Tearing the Gate Apart - Chapter 6

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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 6
In truth, Pain Bringer hadn’t answered any unspoken question.
It was merely a vow spoken aloud to himself.
Ha Gyeong immediately summoned Abyss Resonance.
Whoosh!
A solemn pale-grey aura blazed along the blade.
In that state, Ha Gyeong tried to burst forward.
But then Pain Bringer, retreating, thrust his staff upward.
Clang!
The metal rings at the top of the staff struck each other, producing a peculiar sound.
In that instant, Ha Gyeong felt a powerful sense of danger.
An overwhelming aura rushing up from the ground.
His Soul Mark sent a warning.
Ha Gyeong’s charging movement abruptly shifted.
Swish! Boom!
Suddenly, a jet-black aura erupted from the floor.
It was as if a colossal hand were clenching him.
Crash!
A shock wave exploded with a thunderous sound.
But his form vanished like it was being erased.
Pain Bringer’s attack merely grazed an afterimage.
Meanwhile, Ha Gyeong was sprinting across the ceiling as if it were flat ground.
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
“Wha—?”
Pain Bringer couldn’t hide his bewilderment.
He was certain he’d succeeded.
But the result had come out differently than expected.
Ha Gyeong dropped down and thrust his sword.
Swoosh—! Crack!
His blade drove cleanly through the gap in the mask.
It seemed Pain Bringer’s skull would be skewered through.
But then, just at that moment—
[Pain Bringer Ultimate Ability Deployed: Blade Storm]
[Unstoppable waves of Abyss Energy detected]
Ha Gyeong had no choice but to withdraw his blade.
It was instinctive.
Bang!
He kicked Pain Bringer’s wooden mask away and
immediately tried to throw himself aside.
But Ha Gyeong’s attempt was easily thwarted.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
A vortex starting at Pain Bringer’s center.
A crimson gale filled the boss’s lair.
Remarkably, hidden within that wind were razor-sharp blades.
Slash! Thud-thud!
“Hng!”
Ha Gyeong let out a stifled groan.
Blood streamed through the gaps in his armor.
He deflected the blades with all his strength.
Clang! Ring-ring!
‘What about the others?’
Ha Gyeong glanced back without thinking.
Tankers and melee dealers were forming a barrier.
They blocked the Blade Storm with shields and their bodies.
But the situation was far from good.
At this rate, they wouldn’t last long before total annihilation.
He had to do something.
Ha Gyeong fixed his gaze on Pain Bringer.
‘An eye for an eye. An ultimate for an ultimate.’
From his blade, pale-grey energy surged upward.
It seemed he’d cast Abyss Resonance, but this was distinctly different from usual.
The blade, suddenly lengthened, reached a full five meters.
And the flickering flames were refined to perfect clarity.
This technique was the skill Soul Severance, which maximized magical power refinement.
For Ha Gyeong, it was nothing short of an ultimate ability.
‘One use always brought immediate Magical Exhaustion.’
So he couldn’t use it aggressively.
But now he was different.
Through the Soul Mark, he’d gained the ability to directly manipulate Abyss Energy.
And by obtaining the Abyss Master’s Artifact, his magical power had increased substantially.
Now he had enough breathing room to use it in actual combat.
Ha Gyeong charged directly at Pain Bringer.
‘This will finish him.’
But then, right at that moment—
his Artifact ran out of power.
[Reactive Mage Armor deactivated]
[Spirit-Calling Cloak deactivated]
Ha Gyeong’s mouth fell open.
Tremendous pain flooded through him.
Of all times, the Artifacts had to fail now.
The battle had simply gone on too long.
Momentarily, his knees buckled.
It seemed he’d be finished, caught up in the Blade Storm.
But Ha Gyeong didn’t stop.
Thud!
One step, righting his collapsing posture.
Ha Gyeong straightened, fixing his gaze firmly on Pain Bringer.
‘I must push forward. I can’t give up after coming this far!’
His body still moved—that meant he wasn’t dead.
As long as flesh and bone persisted, he could keep fighting.
Ha Gyeong moved forward quietly.
Enduring the pain through sheer willpower.
And then Pain Bringer’s screech grew even more savage.
“Kyaaagh!”
It felt like a desperate plea for him to finally die.
In truth, this wasn’t a solo achievement.
Ha Gyeong felt a profound surge of strength enveloping his whole body.
‘The raid party members are supporting me.’
Concentrated healing and tanking support continued.
Thanks to it, he could keep moving forward.
The moment the distance shrank to four meters—
Ha Gyeong’s footsteps finally ceased.
Then a brilliant flash erupted from his blade.
Whoooosh—!
A pale-grey line was drawn through the air as if the very dimension had been split.
For a moment, all sound ceased.
The wildly dancing Blade Storm stopped.
And Pain Bringer’s screech vanished.
A single, deliberate swing.
Every ounce of his being compressed into one clean motion.
Soul Severance—descending like divine judgment.
Immediately after, a massive arm fell to the floor.
Splash—! Thud!
“Gahhhhk!”
Pain Bringer staggered, spraying blood.
Remarkably, in that final moment—
he twisted his body to minimize the damage.
A glimmer of regret crossed Ha Gyeong’s eyes.
‘His response was too good.’
Still, it wasn’t without result.
The relentless Blade Storm had subsided.
Now he could press forward with follow-up attacks.
But Ha Gyeong couldn’t.
Crack! Boom!
“Damn.”
His sword shattered with an ominous sound.
Soul Severance’s power had been too much for it to withstand.
“Kekekekeke!”
Pain Bringer was laughing, chuckling darkly.
He seemed to have realized Ha Gyeong’s predicament.
The Blade Storm began to strengthen again.
If Ha Gyeong did nothing, there would be no more chances.
Ha Gyeong charged forward.
Drawing out the curved blade he’d hung at his side.
[Poison Resistance increased]
[Venom Injection effect deployed]
An Artifact obtained from defeating the Venom Drake.
A Karambit drenched in venom.
It had been so short he’d never even considered it as a main weapon.
But when he deployed Abyss Resonance, its form transformed dramatically.
Whoooosh—!
A wickedly blazing aura extended roughly one meter outward.
Viewed this way, it seemed similar in length to his original weapon.
Moreover, the curved blade straightened completely.
Into a shape much like his usual sword.
Soon his blade strike glinted like a reaper’s scythe heralding death.
“Tsuaahh!”
Swoosh—! Crack!
A flawless strike piercing the ribs at a perfect angle.
Ha Gyeong allowed himself a satisfied smile.
‘There’s no way he can dodge this.’
Soul Severance activated with the blade buried in his torso.
Pale-grey energy burst from Pain Bringer’s chest.
Splash!
Black blood gushed out in a torrent.
And the savage light in Pain Bringer’s eyes gradually dimmed.
He drove his head into the altar, crowded with eerie statues.
It was a spectacular, almost dramatic victory.
[Dungeon Boss Pain Bringer defeated]
[You receive ‘Sadism Mask’ as reward]
Ha Gyeong knelt on one knee, breathing heavily.
“Huff! Gasp!”
A side effect of expending too much strength all at once.
But then, suddenly, cheers erupted.
“Yaaay!”
“We won!”
Awakeners, struggling to their feet and clenching their fists.
They were all rushing toward Ha Gyeong.
A scene that clearly showed how remarkable his performance had been.
Which is precisely why they cheered so loudly.
Ha Gyeong managed a faint smile.
‘How nostalgic.’
The days he’d spent in Axis Prime came to mind.
Meanwhile, Yoon Chang-ho was slowly rising to his feet.
Then someone suddenly spoke to him.
“Who is that person?”
A man with sharp features, a bow slung across his back.
A ranged dealer with the nickname Wind Pacer.
The Guild Master of Chang-un Guild, Ryu Jae-wook.
Yoon Chang-ho stared into space, as if recalling the past.
“Nimble footwork and exceptional swordsmanship… Now I remember. He’s probably the last promising prospect of Axis Prime Guild.”
“What? Then—”
Ryu Jae-wook’s expression shifted as if something had clicked.
Based on the circumstances, he wasn’t an Awakener from Black Water.
If he were a guest member, there was every chance to recruit him.
Pure greed gleamed in Ryu Jae-wook’s eyes.
‘Ha Gyeong, was it? I need to bring him in no matter what.’
Then Yoon Chang-ho shook his head.
“I already offered him the best terms. He turned it down, saying he had other matters to attend to.”
“Guild Master Yoon.”
“Yes?”
“If money won’t solve the problem, then you should first consider whether the amount was insufficient.”
“Well then, give it a try yourself.”
Yoon Chang-ho shrugged.
Confident that Ha Gyeong wouldn’t budge.
‘Kid, as if there’s anything I haven’t tried.’
Thus the conquest of the Abyss of Contempt concluded successfully.
There were tremendous casualties, but no deaths.
Yoon Chang-ho immediately presented the boss reward to Ha Gyeong.
“A Sadism Mask, hmm… Quite unique.”
“It’s magical in nature and belongs to the accessory category.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have use for it.”
“Then how shall we handle the purchase?”
“I won’t buy it. Just make sure to pay the wages generously.”
“Ha! Understood.”
Yoon Chang-ho burst into hearty laughter.
More Artifacts are always better, after all.
Surely someone among Black Water’s Awakeners would find it useful.
Once the agreement was finalized, the raid party promptly exited the dungeon and
passed through the Abyss Gate to return to reality.
* * *
Click-click-click-click! Beep-beep! Thunk!
Ha Gyeong, having opened the front door, stood still for a moment.
The overly spacious living room was filled only with silence.
He murmured quietly to himself.
“I’m home.”
Of course, there was no answer.
After showering, he immediately lay down on his bed.
Running consecutive dungeons had left him quite exhausted.
Beep-beep-beep!
But suddenly his cell phone rang.
It was an unknown number, but he answered anyway.
His contact had been passed around to quite a few people recently.
“This is Ha Gyeong.”
—Good to hear from you. This is Ryu Jae-wook.
“The Guild Master of Chang-un, I see.”
—First, I want to apologize again. We did attack allies due to the curse, after all.
“No need. It’s water under the bridge. But what brings this call?”
—Ah, well, you see.
Ryu Jae-wook got to the main point in a serious tone.
As expected, the purpose was a guild recruitment offer.
The terms were good enough to entice even Ha Gyeong.
The benefits were 1.5 times better than what Black Water had proposed.
But he firmly shook his head.
“I appreciate it, but I’m afraid I can’t be affiliated with any organization at the moment.”
—How about working with us occasionally as a guest member?
“If the conditions fit, that would be possible.”
Of course, Ha Gyeong’s condition was singular.
Only dungeons of Unknown Grade or above.
Ryu Jae-wook continued with slight excitement in his voice.
—Then how about joining us for this run?
“What kind of dungeon?”
—It’s Upper Level, but a place requiring a key. We’d only be inviting you as a guest member.
That essentially meant offering higher wages.
But Ha Gyeong wasn’t someone who needed money much.
“I’m afraid not.”
—May I ask the reason for declining?
“The dungeon difficulty is lower than I’d hoped.”
—So you’re looking for high risk, high reward. I’ll keep that in mind. Too bad, but let’s talk next time.
“Yes, I understand.”
—Ah! If you’re looking for higher-grade dungeons, try contacting the Association.
“Has something been discovered there?”
—To be honest, I don’t know exactly. But the application rate is quite high, so you’d better move quickly.”
“Thanks for the tip.”
—Ha! Yes, then I wish you all the best.
Ha Gyeong immediately logged into the Awakener Community.
And there were fresh posts waiting.
The Association was organizing a large-scale raid party and
beginning open recruitment starting today.
Ha Gyeong jumped to his feet.
“120 participants allowed?”
His fatigue seemed to vanish instantly.
In a place like that, wouldn’t an ultimate Abyss Fragment be hidden?
It seemed very likely indeed.
Ha Gyeong immediately grabbed his car keys.
He’d already prepared himself well, and felt no displeasure whatsoever.
There was nothing more important to him than this.
Soon Ha Gyeong arrived at the Association Headquarters.
‘As expected, quite a crowd.’
Already 50 people were gathered, and it had only just begun.
Ha Gyeong got in line immediately.
When his turn came, the interviewer posed a question.
In a disinterested tone.
“How many Artifacts and skills do you currently possess?”
Essentially asking how many Artifacts he’d obtained.
Ha Gyeong inwardly sighed.
‘The entry barrier is high.’
More than half of all Awakeners probably wouldn’t have any Artifacts at all.
And it didn’t sound like they were asking for just one or two.
But that was inevitable.
The Association would naturally want to cherry-pick only the very best.
Ha Gyeong answered in an unaffected tone.
“Three equipment Artifacts and four skills.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Gate Rifter
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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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