Here's an Opportunity
Chapter 53: Busy, So Busy (1)

Chapter 53: Busy, So Busy (1)

Lee Ji-Yeon was drinking beer and staring blankly at the TV while wearing the pajamas that she had bought on a spontaneous shopping trip with Kim Ji-Hee.

「This is an important news update. It is currently 12:10 a.m. on the fifteenth of December. Twenty-two new Gates have been discovered. Excluding those Gates which have already been cleared, a total of forty-three Gates have appeared all across the country. Next up is newscaster Yoo Min-Hye who will now be informing you of the locations of the Gates that have been confirmed thus far.」

A neatly-dressed beauty appeared on the screen, standing in front of a map of Korea as if she were about to host a weather broadcast.

「With the help of the Hunters Association, I can reveal to you the number of Gates that have been identified so far, as well as the locations of said Gates. A total of thirteen Gates have appeared in Gyeonggi Province, centered around Seoul. Exactly...」

As she kept listening to the news, Lee Ji-Yeon accessed the Hunters Association's homepage on her phone, tapped the Gate map, and entered "Contaminated" within the search bar.

Just like the news had reported, forty-three Gates were currently displayed on the map.

"Should we split up?" Lee Ji-Yeon muttered, lost in thought.

After checking the locations and the number of Gates once more, Lee Ji-Yeon decided to call Kim Ki-Rok.

—Hello Miss Ji-Yeon, how can I help you?

"Should we split up for our next expedition?" Lee Ji-Yeon asked abruptly.

Although her question came at him without any context, Kim Ki-Rok understood her perfectly and quickly responded.

—No. As with the Contaminated Orc's Garrison, I intend for the entire guild to work together when clearing the next Gate. I mean, it's not like the DG Guild is the only one going around clearing Gates.

"Ah!" Lee Ji-Yeon had almost forgotten.

It wasn't like the DG Guild was the only guild in Korea. Though they had certainly grown rapidly in recent days, there were still many guilds much larger than them.

—We'll keep going as we are right now, handling the objectives one by one, quickly earning the special reward, and clearing the Gate in a single day. Then, we can move on to another Gate the following day.

"Ah... will it really work out like that?" Lee Ji-Yeon doubted, recalling their fierce battle against the contaminated Orc Lord.

—It will work. I'm planning to allow the use of B-Class and higher weapons and artifacts.

"Ah!" Lee Ji-Yeon let out another gasp, this time in pleasant surprise.

Kim Ki-Rok had previously sealed the use of high-class weapons and artifacts, advising them that their stats would increase in proportion to the amount of hardship that they had to endure.

That restriction was now going to be released.

—That means we can no longer expect any great increase in stats, but given the current circumstances, it can't be helped.

"In that case, how about raising the limits all the way up to A-Class weapons and artifacts, then splitting up into teams to raid the Gates?" Lee Ji-Yeon proposed.

—It seems that our Miss Ji-Yeon is a little too trusting.

"Wha—?"

Taken aback by how he sounded as if talking to a child, Lee Ji-Yeon frowned without meaning to. But then Kim Ki-Rok's next words froze her in place.

—You're so kind that you might not realize it, but when low-level Hunters carry around high-grade artifacts or gear, word spreads—and soon, that Hunter ends up a corpse.

Lee Ji-Yeon gulped. "Because of the... Awakened criminals?"

—It's not just the Awakened criminals who would be tempted to go after artifacts and enchanted weapons.

There was an old saying: a treasure you can't protect becomes a curse, not a blessing.

—I've told you this before, but a treasure is only a treasure if you have the strength to protect it.

"I see your point. All right. I'll see you tomorrow." With a short goodbye, the call ended.

Carelessly putting down her smartphone, Lee Ji-Yeon picked up her can of beer once more. But when she thought about the hectic schedule that was waiting for her tomorrow, she couldn't bring herself to drink it.

"Haaaah! I guess I'll have to save the drinks for when everything is over," Lee Ji-Yeon said to herself as she went to pour her half-empty beer into the sink and lay down on her bed.

If she wanted to prepare herself for the forced march that was awaiting her, she needed all the rest she could get before the impending marathon of Gate battles. Shaking off her disappointment, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

***

Kim Ki-Rok laughed heartily. "Hahaha. As of the fifteenth of December at 10:12 a.m., we have confirmed a total of fifty-three Gates, including those that have been cleared."

What exactly was he getting at?

"From now on, we will be destroying one Gate per day, for a total of five Gates. As you all know, according to the information we have received from Mandong, all Gates contaminated with dark mana will go out of control on the twenty-fourth of December. That's why we need to hurry," Kim Ki-Rok stated seriously.

A guild member asked about the missing days in the schedule, "Then how will we be spending the remaining four, no, three days until Christmas Eve?"

Kim Ki-Rok immediately answered, "You will all be getting two days to rest, then on the twenty-third, we need to start preparing for the defensive battle. There will definitely be Gates that are still not cleared by then."

He clapped to draw the attention of all the Hunters gathered in the lobby, then continued the briefing. "Well in that case, what should we do to speed up our raid?! You should have already been informed about this, but we will be allowing the use of up to B-Class artifacts and enchanted weapons."

He was finally permitting the use of the expensive equipment that the guild members hadn't been allowed to touch, making their eyes gleam with excitement.

After he had finished briefing his guild members on the situation, Kim Ki-Rok turned his gaze to the office workers who were gathered in one corner of the conference room.

"This of course applies to our guild members, but allow me to extend this offer to our office staff as well. If you wish, you can gather at the guild headquarters along with your families on the night of the twenty-third, just in case the worst comes to pass," Kim Ki-Rok calmly explained.

"Thank you very much," the staff thanked him for his offered protection.

"Well then, let's set off immediately. Here we go!" Kim Ki-Rok shouted, as he and his guild members headed to their next Gate raid.

***

[The Magus Fief Occupied by Contaminated Monsters]

Difficulty: Levels 55–60

Reward: Unable to confirm

"Let's split up into two teams. One team will destroy the altars, and the other team will subdue the lord-class monster located in the castle. Since we won't get the special reward if we subdue the lord before destroying the altars, Miss Ji-Yeon, Miss Jessica, Miss Sumihara and I will naturally be joining the Altar Destruction Team."

Kim Ki-Rok continued to preface as he armed himself, "Out of the fifty-three guild members present, there are nine that belong to the crafting category. As one of them has received a combat-related ability from a Gate reward, that means there are actually forty-five combat-capable personnel. We will be dividing these forty-five individuals into two separate teams."

The Altar Destruction Team would consist of twenty-two people, including Kim Ki-Rok, Lee Ji-Yeon, Jessica, and Sumihara. The Lord Subjugation Team would consist of the other twenty-three people, built around the Mapogu team at its center.

Kim Ki-Rok continued to give his orders. "The crafters will be moving together with the Lord Subjugation Team. They are to stick close behind the front lines and provide supplies and any needed support. The Altar Destruction Team will be borrowing the power of our Elementals to store our necessary supplies away in advance."

The teams divided themselves according to his instructions and prepared to head into battle.

"Miss Seh-Eun," Kim Ki-Rok suddenly called out.

"Yes, Guildmaster?"

Kim Ki-Rok informed her, "You will be serving as the captain of the Lord Subjugation Team."

"Understood." Yoo Seh-Eun nodded, accepting her role. "Please leave it to me."

As she set off leading the Lord Subjugation Team, Kim Ki-Rok turned to address the remaining members of the Altar Destruction Team as he prepared to deliver his final instructions.

"The Altar Destruction Team will be splitting into four groups with Ji-Yeon, Jessica, Sumihara and I as the leaders of each group."

From now on, they were in a race against time.

Mandong had just finished running his reconnaissance and flew down from the sky, his large wings flapping to slow his descent. He was carrying a magical eye that Kan Cho-Woo had created with a spell.

Kan Cho-Woo finished his own reconnaissance of the area thanks to the magical eye. He used his telekinesis to lift a pen and piece of parchment.

"Now then, allow me to draw you all a map."

As the pen ran here and there across the parchment, a map of the area was quickly drawn out, with five specific locations marked.

"These are the locations of the altars."

Kim Ki-Rok nodded. "Thank you very much. Also, please take good care of our precious Ji-Hee."

"No need to be concerned about that."

Having finished the last of their reconnaissance duties, Kan Cho-Woo and Mandong left to join Kim Ji-Hee, who was currently with the other members of the Lord Subjugation Team.

Sumihara carefully held up her hand and asked, "There's only one map, so who should be responsible for carrying it?"

Kim Ki-Rok blinked in surprise. "Ms. Sumihara."

"Yes, Guildmaster?" she stiffly responded.

"We have technology on our side."

"Huh?"

Instead of wasting time with further replies, Kim Ki-Rok took out his smartphone and took a picture of the map.

"Oh..." Sumihara was startled by the incongruity of using smartphones in a good old-fashioned Gate raid.

However, this was the power of civilization!

After confirming that all members of the Altar Destruction Team were done taking photos of the map, Kim Ki-Rok gave the order to begin the raid.

"Now then, we should get moving as well. Since we've allowed the use of artifacts and enchanted weapons up to B-Class to clear the Gate more efficiently, the fights shouldn't be that difficult, but I hope that everyone still remains careful."

***

The Magus Fief that had once failed to block the monster invasion long ago held a place in Kan Cho-Woo's memory.

"This Gate was originally a fief ruled by Count Magus and it was located in the southern part of the Antero Kingdom," he recalled.

It was in close proximity to the Forest of Monsters, so there were no restrictions placed to keep the Count from raising a private army. It was one of those territories often frequented by mercenaries who made a living by hunting monsters.

Kan Cho-Woo introduced the fief to Kim Ji-Hee as she rode on Mandong's back. A spirit had no fixed form, so Kan Cho-Woo was able to shrink himself down until he could comfortably sit on Kim Ji-Hee's shoulder.

"So, because it was close to the Forest of Monsters, the contaminated monsters could easily attack it," Kim Ji-Hee concluded.

"That is what I believe occurred."

Cha Min-Ji happened to be standing next to Mandong and listening in. "Did you ever visit the Magus Fief in person, grandpa?" she asked.

"Unfortunately, the Antero Kingdom wasn't within the range of my usual activities. So I'm afraid that all that I know about it are fragments of what actually happened. So I won't be of much help in that regard."

"So you don't have any information about the Monster's Forest either?"

"Not a thing."

"Hmph." Cha Min-Ji pouted in disappointment.

Kan Cho-Woo chuckled heartily at Cha Min-Ji's disappointed expression and then casually waved his hand.

Swooooosh!

Five mana arrows were conjured in the air above Kim Ji-Hee's head and were sent flying. The arrows curved this way and that way before veering off into an alleyway and disappearing. Soon afterward, the cries of monsters rang out from within.

Kyaaaaah!

Chweeeek!

The guild members hurriedly took up their stances and built a formation centered around Kim Ji-Hee. Monsters emerged from the alleys and from inside the buildings, and there were not just humanoids among them.

"Look out, there are wolves on the rooftops."

The ranged attackers were positioned well inside the formation. They raised their weapons and readied their bows at the monsters on the rooftops.

Black-furred wolves looked down at them from the rooftops, their forepaws resting on the railings.

"I'll block off the rooftops. So all of you..." Kan Cho-Woo trailed off.

Suddenly, the monsters swarmed at them from all directions.

Turning away from the monsters that had appeared on the ground, Kan Cho-Woo raised his hand toward the monsters that were leaping down at them from the rooftops.

Kan Cho-Woo warned, "Just be careful of the monsters on the ground."

Splat!

A protective shield formed above the Hunters' heads.

The wolves tried to attack the guild members, only to land on the shield and scramble around as they slid off its surface. The pack was scattered in all directions, taking heavy damage as the Hunters intercepted them from behind.

With that, the battle had begun.