TRC 04

Chapter 04

Inside the Gate.

A barren red plateau greeted us.

‘They should’ve arrived by now.’

From the government, there was Seo Gyeoul, an officer from the Gate Management Bureau.
From the guilds, Jang Seong-han, a team leader from the Jotunn Guild.
The two were likely dispatched to raid this gate.

‘Too bad for them—they’re a bit late.’

They were probably panicking to find that some nobody had entered the gate before them.
Of course, they’d never imagine I could actually clear it.

‘Yeah, I’ll do it. Now that it’s come to this, everything you two were supposed to get—
I’ll take it all for myself.’

In the past, this very raid became the turning point that made those two strong and famous.

Seo Gyeoul, the “Ice Queen” who represented the Gate Management Bureau.
Jang Seong-han, the “Flame Giant,” the assault captain of Jotunn Guild.

They grew so powerful that I would often cross paths with them later in the Tower.

Anyway, after Jang Seong-han became strong, he once gave this interview:

“Hey, Seo Gyeoul! When I gave you that Essence and proposed to you,
you accepted it! But then you just took it and pretended nothing happened?
How could you trample on a man’s devotion like that—you call yourself human!?”

Essence (정수).
Simply put, it’s like an elixir.
They had hunted down the Blood Wolf’s leader and obtained it.
And since they each took one, that meant there were two Essences.

“I’ll be taking both.”

Whoosh—

Sitting atop Freki, I swung a two-meter traffic sign like a spear.
It wasn’t a real weapon, but it seemed better than a knife.

‘It’s about time they show up….’

Knowing the Blood Wolves’ impatience, they’d rather attack than wait.

“…?”

Suddenly, the pack grew restless.
Some bared their teeth and growled, while others dashed to the front and perked up their ears.

I squinted toward the ridge.
A red speck appeared on the blue horizon—then another, and another, until there were dozens.

‘There they are.’

The specks poured down the slope like a crimson tide.

“Freki!”
“Ruff!”

At my call, Freki barked once and lifted his head high, howling loudly.

“Awoooooo—!”
“Awooooooo—!”

Thirty gray wolves joined in unison—a war horn before battle.

“Let’s go—!!”

I gripped Freki’s mane and shouted.

The pack of gray wolves charged, pounding the ground.

Thud-thud-thud-thud—!

Red dust rose as the earth trembled.
Freki led the charge, of course.

I leaned forward, eyes locked on the enemies ahead.
The distance between us shrank by the second.

“Huff… huff…”

Adrenaline surged.
My heart raced, my breath quickened.
No matter how many battles I fought, this tension always made me feel alive.

Now I could see their panting mouths, lolling tongues, and dripping saliva.

‘Don’t get excited. Focus.’

I tucked the iron pole under my arm and gripped it tightly.
The sharp triangular sign pointed straight ahead.

‘5… 4… 3… 2… breathe.’

Now.

Crash!

A heavy impact—blood and flesh splattered.

Freki and I tore through the Blood Wolf pack, splitting it in half.

[Blood Wolf… eliminated….]

The system voice was quickly drowned out by the chaos of battle.

“Ruff!”
“Grrraah—!”
“Yelp!”

Soon the battlefield dissolved into madness—gray wolves and Blood Wolves biting, clawing, tearing.
It was hell itself.

“Phew…”

I tossed aside the bent signpost and opened the Achievement Shop.
I’d already planned the weapon I’d use against the Blood Wolf leader.

[Karambit of the Moon Fang]
Grade: Uncommon
Price: 1,000 coins
Info: A pair of curved knives made from the fang of a demonic bat. The material is excellent, but the craftsman was unskilled, resulting in penalties.
• Strength +4, Agility +8, Stamina −9
• Skill: Tinnitus (Max D)

The penalties were annoying—but fine.

‘I just won’t get hit, and I’ll kill fast.’

Simple enough.

Without hesitation, I bought the blades and strapped them to my waist.

“…?”

Step, step.

Then came a presence—something both out of place and yet perfectly in tune with this bloody field.

[You have encountered a special creature—pre-Named tier.]

A massive Blood Wolf strolled casually through the battlefield as though it owned it.

Its mismatched eyes—one red, one blue—fixed not on me, but squarely on Freki.

Freki bared his teeth in return.
I calmed him with a hand and spoke.

“So you’re the bastard who hurt my boy.”

Then I stepped down between them.

Letting them fight would ruin the plan.

I patted Freki’s forehead and whispered,
“We made a promise.”
“Ruff!”
“I’ll take this one. You go find your brother.”
“Whine…”
“Hey!”

I flicked Freki’s nose, and he snorted, stepping back reluctantly.
He gave me one last, regretful look—then turned and sprinted off alone.

Splitting up was more efficient.
We’d already decided who would do what before entering.

‘Now I can focus on the boss.’

Feeling a murderous aura behind me, I reversed my grip on the karambit and slashed backward.

“Grrrrr—”

The Blood Wolf leader jumped back, eyes following the retreating Freki.

It must’ve realized it had to kill or capture Freki to become the true Gate Boss.

“Too bad—you’ll die here instead.”

“…”

Understanding that it couldn’t pass without killing me, the wolf began circling, watching for an opening.
I mirrored it, alert to every twitch.

‘End this quickly.’

We were outmatched in strength, and with my weapon’s penalty, my HP was down to 3.
No room for a long fight.

But I couldn’t show that.

“What’s wrong, scared? Come on!”

From its point of view, I wasn’t the urgent one—it was.
If it didn’t chase Freki soon, it’d lose its chance.

So there was no reason for me to rush.

Whirl—

The karambit spun around my finger, making a sharp, threatening whistle.

After three and a half rotations, the beast lunged like lightning.

“Graaaah—!”

It was huge—bigger than Freki—but frighteningly fast.
Still, not fast enough.

I was just about to dodge when—

“?!”

Crack-crack-crack!

Its blue eye glowed, and ice crawled up my legs, freezing me to the ground.

I didn’t panic.

“Yeah, I figured.”

Seo Gyeoul’s power—the Blue Eye.
Jang Seong-han’s power—the Red Eye.
Of course I knew.

[Skill “Step of the Blue Wolf Lv.1 (C)” activated.]

For an instant, my body became incorporeal—I slipped free of the trap.

At the same moment—

Slash—!

The moon-white blade of the karambit tore cleanly through the beast’s flank.
Blood gushed like a waterfall.

“Graaah!”
“Shut up.”

It tried to leap back, but I pressed harder.

When you have the upper hand, you finish it.

I’d been burned too many times by assuming victory early.

But this thing wasn’t a pushover either.

‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’

Fwoosh—

Its red eye flared, fire engulfed its wound, and the bleeding stopped instantly.

“Stubborn bastard.”

I spat a curse and closed in.

Clang! Clang!

Its claws and fangs collided with my karambits, throwing sparks everywhere.

‘Damn mutt’s nearly a Named already.’

The metallic sheen on its bones confirmed it—it was just shy of evolving into the Gate Boss.

‘Should’ve finished it when I had the chance… oh well.’

Life never goes to plan—that’s why we make Plan B.

‘Use it… come on… use it….’

I kept fighting, waiting for it to activate its ability.

Huff—huff—

Finally, when my lungs burned, the moment came.

Its red eye brightened—about to unleash power.

And whenever it did, there was a tiny pause.
I’d confirmed it twice already.

‘Now!’

Whirl—

I scraped the ground with my karambit.
A cloud of red dirt burst into its face.

It reflexively shut its eyes and shook its head.

“Yip! Yip!”

It didn’t speak human language, but I knew what it meant.

“Yeah, yeah—no such thing as ‘cheap’ when your life’s on the line!”

That bought me the time I needed.

I crossed both karambits, pressing the blades together—
and slowly scraped them against each other.

“…”

At first, nothing happened.

Then—

“Yipe! Yaaagh—!”

The Blood Wolf leader shrieked, rolling on the ground.

‘Gotcha.’

It was the karambit’s skill: Tinnitus (D).

[Tinnitus]
Grade: D (Max)
Effect: Emits a piercing noise in the target’s hearing range, causing Confusion for 3 seconds.
(Casting time 5 seconds; effect varies by the target’s hearing ability.)

I approached slowly.
Even after the 3-second duration, the beast still writhed in pain.

‘The Blood Wolves’ real strength and savagery come from their superior senses.’

They’re quick and keen—but that also means they’re easily overstimulated.

‘And I exploited that.’

If my stats hadn’t been high enough, I wouldn’t have even gotten this chance.

‘Time to die.’

I pinned its neck with my knee and drove the blade into its artery.

Stab—twist—

A geyser of blood sprayed my face and clothes, then the thrashing ceased.

[You have slain Lv.20 Blood Wolf (Special Variant).]
[Level +2.]

A pitiful death for something that caused such chaos.

Holding up its severed head, I shouted,

“It’s over—!!”

The entire battlefield froze.
Then, as my voice echoed, the remaining Blood Wolves broke and fled.

I looked around—the gray wolves had taken heavy losses too.
But the survivors lifted their wounded bodies and howled to the sky.

“Awooooo—”
“Awooo—”
“Awooooooo—”

A song of victory—and of farewell to their fallen kin.

One by one, the corpses on the field crumbled to dust,
leaving only magic stones rolling on the ground.

I let the gray wolves absorb them.
I could’ve taken them, but I didn’t bother.
Part laziness, part respect—they’d need the power to survive once I took Freki and Geri.

‘This’ll do for me.’

I picked up only the boss’s magic stone.
The wolves didn’t touch my share.

[D+ Magic Stone]
Grade: Uncommon
Info: Contains low- to mid-grade mana.

‘That alone’ll cover a few months’ rent. But that’s not what I came for.’

Money? Sure, it’s important.
But it’s easy enough to earn when needed.

I picked up two orbs lying nearby—one red, one blue.

‘So these are what made those wolves so strong, huh?’

[Eye of the Sun]
Grade: Epic
Info: A remnant of a once-great being, faintly imbued with solar power.
A nameless Blood Wolf once used it as an Essence.
• Talent: Solar Physique (S)

[Eye of the Moon]
Grade: Epic
Info: A remnant of a once-great being, faintly imbued with lunar power.
A nameless Blood Wolf once used it as an Essence.
• Talent: Lunar Physique (S)

‘Whoa… not even a skill, but a talent—and S-rank at that.’

Essences that granted S-rank talents—no wonder they became legends.

‘Man, thinking they’ll probably get these again in this timeline makes my stomach hurt.’

“Ruff!”

Just then, two familiar gray wolves came bounding toward me from afar.

‘Right on time.’

One with a majestic mane—Freki.
The other, with a tail twice as long as the others, waving like a victory flag—Geri.

They pounced, knocking me to the ground.

“Huff—huff—!”
“Pant—pant—”
“Hey! Quit it, you’re heavy!”

[Hidden Quest: Freki’s Request – Completed.]
[Reward: Gray Wolf ‘Geri’ automatically tamed.]
[Reward: Skill Book ‘Nest (F)’ acquired.]

I pushed the two off and learned the new skill.

‘It’s a tamer-exclusive ability anyway—no reason to wait.’

Nest is basically a personal sub-space where tamed beasts can be stored.
At F-rank it holds one, but the space expands with rank.

‘That’s handled… now, which Essence should I take? Or can I take both?’

I remembered all those wuxia novels—those cheat protagonists who mastered both yin and yang.

Holding the Eye of the Moon in my left hand and the Eye of the Sun in my right, I hesitated.

“…”

Gulp…

I felt two pairs of eyes on me—Freki and Geri, drooling over the Essences.

“…You guys want them?”

They nodded so hard their necks nearly snapped.

“….”

I looked from the orbs to their faces and shut my eyes tightly.

‘Right. I’m a Tamer. There’s a limit to how strong I can get.’

That’s just how the system works.
As a Tamer, I’m mainly support.

‘Not a waste, not a waste, not a waste….’

Repeating it like a mantra, I tossed Eye of the Moon to Geri and Eye of the Sun to Freki.

They eagerly swallowed them in one bite and joyfully licked my face.

“Pant-pant—”
“Ugh, enough already!”

I shoved them back and checked their status windows.

Good food should show good results, right?

[Beast Info]
Name: Freki
Class: Unknown
Rank: D (“Eye of the Sun” digesting)
Level: 15
Loyalty: 100
Skills: Two as One Lv.1 (S-), Wolf Pack Max (B)
Potential Abilities: Riding (D), Elasticity (B), ???

[Beast Info]
Name: Geri
Class: Unknown
Rank: D (“Eye of the Moon” digesting)
Level: 15
Loyalty: 100
Skills: Two as One Lv.1 (S-), Wolf Pack Max (B)
Potential Abilities: Riding (D), Elasticity (B), ???

“Oh?! You two really did get stronger!”
“Ruff!”
“Ruff!”

Their appearances had changed—
Freki’s mane had turned red, and Geri’s long tail blue.

They’d gained five levels and awakened a new potential ability.

‘Elasticity? Don’t tell me… like a rubber man or something? That’d be horrifying…’

I’d find out later.
What mattered more—

‘The “Conditional Growth” restriction is gone… feeding them the Essences was the right call.’

Freki, once E-rank, had grown to D-rank.
And the message said they were still digesting—it meant they could grow even further.

“Ha! You guys are treasures, absolute treasures!”
“Yip-yip!”

I pulled them both into a headlock, laughing.

Then a final message appeared.