I Tamed the First Rank Chapter 39
- HoshiMiya
- Sep 7, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 7
“If you even try to use a skill on Yoo-shin-ssi again, you’re dead.”
“Where did you get the sudden confidence to think that you can defeat me?”
Gong Tae-seong snorted and took a step back, preparing to take out a weapon from his inventory. Even Lee Hye-yeon had tensed up, having given Park Seung-gi back his popcorn. Just before In Yoo-shin could try to quickly dissuade Hyeon Gyu-ha by saying it’s nothing—
“……!”
Hyeon Gyu-ha swiftly enveloped In Yoo-shin in a force field. The next person to notice some strange occurrence was Gong Tae-seong. Lee Hye-yeon and Choi Jin-hyeok then raised puzzled looks.
The once clear and bright sky was shattered.
Thick darkness spread and flowed down, as if ink had been poured through the cracks in the broken sky. The group gathered in the corner of the playground, the people watching the famous hunters, and the people cleaning up after themselves—they were all swallowed up by the flowing darkness. It happened instantly.
The flowing, gurgling darkness reassembled the world that it had greedily devoured.
In the midst of the dizzying vertigo that felt like his soul was being mixed up with something else and upheaval of a world being reassembled, In Yoo-shin felt a strange sense of amazement and déjà vu.
An erosion gate.
He knew this feeling.
*
A long, quiet night. A full moon rising brightly. Vision stained blood-red. A shattered sky.
“……hin-ssi, Yoo-shin-ssi! Are you okay?”
“Ah……”
In Yoo-shin blinked a few times as his blurred vision wasn’t able to form a proper image. His blurred vision soon cleared up and he was met with a worried gaze.
In Yoo-shin gently bit his lower lip, finding the sight of his reflection in beautiful amber eyes all too familiar. He shouldn’t be getting used to them, yet he found his heart softening.
“I’m o—kAY!”
In Yoo-shin, who tried to answer that he was okay, freaked out. There was not a single shadow on Hyeon Gyu-ha’s face.
“Gyu-ha-ssi, y-y-your face……!”
“My face? Ah, this must be Yoo-shin-ssi’s first time getting caught up in an erosion gate. It’s always like this here.”
Hyeon Gyu-ha waved his hand gently, revealing that not only his hand but his entire body lacked any shadows. Despite how his fingers were clearly moving and how the lighting was bright enough to discern his form, his body, completely devoid of shadows, was an utterly bizarre sight.
When a ‘natural’ appearance is distorted into an ‘unnatural’ one, the human brain cannot easily accept it. Even though the person standing in front of In Yoo-shin was a person, it gave him an eerie feeling, as if he were seeing a ghost or spirit. When Gyu-ha made eye contact or spoke, the muscles in his face clearly moved as well, but since there was no shading, he looked like a misfitted mass of polygons rather than a living person.
Glancing down, Yoo-shin noticed that his own body was the same. Goosebumps rose on his skin. He closed his eyes tightly and pressed himself closer to Hyeon Gyu-ha, who ruffled In Yoo-shin’s hair with contentment.
“I heard about erosion gates, but now that I see one in person, ugh…….”
“Let’s look around after we’ve mentally prepared ourselves a bit.”
He gently hugged In Yoo-shin’s waist at the same time.
Unlike Hyeon Gyu-ha, who was building his own little world inside the gate without a care, those caught up in it were busy moving around.
“Mana and radiation levels are normal.”
Having checked the numbers, Gong Tae-seong sighed as he threw the portable measuring device back into his inventory.
“Lee Hye-yeon-ssi, was there any indication that an erosion gate would open here?”
“If there were, there wouldn’t have been a test today. Thank goodness that the radiation is normal and the air is breathable. The weather is a bit chilly, but we can manage.”
While the two explored the environment, Choi Jin-hyeok was leading about forty people who were trapped in the gate.
In Yoo-shin calmed his startled heart as he heard the voices murmuring anxiously around him, and slowly opened his eyes. Even though I had mentally prepared myself, it was a shocking sight that made me groan when I saw it in person.
The world was black and white except for those without shadows. Moreover, this place was the sports center where they were before being swept away by the gate.
In a world where all color had disappeared, everyone was standing on the ruins of decay the moment when they were engulfed by the gate. The trees planted at the edge of the playground had died and withered, their branches bare and twisted; the ground was cracked and warped; the buildings were crumbling; and there was not a single common flying insect in sight.
A black and white world where no living creatures existed. This was the world after destruction.
What gave In Yoo-shin the creeps more than anything was that even though it was his first time getting trapped in an erosion gate, he felt an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.
‘Am I mistaken because I saw a lot of warnings telling me to be careful about erosion gates?’
An erosion gate is literally a gate that erodes reality. Unlike other gates that create an illusion of a disconnected world inside, an erosion gate devours and reassembles reality, constituting the end of the world.
It was a horror beyond imagination to have the daily life he had been accustomed to living up until now infringed upon and thrown into the apocalypse. But that wasn’t all. There was a high possibility that the world after destruction would be an environment in which humans could not survive.
Sometimes, the once-solid ground would erupt with lava. Other times, radiation exposure would lead to radiation poisoning and death even after clearing a gate. There were also worlds dominated by extreme temperatures, ranging from scorching heat to freezing cold.
It was very lucky that the air was breathable despite the rather chilly temperature.
“Isn’t it cold?”
“It’s a little chilly, but I can bear with it.”
“Still, I would feel sad if you catch a cold.”
Hyeon Gyu-ha pulled a thin jacket out of his subspace. I gratefully accepted it when he offered, but I was puzzled. It wasn’t Hyeon Gyu-ha’s size; rather, it fit me perfectly
“Did you buy this for me to wear?”
“I felt bad for not being considerate of Yoo-shin-ssi the last time we raided a dungeon.”
He took out various things from his inventory. Winter clothes, summer clothes, and pajamas, as well as game consoles, board games, books, toy cubes, and other miscellaneous items that were good for killing time were floating in front of In Yoo-shin’s eyes.
“I also bought boxers with hamsters as cute as me.”
“I-it’s okay if you don’t show me those!”
“Um, how about these hamster pajamas instead? The only designs I liked were for kids, so I made a customized order and got a couple’s matching pajama set for Yoo-shin-ssi and me.”
What he was holding in his hand was a fluffy pajama with a hamster face drawn on the hood, which had cute ears sticking out. There was also a tail attached to the butt. Hyeon Gyu-ha’s hamster was even winking cutely.
‘Uh, what……? Am I supposed to change into that?’
Just before he unwittingly unzipped his hamster onesie, Lee Hye-yeon gave them a dumbfounded look.
“Are you setting up a home inside the gate?”
“Everything belongs to Master, so no matter how much you want it, I won’t give you anything, Noona.”
That’s right. This was a normal reaction. It seemed like I was forgetting how to think normally because of Hyeon Gyu-ha’s influence.
“Crazy bastard……”
“I really hate it.”
Gong Tae-seong and Choi Jin-hyeok reacted like normal people by saying a few words each.
Because the skill that erased his presence was cancelled, the group that was also caught up in the gate were staring blankly at Hyeon Gyu-ha and whispering. As if majoring in gate studies wasn’t enough, Park Seung-gi, who was completing his master’s and doctoral studies, was filming the inside of the gate with curiosity.
In any case, even inside the gate, Hyeon Gyu-ha’s laidback words and actions helped those who were almost in panic regain their composure.
“Let’s put that crazy bastard aside for now…… Does anyone have any food?”
Gong Tae-seong looked around and asked, but no one answered. He wasn’t expecting a reply for that question, anyway.
“Well, since our drinking water is just a couple of bottles being carried by some people, we need to clear this place quickly. As for the territory, let’s see. Who has a search skill?”
“I do.”
One C-class hunter, who had observed today’s test as a public safety officer, raised his hand. After taking a walk around the playground, he briefly rubbed his bloodshot eyes then explained.
“It includes the entire sports center, including the basement, and part of the road. Everybody here are all people who were swept by the gate.”
“At least the only troublesome burdens are the limited area and just those guys, so that’s a positive, I guess.”
Those who were huddled together and trembling flinched at the cold voice.
“So, who is going to be the leader of this improvised team? For your information, if I were the leader, I would maximize our efficiency in a short period of time.”
There was no one here who did not understand the intention to neglect the safety of non-hunters and prioritize clearing the dungeon.
Unlike dungeon breaks, when it came to erosion gates, it was impossible for those outside to enter or give support. The best strategy was to clear them in a short period of time, unless you knew how the environment within the gate would rapidly change and you even prepared food and drinking water in advance.
The eyes of the people trembling in fear were focused on Hyeon Gyu-ha.
***
HM: I wouldn’t have realized that there wasn’t a shadow under me at first sight… literally HGH and IYS in their honeymoon phase.
Editor M: Actually, these guys don’t have to worry about starvation, because Hyeon Gyu-ha is making sure that they all eat dog food! (Chinese slang for forcing single people to endure PDA.)
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Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
Editor/Proofreader: Editor M
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