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Chapter 579: The Black Zone (11)

—Huh…? Sword Mountain?

Kejen made a bewildered face.

He had clearly said weapons weren’t allowed, but now this guy was talking about Sword Mountain.

He couldn’t tell whether it was a joke or serious.

—…Are you serious?

“No, why? Sword Mountain falls from the sky. It’s not like I’m holding a weapon in my hand.”

—It’s still a “weapon,” isn’t it? They’ll probably judge that as breaking the rules.

At Kejen’s comment, Yeongwoo tilted his head.

“There’s a judgment? What, do they immediately disqualify you if you break the rules?”

—This is the Black Zone. There are hordes of bastards who ignore the rules completely and charge in with weapons.

Then Kejen added:

—But the Gatekeeper is also a member of the Black Zone.

“…?”

—Meaning, he won’t be surprised if someone breaks the rules. Actually, even if you bring a weapon, you won’t get kicked out.

“What.”

—But the moment you do, the Gatekeeper opens up more of his strength. So it’ll be a bad move for you. …Well, unless your goal is just the general admission ticket.

“Hold on, what are you saying? So you’re telling me that even if a challenger brings a weapon, the Gatekeeper still wins?”

—Yes. And with his bare hands.

Kejen added that the Gatekeeper never breaks the rule of fighting barehanded.

“No, how does that make sense? Doesn’t that make the Gatekeeper the strongest being in the universe?”

—Who knows? There must be someone who can beat him, otherwise the Tier-1 admission ticket wouldn’t exist.

“……”

Yeongwoo was at a loss for words.

—It’s faster to go and experience it yourself. And don’t forget—our goal is at least a Tier-5 ticket.

Kejen gave Yeongwoo’s lower back a light slap, as if saying “Good luck.”

Then quiet the whole time, Jeonggu approached and spoke cautiously.

“Um… about Sword Mountain.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t use it.”

“…Sorry?”

Yeongwoo cocked his head in confusion, and Jeonggu spoke again with a surprisingly serious face.

“It lacks guts.”

“…What.”

Guts.

One of the two values respected in the Black Zone.

“Even if you win—if you use Sword Mountain, they won’t truly acknowledge you.”

Meaning his admission ticket tier would be lower than what he actually deserved.

“But… strength is a respected value in this world, isn’t it?”

“That’s when you defeat your opponent barehanded according to the rules. That’s what true strength is.”

“Hmm.”

As expected of someone older—he had a point.

But that wasn’t the main thing Jeonggu wanted to say.

“And… it’s uncool.”

“…What?”

“You said the Gatekeeper fights barehanded no matter what, even if the opponent comes at him with a sword.”

“That’s what I heard.”

“Yet you’re thinking of using Sword Mountain against someone like that…? Are you even human…?”

“What? Are you using this chance to insult me?!”

Yeongwoo scowled violently, and Jeonggu hurriedly backed away.

“I’m saying the situation makes it look that way! Sometimes show some dignity as the head of a family!”

“I’m not sure you’re the one who should say that, Dad.”

Still, Yeongwoo had to admit Jeonggu wasn’t wrong.

If nothing else, it was spineless.

‘Think simple. What would the Chairman do in this situation?’

Using Sword Mountain in a fistfight where weapons were forbidden?

He couldn’t imagine the Chairman ever doing something like that.

‘Sword Mountain is the wrong answer.’

And above all—

“……”

A red recording light was blinking at his bedside.

A camera was recording everything.

They were far from the Earthship now, so he didn’t know if it was being streamed live, but either way, the footage was being recorded.

Swoosh.

Yeongwoo reached out as if to turn off the camera… but changed his mind.

“The Gatekeeper’s ready by now, right?”

—He’s always ready.

Saying this, Kejen pointed toward the Black Zone’s outer wall—the Black Cliff.

Swoosh.

More precisely, he pointed at the massive entrance carved into the cliff.

A white silhouette stood there, stark against the pitch-black surroundings.

“That’s the Gatekeeper? He’s pure white?”

—It’s a symbol of strength. The Gatekeeper is always white.

“Because he doesn’t bleed?”

—Right. There’s even a joke that the more you stain the Gatekeeper’s white body with blood, the higher your admission ticket tier.

“Jesus… And you said tons of people come swinging swords at him…?”

Yeongwoo swallowed heavily.

Right on cue—

BOOOOM!

The same tremor he’d heard earlier at the lakeside shook the air.

It was the Gatekeeper kicking the ground in place.

—He’s calling for you.

“I know, you bastard.”

His nerves on edge, Yeongwoo snapped back automatically.

“Hoo…”

He took a long, deep breath and stepped toward the Black Cliff where the Gatekeeper awaited.

Fwoosh.

Kejen and Jeonggu exchanged a glance, then followed after him.

—At last, I’ll get to watch you get beaten to a pulp.

Kejen said with eager anticipation, and Yeongwoo shot him a glance.

“It’s your first time seeing him fight too, right? You never know.”

—I admire the confidence, but the difference between your combat experience and the Gatekeeper’s is like the number of stars in the universe.

“That much is true.”

He couldn’t deny it.

The Gatekeeper must have fought countless villains over ages.

He must have tried every kind of fight imaginable, so it was only natural he could respond to almost anything.

Including cases where a Sword Mountain suddenly rained down from above.

‘…Yeah. Straightforward approach. Show guts.’

Yeongwoo clenched his fist.

Crack.

Thankfully, he had the prisoner martial art Bottom of Rom—practically a hand-to-hand style.

It should be advantageous in a fistfight.

Step, step.

Huuup…

Even so, the tension wouldn’t leave.

With each step forward, the Black Cliff behind the Gatekeeper loomed larger.

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Like a towering mountain.

He had to crane his neck sharply just to see the top.

Eventually, when the cliff filled his view completely and even the sky disappeared—

Step.

The Gatekeeper—who stood alone guarding the cliff’s entrance—came fully into view.

‘Holy shit, he looks unbelievably strong.’

Contrary to Yeongwoo’s expectations, the Gatekeeper wasn’t covered in thick scales.

He was heavily muscular, but his skin looked closer to human.

His height—around 5 meters.

One head, two arms, two legs.

A familiar silhouette.

But unlike a human, his skin was nearly perfect white.

The whites of his eyes were pitch black, and a single white pupil floated in the center.

Two eyes, human-like face, no hair.

But the strangest feature—

‘What the…? This doesn’t look like an Artari at all.’

Tentacles.

Two long tendrils beneath the nose, hanging left and right like whiskers.

Yet he didn’t look like an Artari—the head was far too humanoid.

And that impossibly white, smooth skin didn’t resemble either species.

Step.

Yeongwoo took another step, and Kejen stopped walking.

—We stop here.

“What?”

Yeongwoo turned back, and Kejen pointed at the ground.

—From here on is the duel arena.

There was a faint groove running far into the distance.

Now that he noticed, a huge circle—about 100 meters radius—was drawn around the Gatekeeper.

Yeongwoo had already stepped inside it.

“What, so the fight stays within this?”

—As far as I know, the Gatekeeper doesn’t attack anyone outside the circle. Even if they’re the chosen challenger.

Meaning: stepping out = surrender.

Kejen added,

—If you surrender mid-fight, you can still get the general ticket.

“Don’t be ridiculous. And pay that 15% fee?”

Besides, he had no intention of showing cowardice after coming all this way.

“Today’s the day the Gatekeeper steps outside the circle for the first time.”

Yeongwoo rolled his neck and stepped fully inside.

Kejen and Jeonggu retreated a step.

And at that exact moment—

—……

The Gatekeeper turned his head and looked at Yeongwoo.

“Ugh.”

Yeongwoo instinctively took a fighting stance, but the Gatekeeper didn’t move.

He simply stared, as if waiting for Yeongwoo to come closer.

He didn’t even throw the challenge token.

“What’s with this guy? Is he just pretending to be all profound?”

Yeongwoo took another step, and behind him Jeonggu asked Kejen.

“Why… isn’t the fight starting?”

—There’s another circle closer to the Gatekeeper. Once he enters that, the Gatekeeper will throw the token.

“Ah…”

—And the moment he catches that token—

Kejen paused, twitching his whiskers.

Jeonggu, nervous, urged him on.

“When he catches it—w-what happens then?”

He had told Yeongwoo to fight with guts, but he was still terrified that his son was about to fight a pan-universal pugilist.

At last, Kejen continued.

—The moment he catches it, the Gatekeeper launches a kick faster than light.

“What?”

—Most challengers get blasted out of the arena immediately. That’s how they end up with the general ticket.

The Gatekeeper’s “welcome kick,” designed to force a mortal into surrender.

Jeonggu’s mouth fell wide open.

“No, then we need to warn Yeongwoo right away—!”

As he tried to shout, Kejen lightly jabbed him in the stomach.

—It’s not an attack he can avoid just by knowing about it.

“But… the other challengers must’ve known beforehand! So Yeongwoo should know too!”

Kejen frowned and shook his head.

—Facing the unknown willingly is also guts. This is your head-of-household’s first trial. Don’t insult him.

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