Chapter 54 – Golden Gate

After slеерing frоm sunrisе and starting movеmеnt from noоn.

At night, deаling with Моnstеr Wаvеs inside sturdy buildings.

Rеpeаting this fоr threе wееks.

Аsutо had finаlly аrrived in Fukuokа Рrеfеcture.

“Тhat… thаt was long…”

Thе mоment the Yoshitakе-Тakagi Ruins came intо viеw, Asuto nearly соllapsеd from thе wаist dоwn.

Нis fatigue wasn’t that sеvere.

Еvеrу time he аttасked, Life Stеal absоrbed life forcе аnd restorеd his stаmina.

Оn the othеr hand, his mental stаte wаs quitе strained.

There wаsn’t a mоmеnt tо relаx, and hе wаs сonstantlу forсеd tо rеmаin tensе.

(Му spirit is gеtting еxhausted while my stamina is always perfect—it’s like some kind of punishment game)

He hadn’t realized how painful it would be when the balance between stamina and spirit couldn’t be maintained.

Despite being utterly exhausted, Asuto began walking toward the ruins.

A certain Gate would appear at these ruins.

A Gate containing the Item that Asuto aimed to acquire.

However, he didn’t know when or where in the ruins it would appear.

“…Sigh”

Thinking about having to camp out at this location until the Gate appeared made him sigh.

Taking position at a spot where he could overlook the entire ruins, Asuto opened his Status.

Reached B-Rank faster than any human since Awakening

Reward: Agility +10

○Name: Yuki Asuto (23)

Level: 47→54 Aptitude: Assassin

Rank: C→B SP: 10→45

Held G: 49829→54234

○Physical Ability

Strength: 75→80 Stamina: 70→75 Magic Power: 19→24

Spirit: 19→24 Agility: 125→140 Perception: 80→85

○Skill

・Intermediate Dagger Arts Lv3 (51%→91%)

Critical Strike Lv3→Lv4 (13%→68%)

・Evasion Lv5 (55%→87%)

・Leap Lv5 (9% to 71%)

・Memory Playback Lv4 (85%)→Instant Memory Lv1 (19%)

・Mortal Eye Lv3 (7% to 68%)

・Life Steal Lv1→Lv2 (0%→11%)

• Level 2 (0.5%)

Over these three weeks, his Level had increased by seven.

Compared to when he was challenging higher-ranked Gates, his Level Up speed had considerably slowed.

This was because the higher the Level, the harder it became to increase.

Also, most of the Monsters appearing in the Outer Region were of equal or lower rank than Asuto.

Though his Level Up speed had slowed, he had gained achievements that more than compensated for it.

—Feat achievement.

Right after defeating the White Beast, all of Asuto’s Status increased by 5 points.

This was equivalent to 6 Level increases.

Furthermore, upon reaching B-Rank, he achieved the “Humanity’s Fastest” Feat.

This resulted in another 2 Levels’ worth of Status increases.

“I thought it would only go up to E-Rank since I couldn’t get the fastest Feat, but D and C were already taken by other Hunters”

He had an idea who the Hunter was that had achieved the Feat first.

—Himuro Seiya.

He was said to be the Hunter who reached C-Rank faster than any human.

During the Outbreak when Monsters ran rampant in Tokyo, he used Wide-Area Ice Magic to annihilate them. His achievements were recognized, and he suddenly rose to the pinnacle of Hunters.

“As expected, the annihilation speed of Magic is incredible”

However, now Asuto had achieved “Humanity’s Fastest.”

He had surpassed Himuro’s fastest record.

“I’m making progress… I guess”

Of course, what Asuto had surpassed wasn’t the current Himuro. It was merely the past Himuro.

Still, feeling like he had gotten closer to a great Ranker, Asuto smiled.

He returned his gaze to the Skill Board.

Though his System Rank was B, his Status had grown to practically exceed S-Rank.

Status increases from Feat achievements rather than Level Ups were appreciated.

His Skill Levels had also increased overall.

Memory Playback had even exceeded Level 5 and Upgraded to Instant Memory.

Since memories could be replayed instantaneously, its Performance had become capable of withstanding use even in combat where split seconds mattered.

His combat ability had increased beyond expectations.

(Now I just need to obtain the target Item)

Sitting down on the ground, he intently watched the entire ruins.

Unlike Tokyo, Fukuoka in April was very warm.

His body felt warm and cozy, and intense drowsiness attacked him.

(Damn, my eyelids are heavy)

He fought against the sleepiness, but his consciousness gradually became hazy.

For the past three weeks, Asuto had slept in the morning, acted from noon, and fought Monsters without sleep at night. Because of this, his daily rhythm had become completely reversed.

(The Monster-Repellent Spray is applied, right?)

(Then… just a little…)

Asuto surrendered to the drowsiness.

Instantly, his consciousness dropped straight into the depths of deep sleep.

“—?!”

The moment his consciousness returned, Asuto gasped and stood up.

The sky was already beginning to be dyed crimson.

“Damn it. I completely overslept!”

The Gate couldn’t have appeared at this timing, could it?

Thinking about it made his spine run cold.

Panicking, Asuto looked over the entire ruins.

Then, in one corner of the Yoshitake-Takagi Ruins, he saw a golden glow.

No mistake. It was the Gate Asuto had been targeting.

“—Damn it!”

Throwing aside his luggage, Asuto hurried toward the Gate.

“Oh, that’s quite an unusually colored Gate. I bet if we conquer that, we’ll get Rare Items!”

“—Right, probably!”

That’s exactly why Asuto had continued his desperate journey, wearing down his spirit.

While roughly agreeing with Amy’s words, he ran at full speed.

Fortunately, there were no human figures around the Gate.

(There’s still a chance to be first!)

Gates in the inner regions were reported to the Hunter Association by their discoverers, who gained rights before Conquest (or sold those rights).

But Gates in the Outer Region were different. Since the Hunter Association couldn’t manage them all, anyone was allowed to conquer them.

Because of this, Hunters called those appearing in the Outer Region “Stray Gates.”

Even if he didn’t become the first discoverer, there were still means to acquire Items.

(Please, let no one be there…)