The next day.

    The entrance to the Grand Union was packed with reporters.

    It was because of the article about Su-ho that had erupted the day before.

    They had been waiting since morning, hoping to snap a photo of Su-ho on his way to work. However, due to the initial chaos, they couldn''t even see him pass by, despite being so close.

    “Sorry, but I''ll make sure to give you better bait soon.”

    As Su-ho walked toward the elevator, he saw Jeong Cheol-min, who had arrived early at the Gate Division entrance, waiting for him.

    “Here already?”

    “Yes. Did you manage to rest yesterday?”

    “I went home right after reporting and took a rest. I left early today just in case, but it’s quieter than I expected.”

    “Well, there’s no reason for it to be noisy. If there were any issues, they’d come from the higher-ups. You reported yesterday, right?”

    “That’s right.”

    “But it’s still quiet, so...”

    As he said, there was no reason for things related to Su-ho, like the sealed gate raid, to cause any internal noise. External chatter was one thing, but internally, it wasn’t a big deal.

    “It’s not like this is my first time.”

    While there were certainly fans of Su-ho within the association, they were colleagues, so they couldn’t approach him due to the potential trouble it might cause.

    Others might acknowledge Su-ho’s greatness, but it wasn’t something that had a significant impact on them, so they treated it as small gossip.

    Therefore, it was usually reporters or outsiders who buzzed about his actions.

    Su-ho smiled and spoke.

    “By the way, you''re starting your training with the Detection Division today, right?”

    “Ah, yes. I’ll meet with the division head and start the evaluation shortly. But since it’s still early, would you like to grab a coffee?”

    “I’ll go for a morning barley tea. Shall we head to the backyard?”

    “Sounds good.”

    In just one day, Jeong Cheol-min’s attitude toward Su-ho had become friendlier and more relaxed.

    All of this was because they had a secret between them.

    Su-ho was pleased to have grown closer to Jeong Cheol-min and spent some time in the quiet backyard.

    The backyard was peaceful.

    Since it didn’t require passing through the front gate, it was a perfect place to avoid being seen, making it their long-time hideout from previous lives.

    When work hours began, Su-ho and Jeong Cheol-min met with the head of the Detection Division, Ma Du-won.

    “I’m Ma Du-won. It’s an honor to meet the star of the moment.”

    “Haha, thank you.”

    “I’ve heard the story. You went from the Management Division and then raided the Iron Valley, right?”

    “Yes, that’s correct.”

    “It must have been dangerous, but I’m glad you made it out safely. That being said, our evaluation here won’t be as risky. Have you heard about it?”

    “Yes, I’ve heard a brief overview.”

    “Great. Well, then, for this evaluation, let’s have Team Leader Jeong take charge, since we’ve had some magic surges recently, and we’re a bit short-handed.”

    “Understood.”

    This was a fairly common occurrence when working in the same department.

    The work between the Detection and Management Divisions wasn’t vastly different.

    Ma Du-won checked the time and asked,

    “Shall we begin now?”

    “Yes, I think that would be best.”

    “Alright, then. We’ve got about five or six gate spots set aside for evaluation. Choose one from them. All of them are around 90% charged for summoning.”

    “Understood.”

    After finishing their greetings, the two men left the division head’s office. Su-ho smiled and said,

    “This is nice. I’m glad I’m with you again for this.”

    “Same here. By the way, just like with the Management Division’s evaluation, we can choose the gate spot this time too, right?”

    “Oh, are you giving me the choice?”

    “I was going to. We usually prepare a lot of gate candidates for evaluations.”

    Su-ho already knew that.

    But he pretended not to.

    “But with 95%, it’s easy to adjust without anyone noticing.”

    At that moment, Jeong Cheol-min finished his explanation.

    “...So, do you understand everything?”

    “Yes, I understand. Shall we begin right away?”

    “Yes, please use this device to check the area around the gate spot. Then you can check the gate charge yourself.”

    Su-ho had been nodding along, so Jeong Cheol-min didn’t suspect he was thinking about anything else.

    Su-ho had always shown a proper demeanor.

    So, when Jeong Cheol-min handed him the device to check the first evaluation item—essentially, a machine to measure the concentration of magic around the gate—Su-ho accepted it and walked toward the gate spot.

    “I can start right away.”

    The timing was perfect.

    To stimulate the gate, he needed to get close to the spot, and since he needed to check the charge anyway, he could approach naturally.

    Su-ho brought the device to the spot and, at the same time, injected his mana into it, sending it toward the gate.

    Beep—beep—beep—beep—beep-beep-beep-beep-beep!!

    The device began to beep rhythmically as it started measuring the mana, but once it received Su-ho’s mana, the beeping accelerated rapidly.

    It was a natural reaction.

    The device was meant to detect mana, and Su-ho had just intentionally injected his mana into it.

    Maybe because of that?

    As the beeping sped up, everyone nearby stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to Su-ho.

    And just as they were about to tell him to move away from the gate spot...

    [Gate has been generated.]

    Bang!

    The gate was created.

    And at the same time, a flash of light erupted, and Su-ho, standing closest to the gate spot, suddenly disappeared without a trace.

    Click!

    The gate had been created.

    And just as quickly, the gate’s door closed.

    “...Huh?”

    Cold sweat ran down Jeong Cheol-min’s back as he witnessed the spectacle up close.

    ***

    Su-ho’s field of vision changed.

    And as his view, which had briefly disappeared, returned, he saw a brief system notification pop up in front of him.

    [You have entered the gate.]

    This was a notification that normally wouldn’t appear.

    Usually, just before entering a gate, notifications would pop up to inform the user about entering the gate, fetching gate information, and details about the gate being entered.

    However, there were times when this notification would appear, and there was only one reason for that.

    “It only happens when you’re forcibly dragged into a freshly opened gate.”

    In simple terms, it was a phenomenon seen in "kidnapping-type" gates.

    But that was exactly why Su-ho had chosen this one.

    He knew better than anyone that the gate he had chosen was a kidnapping-type gate.

    Su-ho lifted his head and looked up at the towering stone pagoda in front of him.

    “So this is the famous ‘Library of Mu-hak.’”

    The Library of Mu-hak.

    Once designated as a sealed gate, it had been cleared by someone other than Su-ho.

    The hunter who cleared this gate had the title ‘The King of Martial Arts.’

    “King of Martial Arts, Gu Taek-su. Sorry, but this time, I’m going to take the treasure of your sacred place.”

    Gu Taek-su, known as the King of Martial Arts, had earned the title for a reason.

    He was a typical all-arounder dealer, excelling in all physical combat without any genre limitations, and his “sacred place” that had shaped him was the Library of Mu-hak.

    But this time, Su-ho wanted to claim that sacred place for himself.

    There were skills to be learned here that could only be acquired with it.

    Having made his decision, Su-ho began to ascend the towering stone pagoda.