Su-ho considered whether or not to release an article about the recent incident but quickly dismissed the idea.
With the redevelopment gate soon to be revealed, he didn’t want to bother Jo Jin-hwi with such trivial matters. He decided to focus on that bigger issue instead.
After a while, he handed Kim Noah, Jang Seong-chun, and the animals they planned to trade over to the Special Division personnel who had just arrived.
He made sure to release the pressure point on Jang Seong-chun as well.
After all, he needed to talk to be useful in the investigation.
As Jang Seong-chun was dragged away by the Special Division officers, he cursed loudly.
"You son of a bitch! I’ll never let you off the hook! You better remember that!"
"Yeah, don’t go easy on me. You better not."
Su-ho waved at Jang Seong-chun and gave the officer in charge the necessary instructions.
He told them about Kim Noah’s ability and warned them not to engage in any kind of legal negotiation based on it.
Not long after, Su-ho received a call from Pi Seong-yeol.
– Good job, junior.
"Not at all. I mostly just ate off the prepared table."
– Heh, some people can’t even manage that much. I’ll keep these and release them as articles one by one, so be ready.
"Got it."
– Then, take care of the other files too.
"Of course, hyung. Have a good one."
The call ended.
The Special Division personnel withdrew, and Su-ho was left alone on site.
He looked around and nodded to himself.
‘That’s one issue dealt with. I can afford to stay quiet for a while now.’
Pi Seong-yeol was famous for pushing relentlessly.
He had passed him one case, so now he could expect some peace for a while.
Su-ho was planning to focus on clearing seal gates during this time.
‘Should I go now?’
He had deliberately chosen this area because it was close to a few seal gates he wanted to clear.
Might as well plan his route efficiently.
But the most important reason for coming here was that he could get something.
Su-ho made a call to the Seal Gate Management office nearby to let them know he would be arriving soon, then got into his hidden car.
The Seal Gate wasn’t far.
He drove toward Incheon Port, and then parked near the National Incheon Maritime High School, commonly known as Haesago.
Su-ho had intended to clear a seal gate located here.
For some reason, he was impressed by Jang Seong-chun and Kim Noah.
‘How bold can they get? They knew the military was spread out right behind them, yet still used Wolmido as a trading point?’
They had used the strategy of "darkness under the lamp".
Because the soldiers stationed to monitor the gates didn’t check the immediate surroundings, just focusing on the gate itself.
When Su-ho arrived, the manager of the gate office, Jeong Ho-yeon, was waiting for him.
“Welcome!”
"Ah, yes. Thank you for your hard work. I’m An Su-ho, Deputy Team Leader of Special Management Team 2," Su-ho greeted him.
"Ah, I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Jeong Ho-yeon," the manager responded.
Jeong Ho-yeon was different from other gate managers; he was a lieutenant colonel.
This was because the Haesago Gate was much more dangerous than most other gates, hence the higher rank for the manager.
Su-ho looked around the Haesago Gate site.
"This is the one, right? You couldn’t set up a square around the portal because of its position near the beach, so you’ve just put up a wall as a barrier?"
"Yes, that’s correct."
Indeed, this place had failed to create a proper square around the portal. The portal was positioned precariously near the coastline, and every time they tried to build a square around it, monsters emerged and caused fatalities.
‘That’s why the danger level here is much higher than most other places.’
The fortunate part was that the monsters emerging from the portal didn’t seem to cross over the barriers or venture into the sea.
Su-ho nodded.
"I’ll clean it up today. Please open the gate."
"Wait, today?"
"Yes, today."
"Are you sure? This is a large area, and with the terrain by the beach, it might be difficult for you to handle alone."
"It’s fine. I’ve got some contingency plans," Su-ho said with a smile.
"Plans?"
"Yes. Worst case, I’ll retreat immediately, so please open the gate. I have the authority to do so now, right?"
"Of course, we’ll open it. But I’m just concerned for your safety."
"I know. But there’s no gate that isn’t dangerous. Just open it. And until I make a request, never open the barrier. Once I’m inside, you have to trust my judgment."
"Understood," Jeong Ho-yeon replied, nodding and stepping back.
After giving the proper instructions for the positioning, the barrier gate opened.
Soldiers, ready for any potential issues, stood with their firearms aimed at the gate, but fortunately, as soon as the door opened fully, nothing went wrong.
Su-ho waved at them before stepping through the gate, and the door closed behind him, sealing the barrier.
Jeong Ho-yeon and his subordinates watched from behind the barrier.
"Do you think he’ll be fine?"
"I guess we’ll have to trust him. He’s the Sword Saint after all."
"But still, that area..."
"Stop. Stop saying that. Saying it out loud will just curse us. Keep watching the cameras, and if something happens, open the gate and launch a rescue operation immediately."
"Yes, understood."
But just as they continued watching the cameras, one of the soldiers frowned.
"Wait?"
"What’s wrong?"
"He... he disappeared."
"What do you mean disappeared?"
"He was just there, but once he entered the fog, he completely vanished."
"What do you mean? The fog doesn’t cover that much. Check the cameras."
The fog was light around the gate area due to the portal’s influence, but it wasn’t thick enough to obscure someone from sight.
They checked the cameras at Jeong Ho-yeon’s command, but as the soldier had said, Su-ho had completely disappeared.
"What the...?"
Jeong Ho-yeon, who had been watching the surveillance footage, was also taken aback.
The guard and even the deputy chief looked at him, faces filled with confusion, unsure of what to do.
Jeong Ho-yeon hesitated for a moment, but ultimately, he made a decision.
"...There's no special request yet, so everyone stay on standby."
"Understood."
The guards, sweating in anticipation, started waiting for Su-ho to act, hoping that nothing unusual would happen.
*
Meanwhile, after the door closed, Su-ho took a few steps forward and immediately activated one of his skills.
[ Mistification activated. ]
The skill Su-ho activated was Mistification.
It was a skill he had obtained from the True Blood, turning the player into mist.
Su-ho marveled at his own body as it became mist.
"Wow... my body really turned into mist?"
Mistification was a signature technique that high-level vampires often mastered.
The legend of vampires turning into mist to ambush people was quite famous.
That was why Su-ho decided to try using Mistification now.
Although he had the outstanding Monochrome Solitude stealth skill, unfortunately, it was only effective against humans and not monsters.
‘Though it might work on weaker creatures...’
Su-ho looked around and saw the monsters stationed near the portal.
– Dark Barnacle Lv.134 – Dark Barnacle Lv.138 – Dark Barnacle Lv.131
...
Dark Barnacles.
They seemed insignificant at first glance, but their levels were all above 130.
‘Even if they look weak, they're still first-class monsters. No harm in being cautious.’
That’s why Su-ho decided to use Mistification.
He moved like mist toward the portal.
Fortunately, the Dark Barnacles didn’t pay any attention to him, nor could they detect him.
It was a relief.
Thanks to that, he could avoid unnecessary trouble.
Of course, he could have hunted them all and entered the portal without using Mistification, but Su-ho didn’t want to do that.
‘How much experience can these give anyway?’
Plus, unless there was a special reason, he didn’t want to show his combat skills in front of people.
So, he chose the approach of using Mistification.
When Su-ho reached the portal, the following message popped up:
[ Entering the Gate. ]
[ Retrieving Gate Information. ]
[ Angry Sea God ]
– Entry Conditions: Level 110 or higher, Level 150 or lower, at least 2 red stats.
– Max Entry Number: 7 people.
Su-ho was already familiar with this gate and its nature, so he understood well how troublesome it could be.
But he didn’t intend to avoid it.
Clearing this gate would save taxes, but more importantly, it had a rare paint ingredient that could only be obtained here.
‘And it’s crucial to meet the giant right now.’
That’s why Su-ho confidently entered the gate.
[ Entering the Angry Sea God Gate. ]
As soon as the notification popped up, his vision shifted.
Boom! Crash! Whoooosh!
Su-ho was met with a violent storm and deafening thunder as soon as his vision changed.
Wiping the rain off his face, Su-ho said, "Ah, I’ve found the right place."
He was standing on a massive, unfamiliar ship in the middle of the ocean.
Then, °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° a scream echoed from somewhere.
"Aaaah!!"
"Everyone watch out for the waves!!"
It was definitely the voice of a person.
Su-ho turned toward the direction of the sound and saw a sailor yelling out to be cautious, while some others were already being swept off the ship by the rising waves.
Splash!
Splash!
"Ahh!!"
"Watch out!!"
These weren’t players.
They were NPCs, people who existed only inside the gate.
‘Starting from first-class gates, native inhabitants begin to appear...’
They were referred to by various terms—Gate Humans, NPCs, or Natives.
In this case, Su-ho referred to them as natives.
The concept of the Angry Sea God Gate was a sinking ship in the middle of a stormy ocean.
But this wasn’t like the Titanic.
While the Titanic slowly sank as a luxury cruise, this ship was about to be violently sunk by the Sea God.
At that moment, a notification appeared.
[ Boss Monster has appeared. ]
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A giant shadow emerged from beneath the stormy sea, and a massive whirlpool rose, making the ship Su-ho was standing on seem laughably small in comparison.
The Sea God, a giant octopus, appeared before him.
Then, the Sea God shouted.
"Ha ha ha! Here I come!"
Wait, what?
The Sea God's state seemed a bit off.