I Became an Almighty All-Master with EX-Rank Spirits - Chapter 6

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 6
6
The Hunter app had pinpointed an F-grade Gate nearby.
Three conditions in total.
No Hunters in the area, a monster-clearing Gate, and somewhere as untouched as possible.
The world had become remarkably convenient.
An app that did this for you—what could be better.
A Gate matching those exact requirements lay just a short distance away.
No need for transportation.
Just a five-hundred-meter walk.
“This must be it.”
The Restaurant, which should have been bustling with customers at this hour, lay shrouded in shadow instead.
Not a single customer in sight—only Hunters Association staff on standby.
A glance inside made the reason abundantly clear.
“Gates appear inside buildings too?”
-Anywhere mana gathers is possible.
A blue portal commanded attention with its presence.
Despite being an F-grade Gate, the mana it radiated was substantial.
That’s the Gate I’m entering today.
I moved to step through, but an Association staff member blocked my path.
“Excuse me. This area is off-limits to civilians. Please leave.”
The gesture came smoothly, as if rehearsed countless times.
His face was thick with annoyance.
Civilians who came out of sheer curiosity weren’t uncommon, apparently.
He didn’t even bother to look at me, assuming I’d be the same type.
I had no reason to be irritated.
It would only take proof to settle this.
“Hurry now. If you get hurt or die, we can’t take responsibility…….”
“I’m an Awakener. I have both my Awakener ID and a Gate Entry Pass.”
“Oh! I sincerely apologize!”
The moment I produced them, the staff member quickly bowed his head.
I almost felt worse seeing his flustered expression.
The man’s face was marked with dark circles.
He wasn’t the only one.
The other Association staff looked the same way.
‘They say Association work pays well because the workload is brutal.’
Can’t be helped when it’s for safety.
“It’s fine. I would’ve blocked you first and checked credentials too.”
“Thank you for understanding. I’ll just verify a few things and send you right through……. Hmm? You registered today?”
“Yes. Is that a problem?”
At my composed response, the staff member looked even more flustered than when he’d produced the identification.
As if questioning what kind of person actually did this.
Bystanders’ incredulous stares added to the moment.
“If you were just issued your credentials today, this is your first Gate, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“But you’re not wearing any equipment, and you don’t have any party members—won’t going in alone be far too dangerous?”
A fair assessment.
My clothes looked like I was just heading to the Convenience Store nearby.
But I was the exception.
‘One shot and it’s over—no need to prepare anything.’
Unaware of this, the Association staff member’s expression grew increasingly worried.
Anxiety kept him fidgeting.
Even the lowest-grade Awakeners were precious resources.
If an Awakener like that died in his assigned sector—
His personnel evaluation and performance metrics would likely plummet.
Yes, if I died.
But the odds of that happening were equal to the world ending today.
“Then I’ll just take a quick look and come right back out. That’s permitted, isn’t it?”
“Huh, you need to come back out quickly. If you die inside the Gate, the monsters will consume everything—we won’t even find a body. In short, it’s a dog’s death.”
“Yes! I’ll be careful!”
I slipped straight through the gate the moment it opened.
It resembled the Tower of Trials, yet differed in crucial ways.
If the Tower required you to meet a quota before leaving—
[Defeat 1,000 Goblins.]
[Goblins: 0/1,000]
a Gate allowed you to leave without killing every last creature.
Some Gates were exceptions, though those were rare.
It wasn’t a concern for an F-grade Gate.
“Let’s clear this fast and get out, Fire.”
—Squeak!
[Fire (EX) acknowledges!]
Fire, perched atop my head in what seemed like an instant, unleashed hell itself.
[Fire (EX)’s skill, Hellfire (EX), activates!]
Boom-boom-boom-crash!
Whoosh!
[You have defeated 1,000 Goblins!]
[Goblins: 1,000/1,000]
[Goblin Claw × 33 obtained!]
[Goblin Hide × 45 obtained!]
[Goblin Heart × 11 obtained!]
[Goblin Captain’s Club × 1 obtained!]
[Lowest-grade Mana Stone (F) × 76 acquired!]
[Lower-grade Mana Stone (E) × 1 acquired!]
[The Gate will disappear in 2 hours!]
[If you do not leave before it vanishes, you will disappear with it!]
“Fewer rewards than the Tower.”
It didn’t matter.
Unlike the Tower of Trials, Gates could be entered more than once.
I exited from the same place I’d entered.
The Hunters Association staff didn’t notice my return, only continuing to sigh heavily.
“I can’t have an Awakener dying in my sector.”
“They’re just going to look around. That Awakener knows as well—you can’t enter an F-grade Gate bare-handed.”
“That would be— Wait, what? Why did you come back so quickly?”
“Because I cleared it. Thank you for your help!”
“Y-yes? Cleared? What?”
The Association staff member, thinking I was joking, checked the Gate and froze in shock.
The Gate was already disappearing—the phenomenon that marked a successful clear.
But clearing one Gate wasn’t the end.
‘I need to fill 8,000 more Hunger. I’ve got to keep moving. No rest, no rest.’
I had to use every moment as efficiently as possible.
I sprinted toward the next F-grade Gate.
* * *
Inside a Gate thick with verdant undergrowth.
A blood-red inferno descended.
Boom-boom-boom-boom-crash!
Whoosh!
Nothing remained.
Everything burned to ash.
[You have defeated 1,000 Silver Wolves!]
[Silver Wolves: 1,000/1,000]
[Silver Wolf Claw × 43 obtained!]
[Silver Wolf Hide × 55 obtained!]
[Silver Wolf Fang × 8 obtained!]
[Lowest-grade Mana Stone (F) × 61 acquired!]
[Lower-grade Mana Stone (E) × 3 acquired!]
[The Gate will disappear in 2 hours!]
[If you do not leave before it vanishes, you will disappear with it!]
“That makes nine.”
Before the Association staff could strike up a conversation, I hurried out toward the Convenience Store.
I bought a cold bottle of water and drained it in one gulp.
“Phew! I thought I’d die of thirst.”
-Squeak!
[Fire stretches out a hand, asking for water.]
“You too? A fire spirit drinks water?”
-Squeak!
[Fire insists it doesn’t matter.]
“Fine by me.”
Five hundred milliliters of bottled water vanished in an instant.
I should’ve seen that coming.
I bought another large bottle and chugged it.
Fire did the same.
“There. Drink up. You’ve earned it—though I’ve earned it more, frankly.”
Across the entire world, I was probably the only one who found travel harder than actual combat.
Combat was simple: enter a Gate, unleash Hellfire once.
Done.
I never even saw the monsters’ faces.
One snap and it was over. But travel? That was different.
‘Turns out there aren’t as many Gates matching what I need as I thought.’
The distances between them were brutal.
Running around on public transit nearly killed me.
But the effort paid off.
❰Hunger : (8,000/8,000)❱
[Hunger has reached 8,000!]
[Fire has reached Level 5!]
“8,000 achieved!”
The hard work was worth it.
Fire was finally unlocking a new skill.
But there was a catch.
❰Fire (EX) Lv. 5❱
❰Active Skill : Hellfire (EX)❱
❰Hunger : (0/16,000)❱
……New skill unlocks at Lv. 10
……New skill unlocks for Lee Chan-young at Hunger 16,000
“……16,000?!”
I’d hoped selling the byproducts would be enough to cushion things.
‘This thing eats Mana Stones like a hippo eats grass.’
Actually, no hippo consumes this much.
And on top of that.
[A Spirit Stone is required to unlock the next skill!]
[Lowest-grade Fire Spirit Stone (C-) : (0/10)]
“So reaching Level 5 doesn’t automatically unlock the skill?”
I had no idea Spirit Stones would be needed too.
And ten of them, no less!
I nearly swore aloud.
Spirit Stones were far rarer than Mana Stones.
For a spirit, a Spirit Stone is a growth accelerator.
Even the lowest-grade ones go for hundreds of millions at minimum.
“Where am I supposed to get these right now?”
-There is a way. They occasionally appear in Gates.
And in the Tower too.
Occasionally. Right.
The odds were abysmal.
Most people just bought them from the market when they needed them.
I was about ready to give up for now.
[You have successfully reached Hunger 8,000.]
[You acquire the skill ‘Spirit Stone Detection (C+)’!]
<Spirit Stone Detection (C+)>
Description: A skill created by a certain spirit with a taste for fine things. Detects nearby Fire Spirit Stones.
“This pops up now?!”
I stared at Fire.
From the description, it seems this fellow’s doing the work.
-Squee! Squee!
[Fire (EX) crosses his arms with a self-satisfied expression.]
[Fire (EX) urges you to thank him, insisting it’s all his doing.]
“Yeah, thanks.”
So a Spirit King really is a Spirit King.
This sort of thing is possible too.
Since it’s good for you and good for me, we should do it right away.
Once a week.
The range was fairly broad.
Ten kilometers, no less.
But since it sometimes doesn’t show up, use it carefully.
[A Gate containing 12 Lowest-grade Fire Spirit Stones has been detected!]
[Spirit Stone Detection (C+) will be available in 168 hours.]
“That’s it?”
The distance wasn’t far either.
Less than a kilometer.
“Let’s go.”
When we arrived, it was a Building Under Construction.
There were no workers, so we could slip in unnoticed.
Once inside, a Gate sat right there, utterly unguarded.
“That’s it?”
-Squee! Squee!
[Fire (EX) confirms it!]
[Fire (EX) says it smells incredibly delicious from there!]
“Yeah, I’d say so. But since it’s not showing up in the official app yet, it must be a fresh Gate.”
Perfect timing.
That meant I had to clear it before any Hunters Association staff or other Hunters arrived—otherwise they’d get a piece of it too.
With Lowest-grade Spirit Stones, it shouldn’t be too high a rank.
[Annihilate the Orc Settlement.]
[Orc Settlement: 0/1]
“A bit higher than D-grade.”
-A settlement typically means at least a thousand monsters. Usually between three thousand and six thousand at most.
Too many to face alone, but—
“I’m counting on you.”
-Squee!
[Fire (EX) says it’s a piece of cake!]
“Didn’t you say you were tired? That we should call it a day?”
-Squee!
[Fire (EX) says delicious is an exception!]
There was no arguing with Fire.
Crimson hellfire plummeted from the sky.
[Fire (EX)’s skill ‘Hellfire (EX)’ activates!]
Boom-boom-boom-boom-bang!
Whoosh-whoosh!
[The Orc Settlement has been annihilated!]
[Orc Settlement: 1/1]
[Orc Hide × 343 acquired!]
[Orc Blood × 355 acquired!]
[Orc’s Sturdy Club × 456 acquired!]
[Orc Tribal Leader’s Skull × 6 acquired!]
[Orc Chieftain’s Cloak × 2 acquired!]
[Lowest-grade Fire Spirit Stone (C-) × 12 obtained!]
[The Gate will disappear in 4 hours!]
[If you don’t leave before it vanishes, you’ll disappear with it!]
All the byproducts too.
No Mana Stones, but twelve Spirit Stones!
I fill ten and still have two left over.
How much will my Hunger go up if I consume Spirit Stones?
-Squee! Squee!
Fire desperately pleads for a Spirit Stone!
“Later. We need to get out of here first.”
There was no telling when the Hunters Association people would arrive.
I gathered up the byproducts and slipped away quickly.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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