Tearing the Gate Apart - Chapter 54

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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 54.
Being called a madman by a monster.
It was an absurdly surreal moment.
Regardless, I’d won.
Truly, it had been a series of harrowing scenes.
Ha Gyeong exhaled a breath of relief inwardly.
‘That was genuinely dangerous this time.’
When Silent Ruin collided with him head-on.
Ha Gyeong had nearly been done for.
The impact that transmitted through him was simply catastrophic.
The Reactive Magic Armor had been shredded to tatters.
Every bone in his body had been crushed to the point of severe injury.
Had he activated the Tyrant’s Bracelet even a moment later, he would have died as-is.
Ha Gyeong began hobbling forward.
‘It’s not over yet.’
The Gate Break was still in progress.
Before long, a yellowish-gleaming sphere hovered into Ha Gyeong’s field of vision.
This was the Abyss Core.
The object Silent Ruin had been guarding.
Ha Gyeong raised the Karambite.
‘I don’t know what it is, but there’s a high probability it’s the root cause of the Gate Break. If that’s the case, destroying it is the right answer.’
He was the sort of man who acted immediately once his mind was made up.
Ha Gyeong’s blade pierced straight through the center of the Abyss Core.
Squelch—!
Surprisingly, the texture was remarkably soft.
It offered almost no resistance, like cutting through butter.
The instant he split the Abyss Core in two,
an intense beam of light burst forth.
Ping—!
[You have destroyed the Abyss Core.]
[The Will of the Core Guardian is being integrated as a skill.]
[Vast quantities of Abyss Energy are being transferred.]
Crackling—!
“Uuurgh!”
A groan spilled unbidden from Ha Gyeong’s lips.
An immense wave of pain had engulfed him for that very reason.
This was agony of an entirely different dimension from broken bones.
Like his very soul was being wrung out.
An overwhelming force seemed to be ravaging through his body without restraint.
Dark shapes flickered before Ha Gyeong’s eyes.
‘This is….’
The very power that Silent Ruin had absorbed.
The burning pain gradually subsided.
In an earlier time, his body would surely have collapsed.
But Ha Gyeong had grown enough to withstand it.
‘Something feels opened up.’
As though wind were pouring through his chest cavity.
It wasn’t merely that the Reactive Magic Armor had torn holes throughout.
Abyss Energy flowed through him far more readily than before.
Ha Gyeong read the system message belatedly.
“Dead Zone? I obtained that?”
Silent Ruin’s signature skill.
A technique that dealt an obliteration attack with no warning or sign whatsoever.
Ha Gyeong immediately tried to test out the Dead Zone.
But no matter how hard he exerted his will, it wouldn’t activate.
He tilted his head in confusion.
‘Why isn’t this working?’
Then, when Ha Gyeong absently swung the Karambite,
the middle section of a ruined fortress wall nearby vanished in an instant.
[The Will of the Core Guardian creates an extreme annihilation zone.]
Crack!
“Huh?”
The activation mechanism itself differed from Silent Ruin’s skill.
It had been transformed to manifest through his signature swordsmanship.
Apparently it had undergone some degree of degradation in the process.
Its power was somewhat weaker than the original Dead Zone.
The radius was only about two meters.
But it was still a decent acquisition.
Ha Gyeong smiled with satisfaction.
‘This diversifies my attack patterns.’
Moreover, it was good for cycling skill cooldowns.
He could alternate between Chanhon, Bung Cheon Kwon, and Dead Zone.
Ha Gyeong turned leisurely on his heel.
But the Abyss mist had vanished without a trace.
And countless Awakened Ones completely surrounded him.
They looked like beaten stragglers.
They’d barely managed to overcome the third Wave, it seemed.
Ha Gyeong spoke while gripping the Whisperer.
“The Gate Break is over. You can rest assured now.”
“…….”
An odd silence stretched out for a moment.
It seemed they found it hard to believe so easily.
They’d just overcome the third Wave,
and now he was saying it was finished—how absurd must that sound?
Normally, they’d have to hold out until at least the fifth Wave.
But the instant they confirmed the Gate had returned to its original turquoise hue,
a roar shook the ruins.
“Graaaaaah!”
It felt like a massive boss monster had let out a triumphant roar.
The ground trembled,
and people surged forward in a rush.
Ha Gyeong instinctively staggered back.
“Wait—wouldn’t this be dangerous?”
If that massive crowd trampled him, even an Awakened One wouldn’t escape unscathed.
But his worry proved needless.
The Awakened Ones rushing toward him all collapsed within moments.
“Ugh, I’m dying here.”
“I seriously thought I was gonna die without reinforcements.”
“These Association bastards don’t do their jobs worth a damn.”
“Forget about cleanup and all that—let’s just rest.”
Even so, they waved their hands eagerly toward him.
It was their way of expressing gratitude for his efforts.
Ha Gyeong let out a soft laugh and turned to leave.
‘I need some rest too.’
* * *
He’d hoped to return home and have a proper recovery period,
but Ha Gyeong couldn’t do that.
The Awakener Association had requested a fact-finding investigation.
So he found himself confined in what amounted to an interrogation room.
Of course, it only had that atmosphere.
There was no actual coercion involved.
Bang!
“Hello there? Mr. Ha Gyeong.”
A figure burst through the door and greeted him warmly.
Ha Gyeong stood and offered a respectful bow.
“A pleasure to see you again, Vice-Chairman.”
A middle-aged man in a rumpled suit.
Jang Myeong Chul shook his head and spoke.
“Phew! Things are so hectic, I had no choice but to bring you to a place like this. I’m truly sorry.”
“Not at all. I came down having seen everything anyway.”
The Association Headquarters was like a war zone.
They were swamped with post-Gate Break cleanup procedures.
Moreover, this time there was even more noise due to the Association’s mistakes.
A catastrophic delay in deploying reinforcements had occurred.
The Association wasn’t entirely without justification.
They’d prepared for a typical level of Gate Break,
but far more powerful monsters had appeared this time.
Numbers that far exceeded expectations.
This wasn’t a mistake—it was an accident.
Vice-Chairman Jang Myeong Chul spoke while suppressing a haggard expression.
“Thanks to you, we were at least able to minimize the damage. But how exactly did you stop the Gate Break?”
Ha Gyeong explained the situation from that time.
Vice-Chairman Jang Myeong Chul listened to the account with a grave expression.
“An Abyss Core as the source of the Gate Break…. That’s truly surprising information. But why does such a thing even come into existence?”
“I haven’t been able to uncover that much yet.”
“Well, that’s understandable. You were busy fighting that Core Guardian.”
“In any case, this is all I’ve managed to learn. Shall I be going then?”
There was nothing more to say,
and it would be considerate to leave quickly.
The Vice-Chairman had barely found time to visit.
But then Jang Myeong Chul hastily grabbed Ha Gyeong’s arm.
“Wait, please.”
“Is there something more you wished to discuss?”
“The truth is, our Awakener Association faces unfavorable scrutiny from all sides.”
“You all acted according to protocol. Everyone did their best, didn’t they? You fought with your lives on the line—what more could you say?”
“Because there are always people who’ll find fault with anything.”
Ha Gyeong nodded in understanding.
It had been the same when Axis Prime was uncovering the secrets of the Abyss.
There’s no shortage of people who profit by tearing others down.
The Awakener Association too was now on the chopping block because of this incident.
If they didn’t respond properly, they’d be torn to shreds.
Vice-Chairman Jang Myeong Chul spoke with an awkward expression.
“The Association has prepared a position for you. A special advisory committee member for crisis response, you might say…….”
“Surely you’re not trying to use me as a shield?”
“I can’t say that was entirely not the intention. Of course, you’re free to refuse. All I ask is that you mention—just once—that we consulted with you beforehand.”
Ha Gyeong immediately grasped the Association’s strategy.
What was the core issue the government and media were harping on about?
The lack of support during the third Wave.
Wasn’t it the Association’s failure to respond that was under fire?
And if they’d anticipated that far and deployed Ha Gyeong like a special unit,
they could place the blame solely on whoever made the manual.
Ha Gyeong smiled meaningfully.
“The first-generation Awakened One who created the manual must have retired long ago.”
“Yes, they’ve already passed.”
“Blame the dead—it fits perfectly. But I don’t particularly want to join the Association.”
Ha Gyeong was about to refuse outright.
There was no need to think it over.
Why had he avoided belonging to any organization up until now?
Because it drastically limited his freedom of movement.
He hadn’t joined a guild for that very reason.
A high-ranking Association position—even less.
When Ha Gyeong shook his head, Jang Myeong Chul hurried to speak.
“The special advisory position is non-full-time. You’d only need to offer guidance now and then, like you’re doing now.”
“You say I can refuse, yet the whole tone is ‘please, just take the seat.'”
“……Yes, that’s true.”
Jang Myeong Chul nodded heavily.
And then Ha Gyeong found himself taken aback.
“What?”
He hadn’t expected such a candid admission.
Moreover, something even more absurd happened to Ha Gyeong.
Vice-Chairman Jang Myeong Chul grabbed hold of his pant leg.
“Please, I’m begging you!”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Outside that door, there are monsters who want to tear the Association apart. Honestly, people scare me more than actual monsters.”
“Well, I suppose that’s…true.”
“Of course, the Association as it stands now isn’t perfect. But I can’t promise the Association that emerges afterward would be any better.”
Ha Gyeong harbored no ill will toward the Association.
In fact, he thought they’d done quite well up until now.
They’d provided all manner of conveniences for Awakened Ones,
and hadn’t the Ranking Battles concluded successfully?
Rather than let ignorant people come in and make arbitrary demands,
the status quo seemed far preferable.
Ha Gyeong nodded.
“Given how earnestly you’ve asked, I suppose there’s no helping it.”
“Really? You’re actually accepting?”
“But there is something, Vice-Chairman.”
“Yes, yes.”
Vice-Chairman Jang Myeong Chul nodded vigorously.
Ha Gyeong smiled meaningfully and spoke.
“It’s something I once told someone else, and I think I need to use it again now.”
“What would that be?”
“My price is quite high.”
“Ah…….”
“You will treat me generously, won’t you?”
“O-of course.”
Vice-Chairman Jang Myeong Chul answered with a flustered expression.
He clearly hadn’t expected Ha Gyeong to make such a move.
The man immediately pulled out his phone and extended his arm.
“Come on, let’s strike a pose.”
“Why are you suddenly taking a photo?”
“Since we’re doing this, we should do it properly. If I post it on SNS, it’ll spread through the community in no time. Smile.”
Click!
Ha Gyeong uploaded the image of himself and Jang Myeong Chul exchanging a fist bump as-is.
Of course, he posted only the photo itself.
He didn’t include any explanation.
People’s imagination would produce better results that way.
Now Ha Gyeong was truly ready to take his leave.
But Vice-Chairman Jang Myeong Chul handed him something.
“Consider this a signing bonus.”
“What is this?”
“A Bottomless Abyss Dungeon Key.”
“……!”
Ha Gyeong’s lips curled upward.
Because that was precisely the kind of compensation he’d wanted.
‘After all, this is someone who understands.’
Tearing Open the Gate
Author |
Moraetop
Publisher |
(주) Samyang C&C
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Editorial Department
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(주) Samyang C&C – Dream Books
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7F, Gwangseong Building, 28, Bongeunsaro114-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
UCI |
G720:N+A063-20260306112
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blog.naver.com/dreambookss
Twitter (X) |
@dreambookss
Submission |
[email protected]
Without written permission from (주) Samyang C&C – Dream Books, 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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