Obtained End-Game Gear for a Bowl of Ramen - Chapter 9

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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 9. Ominous Clouds
The Chaos Gate.
Truly, it was chaos—impossible to see even a step ahead.
With ordinary gates, Detection-type Hunters gather information in advance: approximate scale, Rank, remaining time, monsters that will appear, and so on.
Emergency disaster alerts move at the speed of necessity, so they can’t carry all the data, but any Hunter worth knowing understands the basics.
The Chaos Gate, by contrast, reveals nothing—not its scale, not its difficulty, not which monsters will spawn, not even when or where it will open and close.
Worse still, anyone who enters a Chaos Gate falls under a Curse. Ability Points might be stripped. Skills might be sealed. Naturally, Hunters can’t perform anywhere near their full strength.
There’s no time to prepare. You don’t know what Curse will emerge until you step inside.
Where ordinary gates pour monsters outward, Chaos Gates work inward—another crucial difference.
The entrances manifest all over the globe, separate from the main gate. Since no one knows where they’ll appear, bad luck means the portal opens in an apartment building’s water tank on the roof.
That’s why Chaos Gates offer such rich rewards. Of all the Legendary Items ever discovered worldwide, only three exist—and two came from Chaos Gates.
<Gate Type: Chaos Gate (???)>
<Time Until Opening: 31:27:41>
And now a Chaos Gate was about to open in South Korea. In roughly thirty-one hours. Jeong Ho focused his awareness, and the globe screen expanded.
‘The exact location… I could get there if I changed buses a few times.’
Jeong Ho caught himself mid-thought and flinched.
-<Gate Guide. You can see exactly where the gate will open, when it will open and close—everything. Remote entry is also possible.>
Dae Young’s words echoed in his mind. If remote entry was possible, why would he take a bus? Human habits were terrifying in their persistence.
‘Thirty-one hours—that’s roughly two days. I could climb another two floors of the Tower of Trials in that time.’
Jeong Ho felt the familiar itch to attempt a gate. He’d heard Chaos Gates were difficult, but gates could always be abandoned mid-run.
Step three hundred meters beyond the perimeter and you’re out. Even with one Hunter still attempting the gate, monsters will gravitate toward them, making escape simple.
The Chaos Gate worked the same way. Slip in, see what Curse awaits, and if it’s too much, just leave. Unlike the Tower, there’s no penalty.
‘While I’m at it, I should grab the Blessing from the Tower of Trials’ tenth floor.’
The fifth floor’s Blessing was a probability-based reward doubler—what players called a “farming Blessing.” Useful for grinding money, but worthless for actual tower or gate runs.
The tenth floor Blessing, though, was said to help in combat. With Li Wei’s Mana Stone supply still cut off, I might as well grab it. Consider it a warning visit, too.
“Enter Tower of Trials.”
[Skill Activated: Tower of Trials Entry]
[Which floor do you wish to enter?]
Grinding floors repeatedly made no sense now. I needed to claim the tenth floor Blessing before the Chaos Gate opened.
“Ninth floor.”
[Entering Tower of Trials, Floor 9.]
* * *
Flash!
Jeong Ho stepped from a cocoon of white light and looked around. Massive salamanders were scattered across the terrain—their bodies a saturated blue, criss-crossed with dense yellow mesh patterns.
[Floor 9 Objective: Defeat 19 Electric Salamanders]
[Time Limit: 6 Hours]
The Tower’s ninth floor was a jungle of standing pools and swamps. At a glance, fire magic looked useless here.
‘Salamanders would resist fire, wouldn’t they? With all this water around…’
Monster elemental affinities were intuitive enough. If something looked like fire wouldn’t work, it usually didn’t. There were rare exceptions, but they were rare.
‘Activate Water Shield first. Fire Bolt! Wait—does it mix again?’
[You are enveloped in a protective shield of water.]
[Split Mind Technique activates!]
[You fire arrows of flame.]
Fortunately, the skill separated cleanly this time. Once you discovered a skill, it seemed you had to use it independently.
Whoooosh! Water spiraled around Jeong Ho in a protective vortex. Above him, a red sun rose and hovered. The salamanders, driven by instinct, dove into the pools below—and Crack! Fire rained down, evaporating water and all.
[Electric Salamanders Defeated: 11/19]
[Warning! Mana Corruption 99%!]
[Warning! Mana Corruption 99%!]
[Warning! Mana Corruption 99%!]
“Ugh. Huff. Damn, they’re strong.”
The remaining electric salamanders flared their gill frills wide. Crackle! Violet sparks erupted from the expanded skin.
‘Electricity? Maybe I’ll try Deep Cloud. It can change to different elements, right?’
[Skill Activated: Deep Cloud (Original Form)]
[You cloak yourself in clouds. You can alter the clouds’ nature by channeling a different element through them.]
Hisssss! A sinister cloud poured from Jeong Ho’s palm. The trapped salamanders within the dense mist unleashed threatening sparks.
Flash—! Crackle—! Snap-snap-snap!
In an instant, the sparks conducted along the cloud itself. Like electricity through wet water, violet arcs consumed the entire cloud in a web of light.
[Floor 9 of the Tower of Trials cleared!]
[Clear Time – 00:00:09 seconds]
[Clear Rating: EX-rank]
[EX-rank Reward: You acquire 29 Mana Stones.]
[EX-rank Special Reward: You acquire 1 Hero’s Evidence.]
[Reclaimed 1st Place in Rankings! Record updated!]
Floor 9 took a bit of time trying out a new skill. My thoughts on the newly discovered skill:
‘Deep Cloud—this thing is legitimately good, isn’t it?’
Wrap everything in cloud and the moment the opponent makes a move, the cloud reacts and explodes. The damage is impressive too. I turned that electric newt into grilled newt, after all.
‘Since the element itself is common, it’s easy to detonate whenever.’
Warriors wrap their blades in flame, archers set their arrowheads alight. Mages need not even be mentioned. Even Hunters reach this level, so monsters must be worse off. Water, fire, earth, air—elements not contained in these three are rare: light, darkness, blood. Both monsters and Hunters alike.
‘It’s a bit frustrating how passive it is, though.’
If all else fails, I can just use Fire Bolt to ignite things directly.
After clearing Floor 9, Jeong Ho logged into HunterOn. I need to check the guide for Floor 10 since a boss monster appears there.

└I’m tired of even praising him. Long live EX-rank!
└That guy above is full of himself. You should just emigrate.
└Why would an EX-rank abandon Korea where they live? I’ll spend my whole life here and be buried in South Korea anyway.
└Did you clear Floor 9 perfectly timed at exactly 9 seconds? That’s entertaining.
└Tomorrow when he goes to Floor 10, is he going to steal one more of Li Wei’s blessings?
As always, the top banner was bustling with noise. I tried not to look, but my eyes kept drifting there. Then,
└Don’t get excited. Even if he’s EX-rank, Floor 10 is dangerous. An EX-rank might even die on Floor 10.
A comment that chilled the mood. Die? Jeong Ho’s eyes went wide.
└What’s with this guy who can’t read the room?
└Leave him alone. He’s probably jealous seeing the EX-rank. There are plenty like that among high-rank Hunters.
└If you lack skill, you should at least have a good heart~
Pop! A fresh post appeared at the top of the board.
-Baek Mi-na (A): I made a new post since it’s getting long. If the EX-rank is reading this, remember this: the Doppelganger appears as the boss on Tower of Trials Floor 10.
-Baek Mi-na (A): The Floor 10 Doppelganger copies not just appearance but Stats, Skills, and Unique Skills too. Weak Hunters fall easily to temporary buffs, but strong Hunters can die.
‘Isn’t this person the one who wrote the Healing Elixir guide before?’
Baek Mi-na—a Hunter. The name had become familiar to me by now.
Even the comments that were slandering him earlier shifted tone.
└Right. Floor 10 is the Doppelganger, right? What’s the EX-rank going to do?
└World Ranking 1st, Ronald, almost died then too, didn’t he?
└Almost? Ronald was practically a corpse back then. They forcibly kept him alive with 72 hours of continuous surgery. And how many Healing Elixirs did they make him consume during rehabilitation?
└After seeing that, Li Wei went in with all his items stripped. Cowardly bastard.
└EX! Before going to Floor 10, please strip all your items and go in!
‘I don’t have any items to begin with.’
Jeong Ho felt a chill of fear creeping in too. For a boss to appear on Floor 10, wasn’t the Doppelganger far too strong?
‘No, wait. Isn’t it actually appropriate for Floor 10?’
Tower of Trials Floor 10 means Level 10. How strong could a Level 10 Hunter possibly be? Even S-rank Hunters were weak at Level 10.
Even if the Doppelganger copies them, the difference in combat sense and experience would overcome it. I could even use buff items as the Hunter Baek Mi-na advised.
But me? My Stats are F-rank. My Skills are EX-rank. If an EX-rank skill copied by the Doppelganger even grazes me, wouldn’t it be instant death?
As worry began to creep in, a certain phrase came to mind.
–
Counterfeits mimicking the original. Existing in a different dimension from the real thing. What if the skills copied by the Doppelganger are also treated as counterfeits?
* * *
[Skill Used: Tower of Trials Entry]
[Entering Tower of Trials Floor 10.]
[Floor 10 Objective: Defeat 1 Doppelganger.]
[Time Limit: 3 hours]
A stuffy stone chamber reminiscent of a dungeon. Across from me, a black mass writhed sluggishly before transforming into a shape identical to Jeong Ho.
“Ugh.”
An instinctive sense of revulsion, terror, unease—that split-second gap was the Doppelganger’s greatest weapon. The Doppelganger raised its hand first.
“Fire Bolt.”
It looked identical to me, spoke in my identical voice, yet it was not me.
“W-Water Shield!”
Whoosh! In an instant, a protective barrier of water enveloped Jeong Ho.
But the Fire Bolt that the Doppelganger had actually fired—
Pssssht—
A matchstick-level flame arrow flew in and simply extinguished.
Even the Doppelganger hesitated for a moment, but then spoke again with a wicked expression.

“Fire Bolt.”
Whoosh! A sharp hiss.
“Fire Bolt. Fire Bolt. Fire Bolt.”
‘The Doppelganger is so weak?’
A Doppelganger copies skills. The moment it copies, it’s no longer the original. Just the level of skill any other Hunter could manage.
Never mind that Jeong Ho’s Mana was F-rank. Using Fire Bolt was like hurling a lit matchstick. The Doppelganger itself had already collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.
‘Its Mana Corruption is maxed out. Feels strange killing myself with my own hands. I’ll keep it out of sight as much as possible—Deep Cloud.’
Dense clouds, heavy and wet like clumped cotton, smothered the Doppelganger.
“Fire Bolt.”
A ball of fire materialized above Jeong Ho’s head, floating. The rain of flames poured over the cloud, and then—Whoooosh! The massive cloud blazed scarlet, churning like an enraged serpent.
[Tower of Trials Floor 10 cleared!]
[Clear time – 00:00:10 seconds.]
[Clear rating: EX-rank]
[EX-rank reward: You have obtained 79 Mana Stones.]
[EX-rank special reward: You have obtained 1 Hero’s Evidence.]
[Ranking 1st place reclaimed! Record updated!]
After the flames dispersed, only soot remained on the ground. Jeong Ho couldn’t bring himself to look at it directly—turned away instead. Even if it was a monster, it had his face.
“… May you be born into better circumstances in your next life.”
[Warning! Mana Corruption 99%!]
[Warning! Mana Corruption 99%!]
[Warning! Mana Corruption 99%!]
“… And may you never suffer from Mana Corruption like this.”
Jeong Ho suppressed his nausea, offered the Doppelganger a silent prayer, and checked his status window.
[Floor 10 Ranking 1st Place Bonus: You obtain the Blessing of Acuity.]
– Blessing of Acuity: Critical hits occur probabilistically based on Luck and Perception stats, dealing double damage.
‘Meh.’
Jeong Ho already dealt double damage through the Split Mind Technique. Overkill in firepower anyway. Despite everything converging, he’d taken down even the White Dragon Shadow King in one hit.
‘No, wait. There’s never enough firepower.’
Besides, it scales with Luck. Good thing he’d raised Luck to C-rank from the Floor 5 blessing. Now he could see the blessings creating Synergy with each other.
With the Floor 5 blessing, the Floor 10 blessing got better. So what about Floor 15? Floor 20? He had reason now to keep collecting Tower of Trials blessings.
‘This much should be enough to enter the Chaos Gate.’
Jeong Ho’s eyes turned a pale, luminous white.
[Authority activated: Gate Guide]
[Opening Dimensional Sight!]
<Gate Type: Chaos Gate (???)>
<Time until opening: 17:02:51>
Seventeen hours left until the Chaos Gate opened. A good sleep, then a hearty bowl of ramen tomorrow, and the timing would be perfect.
‘Right. Now that I’ve cleared Floor 10, I should have gathered enough Hero’s Evidence, shouldn’t I?’
Jeong Ho opened his inventory.
[You have collected 5 Hero’s Evidence.]
[You have obtained 1 Hero’s Certificate Box!]
Might as well open the box before entering the Chaos Gate. Click! As the box opened, brilliant light poured out.
– Hero’s Diary (???): You can experience the memories of ??? ?? ??. Your stats will grow according to the content of the experience. Growth is possible only once per chapter.
A worn diary fell into Jeong Ho’s hands.
* * *
In the Muryong Guild’s corridor in China, a large monitor displayed the update.
[Record updated! The holder of the Blessing changes.]
[Floor 10 Ranking 1st Place Bonus: The Blessing of Acuity transfers from Li Wei to ???.]
The Muryong Guild members’ faces went ashen. The Korean hunter taking two consecutive blessings—unthinkable.
That wasn’t all. Li Wei’s two-pronged operation in Myeongdong and Yeongwol had been completely dismantled, and the Korean hunters were now even celebrating an EX-rank Hunter.
“Khehehe. Khrr-khrr. Foolish Koreans.”
Yet Li Wei laughed. The startled Muryong Guild members exchanged glances with one another.
“Why so quiet? Last time you were loud as magpies. Did someone stitch your lips shut?”
“N-no, sir. How could we presume—”
“We are not wise enough to fathom your grand designs, Master.”
“Please, grant us your wisdom for the sake of the foolish Chang Yao!”
Li Wei swept a cold gaze across the guild members. Respecting the strong was natural, but the Muryong Guild sometimes took it too far.
Only Ryu Je remained composed, as always.
“Ryu Je. You’ve noticed something. Speak.”
All eyes turned to Ryu Je at once. Flustered, he stammered as he opened his mouth.
“I, I dare say this. In other words, EX-rank Hunters are completely ignorant of the Chaos Gate.”
“Why is that?”
“The Tower of Trials, floor ten—the challenge is a Doppelganger. EX-rank fought an EX-rank Doppelganger, so they must have suffered serious injuries, just like Ronald, the world’s number one.”
Li Wei nodded with satisfaction.
“Go on.”
“Yes. What I mean is this: the Chaos Gate, which opens in less than half a day now, is absolutely beyond the reach of Korea—especially EX-rank.”
The Muryong Guild members’ faces brightened at last.
“Precise. To be frank, the theft of the Blessing on floor ten was a fatal blow even to me. As a Detection-type Hunter, I desperately need a Blessing that amplifies firepower. But.”
Li Wei swept his garment dramatically. The large monitor screen flickered and shifted to show the outskirts of Incheon. This was where the Chaos Gate would open seventeen hours from now.
“The Chaos Gate’s rewards alone would more than make up for the Blessing on floor ten. EX-rank will never understand what mistakes they made. What they overlooked. Which enemy they foolishly turned against them. Strength or not, in the end they’re nothing but a pyramid.”
Li Wei laughed with malice.
To be continued ▶
Got the final item from a bowl of ramen
Author
Hayan Gotgam
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Contact
[email protected]
Publication Date
August 24, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260423069
※ This e-book is protected by copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and duplication are prohibited. Violations may result in criminal and civil legal liability.
※ Pentagram welcomes writers’ precious manuscripts.

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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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