*
The moment I stepped through the Gate following the instructor's instructions, a new world unfolded before me.
The weather was humid like a tropical rainforest, and the air felt so stuffy it was hard to breathe.
The area around the Gate was managed by the Grim Reaper Guild, so there was a barrier that looked like a modern device.
It seemed to be a device to prevent monsters from attacking.
Beyond the transparent barrier, there were huge animals and plants that couldn't be compared to anything I'd seen on Earth.
Seeing monsters that looked like pterodactyls flying in the sky, I could definitely feel that this wasn't a normal dungeon.
"Back in the day, Hunters used to call places like this hunting grounds. Before Gates were managed on a guild level, accidents happened often."
The instructor muttered with a bitter smile, as if recalling the old days.
Back when Gate access wasn't managed separately, it was often used for crime.
People would enter the Gate and wait, then attack other Hunters who came in, or intentionally drag people into the Gate for contract killings.
Before order was established, Villains ran rampant.
Now that the Hunter Association has been established, and S-Rank Hunters and large guilds, which can be said to be Villain suppression devices, have emerged, such things rarely happen.
"Nice to meet you! I'm Kim Jeong-ho, the leader of Team 14 of the Grim Reaper Guild."
A burly, muscular man appeared and started blathering.
He seemed to be speaking in a small voice, but it was clearly audible in my ear, so he seemed to be a fairly high-ranking Hunter.
"As you know, resources are needed for humans to live. Before Gates existed, we used various underground resources, but now resources like magic stones and monster byproducts have become more important."
Most of the equipment used by Hunters is made by processing monster corpses.
Magic stones, which stably supply energy, are a given, and depending on the type of monster, you could obtain various spoils.
Bones that are harder than steel but lighter in weight.
Or leather that can never be torn by normal impact.
The emergence of Gates has increased the availability of useful resources.
Electricity generated through magic stones is more efficient and even more environmentally friendly than electricity generated from fossil fuels.
So each country is increasing the number of magic stone power plants, and the more they do, the more work Hunters have to do.
Some Awakened ones go into the Hero side to help people, but the main job of a Hunter is hunting.
Sometimes, when monsters cross over due to Gate reversals, Hunters step up to help people, but ultimately, a Hunter's job is hunting.
The main job was to hunt monsters that could become resources and sell the spoils obtained.
"The further inside you go, the more dangerous guys live there, so never act separately. Got it!"
"Kim Team Leader, you're working hard. Are these the students from the Daehan Academy?"
While listening to Team Leader Kim Jeong-ho's explanation, Hunters wearing battle suits appeared from behind.
Everyone was wearing clothes with the Grim Reaper Guild's emblem, and they seemed to be a group that specialized in hunting within the Grim Reaper Guild.
Everyone was wearing equipment that suited them.
"Depending on the size of the monster, they sometimes move on this large of a scale. Team 17 here is going to hunt a large mob called Thunder Drake."
__Thunder Drake... Isn't that a dragon that uses electricity?
__How do you catch that...
"Kim Team Leader, we're busy."
"Just help me for a second. So, Thunder Drake is a large mob that mainly uses electricity! So, as you can see, they're wearing insulator equipment and equipment with good electrical resistance."
Preparing equipment to match the monster they were hunting was a basic action that Hunters had to take.
This was common in Gates that existed to hunt specific monsters, like the Gate we entered today.
"We are intelligent humans. It's good to use everything we can. So, we're going to enter inside now! Move according to the instructions!"
__I'm nervous...
__Nothing's going to happen, right?
It wasn't easy to have the experience of entering a Gate of this size. So, many of the students looked nervous.
I heard that the other side of the Gate sometimes looked like another dimension, and I felt like I knew what that meant.
I casually stroked the handle of the sword stuck in its sheath and checked on Min-ji next to me.
Min-ji wasn't wearing the large gauntlets she always wore.
"Min-ji. Did you forget your equipment?"
"What are you talking about... Can't you see what I'm wearing on my waist?"
I did see her wearing square-shaped devices on both sides of her waist, but they didn't look like gauntlets.
The moment I had doubts about that, Min-ji put her hand on the equipment on her waist and poured Mana into it.
Then, with a clatter, it instantly transformed into gauntlets covering both of Min-ji's hands.
It wasn't a flashy transformation like I'd seen in movies, but it looked pretty cool.
"That looks pretty good? It feels like all guys would like it."
"Wh-what are you talking about, you idiot. I just got it this time..."
It seems like someone gave it to her as a gift. Unlike the crude gauntlets she used to use before magic engineering technology was applied, it looked pretty cool with lights on it.
If someone were to give Min-ji a gift, would Min-ah have done it?
"Does it shoot missiles too? Like, does a beam come out of your palm? Can you fly in the sky?"
"Do you think I'm fucking Platinum Man?"
It seems like it just has a simple transformation function. Min-ji sighed deeply and fixed the gauntlets on her waist again.
If it were the old days, she would have snapped back and said something, but Min-ji couldn't even make eye contact with me because I hugged her so hard yesterday that she fainted.
'How cute.'
As the heroines I had registered grew, bonus stats were accumulating little by little.
If I hug the other kids tightly, their growth rate will be even faster.
Finally, the hunting practice began.
*
The Grim Reaper Guild members captured a monster and brought it in front of the students. A monster that looked like a mix of a pterodactyl and a lizard was struggling to untie the rope.
It looked weak because it was tied up like that, but it was a pretty high-ranking monster.
__How do you catch that alone?
__Da-eun is the vice-president. Seo-ah too, so they're on a different level than us.
__But isn't it too dangerous?
"Kkyaeeeek!!!"
"Lee Da-eun, come forward."
"..."
Kang Ju-won glanced at Lee Da-eun, who was gradually becoming a different person as time passed.
She often looked chubby because of her clothes, but these days, she wore clothes or suits that showed off her figure, so her chest was often emphasized like now.
'Was Da-eun like that..'
Kang Ju-won had also spent a long time with Lee Da-eun, but he knew she had big breasts, but he didn't know they were that big.
__Lee Da-eun's tits are fucking huge..
__You idiot, other people will hear you!
Kang Ju-won frowned at the lewd remarks coming from behind and glared back. The students who were in the place where the sound was heard earlier were busy looking around as if they weren't the ones who said it.
Since there are few male students anyway, they'll get caught quickly if they say something like this.
Turning his head, wondering if Lee Da-eun would be upset, he saw Da-eun waving her hand towards Kang Min-ji, not paying attention to those gazes at all.
'Is it Kang Min-ji.. or..'
Is the person she's waving to really Kang Min-ji?
Or could it be Kim Si-woo next to her? He thought for a moment, but pretended not to know.
Just as that thought was growing, it was Lee Da-eun who waved her hand at him and Jeong Soo-ah.
It's probably just because they got close while training together last time.
It must be a delusion that Da-eun's warm, spring-like appearance has looked prettier recently.
Kang Ju-won shook his head and focused on Lee Da-eun's appearance again.
"Focus on hunting, student Lee Da-eun."
The instructor warned Kang Ju-won and Lee Da-eun, who were not focusing with the monster in front of them.
"I'm sorry!"
He felt like Lee Da-eun's attitude had changed recently.
She usually brings her own lunch box, or brings expensive restoratives even if he's only slightly injured.
Every time, he refused and complained that it was burdensome, but when it disappeared, he felt strangely empty.
'Ha.. what are you thinking about..'
He felt pathetic that he was complaining even though she was just doing him a favor.
When he came to his senses, Lee Da-eun was already standing there, having defeated the monster captured by the Grim Reaper Guild member.
Now was the time to fight monsters.
His turn was long over, and other students were taking turns fighting.
Each person went forward and fought, and if it seemed dangerous, the instructors next to them helped out.
__Wow, the vice-president is the vice-president after all..
__If we got hit by that, we'd die, right?
The reaction seemed better than when he went out and hunted.
Da-eun was a better Hunter than him, so it might be a natural result. He was a little jealous, but he thought he would catch up someday.
While he was having such pathetic thoughts, Lee Da-eun was smiling brightly with an innocent expression and making a V sign with her hand.
The direction she was looking at while smiling like that.
'That must be for Kim Si-woo.. no, Min-ji. They've seemed very close lately.'
Kang Ju-won kept noticing Kim Si-woo after losing to him.
It was clear that the gazes of the people around him, which he had previously taken for granted, were now directed towards Kim Si-woo, and it was not a delusion.
"Next is Kim Si-woo."
__Wow Si-woo.. so cool..
__I think Si-woo is better looking than Ju-won.
__I think that's definitely the case recently.
He unknowingly started clenching his fist.
"Hey Kang Ju-won, what are you doing by yourself? Were you tired earlier?"
He felt his body relax as he heard Jeong Soo-ah's voice from behind. It seemed that Jeong Soo-ah had used a buff skill.
"Ah.. it's nothing."
Kang Ju-won turned his head to see Kim Si-woo's fighting appearance.
The Grim Reaper Guild members were bringing monsters according to each student's level.
Of course, they were bringing monsters lower than the student's rank for safety, but there were many variables since they were fighting one-on-one.
The students started to stir when they saw the monster being dragged out as Kim Si-woo's opponent.
__Isn't that too strong of a monster?
__What if Si-woo gets hurt..
'That's.. a stronger monster than the one I faced..?