In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a huge man-made structure, which blended perfectly with its surroundings, was floating above the water. The structure, which was built with the latest human technology, was called ‘Island’. It was a boring and uncreative name. But that name embodied just how mundane the Island's function was; observing the Hell Gate.
However, contrary to its mundane and boring function, the structure shouldered a heavy burden of humanity's survival. It was safe to say that it was the very first line of defence humanity had against the Hell Gate. This reflected well on the fact that billions of dollars were invested in the structure every year.
So far, humanity has attempted to conquer Hell Gate several times. But success was a word which had never accompanied these attempts. The expedition that Yoo Seodam had joined years ago was only successful in digging up the material inside. They had barely managed to come alive from scouting, and as surviving itself was so difficult, conquering it was an impossible dream.
And today, their mundane lifestyle of observing the ever-stagnant Hell Gate comes to an end.
Weeing! Weeing! Weeing!
“Hey, what is this…!”
An abrupt change happened in Hell Gate. Usually, when Hell Gate started to show signs of activity, it meant that all the materials and energy inside were exploding, and it was vomiting the environment and monsters contained inside towards Earth, inflicting great damage. That’s why everyone on Earth was always wary of it.
However,
“It’s absorbing energy from Earth?”
The current phenomenon was something which had never happened before. Instead of pouring out energy, Hell Gate had started to absorb energy from Earth. In other words, they were pulling Earth towards it!
Although the absorption rate was very small… What if the phenomenon was accelerated?
“Earth might be in great danger.’
* * *
“Greetings, Mr. Lacanthal.”
As soon as we returned to Another League’s hideout, I took the 38 otherworlders to meet Yekaterina. Since they were otherworlders, I was hoping to give them a new ID to settle on Earth. But, would it be that easy? After all, even changing nationality was difficult in this world.
“Seodam-nim…. You know that people are all going crazy because of those otherworlders, right?”
"Of course, I know."
“The International Association of Supernatural Powers also visited us. They said those otherworlders could be dangerous, so they want to investigate them right away.”
“Can’t I just do it myself?”
"That…"
Yekaterina took a rare deep breath and fiddled her long white hair with her finger. It was a habit she always did whenever she was anxious about something.
“If you want to do that, you have to be prepared to take a lot of damage. It is never good for a guild's image to surround themselves with unproven superhumans. Even more so when they are from races which are not human. Are you prepared to be bombarded by the media?”
"It's okay. Taylor will take care of the media.”
"Hm?"
At my words, Taylor, who stood beside a three-meter tall ogre, cocked her head towards me for a moment before returning to what she was doing—poking the ogre’s enormous muscle with her finger. She may look pretty brazen and didn’t care about the media, but in fact, it could be said that she was more professional than any of us in dealing with the press.
“Hey uncle. How did you build all this muscle? It’s freaking sexy!” Taylor, who admired muscles, asked the ogre.
“(…I don’t know how to speak foreign languages.)”
Unfortunately, the ogre did not know how to use Earth's language at all. Fortunately though, he was an ogre variant who had an intelligence level similar to a human, so, with some tutoring he will be able to learn it.
In any case, Yekaterina couldn’t help but accept all the otherworlder because I kept insisting. Then, not much later, her reluctant attitude changed into curiosity.
“This one can turn into a wolf. To be precise, he was a wolf who can transform into a human.”
Although Lacanthal knew nothing of Earth's language, it was possible for him to converse with other people through magic. Therefore, he took the role of introducing Yekaterina to all of the otherworlders one by one. And as the introduction progressed, Yekaterina’s eyes shone brighter and brighter.
“Can he grow trees from his hand?”
“Only a forest druid can do it. Moreover, they can also communicate with friendly animals. They can also transform.”
"Oh my god…”
Countless races with countless unique abilities lived all over the world. The ones who were present here were nothing but a small fraction of them, like a small star in the whole universe. However, for Yeketerina, who had never been to another world, she was completely mesmerized. On top of it, when Lacanthal showed her his power, her jaw dropped before quickly taking Lacanthal’s hand.
“Would you like to work with me?”
“…”
In Lacanthal's world, magic engineering was extremely developed. On top of that, his late wife was said to be a genius of the century who had succeeded in creating a dimensional crossing spell, so it was only natural that Yekaterina's eyes glinted with greed.
As Yekaterina left to guide the otherworlders to their lodging, Lacanthal spoke to me.
“What is the reason you want to increase your strength to the point where you even accept us? Is it for a childish dream of world domination? Well, whatever it is, I already said I will help you, so, I’ll help you.”
“Haha… It’s not for something like that.”
"Is that so? What a waste. Conquering a new world sounds fun.”
This person… is he for real?
“Actually, I know your real goal. Isn’t it ‘Hell Gate’?”
"Yes…"
Actually, I presented the otherworlders a condition in exchange for taking them in and providing them with housing and new status. It was to ask them to fight for me for once when I asked for their help. And that one chance, I would use it in the Hell Gate expedition.
I still don't know what's going on in there. And for now, it’s still lying dormant just like these past years. But my [Intuition], which had saved my ass for too many times, told me that something was going to happen soon. Until then, I have nothing to do but to prepare. But even if I prepared for it, will I be able to withstand what Hell Gate has to offer?
I don't know.
But, I am betting everything on the fact that I am a Protagonist Hunter.
"Okay… I get it. Hell Gate. That's a pretty tempting proposition. I don't know what other kids will think, though."
Because Hell Gate was a dangerous place, perhaps some would decline to help me, and some may choose to return to the Floating Dimension. I won't stop them if they want to do so though. After all, we are in a contractual relationship, not a master-slave relationship.
“Lacanthal, I don't think I can help much with what will come next. In my mind, I want to stay here and complete all the follow-up procedures, but I have to urgently dispatch to another place.”
“Hmmmm…. Are you going to be dispatched to another world?”
I pondered for a moment at Lacanthal's sharp question, and then ultimately nodded my head. At this point, there’s no reason to keep it under wraps anymore. At least to the otherworlders.
"Yes. I have to take care of the emergency situations in the other world first.”
Fortunately, on Earth, I have many reliable comrades, so there is no problem in leaving for another world while entrusting the work on Earth to them. Though, it still pricked my conscience a little bit because it felt like I was running away after taking a job.
The number of worlds which was approaching extinction every minute was rapidly increasing. Even if I couldn't save all of those worlds, if I can save just one more, I would happily go there.
“Okay, let’s go.”
* * *
After Yoo Seodam left, the emergency contact line of Another League rang. To Yekaterina’s surprise, the one who called them was ‘Hell Gate Research Center’, which could be said had no connection whatsoever to any guild in the world.
"This…" As the explanation from the person on the other end of the phone went on, Yekaterina’s expression, which was already tense in the first place, kept getting worse and worse. “Hell Gate… is expanding?”
-That's the case. That’s why I want to talk with Guild Master Yoo Seodam who is well versed in dimensional science.
However, Yoo Seodam had left Earth. Once he did that, it was difficult to contact him. No, it was simply impossible. Yekaterina’s head throbbed. The matter in hand was too big. She couldn’t easily solve it like another matter. On top of it, dimensional magic wasn’t something she excelled at.
At that time, Lacanthal, who came to her office for a chat, showed an interest.
“That place, Hell Gate… Did you say it is a door to another world?”
"Yes? Yes… It is known as a gate that leads to an unknown dimension.”
“Hmmmm…. That’s interesting.” Lacanthal’s eyes glimmered as he stroked his chin,
“When it comes to dimensional science, the race of dew soaking in moonlight is the best.”
He looked oddly confident.
* * *
The system had told me that countless worlds were moving towards destruction at a much quicker rate than before. However, I couldn’t fully understand the meaning of those words. I only knew that the change between ‘episodes’ in the whole storyline would be faster than before, which meant that I had to hunt the protagonists at a much quicker pace than before.
In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a huge man-made structure, which blended perfectly with its surroundings, was floating above the water. The structure, which was built with the latest human technology, was called ‘Island’. It was a boring and uncreative name. But that name embodied just how mundane the Island's function was; observing the Hell Gate.
However, contrary to its mundane and boring function, the structure shouldered a heavy burden of humanity's survival. It was safe to say that it was the very first line of defence humanity had against the Hell Gate. This reflected well on the fact that billions of dollars were invested in the structure every year.
So far, humanity has attempted to conquer Hell Gate several times. But success was a word which had never accompanied these attempts. The expedition that Yoo Seodam had joined years ago was only successful in digging up the material inside. They had barely managed to come alive from scouting, and as surviving itself was so difficult, conquering it was an impossible dream.
And today, their mundane lifestyle of observing the ever-stagnant Hell Gate comes to an end.
Weeing! Weeing! Weeing!
“Hey, what is this…!”
An abrupt change happened in Hell Gate. Usually, when Hell Gate started to show signs of activity, it meant that all the materials and energy inside were exploding, and it was vomiting the environment and monsters contained inside towards Earth, inflicting great damage. That’s why everyone on Earth was always wary of it.
However,
“It’s absorbing energy from Earth?”
The current phenomenon was something which had never happened before. Instead of pouring out energy, Hell Gate had started to absorb energy from Earth. In other words, they were pulling Earth towards it!
Although the absorption rate was very small… What if the phenomenon was accelerated?
“Earth might be in great danger.’
* * *
“Greetings, Mr. Lacanthal.”
As soon as we returned to Another League’s hideout, I took the 38 otherworlders to meet Yekaterina. Since they were otherworlders, I was hoping to give them a new ID to settle on Earth. But, would it be that easy? After all, even changing nationality was difficult in this world.
“Seodam-nim…. You know that people are all going crazy because of those otherworlders, right?”
"Of course, I know."
“The International Association of Supernatural Powers also visited us. They said those otherworlders could be dangerous, so they want to investigate them right away.”
“Can’t I just do it myself?”
"That…"
Yekaterina took a rare deep breath and fiddled her long white hair with her finger. It was a habit she always did whenever she was anxious about something.
“If you want to do that, you have to be prepared to take a lot of damage. It is never good for a guild's image to surround themselves with unproven superhumans. Even more so when they are from races which are not human. Are you prepared to be bombarded by the media?”
"It's okay. Taylor will take care of the media.”
"Hm?"
At my words, Taylor, who stood beside a three-meter tall ogre, cocked her head towards me for a moment before returning to what she was doing—poking the ogre’s enormous muscle with her finger. She may look pretty brazen and didn’t care about the media, but in fact, it could be said that she was more professional than any of us in dealing with the press.
“Hey uncle. How did you build all this muscle? It’s freaking sexy!” Taylor, who admired muscles, asked the ogre.
“(…I don’t know how to speak foreign languages.)”
Unfortunately, the ogre did not know how to use Earth's language at all. Fortunately though, he was an ogre variant who had an intelligence level similar to a human, so, with some tutoring he will be able to learn it.
In any case, Yekaterina couldn’t help but accept all the otherworlder because I kept insisting. Then, not much later, her reluctant attitude changed into curiosity.
“This one can turn into a wolf. To be precise, he was a wolf who can transform into a human.”
Although Lacanthal knew nothing of Earth's language, it was possible for him to converse with other people through magic. Therefore, he took the role of introducing Yekaterina to all of the otherworlders one by one. And as the introduction progressed, Yekaterina’s eyes shone brighter and brighter.
“Can he grow trees from his hand?”
“Only a forest druid can do it. Moreover, they can also communicate with friendly animals. They can also transform.”
"Oh my god…”
Countless races with countless unique abilities lived all over the world. The ones who were present here were nothing but a small fraction of them, like a small star in the whole universe. However, for Yeketerina, who had never been to another world, she was completely mesmerized. On top of it, when Lacanthal showed her his power, her jaw dropped before quickly taking Lacanthal’s hand.
“Would you like to work with me?”
“…”
In Lacanthal's world, magic engineering was extremely developed. On top of that, his late wife was said to be a genius of the century who had succeeded in creating a dimensional crossing spell, so it was only natural that Yekaterina's eyes glinted with greed.
As Yekaterina left to guide the otherworlders to their lodging, Lacanthal spoke to me.
“What is the reason you want to increase your strength to the point where you even accept us? Is it for a childish dream of world domination? Well, whatever it is, I already said I will help you, so, I’ll help you.”
“Haha… It’s not for something like that.”
"Is that so? What a waste. Conquering a new world sounds fun.”
This person… is he for real?
“Actually, I know your real goal. Isn’t it ‘Hell Gate’?”
"Yes…"
Actually, I presented the otherworlders a condition in exchange for taking them in and providing them with housing and new status. It was to ask them to fight for me for once when I asked for their help. And that one chance, I would use it in the Hell Gate expedition.
I still don't know what's going on in there. And for now, it’s still lying dormant just like these past years. But my [Intuition], which had saved my ass for too many times, told me that something was going to happen soon. Until then, I have nothing to do but to prepare. But even if I prepared for it, will I be able to withstand what Hell Gate has to offer?
I don't know.
But, I am betting everything on the fact that I am a Protagonist Hunter.
"Okay… I get it. Hell Gate. That's a pretty tempting proposition. I don't know what other kids will think, though."
Because Hell Gate was a dangerous place, perhaps some would decline to help me, and some may choose to return to the Floating Dimension. I won't stop them if they want to do so though. After all, we are in a contractual relationship, not a master-slave relationship.
“Lacanthal, I don't think I can help much with what will come next. In my mind, I want to stay here and complete all the follow-up procedures, but I have to urgently dispatch to another place.”
“Hmmmm…. Are you going to be dispatched to another world?”
I pondered for a moment at Lacanthal's sharp question, and then ultimately nodded my head. At this point, there’s no reason to keep it under wraps anymore. At least to the otherworlders.
"Yes. I have to take care of the emergency situations in the other world first.”
Fortunately, on Earth, I have many reliable comrades, so there is no problem in leaving for another world while entrusting the work on Earth to them. Though, it still pricked my conscience a little bit because it felt like I was running away after taking a job.
The number of worlds which was approaching extinction every minute was rapidly increasing. Even if I couldn't save all of those worlds, if I can save just one more, I would happily go there.
“Okay, let’s go.”
* * *
After Yoo Seodam left, the emergency contact line of Another League rang. To Yekaterina’s surprise, the one who called them was ‘Hell Gate Research Center’, which could be said had no connection whatsoever to any guild in the world.
"This…" As the explanation from the person on the other end of the phone went on, Yekaterina’s expression, which was already tense in the first place, kept getting worse and worse. “Hell Gate… is expanding?”
-That's the case. That’s why I want to talk with Guild Master Yoo Seodam who is well versed in dimensional science.
However, Yoo Seodam had left Earth. Once he did that, it was difficult to contact him. No, it was simply impossible. Yekaterina’s head throbbed. The matter in hand was too big. She couldn’t easily solve it like another matter. On top of it, dimensional magic wasn’t something she excelled at.
At that time, Lacanthal, who came to her office for a chat, showed an interest.
“That place, Hell Gate… Did you say it is a door to another world?”
"Yes? Yes… It is known as a gate that leads to an unknown dimension.”
“Hmmmm…. That’s interesting.” Lacanthal’s eyes glimmered as he stroked his chin,
“When it comes to dimensional science, the race of dew soaking in moonlight is the best.”
He looked oddly confident.
* * *
The system had told me that countless worlds were moving towards destruction at a much quicker rate than before. However, I couldn’t fully understand the meaning of those words. I only knew that the change between ‘episodes’ in the whole storyline would be faster than before, which meant that I had to hunt the protagonists at a much quicker pace than before.
