Kwagagak!

The powerful Lightning Spear pierced through the Golem’s solar plexus.

A round sphere was visible through the blackened hole.

As expected, a fist-sized hole had been made.

The Golem’s body swayed, then immediately crumbled and slid forward with its momentum, stopping right in front of Oh Songhui.

Oh Songhui, who had been staring at the Golem’s extinguished eyes, turned her head with an incredulous expression.

There, Kim Songcheol was kneeling, gasping for breath.

‘What was that just now?’

Lightning Spear.

It was clearly 2nd Circle Magic.

‘…That’s impossible.’

On the other hand, more was visible to the Mage, Moon Gijeong.

Let’s assume forming a 2nd Circle during combat was possible.

But the twisting trajectory of the Lightning Spear was an inexplicable phenomenon.

With Circle Magic, everything is determined the moment the magic formation is completed.

Yet, he changed its trajectory?

It was impossible to explain with Moon Gijeong’s common sense.

“…Seo Gangjin, check on him.”

Kim Songcheol barely got up and spoke. Oh Songhui, coming to her senses, quickly ran towards Seo Gangjin.

“Hey, are you okay!?”

Oh Songhui did not carelessly touch Seo Gangjin’s body.

She didn’t know what might be broken.

Touching him carelessly could worsen the injury.

Seo Gangjin, lying on the floor, laboriously opened one eye.

“Damn… I feel like I got hit by a car…”

He was conscious.

“Where does it hurt?”

“Just everywhere.”

“Oh, my.”

Oh Songhui looked up at Moon Gijeong. Moon Gijeong was already running over.

Moon Gijeong sat beside Seo Gangjin and rummaged through her bag.

Out came a lightweight splint, neck brace, bandages, and a folding stretcher.

Mages carry more bulky items than Swordsmen.

Emergency medical supplies, in particular, were all carried by the Mage.

“Since we’re going straight to the Portal anyway, I’ll just stabilize his neck for now.”

Moon Gijeong said calmly, gesturing with her chin towards the back.

The place where the Golem emerged.

A blue ball of light had formed right in front of that passage.

Moon Gijeong carefully put the neck brace on Seo Gangjin’s neck.

Meanwhile, Kim Songcheol approached and unfolded the folding stretcher.

“…Finally, I get to live in luxury.”

When Seo Gangjin joked, Oh Songhui raised her fist, then managed to lower it.

“Shut up. Even if you feel okay now, we don’t know what happened. You hit your head hard too.”

“Let’s transport him first.”

Kim Songcheol and Oh Songhui simultaneously lifted Seo Gangjin onto the stretcher.

He groaned a little during the process, but there was nothing they could do.

“It’s the best we can do, bear with it.”

Kim Songcheol gently coaxed him. Moon Gijeong and Oh Songhui lifted the stretcher, and Team 25A walked towards the Portal.

“Points… we won’t be short, will we? After all this.”

Seo Gangjin muttered softly.

“Worry about your body first.”

Oh Songhui chided him and entered the Portal first, followed by the other team members.

***

The Guardian Hall Lobby.

Kim Myeongju stood with her arms crossed in front of the screen.

The number 11,511 was displayed on the screen.

It was the total amount of Points remaining until the C-class Gate was deleted.

There wasn’t much time left. Moreover, they could no longer enter the Dungeon.

Even if they enter, it’s impossible to clear it within the time limit.

They had to put their hope in the Hunters currently entering.

There are a total of four teams currently in the Dungeon.

All of them are F-rank Dungeons.

‘It’s close. It’s so close.’

Kim Myeongju unknowingly bit her lip. She tasted bitter blood. Her lip was torn and bleeding.

Normal F-rank Hunters collect an average of 2500 points.

Multiply that by four and it’s 10,000 points.

It was slightly less than the remaining points needed.

‘The Hunters are too exhausted. Will they be able to collect enough? The points are decreasing as time goes on…’

Hunters were sprawled across the long corridor. The Hunters lying down asleep were the lucky ones.

Most of the Hunters had bandages wrapped around their arms and legs, their faces contorted in pain.

It was no exaggeration to say that they had spent seven days clearing Dungeons, with no time for sleep.

Fatigue was natural, and injuries were commonplace.

It was fortunate that there were no fatalities at the Training Institute.

“It’s 10,000 points… will it be enough?”

“They say there are only four F-rank teams left…”

“Ha, this is driving me crazy.”

The sound of Hunters talking reached Kim Myeongju’s ears.

Their voices were low, but because the surroundings were so quiet, she could hear them clearly.

Kim Myeongju raised her head and looked at the Hunters once more.

The awakened Hunters were doing one of two things.

They were either looking at the room with the stone slab inside the Guardian Hall, or they were looking at the points.

The Hunters were waiting.

For the moment when the remaining points would turn to zero.

They didn’t have the strength to go to the dormitory, and they remained in the Guardian Hall to see that moment.

It was then.

Flash!

A bright light streamed from inside the corridor, engulfing it.

It was a signal that a Hunter team was returning.

Kim Myeongju’s gaze, along with those of the other Hunters, shifted towards the room with the stone slab.

“What is the extent of the injuries!?”

The urgent voice of a medical staff member came out. At that, some of the Hunters even jumped up from their seats.

Naturally, they were worried as colleagues when someone was injured.

“I don’t know. They were thrown to the ground, but…”

“First, an X-ray. To the bed, quickly.”

Rumble!

Soon, medical staff members emerged into the corridor, carrying a Hunter on a stretcher.

They immediately entered the room where the X-ray machine was.

‘Damn it, another injured person?’

It was then that Kim Myeongju moved to check the Hunter’s condition.

[Hunter Oh Songhui has transmitted 2123 points.]

[Hunter Moon Gijeong has transmitted 1952 points.]

[Hunter Kim Songcheol has transmitted 7521 points.]

Messages appeared before his eyes.

Kim Myeongju’s eyes moved quickly.

It was to calculate the total number of points.

‘11,596…!’

“We did it! We did it!”

Kim Myeongju cried out without realizing it.

It was the loudest she had spoken in seven days.

At that, the Hunters’ gazes fixed on Kim Myeongju.

Kim Myeongju immediately ran towards the stone slab.

The Hunters watched her with puzzled expressions.

There were still over 10,000 points remaining, and the ones who returned were F-rank Hunters.

They couldn’t imagine that F-rank Hunters had earned over 10,000 points.

“Excellent work! More details later!”

Kim Myeongju shouted towards Team 25A, who were emerging from the room.

However, she didn’t seem to expect an answer.

Kim Myeongju, brushing past Team 25A, climbed onto the stone slab and transferred all the points she had earned to the Republic of Korea Points Administrator under the Ministry of Interior and Safety.

Within a few seconds, the number displayed on the lobby screen changed to zero.

It was the moment the Republic of Korea had once again fought and won against a gate.

“Look, look at that!”

A Hunter resting in the lobby frantically pointed at the screen.

“Zero…? What, why? Why zero?”

The Hunter next to him asked in a bewildered voice.

“It seems the team just collected 10,000 points?”

“What? They’re F-rank, aren’t they?”

“Ah, I don’t know! Is that confirmed!?”

The Hunter asked Kim Myeongju, who was coming out into the corridor.

That wasn’t just that one Hunter’s curiosity.

Every awakened Hunter looked at Kim Myeongju.

Kim Myeongju smiled faintly and gave a thumbs-up instead of an answer.

“Whoa!”

Only then did the Hunters cheer and jump for joy.

Even the Hunters who were exhausted and asleep were startled and sprang to their feet.

“What, what is it…?”

“They blocked the gate!”

“What? When!?”

“Just now!”

“It’s blocked!?”

“Yes, you fool!”

The Hunters hugged each other. The more outgoing Hunters even lifted Kim Myeongju into the air.

It was truly a festival.

At this moment, there was no Education Director, no F-rank Hunter, no E-rank Hunter.

There were only heroes who had saved the Republic of Korea.

The C-class Gate that appeared near Inje, Gangwon Province, disappeared as quietly as it had appeared.

But the reaction was anything but quiet.

The residents of Inje, who had all evacuated in case of emergency, breathed a sigh of relief.

That wasn’t all.

The emergency was also lifted for the military units on standby to bombard the C-class Gate.

Various newspapers featured the C-class Gate’s deletion as breaking news, and all broadcasts covered it as an urgent report.

Furthermore, all media outlets did not forget to express their gratitude to the Hunters.

They especially praised Cha Sehyeon, who had collected the most points.

Currently, Cha Sehyeon is practically the representative of the Republic of Korea’s Hunters.

The deletion of the C-class Gate could not be discussed without mentioning her.

Thus, the C-class Gate incident seemed to conclude without further complications.

But perhaps because it was such a major incident,

stories from inside the Training Institute began to leak out through internet communities.

A newspaper company in the Republic of Korea.

“There’s a rumor going around. What is this?”

Reporter Kim, in his late twenties.

He printed an article from an internet community and handed it to his team leader.

It was a story that a Hunter Department Reporter couldn’t just ignore.

“What is it?”

Team Leader Park, in his thirties, almost snatched the printout and began to read it.

The content was simple.

——————————-

Someone he knew entered the Training Institute as a Hunter.

According to that person, there’s a crazy Hunter there.

He’d only heard he was good, but this time he saw it with his own eyes during the C-class Gate deletion process.

His performance for being two months into training is unbelievable.

Even Cha Sehyeon can’t compare.

He can’t reveal his identity.

He said it was a secret.

He’s honestly scared to have even said this much.

——————————-

In summary, that was it.

Since Hunters are young, and their acquaintances are naturally young too, it seemed they were thoughtlessly spreading stories from the Training Institute.

“Tsk.”

The team leader put the printout down on the desk with a thud, then began to fold it neatly.

“It’s embargoed, you know.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

The team leader looked up at Reporter Kim as if to say, ‘Why are you asking such a question?’

But then, as if realizing something, he scratched his cheek.

“You haven’t been here long, have you?”

“Ah, no.”

“Then it’s understandable you wouldn’t know. This trainee, he’s probably the one the government put an embargo on. You can’t write anything about him, Knight.”

“Ah… so this was a trainee everyone in this field knew about?”

“Reporters know, but the public doesn’t really. Now it’s going to spread. This is the first time an article about him has been posted, as far as I know.”

Team Leader Park placed the neatly folded paper back into Reporter Kim’s breast pocket.

“I wonder how the government will react, that’ll be the official position on the matter.”

“Won’t they lift it soon? It’s spread this much…”

“It probably will be lifted. But a trainee of this caliber is a true noble among nobles. He’s such an important person… and there are so many eyes watching.”

“Huh? Eyes watching?”

“Other countries. How intense the information war is regarding Hunters these days.”

“Then other countries already know about him too, don’t they?”

“What are you talking about? They can’t touch him because he’s a Training Institute student. But at this point… I don’t know. Anyway, let’s start preparing ourselves.”

“For what…?”

“You’re so slow. That Hunter.”

Team Leader Park pointed with his chin to Reporter Kim’s breast pocket.

“After he graduates from the Training Institute and becomes active, or goes to another country… or maybe he’ll be used for propaganda… whatever happens, we need to write about him right away. It’s clearly a big deal, isn’t it? Are you going to wait until the embargo is lifted? Do some preliminary research. It’ll be too late then.”