[Your Magic stat has increased by 1.]

[Your Magic stat has increased by 0.5.]

[Your Magic stat has increased by 2.]

[Your Magic stat has increased by 0.5.]

[Your Magic stat…]

After absorbing nine Ice elemental items, his Magic stat had increased by 10. 

“Hm, now they’re truly useless.” Without their Ice element, they became normal items. 

Well, they’re not the main dish anyways. He looked at the Glove of the Frost Fairy’s Wrath. Since it was a cursed item, it had Intermediate-level Frost energy. 

“Gimme those 5 points!” Seo Jun-ho placed his hand on the glove and started to absorb its energy. The cold sensation he’d gotten when he’d treated Choi Sun-hee started to set in. It created a new magic as it wove into his own.

“Ah…” He let out a disappointed sigh. He’d expected it to increase his Magic stat by at least 5, but it seemed that even items of the same grade weren’t all equal. 

Well, it makes sense that a disease from a person is stronger than an item. 

Having eaten his fill, Seo Jun-ho looked again at the purified glove. 

「Magic-Infused Glove」

Grade: Rare

Speed +1 

Stamina +1 

Magic +2

Equipment Requirements: Level 10, 40 Speed, 50 Magic.

“Not bad.” Since the glove had been fully purified, Seo Jun-ho could now use it. “The requirements aren’t too bad either.” The glove fit him perfectly like it was made for him. 

With this, I’m ready to take on the Nameless Dragon. After absorbing all the magic, his Magic stat was now at 67. He could now use other techniques without any reservations. 

“It’ll be fun.” He smiled wide.

* * *

The Eastern Sea Gate was at Ilsan Beach in Ulsan. For the people of Ulsan, the beach was one of the few ways to relieve the hot weather, and the Gate had stolen that. But now, it had become famous for being the last Uncleared Gate in Korea. 

(TN: Ulsan is a city in the south of Korea near Busan.)

Ilsan Beach had been empty even during the height of summer, but now, it was full of chattering people. The domestic reporters were a given, but there were lots of foreign ones as well. 

“That just shows how much the world is watching.” The President of the Korean Player Association had come too, given that today might be the day that Korea became the world’s first special safe zone. 

(TN: Safe zone without any Uncleared Gates.)

“Aren’t you nervous?”

The person he was talking to was none other than Seo Jun-ho. They were riding in a big Cadillac van, the kind that American presidents rode. 

“…Very nervous.” Shim Deok-gu whirled around, shocked by his answer. 

Ping! Ping… dun, dun, dun. 

Sad music played as he died in the game. He tossed the console aside.

“Geez! What a crappy game. How come it shakes so much during the boss fight?”

“…You were talking about the game?”

“Huh? Were you talking about that?” Seo Jun-ho jutted his chin toward the beach. He waved his hands and looked at him like he was crazy. “I defeated the Frost Queen. Do you think I’d be scared of a dragon whose name I don’t even know?” Most boss monsters had a distinct name or sobriquet. For example, the Perrin that had only appeared once in Northern Europe. Or the Kraken from Norway that appeared from the ocean. Even the Cinder Fox he’d fought not too long ago had a name. 

“Well, it is called the Nameless Dragon… If it doesn’t have a name, it’s probably not all that great.”

“If it was, it would have a name.” Seo Jun-ho spoke casually, but Shim Deok-gu was uncharacteristically nervous. 

“Don’t be careless. Don’t forget that almost 9,000 people have died trying to defeat it.”

“I’m not like that. And by the way, a dragon is still a dragon.” They were one of the strongest monsters out there. 

“Dragons aren’t easy opponents for those who are unprepared.”

“That’s true.”

“So don’t worry.”

“I’m not.”

Shim Deok-gu grumbled. “The most useless things to worry about are celebrities, rich people, and you.”

“If you know that, why do you look so nervous?”

“Just… It’s not just monsters you’ll be going up against.” There were only three people going into the Gate today: Seo Jun-ho and the Shadow Brothers. “Seeing as how no one else is going in, it’s very likely that they’re fiends.”

“They’re barely at level 25. I took down three players who were over level 20 not long ago.”

“Hey, do you think the Shadow Brothers are that weak?”

“Well, considering their career, I’d say they’re a little better. Just a bit.”

“Just be careful…” The Shadow Brothers were revered as heroes back in America, which meant they’d had a good, clean career thus far. 

They haven’t failed a single one of their 200 plus commissions. 

However, their main business wasn’t clearing Gates. Their specialty was acting as guards, so they were highly sought after. 

“Both brothers awoke shadow abilities. What luck.” Even if they were blood-related, it was unlikely for two people to awaken their abilities at the same time; even more unlikely for both to obtain skills with certain elements. Even if that happened by some chance, the possibility of them awakening abilities with the same element was close to 0%. 

“It’s like winning the Powerball, buying two more tickets, and then winning again.”

“That’s why the Americans love them. They’re brothers with a heroic destiny,” Shim Deok-gu said at once. “Americans love a good hero story.”

“Yeah. All the Marvel and DC comics I read are from there.”

But if they truly were pawns for the fiends, why did they choose that path? People were expecting them to be heroes. 

…Well, I’ll find out soon enough.

Seo Jun-ho drank a soda as he looked out the window. “Huh? They’re here?”

“Seems like it. Let’s get off too.” The car carrying the Shadow Brothers had parked in the lot. As Deok-gu and Seo Jun-ho made their way over, the car door opened and two tall men stepped out. They smiled brightly as they saw him. 

“Hey! I’m a big fan of yours, Sir Jun-ho!” 

“Thanks, but I am not a sir. My name is Jun-ho Seo.” 

(TN: These lines are originally in English but I fixed up the grammar.)

As the perfect English spilled from his lips, the surrounding reporters, as well as the Brothers, looked surprised. 

“Damn, you’re good at English.”

“Your pronunciation’s good. Did you study abroad?”

“No, I’m just familiar with it. I have a friend from England, you see.” An eccentric young lady who spent all her time locked in her room to study magic. 

The Shadow Brothers fist-bumped him and laughed heartily. 

“Hahaha, that’s a relief! Vita’s interpretation feature has a slight delay, so we were worried that it might be inconvenient when we go inside… But it seems like that won’t be a problem!”

“I didn’t know you were so good at English either. You should introduce us to your friend if we ever get the chance.”

“Well… We’ll see.” As they introduced each other warmly, the atmosphere around them also lightened. Only Shim Deok-gu didn’t seem to notice. 

Just by looking at them, I’m already starting to doubt myself… Was that really a mask? If so, he was worried about how things would unfold within the Gate. 

One of the brothers noticed Deok-gu staring and turned to him. 

“Hm? Is there something on my face?”

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I was just amazed by the sight of America’s hottest heroes.”

(PR: Smooth, Deok-gu. Smooth.)

“Oh, well, no need to be sorry about that…” They finished exchanging greetings and started the interview. They didn’t ask any questions about their favorite K-pop stars or their thoughts on kimchi. 

“Why did you come here to participate in the raid today?”

“Uh… Well. I’d say the biggest reason is the man called Seo Jun-ho.”

“Player Seo Jun-ho?”

“Correct. When we read that he defeated two Uncleared Gates and the Cinder Fox… we felt our blood boiling.” 

(TN: In Korean, this doesn’t always insinuate anger. Usually it’s just used to denote strong feelings/passion.)

“You felt competitive?”

“Haha, let’s just call it respect.” The interview went on for another hour and ended pleasantly. The Shadow Brothers and Seo Jun-ho then gathered at the shore during their short break. 

“This is Korea’s last Uncleared Gate, isn’t it?”

“We’ll give it our all so that Korea can become a special safe zone.”

Hearing their encouragement, Seo Jun-ho laughed lightly. 

“Don’t worry. I’ve prepared as much as I can.”

* * *

When do you think players are most nervous when challenging a Gate? Some might say it’s when they’re facing the boss, others might say it’s when their teammates get injured. But most players are most nervous when they enter the Gate. 

They don’t know what environment, monsters, or traps await them. That’s when they are most on edge. 

That’s why we thought it would be easy…

The Shadow Brothers had been planning to ambush Seo Jun-ho as soon as they entered the Gate. But as they stared at his defenseless back, their hands wouldn’t move. 

Is it… truly an opening?

Seo Jun-ho looked careless, but there was an irrationally strong feeling that he would perfectly block their attacks. The two exchanged looks and widened their steps to flank Seo Jun-ho. 

“Pretty breezy, isn’t it?”

“I never knew the inside of a Gate could look like this…” 

Currently, they were on a lonely-looking island. Besides the small forest area in the east, they were surrounded by shorelines.

Shwaaaa! The rough, fierce waves hit the beach without rest. 

“I don’t see a single monster. Where’s the Nameless Dragon?”

“A dragon… I’ve always wanted to fight one.” With their arms crossed, the Shadow Brothers looked confident. 

…Something’s weird. The Nameless Dragon didn’t even have a proper sobriquet. But Seo Jun-ho got a too-familiar feeling. This is the same feeling I get when I enter a 1-star Gate. 

Of course, the Shadow Brothers wouldn’t know. They chattered away as they watched Seo Jun-ho for an opening. 

Wooooooosh!

At that moment, a great shadow covered the island. 

“Huh? What…”

“Is it a cloud?” As they squinted up to the sky, the Shadow Brothers’ necks craned. 

“What… is that?” Above the white clouds, something black and enormous flickered. 

“Is it the Nameless Dragon?”

“Well, we’ve confirmed its location now. But how are we supposed to hunt something that flies above the clouds?” They turned to Seo Jun-ho. He’d been standing between the two of them just a moment ago, but he had disappeared.

“Wh-when did he—?”

“No way! I didn’t even feel his presence…!” A great cry resonated above the two confused brothers. 

– “Guoooohhh!”

It was 15 meters long and covered in black, tumor-like scales. The Nameless Dragon’s fierce, red eyes glared as it finally descended. 

* * *

At the same moment, the darkness in the eastern forest wavered. Seo Jun-ho stepped out and looked down at the panicked Shadow Brothers with cold eyes. 

“Now, show me. Whether you’re working with the fiends… or not.”