Vampire Ruins Gate (2)

Gate.

A naturally occurring portal connected to another dimension.

For adventurers, it was a reliable means of making money, and if lucky, a place of opportunity where one could aim for a windfall by obtaining the supreme treasure.

'But.'

As always, where there is light, there must also be shadow.

A gate was not just a place of opportunity and romance.

'Despair and death coexist there, too.'

There was the risk of betrayal by other adventurers, getting stranded after falling behind, hunger, pain, conflict, and so on...

Only an adventurer who overcame all those dangers could earn the gate's sweet spoils.

'If we could just stampede in with numbers, it would be much safer...'

If the state could take the lead in gathering high-level experts to clear a gate, there would be far fewer casualties, and the spoils would also be secured more reliably, but unfortunately, that was impossible.

A gate was a rift created by the collision of dimensions.

By nature, it was extremely unstable.

Thus, even a small stimulus of magic power could trigger a significant backlash.

A strong fighter with powerful magic power would cause a fierce backlash just by approaching the gate.

Of course, there were a few gates where even high-level masters could enter, but those cases were rare.

Most gates were so unstable and sensitive that even experts of just barely the expert level could barely get in.

'Moreover.'

The restriction on entering a gate wasn't determined solely by magic power level.

'There's also a limit on the number of people who can enter.'

If too many people try to enter at once, the gate overloads.

A gate is a portal connected to another dimension.

It's a warp path linking distances unimaginable for humans.

With that, the magic output generated by each person entering is astronomical.

That enormous mana output, occurring within an already unstable gate, inevitably leads to overload.

'And if the person passing through the gate possesses strong magic power, the overload happens even faster.'

For this reason, the party had to reduce the number of powerful experts in the raiding group.

That's why, in this gate raiding party of 18 people, most were weak porters.

If the whole raid team comprised only high-rank experts, the gate would have overloaded so fast that not even five people could have entered.

Of course, with four or five high-rank experts, clearing the gate itself would be no problem, but with no porters, many of the spoils would have to be left behind, making the raid much less worthwhile.

'If you increase the ratio of experts, the success rate goes up, but the rewards decrease. On the other hand, if you increase the ratio of porters, the risk rises, but you can bring out much more loot.'

In that sense, Ian was quite cost-effective.

His official rank was high-intermediate-stage Expert, but his pure combat power was almost enough to be compared to master level.

There was probably no one on the continent as cost-effective for raiding this gate as Ian.

In fact, the overwhelming number of porters in this raid was thanks to Ian's presence.

As soon as the guildmaster in charge of organizing the raid heard of Ian's extraordinary abilities, he trusted Ian and significantly increased the share of porters.

'With so many porters, we'll be able to scrape up everything, even from the very bottom.'

Sometimes, during a thorough sweep, one might discover an unexpected treasure.

Would such luck follow this raid?

"All right, raiding party members! Enter the gate now! Enter!"

At the moment Ian was quietly nurturing his sense of anticipation, the gate entry began at last.

"Y-young master! W-we'll be able to return safely, right?"

Sophia nervously wetted her dry lips and trembled all over.

"Don't be too nervous, Sophia. As long as you don't stray too far from me, you'll be fine."

"Don't worry about that! Even if you don't like it, I'll stick to you like a cicada!"

"Good. And you remember what I said earlier, right?"

—Whisper.

Sophia pressed her hand to her mouth and spoke in a whisper.

"You mean, to be careful of those five who were glaring at us just now, right?"

"Right. Once we're in the gate, whether quickly or slowly, they'll definitely try to start something. Don't ever respond. I'll handle it. Got it?"

"... Well. I trust you one hundred percent, young master. But at least tell me what you're planning."

"It depends on the circumstances, but at first, I might need to let them hit me a bit."

"Huh? L-let them hit you?"

"Yeah. That way, I can beat them up in self-defense. You'll be fine. Since I'm the guy, they'll target me first. No matter what, don't get involved, even if I start getting hit. I'm letting it happen on purpose."

"U-umm... Is there really no other way? Do you really have to take the hits yourself...?"

"This is the simplest and easiest method. Those guys' punches are as soft as down. Remember—if you interfere, things will get much more complicated."

"... Um. Since you really emphasize it, okay. I got it. But since I might not know if you're just acting or really getting beaten, let's set up a help signal."

"I doubt I'd ever really be in trouble. But if something truly dangerous happens, I'll shout for help."

"O-okay. Make sure to shout! And if you can't, then at least send me a desperate look!"

"Sure, sure. But there's really nothing to worry about. That won't happen."

As they chatted, it soon became Ian and Sophia's turn to enter.

"Ian Greysel from Hisperion! Sophia Marygold! Please enter!"

—Woooong!

Passing through the gate felt... how to describe it.

At first, it was as if pushing through a thick cobweb.

Then, your body suddenly got sucked in, and your view changed in an instant.

"Wow."

The sunny forest vanished, replaced by a massive underground cavern.

"It's so dark..."

The ceiling loomed so high it was dizzying, and the raid party's torches were the only source of light.

"My... Young master, look at that."

At the far end of the cavern stood a gigantic stone gate, reminiscent of a temple entrance.

That was the entry to this raid's stage: the Vampire Ruins.

'Ha... This brings back memories.'

The scent of this ruin.

Shouldering Vladiark, Ian savored the nostalgia of his previous life.

Memories of countless gates and dungeons he had conquered flashed through his mind.

It was fun.

The time spent with Yuria and his comrades.

Time to forge trust and friendship.

"Hey! You two there!"

Then, a shout rang out from nearby.

Turning his head toward the sound, Ian saw a villainous face striding toward him and Sophia.

One of the five thugs who had been glaring at them before entering the gate.

It was Johnson, a former knight and an adventurer of low expert rank.

"U-uhm... Young master! He's coming already! It's right as soon as we got in!"

Sophia looked at Ian with a tense face.

"Sophia. Don't ever step in. Even if I get hit. Got it?"

"Y-yep!"

Sophia stammered.

Ian nodded slightly as if to reassure her.

"You two brats!"

Johnson strode up and looked down at Ian and Sophia, arms crossed, as if to intimidate them.

"Did you come as porters or as swordsmen!?"

Ian answered shortly.

"Swordsman."

"Swordsman? Then don't dawdle at the back—hurry up to the front!"

Johnson suddenly grabbed Ian by the collar with his rough hand.

Ready to yank him forward and throw him publically.

'It's easier to cow these little punks with strength from the start!'

Picking a fight like this and placing psychological pressure on the kids would make it much easier to control them throughout the raid.

Once tamed, he could use them as he wished, then, when the timing was right, get rid of them—dispose of the bodies, and pocket that expensive sword.

However,

'Uh, huh!?'

"......"

Johnson's plan unraveled right from the start.

The boy.

He looked so small and skinny, so weak that Johnson thought a little force would send him flying.

But contrary to expectations, Ian didn't budge an inch, like a deeply rooted tree.

'Ugh...!'

No matter how much force he used, only Johnson's arms strained—only he moved.

'Wha-what is this!?'

Even after subtly drawing out some aura, it was the same.

'How strong is this brat!?'

All Johnson could do was stretch out Ian's collar a bit.

'What the hell is going on!?'

Ian didn't move a single centimeter.

'Ugh...! Is this kid wearing some artifact? Damn it! It's too dark to see!'

He'd grabbed the collar to intimidate him, but ended up only embarrassing himself.

Maybe the darkness helped a bit,

since it hid his face, flushed red with embarrassment.

"Tch! I'm sparing you because you're just a kid! Get up to the front already!"

Johnson roughly released Ian's clothes and turned away, doing his best to hide his humiliation.

"Hey, you punk-ass lowlife. Where do you think you're going?"

But Ian had no intention of letting Johnson go.

"Come back here. Now."

Even before entering the gate, Johnson had been staring at Sophia with greedy eyes, and now he was picking a fight as soon as they arrived.

This confirmed that the guy was a bandit at heart, hostile to him.

Now all Ian needed was a valid justification to beat up this bandit.

If he let this situation escalate a little, he might obtain a perfect justification.

There was no way he'd simply let it go.

"P-punk-ass lowlife? Are you talking to me?"

Johnson's temper flared at the insult.

Veins bulged on his forehead as he glared at Ian.

Ian pointed at his own collar as soon as their eyes met.

"This is a new shirt. Now it's all stretched out because of you."

"Huh?"

Johnson stomped over and thrust his face close to Ian's,

close enough to feel each other's breath.

Johnson frowned fiercely.

"So what?"

"Apologize, and compensate me."

"... What?"

"Are your ears blocked? Apologize and pay up."

"Huh?"

"Uh, E-excuse me! Sirs of the party!"

Then, a chubby middle-aged man hurriedly squeezed in between Ian and Johnson.

He was the head porter for this raid.

"P-please calm down, sirs! W-we haven't even started the raid yet, but you're already...!"

He pleaded desperately with both men, but Johnson had no intention of letting things end there.

'This little punk dares provoke me?'

In fact, he was glad.

If the other party so actively provoked a fight, then Johnson had a solid excuse to use his fists.

Johnson roughly pushed the porter boss aside.

"Don't get in my way! Get lost!"

"A-agh!"

The man fell, landing in the dirt.

—Whisper, whisper.

With Johnson yelling and the porter boss crying out, attention was locked on them.

"What's up? Is there a fight right at the start?"

"Looks like it."

"What? Already? Who... Ah, of course, it's Johnson again."

"Ah, Johnson? Man... It's amazing, his temper gets worse every day."

"But the opponent's just a kid? What's the problem this time?"

"How should I know. He picks a fight where there isn't even one."

"Shit, this stinks. We haven't even started the raid and already trouble."

"Yeah. Bad start. Will we make it out of this? It's ominous."

"Don't jinx us. Haaa. Next time, if Johnson's on the team, I'm not signing up as a porter."

"Damn. Will you all shut up!? You all want to die!?"

Johnson glared at the whispering porters.

"Get a grip. This is the inside of a gate. If I drop the ball, you're all dead in here."

The entrance of a gate is always one-way.

You can't leave through the entry portal you came through.

Like how a human can't swim upstream against a mighty current.

Once you enter a gate, there's only one way out:

Find the gate's core and open the exit portal.

In other words, the porters' lives were in the hands of the raid party's main attackers.

"......"

All the porters quieted at that reality, so still it was like death itself had fallen.

But on the contrary, Ian smiled.

'This bastard... His reputation is garbage.'

He had deliberately escalated things to teach Johnson a lesson, but it was working out in his favor.

If someone was known to have a bad reputation, beating them up wouldn't cause much trouble.

—Crunch!

"Hey you little shit."

Johnson twisted Ian's collar again.

"What did you just say?"

"This shirt. It's worth 80 gold."

Eighty gold—enough for an ordinary citizen to save for three months.

"Apologize and pay 80 gold."

"Hah. Wow~ look at you. You can't hide you grew up pampered in a greenhouse."

Johnson rolled up his sleeves.

"Fine. You've always gotten special treatment, so you don't know how to behave in a place like this, huh? As your elder, let me teach you a lesson. In a place like this, kid..."

—Boom!

"If you act like that, you get your ass beat!"

Johnson threw a punch at Ian while grabbing his collar.

—Wham!

His fist landed firmly on Ian's face.

"Kuh!"

Ian's legs, which hadn't budged earlier, swayed for the first time.

"Y-young master!!"

Sophia gasped, covering her mouth with both hands.

"Heh!"

Johnson, encouraged by his successful hit, smirked.

He immediately followed up with a flurry of attacks.

—Wham! Thud! Whack!

Jab, jab, push, straight punch, middle kick.

As Ian bent over clutching his stomach, Johnson grabbed his hair and drove in knee attacks—knee, knee, knee.

—Wham! Thud! Whack!

It was an unrelenting display of violence, too brutal for a grown man to unleash upon a boy.

"Shouldn't someone stop this?"

"How do we stop an expert..."

"Johnson's snapped again."

"He's going to kill the kid at this rate!"

"That boy could die before this even starts. Ugh... What a mess."

The porters muttered in distress, unable to do anything but watch.

—Snap!

"Hm?"

At that moment, Ian grabbed Johnson's wrist.

"... Now anything I do will look like self-defense."

It was the moment Ian was free to beat Johnson to a pulp with justification.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

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