# Chapter 50
‘…Won’t this break apart?’
It would be problematic if the cave collapsed. With Lee Seungwoo there, they probably wouldn’t be crushed to death even if the cave ceiling caved in, but it felt strange to be destroying perfectly stable ground. Since this cliff was right behind the hotel, it might even be hotel property. Surely they wouldn’t demand compensation for something like this?
Just as he was thinking that…
The cave wall started cracking from the top, and through that gap, a powerful whirlwind began to blow. To Ko Eungyo, this was the same wind that Lee Seungwoo had created earlier.
“This is…”
Due to the sound of the wind, Lee Seungwoo’s murmuring was barely audible. The cave wall was crumbling all at once. It was no longer a wall. It repeatedly broke apart and shattered, sometimes clumping like mud, sometimes dissolving like water.
Ko Eungyo watched the formation of the gate entrance with an excited face.
For some reason, the gate that had seemed to disappear had begun to form again. Perhaps this was simply a matter of timing. Ko Eungyo turned to Lee Seungwoo with a very satisfied expression. Having witnessed the gate’s formation, their job was done.
“Great. Now let’s go back up and call others. Good job, Seungwoo-kun.”
“It was nothing… wait a moment.”
Lee Seungwoo’s slightly smiling face suddenly froze.
“Hm?”
The next moment, Lee Seungwoo embraced Ko Eungyo with almost lightning speed and tried to escape the cave. The cave was so small that it wasn’t even ten steps to the outside, but the reason they didn’t succeed in time was because the cave had already decided to suck them in.
It all felt like slow motion.
And then, an extremely intense pressure engulfed the two of them…
He lost consciousness.
*
The overall guidelines for gate operations are as follows:
First, the entire team that will clear the gate must enter during the first entry. This is because the gate door won’t open again until the boss monster is defeated.
Second, there is a “benefit” for teams that clear the gate. When the boss monster is defeated, a temporary escape portal is created that allows immediate exit from the gate, but this portal disappears after 30 minutes. If the team that cleared the gate decides to stay, they can have exclusive rights to that gate from that point on.
After defeating the boss monster, minor monsters in the gate infinitely respawn. While not visibly noticeable, when a powered individual kills a monster, they accumulate “experience points.” Therefore, teams that don’t leave through the portal can stay in the gate for about 3 days, hunting monsters to gain experience. It’s common knowledge among field operatives that when enough experience points accumulate, their rank increases.
However, due to the risk of injury from variables that arise while dealing with infinitely respawning monsters or from accumulated fatigue, most people now use the escape portal to leave immediately. In that case, all monsters inside the gate disappear.
Third, if they decide to receive the benefit, a new escape portal is created after 3 days, replacing the temporary one that disappeared. Furthermore, this escape portal never disappears. When a powered individual exits the gate through this escape portal, a portal that allows entry into the gate is also created outside, and through this portal, people can freely come and go to collect samples from inside the gate.
Drip, drip.
The sound of water droplets could be heard.
Slowly, his hazy consciousness became clear. It seemed he had lost consciousness due to the sensation of his awareness being pulled away, and he couldn’t remember anything after that. Now… he felt like he was nestled against something soft and comfortable.
“Ah…”
“Are you awake, Professor?”
…It was Lee Seungwoo. So… that wasn’t an illusion. He was indeed in Lee Seungwoo’s arms.
“How did this… Where are we?”
He had clearly lost consciousness after confirming the gate’s formation, but what he saw now… was a completely different cave from before.
Earlier, it had been a cave so narrow and shallow that it was almost embarrassing to call it a cave, but this place was different. Like Jeju’s crystal cave, it was so deep that it was impossible to tell how far it went, with a high ceiling—an enormous cave. When he asked if Lee Seungwoo had moved him here, a calm answer came back.
“We’re inside the gate.”
“What… did you say?”
Lee Seungwoo’s explanation went like this:
As soon as he sensed danger, he embraced Ko Eungyo to protect him and tried to escape, but a strange boundary appeared, preventing them from fleeing beyond it. Then they lost consciousness under the pressure that constricted their entire bodies. When they opened their eyes, they were inside the gate. He had reached out his hand beyond the door to try to get out, but it wouldn’t pass through. He said that originally, this cave wasn’t this large.
“It was an unstable gate. The entire cliff seems to have been the gate entrance.”
“…”
The gate hadn’t been disappearing. It had been steadily eating away at the inside of the cliff to increase its size. Without realizing that, he had asked Lee Seungwoo to try smashing the gate.
The gate, cracked by the unexpected impact, had some kind of reaction and swallowed them, expanding its size dramatically as it consumed them.
And currently…
The incomplete gate had confirmed their connection to it and, considering Lee Seungwoo and Ko Eungyo as the first visitors, had closed the gate door.
“Hah…”
Ko Eungyo slowly rubbed his forehead. Then he got up from Lee Seungwoo’s embrace.
He had never intended to enter the gate alone with Lee Seungwoo like this. To be honest, blindly entering a gate as soon as it formed without figuring out what kind of gate it was, was as good as a suicide attempt—an extremely dangerous act.
Gates could be thoroughly analyzed from the outside using detectors and powers to determine what kind they were. This analysis was a crucial element for successfully clearing a gate without human casualties. The principle was to identify what monsters would appear and what properties they had, then run sufficient gate simulations to clear the gate without casualties.
Moreover, this gate had formed by the sea. Being a gate created in such an unusual environment, there could be situations requiring long periods of underwater stealth, or ridiculously difficult monsters might appear.
“This is a serious problem.”
Ko Eungyo muttered weakly. Even for him, it was the first time entering a gate without knowing what kind it was.
If he hadn’t come down with Lee Seungwoo to check for gate signals, or at least if he hadn’t asked him to try breaking the cave wall, this wouldn’t have happened.
“I’m sorry, Seungwoo-kun. I asked you to hit the wall without knowing this would happen.”
“It’s alright.”
He wanted to ask how it could be alright when they could die. But his conscience prevented him from asking that. When Ko Eungyo remained silent, Lee Seungwoo, however he interpreted this, looked at Ko Eungyo with concerned eyes.
“Are you scared?”
“…”
Having entered gates many times before, was there even a need to be scared? He was worried about whether it would be possible to clear this gate with Lee Seungwoo as his only asset.
If only he had brought his backpack, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about food and shelter… but since he hadn’t, it was an even bigger problem. They needed to resolve this gate as quickly as possible. They didn’t have even the minimum food necessary for survival, and finding drinking water would be even harder. Sleeping was also an issue. They would never be safe, and Lee Seungwoo wouldn’t be able to get any rest.
Yes, Lee Seungwoo.
Lee Seungwoo was an Esper in the most dangerous situation with his Guide. An ordinary Esper would have gone mad from stress long ago. What was most required in this situation was the Guide’s calmness. He needed to encourage the Esper, helping him fully utilize his abilities to clear the gate.
He deliberately muttered in a grumpy tone.
“…Am I just an ordinary person? I don’t get scared by something like this.”
At that, Lee Seungwoo let out a small laugh. Then he approached Ko Eungyo, who had moved slightly away from him.
Despite laughing, given how he constantly tried to stick close to Ko Eungyo, it was easy to guess that Lee Seungwoo was feeling considerable anxiety.
That’s when Lee Seungwoo suggested:
“But it is dangerous, so how about you let me carry you as we move?”
“…No, but.”
“We don’t know what might jump out from the ground in this situation.”
“…”
He wasn’t wrong. This was a gate, and they didn’t know what monsters might be here. Fortunately, the Esper who had entered the gate with him was an elemental-type Esper with relatively versatile compatibility. If a monster suddenly appeared from the air or ground, he could protect him admirably.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
