CH 115

The forest inside Brunheart’s gate was filled with dead trees, and a robed creature could be seen hugging its knees under one such tree. 

The oversized robe made it impossible to see its expression. However, its glum silence, how it hugged its knees so tightly, and its downcast head suggested how disappointed it must have been.

Step.

Just then, another creature walked up to this disappointed robed figure. The newcomer was a tall man with yellow eyes. His shoulder-length blond hair looked memorable but not as noticeable as the white wings on his back. 

The man patted the robed creature’s shoulder and consoled him, “Don’t be so upset. This was the grandmaster’s decision, so you must accept it.” 

The robed figure’s hood fell when it looked up at the man. Wearing the robe was a creature made of bones as thin as the tree branches around it.

It was Hart.

“...” Hart didn’t say a word and only looked up at Hamiel quietly. 

Hamiel continued, “At least you became the assistant manager. You must be grateful for that.” 

Hamiel’s voice was warm and genuine as he comforted Hart.

***

“Sir! Please take good care of this gate,” Gi-Gyu asked respectfully. 

“Of course, I will. I have always been interested in architecture and construction, so I’ve studied these fields extensively. I can’t believe I only just found out that you can run a gate like this.” When Old Man Hwang replied confidently, Gi-Gyu nodded.

Meanwhile, many eyes looked at them in disappointment and displeasure. 

“...”

“...” 

However, none dared to voice their dissatisfaction because Old Man Hwang, the Ego, belonged directly to Gi-Gyu, and they could see he respected the blacksmith greatly. The angels and the durahan were too weak and loyal to voice their displeasure openly.

“Hmm, I will take good care of you all, so do not worry.” When Old Man Hwang reassured them, the unhappy creatures nodded grudgingly. 

The griffin king suddenly walked up to Old Man Hwang and affectionately rubbed its head on him. “Kirrrk, kirrrk.” 

Watching the scene, Kamael murmured, “I guess this griffin is smarter than I thought.” 

The durahan, standing next to the angel, commented, “It is sucking up to the new manager… That bird interests me.” 

The griffin king must have heard the durahan’s comment because it shrieked in fear. If the durahan wished, Hart could turn the griffin king into an undead. 

Watching everyone with a faint smile, Gi-Gyu announced, “Haha. I’m just glad everything worked out.” 

Earlier, when Gi-Gyu was mulling over the assistant manager position, Old Man Hwang volunteered himself. Gi-Gyu didn’t think long before deciding since it was a good idea. Instead of appointing Old Man Hwang as the new assistant manager, Gi-Gyu demoted Hart to the assistant manager position and made him the new manager of the gate. Hart was enjoying the selection process only a moment ago; suddenly, he found himself in an unexpectedly unfortunate position.

Gi-Gyu reassured Hart that “Old Man Hwang would move in and out of the gate often,” so taking care of the day-to-day activities would still be his duty. However, Hart disagreed, ‘I don’t think that will happen.’ Old Man Hwang’s eyes sparkled as he showed great interest in his new position. 

After making the big decision, Gi-Gyu announced, “Now, I will combine the Ego fragment.”

“Go ahead,” Old Man Hwang replied with a nod. The gate was finally stable, so it was time to improve it. Thanks to syncing with an exceptional gate, Brunheart’s gate was much bigger with an additional species. He now had much more diverse armed forces, including airborne monsters. Gi-Gyu had to fuse an Ego fragment into the gate to utilize everything more effectively. 

‘I can use even more of the gate’s abilities after the fusion. I was told it would mean a god-like control over the gate where I can even control the placement of the resources,’ Gi-Gyu thought in excitement. Fusing a single fragment would give him way more gains than feeding it a mountain of crystals. 

In simple words, Ego fragments were like the software that could change the gate’s fundamentals, while crystals were like the fuel that maintained and leveled up the gate. Of course, being the “god” of the gate didn’t mean Gi-Gyu could do anything inside. The ex-gate manager, Hart, knew much about the gate system. The resource placement naturally changed depending on the manager and the assistant manager selected. 

“Now, I will begin the combination,” Gi-Gyu declared. Excluding the ten Ego fragments needed for El’s evolution, the rest slowly began to join the gate.

“Ohhh… How amazing,” Old Man Hwang exclaimed in awe.

“I knew it… Grandmaster is so powerful…” Kamael whispered while the durahan agreed. “Yes… We must never doubt the grandmaster’s abilities…”   

Golden lights shone down from the sky and began to change the gate. 

And…

“It’s so pretty.”

“Indeed. It’s stunning.”

Hamiel and Hart, still in the forest hugging their knees, looked up at the sky and admired it quietly. 

***

“Many new mines have been formed,” Old Man Hwang stated. 

Gi-Gyu, Old Man Hwang, and Hart watched a giant map that lay in front of them. It was the map of the gate only the managerial levels could see. Originally, the gate had a five-kilometer diameter; now, it was a little over seven kilometers. It was a pretty decent-sized gate.  

Also, the gate now had two types of terrain: The sky islands that floated high in the sky populated by the griffins, and the land underneath populated by dead trees and skeletons. 

Another significant change was the three new mines that formed inside the dead forest. These mines produced crystals and other rare materials. 

“This is excellent.” Old Man Hwang laughed happily. Some changes probably occurred because a blacksmith was assigned as the new gate manager. 

Old Man Hwang thumped his chest and declared, “Just leave the mines to me! If I use the skeletons and the griffins effectively, it will work out perfectly.”

“I trust you completely, Sir,” Gi-Gyu replied with a wide smile.  

In the middle of the land, the pyramid was still being constructed. Looking at the map more closely, Old Man Hwang murmured, “By the way, I really don’t like the structure of this pyramid… It looks like you just copied and pasted the actual pyramid's outer shape.” 

“Do you have another idea, Sir?” 

“Hmm…” Old Man Hwang thought for a moment before clapping excitedly. “Yes, I do! Let’s keep the pyramid shape, but we’ll make it so enormous that it touches the sky islands!” 

“Pardon?” When Gi-Gyu asked in shock and confusion, the blacksmith explained, “Of course, it will be a difficult process, and it’ll take a long time, but we have the undead, don’t we?! They have never-ending stamina after all! Until now, you built the pyramid without a specific plan, right? Or, did you by chance learn how to build a pyramid?”

Gi-Gyu shook his head and answered, “No. I just had them build it brick by brick like how you would make an igloo—”

“My goodness! That’s why it is still incomplete. Don’t worry. I’ll do my best to get this done right,” Old Man Hwang reassured him.

Gi-Gyu suspected Rogers Han would suffer even more, but this wasn’t his problem.  

‘Oh, that reminds me, I better meet Rogers soon,’ Gi-Gyu reminded himself. He decided it would be good to talk to Rogers now that he had taken care of the pressing issues.

Old Man Hwang pointed at the map and continued, “And here, we’ll build a prison. And over there, we should build a hunting ground.” 

The blacksmith pointed at a remote region in the west and one of the sky islands. Both areas were quite far from the mines. 

Gi-Gyu asked, “A prison and a hunting ground?” 

“Didn’t you know?” Old Man Hwang seemed surprised that Gi-Gyu didn’t understand the need for a prison and a hunting ground. “Your gate has limitless potential. Do you see Rogers over there?” 

When Old Man Hwang zoomed into an area on the map, it showed Rogers carrying rocks with the skeletons. He was so haggard now that he looked no different from the bony skeleton soldiers. 

Old Man Hwang continued, “Punishing the prisoners is a good idea, but you can’t do the same with all the players.”

“Do you mean I should imprison other players in this gate too?” When Gi-Gyu asked, Old Man Hwang nodded. “That’s right. Think about all the players you will end up fighting… Do you plan on killing all of them? Isn’t placing them here to either reform them or work them to the bones a better idea? You could leave Rogers here without much restraint only because Nine stole his stats, but it will be different with the other players.” 

Old Man Hwang pointed at one of the sky islands and zoomed in to enlarge it. “It won’t be an easy job to control the powerful players. Therefore, you must create an ironclad system.”

Gi-Gyu nodded and answered, “I see.”

Old Man Hwang’s words made sense to Gi-Gyu, and they reminded him of Gehenna, a jail that imprisoned the worst player criminals. 

‘Perhaps Gehenna was also—’

Before Gi-Gyu could continue wondering, Old Man Hwang went to the next topic. 

“As for the hunting ground”—Old Man Hwang enlarged the map’s west area—“Inside the gate, your monsters regenerate and maintain a constant number. This costs you crystals, but it’s something that is managed well at this point.” 

“That’s right, Sir.” 

“Then wouldn’t it be a good idea to provide a hunting ground for your acquaintances? And you can get paid in crystals in return,” Old Man Hwang suggested.

“That’s actually…” 

Gi-Gyu had also thought of this before, so he accepted this suggestion and the many others Old Man Hwang made. 

“Hng…” Hart, who was standing behind them, suddenly groaned in defeat. It seemed that he realized what a superior manager Old Man Hwang was.

***

Next on the agenda was learning about all the species and army branches available inside the gate. Even before the Ego fragments’ fusion, the skeleton soldiers were divided into two categories: the archers and the mages. With the addition of the Ego fragments, there were changes even among the griffins. 

“Everyone, line up in a single row!” When Gi-Gyu ordered, Kamael and the durahan took charge to line up all the monsters. 

Rattle.

“Kirrrk!”

The rattling of the skeletons and the cries of the griffins filled the air. Within a few minutes, all the monsters stood in an organized manner. 

“Hmm…” Gi-Gyu sifted through them. Pointing at the skeletons without any weapons, he announced, “You guys will be the workers!” 

Rattle.

The durahan gestured the designated skeletons to a different area. Next, Gi-Gyu named the ones holding rusty swords and shields, “You will make up the infantry!” 

Rattle.

The skeletons holding bone canes were designated mages, while those with bows and arrows became archers. 

Next was the last species that joined the undead army. Suddenly, the durahan asked in his deep voice, “Grandmaster. May I manage this group?” 

To Gi-Gyu’s surprise, the last creatures were headless durahan knights. He guessed the gate had several thousand skeleton soldiers, but there were only five durahans, excluding the original one. 

Gi-Gyu answered, “Sure. You can manage them. But these are durahans like you, so… Calling you ‘durahan’ now feels strange.” 

There was a considerable difference in appearance between the original durahan and the new arrivals: The new ones held their heads in their hands, but the original durahan now resembled a human. It was finally time to name the original durahan to avoid confusion.

Gi-Gyu declared, “Hmm… All right. Your name shall be Hal.”

“Hal,” Hal murmured his new name before kneeling on one knee. 

Thud!

The other five durahans did the same, trying to show their respect to Gi-Gyu. 

Hal roared, “I am Hal! Grandmaster, I will forever be your faithful servant!” 

Strangely, Hal’s voice sounded much more clear than a moment ago. The red of his eyes also became redder. Suddenly, Lou murmured,

-A demon?

[Demon: You have successfully synced with the death knight Hal.]

[A knight’s order has been created.]

And like that, Gi-Gyu found a new possibility.