Mayhem (2)

“You crazy fuck! You pushed him?!”

Seo Yerim, the Sword Phoenix, lunged at Jo Piluk, her eyes blazing with fury.

When Kim Minwoo had been loitering near the spot where the gate would form, she hadn’t thought much of it. She’d simply assumed he was nuts.

But then a genuine lunatic had come charging over and shoved him into the gate.

It was plainly a high-ranking gate, at least B-rank. And since this would be its first clear, the difficulty would shoot up. Even at B-rank, it would require a party of at least fifteen.

And if it was A-rank?

A catastrophe. The recommended raid size was thirty.

Meanwhile, Kim Minwoo?

Even at the most generous estimate, he was only an upper-E-rank awakener now. There were limits to what even the most gifted could do.

This was far more hopeless than his attempt to clear the tomb at level 1. She doubted he could even reach the midway zone.

“You murderous bastard!”

“N-no! What the fuck are you talking about? I was only trying to grab his shoulder! But something shoved me...!”

“Bullshit! Everyone here saw you storm over and fucking push him!”

She turned her eyes to the gate’s entrance, which was blazing with brilliant light. Only after its first clear would the gate fully activate and divide into separate zones.

In other words, the moment that light went out, Kim Minwoo would be trapped inside forever unless he cleared it.

She quickly scanned her surroundings. Everyone was flustered, but they all had one thing in common.

Not one of them was willing to enter the gate to rescue him.

It was only natural. The gate’s rank hadn’t even been determined yet, and none of them had properly prepared to enter.

Even a carefully selected team with thorough preparations wasn’t guaranteed to clear it. To charge in blindly? It wouldn’t be surprising if they were wiped out.

And there was an even bigger problem. Since they weren’t in a party with him, entering the gate would count as an intrusion, putting them in a different starting area.

His chances of survival were already slim. They might go in to rescue him only to find his corpse.

‘... Damn it!’

Seo Yerim wrestled with herself.

If this had happened before Kim Minwoo visited the Sword Sea Pavilion, she would have abandoned any attempt at rescue without a moment’s hesitation. After all, what had he ever done to make her risk her life for him?

But things were different now.

[“That Kim Minwoo boy is going to achieve great things. He’s a genius, a true genius! Hoho!”]

Her grandfather had been laughing much more lately. His swordsmanship, which had been stagnant, kept advancing without end.

How shocked she had been to hear that he’d cleared an S-rank gate in record time. As galling as it was, it was all thanks to that guy.

‘If he dies...’

The Sword Immortal would grieve.

Terribly.

She smiled helplessly. They said you never knew what life would bring.

Who would have imagined she’d decide to rush in to save Kim Minwoo, of all people?

‘... I’m crazy. Completely crazy!’

Biting her lip hard, she looked at the masters who had accompanied her.

“... If I die, make sure you put spicy rice cakes on my memorial offering table!”

She turned and leaped into the gate without hesitation.

“Huh?”

“Th-the Sword Phoenix jumped in!”

“Wh-what do we do?!”

The reporters frantically looked at the guild members around them.

But no one stepped forward. A successful rescue would earn a handsome reward, but only if they came back alive. Everyone had just one life.

Besides, they could still claim the first clear by entering after those two had been wiped out.

Amid the silence, the gate’s light slowly faded.

* * *

A new gate had appeared.

Since that happened only once every few months—or even years—it was only natural that it drew the public’s attention. Depending on its rank, it could make a significant difference to the nation’s strength.

Naturally, countless people were watching the breaking news, and Kim Minwoo being sucked into the gate was broadcast without anything being left out.

—We have breaking news! Kim Minwoo has been sucked into the newly formed gate in Gyeonggi Province...

—Holy shit. What did I just watch?

—Fuck. Is that bastard insane? He just ran over and shoved him in?

—Did someone overseas hire him to kill our rookie?

—Honestly looks like it. Something felt off the moment he came charging over all pissed off...

—So who is he?

—Looks like Jo Piluk from Dorim Guild? The chairman’s son. Famous for being a total scumbag lol.

—Oh, the guy who made a NewTube channel and got absolutely roasted?

—Yep. One of the Kim Minwoo knockoffs. Guess he had a grudge lol.

—But why shove him so openly? Does he not have a brain? At least pretend it’s an accident...

—Looks like he just lost his shit. Don’t think he thought at all.

—Damn, the Sword Phoenix can swear. Was she close to Kim Minwoo?

—Probably pissed he shoved someone in. That’s straight-up murder lol.

—But can Kim Minwoo actually come back alive? It’s at least B-rank...

—Doesn’t look good... Even at the highest possible level, wouldn’t he only be E-rank right now?

—Even if he’s D-rank... Damn, this is really rough. Doubt he’ll even reach the midway zone. This is nothing like his last challenge...

Then—

—Huh? Holy shit! Th-the Sword Phoenix went in!

Seo Yerim’s leap into the gate was broadcast as well.

—What the actual fuck...

—They’re fucked they’re fucked they’re fucked they’re fucked they’re fucked they’re fucked.

—Please be B-rank please be B-rank please be B-rank please be B-rank please be B-rank please be B-rank.

—Can they clear it if it’s B-rank?

—Who knows? The Sword Phoenix is way beyond normal A-rank awakeners, but even so, going in alone is insane.

—Even Isabella doesn’t solo gates like that, fuck lol. Yeah, they’re screwed lol.

—She’s not alone? Kim Minwoo’s there too.

—Cut the bullshit. What help is some E-rank nobody?

—If it’s A-rank, it’s over. They’ll both die for nothing. No way they clear it...

—But if it’s B-rank, they have a chance, right?

—Dunno. It’s the first clear, so the difficulty goes up. Can’t say for sure. Still better than A-rank, I guess...

—Are the guilds not going in? They’re just leaving it like this?

—Stop talking shit. Why would they go commit suicide?

—Fine, forget the other guilds, but what the hell is Dorim doing? They make this mess and won’t even clean it up?

—It’s complicated... Their guild master looks stunned. Don’t think he saw this coming...

—What kind of lunatic could see that coming lol?

—Either way, isn’t it Dorim’s fault for not keeping their members in line? Boycotting Dorim starting today.

—For real. First, throw that fucker Jo Piluk in prison for murder. Dorim needs to take responsibility too. They messed with Ilseong, so I doubt they can buy their way out like usual lol.

—Good. Sick of watching them use money to get away with everything. Scum like Jo Piluk belong in jail. Same goes for that chairman who uses money to shield him. Yep.

—Anyway, Kim Minwoo said he’d show us something big soon. Guess he delivered lmao.

Just then, the officials measuring the gate’s rank shouted.

“Measurement complete! It’s B-rank!”

—According to the latest report, the gate is B-rank. Our station will be inviting experts to discuss the chances of clearing it...

Watching the television, Park Siwoo’s jaw dropped.

[“If you see any unusual news, don’t be too surprised.”]

Was this the unusual news he’d meant?

Just then, his phone rang.

“Yes, Chairman!”

—Siwoo, did he tell you anything?

Chairman Kim sounded frantic. They had held a press conference together just that morning; perhaps the chairman was calling him in the hope of finding even the faintest lead. Scratching his cheek, Siwoo spoke cautiously.

“... Well, this is a little... I do think Minwoo might have intended this...”

—What? He intended it?!

“He said something rather cryptic earlier. That I shouldn’t be too surprised if some unusual news came out...”

—Ha... Are you saying he planned all this to bring Dorim down and claim the gate? But how did he know a gate would appear?

“That’s why I can’t be certain either. He might not have been talking about this particular incident. But Minwoo isn’t an ordinary awakener... Shouldn’t we try trusting him?”

—... True. All right, then. Thank you. I’ll let you go.

Siwoo lowered his phone and sighed.

“... He must have a plan, right?”

Kim Minwoo was far, far stronger than the public believed. Even a B-rank gate might be within his ability to clear. And now he had the Sword Phoenix with him, too.

One thing, at least, seemed certain.

Dorim, the nation’s second-largest conglomerate, was truly fucked.

* * *

[Entering the B-rank gate, ‘Murim’!]

[You are the first to enter the gate!]

[You have acquired the title, ‘The First to Set Foot’!]

[Difficulty has changed to B+, ‘War of the Stars’!]

“Coo.”

“Aww, my little baby. Good job. Very good.”

After entering the gate, Kim Minwoo vigorously petted Snowy’s head as the bird followed him in.

‘Everything went as expected.’

Dorim was supposed to raid this gate, and Jo Piluk had been on its raid roster. An awakener in the level-300 range with an A-rank achievement was indispensable to a raid like this.

‘I knew he’d come.’

Kim Minwoo knew Jo Piluk well. The guy was a genuine, unrestrained scumbag. Compared to him, Kim Minwoo’s reputation as a troublemaker was positively mild.

And as luck would have it, there was a grudge between them. It was painfully obvious that someone like Jo Piluk would blame an innocent party for his own troubles.

Sure enough, true to his hotheaded nature, he had been the first to charge in. He had even reached out with a hand tensed as if he meant to crush Minwoo’s shoulder.

‘Good riddance.’

Jo Piluk might feel wronged, but he would never be able to explain his way out of this.

Snowy’s stealth was powerful enough to slip past the Ilseong family estate’s security systems and follow him all the way into a hidden gate. Even the Sword Immortal after his enlightenment couldn’t detect the bird.

To anyone watching, it would look like Piluk had shoved him out of sheer spite.

‘He tried to crush someone else’s shoulder.’

He ought to have been prepared to have his own skull cracked open.

‘This is beyond anything Jo Piluk can cover up himself.’

It wouldn’t just be Jo Piluk in trouble. Dorim, the company tied to him, would be thrown into chaos too. If you raised your child badly, you ought to pay the price as a parent.

He could already see Dorim getting wrecked.

He’d claimed the gate and knocked down a competitor.

Two gains in one stroke.

Then it happened.

[Warning!]

[There is currently 1 outsider inside the gate!]

‘...?’

He tilted his head. Someone had entered after him? Here?

‘An assassin? No, that can’t be right.’

The gate rank analyzer was a high-performance device that determined a gate’s rank by checking its mana concentration. By its very nature, it detected mana use with uncanny accuracy.

That meant it could detect an assassin’s stealth, too. It was a skill that used mana, after all. Not even an S-rank assassin could evade its scans.

‘You’d have to be on Snowy’s level to reliably avoid it.’

Under those circumstances, someone had come to assassinate him in a place watched by the guilds and every broadcaster? While the analyzer was running, no less?

That would be insane. They would have been detected before entering, mobbed by the guilds, and arrested. No guild would just stand and watch some random guy walk into the gate.

‘Then someone came to rescue me.’

That was possible.

But...

“They came alone?”

Before the gate’s rank had even been determined?

He was intensely curious about who had attempted such an inventive form of suicide.

‘Well, it’s not Jo Piluk.’

After crashing into him, Piluk had stopped short rather than being sucked in alongside him. A scumbag like that would never risk his life by rushing in for Minwoo’s sake.

‘Who is it?’

He had no idea.

Kim Minwoo looked around. He was inside an old-fashioned room.

‘This looks like a martial arts setting.’

Even the gate’s name pointed to it: Murim.

‘Nothing strange about that.’

From C-rank onward, gates that made you do a double take occasionally appeared. There were cyberpunk gates and monster gates like the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons. Murim was hardly a stretch.

‘I should probably look for whoever came in...’

The difficulty had changed because this was the gate’s first raid. He had no idea how vast the setting was. The distance to the midway zone was said to be similar, but if the setting was large, the two of them could be very far apart.

Moving before he had properly grasped the situation would be dangerous.

“... Well, we’ll run into each other if we’re lucky.”

For now, he needed to find out exactly where he was and what the gate’s objective was.

Kim Minwoo got to his feet.

It was time to begin the raid.