NoveLight ™
[The Iron Valley Gate has been cleared.]
Outside the gate, the notification from the system signaled the completion of the gate conquest as the gate line disappeared.
As a result, chaos ensued outside.
“Huh?”
“What’s going on?”
“Why is the gate line gone?”
“Wait, is it possible?”
“No way, could it be?”
The soldiers were buzzing, confused, but no one mistook this for a dream from an early shift. It was still the afternoon.
Among them, Major Kang Hyuk, who had been waiting at headquarters, was the most shocked.
Then, they saw Su-ho and Jeong Cheol-min on the internal CCTV of the square. The soldiers rushed to the entrance of the square, waiting for the two to emerge.
As soon as they did, Jeong Cheol-min awkwardly smiled.
“Heh… Oh, hello?”
“What happened? Did we really clear the gate?”
“Heh, yes... Actually, here’s what happened…”
As the person in charge of the examination, Jeong Cheol-min explained the situation on behalf of Su-ho.
To be precise, he was lying on Su-ho’s behalf, but no one doubted him. Instead, they were more concerned about the situation.
“Oh my… Are you okay?”
“Yes, thanks to Su-ho-ssi, I barely managed to survive.”
“Hah… as expected, you really are incredible, just like the rumors said.”
When Jeong Cheol-min praised Su-ho, Major Kang Hyuk and everyone else marveled in awe.
The situation was quickly wrapped up neatly.
As they were heading back to Seoul, Jeong Cheol-min, who was driving, spoke up.
“But you know, right? Even if I act like I don’t know, after this incident, some rules are likely going to change.”
“Such as?”
“Probably starting with the tradition of the Gate Management Department. The practice of letting trainees choose which gate they want to tackle during the gate training.”
It was a reasonable response.
Until now, they hadn’t considered it dangerous, so they hadn’t interfered, but now that there had been an unexpected attack, the training gates would likely be assigned by the department from now on.
“But, well, that’s not really my concern.”
After all, it wasn’t such an extraordinary privilege. It had just been a tradition to lure people into the Gate Management Department.
“If it’s that important, I’ll make sure trainees can still choose, but excluding the sealed gates.”
In fact, there was a way to prevent this problem from ever being raised.
Su-ho had Park Gyu-min in his corner.
However, Su-ho couldn’t exactly say that, so he simply showed a sorry expression.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause the department’s valuable tradition to disappear.”
Jeong Cheol-min chuckled at that.
“Why apologize?”
“What?”
“I didn’t mean for you to apologize, Su-ho-ssi. I’m just saying that what we did this time is likely to bring about some consequences. More accurately, it’s showing us how the government work process is handled. This is your first time in public office, right?”
“I guess it is.”
“Do you know the difference between being a company employee and a government worker?”
“What’s the difference?”
“A company is a place where profit is pursued. Even if the process is a little risky, as long as the rewards outweigh the risk, they’ll often ignore it. But in the government, it’s different.”
Jeong Cheol-min continued to speak while driving.
“An organization that doesn’t need to make a profit will only seek safety. So, to avoid risks and prepare for future problems, most of the dangers are removed. The military is a perfect example. I’m not sure if it’s still like this nowadays, but in the past, if a soldier choked on instant noodles or got injured, the PX would stop selling them altogether.”
“… Isn’t that a bit ignorant of a solution?”
“Yeah, it sounds dumb, but they don’t really lose anything. The officers can still go outside and buy food. But if the soldiers get hurt, there’s a personal cost, so they take extreme measures. Anyway, in that regard, the reason I decided to ignore the situation was that I wanted to see you fight in the gate, but I also judged that reducing the number of sealed gates was a better choice than keeping the tradition of the department.”
“… Oh.”
Su-ho, who had been feigning ignorance until now, finally let out a genuine exclamation.
“As expected of Cheol-min hyung.”
Romance and dreams were one thing, but when it came to serious matters, Jeong Cheol-min knew how to handle them with precision.
And that was the Jeong Cheol-min Su-ho knew.
Su-ho smiled and said, “Thank you for explaining. I’ve learned a lot.”
“Haha, thanks for saying that. Nowadays, if you explain things like this, some people treat it as nagging.”
“Those people are just young and inexperienced. You might end up being my mentor, so I’m going to learn a lot from you.”
“A mentor… I really hope that’s the case.”
“In that case, isn’t it better to speak more casually now?”
They had already been close, treating each other like brothers.
That’s why Su-ho wanted to quickly talk to Jeong Cheol-min as an equal.
Jeong Cheol-min chuckled and responded, “If you truly come under me, I’ll drop the formalities then. Until then, we have to keep things professional.”
“Haha, understood.”
“Alright, I’ve told you what I needed to. By the way, just to clarify, the Gate Management Department’s evaluation for this one is full marks. It would be ridiculous to deduct points after clearing a sealed gate, wouldn’t it?”
“Thank you. So, does that mean I’ll move on to the Gate Management Department evaluation tomorrow?”
“Well, if there’s no issue, you’ll go for that evaluation. After that, you’ll move on to the Special Forces Division. By the way, do you know what the Evaluation Department’s test will be about?”
The Evaluation Department...
Su-ho already knew, but he decided to act as though he didn’t.
“It’s probably going to be about gate detection, right?”
“Yeah, that’s the simple guess. But honestly, a gate can appear anytime, anywhere. We just monitor the magical energy levels in the assigned areas, and when they rise, we start to prepare. So, rather than detection itself, the evaluation will probably focus more on the preparation process after the gate is detected.”
“I see. So, we just follow the guidelines for that preparation process, right?”
“Following the theory will definitely give you full marks. Are you confident about this one?”
Why wouldn’t he be?
He had passed every evaluation so far with full marks.
“Of course. I’ve handled all the evaluations like this so far.”
“I figured. So I’m not worried about the detection evaluation. What I am worried about is something you said inside the valley.”
“Something I said... about using media pressure to put pressure on the Association Chairman?”
“Yeah, that.”
“Don’t worry about that. I was already planning to start working on it. In fact, I’ll make use of the sealed gate I cleared today for that.”
“Hmm, trying to cover up the situation with a palm-sized explanation... it’s not going to work. Solving a sealed gate should be something to be praised.”
Su-ho smiled at Jeong Cheol-min’s words, then immediately dialed a number.
The person who picked up the phone was none other than Jo Jin-hwi.
Su-ho smiled as he spoke.
“How have you been?”
“Yes, the training process is almost finished, so it’ll be over soon.”
Jo Jin-hwi, though not a public servant, had a good understanding of the system. As a player-focused journalist, he was very familiar with the Hunter Association.
So he was surprised.
Normally, even the shortest training periods lasted over a month, so this was highly unusual.
Su-ho chuckled.
“Actually, I’m calling because of my training process. You see, I’ve…”
Su-ho omitted the details of what had happened during the training and only mentioned that he had scored full marks on the theory test and the field evaluation.
“... So, I ended up clearing the sealed gate in the Iron Valley.”
This included the Iron Valley gate conquest they had just completed.
After Su-ho finished explaining, there was a long pause.
It wasn’t a communication failure.
He was simply too stunned to speak.
After a moment of silence, Su-ho asked again.
“Mr. Jin-hwi?”
“I see.”
“That’s probably true. That’s what I’ve heard as well.”
Su-ho chuckled at Jo Jin-hwi’s sharp instincts.
This guy was good at sniffing things out.
Su-ho replied, “Yes, I’m working on something big, and I need a little prep work for it.”
“Thank you, as always, Mr. Jin-hwi.”
At that, Jeong Cheol-min, who had been silently listening, answered.
“It’s fine.”
“I’m currently Su-ho’s overall training supervisor. I’ve been the one compiling his scores, and I just came from the sealed gate mission with him.”
“Yes, we’ve been listening together.”
Jo Jin-hwi, clearly caught off guard, laughed in disbelief.
Still laughing in surprise, he asked Su-ho.
“Yes, he’s become my ally. He was the first Association member I met.”
“Just write it as 'According to an insider,' so people won’t just think it’s gossip. That way, it’ll have some credibility, even if the source isn’t fully named.”
“No, for now. But when you do write the article, please make sure to mention how solving the sealed gate saved taxes and was a great outcome for everyone involved.”
“The military will report it soon, but I’d like the world to know by tomorrow morning, before I even arrive at work.”
“Haha, you’ll be able to see it soon. Thanks again for your help.”
Jo Jin-hwi excitedly ended the call.
Su-ho smiled as he put his phone back into his pocket and looked at Jeong Cheol-min.
Jeong Cheol-min responded with a matching smile.
It was the moment when a new, unshakeable bond formed between them.