Chapter 60

On the day of the gate schedule, it was raining at dawn, so the sky was very cloudy. A car stopped in front of the guild through the humid air.

"Good morning."

Unlike usual, Park Geon-ho, dressed in a combat uniform, rolled down the driver's window and winked at me. I asked with disgust.

"I heard the driver was coming... Was it you, Team Leader?"

"The best driver ever. Get in."

It was quite far from here to Area N23, so I couldn't help but get a ride. I got into the car, dragging Kim Woo-jin, who was staring at Park Geon-ho.

"Oh. The car is different from last time, Team Leader."

"This time I got a new one. How is it?"

"I don't know much about cars, but... this looks great!"

"Right?"

Park Geon-ho and Min Ah-rin, who sat in the passenger seat, chatted in a friendly atmosphere. As I watched it, I passed the lollipop into Kim Woo-jin's mouth, who seemed unhappy all the time. It was a snack I received from Min Ah-rin earlier.

* * *

Guild members and Woo Seo-hyuk were waiting at the Area N23, which had been running for over an hour, to enter the gate together.

"Team Leader!"

"Team Leader is here!"

"Team Leadeeer!"

When the guild members who had gathered together found Park Geon-ho getting out of the car, they flashed their eyes and rushed over. I flinched at the force without realizing it, but Park Geon-ho opened his mouth with a tired expression.

"What else? Did you have an accident without even entering the gate?"

"Lee Dong-joo (이동주) used his powers on me! Look at this, it hurts!"

"Park Min-jae (박민재), this bastard left the snack bag he prepared yesterday!"

"It's disgraceful, Dong-joo. If the bastard gets the first hit, he has to accept defeat."

"Dong-joo is like that. But it's kind of weird to leave a snack bag behind. I put my chocolate in there, too."

"Ah, Team Leader. Hurry up. It's annoying watching them arguing."

"Did you see the expressions on the healer teams' faces when Lee Dong-joo and Park Min-jae fought? They are really very pitiful. They have to stay with them at the gate for the next three days. If it were me, I would be embarrassed and run away."

Ten members of the guild with huge bodies began to pour out a huge amount of words around us. It felt like my ears were being attacked.

"But, Team Leader, who are the people who came in the car with you?"

"Oh, I know him!"

A man named Lee Dong-joo looked at me and shouted.

"SS-ranks in both hands!"

"Puhaha."

At the same time as my expression cooled, Park Geon-ho, who was standing next to me, burst into laughter.

"Ah~ That A-rank mercenary? Is it real?"

"Hey. You're Han Yi-gyeol, right? Nice to meet you."

"Shake hands with me, too."

"Ah, yes..."

I received handshakes from all over the place one by one. The corners of Kim Woo-jin's eyebrows, who watched it, became sharper.

"Are you close with our Team Leader?"

"Oh my gosh. What is it, Team Leader? Do you know Han Yi-gyeol-ssi?"

"Team Leader is close with the Master. I guess he introduced him?"

Park Geon-ho, who was asked the question, grinned and put his arm on my shoulder. As soon as I got it, Kim Woo-jin threw it out instead of me.

"We met at the SS-grade gate."

"Ah, right. Team Leader had been there, right?"

"I forgot."

"Who are the two behind Han Yi-gyeol-ssi?"

"These two are members who have been to SS-grade gate. Healer Min Ah-rin-ssi and Master's Attendant Kim Woo-jin."

"Ah~ Healer Min Ah-rin. It's a pleasure to meet such a famous person like this."

"Does it seem like Attendant Kim Woo-jin attendant really hates Team Leader?"

"I hate our Team Leader, too. He seems like a good fit for me."

Park Geon-ho, who shook his head as if he couldn't stop the noisy team members, introduced them.

"These guys belong to the Special Operations Division. Everyone is a little noisy, but their abilities are worth using, so don't worry."

The explanation reminded me of the words I heard at the SS-grade gate.

'They said it's a den of crazy people. Several people said they were laughing happily, covered in blood in the hallways...'

Min Ah-rin must have listened as well, but she shook hands with her team members with a bright smile on her face that she knew nothing.

"Nice to meet you. Please take good care of me in this gate."

The male team member, who was lucky enough to shake hands with Min Ah-rin while standing in the front, grinned. What a man.

"After the greetings are over, I hope you will be ready to depart soon."

Woo Seo-hyuk, who was watching us from behind, interrupted with a hard voice. It was an appropriate point as there were 15 minutes left until departure.

"Is there anyone who hasn't prepared for departure yet?"

"What about you, Team Leader? You just came, when are you ready?"

"All the Team Leader need is an iron ball, what does he need to prepare? So where is your sword? Did you exchange it for candy?"

"You don't have eyes? It's on my back."

"What... Is that a sword or a guitar on your back? He's funny."

"Pahahak! Look at this! I brought you this broken dagger!"

"Oh, damn it. Hey, does anyone have any daggers left?"

"Who else carries such a thing other than you? Now go to the guild and get it."

"We have 12 minutes left, is that possible? If you don't come on time, just throw it away."

The louder the guild members were, the colder Woo Seo-hyuk's expression became. In the meantime, Park Geon-ho, rather than stopping it, was busy babbling between them.

Seeing this, I think I can understand why Woo Seo-hyuk hates Park Geon-ho.

Be strong, Woo Seo-hyuk. I sent support to Woo Seo-hyuk, who touched his forehead with a tired expression as if he had a headache.

* * *

In the end, we entered the gate 10 minutes later than the originally scheduled time.

"Because Secretary Woo Seo-hyuk is too stiff."

"What do you do on the weekend, Secretary?"

"Would you like to bet? I vote for work."

"You work on the weekends? Does such a person exist?"

"If it's Secretary Woo Seo-hyuk who lives a boring life, I think it would be."

"But. It's hard to imagine him watching movies, drinking beer, and playing games like everyone else."

"You idiots. Basically, someone like Secretary goes to a club and has a lot of fun. Look at his face. Will the girls leave him alone?"

"His is better than your face."

"Are you done, Shim Soo-yeon (심수연)?"

Upon hearing this, Woo Seo-hyuk sighed with a tired face. The suffering Woo Seo-hyuk could not be seen and Park Geon-ho, who was in charge, looked around with a refreshing face.

"Let's go. Be careful as there may be some problem with the gate."

"It's a desert again."

"Yes. But it is different from SS-grade. We're going inside that historical site."

At Min Ah-rin's words, Park Geon-ho pointed to the historical site in front of him.

The triangular-shaped ruins similar to pyramids were huge. The historical site that standing alone under the bright sunlight was pretty cool.

Park Geon-ho pushed the door of the huge historical site. Geugeugeugeuk, the door slowly opened as sand dripped from above.

Torches were burning at regular intervals in the sandstone wide corridor. Park Geon-ho, who was moving forward with careful steps, stopped his steps while looking to the right.

Kirk. Kirrk.

Within five minutes after entering the historical site, the sounds of beasts roared all over the place. I remembered the gate material I had looked at beforehand.

There were three types of monsters that appeared in the beginning. Goblins, Kobolds, Dwarf zombies (고블린, 코볼트, 난쟁이좀비). Among them, the monster that appeared this time was,

Kieeek!

Kieek! Kururuk. Kuruk.

It was a bunch of Kobolds. A Kobold with a wrinkled face, skinny limbs, a bulging belly and a blood-stained saw, drooling green saliva, looked quite disgusting. The healer team, including Min Ah-rin, frowned and retreated.

"Close team."

As Park Geon-ho rolled his iron ball into his hand and spoke, the five men came forward with their weapons.

"Oh, Team Leader. Are you going to throw the balls when we fight again?"

"It was at which gate two months ago. Who was the one who got his back burn because of the Team Leader's ability?"

"Is that Jae-hyuk?"

"Stop talking and get to work. OK?"

Park Geon-ho flew the iron ball he had placed on his finger as if it were bouncing. Kieeek! The explosion spurted fire and the Kobolds screamed. At the same time, the close team attacked, wielding their weapons.

Kobolds were B-grade monsters, but they were not easy to deal with due to their large number and vicious habits. I watched the close team fight by killing the Kobolds running in front of the healer team.

'That's amazing.'

Whatever the rumours were, they're famous for a reason. As the Special Operations Division was going on a business trip to the Middle East Gate, which was famous with an atrocious environment, they were not pushed by the Kobold viciousness.

"Ah, Kobold's blood splashed in your face!"

Among them, the one who drew the most attention was a guild member with a long spear. As a result of this, she, with her ponytail hair, who was similar height, showed golden electricity and her strong muscles every time she swung her spear.

I couldn't help but marvel at the sight of him clad in the green blood of a kobold and swinging her spear with excitement. I thought his name came out when he was talking with the team members. Was it Shim Soo-yeon?

More than 20 Kobolds were slaughtered in 10 minutes. The close team returned as they stepped on the floor covered in green blood.

"Ah, that's why Goblins or Dwarf zombies are better. I threw away one of my clothes."

"Aren't you developing something like a potion that wipes away dirt when you spray it?"

"Why would the research team make such a thing?"

While the close team grumbled while shaking off their clothes soaked in Kobold blood, the person with the ability to measure the grade has finished.

"Umm..."

"Why?"

Park Geon-ho, who was waiting for the measurement result next to the person with the ability to measure, questioned the ambiguous reaction.

"This is a bit odd."

"Did its grade go up?"

"No, rather..."

The measuring ability, who hesitated for a moment, continued.

"Its rating has gone down."

"Hmm?"

Did the numbers drop? I approached Park Geon-ho for a detailed explanation.

"How far did it fall?"

"The previous record was 56.8% B grade, now it is 12.99% B grade. Of course, the numbers are slightly different each time, but... It's the first time it's fallen this far."

"The number has not risen, but rather has fallen... Should this be considered as an anomaly?"

So far, there had been several occasions where the number soared and the rating went up but never before had the number fallen as much as this time.

"I get it for now. If there are any other problems, please report them immediately."

"Yes."

When the measuring ability returned, Park Geon-ho sighed with a dissatisfied expression on his face.

"I expected an S+ grade monster to appear, but the numbers are rather falling..."

"Aren't you relieved? The risk is lowered."

"Disappointed..."

"Be an adult, Team Leader Park Geon-ho."

I was clicking my tongue as I saw Park Geon-ho, who was truly sad, and Woo Seo-hyuk approached me.

"What's going on?"

"Because the ratings are weird."

"Are you sure it's up?"

"No, it fell the other way around. The anomaly is correct, but... it's an unusual case."

Woo Seo-hyuk also looked surprised at my explanation.

"That's a rather surprising result."

"That said, but I feel a bit uncomfortable."

Perhaps it was because I worked hard every time I entered the gate, so even if the difficulty level was lowered, I was not easily relieved.

At the words, Woo Seo-hyuk nodded his head with a calm expression.

"It is true that the gate has changed due to an anomaly, so it is right to be alert like Han Yi-gyeol-ssi. I will pass this on to everyone."

I turned my body and looked at Woo Seo-hyuk's back as he walked towards the guild members. The sticky blood from Kobold's corpse was clinging to the soles of his shoes.