Here's an Opportunity
Chapter 30: Boomer Wizard (2)

Chapter 30: Boomer Wizard (2)

After having witnessed an incident where multiple Gates had gone out of control simultaneously, The Mapogu siblings decided to get involved in order to save the lives of the civilians caught in the tragedy. This led to the loss of a few members of the team, their friends who had been as close as family to them. The Five Siblings of Mapogu simply became the Mapogu siblings.

In that case, was it necessary for Kim Ki-Rok to ensure that they avoid that incident?

No, he couldn't do that, as it could cause a butterfly effect and lead to even greater problems.

In fact, during some of his earlier Attempts, Kim Ki-Rok had decided to ignore this incident while he was busy increasing his own strength and raising a few talented individuals.

During those Attempts, he had focused solely on preparing for the emergence of the S-Class Gates, so all of his efforts had been devoted to ensuring his own growth and fostering the growth of his colleagues.

What did he have to show for all this effort?

They turned out to be some of his worst Attempts yet.

During those times he hadn't attended to the incident, talents who would have proved useful in combating the S-Class Gates ended up dead. In the aftermath, the absence of Hunters led to a spike in crimes caused by Awakened criminals.

From then on, Kim Ki-Rok had decided that he would do his best to get involved in all similar incidents, including those in other countries. As his interventions bore fruit, he integrated this strategy into the basic framework for future Attempts.

For domestic incidents, he would allow himself to intervene directly, and for incidents that would occur overseas, with the issue of travel time, he would indirectly solve them by providing the necessary information.

Of course, it wasn't like every situation could be solved according to his plans, but it was still possible to maintain the correct flow of events in the general scheme of things.

"By the way..." Yoo Seh-Eun had been diligently gorging herself on meat like the rest of her team. She pointed at the Gate visible through the restaurant window and asked, "About the Gate over there, is it really okay to just leave it like that?"

The Gate in question was right in the center of a crowded shopping street.

Kim Ki-Rok answered, "The usual policy would be to quickly destroy any Gate that appears in the middle of a road, especially one that happens to be in a location with a large floating population."

"But?" Yoo Seh-Eun prompted.

"That Gate has a bit of a problem," Kim Ki-Rok confessed.

"A problem?"

"It's called The Black Mountain Range. It's a C-Class Gate and the monsters that appear inside of it are all C-Class Undead," Kim Ki-Rok explained.

"Undead?" Yoo Seh-Eun hesitated. "Meaning... zombies and stuff like that, right?"

"That's correct." Kim Ki-Rok nodded.

"Huh? Shouldn't that be even more reason to destroy the Gate as quickly as possible?" Lee Ji-Yeon questioned with a frown.

Why would they just leave such a dangerous Gate out in the open like that?

"The Undead are monsters capable of contaminating their surroundings. The poison emitted by those rotting corpses pollutes the mana in the air and contaminates the ground they walk on. However, the official decision was to allow this threat to remain standing. I suppose that the best way to phrase it is that it was decided based on the considerations of adults." Kim Ki-Rok paused as he flipped over some pieces of meat on the grill with a wry expression. "They're leaving the Gate there because they found a mana stone mine within."

The five siblings all widened their eyes in shock.

Kim Ki-Rok explained, "Having access to the mine allows them to harvest mana stones without having to defeat any monsters beforehand. Such mana stones also lack any lingering effects from having been inside a monster. In other words, that Gate provides a pure source of mana."

"So they decided that the benefits of allowing the Gate to exist outweighed the dangers?" Lee Ji-Yeon asked, also frowning.

"That's right." Kim Ki-Rok nodded. "The official statement is that the Gate is being 'managed' because the nearby guilds, branches of the Hunters Association, and government offices regularly send Hunters to clear it."

Although the team somewhat understood the reasoning behind such a decision, they couldn't accept it. The situation was similar to how cars couldn't be banned simply because traffic accidents were dangerous, or how people couldn't go without fire just because they were afraid of being burned. However, there was a lot that people still didn't know about Gates. In fact, there were still more questions than answers.

Was it really okay to leave something filled with so many unknown risks right in the middle of the city, in an area with a high floating population no less? Was that really the safe thing to do?

Kim Ki-Rok suddenly recalled something. "Ah, Miss Yoo Seh-Eun. I believe you are referring to the possibility of Breaks, or for those who don't know, the phenomenon where Gates go out of control."

"That's right." Yoo Seh-Eun nodded.

"Do you know what signs usually occur before that phenomenon takes place?" Kim Ki-Rok asked.

"Of course I do," Yoo Seh-Eun said confidently. "Breaks are usually preceded by increased amounts of mana flowing out of the Gate a few days before the phenomenon actually occurs. The Gate's entrance also grows rapidly in size."

"Correct." Kim Ki-Rok nodded in approval.

This information was a part of the education that was taught to every beginner Hunter.

Kim Ki-Rok pointed his chopsticks at the Gate that could be seen through the window. "In that case, could I ask you to take another look in that direction?"

Yoo Seh-Eun turned to look at where Kim Ki-Rok was pointing. Other diners nearby also turned to look out the window with curiosity as they chewed on their meat.

"Huh?"

The Gate containing the mana stone mine, which was under the joint management of the guilds, the Hunters Association, and the Government, was gradually growing in size.

It was growing fast enough to be visible to the naked eye, and the mana pouring out of the Gate's entrance also seemed to be increasing. These signs matched what every beginner Hunter had been taught to look out for.

The Hunters who were standing guard around the Gate were shocked and flustered at the sight of this change.

"Se... send a report to the superiors!"

"Sound the alarms!"

"Evacuate everyone!"

"Quickly!"

「The signs of a Break have been detected. All civilians are encouraged to evacuate quickly. This message will repeat again.」

As the broadcast was sounded, the Hunters quickly led the civilians to the evacuation zone.

Ring ring ring!

The smartphones of everyone in the restaurant, including Kim Ki-Rok's, alerted at the same time.

Signs of the Break phenomenon had been confirmed at The Black Mountain Range, a C-Class Gate in Mapo District. The Gate's location can be found through the link provided at the bottom of this notification.

"Well then," Kim Ki-Rok spoke up, drawing everyone's attention. As he stared back into their gazing eyes, he ordered, "Let's get moving right away."

Tap tap tap!

"Get out of the way!"

The second sibling, Yoo Seh-Eun, and the third, Kang Seh-Hyuk, quickly ran out of the store and headed straight toward the Gate.

"Everyone please evacuate! This way!"

The fourth sibling, Lee Ji-Ah, and the fifth, Nam Dong-Wook, calmly evacuated all of the civilians before heading to the Gate as well.

"Chew, gulp, chew."

Stomp stomp stomp.

The first sibling, Jeong Man-Kook, was also heading to the Gate. At some point during all the chaos, he had obtained a plate piled high with grilled meat.

"Haaah." Kim Ki-Rok shook his head in disbelief.

There were still two pieces of meat left on the grill.

After considering the meat for a few moments, Kim Ki-Rok wrapped one piece up in some lettuce and popped it into Kim Ji-Hee's mouth. He picked up the other piece of meat with a pair of tongs and held it out to Lee Ji-Yeon, who was busy evacuating the restaurant's guests.

"Would you like the last piece of meat?" Kim Ki-Rok offered.

"Wha—" Lee Ji-Yeon was taken aback, but she quickly regained composure. "No, thank you. I'm fine, so please go ahead and have it, Guildmaster."

"My thanks," Kim Ki-Rok said before lifting the meat to his mouth with the tongs. After swallowing the meat, he stood up and pulled out his smartphone. "Let's see now..."

He checked the current time on his smartphone, then held his hands out toward Kim Ji-Hee who was still sitting in her seat. "Ji-Hee."

"Mmph?" She had yet to finish swallowing her piece of meat, her cheeks bulging like a squirrel's as she raised both of her hands up.

Kim Ki-Rok scooped her up and asked, "Would our dear Ji-Hee like to appear in a livestream?"

"A livestream?" she repeated curiously.

"That's right, a livestream," Kim Ki-Rok said, a smile drawn on his face as he patted her on the head.

Lee Ji-Yeon had just finished evacuating all civilians in the restaurant. Upon hearing this talk of livestreaming out of absolutely nowhere, she turned to stare at Kim Ki-Rok with a look of disbelief.

***

DG Guild has started a livestream.

Their channel had only ever released a single livestream prior to this.

However, the contents of that livestream had been so unconventional, its viewers couldn't help but subscribe and eagerly wait for any future streams. Those who had come to the channel after hearing the rumors also subscribed without any hesitation after watching the recording of the livestream as well as Lee Ji-Yeon's promotional video.

The image of a Hunter who possessed fame-worthy beauty and her cute Fire Elemental had naturally ingrained itself into the heads of the viewers.

So, of course, viewers flocked to the channel as soon as the stream started.

Mapo District, The Black Mountain Range.

⤷ Oh. It's been a while since the last livestream.

⤷ Look at the thumbnail.

Filling the screen was the face of an ordinary man, someone whom one might be able to see anywhere, but the viewers could tell from the title where the livestream was being held and why it was happening now after so long.

"To our viewers from all across the country, as well as our compatriots overseas, to the Hunters who fight the hard fight day and night inside the Gates, to the office workers who have to drag their tired bodies home after a hard day's work, and to the self-employed who work hard as well but can't rest even when everyone else is finished for the day. And finally..." Kim Ki-Rok trailed off into a long pause.

⤷ Why is this going on for so long?

⤷ Who did he mention again? He called out to his domestic viewers, and to our overseas compatriots.

⤷ He also addressed his Hunter colleagues, the office workers, and the self-employed.

"To all of our other viewers."

⤷ Did he really pause for so long just to say that?

⤷ What's going on?

⤷ This is only his second time streaming, but this really is one crazy livestream.

⤷ Right?

"I, the Guildmaster of the DG Guild, Kim Ki-Rok, greet all of you." Kim Ki-Rok gave a deep bow.

As his monologue came to an end, the comments section surprisingly fell silent.

Kim Ki-Rok raised a brow. "Well? Aren't you going to applaud?"

⤷ A round of applause.

⤷ Clapclapclapclap.

⤷ Whoa whoa whoa!

⤷ Ah, I feel like I'm going crazy. Ah, I feel like I'm going crazy. Ah, I feel like I'm going crazy.

Kim Ki-Rok turned the camera. "And this is the ace of our DG Guild, the one who you've all been waiting for, Miss Lee Ji-Yeon."

⤷ Oh. Ooooooh!

⤷ It's a celebrity.

⤷ Wow, fuck. She's really pretty.

"G-Guildmaster!" Lee Ji-Yeon stammered with a blush.

Kim Ki-Rok just chuckled. "Hohoho. This is a gift for all those who have supported our DG Guild, from those who had the money to spare for gifts to those who didn't. Oh, and by the way, all gifts from subscribers will be donated to those who have suffered damage during this Break."

⤷ Another round of applause!

⤷ Clapclapclapclap!

"Naturally, both the total amount donated as well as the total gifts from subscribers will be fully disclosed with transparency so that our subscribers can confirm for themselves," Kim Ki-Rok promised.

⤷ Why aren't you all clapping?

⤷ Clapclapclapclap!

"Well then, back to Miss Ji-Yeon. Please say hello to our viewers," Kim Ki-Rok requested.

Lee Ji-Yeon nervously bowed her head. "Ah... Hello. I am Lee Ji-Yeon, a Hunter of the DG Guild."

⤷ Sister!

⤷ Unnie!

⤷ My waifu!

"And also!" Kim Ki-Rok raised his voice. "The protagonist of today's stream!"

⤷ The protagonist?

⤷ Is he talking about The Black Mountain Range?

⤷ To be more precise, wouldn't the protagonists be the monsters pouring out from The Black Mountain Range?

⤷ There's no way it will be the monsters. After all, we all got the text saying that the Break hasn't happened yet and that they've just confirmed the indications that it will happen.

⤷ Ah, that's right. Then who could it be?

While the viewers continued to speculate, the red-haired beauty who had been filling their screens disappeared.

The person who appeared next on their screens was neither an ordinary man, nor a young woman with shockingly beautiful looks, but instead...

⤷ An angel?

⤷ What is an angel doing here?

It was a very cute girl with her hair done up in two braids. A very, very cute girl who was staring into the camera with her round, sparkling eyes.

⤷ Ugh, I-I'm being purified!

⤷ My eyes! I can't bear to keep looking.

⤷ Begone, evil darkness within me!

Kim Ki-Rok roared like a fight announcer, "The mascot of our DG Guild! The pride of our DG Guild! The one who we've entrusted with being the adorable face of our DG Guild! Kim! Ji! Hee!"

Unable to keep up with Kim Ki-Rok's tension, Kim Ji-Hee could only blink into the camera, but this simple gesture touched the hearts of all of her viewers.

In a softer voice, Kim Ki-Rok told her, "Ji-Hee, say hello."

"Ah... um... I am... DG Guild's... Kim Ji-Hee?" she nervously introduced herself.

At this sight of Kim Ji-Hee parroting Lee Ji-Yeon's introduction with her head tilted to the side in confusion, the chat window exploded.

⤷ Applaud! Keep applauding until your palms bleed!

⤷ Clapclapclapclap!

⤷ 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

⤷ Kim Ji-Hee! Kim Ji-Hee! Kim Ji-Hee!

Kim Ki-Rok also mentioned, "There are six other newly recruited members of the guild, but let's postpone their introductions for later."

⤷ Thank you! Really, thank you so much!

⤷ This channel really knows how to hold a livestream!