Chapter 17
“Welcome, Maid Jeong Yura.”
“It’s been six days, Elder.”
Yura visited the Elders’ Council building on the outskirts of the Sword Emperor family’s grounds and bowed to Yoo Hyeok-jin, its head, in greeting.
“Yes. What brings you here?”
“My young lady has finished preparing to enter an A-rank Gate. Is there a suitable one among the Sword Emperor family’s Gates managed by the Elders’ Council?”
“Ah—so that’s why you came. There’s no other way for Seol-a to clear an A-rank Gate by herself.”
Nod, nod.
Yoo Hyeok-jin nodded repeatedly, understanding why Yura had come.
“There’s one more thing. We need to record it on video to properly keep the current head of the family, Yoo Ho-ryeong, and his followers in check. So I’d also like to borrow an artifact that can record video.”
“I’ve already prepared one. I’ll find a Gate right away, so wait a moment.”
Beep, beep. Riiing…
Yoo Hyeok-jin took out his phone and called someone.
“Ah, it’s me. Do we have an A-rank Gate under our management that no one’s entered? Yeah. Oh, that one? All right. Put it under Seol-a’s name, and make sure no one else can enter. Yeah, right~.”
Click.
After ending the call, Yoo Hyeok-jin set his phone back on the desk and turned to Yura.
“The Gate is all set.”
“Could you tell me what kind of Gate it is?”
“Of course. It’s information even the Association would give you.”
Rrrk. Thump.
He pulled a thick book from his desk drawer and set it down.
“Here. This is information about the Gate Seol-a will enter.”
“So it’s an Undead-type Gate.”
“As it happens, that’s the only one available.”
“My young lady has been terribly afraid of ghosts and things like that ever since the day the Sword Emperor passed away. …I’m worried.”
Yura checked what kind of Gate it was and looked concerned.
The Yoo Seol-a she remembered had been terribly afraid of scary stories and things like that since childhood.
The main reason was tied to the sudden death of the Sword Emperor, Yoo Jin-seong.
“Come to think of it, on the day Jin-seong died, Seol-a was crying and saying, ‘Grandpa vanished right before my eyes…’ After that, she became afraid of ghosts.”
“Yes. She was sobbing that some being had dragged the Sword Emperor away…. And at the same time, the news of his passing reached us.”
The mood suddenly turned somber.
The memory of that day was a painful one for both of them.
“Still, shouldn’t she overcome it? If Seol-a is going to become head of the family, she’ll have to get through hardships like that. Perhaps this is a good opportunity, Maid Jeong Yura.”
“You mean a chance to overcome her fear?”
“…You may not know this, but Jin-seong had something he was afraid of, too.”
“The Sword Emperor did?”
Yura looked surprised.
“Humans are bound to have fears, aren’t they? Even that fellow, the Sword Emperor, had a life before he became the Sword Emperor, and there must have been things he feared. Of course, I was the same.”
His eyes widened slightly as he continued.
“Jin-seong was afraid of our father, who was the head of the family two generations ago. It was an era before Hunters and Gates existed, and back then, our family protected this country, Joseon.”
“We were always at His Majesty’s side—the king of Joseon—and, well, we protected this country from invasions by Japan.”
“Our father was known as the Greatest Swordsman of Joseon. He drove back our enemies and protected this country for ages—like a ghost on the battlefield.”
“We who learned under him went through days that were nothing short of hell. He told us that training like that wouldn’t be enough to protect Joseon and His Majesty.”
At Yoo Hyeok-jin’s words, Yura’s expression shifted from surprise to bewilderment in real time.
His story was like a genuine history book come to life.
“Naturally, we came to fear our father. But it was because of those days that the Sword Emperor and I became who we are today. From then on, our fear disappeared.”
“Thanks to our monstrous father, Jin-seong and I grew strong enough to protect our homeland from the threat of the Gates.”
“If you ask why the Sword Emperor family is so great, I can say without hesitation that it’s because our father made it that way. Heh heh heh.”
Listening to him, Yura suddenly grew curious about something.
It was—
“With such a remarkable elder as your father, why was this country divided?”
“You mean why this country split into the Republic of Korea and the now-defunct Democratic People’s Republic of Korea? That’s a painful chapter in our history…”
Crack.
Yoo Hyeok-jin gritted his teeth.
His expression was furious.
—But that expression soon disappeared.
“…I’ll tell you about that someday. When Seol-a has reclaimed the position of head of the family. It’s such an important matter that I can’t just explain it in a sentence or two. Heh heh heh.”
“Ah… I see, Elder. That’s a shame, but it can’t be helped.”
Yura clicked her tongue in disappointment.
But she didn’t press him, since he clearly had his reasons for saying that.
“Anyway, my point is this: fear is just an emotion that can be conquered. So I have no doubt Seol-a can do it, too.”
“After all, Seol-a inherited Jin-seong’s blood very strongly. She also carries the blood of our father, who was practically her great-grandfather. Understand?”
Seeing his utterly unwavering gaze, Yura nodded.
“Yes, Elder. I believe in my young lady, too. She’ll do it.”
◈
I arrived at one of the A-rank Gates managed by the Sword Emperor family, ‘Death Mansion.’
It was the Gate Yura had received from Yoo Hyeok-jin yesterday.
‘This place was packed with troublesome monsters that physical attacks couldn’t affect. If I remember right?’
This Gate appeared about twice in the original story.
Once, Yoo Ho-ryeong used it in an attempt to kill Yoo Seol-a, who was afraid of Undead-type monsters. The other time, the female protagonist and the party led by Kim Hye-seong rented it and explored it.
Only one kind of Undead-type monster appeared here.
They were ‘Wraiths,’ which took the form of butlers and maids who seemed to have worked at the mansion inside the Gate.
They might have looked weak, but you absolutely couldn’t let their appearance fool you.
The reason was simple.
They unleashed all sorts of curses, then approached anyone they’d cursed at just the right moment and passed straight through their bodies, inflicting damage.
And that damage came with unimaginable pain.
Even if it wasn’t enough to kill you outright, it could deal enough damage to leave you reeling. The key to exploring this Gate was to avoid getting cursed.
Moreover, exploration was much easier if you had an item or ability imbued with holy power.
Since Wraiths were evil-spirit monsters, they were extremely vulnerable to holy power.
With that in mind—
‘I’m glad I bought this armor. Though I suppose it was just good luck.’
The 【Talaria’s Blessing】 I’d bought at Hunter Auction the day before yesterday was perfect for this Gate.
After all, it was imbued with the divine power of the otherworldly deity ‘Talaria.’
Against Wraiths, the armor itself would deal devastating damage.
“Our Seol-a, are you all ready?”
“I’ve prepared as thoroughly as I can, Great-Granduncle.”
Yoo Hyeok-jin came over to me as I stood before the Gate.
“Looks like you bought everything you needed at Hunter Auction the other day.”
“Yes. Thanks to the funds you provided, I was able to get some good equipment.”
“Don’t you have any armor? It looks like you’re only wearing clothes and carrying a sword.”
“I do have armor on. I just used its ability to make it invisible.”
“Oh. I see. Monsters have intelligence, too. If they see you without armor, they might let their guard down.”
There was a clear difference between having armor and not having any.
Without it, you had no way to protect your body and had to rely solely on your technique.
And that could give your opponent the advantage.
Since so much of their body was protected, you could mix feints into your attacks and wear them down.
But that could also make them lower their guard. If I took advantage of that, the one without visible armor could turn the tables and win.
That was what I was aiming for.
“More importantly, that sword you brought with you feels extraordinary. It doesn’t seem like the sort of weapon you could afford with what you spent at the auction.”
Next, Yoo Hyeok-jin showed interest in the 【Heaven-Sundering Sword】, which was a secondary weapon for me.
He’d honed his swordsmanship for a long time, so he seemed certain this wasn’t an ordinary weapon.
Even I wouldn’t have known it was a Legendary-rank sword without the Dokkaebi’s Eye.
“It seemed to be listed as Unique because it had an information-obscuring effect. Thanks to my ability, I was able to buy it cheaply.”
“Unless you’re a swordsman like me or an exceptional blacksmith, it would be difficult to see through that. You must have quite the ability. Heh heh. If the auction finds out, they’ll be weeping bitter tears~.”
They’d never find out.
I’d bought the sword and used magic to change its appearance, after all.
“All right. You seem to have prepared thoroughly, so get ready to go in with the camera crew.”
“Yes. I’ll be going now.”
Nod.
I nodded and answered.
—At the same time, Yoo Hyeok-jin placed a hand on my shoulder.
“…Today, show everyone that you explored this place alone, and prove it. That’s how you’ll reclaim the position of head of the family, Seol-a.”
“Yes. Believe in me and wait.”
“All right. I will.”
Leaving Yoo Hyeok-jin behind, I headed over to the camera crew the Elders’ Council had prepared to go inside with me.
It was time to enter the Gate.