CHAPTER 87: A MISSION: GATE BATTLE!

Chapter 86

Beep, Beep, Beep!

"Ah come on!" Max shouted as he dipped his hand into his pocket to pull out his hunter comm device.

Jake also pulled out his, and the screen was flashing red with an urgent glow.

"A mission huh? I wonder where the rest of the team are," he muttered as he stared at the details displayed across the device.

Knock, Knock, Knock!

A heavy knock echoed on their door, making Jake groan as he dragged himself off the bed with a lazy expression on his face.

"The door is open," Max muttered in annoyance, his eyes still glued to his screen. The door creaked open, revealing Jasmine, Lana, and lastly Jim, all walking in with tense looks written on their faces.

The previous day, after deciding to form a team with one another, they had gone straight to the higher-ups to register. Now they were officially recognized as a squad.

Whenever the association needed hunters, they would simply send missions directly to the registered squads, and every member would receive the call simultaneously.

This time, the flashing message was for Jake’s team.

"A gate raid huh," Jake muttered, narrowing his eyes as the details of the mission sank in.

"Let’s go. I mean, what are we waiting for?" Lana asked sharply, crossing her arms with a frown.

"Right." Jake clicked his tongue, reached for his hunter shirt, and slipped it on.

"Then let’s not waste any more time," Jasmine added, already adjusting her gear. The group filed out of the room and headed straight to where the gate was reported to be.

---

Within minutes, they were rapidly approaching something ominous in the distance.

The gate had manifested at the outskirts of a tier three town. Thanks to the association’s teleporters, which were set up in nearly every corner of the country, hunters could travel to missions almost instantly. What might have taken hours of travel had been reduced to mere moments.

Now, they stood at the edge of the town, right before a swirling anomaly that dominated the landscape. A pure blue portal twisted and churned as though it were alive, its ominous light bending the air around it, inviting and threatening at the same time.

"Quick one, what’s a gate?" Max asked in confusion as his eyes lingered on the vortex.

"Well, a gate is basically a portal that teleports hunters into another world to battle beasts," Jim explained quickly, his voice trembling with a hint of nervousness. "Once the boss inside is dead, hunters have ten minutes to escape. If the time runs out, the gate closes completely, sealing whoever is left inside forever."

Max nodded slowly, trying to mask the chill that crawled down his spine.

’Nice! According to the mission info, we’ll be fighting Advanced-tier beasts and then a King-tier boss. Sounds simple enough. Easy XP for me to rack up.’ Max chuckled inwardly, rubbing his hands together as his greedy gaze flickered over the swirling blue light.

’I need me a new sword,’ Jasmine thought with a quiet sigh. She looked down at the weapon in her grip, its blade carrying a long crack down the center. ’It got damaged on the last mission, and I’m not sure it’ll even survive this one.’

"Uhm... what exactly are we waiting for?" Lana asked, raising a brow impatiently as she turned toward Jake.

"That’s right, let’s head in." Jake didn’t hesitate further. He stepped toward the vortex, and one by one the others followed. Jasmine slipped in right behind him, Jim after her, Max grinning as he walked through, and finally Lana took the rear.

The portal warped, humming and turning violently as it swallowed the hunters whole.

---

SWOOSH!

WOOSH!

THUD!

The group stumbled as they emerged from the portal, landing at the edge of a vast, unfamiliar forest.

The air was heavy, damp, and carried the faint tang of something metallic, like blood mixed with rain. Towering trees rose high above them, far taller than anything they had ever seen in their world.

The trunks were thick and gnarled, some glowing faintly with strange markings that pulsed as if alive. Shadows darted between the foliage, hinting that the forest was anything but empty.

The hunters exchanged silent looks, their stern faces betraying both focus and unease.

A small opening appeared to lead deeper into the forest, and surprisingly, the whole surrounding was eerily silent as the group stared ahead.

They glanced behind them and saw the portal still swirling wide open, the light rippling across the air as though mocking them. It didn’t look like it would close anytime soon, but that only made the silence around them feel heavier.

Not only were the trees towering, but their trunks were also unnaturally wide. The thickness of their frames kept the hunters from peering too deep into the forest, making it impossible to see the trouble waiting ahead. The shadows stretched unnaturally, almost alive, and the faint rustle of leaves felt like whispers in the air.

"I’ll take the aerial view. Let’s go," Lana muttered. Within seconds, her pair of wings burst forth from her back with a wet crack, her legs twisting into razor-sharp talons that tore cleanly through her footwear.

Then with a thunderous bang, she shot off into the air like a missile, wings slicing through the silence as she ascended higher, scanning the terrain for any sign of movement.

"Let’s move," Jake ordered, his expression hard as he sprinted toward the forest without hesitation.

"Stay close to us so you don’t die here," Max said while staring directly at Jim, his tone blunt. Then he sprang forward as well, his sword gleaming faintly in hand, Jasmine right beside him with her cracked blade raised.

’He cares,’ Jim thought with a goofy grin spreading across his face, stars practically dancing in his eyes. The boy’s heart thumped with excitement as he happily skipped forward, following close behind the others.

In a matter of seconds, the group stood before the narrow entrance. They exchanged a quick look before pushing through without delay.

The forestry passage opened into a much wider section of the forest, the air thick and damp but with enough space for them to maneuver. The dirt beneath their boots was soft, the ground littered with broken twigs and paw prints of beasts that had long passed.

They advanced cautiously, keeping a steady formation. Lana flew ahead in the distance, eyes scanning sharply from above, yet she saw no sign of beasts.

Another entrance—perhaps an exit loomed faintly at the end of the straight path, its faint glow tugging them forward. The group picked up their pace, boots pounding against the earth, weapons at the ready.

Lana also increased her speed, wings beating furiously as she closed in on the opening. But just as she approached, something happened.

SWOOSH!

SWOOSH!

SWOOSH!

Multiple arrows suddenly cut through the air, whistling past her with deadly speed. Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second before instinct took over.

She spun rapidly midair, her body twisting like a spiraling missile, narrowly avoiding the barrage. The shafts zipped past her feathers, some grazing her wings, others clattering against the trees with sharp thuds.

Hearing the deadly whistling sounds, Max immediately unsheathed his sword with a metallic hiss. His grin sharpened as they dashed through the entrance, and there before them, the scene opened wide.

A vast expanse stretched ahead, dominated by a massive cave in the background. It loomed like a mountain’s mouth, yawning open in hunger, dark as the abyss itself. And right in front of this cave, a swarm of creatures stirred.

Their wiry green frames hunched and twitching, bodies low like vultures ready to pounce. The beasts stood just under five feet tall, their limbs grotesquely long and disproportionate, yet corded with wiry muscle that trembled with violent energy.

Their sickly moss-green skin was leathery, covered in boils and scars. Some of the sores leaked faint trails of foul-smelling pus, filling the air with a stench that burned the nostrils.

Pairs of glowing yellow eyes darted erratically from side to side—feral, cunning, and bloodthirsty. Their jagged teeth gleamed wetly, too sharp and too many, jutting awkwardly from their jaws like ivory daggers.

Several clutched crude bows in their knotty hands, already drawing more arrows toward Lana, while others brandished rusted weapons—half blade, half sharpened bone.

The makeshift weapons bore dried, crusted stains of old blood, proof of countless killings. Their torsos were strapped with cracked patchwork harnesses of leather and rope, bound together with jagged bits of metal scavenged from God knows where.

Max’s eyes widened for a moment, then lit up with recognition. A grin curled across his lips.

’Goblins huh? Kek! This will be fun.’

"Attack!" Jake roared, his voice booming across the clearing as he sprinted toward the hundred goblins spread before them. His blade gleamed as his aura surged, and the forest floor shook under his charge.

The battle had begun.