Undeveloped Gate(2)

The defense city, boasting an enormous size made up of a total of 51 districts.

On the outskirts of such a defense city, there was a seamless steel wall to prevent the entry of monsters rampaging outside.

A 200-meter-thick mana alloy barrier wall managed daily by the Protection Team.

The defense city was protected by a wall that wouldn’t even crack even if the Giant Clan struck it with full force, and to go outside, one always had to pass over the wall through the Protection Team.

The Protection Team’s village built on top of the 500-meter-high wall that appears when taking the elevator up.

That was the village where the members of the Protection Team who focused on guarding the outside lived, and to go outside, one had to go up to this Protection Team village and receive thorough inspection.

Only after receiving such thorough inspection could one take the elevator on the opposite side and go down to the outside.

And what spreads out before those who set foot on the outside land like this are the ruins of collapsed past cities and land crawling with monsters.

One enters a lawless zone that is incomparably more dangerous than gates and where one must not let their guard down.

Usually, only the Five Major Powers’ external exploration teams or S-rank hunters could go out to this lawless zone.

The defense city where only they occasionally went out to find information on past cities or new expansion areas.

However, if there was one case where others besides them could leave the defense city, it was when a new gate was discovered near the defense city’s barrier wall.

A new gate appearing near the barrier wall was like a precious mine where mana stones could be supplied, so hunters or workers matching the rank were immediately dispatched to these new gates.

And there were those who found an expansion area with a new gate in this exploration, and they were members of the General Management Team’s founding family.

They were Lee Jinhyun and Lee So-eun, the second son and second daughter.

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Thump thump thump—

-Hold that properly there!

-Are you going to take responsibility if monsters rush in?! I said set it up straight, straight!!

-All you new recruits, wake up!

Vibrations shaking the air and tool sounds ringing loudly.

The commotion of the construction site where the Protection Team’s personnel are setting up the skeleton of a temporary barrier wall fills the surroundings.

And watching the sight of numerous hunters coming across from beyond the defense city’s barrier wall through such a construction site, the two siblings from the General Management Team who discovered this gate, Lee Jinhyun and Lee So-eun, each let out exclamations.

“Whew… They’re coming in droves.”

“Yeah. It’s packed tightly from security personnel to construction workers to hunters supporting the undeveloped gate pioneering.”

It was already chaotic just from the construction sounds of setting up a temporary barrier wall around the undeveloped gate, but with easily hundreds of people gathering like this, their eyes were getting tired.

If there was any consolation, it was that the open space where Jinhyun and So-eun were standing on a platform and where the hunters should gather was wide and quiet.

Additionally, because they had divided into advance and follow-up teams in advance and the hunters were standing in orderly lines, there was no problem in checking the numbers.

Hunters who had passed inspection in the Protection Team village on top of the barrier wall gather in the open space where Jinhyun and So-eun are and line up in rows.

This series of movements continues for dozens of minutes.

And after considerable time had passed, when most of the open space was filled and the temporary barrier walls were almost complete, Jinhyun turned to look at So-eun, who was tapping her device as if bored beside him.

“Sis, how many total people are there so far?”

“Um… The advance team is all here except for two, and the first follow-up team is all here. The second follow-up team is short about twenty people… The total number combined is 477.”

“So 23 are missing… But even if the second follow-up team enters much later, what’s with those guys who were selected for the advance team but haven’t come yet?”

Being in the advance team that enters the undeveloped gate first to pioneer came with tremendous honor, and if lucky, one could obtain enormous money.

As such, the advance team was composed of only skilled hunters, consisting of only 50 people out of the total 500.

So what were they thinking, being selected as members of such an advance team but not arriving yet?

“I don’t see anyone else coming…”

Moreover, on the road leading from the barrier wall to the open space, only workers returning after setting up temporary barrier walls were visible now, with no one coming this way.

Therefore, when Jinhyun let out a sigh as if dumbfounded, So-eun tapped her device a few more times and then found the names of the two advance team members who hadn’t arrived yet and said:

“Here they are. An unfamiliar face called Shin-yeon, A-rank 1st, and S-rank 4th… Ah, damn it.”

However, before she could say both their names, So-eun’s curse burst out first.

“Wait, don’t tell me she applied too?”

“Yeah… It seems she got in without being cut.”

“Sigh… This is going to be tiresome. Do you want to lead the advance team, sis?”

“Absolutely not.”

A conversation that a third party would not understand flows instantly between Jinhyun and So-eun.

Normally, if it was an S-rank, one of only six hunters coming would be welcome, but unfortunately, the person who had just been mentioned by the two… Han Yun-ah, S-rank 4th, was a woman who could not be welcomed.

Although her appearance was truly beautiful and her skills were excellent befitting an S-rank, Yun-ah had one flaw big enough to devour all of those things.

That was that she was a person who was too obsessed with the power of the General Management Team.

“This is really troublesome…”

“I won’t be involved, so you endure it well on your own.”

That obsession was so severe that Jinhyun and So-eun, including the founding family members of the General Management Team, had been bothered by Yun-ah clinging to them affectionately more than once or twice, and if possible, they wanted to cut off relations with her completely.

However, because of the enormous sponsorship money that Yun-ah gave with a grin, it was impossible to cut her off firmly.

“At this rate, I’d rather not receive that sponsorship money…!”

“That might be better than getting involved with that woman…”

Although Jinhyun and So-eun truly wished for that inwardly, there were quite a few things that ran on her sponsorship money, so even that was difficult.

In other words, to sum it up in one sentence, Han Yun-ah was a woman who was an unavoidable ill fate for the General Management Team.

Therefore, Jinhyun hoped that since she hadn’t come yet, Yun-ah wouldn’t show up until the end, but unfortunately, things in the world don’t flow as one wishes.

Pitter-patter—!!!

“I’m sorry for being late!!”

With a shout of apology, a woman comes running from far away, parting the workers.

A woman with silky flowing black hair, a height that seemed to exceed 170cm, and impressive clear-cut features was running towards the open space at a fast speed, wearing medium armor without a helmet and carrying a spear on her back.

Needless to say, the identity of the woman was Han Yun-ah, the S-rank hunter they had so hoped wouldn’t come.

“Life really…”

“Good luck then.”

“W-wait a minute?! Sis!”

Rattle—

And as Jinhyun was crying out about the futility of life seeing Han Yun-ah running over, So-eun immediately hid inside by creating water droplets.

Seeing her hide saying she won’t lead the advance team, Jinhyun felt a sense of betrayal rising, but before he could pull So-eun out, Yun-ah, who had already run over, approached Jinhyun’s side.

“It’s been so long, Mr. Jinhyun! By any chance, was there finally a good answer about partnership from Team Leader Lee Yeon-ah this time?”

“Sister So… Sigh. No, if it’s about that, it’s still being rejected, so don’t expect it. And you came here as a support member of the advance team, so go to your place. I’d like you to refrain from acting like this in an official place.”

“It’s a shame since I conceded quite a lot for this partnership contract… And as you said, I was certainly rude in an official place. Then let’s have a meal after this undeveloped gate pioneering is over!”

That will absolutely never happen.

Jinhyun was about to answer Yun-ah’s meal proposal like that, but this time too, he only let out a small sigh at Yun-ah’s back as she turned around and left right after he finished speaking.

If she wants to make a partnership contract with them, shouldn’t she show a more polite appearance at least?

Even if she did, they wouldn’t make a contract anyway.

But suffering inwardly like this would only harm Jinhyun himself, so Jinhyun let out another sigh, and then checked the time once before opening his mouth.

“Han Yun-ah has arrived too, it’s about time. That A-rank hunter… Shin-yeon was it? Although that guy didn’t come, we can’t help it.”

“Yeah, lead the advance team well. If you get stuck in the middle or an unexpected situation arises, radio in?”

“Do you think I’m as dense as Seol? Don’t worry.”

Although one person from the advance team, and even an A-rank 1st hunter at that, was missing, the scheduled time had already come so they couldn’t wait any longer.

If they said they had to wait more, complaints would burst out from the advance team members who had been here since earlier and even the follow-up team that should enter much later, so it couldn’t be helped.

Therefore, Jinhyun, in charge of leading the advance team, started moving as soon as the time came.

So-eun, in charge of the follow-up teams, waved her hand at Jinhyun and saw him off to the entrance of the gate.

“Then we will now enter the gate! According to the preliminary check, the early part of the dungeon is rocky mountain terrain, so individual action is strictly prohibited!”

“Yes!”

Perhaps because she had the confidence of being the only S-rank hunter, Han Yun-ah was the only one answering with a smile among the tense advance team members.

So-eun inwardly sent sympathetic comfort to Jinhyun, who had to be in charge of that troublesome woman, and watched until the end as the advance team entered the gate.

Woong—

Starting with Jinhyun entering the gate first and ending with Yun-ah entering the gate last.

Finally, when all members of the advance team had entered the gate, a moment of quiet silence fell over the open space.

“……”

Mouths closed at the sense of reality that the pioneering of the undeveloped gate had finally begun and the reality felt.

Because of that, silence heavily descended over the gathering.

However, the atmosphere shouldn’t harden like this when there was still a long time left until the advance team came out, so So-eun clicked her tongue once at the sight of the open space and raised her voice.

“Follow-up team hunters, don’t…”

“Oh no, I’m late!”

If it weren’t for one girl who appeared, cutting off So-eun’s words.

So-eun would have raised her voice.

“What? Looks like the advance team has already all gone in?”

The girl muttered like that after sweeping her gaze once over the open space where the hunters had gathered.

The appearance of her muttering like that while fluttering her white hair with a noticeable red bridge was still that of a young girl no matter how you looked at it, but no one dared to open their mouth at her beauty that was more beautiful than Han Yun-ah just now.

The hunters were just blankly lost in thought, absorbed in the girl’s face for a moment.

‘…Oh no! I should say something…’

So-eun, who regained her senses the fastest, thought she should say something to the girl who had entered while disrupting the atmosphere as the leader, but.

“See! I told you we should have left a little earlier…!”

“I-I’m sorry… No, I’m sorry. There were some important matters during work today…”

“…Unnie?”

The next moment, So-eun couldn’t open her mouth again at the all-too-familiar face that descended beside the girl riding the wind.

Why was her older sister, who should be holed up in her office at this time, coming with that girl?

It was a situation So-eun’s head couldn’t understand at all, so all So-eun could do was softly call out to Yeon-ah.

However, So-eun’s voice was buried in the murmuring of the hunters, and the girl and Yeon-ah continued to approach So-eun.

“Ah, So-eun, greet her. This is Shin-yeon, our General Management Team’s ancestor.”

“Hi, hello.”

At the words the two uttered as soon as they reached So-eun, So-eun couldn’t hold onto her senses.

“U-unnie? What do you mean…?”

Could this be some bad joke?

So-eun looked at Yeon-ah with such thoughts at the ridiculous words Yeon-ah had said, but what came back was only Yeon-ah’s infinitely serious gaze.

In the end, in an incomprehensible situation, So-eun only burst into an awkward laugh, and in the flowing wind, So-eun finally let go of her senses that she had been holding tightly.

If she held on any longer, it felt like steam would really burst out from her head.

And it was about ten minutes later that So-eun understood the situation.