Tearing the Gate Apart - Chapter 114

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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 114.
Ha Gyeong boarded a personnel transport boat.
A small vessel that ferried workers to and from the offshore oil facilities.
Since Prudhoe Bay was the destination, he decided to simply go along for the ride.
Of course, explaining everything from start to finish took considerable time.
But communication posed no real obstacle.
Anyone could see Ha Gyeong was an Awakened One.
And given the chaos that had erupted on Cross Island,
it would have been strange not to know a response team had arrived.
A short while later.
Ha Gyeong was able to disembark at Prudhoe Bay.
“Thank you for the ride.”
“Actually, I should be thanking you more generously. After all, you dealt with the headache we’ve had out here on the water, didn’t you?”
“Think nothing of it. That’s just part of what we do.”
“Ha! You must be Korean—you’re quite different from the average Awakened One.”
“Am I? Isn’t this how most people act?”
“These days they’re all so arrogant… ah, never mind.”
The portly man speaking with Ha Gyeong was Kevin Holt.
He was an employee of Hilcorp Alaska, which managed the offshore oil facilities.
Even a local civilian’s reaction was this pointed.
Ha Gyeong was getting a sense of what the current image of American Awakened Ones was like.
Like the twisted superheroes from The Boys, one might say.
It was a phenomenon that could easily occur.
Awakening manifests suddenly, completely at random.
Ha Gyeong’s thoughts drifted to Choi Hyeon Ki and the Raiders Guild.
‘It’s human nature—once people gain power, they want to swing it around recklessly.’
Even decent people change when given authority.
What hope for thugs, then?
While chatting with the oil facility workers,
the boat carrying Ha Gyeong reached land.
“Thank you for the ride.”
“We should be thanking you. The hero from Korea.”
Kevin Holt gave him a playful salute.
Ha Gyeong let out a brief chuckle and made his way toward where his team had gathered.
“Everyone all right?”
—Hey! Bro! Knew you’d pull through!
The moment Ha Gyeong mentioned the Whisperer, John came bouncing over.
Ha Gyeong had wondered why he suddenly seemed so energized.
One look at his team leader Matthew Caldwell’s expression made it clear.
The man had regarded Ha Gyeong with barely concealed disdain before.
Now his eyes held a mixture of awe and respect.
John exchanged a fist bump with Ha Gyeong and chattered away like an excited child.
“Those damn white bastards were spouting nonsense about you being dead, bro!”
“You’re white yourself. Are you allowed to say that?”
“Black folks say it all the time, so what?”
“Fair point, actually.”
“Man, you should’ve seen their faces when you came out of that Gate and stomped that dark thing flat!”
Apparently Matthew Caldwell had spewed some choice words.
Hadn’t he been like that from the very beginning?
One way or another.
Now came settlement time.
Ha Gyeong began cataloging what he’d obtained from defeating the Field Boss.
“The Corrosive Whip is a whip with a corruption effect attached, and the Ice Claw is a clawed glove with a frost attribute.”
“Hmm… both are a bit niche.”
They weren’t mainstream weapons.
Still, with good options attached, they were quite serviceable Artifacts.
He could probably net a few hundred billion won from them.
Ha Gyeong decided to think positively about it.
“There should be enough to take care of John and Yu Se Ha though.”
“You’re giving all of this to us?”
“I’m getting an Extreme Grade Artifact anyway.”
“Nah, man, we were only hired because you’re the only one who can destroy Gates. We can’t count that against you.”
“Then consider it friendship money.”
“Oh! Now that works for me.”
……
Ha Gyeong’s expression turned incredulous.
A moment ago he’d said he didn’t like it when Ha Gyeong just tried to hand it over.
But “friendship money” was suddenly acceptable.
John really was a person completely divorced from common sense.
Before long, team leader Matthew Caldwell shuffled over hesitantly.
“Ahem. Well, could we talk for a moment?”
“Of course.”
“Thanks for cleaning up Alaska’s problem. We’ve been struggling just organizing suppression teams every year.”
“But why did you treat the person who came to help you coldly?”
“That’s… honestly, it was hard to believe. Have Gates ever actually disappeared before?”
“What about New York?”
“I don’t even read the Anchorage Daily News, so how would I know what’s happening in New York?”
“Surely you received relevant documents though?”
Matthew Caldwell just shrugged in response.
It clearly meant he hadn’t looked at them.
A white man with little interest in world affairs and strong pride.
That was the distinct impression.
So what if he’d done something stupid on his own?
Ha Gyeong decided to let it slide gracefully.
“Let’s skip the apologies.”
“But I didn’t apologize?”
“Then apologize now.”
“Ahem! I, I’m sorry.”
“Understood. Shall we go over my compensation now?”
“Oh, the Overkill Ring? That needs to go to Anchorage.”
“Pardon?”
“We don’t know how things will shake out locally, so we can’t export Artifacts without proper procedures.”
Now that he thought about it, that wasn’t unreasonable.
Ha Gyeong might have failed.
‘This is a hassle.’
He wanted to return to Korea, track down that second Special Forces Commander hiding in the earth,
and figure out
how to enter the mainland territory of the Jardore Empire.
Seeing Ha Gyeong’s reluctant expression, Matthew Caldwell quickly spoke up.
“Think of it as tourism. Anchorage is Alaska’s largest city. The king crab dishes are absolutely exceptional.”
Hearing that pitch, it was actually a rather tempting proposition.
Last time in New York, he hadn’t been able to do much of anything.
The situation had been too chaotic, leaving everyone preoccupied with cleanup.
But Alaska’s situation was different.
He’d successfully smashed the Gate.
With momentum on his side, spending a few more days here posed no problem.
Ha Gyeong turned to his team members and spoke.
“How about we take a few days of vacation?”
At that, John and Yu Se Ha clasped hands and spun around in circles.
“Yes! All hail the Immortal!”
“I was waiting to hear those words!”
Ha Gyeong found himself bewildered.
John was the type who was happy anywhere outside the house anyway.
But Yu Se Ha was somewhat unexpected.
“I feel terrible for my wife, but I couldn’t resist escaping childcare.”
“Ah…”
His curiosity was instantly resolved.
* * *
At the Northern Association Headquarters in Anchorage.
Ha Gyeong received a warm welcome the moment he arrived.
Virtually every Association employee came out to greet him.
Before long, a large Black man approached
and offered a handshake with a bright smile.
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Preston Hale, Association Director of the Northern Association. Ha Gyeong Lee?”
“Hello.”
“Please, look this way.”
Click! Click! Click!
A barrage of camera flashes erupted.
Director Hale maintained his smile while glancing in various directions.
Meanwhile, Ha Gyeong remained expressionless.
Inwardly flustered, he maintained the best poker face he could manage.
He silently wished for this situation to end quickly.
‘Why is this happening all of a sudden?’
He’d been wondering why it was all so grand,
but looking at Preston Hale’s face, he could roughly guess.
It had the air of a typical politician.
Hale seemed intent on heroicizing Ha Gyeong
and packaging the Gate’s removal as his own achievement.
That wasn’t entirely wrong either.
The Northern Association had been the one to hire him, after all.
Presently, Preston Hale extended his right arm.
“Shall we go? This way.”
“Yes.”
Once they entered the Association Headquarters, the atmosphere shifted subtly.
The warm smile vanished,
and Director Hale’s eyes now glinted with cold calculation.
“I hear you completed the mission successfully.”
“That’s right.”
“Of course we’ll compensate you, but it may take some time.”
“Why are you bringing that up suddenly?”
“Ah! Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying we won’t pay—I mean the export procedures will require time.”
“And?”
“It would be difficult to send it through another party’s hands, so wouldn’t it be better if you stayed in Anchorage for a few days?”
He’d been planning to do exactly that anyway as a form of vacation.
But that wasn’t the same as being fine with a delayed payment.
Ha Gyeong pulled a dark metallic fragment from his backpack.
“That doesn’t align with our contract.”
“It does. The contract says I’ll give you the Overkill Ring, not how I’ll give it.”
“Would a court agree with that interpretation?”
“Probably not. But by the time a lawsuit concluded, all the procedures would already be complete.”
“Then I suppose I have no choice either.”
“What do you mean?”
“Since the contract isn’t being honored, I’ll have to restore the Gate to its original state.”
……
Preston Hale’s eyes flickered sharply.
He’d recognized what Ha Gyeong was holding.
“Is that… a Gate Core Fragment?”
“It is.”
“And you could actually restore the Gate?”
Instead of answering, Ha Gyeong simply shrugged.
Not a confirmation, but a positive gesture.
Of course, internally he was suppressing laughter with all his might.
‘As if that would work. Obviously I’m bluffing.’
Really, he’d just thrown it out there to see what would happen.
After all, Ha Gyeong was the only one who could destroy Gates.
So it stood to reason he might be able to create one too.
Thinking along those lines, he’d just taken the shot.
Unexpectedly, it seemed to work quite well.
Preston Hale wore an odd expression.
The kind someone gets when they don’t know how to respond.
But then, apparently steeling himself,
he spoke with a firm face.
“I truly had no intention of inconveniencing you. As you know, laws differ by state in America, and our Association regulations are the same.”
“And?”
“We assumed it would work like the Eastern Association. Only later did we realize there were export procedures involved.”
“I understand the circumstances, but what exactly are you proposing?”
“……How about we calculate the value of the Overkill Ring and have us loan it to you for a few days?”
Extreme Grade Artifacts range from the hundreds of billions to the trillions in value.
Though this one had some defects,
the Overkill Ring still held high utility value.
If such an item were rented for a few days, what would the price be?
Easily tens of billions, at minimum.
Ha Gyeong nodded with a satisfied expression.
“Fine. Let’s do that.”
As he carefully put the Gate Core Fragment away,
Preston Hale suddenly asked a question.
“Just to be absolutely sure—is that bluffing, or can you actually do it?”
“Yes.”
Ha Gyeong nodded shamelessly.
Since it had come to this,
he decided to push forward aggressively.
At that, Preston Hale let out a groan.
“I sincerely hope you won’t open one here.”
“Of course not. I’m different from some people—I don’t joke around like that.”
“Ahem!”
Director Hale coughed and changed the subject.
He seemed to be recalling how aggressively he’d acted earlier.
Eventually, Ha Gyeong headed to a hotel on the coast of Anchorage.
The Northern Association had apparently spared no effort in preparation.
The room was quite nice.
After unpacking, Ha Gyeong sprawled across the bed.
Then, out of nowhere, Rokan approached and spoke to him.
—Hey. Immortal.
“What?”
—Did you… actually know you could do that?
“Do what?”
—Rebuild the Gate, obviously.
“Well, of course…”
Ha Gyeong, about to answer reflexively, suddenly closed his mouth.
Why else would this spirit raise what he’d discussed with Preston Hale?
Ha Gyeong sat bolt upright and spoke.
“Wait—there’s actually a way to open a Gate again?”
—Ah, was it all bullshit? Dammit. Shouldn’t have brought it up.
Tearing Open the Gate
Author |
Morae Tob
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Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
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Editorial Department
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Without the written permission of Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dreambooks, this book’s contents may not be used in any form or by any means.

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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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