Chapter 39
ONE HOUR LATER!
Zen could be seen standing in front of the quest board, hands tucked in his pockets while tapping his feet continuously. His gaze was stern as he scanned the busy hall, growing increasingly impatient.
"Where the hell are these guys?" he yelled in frustration as his eyes darted around the hall.
"Right here." Jace replied calmly as he walked forward with two females slightly behind him, a small smile on his face.
Tilting his head slightly, Zen studied the females. One was Aria, who beamed at him with a friendly smile, her bow gripped tightly in her hands as if ready for anything.
The second female remained mostly hidden beneath a hood, her face obscured. She stood around 5ft tall, a brown cloak draped over her body with the hood pulled low over her head.
Silver strands of hair peeked out, shimmering faintly in the sunlight. Her steps were measured and deliberate, almost cold, and a sword was strapped securely to her waist as she approached.
"I'm so sorry we are late," Jace apologized as he stopped in front of Zen with the females at his side.
"Hey," Aria greeted with a soft smile.
"Hi." Zen waved briefly before turning toward the hooded female, who offered no acknowledgment and instead looked away.
'Rude and arrogant,' he thought quietly.
"And we are here too," a familiar voice called out, and Zen glanced up to see two more faces approaching—Rina and Kael.
"I'm sure you know these two already, so no need for long introductions. Anyway, guys! This is Erin," Jace said, gesturing toward the hooded female, who scoffed silently without responding.
"Alright. Shall we leave now? I'm tired," Erin said at last, her voice angelic yet cold, completely devoid of emotion.
"Sorry about her attitude, guys. Erin isn't really a people person," Jace quickly added, though Erin simply scoffed again, turned, and began walking toward the exit of the hall.
"Let's go," Aria said as she followed Erin, and the rest of the group lagged slightly behind.
'Since he introduced her to us, I wonder if she's also a player or just an NPC. And I still have my doubts about Aria too,' Zen thought, falling in at the rear as they exited the hall.
Within ten minutes, the group was making their way through a forested area, dense with towering trees and twisted vines. A small hill rose ahead, forcing them to climb carefully over roots and loose stones.
"How long till we get there?" Kael asked, hands casually tucked in his pockets as he strolled forward.
"Five minutes, give or take," Jace replied, glancing at a map in his hand. Erin walked silently beside him, occasionally sneaking glances at the golden blonde hair of the young man, though Jace seemed completely oblivious.
"Quick question, guys," Zen said, drawing their attention, though they still kept their eyes fixed on the path. "This is the first time I've ever heard of a gate, even after weeks of staying in the clan."
"Oh! So you don't know what a gate is?" Aria asked, glancing at him briefly before returning her attention to the path.
"Uhm… I don't really know what it is," Zen admitted, rubbing the back of his head nervously with a small chuckle.
"A gate is simply a gateway that takes one to… well, who knows where," Jace explained firmly. "Think of it like a teleporter that leads to an area, a location, or a place filled with beasts. When the boss is killed, everyone inside is given five minutes to escape, or the gate closes and traps them there."
"Oh! Almost like a dungeon?" Zen said, nodding as he processed the explanation.
"Yes, but different. The gate could take you to a forest crawling with beasts, a lava zone, a mountain, or somewhere else entirely. Usually, only C rank Reavers are summoned to handle a gate, so consider yourself lucky to experience one," Kael said with a grin, glancing at Rina, who turned to look at him.
"Kaelll! Where are your clothes?!" Rina suddenly shouted, glaring at him in shock.
"Huh?" Kael muttered, glancing down to find he was left with only his underwear. "Oooops," he added sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.
"When and how did you pull them off?" Zen muttered, facepalming himself in disbelief.
"No idea," Kael replied, shrugging nonchalantly as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
"We are here," Erin announced, slightly ahead of the group, causing everyone to pause and glance upward.
Finally, they saw something swirling in the middle of the open field, roughly nine metres away from them.
"Is that the gate?" Zen asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
"No. It's a rainbow," Erin hissed sarcastically before stepping forward to take the lead.
"Rude," Zen muttered under his breath, frowning as he hurried to catch up with the others.
The path to the gate felt almost otherworldly. Cracked stone tiles paved the narrow road, stretching across a desolate field shrouded in morning fog.
With each step, a distant hum of arcane energy grew louder, vibrating faintly beneath their boots. The air was colder here — unnaturally so and even the sky above seemed dimmer, as though the sun refused to shine on this cursed place.
Sparse, twisted trees lined the path like ancient sentinels, their blackened branches clawing at the sky. No birds chirped. No beasts stirred. Only silence… and that sound — a low, rhythmic pulse, like a heartbeat forged from mana itself.
Then they saw it.
At the center of a wide, circular clearing, the gate floated above a runic stone platform, swirling with blue energy that flickered like lightning trapped in a whirlpool.
Thin streams of glowing light reached from the surrounding stones into the portal's core, feeding it like veins into a living heart. Runes danced along the perimeter, pulsing with a rhythm only the gate could understand.
It was unattached to anything. No walls. No frame. Just raw, living magic tearing a hole into another world.
"So this is it, huh?" Kael muttered, immediately rubbing a ring on his finger. A shield materialized in his hand, which he gripped tightly.
'A pocket ring?' Zen thought, eyes wide. 'Almost like my inventory skill.'
"Let's go conquer a gate, guys," Jace said with a grin, drawing his katana before stepping confidently into the portal, his form warping away.
Erin followed next, then Aria, then Rina. Zen took the next step, and finally Kael went last. They all warped away simultaneously.
The moment they entered, the portal twisted and turned violently. Its color gradually shifted from a bright, vibrant blue to a deep, ominous red.
__
Meanwhile, back at the clan, everything continued as usual. Members ate and chatted, bickering loudly as if there were no tomorrow.
For the first time in a while, a higher-ranked Reaver appeared, walking through the lower hallway. The entire hall fell silent, eyes following his every step. He approached the quest board, frowning deeply.
"Huh? What is Sir Tom doing here? Is he about to take a low-ranking quest? But why?" one of the lower-ranked members whispered.
"Shit, shit, shit. Who took the quest?" Tom muttered under his breath. Sweat trickled down his face as he glanced up at the staircases leading to the upper floor.
Without hesitation, he crouched low and leapt into the air with precision, determined to find whoever had claimed the gate raid quest.
Before his feet could touch the ground, a burst of flames erupted beneath him, propelling him into the air. He rocketed upward and landed on the upper levels with a deep frown etched across his face.
Without wasting a moment, he dashed through the hallways and, in a flash, entered a control room on the highest floor. Several people sat at their stations, eyes glued to screens displaying various readings and data streams.
"Status?" Tom demanded, his voice sharp and tense.
"Sir Tom. A group of Reavers has entered the gate. The moment they did, it changed rank," one of the monitors replied.
"To what?" Tom asked anxiously, leaning over the console.
"A B rank, sir."
"B what?! Fuck! Who are the ones that went in? Any B rankers among them?"
"No sir. They are all C rankers, with two D rankers in the mix."
"Shit." Tom muttered under his breath, rubbing a ring on his finger and pressing it to his forehead.
"Speak," a deep voice echoed in his ears, cold and commanding.
"Master, we have a problem," Tom said, his heart hammering loudly in his chest.
"What problem?" the voice demanded, making Tom swallow nervously before replying.
"Sir, a group of six — four C rankers and two D rankers has just entered a C ranked gate," Tom explained urgently.
"So?" the master replied, voice calm yet chilling. "If they have so many C rankers, this should be easy. Don't bother me with trivial news."
"Sir, wait. It's not just that," Tom shouted quickly, trying to stop the master from cutting the connection. "The gate has changed rank from C to B."
Silence followed for a few tense seconds before the voice erupted again.
"So what the hell are you waiting for? A B rank gate? That means they will face a B rank boss. Crap! Those kids will die. Go down there, enter the gate… No, wait! I'll send an A rank instead.
Damn it, none are available right now! Enter the gate and make sure those kids survive. Leaving them in there any longer will mean instant death. They are not strong enough to handle a B ranked boss. They will perish in an instant."
"Roger that, sir," Tom said, disconnecting the call. Beads of sweat ran down his face as he tightened his grip on the railing.
A deep frown remained etched across his face. 'Please… please be alive when I get there. I can't lose some promising members now,' he thought, urgency pushing him forward.
Meanwhile, the group that had entered the gate remained blissfully unaware of the horrors awaiting them, completely oblivious that their lives now hung by the thinnest of threads.