"All cadets have two hours to prepare for Gate exploration!" the instructor shouted.
And just like that, I was off, searching for my team.
After wandering around the field like a headless chicken for about twelve minutes, I finally spotted them—not because of luck, but because of her.
Victoria Astermont.
The Princess of England.
She stood out effortlessly—not just because of her noble title, but because of her striking presence. Long, silky golden hair framed a face so beautiful it could melt even the coldest heart. Among all the students, her elegance was on another level.
Her petite stature didn't make her look weak—it made her seem refined. Delicate. Regal. She looked like a noblewoman straight out of a painting, not someone who trained at a combat academy.
"Sorry—I kinda got lost while looking for you guys," I said, slightly out of breath, sweat trailing down my forehead.
Victoria greeted me with a gentle smile.
"It's okay. We just started discussing our strategy."
"Since everyone's here now, let's begin with introductions," she continued. "I'll start. I'm Victoria Astermont, and my class is Puppet Master."
She took a moment to explain how her class worked.
The Puppet Master class revolves entirely around controlling a puppet. This 'puppet' could be anything, as long as it had a body, arms, and legs. The puppet could be equipped with weapons and could even cast magic—so long as the Master had enough mana to support it.
Then she showed us Angela 13—her puppet.
A humanoid mannequin, shaped like a woman with four arms. Its head didn't have a face—just a smooth metal plate instead. Angela was clad in standard but durable factory-grade armor, and armed with a spear, a shield, and a bow with a full quiver.
After her came a brown-haired boy who stepped forward casually.
"I guess I'm up. Name's Jack Tarak. I'm an Iron Wall."
Iron Wall was one of the rare tank-type classes. Durable. Immovable. A living shield.
Then, without warning, a green-haired girl jumped on Jack's back, full of chaotic energy.
"Hai hai~! I'm Amano Karin, and I'm a Shaman!"
That caught me off guard.
Shaman was a powerful hybrid mage class—able to heal, buff, and also cast ranged spells. It was considered a heroic class—one of the best in the game for support versatility.
And now, I guess it was my turn.
"My name is Kylen Noor. Sorry for wasting time earlier. My class is… Commander."
"W-wow… so that's why you were assigned as our leader, huh?" Victoria said with a polite smile, trying really hard not to sound disappointed.
"Y-yeah… probably."
I cleared my throat and forced a smile.
"Well, let's not waste any more time. Let's get into the strategy," said Victoria.
After about 30 minutes of going over team formations and tactics, Amano Karin suddenly raised her hand.
"Hey, not to be biased or anything… but I think that lady, Victoria Astermont, would make a better leader."
"Ah—Amano Karin-san, you shouldn't say something like that," Victoria replied politely, trying to defuse the situation.
But then Jack chimed in too.
"I agree."
And just like that, all three of them turned to look at me.
Seriously?
"Well… I think Lady Victoria should be the leader," I said, smiling awkwardly.
"Are you really sure, Kylen Noor?"
Just shut up and take the damn role already, you royal gremlin.
"Yeah. I think it's better if someone like Lady Victoria leads us. Isn't that right?"
Jack and Karin nodded without hesitation.
"Well, then… I suppose I'll be the leader," Victoria said.
And just like that, the roles were rearranged:
Victoria Astermont – [Leader]
Jack Tarak – [Tank]
Kylen Noor (Me) – [Support]
Amano Karin – [Long-Range DPS]
Apparently, I got shoved into the support role because they assumed I only used guns for self-defense. Why? Because [Commander] is technically a support class—and "support" apparently means "not meant for combat."
So yeah, I swapped roles with Karin. Her hybrid Shaman class made more sense in the backline anyway.
"Hey—before we head in, can you all accept the party invitation on your Smartbands?" I asked.
___
Party Invitation:
Sender: Kylen Noor
___
The [Commander]'s abilities only kick in once allies accept the invite. Once they do, I can see their stats and condition in real time.
One by one, they all tapped Accept without a single question.
___
Ally List (Temporary):
1. Victoria Astermont
Class: Puppet Master
Level: 13
Base Stat: 174
Condition: Great
2. Jack Tarak
Class: Iron Wall
Level: 7
Base Stat: 103
Condition: Great
3. Amano Karin
Class: Shaman
Level: 6
Base Stat: 111
Condition: Good
___
"Alright," I said, glancing at the holographic display. "Let's move out."
And with that... we stepped into the Gate.
◇◇◇
The Gate turned out to be a jungle type.
A notification flashed across our Smartbands:
___
Team 11 — Mission
1. Explore the Gate.
2. Avoid fighting monsters. (If a monster aggros, eliminate it immediately without alerting others.)
3. Record anything that resembles a historical civilization.
Time Limit: 1 hour (1 Gate day)
___
Time here flows differently—1 hour on Earth equals 1 full day inside the Gates, and a Gate day lasts 25 hours.
"Well, let's explore our surroundings first," Victoria said.
"Kylen, can you turn on the drone?" she asked.
Each team was issued a drone to follow and record everything we did in the Gate. The footage is used both for Archana research and to evaluate our team's score.
I set my bag down and pulled the drone from its case. With a quick boot-up, it rose into the air—hovering about five meters behind us and ten meters above—like a loyal floating cameraman.
"Like we discussed earlier," Victoria continued, "Kylen will handle any weak monsters to build his experience. Jack will protect us from major threats, and Amano-san will cover our rear."
And so, our jungle expedition began.
We ran into a few small fry—goblins and gremlins—nothing serious. I dropped each one with a single shot.
[Level Up]
[Level 5 → Level 7]
___
Skill Gained:
[Heal] – B Rank
___
___
Skill List:
1. Ally Buffs – A Rank
2. Ally Heal – A Rank
3. Mark Target – B Rank
4. Swap Position – B Rank
5. Heal – B Rank
6. Mana Outburst – C Rank
___
Leveling was going smoothly so far.
Skills are random—sometimes you get an S-rank on your first try, other times you'll pull an F-rank even after hours of grinding. Timing is just as unpredictable. Some people unlock a skill at Level 2, then won't get another until Level 12.
The four skills on my list are class skills. The fifth came after killing a hobgoblin at Level 5.
We kept exploring, noting down anything unusual we found along the way.
That's when we spotted them—five lizardmen, armed with spears, looking fresh from a hunt.
"There are five lizardmen, seventeen meters ahead," Jack reported. "Should we take them out?"
"If we do," Victoria replied, "we need to finish them quickly—no survivors. If even one calls for reinforcements, we're in trouble."
And with that, our team's first real fight began.
The five lizardmen were tearing into the carcasses of the monster they had hunted.
The sound of ripping flesh and cracking bones filled the humid jungle air.
We moved like shadows, weaving between tree trunks and crouching low behind bushes, careful not to step on a twig or disturb the leaves. The slightest noise could send the whole pack charging—or worse, alert others.
"Kylen, what skill did you just receive?" Victoria whispered over the party channel.
"[Heal]. Elemental skill," I murmured back.
Her eyes lit up for just a moment. "Good. That'll be useful."
Every time someone gained a new skill inside the Gate, they were required to report it to the team leader. It was one of the core rules of Gate exploration—leaders needed full knowledge of available abilities to form the best strategy on the fly.
Victoria raised her hand, palm forward. "Positions," she ordered softly.
Jack shifted to the front, tightening his grip on his tower shield. Angela 13, Victoria's puppet, slid into formation beside him, spear tip angled for a low thrust. I took the middle slot—close enough to respond with buffs or heals—while Amano stayed at the rear, her staff already gathering mana, faint green wisps coiling around it.
"Kylen," Victoria continued, "use [Mark Target] on the leader of the pack. Jack, as soon as it's marked, charge in and use [Lion's Roar]. Amano, follow up with poison arrows."
"Understood," Jack said, voice low.
"Roger~" Amano chirped in a whisper.
I scanned the group of lizardmen. Most wore little more than rough leather around their waists, but one stood out—its chest was covered with crude bronze armor, the scales beneath marked with old scars. Its posture screamed authority.
___
[Mark Target] — B Rank
Cooldown: 20 seconds
Effect: The targeted enemy takes 30% more damage from all allies for 6 seconds.
___
Pulling up [Mark Target], a small tactical map appeared on my Smartband's display, showing a fifty-meter radius around us. Four blue markers for my team, five red markers for the enemy. One red marker was slightly larger than the rest. That was my target.
I tapped it.
A faint red sigil flared above the armored lizardman's head, visible only to our party.
"Target marked," I whispered.
Victoria gave a sharp nod. "Jack—go."
Jack burst from cover, closing the distance in seconds. His shield slammed into the pack with enough force to stagger them, the sudden impact breaking their formation.
"Roar…!" Jack bellowed.
All the lizardmen's attention snapped toward him. One of them lunged with its spear. Jack barely dodged, the spearhead grazing his cheek.
He darted back, moving to the side to avoid getting caught in Amano's attack.
Purple arrows slowly formed in the air.
"—With my voice, poison my enemy. Poison Arrows!!" Amano chanted.
The arrows flew toward the lizardmen.
Before they could land, the leader stepped forward, parrying every arrow with its shield in a flurry of rapid deflections.
"Rooaarrr…!" the leader cried.
All of the lizardmen's muscles suddenly bulged, their movements sharper and faster as they broke into a charge straight at Jack.
"Angela!!!" Victoria shouted.
With a graceful sweep of her hands, Angela 13 sprang into action. The puppet moved like a dancer, spear spinning in precise arcs as it cut through the enemy line—three lizardmen fell instantly, and a fourth staggered back with a deep wound.
"Now it's my turn," I muttered from behind.
I raised my gun, locking onto the injured lizardman. With a quick adjustment, I switched the weapon to Pierce Mode and channeled [Mana Outburst] into the shot.
___
[Mana Outburst] – C Rank
Cooldown: 1 minute
Effect: Consumes 30% of user's mana to empower the next attack.
Attack +30% | Speed +15% | Defense –25%
___
The shot ripped through the air, striking directly at the creature's wound. The enhanced round tore a hole clean through its body, dropping it instantly.
I blinked in surprise
.... I Didn't expect it to hit that hard.
[Level up]
[Level 7→13]
Shortly after, Jack brought the leader down with Amano's help, the last lizardman collapsing in a heap.
"Great job, everyone!" Victoria said, her tone calm yet approving. "Let's take the mana stones from these monsters. Lizardmen are High Elite-rank, so they should give us a lot of points."
Monsters were ranked by threat level:
___
1. Minor (F-Tier) – Harmless or barely sentient. Training fodder for beginners.
Ex: Slimes, corrupted insects, shadow mice.
2. Lesser (E-Tier) – Weak wild beasts. A bit dangerous in groups.
Ex: Feral hounds, corrupted deer, goblins.
3. Savage (D-Tier) – Aggressive and physically enhanced. Often solo threats.
Ex: Bone apes, steel-scaled boars.
4. Elite (C-Tier) – Tactical, mutated, or semi-intelligent. May coordinate packs.
Ex: Chimera wolves, cursed soldiers.
5. Major (B-Tier) – High magic resistance, regeneration, and lethal force.
Ex: Crystal ogres, abyssal reapers.
6. Overlord (A-Tier) – Boss-class. Dungeon leaders and rare disasters.
Ex: Flame tyrants, frost monarchs.
7. Cataclysm (S-Tier) – Country-level destruction. Requires top-tier heroes.
Ex: Skybreak dragons, arcane titans.
8. Null (EX-Tier) – Unknown anomalies. Can defy natural laws and destroy worlds.
Ex: None recorded.
___
The stronger the monster, the more experience it gave.
Now that I think about it… what rank was that hidden boss I killed back then?
…Well, it doesn't matter now.
I pulled up the ally list.
___
Victoria Astermont – Level 18
Jack Tarak – Level 14
Amano Karin – Level 11
___
They'd all grown significantly from that fight.
After collecting the mana stones, we recorded the encounter in our mission log.
For the next five hours, we catalogued strange plants, fought through wandering beasts, and rested whenever fatigue began to set in—even slightly.
But everything changed when we stumbled upon it…
A ruined civilization.
We stepped into the ruins without hesitation.
A city of bronze stretched before us, its walls weathered but still gleaming faintly under the Gate's strange sunlight. At the very center stood a massive temple, towering over everything else like the heart of the city.
As we made our way toward it, the streets told their own story—monster carcasses littered the ground, pools of blood staining the bronze streets a dark crimson. The air was thick with the metallic scent.
At the temple's entrance, we saw it.
A creature crouched over one of the corpses, tearing into it with casual ease. It devoured entire limbs in a single bite, chewing lazily like it was in some commercial for baby food.
…Why does that make me hungry?
Before I could think more about it, a holographic panel suddenly appeared in front of us:
___
!!! THREAT DETECTED !!!
Sending cadets back to safety…
___
A bright blue circle flared to life beneath our feet. A sharp beep echoed, and in a flash of light, my entire team vanished.
Except me.
___
!!! Cadet Not Registered !!!
___
"You've gotta be kidding me…" I muttered.
Then the temple rumbled.
From its massive bronze doors emerged a pack of the same monsters we'd just seen—but this time, leading them was one at least three times the size. Its scales were thicker, its fangs glinted like daggers, and its low growl rattled my chest.
…Fuck.
To Be Continued...