“…A skill?”

Even though it was an Uncleared Gate, Seo Jun-ho hadn’t expected anything better than a Rare-grade item. He was confused, but rather than be disappointed, he broke into a grin. 

I got a new skill right away. Isn’t my luck too good?

He wouldn’t mind being wrong a hundred times if he received a reward like this. 

He studied the skill’s description. 

[Confession of the Dead]

Rank: C

Effect: Allows you to look into the memories of the target. Only works on dead lifeforms. 

“…It lets me look into the memories of the dead?”

Like psychometry, it was likely one of the ‘memory-reading’ skills, but the conditions were much stricter. 

So, I can read the memories of the target, but they have to be dead. 

He could see it being useful to him in the future, but it wasn’t a versatile skill. Suddenly, he realized why the Gate had dropped such a skill. 

The Tricker. 

The Tricker was a monster that could steal the memories of a dead target, and Gates tended to drop rewards related to the monsters within it. 

“I’ll have to do some research to see how I can best use it.”

Most importantly, with this, he was starting to acquire new skills that Specter didn’t have. 

“Will I get stronger than before…?”

He could barely imagine such a future. He looked up at the bright night sky with a small smile, wanting a cold beer. 

* * *

No matter where you go, there will always be people who do the opposite of what you do. 

Choi Man-deuk of Namyangju—37, single, male—was one of those people.

(TN: Namyangju is a city in Gyeongi Province). 

“Hoho, hiking is great for your health. I don’t know why they won’t let us go up the mountain.”

After the Gate in Cheonma Mountain had appeared, the Association immediately warned the citizens in the area. However, it was impossible to seal it off completely in such a large area. Some careless people had snuck up the mountain and found an open path. 

“Keuhh, the air here is sweet. Sweet, I tell you!”

Choi Man-deuk had come at dawn to taste the early-morning air. He wiped the sweat off his face with a towel and paused as he saw the Gate in the corner of his eye. 

Still, I should be careful about getting too close to the Gate…

He made his way back to the tree at the entrance, then looked back up. 

“Huh?”

His throat went dry. 

“What? The Gate is usually over there… Why can’t I see it?”

Did it become an Open Gate after being left alone for so long?

Choi Man-deuk considered this, a chill climbing up his back. He shook his head to himself. 

No way. If it had really become an Open Gate, the Association would have warned us already. 

Then why wasn’t the Gate there?

Choi Man-deuk swallowed and slowly made his way to where the Gate had been. His curiosity getting the better of him. 

He looked around frantically as he reached the place where the Gate was supposed to be. 

“I-it’s not here?”

There was only one explanation for this. 

“It… The Gate’s been cleared!”

Thinking of his reporter friend, Choi Man-deuk immediately tapped on his Vita.

“Hey, Du-chil! How’ve you been? You’ll have to buy me a drink later!”

(TN: The expression doesn’t translate well into English, but he’s basically saying his friend will have to owe him for what he’s about to tell him.)

* * *

[Breaking News! The so-called Novice’s Grave, the Gate ⟪Curse of Dawn⟫, has disappeared overnight.]

[Who is the mysterious player who cleared the Uncleared Gate?]

[Rookies from guilds deny any affiliation.]

“Jesus, it’s been noisy ever since that guy showed up,” mumbled Shim Deok-gu with a grin on his face. He was relieved after hearing the Gate had been cleared. 

Not only that, it’ll be fun to watch those guild bastards be put on the spot. 

Even for the top guilds, clearing an Uncleared Gate wasn’t easy. They didn’t want to put their promising rookies in danger, and those of higher levels couldn’t even enter them. 

“Hm. Jun-ho. Are you really not gonna reveal yourself?” Shim Deok-gu looked faintly disappointed as he looked over the articles. He wanted to announce to the world that the mysterious player was Seo Jun-ho of the Association, but Seo Jun-ho himself opposed to it. 

“Be patient. It’s not the right time.”

“But it’s such a waste. If we reveal it, you’ll be famous in no time, and your value will go up.”

(TN: “Body price” aka how much people will pay to hire him.)

“Aigo, you’ve always been weak to these sorts of things.” Still, Seo Jun-ho couldn’t get mad at him for it. 

“Why do you think people buy luxury goods? They’re all mass-produced in the same Chinese factories.”

“So you’re saying you’ll be a luxury item?”

“Not just any luxury item.” Seo Jun-ho shook his head.

“I’ll be like a legendary, limited-edition collaboration item that everyone wants but can’t get.”

“…So you’re saying you’ll pit them against each other.”

“You get it now.” Shim Deok-gu narrowed his eyes. 

“You have a bad personality sometimes. Your blood type is S, isn’t it?”

(TN: In Korea, people think blood type dictates personality. S as in ‘sadist.’)

“Of course not. I won’t be able to drag it out for long anyways.” He’d already cleared one Uncleared Gate. Some people would catch on. 

Won’t they go to another Uncleared Gate? Then they’d start camping out in front of them. Seo Jun-ho and Shim Deok-gu could casually reveal themselves without lifting a finger.

“It wouldn’t be dignified to make a big deal of announcing myself.”

“…Since when have you cared about dignity?”

But Shim Deok-gu couldn’t deny that it was a good plan. It was more effective to let the rumors spread on their own than to claim it themselves. 

“Whatever, I get it. You don’t need anything else, do you?”

“There’s one thing.” Seo Jun-ho waved the schedule in his hand. “There’s only one Uncleared Gate left in the country.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“From a national standpoint, yes. But after I clear it, I won’t have anywhere else to hunt.”

“Hm… How about I look into some foreign Gates?”

“That’s what I’m thinking. They’re a problem for other countries too.”

“Of course.” Shim Deok-gu knew this because he’d been in contact with overseas Associations. Our country is on the safer side. 

Big countries like China, Russia, and the United States still had a lot of Uncleared Gates. 

They want to get rid of them… And Seo Jun-ho wanted to clear them. They had the same goal, so there wouldn’t be an issue with sending him. Not only that, he would receive a hefty sum and create an international reputation. 

“Leave it to me. I’ll negotiate for the best possible conditions.”

It was time for him to step in. Shim Deok-gu’s eyes sparkled. 

* * *

Tremble. 

Seo Jun-ho’s arm shook beneath him, his sweat dripping on the floor. 

“Seventy… One…”

He was doing a one-handed handstand while doing slow push-ups. His back was straight, and it was a great display of balance.

“Seventy… Haa, haa…”

His right arm felt like it would collapse under the weight of his entire body, but he pushed on.

I have to get past this. Get past the idea that his mind and body were one.

(TN: Not let his body go even though he wants to.)

He was well-aware that doing so would let him move to the next floor. So, Seo Jun-ho channeled all the strength in his body and pushed against his right hand. 

“Uaaaack! Seventy-three!” His body screamed as he collapsed in exhaustion. His hand trembled at the taste of freedom. At the same time, a wide grin spread across his face.

After training for two days and nights, his Strength stat had finally increased. It was a thrilling feeling after pushing his body to the limits. 

“Haa… Haaa…” He let out a final breath and sat up, tapping his Vita as he chugged down water with his back against the wall. 

[India’s top rookie was unable to clear it in the past. When will the Uncleared Gate be conquered?!]

[Is it okay to leave the Uncleared Gate ⟪Leuf’s Garden⟫ alone like this?]

[The crack is growing bigger. It doesn’t seem like there’s much time left until it opens completely. (Pictures inside)]

[Breaking News! ⟪Leuf’s Garden⟫ has reached 124 failed attempts. List of all fallen players.]

[Will the player who cleared the ⟪Curse of Dawn⟫ challenge ⟪Leuf’s Garden⟫? Spotlight piece.]

“…Hm.”

Seo Jun-ho felt strange as he skimmed the articles.

Leuf’s Garden. It had first appeared 9 years ago and was Korea’s oldest Uncleared Gate. Both the government and the Association had tried everything to try to clear it. The government, the Association, and the guilds had come together to offer 1 billion won…

(TN: ~880k USD)

The prize amount was unheard of. For that reason, many parties had attempted it. 

For a total of 124 attempts, there were 124 failures, and 0 successes. 

Leuf’s Garden refused to fall to the hands of the humans.

So that’s why they decided to do that. He continued to read through the articles. 

In the past, the Korean Player Association had declared that there weren’t enough qualified players to challenge Uncleared Gates and came to a decision during a conference.

In the end, they hired India’s rising star, Tushar Vishi, with the prize money. 

According to what he read, his abilities were amazing. But Seo Jun-ho was still unconvinced, so he watched a few videos of his training. 

He’s good. His form was perfect, and he shot arrows with amazing speed. If he had continued to grow like that, he would have surpassed Green. 

But he’d failed, and that failure brought upon his death.

He was 22 years old with a bright future ahead of him, and not a trace of him was left behind. 

“It’s a shame.” It was still a sore spot for both Korea and India. 

Seo Jun-ho closed his eyes and sorted out his thoughts before he reached for the spear leaning against the wall. 

“I should bring this.” The spear was a cheat weapon that could dominate a battlefield if a perimeter around the user was established. 

The Leufs probably have shield skills and a large attack area. A sword wouldn’t have enough reach, and bullets wouldn’t be able to pierce through their hide. 

“Status window.”

[Seo Jun-ho]

Level: 5

Title: The One Who Opens Spring

Strength: 30          Stamina: 31

Speed: 35                  Magic: 26

Except for Magic, all of his stats were 30 and over now. 

With these stats, I’m stronger than most people who are level 10. He was likely the strongest level 5 player in the world right now. The 26 Magic stat also enabled him to use the Frost skill. 

“It’ll be my first time using it in real combat.” 

What was this feeling? Fear? Anxiety?

When Seo Jun-ho looked into the mirror, he saw none of those things. 

In fact, he was grinning like a child on Christmas day.