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The Red Gate (2)

While saying that, Bachurka’s eyes remain fixed on my finger.

‘Now that it’s like this, I won’t be able to erase the holy wound for a while.’

It was a necessary deed to let them misunderstand the secret of not being brainwashed.

‘Anyways, a help for a hunt…’

That proposal was within the expected range.

To paraphrase it, it’s like the country that promised to provide all-out support for its allies’ security, asking the government that was receiving the assistance to share the risks.

‘I should calculate the profit and cost.’

I started with the benefits if I followed through with the proposal.

As a successor, my destiny in my current life was to prevent the damnation of the Earth.

In that context, it was only necessary to get rid of Mercadius.

If the beautiful fantasy that the Union would take care of it by themselves, even if I didn’t step up, couldn’t come true, then it was better to put it into action by holding hands with them.

‘The Commissioner’s proposal takes care of both reality and justification. If I were to refuse, I’d have to provide an equivalently valued reason, but it’s not easy.’

Refusing was meaningless considering the practical problem that I was the only one who could overcome mental oppression and the legitimacy of preventing the collapse of the dimension and finding out the truth.

‘But being mobilized means taking that much risk as well.’

I thought about the worst imaginable case possible. Was it me dying or becoming immobile as a result of a confrontation with Mercadius? No, what’s worse than that was the future where I couldn’t even die, becoming a puppet with no chance of reincarnation or repetition.

If I looked for another risk, I could assume that the Union wasn’t trying to cooperate in good faith but conspiring to use me, only to throw me away afterward.

‘But even if I make a radical argument and cause a fuss here, the situation will only get worse.’

It was different from the time when I made a fuss while being stubborn at the Ministry Spirit.

I did so back then since I knew that the spirit wouldn’t harm the hunter unless it’s of a grievous reason (like, as warned, similar acts to revealing the identity of the ‘successor’).

But the presence in front of me was different.

It was necessary to approach the problem reasonably and logically.

‘It means that I have to pick my battles.’

I organized my thoughts.

‘If I’m worried about the risk, I should compromise in a way that eliminates or reduces it as much as possible!’

I spoke to Bachurka.

“What method of hunting do you have in mind?”

I was hoping she wouldn’t tell me she’s planning to get me to brawl with Mercadius one-on-one.

– Nothing’s been confirmed yet.

They were still in the process of setting up a plan, and they meant to coordinate with me in advance, then build up the details afterward.

“···”

I thought about it for a while before replying.

“I think we have to admit one thing before we start.”

She looked at me as if she wanted me to hurry up.

“You assumed that I was under a curse, didn’t you? I’ve thought that it might also be the case.”

– Perhaps thou must be. There must have been a lot of signs.

She answered agreeably.

“I didn’t know that there were two kinds of [Mercadius’ Seed], but after today’s talk, It is becoming clear. I think I see a link to why the cursed people were obsessed with me.”

I continued while fiddling with the holy wound.

“And I’ve experienced a lot of manic episodes in the past, too. It’s also true that the symptoms have calmed down since I was given the holy scars.”

In fact, there was a time difference of a few months between the two cases of possession and contact with god, but there was no way to prove the ‘degree of madness’ with accurate data, so I decided to shoot it up to that extent.

To cover a bigger secret, I was letting go of moderate secrets.

“But I still don’t understand one thing. If I were under a curse, I think the one that would have been leeching off my Core would be the true seed for the propagation… So is Mercadius just relaxedly waiting for it to bloom?”

Either way, it’s evident that he already recognized my existence.

“I don’t know. Would he be recognizant of the sudden appearance is the holy wound?”

I added a few more words after a short silence.

“… My point is this. If I’m exposed to the person that has me spotted and is targeting me, wouldn’t it be that I might be hastening the situation he intended?”

– Awakened of Earth, I understand where thou art leading this conversation. So feel free to say what thou wanteth to say.

She had a pretty urgent personality.

“Thanks to the arrangement made by the great being, even if I might be able to resist the mental manipulation, I’m not certain if I can survive if I stand in front of Mercadius this way. Since besides brainwashing, his abilities are numerous.”

I briefly mentioned the ability of ‘The Man’ that I saw in the memories of Lee Chang-Hee, Han-Seol, and Seo Gyu-Cheol.

The Commissioner’s eyes became sharper.

– Okay, until there. You don’t have to explain it longer—Thou art requesting for a backup.

“Yes, I am.”

Even the Albanos, who tried to kidnap me, had various EX-Class and System-Class items.

Then wouldn’t there be things like that piled up in the Union Headquarters’ armory?

Of course, I would agree to carry out the operation by joining hands with them, but my safety devices had to be supported.

Then she replied.

– Of course, the support itself will be possible. But thee better keep in mind that we can’t just give thee everything that is desired at once.

“What do you mean?”

– As the word Union already implies, we are a union of many species of the world moving together. It is rare for a unanimous decision to be made immediately, and no matter what choice or resolution is made, it goes through a process of discussion, compromise, and coordination. In the meantime, the aid for you could be reduced or increased.

I didn’t understand that part.

“Despite the urgency and importance of the Mercadius agenda?”

– The proposition thee just put in thy mouth is also divided by the species.

As I heard the following words, I was taken aback.

There seemed to be a species that dismissed those species’ story, which was only known through records, had no scientific proof, and weren’t adequately identified, as folklore bred by coincidence.

Opinions were also divided within the Union command, but fortunately, Bachurka was very serious about it.

– So thou have to help me to get the best support. If thou show something beyond the uniqueness and peculiarity aside from being incapable of being mentally manipulated, everything will be clear.

“I guess it means that I have to prove my worth.”

– Thou art is quick to understand.

She wanted me to show my skills to the Union headquarters.

It was a new stage that was beyond the tutorial phase.

– Honestly, I don’t have much doubt. It’s not like we’ve been stuck on alliance-related business while staying on Earth. Information collection is one of our duties. Thanks to that, I came to know more about you than anyone else in the Union.

A strange light lingered in her eyes.

– Frankly speaking, your species… humans don’t have a superior battle power. You’re in a situation where if one has above 30,000 potential Mana, they will get categorized as the most superior Awakened. Among the existing members of the Union, there are species with over 100,000 Mana for an average. However!

Hefty telepathy.

– Based on your performance on Earth, I was convinced. Your active Mana is at least 200,000, and potential Mana is hard to guess.

In fact, it was already over 500,000.

– It would be much easier if thou explicitly showed such factors to the rest of the Union.

After explaining so, Bachurka mentioned the part about timing.

Regardless, if I were to hunt properly, I needed more time.

Earth’s affiliation to the Union must be completed perfectly, and hundreds of observers must be dispatched to search Mercadius.

– You don’t want to waste thy time until then anyway, do you?

“Of course.”

I planned to break through the Main Quest that I couldn’t even touch in my previous life.

– I do not know if you are aware, but one of the things the Union coordinates is distributing the Main Quests across dimensions.

“You mean to leave something to me, don’t you?”

The Main Quest list was shared to the Awakened beings of dimensions that finished the tutorial, and in the case of popular Quests, the Union didn’t even have to come forward for distribution.

If they left it to the market economy, each dimension would compete on its own and fight for the Clear.

It was bound to be completed.

‘The problem lies on the quests that dimensions avoid because it is considered too dangerous.’

There were missions that hadn’t been Cleared for a long time on the system-made list.

In most cases, if left unattended for a long time, it would become problematic. In such cases, the Union would forcefully request Awakened to be dispatched from the member dimensions to eradicate the threat or issue.

Of course, the dimension that belonged there must follow unconditionally.

The representative case among quests that were too high-risk was….

– Yes, I’d like to leave you with the Main Quest concerning the ‘Red Gate.’ Of course, you’ll be mixed with other beings to accomplish the mission.

It was intended that if I showed my ability among them, my reputation would naturally rise, and rumors would spread.

– What do you say, do thee accept?

I answered without hesitation.

***

Nate asked me.

“Red Gate? What’s that now?”

After finishing the Bachurka Commissioner’s meeting over New York City, I returned home and explained to my colleagues what had happened there.

I accepted her offer in the end.

It was because there was no reason to refuse since it was suitable for the goal of catching Mercadius, and above all, it was consistent with the following purpose.

“We were planning to start the Main Quest from now on, weren’t we? Among them… It’s a quest that is least popular.”

Then, everyone made suspicious expressions.

They were curious why we necessarily volunteered to take on the one said to be the least popular.

I continued to explain.

“The least popular doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the least important, nor does it mean that the rewards are terrible.”

“?”

“Furthermore, suppressing the Red Gate is one of the Union’s most concerned tasks.”

The usual Gate found at the tutorial dimension was blue.

The Gate functioned as a door connecting to a dungeon and even connecting to another world.

As many speculated, the system strictly controlled all the Gates.

“The system classifies it, and it tells you how many people can enter, right? It’s also possible to change the properties of the Gate with the items provided by the system… Thanks to that, it has become almost established. The system makes the normal Gate we know.”

But the Red Gate was different.

“The conditions under which the Red Gate is triggered are not perfectly known. The only thing for sure is that it never appears on the tutorial dimension.”

On the contrary, it could appear in dimensions that hadn’t even started the tutorial yet, or in dimensions proceeding with the Main Quest.

Thus, some speculated that the system’s most representative protection measures to the tutorial dimensions were Red Gate prevention.

Hibiki, who listened up to that point, asked.

“What’s beyond that Gate?”

I answered briefly.

“Monsters.”

Then Nate asked what he was wondering about.

“What, isn’t it just the same as the Gate we know? The monster-infested dungeon doors, I mean.”

I shook my head in disagreement.

“No, it’s different in the sense that there’s no dungeon beyond that.”

The system also made the dungeons.

Simple space where one could receive rewards if they met certain conditions.

It reached a point where it made me think that reality was actually a training program designed to develop Awakened.

If the assumption that it was designed for training was correct, the Red Gate, on the contrary, was a proper actual fight.

The door to hell that even the system couldn’t control.

“That’s why there are only a few species that deliberately enter the Red Gate.”

Upon entry, there was no concept of Clear, and they would have to kill like crazy.

“And there’s no Mana Core in the monsters’ bodies.”

Besides cores, it was hard to get by-products like artifacts.

“What, in the end… there’s no attraction points at all for the Awakened? The only thing left by the endless battle is monster corpses.”

“There are experience points.”

The system couldn’t control the Red Gate, but it seemed to be able to predict its movement incompletely.

“The Main Quest will be renewed as soon as there is a Red Gate showing signs of collapse. If we wait and kill the monsters that pour out, we’ll receive the experience points.”

Hibiki nodded as if she understood.

“Then the quest we need to do…”

“Yeah, we will prepare for the dungeon break right in front of the Red Gate that’s expected to collapse soon with the otherworldly species that have been picked like us.”