Chapter 115 – Status Check (2)
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…” action
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.
