48

It was 5:30 am. Six hours had passed since I went inside the gate.

It was obvious that everyone was in shock.

Around the world, gates changed their ranks simultaneously. So far, they had information about three other gates that were like the one I had just cleared. However, unlike this one, two of those gates were not yet cleared.

News reports claimed that the US had tried to clear one such gate, but they had failed to do so. In fact, all the Hunters who had attempted to clear that gate failed and died inside. Ko-gu-Rea guild would have been on the same path if I hadn’t been there.

Two men were carefully carrying a bag with Mr. Han’s dead body inside. One of them was Hyeok. His eyes were dead and he looked exhausted. He seemed like a very different man from just a few hours ago. When we had met this morning, he had been very bright and cheery.

Our eyes met, and he and the rest of the Ko-gu-Rea guild members bowed deeply to me.

Reporters took numerous photos of us. I wanted to destroy those cameras, but I managed to hold myself back.

The Ko-gu-Rea guild members started going down the mountain. I stayed for a while until someone approached me. It was Jeong Gi-Hoon. I looked at him in surprise.

“You’ve been here the whole time?”

“Well, these reporters were blocking my way down. Plus, a lot of people came and tried to watch. That’s why I had to stay and do my job.”

I nodded and looked around. Ee-Na, So-Eun, Yoo-Jeong, and the rest of the ROKHA team members were not here.

“The others went to control other areas. Because of this incident, no one is allowed to enter any gates.”

“Is that just for Korea?”

“Nope. Every gate in the world is forbidden for entry.”

That was quite odd to hear. Every single gate?

Jeong Gi-Hoon seemed to read my thoughts, so he explained.

“There are five gates that are about to cause a dungeon break. Hunters will be sent to resolve them by today.”

Luckily, our country didn’t have one. Gi-Hoon murmured to himself.

I looked up at the mountain. The view from here was quite nice.

While I was lost in thought, Gi-Hoon asked me a question. “…What exactly happened inside?”

Well, that was hard to answer.

“I don’t know. There was a monster, and he killed Mr. Han in a single blow.”

“………..”

“So I killed him and the other boss monster, too.”

That was it. That was really it.

“Um… Master wanted you to call him. Shall I call him now?”

I shook my head promptly. “I’ll just go there directly.”

“Where? To Cheon-Myeong?”

“Will you come with me?”

“Um… I think I’ll stay here for a while. As you know, things are getting worse… I have remaining work to do.”

I nodded, patted his shoulder, and headed back alone.

***

There were two ways to control the news media. One was to cooperate with them, and the other was to issue a news blackout.

Lee Ho could do both of those things. That was simply how powerful he was.

However, he didn’t choose to do the latter. He cooperated with them and naturally took control of the situation. He had never issued a news blackout as well, so the news media naturally took his side.

Today’s reports were quite simple.

[ Breaking News! Korea, China, and England experienced a change in their gates’ ranks. It is an unusual and surprising event… ]

[ China’s ‘Blue Gold’ guild and UK’s ‘Constantine’ guild are annihilated. One hundred and fifty-one people are confirmed to be dead. In addition, Han Seong-Tae, the leader of Ko-gu-Rea guild, was… ]

[ There’s a new hero in town. Our only casualty was the death of Han Seong-Tae. Lee Hwan, brother of Lee Ho, saved everyone and… ]

[ According to the video footage we received, he defeated that monster in five minutes. We wanted to show you his absolute power, but Mr. Lee Hwan didn’t agree to share his video…]

…And so on. Every news report was in a hopeful tone, with no hint of despair to them. Lee Ho slowly put down his tablet.

He sighed and asked, “Are you sure that you don’t want to share the video?”

Lee Ho was talking to Lee Hwan. They were in Cheon-Myeong’s restaurant.

Surprisingly, Hwan had grabbed a pot to cook. While showcasing his excellent cooking skills, he answered.

“I bet some people will pass away after seeing that video.”

“…Indeed. It was a bit cruel.”

There were a lot of people in the restaurant, but everyone was part of Cheon-Myeong’s guild. They were observing the famous brothers, especially Lee Hwan, because he was showing off extravagant cooking gestures.

He was cooking Mapo Tofu.

His performance was amazing. Everyone enjoyed watching him cook. Although Lee Hwan was not smiling, his mood and the scent of the food made everyone joyful. That was Lee Hwan’s purpose; he tried to make food to comfort everyone.

Everyone was smiling as if they had forgotten what just happened. In fact, they were all hopeful that this problem would be resolved soon.

There was a famous phrase that said that a hero appeared when a tragedy was to occur.

For Korea, that hero had been Lee Ho, but now there might just be another one. That thought was on everyone’s minds.

Lee Ho knew his brother well. He knew that Lee Hwan would not like that to happen, that his brother would consider it a tiresome event. And so, he asked just to affirm himself.

“Should I let the news run with your story?”

Lee Hwan passed a plate to Ho and answered, “Do as you wish.”

Lee Hwan had indeed cooked a lot of food because a lot of people were there.

He loved sharing his food with others. Everyone thanked him profusely, which made Hwan smile without saying anything. Ho, seeing that, couldn’t help but smile.

Some might think that the life of a hero was indeed easy.

However, Ho did not agree with that. Hero? It was a position with a lot of pressure attached to it. A hero must answer to the citizens’ expectations. If something bad were to happen, they blamed the hero for it. He had experienced a lot of such cases.

He didn’t want his brother to go down the same path that he did, so Ho decided to remove the news article.

One hero was enough. Lee Hwan should be a free man without any responsibilities to think about. This was what Ho could do for his brother, a way for him to thank his older brother.

Lee Ho placed a spoonful of Hwan’s Mapo Tofu in his mouth. It was delicious, and he felt strangely comfortable. Hwan certainly was an expert chef. Without exaggeration, it was like magic.

He could manipulate everyone’s emotions with food. Was this even possible?

If he were to become a professional chef, he would definitely be a very successful man. Ho was sure of that.

The restaurant in Cheon-Myeong had long since settled into a comfortable atmosphere. Everyone enjoyed the food and was relaxed and happy. After tidying up, Lee Hwan sat next to Ho and asked him a question.

“You are leaving tomorrow, right?”

“You mean for China?”

“Yes.”

Lee Ho smiled and asked him, “Are you worried?”

“A little.”

China wanted to clear its gate as soon as possible. The gate had appeared in Chong Qing, one of the largest cities in China.

They had six days left until the dungeon break, but it was nothing to worry about. It would certainly be cleared by tomorrow, but Hwan was worried about his brother.

“Should I go with you?”

“Well… Since you’re saying that, I’m more inclined to go alone.”

Lee Hwan laughed. His humor was getting better and better.

“Is that your way of saying that you don’t want to be a burden?”

“It can be seen as that. Think as you wish.”

Ho didn’t want to always rely on Hwan’s power. In fact, Ho can handle every gate that has appeared in the world so far.

It was not Hwan’s turn to use his power yet. His time would come when the Hunters couldn’t deal with the current situation anymore.

Hwan was indeed his insurance. After seeing his video from Ko-gu-Rea guild, he was certain that Hwan should be a free man. Until his turn comes, it was Ho who should be responsible. He smiled.

“It’s a bit odd to say this about myself, but I’m one of the big three, you know.”

That indeed made sense. Balmung was strong. His physical ability was stronger than that of Ho’s, but that only counted for physical ability. Lee Ho also had manifesting skills. The only problem was that he used part of his life for that power.

That was why Hwan had thought that Ho looked sickly when he had seen his brother for the first time again. Ho was using part of his own life to fight against the gates.

That, fortunately, can be refilled through an elixir, which is considered a divine drink.

Lee Hwan had made Lee Ho drink it, pouring elixir on a stew so that he could eat good food as well. Lee Hwan still remembered Ho’s smile after eating the food.

Also, Ho’s ability got stronger as he faced stronger enemies. With his skill, he could manifest the enemy he has already fought. In a way, it was more like a summoning skill.

There certainly were some restrictions, but he had been fighting for ten years. He had been using his skill for a long time now, so he knew how to use his ability efficiently. Hwan could tell that Ho knew his ability the most.

“Hwan.”

“Go ahead.”

“I’m not the type of person who relies only on my power and acts like a fool.”

Lee Hwan knew that he always was a calm and prepared man.

“I can see that, you know.”

“Good.”

However, there was always a possibility that a dangerous event might occur.

“Three days…”

“Hm?”

“I heard that a dungeon break happens when two weeks have passed since the first appearance of a gate.”

“That was precise. Did you study that?”

“I did. I had a job, so I needed to learn it. Anyway, whatever gate you enter, if you don’t come out…”

“Then?”

Lee Hwan, with a confident voice, declared to his brother, “I will go for you. Just don’t die.”

He was always reliable, after all.

“Alright, I’ll keep that in mind.”

They ate the rest of their dinner in silence. After they had eaten, Ho called Hwan to inform him about something.

“Tomorrow, a unique skill holder from the UK will come here.”

“That Scouter lady?”

“Yes. I heard that her ability had been enhanced as well.”

“That’s weird timing.”

Her ability was enhanced right after the appearance of irregular gates.

“That is weird indeed. Anyway, Her name is Sophie Winsted, and she said she’ll look over all the gates in the world. After finishing her job in the UK, she will come to Korea.”

Lee Hwan tilted his head as if he was asking what it meant for him.

“Why are you informing me?”

Lee Ho paused for a while and then asked him.

“I thought you studied for your supervisor job, but you don’t know Sophie Winsted?”

Lee Hwan shrugged. Her name did sound familiar; he had probably heard it from Yoo-Jeong before.

Ho explained some more.

“She is the president of the UK’s Hunter authority. It’s unlikely to happen, but if the authority remains, she will be the next president of the World Hunter Organization. Oh, and she is also the same age as you.”

Ho took a sip of water before he continued.

“She wants to see you.”