You Didn’t Tell Me the Start of My Transmigration Was a Gate - Chapter 10

The Start of Her Return (10)

Lee Chan-Song and Kim Tae-Byeong joined in. I hid the jackknife under my clothes and asked, “Were you looking for me?”

“Yes, we were!”

Kim Tae-Byeong had made a huge fuss. What happened?

“I had a notification pop up out of the blue. It said that my stats increased, my defence and endurance both increased by one point. Can that actually happen?”

Defense and endurance together? That was a pretty good gain. Would we be repaid with such gains if we fought the monsters while we risked our lives?

“Yes. There are times when your stats increase based on your damage contribution after killing the monster and direction of development.”

“But don’t stats only increase based on normal items? Or rely on things like mana ores, enhancement ores and things like that…”

“Though there’s a low possibility and you’ve got to risk your life for it, there are times when it’ll increase during battle.”

Of course, it was a method seldom used since it only increased stats by one or two points, plus you would have to risk your life for it. However, there was also a reason why the hunters, who survived this gate where they hovered between life and death, were not as capable. Though they partly relied on mana ores and items, the increase in stats during battle would have just been average.

“But I’ve never heard of that before. That method…”

“Of course, since the average human would die terribly if they followed it.”

It would be more accurate to say that this fact was hidden intentionally. After the national accredited hunter’s aptitude test was implemented, there were lesser people rushing towards the gates claiming to become a hunter. If it was made known that stats could be increased while in the gates, many more would jump in.

“So… How did you know about this, then?” Kim Byeong-Tae asked, as his voice trembled, as if he had touched a taboo. Lee Chan-Song and Song Da-Jung, who were beside him, looked at me too with anticipation in their eyes. Though I couldn’t guess what they were thinking, I was not a hunter that was trying to hide my read identity nor was I an aspiring hunter. Neither am I the only daughter of a senior management official.

“I said it before, I am just extremely interested in gates.”

“You seem to be extremely familiar with gates to be saying that.” Lee Chan-Song clung onto my words.

“You knew the Earth General’s weakness, and even can use your unique skill freely, though I’m not sure what it is exactly. You know the monsters inside out… and you act surprisingly calm for an average human.”

I definitely sounded suspicious when he listed things out like that.

“Just what is your real identity?”

“Is it that important?”

They would not believe if I said that I was just an ordinary student. I could only go all out and shift the attention of this topic away.

“Isn’t staying alive right now the most important thing?”

“That’s true… But it’s uncomfortable to be following someone whom we don’t know the identity of.”

“If you have any qualms about it, feel free to move on your own.”

Lee Chan-Song’s face changed and grumbled as I showed my resolve once more. Fortunately he could afford to screw around like that thanks to his relatively good looks.

“No, I didn’t mean it that way~”

“Hey, stop spouting nonsense and start helping us to set up tents, will you?” A sharp voice intervened in our conversation. Seol Min-Joon approached us as he fixed his round glasses.

“I just returned from scouting the area, helped to wash the dishes and even set up the tents after, and you guys are following around here?”

“Ah, right. Sorry, sorry. I didn’t know.”

“Sorry! I’ll help out now.”

The group dispersed in an instant. I picked up my dinner tray and stood up as well. I stole a quick glance at Seol Min-Joon who was still fixing his glasses as he walked past me. It didn’t show on his face, but why had he helped me? I didn’t bother to strike up a conversation with him since he quietly helped set up the tents.

***

We could not travel long distances in a day since we were being careful en route. Countless monsters crossed our paths, and we had barely managed to survive those encounters. The monsters moved fast, probably due to the Foot General’s dead body.

We arrived at the bridge soon enough since it wasn’t too far from the mart in the first place.

“Uh…”

“Was the color of the water originally like that…?”

Anyone could see that the river was definitely abnormal. On the way here, we could see that the area underwent desertification. The natural environment constantly changed within the gate. This meant that not only the asphalt road, even the river underwent changes.