WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Ceaseless
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◈ I Became the Gate Summoner Hunters Obsess Over ◈
Chapter 28: [Cheering Station] ➞ [Ssangmun Station]
──────
❗This chapter contains an illustration that may or may not be scary.❗
Looking at the thought-form the Worm had sent, the Air Worm, Kang Yul thought.
The Gate he had summoned clearly was not ordinary, so he could never let anyone around him know about it.
And even if he achieved his dream of getting his own home, a mountain, he needed to reconsider letting the Worm out into the world.
After all.
As he stared at the distant Worm, an incomprehensible scene suddenly surfaced in Kang Yul's mind.
[The death of the world and the devourer of the world has arrived.]
[The world is consumed by ■■■ and returns to its primordial form.]
[Bad Ending - The First One]
...He did not know why.
But if the Worm's main body were to leave the Gate for any reason, that scene came vividly to mind.
A first-person view of sitting in front of an old black-and-white television he had never seen in his life, watching the ending credits roll.
Kang Yul did not know why such a scene had surfaced in his mind.
But something about it was chilling enough that he could not simply ignore it, and the possibility that it might really happen took root in a corner of his mind.
So.
'I'm sorry, Worm, but I can't ever let you leave the Gate...'
Kang Yul decided to withdraw his previous promise that they would live together on a mountain.
The moment he made that decision, his chest stung as if pricked by a needle, and he strongly felt as though he had committed some unforgivable act of filial impiety(?).
But he could not do something so absurd as destroy the world just because his conscience hurt.
'First, I need to survive...'
Of course, that did not mean he would irresponsibly say, "That's the end of it!"
If he did that, Kang Yul himself might end up swallowed by the enormous mouth of the Worm in the distance. He intended to look for another way.
'Chaeryeong might know a way.'
She was a dokkaebi's disciple, after all.
There might be some wondrous mystic artifact that could solve this situation, like the dokkaebi club Kang Yul possessed.
No, more precisely, there had to be one.
Because if there was not, Kang Yul might die.
Anyway.
After reaching that conclusion, he silently watched the Air Worm for a while.
"Rookie...?"
"Hunter Kang Yul..."
At the plaintive voices beside him, he turned his head and met the eyes of the two team leaders, whose gazes held all sorts of emotions.
"Ah. Right."
Only then did Kang Yul realize that he had left the two team leaders behind while getting lost in his own world and letting his imagination run wild.
Afterward, he had to explain the situation to the two team leaders as they looked at him with eyes that plainly said, This is your doing, right? Right? It is, isn't it? Say it is already!
But only briefly.
"Um, well. That Worm is... Ah, my friend. We happened to meet in another Gate, and we became friends."
Even when he tried to explain it, Kang Yul did not know much about the Worm himself.
And bringing up the Gate was out of the question.
In the end, the best Kang Yul could do was vaguely say, "Anyway, we're friends."
"Friends...?"
"With something that huge...?"
Naturally, Kang Yul's answer earned him skeptical looks from the two team leaders that asked, With that? Friends? Why?
But then came this.
"It isn't usually like that... Well, anyway, that's how it is. Right, Worm?"
■■...!
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: I f■el d■ep a■■ection f■r y■u...!
Rrrrumble────!
Clatter, clatter-!
Clatter, clatter-!
" I, I believe you! I believe you, so don't talk to that thing, rookie-!!!"
"I believe you! Please cease all further communication!"
...Thanks to the two team leaders immediately surrendering at even the Worm's smallest gesture, the matter somehow passed without issue.
'What the hell, just how huge is it?'
The vibrations he felt then had been unexpected even for Kang Yul.
The ground shook and the train swayed from a single movement. He had known it was big, but it was so enormous that his sense of distance had been completely ruined, leaving him unable to judge its true size.
The Worm in the distance seemed to be far larger than Kang Yul had thought.
"So it won't attack us, right...? Because it's your friend, rookie?"
"Of course not. It might look like that, but it's a gentle friend with lots of affection. So it probably... won't attack?"
"Rookie... You shouldn't have said that like a question...."
"...From now on, we will leave the station as quietly as possible."
"Ah, yes."
Anyway.
They had just decided enough was enough and started moving toward the platform to finally escape this tiresome Gate.
Sliiide... Clunk-!
Then they heard the door behind Kang Yul, leading to the next car, open.
The two team leaders reflexively stared in that direction.
Thud-!
Kang Yul also sensed someone's presence and tried to turn around to see what was happening.
But at that moment.
A female announcement sounded in his head.
Ding-dong-
[Attention, passengers.]
[Our train has safely arrived at 'Cheering Station.']
[We sincerely thank all passengers for your cooperation despite this sudden service change.]
[As previously announced, passengers inconvenienced by the service change will receive a 'small compensation.']
The next moment.
When Kang Yul turned around to check behind him, he encountered a supernatural life-form in the form of a woman wearing slightly different clothes from the male Train Attendant he had seen before.
Swish-
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: She considers you a 'VVIP guest.'
: She politely greets the VVIP guest.
: She has come to give you compensation.
Ding-!
[You have discovered the Commuter Express Train (Train Driver).]
[Exploration Rate increases.]
[Some information about the Gate has been revealed.]
──────────────────
[Gate Compendium] - [Commuter Express Train]
──────────────────
■ Train Driver
ㆍThe being that directly operates the [Commuter Express Train].
ㆍIt always remains in the engine room and never reveals itself.
ㆍIt considers transporting passengers to their designated destinations its highest priority.
ㆍIt strictly follows operating rules and timetables, and does not alter its operating plan without a 'special reason.'
ㆍThe Train Attendants inside the train act according to the Train Driver's orders.
ㆍIt personally collects some of the items acquired during operations.
※ A 'guest' who enters the engine room without permission is immediately processed as lost property.
※ Here, a 'special reason' means that a 'VVIP guest' is aboard.
──────────────────
The Train Driver of the [Commuter Express Train] had come looking for Kang Yul's group.
And she had come personally to give them compensation.
######
After Kang Yul roughly understood the situation through his skill and explained it to the two team leaders.
"A conductor who drives the train herself wouldn't normally be something to take lightly... They really will do anything to survive."
"It appears they are being particularly formal because of who they are facing."
"True...."
...The two team leaders silently turned their heads toward the door.
After glancing once at the huge something watching them from far away, they sent Kang Yul a wordless look that said, Then let's get our compensation and leave already.
"Then I'll accept it."
As Kang Yul, who had somehow become the group's representative, stepped forward and told the Train Driver, "We'll accept the compensation."
A female announcement sounded in his head once more.
Ding-dong-
[Attention, passengers, regarding the distribution of compensation.]
[Passengers who cooperated with the service change may choose and receive one of the following three compensations after disembarking.]
[First, lost property whose ownership has lapsed because no owner has appeared for over six months.]
[Second, an item related to the 'Commuter Express Train.']
[Third, an item personally owned by the Train Driver.]
[Each passenger may select only one compensation. Once a compensation has been selected, it will be removed from the distribution list and cannot be selected by another passenger.]
[Please keep this in mind and choose carefully.]
[Thank you.]
After the announcement ended.
Kang Yul and the two team leaders gathered together and began discussing the compensation.
Or rather, they were about to.
"The first pick should go to the rookie, right?"
"I agree."
The two team leaders gave up their own priority picks.
Their reason was absurd.
"I get to pick first?"
"Of course. We haven't really done anything in this Gate, but you found high-quality information that would normally take dozens of people to obtain. Then you should get the first pick."
"I share the same opinion. If the rule did not limit each passenger to one reward, I would have handed over this right as well."
They were saying they had done nothing.
So they would give the first choice to Kang Yul, who had proven himself capable.
And upon hearing this, Kang Yul...
"...No, but you two are the team leaders."
Honestly, this situation felt extremely burdensome.
What the two team leaders said was reasonable, and Kang Yul understood their reasoning.
But that was not the only reason behind their words.
After all, Kang Yul had clearly seen it.
Glance-
While the two team leaders explained their reasons to Kang Yul, they had been speaking while watching the guardian's, the Worm's, reaction.
And the guardian, the Worm, had been nodding in midair and silently pressuring the two team leaders.
So in the end.
"Then, even though I feel bad about it... I'll choose the third one."
Kang Yul thought it would not be fair if the guardian, the Worm, had influenced their opinion even a little.
But looking at it another way, it meant this was a choice he could not resist no matter what he did, so he decided to quietly accept it.
"Rookie. Any reason you chose the third option?"
"Ah, I thought anything the Train Driver personally owns would be good."
"Good judgment."
"A reasonable choice."
After that.
"Hey, cat. There might be a corpse in the first option. Is it okay if I pick that one?"
"I'm more drawn to the second option, so I will choose that."
Team Leader Oh chose the first option, and Team Leader Myo chose the second, finishing their selections.
At that time.
"Team Leader Oh. Is there a reason you specifically want to get a corpse?"
Kang Yul wondered why Team Leader Oh would deliberately choose a corpse, so he asked her.
"Ah, you don't know, rookie? My class is [Corpse Mage]. I didn't get to show you this time since I couldn't contribute much, but when we go to a physical-type Gate later, I'll show you properly."
At that completely unexpected answer, Kang Yul was about to decline and say there was no need to do that.
But after Team Leader Oh's next words, Kang Yul decided they should set a day sometime.
"No, there's no need for you to show me...."
"Ah, by the way, I've got a sexy jiangshi dressed in a qipao. She's really popular with male Hunters. Her clothes flutter around in battle and you get little glimpses, you know."
"...There isn't any need, but if you put it that way, I'll definitely come see it sometime."
"Rookie, you bastard... You are a man after all?"
"Ahem."
Anyway.
"We'll escape the Gate now."
They had all chosen their compensation, so they set foot toward Cheering Station to finally leave the Gate.
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap-!
"Stay strong!"
"You can do it!"
"Just hang in there a little longer!"
As they walked through the cheering squad while receiving their cheers.
Kang Yul confidently headed toward the exit of [Cheering Station], filled with the certainty that if he just kept walking down this path, he could finally get to work, and that he could accomplish anything.
And the moment they stepped through an ordinary ticket gate that could have been found anywhere.
[Ssangmun Station]
They found themselves standing before the ticket gates of [Ssangmun Station], the destination they had set for their commute before entering the Gate.
Then.
'A cheering stick...?'
One of Kang Yul's hands held a yellow cheering stick that seemed related to [Cheering Station].
'A shell...?'
In his other hand, he held a strangely shaped blue shell the size of his palm, apparently given to him by the [Train Driver].
As Kang Yul looked at it curiously, wondering, I get the cheering stick, more or less, but what is this shell for...?
Ding-!
[You have discovered the Commuter Express Train (Blue Nautilus Shell).]
[Exploration Rate increases.]
[Some information about the Gate has been revealed.]
──────────────────
[Gate Compendium] - [Commuter Express Train]
──────────────────
■ Blue Nautilus Shell
ㆍThe shell of a supernatural life-form inhabiting [Blue Ocean], the terminus of the [Commuter Express Train].
ㆍIt can store any liquid inside, regardless of type.
ㆍStored liquids do not spoil and can be taken out and used whenever desired.
ㆍIt is one of the items personally owned by the Train Driver.
※ There is a low chance of receiving it as a gift if the Train Driver takes a liking to you.
──────────────────
Perhaps because he had just left the Gate, or perhaps because the space beyond the ticket gate he had exited through was still connected to the Gate.
Information announcing that he had discovered something new appeared before his eyes, just like it had inside the Gate.
"Oh...."
Kang Yul softly exclaimed and muttered, "It can store any liquid? Isn't this really good?"
But then.
Bzzzz-!
"?"
His smartphone, which he had put in his pocket, seemed to have finally caught a signal and began vibrating as if telling him to check his missed messages.
Kang Yul checked it, thinking, Is it Chaeryeong again?
But surprisingly, it was not vibrating because of a text message.
[❗Hunter Gallery Notification❗ 'Friendly Merchant' has sent you a private message.]
His phone had vibrated because the Hunter Gallery app notified him that he had received a private message.
A reply had arrived from Friendly Merchant regarding the "correct conditions for awakening the roots" that Kang Yul had sent before leaving for the Gate.
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