After a ten-minute ride on the hover train, I finally arrived at my destination station.
Stepping out, I walked another five minutes until I reached the Field Division Branch Office of the Magic and Gate Control Bureau in District F.
From the outside, it looked like an ordinary twenty-story office building. What made it stand out, however, was the sheer activity surrounding it. Even this early in the morning, employees were already streaming in and out. But that was the nature of this division—gates were unpredictable by nature.
I entered the building and headed straight for the elevator, pressing the button to go up.
As I waited, a thought nagged at me, 'The team leader won't scold me, right? Even though I didn't finish everything, I did make sure the most urgent tasks were completed.'
When the elevator arrived, I stepped in and pressed the button for the fifth floor. My mind drifted as the elevator ascended. The moment the doors slid open, a thunderous voice shattered my thoughts.
"Raphael! About damn time you showed up, you bastard!"
Instinctively, I turned to step back into the elevator, but it was too late. A massive hand clamped down on my shoulder with such force that it hurt.
"Where are the documents I told you to finish yesterday!? Why are three of them still incomplete!?"
Wincing, I slowly turned around to face the mountain of a man glaring at me—my team leader, Eric Voltsten.
He was a bald, bearded giant in his forties, standing just shy of two meters tall. After his booming voice quieted down for a moment, I tried to explain.
"But, team leader, I finished the ones with the closest deadlines. The only ones left are the ones due in over five days—"
"I don't care! Didn't I tell you to finish all of them!?"
"Sorry, sir, but there just wasn't enou—"
"I said I don't care! Don't just stand there! Get your ass moving and finish everything!"
"Yes, team leader," I muttered half-heartedly, trudging toward my desk.
'Damn old man, you're the one who stopped me in the hall. And besides, this should be your job—why the hell am I the one doing it?' I cursed silently.
As I neared my desk, I caught my senior, Park Younghun, giving me a sympathetic look from across the room.
"Eric's on a rampage again, huh? Don't worry, I've been in your shoes. He only treats you this way because you're the youngest on the team. Once we get a new recruit, you'll be free. Although… who knows when that'll be?" Park said with a faint smile.
I forced a weak grin back at him and sat down at my desk. He was probably right, but honestly, I doubted any sane person would willingly join this cursed team.
Maybe only someone tricked into it—like I had been two years ago. With a heavy sigh, I turned back to my work, drowning myself in both Eric's unfinished assignments and the fresh pile of new ones.
******
After lunch with my teammates, Eric suddenly called us all together.
'Must be an emergency assignment,' I thought.
"Listen up, everyone!" Eric barked. "A category 2 gate opened in Sector 31 about six minutes ago. Because of how sudden it was, proper preparations weren't possible. Thankfully, civilians were evacuated in time, heroes are already fighting the monsters pouring out, and the technical division has been dispatched. Our job, as Team 10 of the Field Division, is the usual—clean-up and damage assessment!"
We listened carefully to his briefing. If Team 10 was being dispatched, it meant the gate had slipped past detection.
"Park! You'll scan the area for stragglers and hidden monsters, understood!?"
"Understood, sir!" replied Park, the lean, black-haired senior.
"Sofie! You'll accompany Park and support him, understood!?"
"Understood," came the quiet response from Sofie, our petite blonde teammate.
"Oscar! You're with me on the front line, understood!?"
"Yes, sir!" Oscar answered with fiery enthusiasm. His flaming red hair seemed to blaze brighter with excitement—he always got fired up at the chance to fight monsters.
"Lurker! You'll take Raphael to the highest vantage point once things settle down, understood!?"
"Okay," replied Lurker flatly, his gloomy tone unchanged.
"And Raphael, you stick with Lurker and do the usual, understood!?"
"Understood, sir," I replied neutrally.
"Good. We don't have much time. Prepare your gear—we move out in five minutes!"
******
Five minutes later, we were inside the division's hover car, racing toward Sector 31. With the sirens blaring, we sped along at full throttle, unhindered by traffic.
Soon, the dark shape of the gate came into view. From a distance, it loomed six meters tall, an ominous black rift still spewing out monsters. A category 2 gate, without a doubt.
At about 300 meters away, Eric suddenly grabbed Oscar and yanked the hover car's side door open. Bracing himself, he crouched to leap.
"Everyone, stick to your roles! I'm going in first! Oscar—Thruster!"
With that, Eric vaulted out of the hover car, hauling Oscar along with one arm. As they soared through the air, a blazing red magic circle flared to life across Eric's back, belching jets of fire. Together, they rocketed toward the gate at incredible speed.
Seconds later, they slammed straight into the horde of monsters pouring from the gate.
BOOOOM!!!