When I Returned to Farming, National-level Big Juniors Flock - Chapter 36



Only Krnovel

36. Unique

Authorities were put on high alert after a gate appeared in the southern part of the metropolitan area, completely destroying an entire building.

The gate, which was unusual in its size, was immediately judged as an S-rank as a result of the observed wavelength.

The problem is that the gate progressed much faster than expected.

Before the proper attack force could be determined, the authorities issued an emergency summons as the gate was approaching stage 3, and all available hunters were immediately called.

The five hunters gathered like that.

“Is this the number of people?”

Song Tae-han looked around and said.

He was a 10th-grade high-ranking hunter and the head of Yuhan Enter, the fourth largest hunter management company in the country.

The muscular giant standing next to him is also Jinyoung Ko, co-founder of Yuhan.

These are people who can be considered big names in the industry.

Of course, from the perspective of Aegis, a pioneer in the industry, any company was just average.

“Except for us who happened to be nearby, they’re all from the same affiliation. As expected from Aegis. A truly large corporation is different.”

Kim Jun-seok and Lee Ha-ye, famous hunters of Aegis, stand without saying anything.

In the domestic civilian high-ranking hunter talent pool, no one dares to follow Aegis.

When all overseas branches are combined, it is no exaggeration to say that it is the best in the industry, as it is evaluated as the highest among the world’s top three management companies.

“But… I think there’s a face I haven’t seen in the S-rank gate for a while?”

Song Tae-han turned his gaze and said with a smile.

He spoke to Joo Ji-hye, who was standing between the two hunters of Aegis.

But Joo Ji-hye didn’t even respond and just passed him by.

Then, Kim Jun-seok and Lee Ha-ye also followed her.

“Are you saying that because I work for a prestigious company, you won’t even treat me like that?”

Song Tae-han, who was completely ignored, shrugged his shoulders.

Although Yuhan Entertainment’s evaluation was notorious for being shabby in this industry, only Aegis could so blatantly ignore them.

“I thought you’d explode with rage if I teased you a little since there’s been some suspicious rumors going around lately… But today, you’re suddenly calm again.”

“Rumors? What rumors?”

“I have an interesting story, but it’s not the place to discuss it.”

Song Tae-han raised the corners of his mouth.

While they were chattering behind her, Joo Ji-hye stood in front of the gate that was emitting a huge wave.

The presence of the gate filling the controlled scene.

‘I feel once again that this is an S-rank gate.’

Joo Ji-hye took a deep breath for a moment.

I was a little nervous, but it was okay.

Before leaving, I calmed my mind by recalling Oh Hyun-seong’s words that he had told me not to worry because I was strong enough.

I’ve already faced the last hidden boss monster alone, but there’s no need to be nervous here since you’ve officially formed a team.

“Joo Ji-hye, do you want to be the team leader?”

Kim Jun-seok asked her.

The three Aegis Hunters here were colleagues who had conquered many fields.

That’s why I knew that the best of these three was Joo Ji-hye.

Unlike the 9th level, each level of high-level hunters has a very large range of values.

Even if they are hunters who are grouped into the same 10th rank, there can be huge differences between each individual.

Even among the 10th-grade hunters, Joo Ji-hye was exceptional, so she would have naturally been the leader before her injury.

It was just the gap after that that was the problem.

“If you feel burdened, I…”

“No, I’ll take care of it.”

Joo Ji-hye nodded.

It would be natural for her to be suspicious of her returning to the S-rank scene after a long time, but her two colleagues followed her decision without showing any sign of it.

‘Okay. Now I need to be able to stand on my own again.’

Joo Ji-hye’s eyes became very serious.

In the hidden nest, she was completely dependent on Oh Hyeon-seong.

Even though he grumbled, I trusted him completely, so I even did things that seemed like suicide.

But Oh Hyun-seong was not there.

There is no one to lean on, and you have to make your own decisions.

Being a leader meant being responsible for the lives of the entire team, so it was a position that had to be serious.

“Everyone has heard the pre-briefing, so I won’t go into it. Since we don’t have much time, we’ll move in without delay. Are you ready?”

The team members, including Song Tae-han and Ko Jin-young, who had been following along slowly, nodded.

The equipment inspection has also been completed.

The gate has already fully entered stage 3, and entry into the activated gate is possible.

We need to get this done quickly and without any time to procrastinate.

Dealing with the Gate before it erupts has always been the number one goal for Hunters.

“This is a gate that has no clue whatsoever, so everyone, be alert and enter.”

Tsk tsk tsk!

She stepped into a huge crack in space.

My surroundings changed, and I felt like even the air had changed.

They could feel a heavy, turbid atmosphere as they crossed into another world with a completely different environment from Earth.

It is a thick, turbid aura that even low-level hunters or ordinary people cannot withstand for even a moment.

“Is it a cave?”

What unfolded before them was the appearance of a gloomy cave.

Although fluorescent moss was blooming here and there, it did not properly illuminate the surroundings, only adding to the gloomy feeling.

“Just looking at it, you can tell that the internal structure is complicated. It’s going to take a lot of time.”

Song Tae-han clicked his tongue and said, “Tsk tsk.”

Certainly, there are few hunters who enjoy scenes like this.

“The goal is to destroy the gate’s core. Unless it’s a special type of gate, remember that disabling the core as quickly as possible and getting out of here is the priority.”

Avoid unnecessary engagements and focus on disabling the gate.

Once the gate closes, the monsters inside will never be able to cross over to Earth anyway, so there’s no need to fight them.

In particular, it is best to avoid encounters with boss monsters.

But soon after they started to move forward, they encountered countless sounds approaching.

Kieeeek!

These guys climb up and down the floor, walls, and ceiling without hesitation.

The hunters frowned at the sight of the large foxes.

“Isn’t that a beetle?”

A civet monster with a hard red shell, a beetle.

Joo Ji-hye furrowed her brows in annoyance at the sight of those disgusting guys dripping pus.

‘You’re the type I hate the most.’

Even when she was little, she had no aversion to insects, so much so that she would catch cicadas with her bare hands.

But at some point, I started to hate even the sight of a small bug.

The reason I became afraid of and hated real bugs was because I developed a neurosis after encountering those big bug monsters inside the gate.

When you see the horrible appearance that you didn’t notice when you were little, filling your entire field of vision, you can’t help but feel ashamed.

But she drew her sword without losing her composure.

“The beetle is a bug that eats magic power. Direct magic projection does not work.”

“It’s fortunate that there are three martial arts hunters.”

Geonhan, Go Jin-young stepped forward and swung a large hammer.

His monstrous strength allowed him to instantly blow off the head of an approaching beetle.

The beetle’s hard shell was notoriously difficult to defeat, but it was Go Jin-young who was most confident in dealing with such monsters.

With his performance at the forefront, the team killed all the foxes that rushed at them.

The sight of nearly a hundred corpses lying crushed and scattered.

“This, this, I think we should hand over the team leader position to our CEO Ko in this situation.”

“Move when it’s time to chat.”

At Song Tae-han’s words, Joo Ji-hye walked out briskly.

Things weren’t as bad as I initially worried.

Fortunately, if it’s a beetle, it’s a species that doesn’t have a boss monster, so the biggest variable is gone.

But it’s not a gate that will end easily.

There’s a reason why you get an S-rank rating.

The beetles were difficult to deal with individually, and even had lethal venom that could cause death with just a small wound.

Fortunately, we are fortunate to have the help of Lee Ha-ye, who can detoxify the poison.

Still, since there were so many of them inside the gate, it was going to be a battle of stamina.

“This way.”

They went inside, avoiding the monsters as much as possible.

We had to engage in combat here and there, and even got a small wound, so we had to heal and move forward.

About an hour had passed since then.

Chijijik!

“Communication is starting to get a bit boring.”

“But it’s still bearable.”

Because I had entered so deeply, I was about to lose contact with the outside world.

Most gates and monsters emitted waves that interfered with communication, and in some cases, they even completely blocked human communication.

Just like the last time the hidden monster appeared in Changyeong-ri, it completely blocked all communications in the surrounding area.

However, it wasn’t completely blocked here, and the signal was still flowing.

“This kind of gate is a bit more comfortable…”

Support!

At that moment, all the communication devices they had were rendered useless.

Kim Jun-seok, bewildered by the sudden change, tapped the turned off equipment.

“What is this? Why is it like this?”

“Don’t be so annoying. Hand it over here.”

Go Jin-young approached quickly and tried to snatch the communicator.

While they were bickering.

From a distance, Joo Ji-hye looked around.

‘…What is it? I don’t feel good.’

She felt something ominous.

No one else noticed, but something felt off.

It feels like something huge is coming.

Hwaaaaak!

Still!

At that moment, Go Jin-young’s severed neck rose up.

In the midst of the scattered blood, before the surprised people could even react.

Everyone’s vision was darkened by the pitch-black darkness that suddenly came.

***

Ddddddd!

On a controlled road.

A helicopter flying over the city circled quickly and landed.

As Deputy Director of the Disaster Management Agency, Han Su-yeon, got off, Hunter, who had been waiting, nodded.

“What happened all of a sudden?”

“We lost contact with the hunters who were urgently called in due to the rapid development of the S-Rank Gate. In addition, an abnormal phenomenon was discovered at the gate.”

Han Su-yeon, who received the documents, approached the gate.

Then, a reddish dome-shaped curtain could be seen surrounding the gate, which was larger than when it first appeared.

The manifestation of a special pattern rather than a normal gate.

“Didn’t you say that the monster that appeared was a beetle? Why did something like this appear?”

“It seems… there’s something else inside the gate. Just before contact was lost, there was one death in the vital signs.”

There is something different.

At those words, Han Su-yeon’s expression became serious.

The rapid development of the gate and the variables that erupted one after another were also unusual.

Above all, this barrier completely blocked access from the outside.

Like a devil who swallowed its prey, the hunter.

Phage crackle!

As Han Su-yeon stretched her hand toward the gate, a strong repulsive force burst out from the barrier surrounding it.

“It’s a special barrier that causes a backlash against magic. Even though we needed to send in support right away, we couldn’t enter because of this.”

“…”

Han Su-yeon looked down at her cold palm.

A barrier that repels magical power.

As Han Su-yeon had accumulated a huge amount of magical power within her body, an even greater backlash erupted.

“…a troublesome gate has appeared.”

A barrier that causes a backlash against magical power, this is an unprecedented gate pattern.

Given the level of the barrier, it was impossible to force my way in.

One way would be to allow entry for anyone without magical powers who would not experience any backlash.

However, there was no hunter who had no magic power at all.

Even martial arts hunters accumulated and used magical power as a manifestation of their special constitution or as a means of assistance.

If you have a small amount of magical power, you may be able to pass through despite the backlash, but for a hunter with that level of magical power, entering the S-rank gate is tantamount to suicide.

This means that entry for structure and support is virtually impossible.

“Is it possible to break the barrier?”

“It’s possible, but it’ll take a long time. It’s not easy to fix because of its nature to repel magic.”

Even if Han Su-yeon personally steps in, it is a situation that could take at least several days.

In a situation where it was already possible that they had been annihilated, it was safe to assume that the chances of survival for the hunters inside would converge to zero if so much time passed.

If the gate had developed at this rate, it would have entered stage 4 before the barrier could be lifted.

“So, do we have no choice but to wait until the eruption occurs?”

Han Soo-yeon was silent for a moment at the man’s words.

If you think rationally from the perspective of the person in charge, it would have been right to give up on those inside immediately and prepare for an eruption.

However, the presence of Joo Ji-hye, who was on the list of the gate attack team, held her back.

Han Su-yeon also couldn’t help but feel concerned, as she had spent several days with her and helped her train.

However, as a hunter with supernatural powers, Han Su-yeon was unable to do anything.

If there is a way to nullify this barrier, there are other conditions required.

A high-level hunter who is capable of clearing S-rank gates and is completely free from magical backlash.

There is only one person in the history of Hunters who has achieved this seemingly impossible proposition.

‘But that person…’

Han Su-yeon ended up shaking her head.

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