famous ones…’
China had a few SS-class superhumans in the world. Including him, I only knew a handful. So it made sense I didn’t recognize him.
“S… S-class… is that true?”
“An S-class superhuman…”
The others seemed genuinely surprised that one of their party was S-class. Their faces also reflected relief.
“The gate should be cleared without issue.”
“Trustworthy indeed.”
Rain said this with a face of relief, and Toshiyu smiled in thanks at Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao, seemingly pleased with their reactions, smirked slightly. Then he looked at me.
“So, you are…”
He seemed to want me to introduce myself.
“…!”
He froze as he noticed me.
“Could it be…”
His eyes widened. I felt a bit awkward.
He probably knew me—or, more precisely:
‘He knows the name.’
That name was already widespread on the network. I checked my face with my hand. Sure enough, I was wearing the same mask as before. I quietly said the other name the old man had given me: my identity.
“Musin.”
At my words:
“…!”
“…Huh…!”
The air froze instantly.
“Musin… you mean Musin?”
“Is it really that Musin?”
The one who reacted most intensely was Lin Xiao.
“…Really that Musin? You’re not lying?”
An S-class hunter approached, a superhuman on the same level as an association president. My heart raced.
“You are indeed that Musin?”
Lin Xiao came fully forward, his posture somewhat hostile.
‘What’s going on?’
Why this reaction? It wasn’t like this should happen out of nowhere.
“Black mask, black outfit… the description fits. I never imagined we’d meet here.”
“…”
“Say something. You’re not mute, right?”
I stared at him, unsure what to say.
“…Hah. No words. Do you intend to ignore me?”
Lin Xiao frowned as if he misunderstood my reaction.
“Th-”
Just before his reaction intensified,
[■ Gate mission in progress.]
[■ Protect the chosen from villains and save the world.]
[■ Time is short.]
[■ You are in danger. Hurry.]
The system intervened.
“…Tch.”
Lin Xiao paused at the system message. Time was short—apparently, that restrained him.
“…We’ll talk later.”
Talk later?
Everyone’s eyes turned to the system message:
“…Protect from villains.”
“The chosen?”
“What does it mean?”
As everyone questioned, voices suddenly cried out:
-Help…!!
-Over here…!!
The superhumans moved quickly.
“West.”
Lin Xiao headed west. There,
“Help…!!!”
“Monsters…!!”
Humans in priest robes were trembling in fear. I immediately understood.
‘So that’s it.’
The chosen. Salvation from villains. That was the purpose of this party gate. Simultaneously,
‘Are those the villains?’
Could you even call them human? The threat came from what appeared to be monsters.
‘…Looks like a Noll.’
Monsters walking on two legs shaped like dogs—commonly called Nolls. Just like that.
“Seems like we just need to deal with those.”
Rain analyzed the situation.
“For their level, this seems straightforward.”
Lin Xiao nodded in agreement. Seeing that, I prepared to act as well. Pacheonmu. I thought of it.
‘I can use it again, right?’
In the gate, power increased fiftyfold. Even my pride surged. The sensation—the overwhelming power—I hoped I could use it again.
Just as I was anticipating it,
Ding—
An alert rang.
[■ Conditions for Pacheonmu are not met.]
[■ Cannot use.]
“What?”
The skill didn’t activate. Last time it worked fine… why not now?
As I frowned inside the mask,
[■ Skill activated.]
[■ Killing intent detection (SS) activated.]
Another new skill activated.
‘What now?’
Why would Killing Intent activate all of a sudden?
[■ Killing intent detected nearby. Identify the source.]
I scanned the surroundings. I assumed it was the Nolls.
‘Hmm?’
Nothing appeared from the Nolls.
Then what? Shouldn’t monsters trigger this? If not monsters, then what emits killing intent?
As I furrowed my brows,
[■ Illusion manifested.]
‘Huh?’
Another alert appeared. It was the SS-grade treasure I got previously.
[■ Noll Heroes.]
[■ Those chosen to save this world.]
‘What?’
I froze. The chosen?
‘This is about…’
Protect the chosen. Remembering that, my eyes widened. That meant…
[■ Source of killing intent identified.]
“…!”
Killing intent detection activated again. Then:
[■ Illusion manifested.]
[■ Entity lower than the Four Seasonal Gods.]
[■ Illusion pierces the essence of the entity.]
Another illusion appeared before me with the system info:
[■ Followers of the Sect of Ruin.]
[■ Those who exist to destroy this world and revive evil gods.]
“….”
I fully understood after seeing this.
‘Ridiculous.’
This gate’s objective was absolutely absurd.
[■ Party 412 failed to progress in the gate.]
[■ Party 621 failed to progress in the gate.]
[■ Party 61 failed to progress in the gate.]
[■ Party 12 failed to progress in the gate.]
[■ Party 345 failed to progress in the gate.]
[■ Party 91 failed to progress in the gate…]
System messages appeared in succession. The screen trembled under the flood of notifications.
“Ah, what’s happening?”
Meanwhile, a young man was live-streaming.
The homepage of the Reincarnator Network was displayed.
He was a “data collector” superhuman. Korea’s B-class reincarnator Kim Hyukcheol did not enter gates but broadcasted inside to gain support.
“…All these parties are failing in sequence. I’ve never seen a gate like this.”
How many had failed already? Too many to count. Even for a party gate returning after so long.
No wonder Kim Hyukcheol frowned.
‘Crazy.’
Not because the gate failed, but…
‘…We spent a fortune advertising, and they fail right away?’
A company had spent huge advertising fees to promote their superhuman. Data collectors often broadcast or record the inside. B-class collectors could gain insight without entering the gate; Kim Hyukcheol was particularly skilled.
‘Damn it, they added an A-class too and told me to promote freely.’
A B-class gate party included an A-class superhuman. They were supposed to showcase the A-class’s prowess.
‘Failed immediately after entering.’
The moment they entered, failure occurred. Actually, the gate’s characteristics caused it.
‘…How do they figure it out?’
Another party appeared on the live stream.
-Die-!!
Flames erupted, monsters burned instantly. A proud superhuman turned to check on the people.
[■ Party 821 failed to progress in the gate.]
-…Huh?
The failure message appeared, and the superhumans vanished.
‘…Unbelievable.’
Surprisingly, killing Nolls caused gate failure. The beings to protect were Nolls, while the ones they were supposed to hunt were humans.
‘…How are we supposed to know that?’
It was an unexpected recognition issue.
-What? Protect Nolls?
-They said protect, but how do we know they meant monsters?
-Even the Peacekeeper failed. Can this be cleared?
Chat erupted. Viewers noticed the anomaly.
Even A-class superhumans, the Peacekeepers, failed, and panic spread. Would the gate fail if this continued?
-If we fail this gate, contamination rises by 10%.
-10%? That’s catastrophic.
The catastrophic disaster that almost annihilated Russia and the Pacific could occur again. Anxiety spread. Could anyone survive and overcome this absurd situation?
Just then, an alert rang:
[■ Party 1223 cleared the gate.]
[■ Congratulations.]
-What?
-Huh?
One party succeeded. Kim Hyukcheol widened his eyes.
“1223? Where’s 1223?”
He quickly used his skill to spectate the party. The number was far down the line, so he hadn’t confirmed.
‘Wait.’
Checking the channel, he paused.
‘Lin Xiao?’
Lin Xiao’s name was in the participant list. A Chinese S-class superhuman. Rarely publicized due to China’s secrecy, but crucial info for a data collector.
‘Why didn’t I know?’
The system didn’t indicate a high-level superhuman. The channel border wasn’t orange—it was black.
‘…Huh?’
Kim Hyukcheol noticed the anomaly. The channel border was subtly blackened.
“What? Why is it like this?”
Clicking the channel, he was shocked. Normally, the highest-level superhumans appear with specific colors. Black…?
Viewers were stunned.
The view showed not a forest, but ruins.
And a single figure with a black mask stood atop it.
Ding—!
[■ The gate has been cleared. Rewards based on contribution have been distributed.]
The system displayed the contribution rankings:
[■ 1. Musin 100%]
[■ 2—]
[■ 3—]
[■ 4—]
Only one name appeared above the system: Musin. The name in dark letters.
This chapter emphasizes the chaos and surprises of the party gate, the reveal of Lin Xiao as an S-class, and Musin’s sole contribution in clearing the gate.
