Tearing the Gate Apart - Chapter 48

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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 48.
The Mana Amplification effect seeped through Ha Gyeong’s entire body.
His stiffened limbs loosened slightly.
Ha Gyeong moved forward slowly.
The vines beneath him were slick, but he pressed on without hesitation.
Deliberate. Measured.
There was only one reason he could move at all.
He was deploying the Byeok Hyun Bo.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
―Shrieeeek! Shrieeeek!
As the distance closed, the Green Warden’s howl tore through the air.
It sounded like a warning—*do not come closer*.
Ha Gyeong had no intention of stopping.
He scrambled over tendrils and up the thick trunks.
When he finally reached what could only be the creature’s face—
[Time Remaining: 10 seconds]
The Time Attack was hurtling toward its end.
The situation was desperate, yet Ha Gyeong found himself hesitating.
‘Which one is real?’
His limbs were sluggish. He’d get only one strike.
The Green Warden clearly understood this too.
A cruel laugh echoed in his ears.
―……Kekekeke!
But there—a flinch. Almost imperceptible.
Ha Gyeong read his opponent’s mind instantly.
‘This bastard’s scared too.’
A fifty-fifty gamble with both their lives on the line.
His blade wavered left, then right.
A feint.
To the right—
The Green Warden’s form trembled in the glow of those crimson eyes.
Ha Gyeong thrust the Karambite forward without hesitation.
Then a thought struck him.
‘Wait. Is this really it?’
This monster could speak—a being of considerable intelligence.
It had even lied, claiming the raid team was already dead.
So wouldn’t it employ psychological warfare now?
The instant Ha Gyeong stopped—
[Time Remaining: 3 seconds]
Nearly at the finish line.
In those crimson eyes, the Green Warden’s true form gleamed.
A small, twisted tree-thing wearing a nasty grin.
In that moment.
Ha Gyeong understood.
‘It’s a trap. Then what’s the answer?’
He recalled the Green Warden’s first appearance.
Countless wooden creatures had swarmed, encircling the beast.
But there was only one of them.
So why were two sets of eyes reflecting in that red gaze?
His mind reeled.
Then—
[‘Soul Brand’ detects an anomalous presence]
A violet shadow flickered before Ha Gyeong’s eyes.
Not within the eyes where the small tree-thing’s form was reflected.
But right in front of him.
At a meaningless point wrapped in thick bark.
Ha Gyeong didn’t hesitate. He drove the Karambite forward.
Squelch—!
[Dungeon boss Green Warden defeated]
[You receive ‘Arresting Wand’ as reward]
The small tree-thing died with an expression of utter disbelief.
Shock blazed in its dying eyes.
Ha Gyeong’s mouth curved upward.
‘If you want to talk about dirty tricks, I’m not exactly playing fair either.’
Ding!
The moment of satisfaction—
The Green Warden’s ultimate skill.
The Lockdown Field dissolved, and Ha Gyeong plummeted.
He twisted his body frantically.
Trying to land properly, any way he could.
But his limbs wouldn’t respond.
The strain had finally caught up with him. Mana Depletion.
As he fell defenseless—
A familiar voice called out.
“Hey, bro. Why do I always have to be the one catching you?”
“Because I’m performing that well?”
“Wow! Irrefutable.”
John had thrown himself forward to catch him.
Even while flailing like a maniac, he’d kept Ha Gyeong’s situation in mind.
Only a true teammate would do that.
For that, Ha Gyeong was grateful to John.
He was the one who’d forced his way into Ha Gyeong’s closed-off world and offered his hand.
Soon voices called from all around.
“Captain, are you alright?”
“Healers, over here! Take care of the captain first!”
“Let’s unequip the armor first and check if he can breathe.”
Truth be told, they should have been more worried about John.
He was the one who’d taken the diving catch.
But the team treated Ha Gyeong like a critical patient.
He waved a tired arm.
“I’m fine. Just a little Mana Depletion, that’s all.”
“Hey, you bad Korean bastards. Can’t see me pinned under here? You’re ugly, you know that?”
Ma Do Hyuk, arriving just then, interjected.
“This guy’s built of iron. He’ll be fine. Let’s move Ha Gyeong somewhere else. We need to collect the loot here.”
“Right.”
Ignoring John’s protests—
The team moved with practiced efficiency.
John turned to Ha Gyeong and muttered.
“That jackass really grinds my gears.”
The two men were bound to clash.
John had once thoroughly pranked Ma Do Hyuk.
But they didn’t openly despise each other like Ha Gyeong and Choi Hyun Ki did.
More like Tom and Jerry, constantly needling each other.
Ha Gyeong let out a quiet laugh and surrendered himself to the team’s care.
‘I feel like prey being dragged off by cannibals.’
* * *
Ha Gyeong’s first command of a raid team had ended in success.
It was definitely more exhausting than working as a guest member.
Probably because the weight of responsibility was different.
So Ha Gyeong took a longer rest than usual.
Though the quiet of daily life remained elusive.
Bang!
“Holy moly! Holy cow! Holy shiii-iit!”
John burst in, shouting his string of “holies.”
A tablet screen was thrust into Ha Gyeong’s face.
“What is it?”
“Hey! Hey! Bro. Don’t talk like that—sounds like you have no feeling in it.”
“What do you want me to say, then?”
“Show some amazement. At least that much is called for.”
“I’m not reading a textbook. That sounds even more emotionless.”
“Is that so? Anyway, just look at this.”
As John fussed and pestered, Ha Gyeong shook his head.
Still, he glanced at the tablet screen.
[AI Highlight] The Immortal Ha Gyeong’s superhuman play in the Abyss of Pursuit, a mega-scale Unknown Grade Dungeon.
―You saw the video? The guy basically solo-carried it. Even crazier than the Abyss of Fusion!
└Nah, every AI video has slight differences in content. But this one? All the same footage.
└That means one thing and one thing only. The Immortal got acknowledged by every single team member.
└But it’s Unknown Grade, so……
└This guy’s insane. Look at the scale. *Mega-scale*, it says. Harder than most Incomprehensible-Grade dungeons.
└At least lots of people went in.
└What, you think this is some field boss you zerg-rush and beat? Don’t you see the Time Attack ticking?
The Abyss of Pursuit video had clearly gone viral.
Ha Gyeong stopped looking embarrassed.
Though inwardly, he felt awkward.
He just didn’t show it.
While Ha Gyeong read the comments, John cocked his head.
“Why no reaction?”
“The editing is more refined than what I saw before.”
“Come on, bro. That’s not what people want. They want an arrogant hero with a killer swagger……”
“Anyone you want to throw under the bus?”
“Huh. So you do know how to read the room?”
“You’re not confusing me with Ma Do Hyuk, are you?”
“No way.”
Ha Gyeong stared at John in disbelief.
Until now, he’d shown only perfection.
Dominating every battle.
Even leading the raid team flawlessly.
And yet John was saying he couldn’t read the room.
What kind of nonsense was that?
John spread his arms wide.
“Look at this place. Bro.”
“It’s just our ordinary house.”
“What kind of person lives alone in a 70,000-square-foot mansion with no staff?”
“The cleaning service comes once a week.”
“What about food?”
“You know as well as I do. I order delivery or buy meal kits.”
“That’s the problem! The problem!”
Ultimately, John’s real complaint was that the food was terrible.
Truth was, Ha Gyeong wasn’t particular about taste.
As long as it was quick to eat.
As long as it was passable—that was enough.
But John turned out to be quite the foodie.
“All we ever get delivered is soup and rice.”
“There aren’t any other restaurants that deliver to this area.”
“And the meal kits are nothing but meat!”
“Well, I don’t eat seafood.”
“Noooo! This is worse than what my wife cooks! How is this possible?”
“……?”
Ha Gyeong just sat there, blinking.
John looked confused.
“What’s that look supposed to mean?”
“What exactly are you asking for?”
“Let’s change it. Hire a full-time chef. You’re making good money—what else are you gonna spend it on? That’s how it’s done, bro.”
“What about splitting it?”
“Are you seriously trying to get a stipend from a married man living off his wife?”
“So you’ll just keep mooching?”
“Ahem! Ahem! I buy meal kits sometimes, don’t I?”
“But those all have seafood in them, so you’re the only one eating them.”
“Can’t argue with that, but anyway—a chef!”
Ha Gyeong didn’t answer. He just fiddled with his phone.
Then he showed John the social media app.
“What is this?”
“I just sent your wife exactly what you said.”
“What did I say?”
“That this is worse than what your wife cooks—how is this possible.”
“Oh crap?”
“Oh, he can talk even though he’s dead?”
“…….”
John squirmed nervously, then started a call.
Judging by the tone, his wife must have called him back.
He came back looking defeated, muttering “yes” the whole time.
“That was totally unfair. Does your wife attack like that?”
“I just reported the facts.”
“That’s not the code of honor in this world!”
“Anyway, you got what you wanted.”
“What?”
“Your wife said to hire a chef. She’ll cover the costs.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“She say anything else?”
“She said thanks for taking care of our hopeless husband.”
“Ffff-frick! That’s brilliant.”
She’d called him hopeless, but it didn’t sting at all.
John just looked genuinely delighted.
He must hear that often.
Which made sense, given how he was.
While John bounced excitedly around the room.
Ha Gyeong quickly turned on the TV.
An attempt to drown out the commotion with noise.
But the screen shifted automatically, and the news came on.
―Breaking news. Just now, a Gate Break phenomenon has been confirmed at the Abyss Gate near Daejeon. Authorities are shifting to high-alert status and summoning all Awakeners.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Ha Gyeong and John’s phones began ringing simultaneously.
The two men stared at each other in silence.
Neither could make sense of what was happening.
John broke the silence first.
“Isn’t Korea supposed to be really good at gate management? I’ve never heard of a Gate Break before.”
“Yeah. This is my first time too.”
“Let’s take our calls separately. Bro.”
“Right.”
Ha Gyeong picked up immediately.
An urgent voice came through.
―Ha Gyeong? Can you hear me?
“Yes, I can.”
―This is Bae Jong Hyun, emergency response team commander for the Awaker Association. Have you seen the news?
“Just now.”
―Then I’ll cut to the chase. You’ve been assigned as captain of the Gate East Defense Unit.
“I’m sorry?”
Ripping Through the Gate
Author |
Moo Rae Tob
Publisher |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
Chief Editor |
Editorial Department
Published By |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books
Address |
7F Gwangseong Building, 28 Bongeun-saro 114-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
UCI |
G720:N+A063-20260306112
Blog |
blog.naver.com/dreambookss
Twitter(X) |
@dreambookss
Submission |
[email protected]
This book’s contents may not be used in any form or by any means without the written permission of Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books.

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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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