“…Alright, if you all really are confident in participating in the gate, then I don’t have any right to stop any of you.”
The Section Chief’s face was a mix of worry and satisfaction. Concern for the recruits and pride in their courage.
While he tried his best not to show it, this <B> ranked gate was extremely important for the Guild.
It wasn’t so much because of the investment they made for the First-Clearance pass. But it was more because it was necessary for them to have higher-ranked gates in order to acquire more fragments.
The more fragments they ‘collected’, the higher the chance they’d get promoted to King-Grade.
This was something that the Guild had been aiming for a very long time.
“Since all of you have made up your mind, let’s start talking about the gate.”
The projection changed, and details regarding the gate appeared.
“From the scouts’ initial reports, the Gate appears to be a looping type. This is a rare type of gate, but I’m sure most of you have studied up on it, so I won’t dwell on the details, but among all anomalous Gates, this type of gate is the most difficult.”
Looping gates were to some extent considered the ‘safest’ gates since it was impossible to die. However, they were also considered the most ‘dangerous’ gates since the loop may cause someone to go mad from the repeated and infinite loops that happen.
They were the type of gates most people tended to avoid.
“…We don’t know much about the Gate’s objective, but from what I’ve gathered, it seems to be a kind of chase scenario. Based on the brief clips I’ve studied, the anomaly prowls the empty streets of a small town, hunting you relentlessly. The goal appears to be finding a way to escape the pursuit. However, there also appears to be a dense fog, obstructing the view.”
The projection changed, and several items were listed on the board.
“Taking everything into consideration, these are the items that we deem are the best for you to bring. If you feel like there’s more to add, please feel free to tell me. We’ll make sure to add them. Don’t bother about the expenses.”
Given the importance of the mission, the Section Chief didn’t care at all about the cost of the mission.
He was going all in.
Especially since they were strained for time.
‘…I really hope this goes well.’
“Oh.”
As if recalling something, the Section Chief looked at the others.
“This is also supposed to be a rescue mission.”
***
The next day.
I woke up fairly early in the morning.
Despite the fact that I stayed rather late, I still managed to get a good amount of sleep before heading to the gym and getting changed.
By the time I reached the Guild and stopped in front of room 507, it was nearly 8 a.m.
‘Looks like I’m just about in time.’
I opened the door to see everyone already present. It was a gratifying sight to see as I headed towards my desk and placed my stuff down.
Then, taking out my laptop, I drummed my fingers over the desk.
Today was supposed to be a rest day, and there wasn’t much planned. Looking at my team, I could see that most of them were bored and trying to think of a way to spend time. Given that we couldn’t explore any gates, this was only normal.
But…
“You guys look bored.”
Who said that they didn’t have to do anything?
“Eh…? Well, kind of?”
“A little.”
“No, I’m fine.”
There was a mixed reaction in the room, mainly from Nora, who was chewing on her gum while holding one of her earbuds. She had a face that seemed to say, ‘Leave me alone. I want to listen to my music.’
Well, too bad.
I took out a thumb drive.
“Since all of you are bored, it’s about time that you guys get another shot at the game that you previously played. I’m sure all of you have been dying to play the gam… ke.”
I almost slipped up for a moment.
But it couldn’t be helped. Staring at the slowly changing faces of the team before me, it was extremely hard for me to laugh.
Just thinking about what was to come while they played my game..
“Kek…”
“O-oh god.”
Mia’s voice trembled as she looked at me.
With a visible gulp, she looked towards the others.
“I’m not the only one seeing this, right? His face…!”
Mia tried to stand up, but I stood up before she could as I tossed the thumb stick in Joanna’s direction.
“Load up the game. You all are going to spend the next couple of hours training your teamwork. I’ll be watching all of your progress from here.”
Groans filled the room shortly after.
I could even hear the clattering of Mia’s teeth as she stared at the thumb stick in horror.
She begged and pleaded with me, but I ignored her plight. Based on the previous event, this was going to be a good thing for all of them. It would not only improve their teamwork, but it could also build up the experience that they lacked.
I originally planned on supervising the entire situation, but right as they all loaded up the game, my eyes paused on a small gap in one of the drawers of my desk.
Curious, I reached out for the drawer and pulled it open.
‘This is…?’
It looked like an hourglass.
I reached for it and pulled it out for a closer look. Both the top and bottom were crafted from wood, their surfaces polished to a crisp, smooth finish. Inside was a layer of black sand, and as I tilted the hourglass slightly, the sand moved towards the other side.
‘How peculiar.’
This was the first time I had seen the hourglass.
It was certainly not present before.
In that regard, I felt a little creeped out. This couldn’t be, right…?
“Hm?”
Feeling something, I reached into my pocket and retrieved a small compass. It was currently spinning like crazy.
What sort of—
Before I even had enough time to react, the spinning stopped.
The arrow pointed at the compass.
Ding!
Not even a second after the thought entered my mind, a notification appeared before me.
[Congratulations! You’ve obtained a Gate Key!]
[Gate Key] – A special key that grants you entry into a Gate. Once the hourglass runs out, you will be instantly transported inside. The difficulty of the gate will adjust to the user present.
This…
I didn’t even know how to react. I was extremely caught off guard by this sudden situation.
It wasn’t like I didn’t know what a Gate Key was. In fact, I had one myself. I just didn’t expect the system to suddenly provide me with one.
This made no sense at all.
..And why now, of all times? So randomly at that?
This… didn’t feel like some sort of coincidence.
Especially when my eyes fell on the compass. The fact that it stopped there meant this hourglass contained something I needed.
‘No, I doubt this is some sort of coincidence. It is never a coincidence with this weird system.’
Could this quest be related to the strange cult again?
…Or was it related to the conductor?
If there was one thing I’d learned about the system so far, it was that every mission was interconnected in some way. It was either about the cult, the conductor, or my past. Each quest had a meaning to it.
It was just unfortunate that there wasn’t much information regarding the gate that I was about to enter.
‘…Or maybe there is?’
I looked at the hourglass.
Could that be a clue?
I pursed my lips while staring at it.
As I did, a new notification appeared.
[Do you wish to turn the Hourglass?]
▶ [Yes] ▷ [No]
The answer was a no-brainer to me.
If this really connected with one of my other quests, then…
[Yes]
This was the only answer.
Tak!
The Hourglass flipped.