LTTH C13

Chapter 13

“Damn it, jeez,”

Just as the rough words were about to escape, a bright light exploded right before his eyes, bright enough to illuminate everything. It was just like when the Sanctuary was declared in England. The swarm of light, filling his vision, slowly gathered into a point and began to subside.

The young man, lightly dressed and holding a fairly sturdy wooden sword, was the source. The brightly glowing swarm gradually quieted and seemed to be absorbed into the young man’s body. However, something seemed different about the faint glow lingering over him compared to before.

As if gauging what had happened to him, the young man momentarily stopped moving and turned his gaze toward Hansol. With light brown eyes and hair, surprisingly youthful, he looked directly at Hansol. Though Hansol couldn’t discern what he was actually saying over the clattering bones and the crowd’s noise,

“Thank you,”

was likely what he meant. The young man bowed his head, his lips moving in repeated patterns, then turned around and began cleaving the skeletons in two with his glowing wooden sword. Hansol stared blankly at the scene.

Could it be? Has he awakened…?

“Awakening” refers to a civilian gaining Hunter abilities.

Sometimes civilians inadvertently get caught in a Gate, and if they make significant contributions within it, they may rarely awaken as Hunters when the Gate is cleared. The chances were extremely low, of course.

The young man before him seemed similar to such a case — except no civilian had ever awakened while the Gate was still active until now.

Meanwhile, endless system notifications buzzed in his ears. For the record, Hansol was not using the Purification skill. Each time the system announced an experience gain, the young man’s sword glowed white as he swept through the skeletons. In short, this young man’s awakening was entirely Hansol’s responsibility, to the extent that the system guaranteed it.

“Grrr—”

What an unfair awakening. All the experience that the young man gained from hunting monsters was coming to Hansol. It was an anomaly. And an endlessly unfair one at that.

“What? Did he awaken?”

“Did he just level up? Seriously, he’s awakened?”

“Is there such a thing as mid-awakening?”

Amidst the growing chatter of the crowd, a faint white glow indicating a level-up appeared around the young man then faded. Though the light still shrouded him, it was clear to Hansol that the once-challenging skeletons were falling like leaves in a storm. Whether he had leveled or not, the young man’s awakening was undeniable.

“…Holy Knight.”

A sacred knight, as the name suggested. The system had “suggested” that Hansol appoint him as a Knight, and without meaning to, Hansol sacrificed precious stats and appointed him as one. The system clearly regarded the young man as someone with whom Hansol shared a deep bond.

What on earth was happening?

Not long ago, Hansol had been full of joy for finally escaping Level 1. Now, too many things were happening. The system’s demands on him were beginning to scare him.

“He fights well…”

“Do you think he can hold on…”

They said as much. Though the young man was struggling fiercely through mid-awakening, the Gate had not yet been cleared. Hansol had to stay alert.

‘Fear is fear, but first, I have to live.’

He had entered the Gate voluntarily. Dying here would be meaningless. Hansol deliberately turned his gaze away from the young man and resumed chanting the Purification skill. The young man fought hard at the frontline, and perhaps because of the light on his wooden sword, the skeletons were no longer putting up resistance—they had become mere experience points. At this moment, the only thing Hansol could do was save as many civilians as possible and survive himself.

How many times had he cast Purification? His remaining mana had dropped into double digits, and the skeletons’ appearances had quieted down. Thankfully, the entire ground beneath dozens in the crowd shone pure white without exception.

The hunters holding the frontline remained on the edge of danger, barely maintaining their defense, but the civilians’ ground had all turned white. It was truly a meaningful achievement.

“Phew.”

“Well done.”

“Ah… thank you.”

Amid the quiet praises, Hansol noticed a Mage who had quietly stood by him. The symbol of a Mage—the robe and neat face—gave the impression of a modest model student, the kind you’d find one per class. The man looked like that. If not for his relaxed gestures and capability, Hansol would have surely thought so.

Though the Mage may not have known what Hansol was doing so earnestly, he unsurprisingly layered multiple protective spells—shield, protection magic, and several buffs—over the shield he had first cast.

And look—the shield surrounding Hansol still held strong. Even from the beginning, this Mage was very capable.

‘Surely, he belongs to a guild?’

Typically, high-ranking or top-tier Mages belonged to guilds. It made both support and maintaining skill easier. The Mage before him surely did too. As if reading Hansol’s gaze, the Mage’s eyes slightly curved as he casually spoke.

“By any chance, which guild do you belong to?”

“Guild?”

“Yes, is it Hwarang?”

“H-Hwarang? No way!”

Startled beyond thought by the mention of the country’s number one guild’s name from the Mage’s mouth, Hansol waved his hand frantically. Hwarang? Could it be a Mage from Hwarang? That would explain his relaxed yet capable demeanor.

“Or could it be that you have no affiliation?”

“…Ah, yes.”

The Mage’s eyes widened in surprise—just as expected. Most healers joined guilds immediately upon awakening to receive support and grow. Hansol would have done the same if he hadn’t been trapped at eternal Level 1.

“…Even if it’s just a bunch of nobodies.”

“Yes?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

The Mage’s expression stiffened briefly before breaking into a bright smile with a slightly awkward expression, different from before, as if the atmosphere had turned uneasy.

“Then, may I ask what your plans are after this?”

“After this…”

“I mean after clearing the Gate.”

‘Have we already cleared the Gate…?’

The lighthearted comment made him briefly wonder if they’d cleared the Gate. The lull indicated some calm, but no boss had appeared to open a return portal. Even if one did, there was no guarantee they could defeat it. In short, the man was confidently speaking about an uncertain future.

This was one of the dangers of a new Gate. Until cleared, it was impossible to know what level or kind of Gate they were caught in, making it difficult to predict the future. Their only options were to survive until a raid team capable of clearing arrived or to clear it themselves with their abilities—only those two.

Of course, most chose the former. Trying to clear a Gate of unknown level with just the caught people was a risky choice.

This new Gate was no different. The first monsters, mere skeletons, might be followed by Death Knights or Liches. Therefore, the only viable strategy was to survive safely until a raid team arrived.

“At a stage where we don’t even know what kind of monsters might appear, shouldn’t survival be our priority?”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that.”

“What do you mean,”

Hansol began to retort in disbelief at the Mage’s confident words, but suddenly a protective dome with a blue glow enveloped a dozen or so people. It was a large-scale shield magic, firm enough to be rare.

To cast such a shield of this size and strength, the Mage’s skill was indeed impressive. However, if one competent Mage could reverse the battle, Hansol would have been freely casting healing spells long ago. The Mage’s skill was merely buying time to survive longer against the monsters, nothing more.

“How about we talk while waiting for the return portal to appear?”

“No,”

The tone sounded as if the return portal would drop from the sky any moment. To create the portal, a monster carrying the return portal needed to be killed. But where was this monster? Who would kill it? The frontline hunters were already exhausted, and the Mage nearby showed no intention of moving.