***

Byung-Ho calmed his beating heart inside the Gate. He took deep breaths before examining his surroundings. Last time he didn’t have much time to look around because of the speedy raid. But, today he could feel the oppressive feeling of the walls that surrounded him. The only way was forward.

‘It is similar to the last Gate but wider.’ Byung-Ho touched the stone wall lugging the sack over his shoulder.

The wet moss between his fingers didn’t feel that otherworldly, but he did cross over to a different space. A leading theory on the internet was that Gates took the Awakened to another space that contained Monsters in a labyrinth. The theory wasn’t confirmed, but if he had to say something from personal experience, it held its weight opposed to any of the half-baked conspiracy theories that Flat-Earthers formed, they argued that these monsters and Towers came from the lower levels of the disc-like planet .

‘Only a few Awakened around the world have talked about their experiences inside the Gates. And I understand why they want to leave it inside.’ Byung-ho gulped now standing in that unknown again.

What type of monsters will come for him? He had no idea. How Many? No idea. What will they use? What pattern will they attack in? Will they be alright? He can’t tell. The situation was as stressful as it can be as questions piled up.

“Byung-ho, don’t go around touching things like that.” Do-Yun’s calm voice jolted him out of his thoughts.

“Oh, I am sorry.” He wiped his hand and took a step back.

“It is fine, but this is why I want you to be careful.” Do-Yun pressed the brick next to the one Byung-Ho touched. When the brick pushed in an audible click came from it.

Something whizzed through the air and Byung-ho whipped his head around to the source. There, an arrow hung before him. A purple liquid dripped from the tip as it stopped a few inches before his face.

“Traps like this can be around the place, and with no retreat and healer. This is deadly.” Do-Yun spun the arrow between his fingers with a smile.

“Y-Yes, I’ll be careful.” He would’ve died way faster if he had come in alone.

With his heartbeat skyrocketing, Byung-ho followed Do-Yun. He made sure to only step where Do-Yun did to avoid triggering any traps. Unlike him Do-Yun remained calm, his steps were light and causal as if he walked down a normal street in the city.

He continued to spin the arrow from before around his fingers like a pen as a way to stave away the boredom. However, he came to an abrupt stop tens of meters before a turn.

“There they are.” From the dark hallway appeared five red ants.

They were the size of cow's calfs, their antennas swam through the air. They rushed in their direction as their thin branch-like legs made no sound. The incredible speed caught him off guard.

‘They are faster than the wolves. What do I do? Should I move forward? Or should I… Wait, I am not here to fight.’ As Byung-Ho considered what to do. Do-Yun reached them before they even covered half of the distance.

The arrow in his hand pierced the head of the first ant and held it at a distance. The ant behind crawled over the first one. It wanted to crush his hand. But the body of its comrade got shoved in its mandibles at the last moment. A crunch resounded in the hallways. The body's transparent liquid splattered on the cold stone. The first Ant got split in two from the middle.

The third Ant came from the right. Do-Yun moved back to avoid the snapping jaw at his leg. But before the ant could move again he stomped its head on the ground. The ant’s head exploded like a watermelon. He kicked the squirming body like a football into the two ants that rushed from the front.

Do-Yun looked at the sticky mess on his left leg. The pungent smell similar to rotten eggs and onions entered his nose, it didn’t bother him much but cleaning the clothes would be a hell of a job.

“I’ll keep the aura shield up after all.” He didn’t want to spend a long time in the shower again to get rid of the revolting scent.

‘I can feel the power over here.’ Byung-Ho watched from a distance.

There was no visible change but Do-Yun’s attacks became powerful. It cracked the shell of the ants with each hit. He felt this yesterday too, but beyond the increase in strength, his combat skills were seamless.

‘It is like I am watching Master again.’ Every punch and kick could be drawn into the textbook to be used as examples. But, there was more than perfectness at play.

Byung-ho walked over as Do-Yun stretched his arms after ending the last three Ants.

“Why didn’t you participate?” However, that question made him forget everything.

“I was supposed to?” Byung-Ho tilted his head.

“Why else do you think I brought you along?” His sharp eyebrows rose.

“As a gatherer…?” Do-Yun blinked at that answer. Was he not clear enough? Regardless, he decided to clear it up.

“I brought you to be my shield.” He wouldn’t Byung along if he didn’t serve a role.

“…For real?” But the person in question had the biggest shock of his life.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

“For real, For real. You only have defensive skills, right? So, put them to use.” Do-Yun didn’t know why he would think otherwise, “Leave the attacking to me and hold their attention.”

‘He said that he didn’t get a single offensive ability from his class.’ The classes were granted to give out proper sets of abilities that covered multiple bases, ‘But there are times when the scale tilts on one side. This kid has a Special Class.’

He felt it the first time he saw Byung-Ho rush back to the gym. And it was proved correct. He had increased agility but didnt have the corresponding strength.

“But I have one question Hyung…”

“Shoot!” Do-Yun expected something regarding the strategy. The answer to that was simple, there was no strategy.

‘We are going to bulldoze through the Gate.’ Gates of such level didn’t require strategies. These were tutorials where they had to reach Point B from Point A while defeating Monsters and getting used to the process. He had heard about such a start in the previous world, but now he could witness it first-hand.

“What should I do with the equipment when we fight?” However, the question left him blinking as the answer was much simpler.

“Just throw it to the side.”

“Wouldn’t that damage it?” Byung-Ho didn’t like the idea of just chucking them to the side, they’d need this to mine and carry the Essence Stones near the boss room.

“You can fight with it on your shoulder if you are confident,” Do-Yun said.

“I’ll place it to the side.” With the decision made the two continued onwards.

After the first turn, the hallways didn’t go in a straight direction. The turns and forks became frequent so did the ups and downs. As a few minutes passed Byung-Ho felt like they went in a loop.

The hallway’s structure and appearance remained unchanged. With glowing stones placed at equal distances and the stone wall didn’t show anything that could be used as markings. Do-Yun made marks on the stone walls before every turn. However, those marks never appeared again which increased his worries.

For the next ten minutes, they heard nothing but the sound of their own steps in the eerie silence. No more ants came to them during that time. Byung-ho was about to say something, but as they turned the end of the tunnel came into sight.

“Byung-ho, get ready to engage,” Do-Yun said a few steps before the end.

“Yes.” Byung-ho grip on the sack tightened. This would be his first time facing a monster properly.

It was his time to be useful and gain as much as he could from the opportunity.

His hand shook but he followed Do-Yun. They exited the tunnel, and in front of them waited an empty clearing. It was wide enough to fit a few buildings inside and still have space to spare. But he didn’t know about the height as only darkness loomed over their heads. The luminous stones only cast light on the ground made of similar stone as the hallway.

Byung-Ho silently placed the sack near his feet, the clank of the metal broke the silence. He followed Do-Yun and stood in the middle of the clearing. And then Ants came out of the darkness above. They blocked the two hallways connected to this place and surrounded them.

“So many…” Byung-Ho could count twenty in his vision alone. He craned his neck over his shoulder and there were more that crept down the sides of the hall to strengthen the circle.

‘When the first reconnaissance squad died, they released a signal about enemies above their level. The other Ants picked up on that and gathered in one place to surround us.’ Do-Yun aimed for this. Ants may be weak monsters individually, but when they band together they can hunt enemies far bigger and more powerful creatures than them.

That is why it was said to fight them in smaller numbers. And he could’ve done that, but the perfect opportunity appeared so he used it.

“Get to work Byung-Ho.” Do-Yun didn’t reform the aura shield around his body. This time he would focus solely on attack and leave the defence to Byung-Ho. People who were gifted with pure defensive skill sets lacked attack power to do damage, but they were granted something that balanced out that disadvantage.

“Yes Sir! Aggravate!” Byung-Ho’s shout resounded through the hall.

The ants that were making their way towards Do-Yun had their antennae turn towards him with a sudden buzz. Like someone had etched a line in the middle of the army of ants. Entranced they didn’t run around in a random direction, but matched towards him. Seeing tens of sharp jaws snap in his direction with such eagerness terrified him.

They were targeting him alone. And they’d rip him apart if he failed to protect himself. But, he faced those snapping jaws while pressing his fears down.

“Primary Shield!” Orange energy seeped out of his body and formed a protective sphere around him.

Pressing his fingers against it he could feel its robustness. Harder than any metal he touched in his lifetime. The perfect skill to defend his body against the herd of Ants. This skill granted him a sturdy shield to hide behind when he used his other skill, Aggravate.

The ants snapped at the shield yet it didn’t budge an inch. The jaws scraped against the surface but left behind nothing. The sharp stingers failed to puncture it repeatedly and failed again. Right now they couldn’t do anything to him, but neither could he. A stalemate. If left like this he’d eventually run out of energy, and the ants would kill him.

However, he didn’t have to worry about this. He only needed to keep their attention.

“Nice! We can finish this Gate quicker than yesterday.” The ant who tried to climb atop the barrier got dragged down by Do-Yun.

He smashed it onto another and stomped them both at the same time. Inside the barrier, Byung-Ho watched the punches again, but this time it happened in front of his eyes. The bodies of the ants burst like balloons with each punch. These weren’t simple punches. They struck on the weakness of his opponents true and well. Upon impact, he would twist his fist slightly to break into the exoskeleton more easily.

When his hands moved they did more than just killing an Ant. When he retreats his hand, Do-Yun ripped out the legs of the ones close enough to immobilize a few while killing one. Facing ants that numbered nearly a hundred that tried to rush past him like cars, he wasn’t hit once.

Normally, Byung-Ho could keep the shield up for longer, but with the constant attacks and ants charging into the shield he had to use more energy to maintain the durability.

‘I can keep this shield up for three hours with Aggravate going. But, it doesn’t feel like I will need to.’ Byung-ho saw the dead bodies pile up around him. The other ants climbed over and aimed for him. If not for Do-Yun they would’ve covered his shield by now.

But, the last of them were also killed without a chance.

“Direct Combat is always better for progress.” Do-Yun stretched his arms. His body received more benefits in those 20 minutes than it would’ve accomplished if he trained all day.

Dead bodies covered the floor. The pungent smell became thicker as Byung-ho covered his burning nose when the shield came down. He controlled his turning stomach when he saw Do-Yun’s uncaring expression. He too was standing there, and he had splattered on his clothes.

Byung-Ho removed the hand that covered his nose and walked over after picking up the sack.

“Hyung are we going to gather… these?!” His voice came out so much louder than he wanted it to. He forced the words out of his throat when his eyes started to sting.

“Cover your nose, you are tearing up,” Do-Yun said.

“I can do it Hyung! Definitely!”

“Well, keep at it I guess.” Do-Yun laughed and turned around.

His eyes went to the second hallway that connected to this area. Rich Magic Energy flew out of it like a steady stream. And unlike the murky energy these monsters had, it was pure.

“The stuff we need is up ahead. Get ready Byung-Ho this might get a little tough.”

Later Byung-Ho understood why he was warned.