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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Time of Preparation (2)
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Kang Sa-hu opened the app used by hunters on his phone and scanned the map.
After successfully completing his first gate hunt, he'd made up his mind to live as a hunter and had already put in his resignation.
He'd braced himself for the company to push back, saying it was too sudden, but instead, they reacted as if he was stating the obvious, leaving him flustered.
When he asked why, he learned that quite a few people had already quit their regular jobs to go full-time as hunters.
This wasn't just happening with office workers—it was the same for students.
His own sister, Kang Ji-ye, had cheered something like, "Screw the college entrance exam! I'm gonna be a cute, pretty high school healer hunter!" so it wasn't hard to understand.
If he'd been a high school senior, he probably would've made the same choice.
It had only been a few months since the first gate break, and with awakeners appearing amid all these rapid changes, people had surprisingly adapted quickly.
Humans were adaptable creatures by nature, and the flood of novels, comics, and even movies about fantastical fantasy worlds had primed them for it.
The existence of awakeners and gates was shattering old common sense.
But flip that around, and it meant a new common sense was taking shape.
"This one's no good either."
Kang Sa-hu sighed after fiddling with his phone for a while, searching for an F-rank gate that could accommodate five hunters.
Having experienced an F-rank gate firsthand, he could gauge his own capabilities against its dangers.
His conclusion? He could clear an F-rank gate without any trouble whatsoever.
And that certainty was based on the assumption of him tackling it solo.
He hadn't told the others, but during that first F-rank gate hunt, he'd felt zero danger.
But apparently, that wasn't unique to him—plenty of other hunters felt the same.
Especially those with special skills or high awakening ranks; they were diving into gate hunts with eyes blazing.
The natural result? Fierce competition.
"Just a few days ago, gates symbolized uncertain terror..."
He paused his gate search and opened the news. A headline blared: Hunters Clash Over Gate Participation Slots.
Even clearing the safest, weakest F-rank gates guaranteed a million won reward for every participant, making the competition for them the most intense.
Naturally, looking at other available gates meant higher ranks.
But even E-rank gates were getting fiercely competitive, leaving just one D-rank—the highest grade currently in the country, and the riskiest.
Having solo-blocked an E-rank gate break even before awakening as a necromancer, Kang Sa-hu figured attempting a D-rank wasn't impossible, objectively speaking.
But after checking out Bae Deok-ho recently, he suspected the guy was hiding his strength. Charging into a D-rank now would just draw unwanted attention.
It held no real appeal.
Above all, with his sister Kang Ji-ye at risk, he had no desire to take unnecessary chances.
"No rush."
The best option was an E-rank gate, but even those lacked spots for five people.
He'd considered entering gates separately without the full party, but he felt uneasy about letting Ji-ye go off without him.
And for some reason, his previous hunt companions—Bae Deok-ho, Kim Ho-myeong, and Lee Yu-rim—insisted on sticking together as a five-man team.
As Kang Sa-hu sighed softly amid his tangled thoughts...
The front door burst open, and Kang Ji-ye strode in confidently.
"Oppa! Check this out!"
Kang Sa-hu looked over at her call.
Ji-ye, her hands stuffed full of volume-based trash bags packed tight with something, proudly huffed a laugh and held them up.
"Meat party tonight!"
"...Yeah."
Kang Sa-hu let out a small sigh as he watched her, buzzing with excitement like she'd never eaten meat before, stuffing the fridge.
Ever since pocketing that million-won gate reward a few days ago, she'd been splurging on all the food and stuff she'd craved—making up for her skimpy allowance, it seemed.
Of course, a million won didn't go far; her "big spending" amounted to stuff like this meat haul or street food like tteokbokki.
"So, oppa, found any good gates to join?"
"Nah. Slots are scarce. Competition's brutal."
"Aw, no way... We need to hunt more gates to buy more meat..."
Kang Sa-hu shook his head at his sister, who was now lamenting her dwindling funds after her eat-and-shop spree: "At this rate, I'll go bankrupt!"
But he had no intention of telling her to skimp on her earnings to help with rent.
He'd once been so obsessed with work to vent his frustrations as an unaccepted necromancer that he'd earned the nickname "Corpse Cleaner."
His old life had been work and home, nothing else. He'd saved nearly every penny of his meager salary, leaving about ten million won in emergency funds.
Plus, after the gate outbreak and quitting, he'd sold his one-room apartment and reclaimed the deposit—no more scraping by on rent.
Still, that stash wouldn't last forever. He needed to earn through hunts.
As he pitifully watched Ji-ye flamboyantly grilling the meat despite his worries...
His phone chimed with a flurry of message notifications.
"Huh? What's that, oppa? My phone's going off too—must be the group chat."
Ji-ye, tongs in one hand and shears in the other, nodded expertly at the meat while jutting her chin toward his phone, urging him to check.
He opened it and nodded after reading.
"What's it say?"
Ji-ye mumbled around cheeks bulging with meat, beaming happily.
"They reserved a gate for us."
"Whoa, really? How?! Competition's insane. Not a D-rank, right?"
"No. F-rank."
"Aw... Kinda disappointing, but better than nothing. We can wrap it up easy~"
Ji-ye, now convinced F-rank gates were a breeze, sounded a bit bummed—but Kang Sa-hu shook his head.
"It is F-rank. But there are ten of them."
"...What? For real?!"
Ji-ye bolted to his side in shock.
She scrutinized the phone screen, delighted at first, then froze on a certain line.
"Wait, oppa. Here—it says three days. Does that mean one hunt per day for three days?"
He shook his head at her question.
"No. Ten gates in three days."
"...Eek."
A 77-story building, the third tallest in Korea.
Inside, a woman sat on the sofa, on the phone.
She ended the call, dramatically shrugging with arms spread wide.
"Jeez. And here I thought what you'd ask for. You could've handled this yourself."
"No can do. I already publicly bowed out of the competition. Can't use company resources for personal stuff."
"Nice talk. But asking your big sis? Isn't that using company resources?"
At her teasing, her sister—Kim Ho-myeong, seated opposite—averted his gaze bashfully.
She burst out laughing at how cute it was and lifted her teacup.
"Anyway, you wouldn't ask without reason, just for kicks. Reserving ten gates? You're really going all-in on the hunter life?"
"Yeah. Decided for real, before telling Mom and Dad."
"Sigh, whatever. The world's changing fast, sure—but monsters bursting out, my little bro turning into a superhuman awakener? Still feels unreal."
Kim Se-young, Kim Ho-myeong's older sister and the second-in-command at Kim Ho Group, swept back her hair and eyed him worriedly.
"Plus, your ability's frontline tanking, right? Means you're first to get hurt."
"Worried about that at first... Not anymore."
Kim Ho-myeong quietly smiled, recalling Kang Sa-hu commanding giant hounds, leading the team, and overwhelming the gate with sheer power.
But Kim Se-young, unaware, shook her head.
"Yeah, right. Don't get hooked on the thrill of risking your life."
"Me? Nah."
She sighed softly at his cocky reply.
"Fine, you've always played it safe. That's why it's weird. What future do you see in such a dangerous job?"
At her question, Kim Ho-myeong quietly pulled out his phone.
He navigated silently, found what he wanted, and handed it over.
She took it curiously. The screen showed a scrapbook of news articles.
From prophet prophecies to gates, awakeners, monoliths, and gate hunts—articles jumbled every which way.
She shook her head after glancing.
"Just tell me. Not making me read all this, right?"
"Reading 'em all drives it home, but yeah, I can summarize."
He tapped to pull up one article.
Her eyes widened as she read.
The news showed people entering cleared gates, mining wood, soil, ore—every resource imaginable.
"Confirmed it after this hunt. Gates can destroy humanity... but they could also be infinite resources securing our future."
Kim Ho-myeong pictured the impossibly dense trees, colorful fruits, and varied foliage inside the gate.
"Hunters will be the key moving the world forward."
Kim Se-young drummed her fingers on the desk at her rarely certain brother's words.
"Maybe. But then you need top talent. Doing this 'cause they're your first hunt buddies?"
"Nah, I like 'em and they're good people—but that's not the only reason."
He answered, thinking of Kang Sa-hu.
"I met someone who might become humanity's strongest force. I can give him the best setup, gear, wealth. And he'll make me that strongest force."
"What? Humanity's strongest? The folks you hunted with were A- or B-rank at best."
Kim Se-young scoffed in disbelief.
Kim Ho-myeong just smiled, saying nothing.
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