Undeveloped Gate

A gene mana stone with 100% synchronization rate.

What that meant was tantamount to saying that a human implanted with the gene mana stone could transform into a goblin itself, so after discussing with Yeon-ah, we decided to store this mana stone under strict security.

The 100% synchronization rate gene mana stone was to be stored in a safe that no one except the team leader Yeon-ah could open.

“It’s a shame but…”

“A gene mana stone of that level would cause various problems.”

“Yeah, well… But thanks to that, I’ve now learned how much power I need to use.”

It was a bit regrettable that a mana stone that would be priced astronomically was being buried without being used, but the General Management Team wasn’t short on money, and it was the first one made for experimental purposes anyway, so I put aside unnecessary thoughts.

I clearly realized how much energy I needed to emit thanks to the first gene mana stone.

Therefore, from the second one onwards, I started creating gene mana stones without hesitation, and by the time the deep dawn was ending.

In front of Yeon-ah and me, excellently completed products were neatly arranged.

…Click.

The case containing the last gene mana stone is carefully closed.

Then the case maintains the optimal state by expelling the internal air.

Ten such cases containing gene mana stones were neatly arranged in front of Yeon-ah and me.

“They look pretty when laid out like this.”

“Until now, they were gene mana stones of unknown race, but now we can say for certain. Goblin Clan Gene Mana Stones [NO.1] to [NO.10]. They’re all gathered here.”

The numbering attached to gene mana stones is given priority numbers based on their synchronization rate.

And the 10 gene mana stones in front of us now were all top-grade gene mana stones with 93% synchronization rate.

Therefore, each mana stone received numbering from [NO.1] to [NO.10] according to the order they were made.

For reference, the first one-off type mana stone with 100% synchronization rate was [NO.0].

As an exceptional case among exceptions, it was a gene mana stone that couldn’t be placed on the same level as other mana stones, so it was given the order of 0.

“Then now… I’ll leave the rest to you, Yeon-ah.”

“Yes, Ancestor. I will handle it perfectly.”

However, after briefly being absorbed in admiration while looking at the mana stones arranged before our eyes.

Soon, I came to my senses and woke up Yeon-ah, who seemed to be immersed in emotion, and said so.

From now on, when all the gene mana stones were completed, managing and using them was all Yeon-ah’s responsibility.

Therefore, at my words, Yeon-ah nodded with a face engraved with determination, and I turned around and left the laboratory without a word at Yeon-ah’s truly reliable answer.

About 2 to 3 weeks until Neon would have the power to take revenge.

During that time, I was planning to visit the gate that had been postponed by the Gold Flow Team, so I took out my device in the corridor and called a number I had never called before, my assistant Arang.

“Hnggggh…!!”

Stretching both arms out at the same time and stretching my stiff body.

It was early morning when the sun was starting to rise beyond there.

---

Ring ring—! Ring ring—!

In a dark room where the lights weren’t turned on.

Narang, an employee of the Hunter Association who woke up to the loudly ringing bell sound, pulled up her blanket and covered her ears.

“What crazy son of a bitch…!”

But of course, there was no way the bell sound ringing loudly throughout the room could be blocked just by a blanket.

The current time she briefly checked while half-asleep was 5 AM.

What kind of crazy person would call at this hour?

Narang had planned to sleep leisurely until the afternoon as it was one of the two shift days in a week, but she couldn’t help but swear at the phone that wouldn’t hang up even though she deliberately wasn’t answering.

“Damn… Let’s see who it is…”

In the end, Narang was the first to give up.

Narang picked up her device shining brightly in the room that was like a darkroom with all the curtains drawn, and then pushed the accept button and brought the device to her ear.

“Hello, this is Shin Narang from the Hunter Association promising kind and quick response. Which bastard are you to be calling from this dawn?”

She recites the response phrase stuck to her mouth while simultaneously spitting out curses.

At least the fact that they called her personal device and not the association’s public phone meant it was someone who had a close relationship with her.

And it was possible because there was no one among those who knew Narang’s device that she wasn’t close with.

However, what Narang was overlooking was.

[Ah, sorry. Were you sleeping by any chance?]

“…?!!”

The fact that there was one more person who had recently learned her personal device number.

[I see… Well, at this time, normal hum… no, people would all be sleeping, huh?]

“Uh, uh…?!”

Narang’s mouth loses its language function at the unforgettable voice of a girl heard through the device.

And at the girl’s, or more precisely, Shin-yeon’s very calm words, Narang felt her sleepiness completely disappear and jumped up from the bed.

First, she needed to calm down. Who was Narang herself?

Wasn’t she a master of improvisation who had built up experience in the association where all sorts of troublemakers and crazies ran rampant?

Narang immediately suppressed her confusion by slapping her own cheek once, and then cut off Shin-yeon’s words as she was about to apologize again.

[I’m sorry for calling at this hour. I forgot. I’ll call again later in the afternoon…]

“Ah, ah, no!! Th-that just now must have been a wrongly played recording due to a device error! It was something I set up to prank a senior! Ahahahaha!!!”

[…Really?]

Perhaps because it was too much of an excuse, Shin-yeon’s suspicious tone could be felt through the device.

At that, Narang used the ability of the gene mana stone implanted in her heart, Siren, while wiping away cold sweat and answered.

“Of course. More importantly, did you call me for hunter work?”

As soon as she started using the ability, her mind instantly calmed down and her voice flowed more softly.

The ability of the different race, Siren, in the gene mana stone Narang had implanted was the ability to use voice for favorability or hypnosis.

As it was a 70% synchronization rate gene mana stone bought with a year’s worth of salary, when using Siren’s hypnosis on herself for self-suggestion, she could temporarily believe what she thought was truly true.

And whether that effort was effective, Narang succeeded in changing the subject of conversation against the suspicious Shin-yeon.

[Hmm… It seems it really wasn’t a lie? Well, alright. As you said, I called for hunter work. It seems I haven’t even seen a gate for days since becoming a hunter, except for the 23rd district gate.]

“Ah… That’s certainly true.”

Indeed, the first and last time Shin-yeon had entered a gate was the Sain Clan dungeon in the 23rd district five days ago.

Since then, she hadn’t entered a gate, which could be called hunters’ workplace, even once, so it was understandable to feel restless.

That was also the reason why Narang, who had been forcibly selected as Shin-yeon’s assistant, had completely forgotten about her.

How could there be any contact between Narang and her when she hadn’t gone to a gate for five days?

During that time, she hadn’t done any assistant work except for the automatically sent hunter rankings, but now that Shin-yeon had contacted her directly, it meant that Narang herself had to start proper work.

[If possible, I want some fun gates rather than normal ones… but I can’t decide just by looking at the descriptions of each gate.]

“You mean fun gates…”

[Yeah, you’ve worked as an association employee for a long time as an assistant, right? Do you have any gates you’d recommend?]

A truly ambiguous question to answer.

It was awkward to look for gates for fun when one’s life might fly away at any moment, but it was a difficult question how to match the relative standard of fun for Shin-yeon.

But she couldn’t ask about that in detail either.

Narang swallowed a sigh at the problem left entirely to her own ability, but then clapped her hands at a memory that flashed through her mind like lightning.

“Ah…!”

[Did you think of a good gate?]

A truly good gate had just come to mind.

After all, fun starts from curiosity, and curiosity comes from the unknown, doesn’t it?

Then, since Shin-yeon had looked up all the gate information in the defense city, she should recommend an unknown gate that she hadn’t looked up.

And coincidentally, Narang had heard news about an undeveloped gate that was to be newly added to the districts just the other day.

“I heard that the exploration team that went outside the city is looking for hunters to pioneer a new gate that recently appeared near the defense city. The criteria was from at least upper mid-tier B-rank hunters, how about that?”

[Oh, a new gate. That does sound fun.]

‘Yes!!!’

At Shin-yeon’s interested response, Narang clenched her fist inwardly and cheered.

She had succeeded in piquing Shin-yeon’s interest, and with the skills she had shown, she probably wouldn’t be in danger while pioneering an undeveloped gate.

The minimum recruitment requirement was upper mid-tier B-rank hunters, so how could she, the A-rank rank 1, die during exploration?

‘Plus she has the General Management Team as her backing?’

Moreover, the General Management Team, which felt not just reliable but even oppressive, was backing Shin-yeon.

Her being selected for the pioneering team was already a foregone conclusion.

And fortunately, when this prepared plate was served to Shin-yeon, she picked up the spoon without hesitation.

[Hmm… Alright, then I should go to that new gate place. Can you prepare it?]

“Yes, yes! I’ll enter your name in the support team right now, so you just need to go according to the date I’ll text you!”

[Thanks. Then I’ll leave it to you.]

Click—

Shin-yeon ends the call with words of thanks as if there was nothing more to see.

And as soon as the call ended, Narang collapsed onto the bed as the tension was released.

“…That was close.”

Curses that stick to her mouth again as soon as the call ends.

Truly resolving to check the name first before answering any call from now on, Narang barely got up.

“I should do it right away since I said I’d apply…”

Wouldn’t it be better to do it right away rather than have problems arise from delaying?

Therefore, the moment Narang made up her mind, she immediately got up from the bed and walked to the living room where the computer was, and thus couldn’t check the text message on the device she had thrown down.

It wasn’t a big problem, but it wasn’t something that could be laughed off either.

One text message.

Ding—

-Senior Jiyoung-

[The person in charge of leading the undeveloped gate has been announced. They say it’s Lee Jinhyun and Lee So-eun from the General Management Team. Anyway, since you’ve become an assistant too, you should know just in case.]

Only the notification sound echoed in the quiet room.