I Became the Gate Summoner Hunters Obsess Over - Chapter 20

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Ceaseless

◈ I Became the Gate Summoner Hunters Obsess Over ◈

Chapter 20: Set a Goal. Obtained a Magic Wand.

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Iron.

A representative metal element of the Earth's crust, a key resource that forms the foundation of modern civilization, and an indispensable resource for humanity.

As such,

there was one common reaction from people who found an iron vein inside a Gate that had appeared on national land, corporate property, or private land.

"I, Kang Yul, have finally succeeded in finding a mineral worth money. If trade with my exclusive sales route, the Friendly Merchant, starts picking up... has my era finally come...!?"

They would lose their minds on the spot, gushing about how they had won the Gate lottery.

To others, it might look pathetic enough to make them think, What's wrong with that guy...?

But mana steel, made by refining mana-bearing iron, had countless uses. Considering that, such gushing was practically cute.

"Ah... This won't do. I need to cram the information into my head again...!"

With half-crazed eyes, Kang Yul checked the entry on iron in the Hunter Gallery's information archive.

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【Iron】

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A representative metal element of the Earth's crust and a core resource that forms the foundation of modern civilization.

Due to its high strength and excellent workability, it is widely used in various fields, including construction, industry, and weapon manufacturing.

▪ It is also often found inside supernatural phenomena known as Gates. Its value varies greatly depending on the purity of the mana it contains and the quality of the ore.

High-purity mana iron ore in particular is treated as a key material for Hunter equipment and magical engineering devices.

▪ The Hunter Association and private companies refine iron mined from Gates and use it as material for not only weapons, but also armor, portable barrier devices, Gate excavation equipment, mana generators, and other equipment.

▪ Gate-sourced iron is also widely used in ordinary industry.

It is an essential material for the frames of high-rise buildings, bridges, railways, ships, aircraft, and vehicles, as well as mana power facilities and supernatural disaster response facilities. Recently, production of mana steel, which has better durability and corrosion resistance than ordinary iron, has continued to increase.

▪ Iron has also long been considered a substance that repels ghosts and monsters.

Perhaps due to these traditions, it has a certain suppressive effect on some supernatural life-forms and curse-type phenomena. It is widely used as a basic material for barrier equipment, sealing tools, and exorcism equipment.

※ Iron ore with excessively concentrated mana may change properties rapidly or cause unexpected reactions in ordinary refining facilities.

High-purity mana iron ore is recommended to be appraised and refined only at licensed facilities.

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It was an archive entry he had already read several times.

But Kang Yul read and reread it, studying it as though repeating it ten times, before bursting into a mad laugh and speaking to the Worm.

"Heh heh heh... Worm... Have I told you...?"

W-wiggle?

﹝Special Characteristics﹞

: It feels deep affection for you?

"We're rich now! We can buy dirt to eat without worrying about money anymore!"

W-wiggle...

﹝Special Characteristics﹞

: It feels a little afraid of you....

"Ah, my appearance must have scared you. But Worm, money is really important to humans. With this money, we can do anything."

For example,

"Maybe you'll be able to live outside with me someday. With a vein this big, I might be able to buy an entire mountain, not just a house with a yard."

W-wiggle!?!?

﹝Special Characteristics﹞

: It feels deep affection for you!?!?

: It is very surprised that it will have more time to spend with you!?

As if asking whether that was true, the Worm stiffened its body and began trembling.

Such a reaction was only natural.

Considering the things Kang Yul habitually said, the Worm probably couldn't tell whether this was a dream or reality.

"Worm, no matter how curious you are about the outside, you must never leave the Gate."

Wiggle?

﹝Special Characteristics﹞

: It feels deep affection for you?

"The world I live in isn't an environment you'd like. You wouldn't enjoy a bleak urban forest made of concrete either, right?"

Saying that the outside world was not a good place for the Worm to live was honestly just a convenient excuse.

In truth, Kang Yul simply didn't know what changes the Worm might cause if it left the Gate and appeared in the world, so he wanted to eliminate that variable.

According to the Hunter Gallery archive, the Worm might possess the trait of adapting to its surroundings based on its food and mana density. There was no harm in being as careful as possible.

"So even if it feels a little stifling, can you bear with it?"

Wiggle!

﹝Special Characteristics﹞

: It feels deep affection for you!

: It likes its surroundings.

"Thanks, Worm."

Until now, the Worm had never left the Gate.

Whenever Kang Yul went out or left the Gate to sleep, it would see him off with wiggles that somehow looked lonely...

'...This really isn't something a person should do.'

If the Worm had been an ordinary bug incapable of communication, that would have been one thing. But now, it was a companion like family, one with whom Kang Yul had formed a deep bond.

So Kang Yul decided to change his approach.

"Our next goal is to mine lots of iron, sell it, and save enough money to buy an entire mountain."

If he couldn't keep the Worm hidden inside the Gate forever, then he would buy an entire mountain and only let it move around near there.

'I had to check this someday anyway.'

When his life was on the line, the Worm was an all-or-nothing, 0.2-second Domain Expansion tactical nuke.

So he needed to find out how wide its range was, whether Kang Yul himself could be harmed, whether this world could really handle the Worm, and so on.

Even aside from improving the Worm's living conditions, these were matters that needed to be addressed at least once.

"You'll help too, right, Worm?"

Wiggle!

﹝Special Characteristics﹞

: It feels deep affection for you!

: It thinks it will help you with all its heart!

"Good. Now that we've set our goal..."

Clang!

"...Shall we start mining diligently today too?"

Wiggle!

The goal was the dream of owning his own home, meaning a mountain.

Until then, Kang Yul vowed never to stop swinging his pickaxe.

Of course.

Ding!

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[Web Message]

Hello, Hunter Kang Yul. This is the Field Management Team of the Hunter Management Bureau.

We request your cooperation in the subway exploration operation scheduled for next week.

▪ Date and Time: Next Friday, 11:00 p.m.

▪ Assembly Location: Nowon Branch of the Hunter Management Bureau

▪ Duties: Assist the Hunter Management Bureau's Representative Hunter, Team Leader Myo

This operation contains Level 3 classified information.

The detailed schedule and preparations will be announced separately after assembly at the site.

Please reply with whether you can participate.

Thank you.

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Even Kang Yul couldn't simply ignore a summons from an organization he belonged to.

Especially not when it came from an influential figure in an organization connected to the state.

#####

Clang!

A week had passed since Kang Yul discovered the iron vein.

During that time, he had swung his pickaxe without rest to mine iron.

Clang!

Although he had to move more than when using the drill, draining his stamina faster, there was no helping it.

Mana-bearing iron was too hard to mine with something as simple as a drill.

To mine it, he would need to bring mana steel mining equipment into the Gate, assemble it, and install it.

But Kang Yul had neither the money to spend on that nor, even if he bought it, the means to hire workers to assemble it inside the Gate.

As a result,

Clang!

Kang Yul had no choice but to make active use of the perfect pickaxe Kim Chaeryeong had made for him.

There was no problem with its performance.

The perfect pickaxe could break mana-bearing iron.

And he got off to a heartwarming start by feeding the Worm the first historic lump of iron he mined.

But that only lasted for a while.

Clang!

The longer Kang Yul mined, the more he felt that mining mana iron was not easy.

The pickaxe was perfect. But the mining process was not.

Then what exactly was the problem?

Clang!

The answer was Kang Yul, whose body and skills were not perfect.

His body, only slightly better than an ordinary person's as a Mage, had limits when it came to properly using the pickaxe's performance.

And since he had only used drills that could be operated with a single click! until now, he lacked the skill to handle a perfect pickaxe.

At that moment, Kang Yul admitted his limits and muttered that he had hit a wall.

Would Kang Yul give up just like that?

Clang!

The answer was no.

Kang Yul was a dirt-poor orphan raised in an orphanage.

Every moment of his life had been blocked by walls. In fact, it was rarer for him to face a situation without one.

But every time, he had lived by adapting flexibly, either taking a detour or finding a new path.

So this time, too, he needed to show that flexibility...

Clang!

...But Kang Yul decided not to avoid this wall.

The Kang Yul of then and the Kang Yul of now were different.

He had a reliable companion, the Worm, and several means of breaking through the wall.

He also had a goal he wanted to achieve, so he had more than enough motivation.

Clang!

So Kang Yul did not stop swinging his pickaxe.

His pickaxe work was clumsy, lacking in skill, stamina, and everything else, but he steadily gathered the mana iron that broke loose.

Among it, he shaped the mana iron that the Worm judged to be delicious dirt into pretty, suitably sized pieces.

Then he put that carefully selected mana iron into the wooden box and made a wish.

He needed a skill book related to mining, or an ability related to mining, worthy of its value.

After waiting for a moment,

Click!

Inside the opened box were an old book and a blue slip of paper he had never seen before.

Before opening the book, Kang Yul checked the slip first.

It read:

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PAYMENT INSUFFICIENT!

REGULAR CUSTOMER DISCOUNT!

LOW-GRADE MINING SKILL BOOK!

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Kang Yul was startled when he read the note, but soon accepted that he had received a special discount for being a regular customer.

That alone was surprising enough, but what truly surprised him was what happened next.

Thud!

Right after he finished reading the note, Kang Yul turned toward the heavy sound from behind him and found a box.

It was a copper box twice as large as the wooden box, with an unfamiliar gold-colored note beneath it.

Since he had no idea what was happening, Kang Yul naturally examined the note first.

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MEMBERSHIP UPGRADED!

BRONZE RANK!

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At that moment, Kang Yul became certain of one thing.

It seemed the Friendly Merchant had really liked what its regular customer had traded.

The discount and membership upgrade it had given him at once were proof.

Wasn't it an obvious, materialistic attitude that anyone could see was asking him to sell mana iron frequently?

Kang Yul quite liked that attitude from the Friendly Merchant.

From a trader's standpoint, it was better for the other party to be this proactive rather than speak vaguely and lowball the value.

So,

Creeeak!

Kang Yul opened the copper box and filled it with the iron he had steadily collected, the lower-value iron that the Worm had not judged to be delicious dirt.

Then he made another earnest wish.

This time, though, he did not wish for a skill book related to mining or an ability related to mining.

He had already gotten a low-grade mining skill book from the previous trade.

So, considering the mission he would soon have to go on, this time he wished for the optimal means of protecting himself.

If possible, something that worked well with the Worm's dokkaebi club ability.

Then,

Creak!

The hinges of the closed copper box made a sharp sound as it opened by itself.

Inside was a white note and a black bag that appeared to be made of aluminum.

Once again, Kang Yul checked the note first.

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MAGIC WAND!

REGULAR CUSTOMER SAFETY GUARANTEE!

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At that moment, Kang Yul had the somewhat random thought that the Friendly Merchant had become very kind.

Compared to the confusing note he had received at first, this was easy to understand, and it was even concerned for his safety.

In any case, Kang Yul thought that good things were good things and picked up the black bag in the copper box...

"This is... a magic wand...?"

After opening the bag and checking the magic wand, Kang Yul muttered to himself in surprise.

Then he read the manual enclosed with the magic wand and was surprised a second time.

Because it read:

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Semi-Automatic Pistol for Combat Against Supernatural Phenomena

「Hecate H-9」

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■ Product Overview

「Hecate H-9」 is a special-response semi-automatic pistol designed for combat against supernatural entities and anomalous beings.

It uses standard 9 mm ammunition. Through a mana-interference suppression structure applied within the firearm, it can inflict a certain level of physical damage even on targets that exhibit dematerialization, regeneration, possession, or curse reactions.

■ Recommended Targets

ㆍSupernatural life-forms rated D or below

ㆍPossession-type entities

ㆍCurse-infected entities

ㆍSmall evil spirits and anomalous creatures

■ Precautions

※ Do not engage entities rated C or above alone.

※ This firearm is designed for combat against supernatural entities rated D or below.

※ Prolonged exposure to mana-contaminated areas may reduce the performance of the firearm's internal stabilization device.

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One day before his visit to the Hunter Management Bureau.

Kang Yul obtained a Muggle's magic wand.