CHAPTER 3: GATEWAY ZONE (1)

Huh huh huh huh-

 There were homemade ice cubes on the bottom of the Frappuccino that I had finished eating.

 This part is relatively tasteless.

 It was the only part I didn't like about the Byeoldabang Frappuccino.

Of course, that doesn't mean that my special Java Chip Frappuccino, which I had for the first time in decades, wasn't delicious.

 “I did the first thing on the bucket list."

 [Bucket List#1]

[Ground up half of the Starbucks Java Chip Frappuccino and use the other half as a whole topped with espresso. (Grande size. Add two pumps of mocha syrup and three pumps of hazelnut syrup. Finish with a hazelnut drizzle.)]

It was ironic, but only after eating the Frappuccino that I felt that I had regressed to some extent.

 These were two elements that seemed completely unconnected, at least to me.

 I guess it's a symbol of some kind of peaceful time.

 What is this ice particle that costs about 8,000 won at most? I felt a tickling sense of peace in my chest.

Well, of course, from my perspective, there was only one day of peace left.

 So it was sweeter.

 “Do you think you can do it?”

 I suppress the rising sense of peace and look down once again at the notebook with my bucket list written on it...  …  .

Suddenly, I heard a conversation from the person sitting next to me.

 - Hey, did you hear?  I heard that A-rank Hunter Jang Han-woo also went missing this time...  …  .

-Her?…  We're in big trouble.  Isn’t this really some kind of Illuminati doing something big?

 - I don't know either...  …  .  No matter how much I think about it, it's strange that there hasn't been a single clue yet.

 - No, this is really strange.  It is true that this has happened since the 15th anniversary of the crack…  …  .

 ‘…  Yes, it was like this.’

 <High-ranking hunter serial disappearance case>

In early 2020, 15 years after the first rift occurred, high-rank hunters began to disappear for unknown reasons.

 Although it was a phenomenon that occurred all over the world, no country could find the cause or clues to the phenomenon.

 The most influential speculations on the net were 'contract killing by an anti-hunter group presumed to be a vested interest group before the rift' and 'identity erasure due to expansion of the underground hunter world', but from a perspective of the future, those two were not possible. All dogs were able to answer no.

 ‘…  At that time, I thought it had nothing to do with me.’

The cause of this incident could never be known unless one experienced it.

 There was a good reason why the whole world was helpless in the face of such a huge event as a high-rank hunter disappearing.

 This was something related to the <higher dimension>.

 It is even more strange to guess correctly from the perspective of the <lower dimension>, which does not even fully understand the meaning of the crack..

“…  Who would have known?. The cracks we risked our lives to block were at best nothing more than a deterioration plate for the monster leaking from above.”

 At this point, the media is probably talking about how we have won the ‘war against monsters.’

 Countries such as North Korea and South America, which were completely destroyed during the first crack, have recovered their monster fields to some extent, and when viewed from the outside, they are now solving monsters in an aspect that is literally closer to hunting than to war.

 They even started developing mana engineering technology that converts magic stones from monsters into energy, and it was a time when people even called it the ‘4th Mana Revolution’, so it was understandable how proud humanity was.

 But I know.

The monsters they claim to have won are deteriorated versions of themselves, worse than the monsters that appear at the ‘Gateway Zone’, the entrance to the higher dimension.

 Even monsters that were treated as ‘high-rank monsters’ in the lower dimension were treated as hybrids that did not even receive a proper name in the higher dimension.

 A clear example was the case of goblins and gnolls.

 Goblins and gnolls were classified as B-rank hunting difficulty, and slightly special cases such as ‘Goblin Chieftain’, ‘Goblin Mage’, or ‘Blue Mane Gnoll’ were classified as A-rank.

 In other words, in a lower dimension, it corresponds to a high-rank monster that is only allowed to be hunted by teams.

However, treatment in the higher dimensions was different.

 The green skin and distorted face of the orc race.

 Long ears of the elf race.

 The short stature of the dwarf race.

 An inferior crossbreed created by combining the shortcomings of the three higher-dimensional monster races.

 That was ‘Goblin’.

Goblin was a hybrid monster that abandoned the beastman's overwhelming body and fighting instincts and replaced it with crude intelligence.

 When the dimensional rift occurred in the first place, the fact that it was forcibly transferred to a lower dimension was itself proof that the nature of the being was better suited to the lower dimension.

 There was no need to explain further how lowly the monsters that came down to the lower dimension were.

- I heard that among the top 20 hunters in each country, there are only a few left...  …  

 -Where on earth did they disappear?

 - I don't know…  …  .  Well, it has nothing to do with me.

 …  The current disappearance of a high-ranking hunter was happening in exactly the opposite context.

 After the first crack, humans who adapt to the mana flowing down from the higher dimension move to the higher dimension because their characteristics are better suited to the higher dimension than here.

 That was the whole story of the disappearance of a high-ranking hunter that occurred around this time.

 …  The only difference is that in the case of <Level Transcendence>, which goes from a lower dimension to a higher dimension, there is a bit of artificial interest involved.

 The context and aspects were almost similar.

 Well, anyway, in that context.

 “When I transcended the stairs… I was at the end of B rank, I guess.”

I'm going up now too.

 “…  Because it was midnight. There is only 4 hours left.”

 To the upper dimension where the anti-demon war is taking place.

*

Stair transcendence was not particularly restricted by location or other factors.

 As long as the target is clearly determined, the body will move on its own, no matter where it is.

 …  In other words, whether that person is in the bathroom, eating, or doing anything else.

 This means that the body moves in that state.

 ‘…  I probably moved with pig’s feet.’

 Pisik-

 Before I returned, I remember feeling aggrieved that I had to move with one leg raised after being placed on a pig's trotter with my panties on.

 Compared to the condition at the time, now I'm good condition, to the point of being luxurious.

 Even if there was nothing else special, I was able to bring basic hunting equipment and clothes.

 This was enough.

 Anyway, not everyone can pass through the gateway zone with even the best weapon, and once you enter the upper dimension, equipment from the lower dimension becomes meaningless.

 If you rush to pack other luggage, there is a possibility that it will make your body feel sluggish.

 [11:59]

 The clock indicated the approaching hour.

 “I won’t leave anything behind, right?”

 Let's take a moment to check to make sure I  haven't missed anything and to reminisce about the 'Gateway Zone'.

 With a familiar notification sound, a translucent window appeared before my eyes.

Stair transcendence was not particularly restricted by location or other factors.

 As long as the target is clearly determined, the body will move on its own, no matter where it is.

 …  In other words, whether that person is in the bathroom, eating, or doing anything else.

 This means that the body moves in that state.

 ‘…  I probably moved with pig’s feet.’

 Pisik-

 Before I returned, I remember feeling aggrieved that I had to move with one leg raised after being placed on a pig's trotter with my panties on.

 Compared to its condition at the time, it is now in good condition, to the point of being luxurious.

 Even if there was nothing else special, I was able to bring basic hunting equipment and clothes.

 This was enough.

 Anyway, not everyone can pass through the gateway zone with even the best weapon, and once you enter the upper dimension, equipment from the lower dimension becomes meaningless.

 If you rush to pack other luggage, there is a possibility that it will make your body feel sluggish.

 [11:59]

 The clock indicated the approaching hour.

 “You won’t leave anything behind, right?”

 Let's take a moment to check to make sure we haven't missed anything and to reminisce about the 'Gateway Zone'.

 With a familiar notification sound, a translucent window appeared before his eyes.

 [The system is activated.]

 [Check the list…  …  .  Seo Woojin.  Finished appointment.]

 [You have been selected as a layer transcender.]

 [Enter the ‘dimensional rift.’]

 “…  …  .”

 At the same time, the vision in front of me blinked, turning into a blurry black and white.

 

*

When I opened my eyes after a moment of distantness, there was a pure white space in my field of vision.

 An awkward space with no known width or height, with only dazzling whiteness existing there.

 In my past life, I was very confused by the strange background that suddenly appeared...  I wasn't particularly scared right now.

 It was natural since it wasn't the first time.

 “… I never thought I would come here again.”

Instead of scared, the emotions I felt were quite complex.

Happy to see friends again.

Now, I feel a mysterious loneliness about the memories that only I have.

 I'm a little curious.

Tension, excitement, despair, terribleness.

 and…  I'm at a loss.

 A variety of emotions rushed through me.

 “…  …  .”

 Rummaging through-

 Instinctively, with the thought of pushing away this strange feeling, I reached into my pocket, took out a cigarette that I had already prepared, and put it in my mouth.

 Chick- Phew-

 And before the regret could build up any further, the emotions were driven away with a puff of white cigarette smoke.

 As I soaked my pounding heart with cigarette smoke, the wavering emotions subsided along with the familiar haziness.

 “…This is my first time returning.”

 …  Still, I couldn't help but feel some bitterness about this damn fate.

 That's what I was prepared for.

 “I have to… Somehow.”

 After driving out all my emotions, the sense of responsibility that remained within me tightened my throat, but there was nothing I could do.

 I have to handle it, endure it, and do it somehow.

 Anyway, if I can't do it, no one else can.

 “I have to…  Sun…  …  .”

 It was then.

 As I made this promise over and over again, a halo of light suddenly appeared in front of me.

 The colourful, shimmering cluster of lights soon created a human image.

 The person who appeared with long black hair and white clothes spoke to me in a clear voice.

 [Transcendent Seo Woo-jin.  You have been chosen as a warrior who will be active in the anti-demon battle of the higher dimension...  …  .]

 And that person’s voice.

 “…  …  .”

 It's so familiar and so nostalgic.

 "Long time no see."

 It was the voice of my first colleague.