Tearing the Gate Apart - Chapter 20

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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 20.
Brilliant beams of light poured down, multiplying one after another.
Soon an intense flash erupted, bright enough to obscure everything ahead.
[You have opened the Ultimate Abyss Fragment]
[The Abyss Ruler’s Authority ‘Compression’ is being assimilated as a skill]
[Tremendous Abyss Energy is being transferred]
Tzzzzzzz!
‘This… this is…!’
Ha Gyeong couldn’t help but be astonished.
Abyss Energy on an entirely different scale was crashing down upon him.
He felt a force as though his entire body were being torn apart.
It seemed as though bone and flesh would separate.
Yet even in that extreme agony, Ha Gyeong endured.
[Spirit Cloak Activation]
[Tyrant’s Bracelet Activation]
Whoosh!
It was thanks to his artifacts protecting his body.
As time passed somewhat, it became bearable.
Ha Gyeong’s closed eyes snapped open.
Whooom—!
A pale blue beam of energy stretched forward in a long line.
It was the phenomenon of undigested residual Abyss Energy escaping.
Soon after, Ha Gyeong dropped to one knee on the ground.
‘It was effective that I burned through my mana and Abyss Energy completely. If I hadn’t, things would’ve been much harder.’
His condition was like a deflated balloon.
Had it been filled with its former contents, it might have burst.
Such a tremendous quantity of high-purity Abyss Energy had been transferred.
Ha Gyeong opened his Awakener information.
He was curious to see how the new Authority would be displayed.

Name: Ha Gyeong
Crystallization Rank: Tier 3
Skills Possessed: Wall String Guard (A), Soul Severance (S), Abyss Crystallization (S), Kin Predation (S), Soul Stigma (EX), Distortion (Authority), Compression (Authority)
Artifacts Possessed: Reactive Mana Armor, Spirit Cloak, Tyrant’s Bracelet, Restoration Veil, Ultimate Abyss Fragment Key (2/3)
‘So Authorities are simply listed as Authorities.’
Likely because they were techniques too powerful to be assigned a rank.
Ha Gyeong sprang to his feet.
Power surged throughout his entire body.
He felt he could deploy the fifteen-meter Soul Severance once or twice more without issue.
Of course, he had no intention of attempting such reckless acts under normal circumstances.
Ha Gyeong recalled the tremendous pressure from before.
‘What manner of creature possesses such enormous power?’
A monster that carried a dungeon within its body.
Even the thought of it filled him with a sense of helplessness.
Soon after, Ha Gyeong passed through the tangled labyrinth.
It was complex, but finding the way wasn’t difficult.
He was simply retracing his steps.
Besides, Soul Stigma gave him a general sense of direction.
As he rounded a corner to exit—
Suddenly, Dae Hyun-ja’s voice came through the Whisper device.
—Just a bit more concentration! We’re almost there!
The battle was unfolding very messily.
Fortunately, his team members were maintaining the advantage.
However, the fight was somewhat stalled.
Watching briefly, Ha Gyeong clicked his tongue.
‘The Brood Sovereign is busy spawning more subordinate monsters. The raid team just keeps smashing eggs.’
So the battle was still undecided.
They were just grinding through a war of attrition.
Ha Gyeong drew out his Karambite.
Whine—!
Naturally, a pale grayish aura gathered.
The range of Abyss Crystallization was three meters, same as before.
But the blade itself had become roughly twice as thick.
Materializing mana at this scale was no trivial feat.
Even a fairly high-level Awakener would need to squeeze out every ounce of strength.
Yet Ha Gyeong’s expression was perfectly serene.
‘Light as a feather.’
His chest swelled with satisfaction at his growth.
Ha Gyeong walked forward steadily, grasping the Whisper device.
“I’m joining you now.”
—Is your condition alright?
“I’ve recovered somewhat, so I won’t be a burden.”
—Understood. I’m counting on you then.
“Of course.”
Kim Sang-woo’s contributions stood out this time.
He had kept the Brood Sovereign thoroughly restrained.
Thanks to that, Ha Gyeong was able to approach the boss easily.
But when he circled around to the rear, an unexpected sight greeted him.
‘These are… eggs?’
Three masses hidden behind the Brood Sovereign.
Judging by the trembling movements, hatching was imminent.
Until now, the raid team’s ranged dealers had concentrated their fire solely on the eggs.
Under their relentless assault, not a single Brood Devourer had been born.
But it seemed there was a hidden card.
Splurt! Splurt! Splurt!
“Shriek!”
“Screech! Screech!”
Three Brood Devourers burst forth, tearing open their shells.
The moment they saw Ha Gyeong, they thrust their sharp front legs forward.
He swung his Abyss Crystallization blade nonchalantly.
He meant to crush them utterly, just as he had before.
But then the Brood Devourers suddenly halted their assault.
And began backing away.
That was the moment.
[Brood Sovereign Ultimate Ability Deployed: Overgrowth Surge]
[Unstoppable Abyss Energy surge detected]
A yellowish mist spread outward rapidly.
Ha Gyeong understood instinctively.
‘I can’t touch it. I have to dodge no matter what.’
He quickly threw himself backward.
But the Brood Devourers were different.
They crouched their bodies in the yellow mist.
Soon they began to swell in size.
Swell! Swell! Swell!
It sounded almost like the noise of growing.
In moments, the Brood Devourers had grown to a size comparable to the boss.
Ha Gyeong’s brow furrowed.
‘The subordinate monsters’ Abyss Energy… has become nearly equal to the boss?’
This was effectively the same as facing four bosses.
[Brood Devourer has metamorphosed into Brood Ravager]
The grotesque four front legs vanished.
The Brood Devourer’s mouth had expanded several times over.
Dense, sharp teeth jutted out densely.
Their forms resembled some massive ogre.
If only they hadn’t possessed eight legs like spiders.
Thud-thud-thud-thud! Crack! Crackle!
The Brood Ravagers bit indiscriminately at walls and floor alike.
The dungeon began to shake.
When Ha Gyeong had torn a fifty-centimeter rupture, it had caused chaos.
What would happen if these parasites ran berserk?
‘The Assimilation Abyss would be startled awake, and surely an immune response would…’
Indeed, the walls began to writhe, expelling something.
Crimson monsters the size of chimpanzees.
A swarm of Hemobists.
At this rate, they’d fall back into the chaos of before.
Then the Brood Sovereign would gain breathing room.
A chance to hatch more eggs and increase its forces.
Ha Gyeong tightened his grip on his Karambite.
‘I need to end this swiftly and decisively.’
The Kin Predation skill was still unavailable.
Then he had to topple the Brood Sovereign with Soul Severance alone.
For some reason, he felt its power might be slightly lacking.
But Ha Gyeong had a new weapon, didn’t he?
[The Abyss Challenger’s ‘Compression’ Authority increases the density of Abyss Energy]
Tsssh—!
The three-meter Abyss Crystallization suddenly shrank to half its size.
Moreover, the glimmering pale grayish flames also disappeared.
As if it had reached the second stage of Crystallization mastery.
Yet Ha Gyeong knew the truth.
‘Only the size shrank. The actual power has become far greater.’
Immediately, the Brood Ravagers’ attacks poured down.
Three of them leapt simultaneously, charging toward Ha Gyeong.
As if synchronized, they attacked from three directions at once.
There was no space to dodge—a moment of absolute peril.
Ha Gyeong kicked off the ground and launched himself forward.
Tap-tap-tap!
‘Where else!’
By rushing forward instead, he’d shattered the encirclement in one stroke.
Crack-crash-boom!

In the meanwhile, Ha Gyeong had closed in on the boss monster.
The Brood Sovereign’s left flank.
Even amid the chaos, Kim Sang-woo was holding aggro perfectly.
Ha Gyeong had obtained the perfect opening.
‘Now I end this.’
Whoosh—!
The surroundings became perfectly silent in an instant.
Ha Gyeong’s focus had reached its absolute peak.
He drew the Karambite back with all his might, then released it explosively.
He deployed Soul Severance as a thrust.
The Abyss Crystallization blade stretched to twice its length.
Its form crude, lacking in perfect blade geometry.
Whoosh!
Ha Gyeong’s attack pierced through the Brood Sovereign’s lateral head.
Boss monsters always possessed extraordinarily hard outer shells.
This one was no exception.
But the penetrating power of the ‘Compressed Soul Severance’ was tremendous.
Enough to split the Brood Sovereign’s body like tofu.
“Kiiieeeeeek!”
A shrill scream echoed through the dungeon.
Ha Gyeong pulled his Karambite free.
And as he fell back, he drew it downward in a long slash.
It was a follow-up using the remaining power of Soul Severance.
Slaaash—!
The wound gaped open as clear fluid gushed forth.
Soon the reeling Brood Sovereign collapsed limply.
Boom!
[Dungeon Boss, Brood Sovereign, defeated]
[You receive ‘Overgrowth Ring’ as your reward]
Ha Gyeong kept his Abyss Crystallization active and glanced back.
The Brood Ravagers were writhing, beginning to change.
They grew steadily smaller.
With the boss dead, its ultimate ability should rightfully have been canceled.
“Shriek?”
“Screech…”
The three Brood Devourers pressed themselves flat against the floor.
Though their expressions were unreadable, they seemed somehow dejected.
Ha Gyeong let out a quiet laugh and turned away.
There was no need to spend more effort.
Those creatures would be killed by the swarm of Hemobists anyway.
Instead, he checked on his team first.
“Is everyone alright?”
—Yes! We’ll regroup immediately.
Dae Hyun-ja’s clear voice came through the Whisper device.
Having reversed such a steep disadvantage to claim victory, they couldn’t be anything but delighted.
Ha Gyeong had a brief word with Kim Sang-woo.
“We need to move quickly. I’ll hold off the Hemobists, so please gather the loot first.”
“Yes, understood!”
Kim Sang-woo’s demeanor grew increasingly respectful.
True, he’d been obedient since they defeated the Obsidian Titan.
But now it was as if he were serving a superior.
Ha Gyeong smiled slightly.
‘His reactions are transparent—it’s quite nice.’
Shortly after, the rear-line team members arrived.
The ranged dealers instinctively swarmed the Brood Sovereign’s corpse.
Meanwhile, Dae Hyun-ja turned to speak with Ha Gyeong.
“You’ve done excellent work.”
“Please, it was only possible because everyone played their part.”
“Ha! That doesn’t seem right to me.”
Dae Hyun-ja’s expression was bitter.
A self-deprecating assessment followed.
“Just a few days ago, I was brimming with confidence. The Abyss is a space granted only to a select few pioneers, after all.”
“That’s not wrong.”
“So I thought we could easily clear a five-person impossible-rank dungeon. But…”
Had Ha Gyeong not been there today, the outcome would have been obvious.
They likely would have been wiped out before even arriving.
They wouldn’t have overcome the Obsidian Titan’s wall.
Even had they somehow survived to challenge the Assimilation Abyss, the result would have been the same.
Their only option would have been retreat.
They likely would never have attempted a proper strategy.
Dae Hyun-ja shook his head slowly.
“Well, at any rate, this has become an occasion to steel myself. If I ever challenge this place again…”
Dae Hyun-ja trailed off.
Today had been virtually a one-man show by Ha Gyeong.
So there was little reason to team up with such an inadequate raid group again.
Dae Hyun-ja clearly expected Ha Gyeong wouldn’t even glance his way.
But he simply shrugged lightly.
“If the opportunity comes, we can team up again.”
“Th… thank you.”
Dae Hyun-ja bowed with sincere gratitude.
Once the loot distribution was complete, the raid team ascended to the surface.
Passing through the Gate, Ha Gyeong bade farewell to his team.
“Then I’ll see you at the Trading Post.”
“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”
This time even the ranged dealers bowed respectfully.
The territorial resentment from before had vanished entirely.
Only eyes full of admiration remained.
Ha Gyeong smiled faintly and headed toward the Purification Chamber.
After venturing into the Abyss, one had to wash away the Contamination first.
But someone suddenly spoke to him.
“Hello there, Ha Gyeong. Might you have a moment to chat?”
A slightly wrinkled shirt and a dark jacket.
A bag containing a laptop and thick-framed glasses.
The attire didn’t look like that of an Awakener.
As Ha Gyeong looked at him quizzically, the man smiled and spoke.
“Ah, my apologies for the late introduction. Moon Jung-hun, journalist with the National Journal.”
Gate Ripper
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Moraetop
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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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