CHAPTER 45: TIER 2 GATE

Lanz was nearing the site, which was honestly a relief because running all the way from the east district would have been a nightmare, but thankfully this wasn’t one of those "cross half the city and dodge suspicious old men feeding pigeons" situations.

The trees thinned as he went, and he could hear the faint humm of the gate’s perimeter warning system in the distance, which only made him pick up the pace.

Of course, if you’re imagining this as some intense, cinematic moment, please don’t.

He wasn’t heroically sprinting with hair blowing perfectly in the wind or anything like that.

His hair was a mess, his shirt was sticking in places it shouldn’t, and he had that look people get when they’ve been running for just a bit too long but refuse to stop because they’re stubborn.

And before you ask, yes, he could have taken a bike. Or a bus. Or, you know, not gone at all.

But then you wouldn’t have a story to read, and I’d be out of a job, so here we are. You’re welcome. If you feel bad about enjoying this at his expense, don’t. He’s fictional. You can’t hurt his feelings... probably.

Anyways, he arrived in front of the gate, the structure standing as a rough-cut stone archway with etched glyphs that pulsed with a bright blue glow every five seconds, each flare steady and deliberate as if it were keeping track of something only it can understand.

The clearing around it was quiet, a little too quiet.

Suddenly, the system chimed.

[USER SPOTTED: PENDING CONFIRMATION]

The text appeared in the air just a few steps ahead of him, crisp and cold in its delivery, and before he could think about what it meant, his relic buzzed in his pocket.

He fished it out quickly, and the display lit up with another prompt, this time in a sharper tone that made his jaw tense just a little.

[TIER 2 GATE — CONFIRMED]

[ENTER? Y/N]

He stared at it for a moment, because even though the choice was obvious, there was something about seeing it spelled out so cleanly that made the reality of it feel a lot heavier than it probably should have.

"So this is what a Tier 2 Gate looks like, huh? Kinda looks the same as the Tier 1’s though," Lanz muttered, his eyes tracing the glowing glyphs like he was trying to spot some big difference that the system probably thought was obvious.

He tilted his head slightly, as if maybe a different angle would suddenly make it more impressive. "Thank god this sh*t is only Tier 2," he added, letting the grin stick around just long enough for it to feel cocky rather than nervous.

He didn’t actually know what would happen if it wasn’t "only" Tier 2, but he was pretty sure it would involve a lot more screaming and a lot less standing around.

Still, the fact that he was here at all probably meant he was either lucky, stupid, or in the middle of making the kind of decision that future-him was going to complain about endlessly. Probably the middle and the latter to be honest.

He clicked YES, and the moment his finger confirmed the selection, the gate erupted with a surge of raw energy that slammed outward in a violent wave, forcing his stance to shift as if the air itself had suddenly decided to shove him back.

The glyphs shifted from their calm light blue glow to an aggressive red, pulsing in rapid, deliberate bursts that seemed to sync with the deep rumble beneath his feet.

The ground trembled harder with each pulse, dirt loosening and scattering around the base of the arch, until the vibrations peaked in a sudden, sharp jolt, then stopped entirely, leaving only a faint, fading hum in the air.

"What the f*ck was that?!" he snapped, whipping his head in every possible direction, scanning the tree line, the road, the sky — expecting something to jump out at him, wishing it wouldn’t.

But the only reply was the lazy rhythm of birds chirping somewhere in the distance, mixed with the occasional blare of car horns drifting in from far beyond the clearing, probably just some traffic jam he wasn’t part of. Thank god.

"Wait, qas that a f*cking warning for belittling Tier 2 Gates?!" he hissed, narrowing his eyes at the archway as if it was personally offended.

"Probably was," he muttered, not entirely convinced that wasn’t the case.

The gate looked different now, the swirling portal inside no longer the usual blue shimmer but glowing with a faint red light, steady and unblinking, as if it had finally decided to put on something more dramatic.

"Oh, now THAT looks different. I kinda like the red glow," he said, giving it the kind of approval that sounded more like sarcasm than genuine praise.

He approached at a slow, deliberate pace, keeping his eyes fixed on the glow as if daring it to pull another stunt.

"Well, here goes nothing," he said under his breath, stepping forward with just enough fake confidence to convince himself he wasn’t hesitating.

But the moment he was a single step away from crossing the threshold, he froze in place.

"I almost forgot to wear my Zero Drip 2.0," he announced, smacking the bottom half of his palm to his forehead in a goofy ass display of realization.

With that, he adjusted his stance, pretending this was all part of the plan, even though no one was there to see it — and somehow, that made it even funnier.

His bag materialized the moment he pulled it out of his inventory, the faint shimmer fading as it hit the ground with a soft thud.

He crouched, unzipped it, and pulled out what he proudly called his "drip," though anyone with a functioning sense of style might have called it peak attire, but that’s too much glaze.

He took his time with it too, moving like this was some sort of sacred ritual instead of a pointless wardrobe change in front of a dangerous f*cking gate.

First, the boxers. Yes, we’re being deadass.

And before you ask why we’re still here watching this — ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between — please give our dumbass here some privacy.

It’s obviously not because he’s shy, f*ck no. It’s because this sh*ts about to get unnecessarily explicit for absolutely no reason other than his own ego. 😏

He adjusted the waistband like he was fine-tuning some precision equipment, muttering under his breath about "perfect fit" and "battle-ready comfort," which was a sentence no one needed to hear.

Then came the rest of the outfit, layered with the same amount of overconfidence, until he finally stood up straight, clearly convinced that this little fashion intermission had somehow made him invincible.

After wearing the drip for the very first time, he froze for a second, letting the sight of himself sink in.

"Am—Am I... a f*cking Power Ranger?" he muttered.

Well, he did look cool, not going to lie.

The matte helmet gave off a sharp, unyielding vibe, its deep purple visor hiding his expression completely while still managing to feel intimidating.

The black clothes fit seamlessly with the gloves, boots, and every other part of the suit, giving him an appearance so uniform it almost felt like the name "Zero" had been reserved for him and him alone.

Standing there, motionless, with the gate’s red glow reflecting off his armor, he didn’t look like someone about to step into trouble, he looked like the trouble itself... the glaze is crazy.

Once he finally stopped glazing himself like this was a photoshoot, Lanz moved toward the gate again, each step steady and deliberate.

"Well, here goes nothing... again," he said, his voice carrying a mix of sarcasm and focus.

The helmet visor was locked down now, sealing away any trace of hesitation, and in the faint reflection on the stone frame, there was no face looking back, just the black-clad figure he had decided to be.

Without pausing this time, he crossed the threshold.

It was quiet, but it wasn’t quiet in a comfortable way, it was the kind of silence that made the world feel like it had changed.

A faint pulse of heat ran through his suit, and then the glow of the portal behind him faded from view.

...

Once everything went quiet, a system panel suddenly appeared:

[The User has entered the gate]

[Difficulty: Increased]

End of Chapter 45.

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ALT SYSTEM — USER PROFILE: ZERO

Level: 13

EXP: 64 / 130

Next Reward: +10 Stat Points to a chosen stat

Global System Tracking: DISABLED

World Rank Association: UNLINKED

Stats:

STR: 10 | AGI: 10 (Affinity) | VIT: 5 | DEX: 5 | INT: 11 | WIS: 5

[Available Stat Points: 0]

[Derived Stat — MANA: 55 / 55]

Skills:

[Crimson Slash Lv. 1]

[Phantom Stride Lv. 2]

[Instinctive Blade Lv.1]

[Predictive Guard Lv.1]

[Skill Fusion Menu: Active]

[Dev Tree: Tier 0 Access Granted]

[Developer Node – Fusion Core Anchor: Active]

[Skill Slot Available — Unassigned]

Equipment:

Aged Blade Fragment (??? Rarity) (Bound)

Training Ring (+1 VIT)

Bag :)