Mutated Gate

One week before the Red Gate incident broke out.

“Is this really… correct?”

Government official Do Bong-sik asked the person who had come to see him and handed him a black sphere.

“I tell you this because you are a mid-level manager, but this world will soon be brought to ruin. Because They shall descend upon this land.”

“Really!?”

Startled, Do Bong-sik was a Cultist of Ruin who eagerly awaited the descent of the ‘King’ who would bring about the ruin of this land. He was also someone who had reached more of the truth after being promoted to mid-level manager, and to Do Bong-sik, who was soon to advance higher, the man said,

“It is an object containing the child of that Being, so it must be placed near the core.”

“Near… the core?”

The man nodded and spoke.

“If you enter while carrying it, the monsters will not attack you, and you may use this to come back out.”

Receiving the Emergency Escape Stone, Do Bong-sik showed due respect to his direct superior, then tucked away the black sphere and headed for the Gate.

He had no distrust, and firmly believed that this was a holy act through which they would be saved when the world was brought to ruin.

And a few hours later, the black sphere came to rest near the core.

‘May God’s will be with us!’

With that prayer, Do Bong-sik took out the Escape Stone and immediately used it, and after instantly returning outside, he looked in surprise at his direct superior, who had still not left the spot.

“Ah, you were still here?”

It was Do Bong-sik’s question, and Min Tae-jin, the Chairman of the Awakener Association, who had his hand inside the Gate while examining the changes within in order to confirm that Do Bong-sik had handled the task properly, looked at Do Bong-sik and said,

“It will take about a week for the sphere to bloom, so the screening must be made as strict as possible. I too will prepare accordingly.”

“Of course.”

“May God’s will be with us….”

“For ruin….”

The two men parted ways while making a specific gesture.

One week later, two hours after the Red Gate appeared.

“A Red Gate….”

After examining the suddenly changed Gate, Do Bong-sik could not help but marvel as he confirmed that the red-colored Gate, which had recently become an issue, was an ‘artificial mutation.’

‘So a Gate containing the child of God turns red. Then what in the world is yellow?’

The entire world was in an uproar over Gate mutations.

That was because until now, the only mutation process Gates had undergone was a simple emergency Break that split them into fixed-type and diffusion-type.

But for the Gate itself to transform was a phenomenon beyond all expectations, and every country had been mobilizing large numbers of Awakeners to search the interiors in order to understand what had been designated as Red Gates and Yellow Gates.

However, the only things properly uncovered were that the monsters had been strengthened, and that a state was maintained in which monsters could naturally come out to the outside.

The fact that it changed as though it were natural for monsters to go back and forth, and that the Gate Core had vanished, had become the problematic points.

But the part that raised yet another question here was the Yellow Gate.

It was that everything inside, including the Gate Core, disappeared.

Because of traces that made it seem as though everything had been erased by something, the Awakener Association in France, where the Gate had appeared, was conducting a large-scale investigation of the Gate, and based on the speculation that there might be something beneath the only thing left inside, the ‘terrain,’ they were continuing their investigation over the course of several weeks.

‘Seeing that they had me place the black sphere near the core, it is certain that the King’s seed devoured the core and did something. But what exactly was the purpose of that sphere?’

No matter that he was a mid-level manager among the Cultists of Ruin, he only had limited information, so all he could do was burn with frustration.

Just then, it was the vice guild master of the Noblesse Guild who came to him with a question.

“It may have mutated into a Red Gate, but since we secured the exclusive rights, that means they cannot strip us of our authority in this matter, correct?”

“According to Association regulations, it is true that a protection period is designated, but since there are still no clear detailed rules for Red Gates, I need to confirm with the Association.”

“You already said that thirty minutes ago. Exactly how long are we supposed to wait?”

“Th-that… I am anxious too.”

“I heard the Red Gate in the United Kingdom had monsters come out and cause damage. So if the same happens here, and monsters suddenly start pouring out from inside and cause problems, you will just shift the responsibility onto us, will you not?”

Since it was a Gate that had appeared in the middle of the city, if Awakeners used their power while hunting monsters, the surrounding buildings would not survive intact.

They were tense because the Noblesse Guild might end up having to shoulder that damage.

That was why so many guild members had been placed at the Gate entrance, staying tense in case monsters emerged from the Gate.

The longer their tension was maintained, the more their fatigue would accumulate and the worse their efficiency would become. Knowing that was why they were pressing him, Do Bong-sik waited.

Then, right on cue, the phone rang, and when he answered it, his direct superior told him that permission had been granted.

For now, it has been approved to apply the same response policy as before, and if a problem occurs, to form an alliance with nearby guilds and subjugate it together. -

“May I relay it that way?”

At the response telling him to do so, Do Bong-sik conveyed the instructions he had received, then finished signing the entry authorization papers.

Afterward, the Noblesse Guild was seen quickly inspecting their equipment before entering the Gate.

‘The Noblesse Guild did not have a single 1st Generation member, did it?’

Do Bong-sik kept repeating ‘God’s will’ in his mind without rest, anticipating that they would become suitable sacrifices.

Meanwhile, after entering the Gate, Jang Tae-jun looked around and tensed at the heaviness of his body.

“Adjust your movements. Adaptation comes first.”

It was certainly important to go hunt monsters, but before hunting them, it was only right to firmly examine and check the condition of one’s own body first.

And Jang Tae-jun, who could be called a veteran, checked their formation as he looked over the guild members who had come with him.

“The Gate itself is Grade 4. It is by no means small. We must be clear that the monsters will have strengthened because it has become a Red Gate, and begin by setting up a forward base.”

“How long do you estimate the operation period will be?”

It was the question of a guild member with earth-based abilities who had come to build the forward base, and after looking around, Jang Tae-jun set the period based on the information he had received.

“Fifteen days. The Guild Master will be joining us in two days, so until then, we clean up the surroundings properly and prepare for subjugation.”

“You are estimating as much as fifteen days?”

“Even fifteen days is a short estimate. It is right to proceed safely. This is the first situation where it would not be strange for any variable to appear.”

“What if the government interferes?”

At the guild member’s question, Jang Tae-jun said there was no need to worry about that part.

“That is why the Guild Master is coming in two days. He said he would shut people up appropriately and grease a few palms around the area.”

“Heh, being a Guild Master is no easy job either.”

“Well, what in times like these ever goes the way we want? Move already!”

Jang Tae-jun clapped his hands and urged the guild members on, and the guild members busily moved about, manipulating the terrain to erect walls and setting up the barricades they had brought.

As he watched that blankly, Jang Tae-jun recalled the Gate information.

‘They said the monsters were Kobolds. If those things mutated, just how strong did they become?’

Kobolds were not especially impressive monsters.

However, because they had a tendency to move in groups, could handle various tools, and were fairly intelligent, they were troublesome creatures, no less than Goblins.

In truth, there were many who looked down on the four types of monsters—Orcs, Goblins, Gnolls, and Kobolds—but in fact, the monsters that caused the greatest casualties among Awakeners were also those four kinds.

There were many cases where people let their guard down or looked down on them, only to be counterattacked and killed.

In the end, even Awakeners were human.

They were only strong humans, but still living beings made of flesh and blood, and with the strength and abilities of monsters, piercing human skin and breaking bone was no difficult task.

In the end, it meant they stood in a relationship of killing and being killed.

That was why Jang Tae-jun could not help but be tense.

Soon, once the fortification work was completed quickly, they divided into guild members bringing in supplies from outside and personnel standing guard inside, and were systematically preparing their assault, when Jang Tae-jun spotted a Kobold peeking its head out from a distant forest and watching them.

“A monster. Hold!”

At that shout, everyone simultaneously set down their supplies, climbed up onto the ramparts, and prepared for defense. But then the Kobold simply stared at them for a long while before withdrawing, and Jang Tae-jun felt an ominous unease.

‘There was no fear at all in that Kobold’s eyes. And besides…. Its head looked larger than that of a normal individual.’

Moreover, because the head height of the one that had hidden and watched them was far higher than expected, Jang Tae-jun immediately jumped down from the wall and ran outside.

Some of the guild members hurriedly followed behind him, and sensing that, Jang Tae-jun shouted.

“Do not relax your guard. Something is not right!”

At those words, the guild members tensed, and when Jang Tae-jun reached the tree and checked the height, he was horrified.

‘…A Kobold over 2 meters tall…?’

The average Kobold was around 110 cm to 130 cm. But no matter how he looked at it, the height of the tree where the head had appeared was over 2 meters.

Only then, filled with inexplicable unease, he hurried back to the wall and issued an order.

“Something is wrong. Request outside support, and make the defensive wall higher and thicker….”

Fweeeak, thud!

“Aaaagh!! An, an ambush!!”

Something flew in and stabbed through a guild member’s shoulder, then knocked that guild member down below the wall.

It was an arrow, and because it was so large that it would not be an exaggeration to call it a short spear, Jang Tae-jun shouted to everyone.

“Get out of the Gate!! Defend from outside!!”

Their confusion lasted only a moment. As a rain of countless arrows poured down, the Noblesse Guild members desperately deployed shields or used their abilities to defend against the assault while slowly retreating.

Meanwhile, Jang Tae-jun climbed to a high place and drew his sword, and with light swings alone, he knocked away every attack aimed at him as he carefully observed the enemy’s condition. Then he became certain.

‘This is an abnormal mutation. How many of them are there…?’

A group of over several hundred Kobolds, each around 2 meters in size, was advancing in formation as though they were an army.

He was certain that this was not a situation to think of lightly, and as he leaped down from the wall and headed for the Gate, he became certain.

‘The world is definitely going to hell.’

With the Noblesse Guild’s evacuation, a large-scale exodus began around the Red Gate, including the nearby residential district and shopping area.