Tearing the Gate Apart - Chapter 33

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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 33.
John had been asked to leave several times, but he paid no attention.
When he got desperate, he suddenly spoke Korean like a native.
Now he was back to this again.
“I not speak Korean good. I have no place, yes?”
“Let’s stop the nonsense, shall we?”
Wasn’t he skilled enough to enter an Extreme Rank Dungeon as a guest member?
Surely a man like that had at least one house in Korea.
He could easily make a few hundred billion just selling off a single Artifact.
But John’s shamelessness had utterly shattered Lee Ha-gyeong’s common sense.
The man had actually pitched a tent in the Training Ground and was living there.
Eventually, Lee Ha-gyeong had tried to offer him one of the spare rooms attached to the facility.
But John had waved him off.
“Oh! No. Is not necessary, bro.”
“You’d be far more comfortable in the dormitory than in a tent. It’s a room we set up for brief rest periods—nobody really uses it anymore.”
“That is not it. I like sleeping in tent. Feels like camping, yes?”
“What sort of camping happens indoors?”
“I told you—I like the feeling. Real camping, I hate. In Florida where I lived, you meet black bears. Alligators, coyotes too.”
“An Awakener afraid of wild animals?”
“Yes. If I hit them, they die. That is sad, no?”
He was truly a person divorced from all ordinary sense.
Lee Ha-gyeong shook his head and turned to leave.
‘Well, he’s odd, but living with him shouldn’t be too troublesome.’
Except for cooking.
Everything else was well-equipped.
Besides, John didn’t seem the type to prepare meals.
It hardly mattered.
As Lee Ha-gyeong was heading out of the Training Ground, he paused.
‘Since he’s such an unconventional person, maybe he’s actually an excellent cook.’
An unexpected nagging thought had sprouted.
For some reason, his head throbbed.
Of course, John proved to be quite competent.
He was a tank of considerable skill.
If even Kang Woo-jin acknowledged him, there’d be no problem working together.
What’s more, Lee Ha-gyeong’s chemistry with John was quite good.
Thanks to that, they’d leapt over the Thorn Storm in one bound.
And dealt significant damage to the Crack Swarm.
Lee Ha-gyeong sank into deep contemplation.
‘I’ll have to rebuild Axis Prime eventually. Think of this as buying insurance early.’
So like Dae Hyun-ja and others,
he’d been building relationships with skilled guest members.
Thinking of John as one of them put his mind at ease.
“Hey. Bro. You go to internal auction, yes? Take me also.”
“Are you going to bid on something?”
“No?”
“Then there’s no reason you have to go.”
“Just want to see. And how I know if Korean people don’t haggle down the price?”
“The Association is running it, so that won’t happen.”
“No, I don’t believe. Korea is heaven for scammers.”
“That’s just an internet meme. In reality, the conviction rate is quite high.”
“I come to Korea just now and already scammed on deposit house. Didn’t get the money back even. Korea is like capsaicin—brutally spicy like dog.”
“.…”
Lee Ha-gyeong closed his mouth.
The man had genuinely been scammed.
What could he possibly say?
It seemed best to just stay quiet and drive.
When Lee Ha-gyeong arrived at the Association Headquarters, he entered Meeting Room 10 on the 9th floor.
His teammates were already gathered there.
The moment he sat down, Kang Woo-jin approached and greeted him.
“Did you rest well?”
“Ah, yes. Have you been well?”
“A man who failed a raid—how could I be? I went into a temple and have only just come down after days of repentance.”
“I see.”
The deaths of his team members weren’t solely Kang Woo-jin’s responsibility.
It came down to the elite composition of personnel and sound command.
As the raid leader, Kang Woo-jin had done his utmost.
The enemy had simply been far too strong.
An Extreme Rank, medium-sized Dungeon.
The highest level discovered all year, wasn’t it?
Lee Ha-gyeong regarded Kang Woo-jin with admiring eyes.
‘Could I bear the pressure this man endures?’
There’s a saying that position makes the person.
But those lacking the qualifications from the start could never rise to such heights in the first place.
Lee Ha-gyeong recalled Axis Prime from five years ago.
‘It was a Void Rank, massive-scale Dungeon back then.’
Perhaps because they’d tasted defeat against merely an Extreme Rank,
the road ahead suddenly felt blocked off.
But then Kang Woo-jin looked at John and laughed.
“Not the easiest person to handle, but surprisingly we mesh quite well.”
“It just happened that way…”
“He’s clearly skilled, so it’ll be good to maintain the relationship. A tank as fine as John is rare.”
Lee Ha-gyeong tried to mumble something vague.
But John suddenly popped up and nodded vigorously.
“See? This old man also recognizes me, right? I am lucky charm, yes? Bro.”
.…”
Lee Ha-gyeong squeezed his eyes shut.
Such conduct toward a master of one of the Four Guilds.
Kang Woo-jin’s age was in his mid-fifties, certainly.
But his appearance looked no older than thirty.
Awakeners aged extremely slowly.
Whatever the case, Lee Ha-gyeong apologized at once.
“My apologies. As you know, his Korean is a bit rough…”
“It’s fine. After all, this fellow has been calling me Old Man since we first met.”
“He’s quite the troublesome talent.”
“Haha! Anyway, do the auction well. A Skill Enhancement Scroll is a very rare Artifact.”
“Yes, then.”
After Kang Woo-jin left, Lee Ha-gyeong considered poking John in the ribs.
But he lowered his hand with a sigh instead.
It seemed unlikely to change anything anyway.
Best to leave John as an exception.
Soon someone climbed onto the podium.
The person holding the microphone was the auctioneer.
―We shall now begin the internal auction for loot from the Extreme Rank Dungeon, the Abyss of Proliferation. The Guardian Reward is an A-Rank Skill Enhancement Scroll—a rare Artifact that can elevate an A-Rank skill to S-Rank. Starting bid: fifty billion. Increment: ten billion.
Lee Ha-gyeong fell into deliberation.
‘It’s good, but…’
In truth, it wasn’t particularly necessary for him.
Lee Ha-gyeong pulled up his Awakener Information.

Name: Lee Ha-gyeong
Resonance Rank: Stage 3
Skills Possessed: Wall String Guard (A), Soul Severance (S), Abyss Resonance (S), Kin Predation (S), Soul Brand (EX), Distortion (Authority), Compression (Authority)
Artifacts Possessed: Reactive Mana Armor, Spirit Response Cloak, Tyrant’s Bracelet, Restoration Veil, Curse Breaker, Ultimate Abyss Key (2/3)
There was only one skill worth upgrading: Wall String Guard.
Honestly, his current state was already quite good.
It was a high-weight-class skill to begin with.
Save for the fairly large mana consumption.
Still, S-Rank was better than A-Rank, wasn’t it?
Lee Ha-gyeong made up his mind.
The bidding was quite fierce.
“Ninety billion.”
“One hundred billion.”
An Awakener from the Death Hound Guild called out one hundred billion.
A brief lull followed.
Apparently a guild member bidding in Kang Woo-jin’s stead.
Glancing back, someone in the corner raised their hand.
“One hundred ten billion.”
A man in a white fedora pulled down low.
Dae Hyun-ja had entered the auction.
The amounts began rising again.
“One hundred twenty billion.”
“One hundred thirty billion.”
“One hundred forty billion.”
“One hundred fifty billion.”
Neither the Death Hound Guild nor Dae Hyun-ja showed signs of backing down.
Even the auctioneer fell silent.
Everyone merely murmured,
watching the two duel it out.
Then the Death Hound Guild suddenly jumped to a much higher figure.
“Two hundred billion.”
“.…”
Dae Hyun-ja shrugged and fell silent.
He’d never intended to buy it anyway.
Apparently his only goal was to drive the price up.
Just like when they’d auctioned off the Tyrant’s Bracelet.
―Well then, is anyone offering two hundred ten billion?
The auctioneer gestured, but no one stepped forward.
Just as the hammer was about to fall,
Lee Ha-gyeong suddenly raised his hand.
“Two hundred fifty billion.”
All eyes turned to him.
The market rate for an A-Rank Skill Enhancement Scroll was around two hundred billion.
While items rarely came up for sale, when they did, that’s what you’d pay.
Lee Ha-gyeong’s bid was surprisingly high.
Overbidding would only make it costlier than market value.
It was too much to make winning worthwhile.
The Death Hound Guild began murmuring among themselves.
Then Kang Woo-jin’s expression turned resigned.
He’d acknowledged that further investment made no sense.
Shortly after, the auctioneer confirmed the sale.
―If there are no bids of two hundred sixty billion, I shall declare it sold. Two hundred fifty billion, two hundred fifty billion, two hundred fifty billion. Sold! Congratulations.
Clap, clap, clap!
A few team members offered modest applause.
Lee Ha-gyeong lowered his head respectfully and approached the podium.
After settling the payment, he returned to his seat.
The Artifact was now his, but verification remained.
Being a one-time use item, he had to be especially thorough.
Then an unexpected figure caught his eye.
‘Moon Jung-hun? The reporter?’
In a corner, frantically typing away on a keyboard.
Apparently rushing to post an article about the auction results.
Lee Ha-gyeong casually drifted closer.
Moon Jung-hun jumped and turned.
“Oh! Lee Ha-gyeong?”
“You’re not churning out trash articles again, are you?”
“N-no, n-no, not at all.”
The way he stammered three times over suggested he had something to hide.
Lee Ha-gyeong spun the laptop toward himself.
Even with privacy screen protectors, it wouldn’t help.
But surprisingly, the content ran exactly opposite to what he’d expected.
“Actually quite responsible. You’re really going to post this?”
“O-of course! You must write truthfully. H-haha!”
“I certainly hope so. I’d rather not meet those senseless hounds again.”
“Yes, sir!”
Moon Jung-hun responded with military discipline.
In truth, Lee Ha-gyeong’s relationship with the Raiders was irreversible.
‘What can it matter anyway if he uses that?’
Moon Jung-hun probably lacked even the courage to contact the Raiders.
Lee Ha-gyeong returned to his seat and waited for the process to conclude.
Then John suddenly thrust his phone at him.
“Hey! Bad King Bro. Look at this.”
“What is it?”
“Auction result already became article.”
[Exclusive] Deathless Tyrant Lee Ha-gyeong Generously Donates 50 Billion for Fallen Teammates!
―Deliberately bought 200-billion item for 250 billion. Even Dae Hyun-ja verified it.
└I was going to say A-Rank Skill Enhancement Scrolls are just bought whenever they appear, but that was Dae Hyun-ja’s statement?
└Isn’t this irrefutable then?
└Death Hound hasn’t said anything, so it seems real?
└Not Deathless Tyrant, but Deathless Saint Lee Ha-gyeong. Or maybe Divine Ha-gyeong is better?
└Fair renaming, lol
└How’s the profit margin that he throws 50 billion around?
└He’s just ridiculously skilled. If he keeps running high-level dungeons, money could stack in the trillions.
Before, there’d been scattered malicious comments.
Now it was mostly recognition and praise.
Dae Hyun-ja’s reputation had apparently amplified the credibility.
Lee Ha-gyeong let out a hollow laugh.
‘Huh! How hard they’re hyping me. But did he coordinate with Dae Hyun-ja first?’
Judging by Moon Jung-hun’s usual conduct,
he’d probably just attached it without permission.
Either way, it didn’t particularly bother him.
It wasn’t bad to have an improved image.
As he waited, the auctioneer approached with a box.
“Payment confirmed. This is your purchased item.”
“Thank you.”
Lee Ha-gyeong took out the glowing scroll and tore it straight open.
Rip!
[A-Rank Skill Enhancement Scroll Used]
[Target: Wall String Guard]
[Wall String Guard has evolved to S-Rank skill]
Whoosh—!
Brilliant light flowed into Lee Ha-gyeong’s entire body.
But he couldn’t immediately perceive the change.
The Abyss System didn’t provide detailed explanations.
He’d need to practice at the Training Ground to notice the difference.
Soon Lee Ha-gyeong stood up.
His business was done; he was about to leave.
“Lee Ha-gyeong?”
At the familiar voice, Lee Ha-gyeong turned.
Dae Hyun-ja stood there with a bright smile.
Lee Ha-gyeong asked immediately.
“Did you give an interview to Moon Jung-hun?”
“Ah, I did.”
“Why make such a statement?”
“A kind of lip service? Bribery, if you will.”
“What?”
“I’ve got someone I want to catch.”
Lee Ha-gyeong immediately grasped Dae Hyun-ja’s intention.
It was probably about going to the Bottomless Pit together.
Currently, few Awakeners could access that place.
Lee Ha-gyeong nodded.
“Understood. What’s the target this time?”
“An Incomprehensible Rank field boss.”
“…!”
Gate Ripper
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Moraetop
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(주) Samyang C&C
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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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