Tearing the Gate Apart - Chapter 115

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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 115.
Ha Gyeong turned around, his brow furrowed.
Hadn’t he warned them before?
He’d said they’d pay with their lives if they hid important information.
Yet something about Rokan’s expression seemed off.
―Whistle, whistle-whistle! I-I think I let something slip by accident.
His gaze was fixed on Jeron and Kudin.
The awkward way he was whistling.
There was definitely something he was hiding.
Ha Gyeong understood in a flash.
‘Could it be those former nobles were the reason he didn’t speak?’
That made a certain amount of sense.
Hadn’t Rokan been the one who first brought up the subject of Gate reconstruction?
Ha Gyeong shifted quietly toward the balcony and spoke in a low voice.
“Will this distance be far enough?”
―It’s sufficient.
“So you can reconstruct a Gate? What’s that supposed to mean?”
―I don’t know the exact details either. I’ve never been to the Mainland, and I don’t even know what a Gate looks like in the first place.
“Just tell me what you do know, and quickly.”
―I’ve heard that on planets where Abyssification is complete, Gates can be recycled.
“Wait, hold on.”
Ha Gyeong felt like something was clicking into place.
The upper Abyss had countless Gates.
But the Bottomless Abyss had very limited passage methods.
Didn’t that mesh perfectly with what Rokan had said?
The Bottomless Abyss had already completed Abyssification.
The upper Abyss was nearly finished as well.
Earth’s turn would likely come next.
Ha Gyeong gazed down at the Gate fragment and spoke.
“If I gather more of these, could we open a Gate to the Mainland?”
―Kee-ya! We’ve known each other for a while now, so you really do understand things well.
“How much more would we need?”
―Probably at least as much as the original Gate’s core was, right? Actually, I think we’d need even more than that.
“Why?”
―Because that’s a dead Artifact. Its energy density is going to be terribly low.
“Can’t we draw the energy from somewhere else?”
―We can’t do that. Even though Abyss Energy looks the same, each source has its own specific purpose.
“So we need to break more Gates into pieces…….”
America was the right candidate, but there was no way they’d easily grant permission.
Look at how much backlash there’d been just from destroying the Gate in New York.
If it wasn’t a remote place like Cross Island, the opposition would be enormous.
There were all sorts of vested interests surrounding each Gate.
Ha Gyeong suddenly recalled something Jeron had said.
‘Russia and Algeria, wasn’t it? Not America?’
The location where the Pioneer Army’s commanding general would arrive.
Low population density.
Places where Gate management was difficult.
In that case, smashing them wouldn’t be entirely unreasonable.
It seemed he’d need to make contact with Russia or Algeria.
But another thought occurred to Ha Gyeong.
“What will we do once we reach the Mainland?”
―Find the Abyss Ruler, supposedly.
“That’s not the only problem anymore.”
He’d caught wind of the Zardor Empire’s ambitions.
He couldn’t just take his revenge and be done with it.
He had to crush the Emperor’s will to conquer.
Only then would they stop eyeing Earth.
Ha Gyeong stared at Rokan, his eyes gleaming coldly.
“What would it take to make Kaigun stop this insane scheme?”
―How would someone like me possibly understand His Majesty’s lofty intentions?
“Save that nonsense for your emperor. Tell me what you think.”
―……I can’t.
“What do you mean?”
―No matter what we do, we won’t be able to stop the Empire’s ambitions.
“Simple answer then. There’s only one way.”
―What are you saying?
“Kill the Emperor and the Abyss Ruler both. That’s the only way this cursed situation ends.”
―…….
Rokan froze, his mouth hanging open.
Ha Gyeong’s words had been quite violent indeed.
His eyes turned cold and distant.
‘I need to get more Gate fragments.’
* * *
Despite having made his decision.
Ha Gyeong toured various places around Alaska with his team.
Truth be told, the city itself wasn’t all that impressive.
They visited a few well-known restaurants.
Mostly it was sightseeing of the natural landscape.
Though the itinerary was fairly ordinary, Ha Gyeong was quite satisfied.
“Maybe it’s because we’re always staring at the dreary sights of the Abyss. This feels really fresh.”
“Bro felt the same way? I guess all Awakened Ones are alike after all.”
They were enjoying their leisure when.
Eden Han suddenly approached and spoke to him.
“Ha Gyeong, could we talk for a moment?”
“Of course. What’s the matter?”
“The Northern Association branch is asking if you could stop by Headquarters briefly.”
“We’ve only been here for a day — has the procedure wrapped up already?”
“It seems like there might be another reason behind it.”
Eden Han’s expression was cryptic for some reason.
As if he were debating whether to say something.
His eyes showed the signs of internal struggle.
Ha Gyeong, quick to pick up on such things, shrugged his shoulders.
“Feel free to say whatever you need to.”
“Then let me show you this first.”
Eden Han held out his phone casually.
The screen displayed an American social news website.
It was an Awakened One community section.
The design and language were different.
But it served the same purpose as the Korean one.
And there, in the most popular post, was Ha Gyeong’s name.
[TOPIC] The Immortal from Korea Destroyed the Gate at Alaska’s Northernmost Point.
―This isn’t an AI prediction. This is actual footage filmed by employees of a gene company!
└Honestly, that guy is just a different category of being altogether.
└The Northern Association’s support team was right there, and they had zero impact whatsoever.
└Come on. They were still there though.
└While the Immortal fought alone, the Northern Association was doing a bear dance. Lately I’ve been thinking the Northern Association is just hopeless.
└That’s right. They actually had to bring in a skilled fighter from Korea.
└Damn it, now even Awakened Ones are K-something?
Eden Han let out a long sigh.
“Phew! The community is full of talk about the Northern Association’s incompetence. I’m guessing that’s why they called you.”
“What are they planning to do with me?”
“I’m not sure what’s on their mind, but it’d be good to stay cautious.”
“Understood. Let’s go.”
He’d given his answer.
But Ha Gyeong didn’t take it very seriously.
Even if the Northern Association harbored ill intent, what real danger could it pose?
He headed straight for the Northern Association.
But the moment he stepped out of the car, something strange happened.
Passersby started acting like they knew him.
“Excuse me, if I may.”
“Yes?”
“Are you the Immortal Ha Gyeong? The one who came from Korea?”
“That would be me.”
“Oh my goodness.”
The white woman who’d spoken to Ha Gyeong covered her mouth with both hands.
Then she jumped up and down with joy.
“I saw your video yesterday. Thank you so much for all you’ve done for Alaska.”
“Oh…… You’re too kind.”
“You’re Alaska’s hero.”
After shaking Ha Gyeong’s hand, the woman walked on, her face beet red.
Soon after, an elderly man coming out of a convenience store handed him a chocolate bar.
Without a word, he gave a thumbs up and coolly walked away.
From across the street, as if people had spotted him.
Pedestrians waved their hands.
Ha Gyeong felt awkward inside.
“People here sure are expressive.”
“It’s quite different from Korea, isn’t it?”
Ha Gyeong nodded at Eden Han’s words.
Then he took a bite of the chocolate bar the elderly man had given him.
The overwhelming taste of pure sugar.
It felt very American indeed.
But it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling.
Even in this distant foreign land, he was being properly recognized.
Soon Ha Gyeong entered the Northern Association Headquarters.
Preston Hale, the Association director, greeted him warmly.
“Thank you for accepting our invitation, Mr. Li.”
“What did you call me for?”
“Ah, we’ll discuss the details upstairs.”
Ha Gyeong followed Director Hale into the elevator.
Then he felt the staff members whispering.
The fact that the director had come all the way to the lobby to greet him seemed quite surprising.
Preston Hale kept clearing his throat awkwardly.
“Ahem! It’s rare for the Northern Association to have such a distinguished visitor, you see.”
He hadn’t even said anything, yet the man’s feet were itching.
Something was definitely giving off a fishy smell.
Ha Gyeong was shown to a reception room on the top floor.
He sipped his coffee at leisure.
“So what’s this about?”
“Being Korean, I see you prefer getting straight to the point. Ah, of course I do too.”
―…….
When Ha Gyeong simply stared at him silently, Director Hale’s face turned red.
It seemed he was embarrassed by the unfunny joke he’d made.
Moments later.
Preston Hale finally got to the point.
“The truth is, public opinion hasn’t been very favorable.”
“You mean the view that the Northern Association only played a supporting role?”
“You already knew?”
“It seemed like just a minority opinion. I don’t think you need to worry too much about what anonymous communities are saying.”
“At first, I thought the same thing. But…….”
Director Hale slid a tablet across to Ha Gyeong.
The screen displayed countless articles.
Not just online communities.
Legacy media were also full of stories about Ha Gyeong.
And on top of that, talk of the Northern Association’s incompetence was spreading.
Ha Gyeong’s expression turned sheepish.
“I didn’t expect it to be this intense.”
“Because America has been leading the Awakened One industry all this time.”
“I understand that having to extend a hand to wastelands like Korea wounds your pride. So what?”
His immediate thought was: so what’s your point?
After all, Ha Gyeong had come here because the American Association requested it.
And he’d completed the mission brilliantly.
What else could they possibly want?
Director Hale spread both his hands and smiled widely.
“Ha! You don’t need to react so sensitively. All we need to do is show that we’re on good terms with each other.”
“Since we’re allies, there’s no need to feel hurt about it?”
“Exactly that!”
“A handshake photo? Haven’t we already done that?”
“Perfunctory gestures won’t help anymore. We need to show something we haven’t revealed before.”
“What would that be?”
“A friendly match.”
Ha Gyeong’s thoughts suddenly turned to Eden Han’s face.
That expatriate friend who’d been worried there might be some scheme at play.
Ha Gyeong let out a wry smile.
‘So it was this.’
From the Northern Association’s perspective, there was no better card to play.
It wasn’t that Ha Gyeong was strong enough to destroy Gates.
It was that he’d gotten a special ability by sheer luck.
That the Northern Association’s Awakened Ones were actually more skilled.
They could prove this that way.
Of course, only if Ha Gyeong lost the friendly match.
Ha Gyeong studied his counterpart carefully.
“What’s the compensation?”
“What, you want compensation for a friendly match?”
“There’s nothing in it for me. I have no reason to accept in the first place.”
“Hmm.”
Director Hale let out a thoughtful hum.
On the surface, he looked lost in deep contemplation.
But Ha Gyeong knew better.
‘How many Awakened Ones does the Northern Association have? 130,000? 140,000?’
Tens of thousands more than Korea.
Would someone leading such a large organization really not have done such basic math?
There was no way he hadn’t.
Soon Director Hale’s mouth opened again.
“How about taking on an additional commission?”
“A commission?”
“Like what you just did. Gate removal.”
“The compensation is Extreme grade, same as before?”
“Of course. Though it probably won’t be right away.”
“Is it the procedure again?”
“We need to first select which Gate to handle. That’s a very sensitive issue for us.”
“Ah, I understand.”
Ha Gyeong readily nodded his head.
He’d get an Extreme grade Artifact.
And at the same time, he could secure more Gate fragments?
He couldn’t pass up such a golden opportunity.
Ha Gyeong asked the direct question.
“So who would I be fighting?”
“Nathan Deans.”
Preston Hale answered with a smirk.
Ha Gyeong tilted his head, then recalled someone.
The sub-leader of the support team who’d defended him — the brown-haired young man.
‘Isn’t he a Ranged Dealer?’
Tearing Open the Gate
Author |
Morae Tho
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Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
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Editorial Department
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Without written permission from Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dreambooks, this book’s content 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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