Tearing the Gate Apart - Chapter 67

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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 67.
Most Awakened Ones wanted nothing to do with curse mechanics.
They made the raid exponentially harder—nearly a full grade increase in difficulty.
Of course, you couldn’t just skip the dungeon.
The key itself was incredibly rare.
And artifacts had a high drop rate.
So a little difficulty was nothing you couldn’t overcome, right?
Still, the aversion was unavoidable.
[You have entered the Dungeon: Abyss of Silence]
[An ancient chapel brimming with sacred(?) energy]
[Piercing through the anguished screams of the Twisted Choir, eliminate the Silent Archbishop]
[Grade: Unknown]
[Reward: Unidentifiable Artifact]
As the stone doors opened and they entered, the dungeon information appeared.
But there was no mention of a curse anywhere.
It seemed Jung Sang Hoon had picked up on some genuinely useful intel.
Ha Gyeong surveyed the surroundings.
‘Feels like an old church, but… why the question mark after “sacred”?’
There had to be some hidden mechanic at play.
Suddenly, Yu Se Ha’s voice came through.
―From here on, I’ll be calling the shots. We’ll advance slowly from the front line and begin reconnaissance. Please move out.
Now that they were in the dungeon, command had passed to the Order.
Thanks to that, Ha Gyeong could tackle the raid with relative ease.
‘Yeah, front line is comfortable.’
It was tough to fight and command at the same time.
The early stages of the dungeon revealed nothing particularly noteworthy.
But the moment they arrived at an endless corridor,
the raid team had to stop dead in their tracks.
“What… what’s with all of them?”
“Looks like roughly five hundred?”
“They wouldn’t all just charge if we touched one, would they?”
Countless monsters wearing pointed conical hoods.
They looked like withered zombies.
These must be the Twisted Choir.
In situations like this, the standard play was to pull a one or two and scout them out.
Sure enough,
John moved to act before Yu Se Ha could even give the order.
―Is there a ranged tank capable of pulling?
―John Naeger, already moving out.
―Oh, ah… yes. Much obliged.
For a moment, Yu Se Ha stumbled.
His pronunciation was halting, and when he spoke with such gravity,
it was practically comedy gold.
Ha Gyeong bit down hard on his lips.
‘We’re in the middle of a raid. Can’t let this get to me.’
The absurd part was that John knew exactly what he was doing.
Normally his pronunciation was much better.
He was deliberately hamming it up.
Ha Gyeong had no idea why.
John’s strange antics weren’t exactly a new thing.
Ha Gyeong waited patiently for the pull.
Then he suddenly noticed something.
The corridor walls weren’t solid.
They were riddled with grates.
Ha Gyeong drew closer to the wall surface.
‘There’s space below too. Pretty intricate layout.’
The Abyss of Silence was like some massive three-dimensional maze.
Usually when dungeons were designed like this, they were meant to make the boss harder to find.
Ha Gyeong was already growing concerned.
‘If the raid drags on, the escort team outside will be in danger.’
They did have a pact, of course.
If they didn’t emerge within two days, the team would withdraw on their own.
While Ha Gyeong was assessing the dungeon structure,
John began his pull.
Given his usual lighthearted demeanor,
it was hard not to worry a bit.
But surprisingly, John executed the pull cleanly.
Though it certainly didn’t feel normal.
“The Fishing Method, Form One. Time to reel it in!”
Whip! Crack!
John’s Titan Flail wrapped around the Twisted Choir member’s neck.
The monster was yanked upward without warning.
Like actual fishing.
Ha Gyeong stared in bafflement.
“Never mind the skill names—why on earth ‘time to reel it in’?”
“Look at that thing, bro. Like somebody stuffed a coat hanger inside its clothes.”
“How is that relevant? You weren’t going around bullying people like that back in school, were you?”
“What? If I got bullied, I… no, I didn’t. I just saw it. I saw it.”
“Aha! So you were a total nerd in your school days.”
“I was not! I was a genuine Florida guy, I swear!”
Nobody believed John.
A strong denial is just a strong affirmation.
The front line team tore apart the pulled Twisted Choir member in seconds.
The dealers didn’t even need to step in.
Crack! Splat!
“Wait, this thing’s pretty weak?”
“Right? Unknown Grade and all, but wasn’t this supposed to be the Bottomless Abyss?”
Everyone was puzzled.
John spoke up with unbridled confidence.
“I think we could take all five hundred of them.”
…
Right at that moment,
an eerily cold silence descended.
It wasn’t just John’s statement feeling like a flag.
The chaotically scattered monsters suddenly aligned themselves in perfect formation.
Screeeech!
[The Twisted Choir deploys Schism Hymn]
“Kiiiii—! Aaaaa—!”
The system called it a hymn,
but the sound was absolutely unbearable.
Ha Gyeong covered his ears, his brow furrowed.
But a moment later,
he sensed the presence of his teammates vanish completely.
[A Curse alters the target’s location]
[Curse Breaker activated]
[The curse effect is dispelled]
“Huh?”
Ha Gyeong’s expression turned slack.
His teammates had vanished entirely.
It seemed to be the effect of the Schism Hymn used by the Twisted Choir.
But it didn’t work on Ha Gyeong, who possessed Curse Breaker.
The problem was that he’d been left alone in the corridor.
With five hundred monsters.
“Krrr?”
“Kerrrr…”
Soon the Twisted Choir began approaching him step by step.
Ha Gyeong muttered in exasperation.
“I mean, what’s the point of curse immunity if this is the result?”
He had no choice but to draw the Crimson Edge.
Without hesitation, he pivoted and ran.
There was no point fighting a hopeless battle.
Ha Gyeong suddenly recalled John’s shout.
‘That thing about… oh, so that’s what it’s for?’
Though he only realized it.
He had no intention of copying John.
* * *
Fortunately, the Twisted Choir’s movement speed wasn’t particularly fast.
Ha Gyeong was able to shake them off without much trouble.
‘I’m alive, at least. But what comes next is the real problem.’
Despite running a considerable distance, Ha Gyeong hadn’t encountered any teammates.
The Abyss of Silence was simply enormous.
At this rate, the two-day deadline he’d agreed on with the escort team would pass in a blink.
Though so far, only a few hours had elapsed.
As Ha Gyeong explored different parts of the dungeon,
he suddenly came to a halt.
“This… this doesn’t look normal.”
A fairly spacious chamber at the end of the corridor.
Standing there was a colossal figure in a metal mask.
Wearing a conical hood similar to the Twisted Choir,
arms spread wide in a mystical pose.
[You have encountered the boss of the Abyss Dungeon, the Silent Archbishop]
Ha Gyeong couldn’t help but feel a surge of relief.
‘Okay! I found the boss.’
It was fortunate to have located it so quickly.
But he couldn’t raid solo.
First priority was reuniting with his teammates.
Ha Gyeong turned to leave, suppressing his disappointment.
That’s when it happened.
[Soul Stigma detects a Fragment Trace]
“What?”
A system message after so long.
Not in the heart of the Bottomless Abyss,
but here, deep in this Abyss Dungeon.
The likelihood of this being the Talent Predator’s ploy seemed low.
Ha Gyeong clicked his tongue bitterly.
‘Now even Fragment Traces make me suspicious… this is getting ridiculous.’
The emperors of the Bottomless Abyss suddenly felt very threatening.
For now, though, there was no need to worry.
Ha Gyeong tried to pinpoint the fragment’s location.
He pushed his Soul Stigma senses to their limit.
A rough position then appeared in his vision.
‘Of all places, it’s inside the boss’s nest. Though I suppose nowhere easy was ever really possible.’
Hadn’t the Ultimate Abyss Fragments always been in bizarre locations?
This wasn’t surprising at all.
Ha Gyeong leaned out slightly from the corridor’s end.
Checking to see if there was any way to slip in unnoticed.
But as expected, it wasn’t designed to be exploited.
Ha Gyeong smacked his lips and turned back.
‘Find the team first.’
After wandering for quite a while,
he had nothing to show for it.
A full day had passed without finding a single teammate.
Ha Gyeong’s expression darkened.
“What in the world is going on?”
Something was seriously wrong.
Statistically, it didn’t make sense.
He should have run into someone by now.
A decision point was approaching.
Either give up and escape,
or tackle the boss alone.
He needed to act while his body was still in good shape.
The longer time passed, the worse his position would become.
‘Giving up isn’t easy either. I’d have to find a separate escape route.’
Besides, he couldn’t abandon the Ultimate Abyss Fragment.
In the end, Ha Gyeong found himself standing before the boss’s nest again.
“Ugh…”
A heavy sigh escaped him.
Until now, he’d always excelled in dungeon raids.
Some might even say he’d carried them almost single-handedly.
He’d pulled off incredible plays.
But a true solo attempt was different.
There was no ally to distribute aggression.
And challenging a top-tier dungeon alone meant the boss grew stronger.
It was practically a suicide mission.
Ha Gyeong tried to think as positively as possible.
‘At least I can’t be cursed. That’s one skill negated.’
Crack! Screech-screech-screech!
The moment he stepped inside, the boss reacted immediately.
A fifteen-meter-tall giant in gorgeous priestly robes.
The metal mask made it impossible to see his face.
Perhaps that’s why the aura felt all the more mystical.
The creature immediately struck the ground with a long Staff.
Rumble! Whooosh—!
[The Silent Archbishop deploys Skill Suppression Declaration]
[For a certain duration, skill usage is suppressed]
[Curse Breaker activated]
[The curse effect is dispelled]
Soon the Silent Archbishop began swinging his Staff.
Dozens of blue spears rained down.
Whish—! Crash-crash-crash!
Ha Gyeong immediately ran up the wall.
It was easier to evade from there than on the ground.
The Silent Archbishop, firing off spells, tilted his head.
“Guurk?”
He had no choice.
He’d clearly placed a curse, yet the target was using skills.
It must have been utterly baffling.
The Silent Archbishop struck the ground again.
Boom! Whoosh—!
Skill Suppression Declaration was deployed once more,
and curse energy flooded the boss chamber.
But Ha Gyeong charged forward undeterred.
[The Abyss Challenger’s Compression amplifies the density of Abyss energy]
Crackle—! Snap! Splat!
Ha Gyeong repeatedly slashed at the boss’s legs.
He was forced into a cruder fighting style.
The Crimson Edge’s machete shape suited this approach better.
“Guuurk?”
The Silent Archbishop seemed deeply confused.
Of course, the polished metal mask betrayed nothing.
The creature tightened its grip on the Staff and began radiating a sickly aura.
Ha Gyeong was forced to back away hastily.
The boss’s momentum was overwhelming.
Boom-crash-crash-crash-crash!
As expected,
a devastating barrage swept across the chamber, leaving it devastated.
Ha Gyeong prepared his next move.
‘Strong offense, but clumsy mobility.’
With his reflexes, he thought he could pull off a flawless raid.
But the opponent was a Bottomless Abyss dungeon boss.
Certainly no pushover.
The moment Ha Gyeong moved in to exploit an opening again, something unexpected happened.
A voice rang out.
“Help! Bro!”
Ha Gyeong spun around—the wall had become transparent.
His teammates were trapped beyond it, screaming for help.
Ha Gyeong found himself unable to move.
‘A hostage situation… in the middle of a dungeon raid?’
Gate Ripper
Author |
Moraetop
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Samyang C&C Inc.
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Editorial Department
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No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of Samyang C&C Inc. – 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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