Gates: Volume 1

Chapter 3

"Click..." went the sound of Eunjung's apartment door when she arrived home. She was dead tired, yet knew she would regret not washing or changing clothes. So, she decided to hop in and take a piping hot shower. Once in she let the hot water run down her back and activate all her nerves. Now that she had awakened, every part of her body was acutely aware of everything. Every nerve, every muscle, every fiber of her being was more aware and active than ever before. Yet, even with this, Eunjung found herself zoning out, recalling what happened right after being saved.

Ambulances and police flooded the scene as soon as they exited the dungeon. As soon as Eunjung and the others were seen they were rushed off to the paramedics, Lee being taken on a stretcher to the hospital. Eunjung, on the other hand, was let off easy in comparison. She had gotten through the dungeon with only scrapes and bruises. It made the black haired girl honestly guilty, her coming out of the whole event as undamaged as she was. Every time she thought of it, holding Lexi's dead body came to her mind. The scent of iron as blood from Lexi's open wounds got onto Eunjung's clothes, the somber look in her bestfriends eyes as she told her to keep living. Eunjung wanted to cry just thinking about it, but remained strong as reporters and police hounded her outside the dungeon. She wasn't about to show weakness right after awakening.

Raemond Beues was nowhere to be found outside the gate. It made the raven haired girl sad knowing her savior wasn't there, she wanted to thank him. Yet, it didn't really surprise her either, Raemond being known for sending his summons, or Paladins, out to take on dungeons on their lonesome. Speaking of summons, the goat headed paladin evaporated into pure light as soon as it made sure all the civilians were safe. That summon was Raemond's most powerful paladin, Baphoment. It was originally an S-rank boss monster from a German Dungeon full of demons that Raemond took on by himself: it being what proved him as one of the strongest in the world. From there Raemond showed the demon boss monster the light and turned him into the divine general of his army. She knew he wasn't there and that Baphomet was only one of Raemond's summons but she still wanted to thank him for saving her. Yet, that didn't stop her from feeling guilt all the same from being saved. She had been saved three times in that dungeon, once by Lee, by Lexi, and finally by Raemond. It killed her internally just how helpless she was while in the dungeon. Eunjung was never going to let that happen again, she would never be a helpless bystander while others fought on her behalf.

Eunjung after soaking for a while flipped off the water with a sigh and a deep breath, letting the steam make its way into her lungs. She needed to calm down and control her emotions after such a terrifying day and experience. After doing her nightly routine and putting on comfy clothes, Eunjung found herself sinking into her bed, knocking out immediately.

<Daily Quest Begin!>

<Quest to Forever Progression>

<Complete daily routine once-[0/200 push ups] [0/200 sit ups] [0/3 miles ran]>

<Rewards-[Instant gate key, D-rank (one time reward)] [5 Stat Points]>

<Penalty changes depending on Player [Eunjung Han]'s level>

Eunjung woke up greeted with a cool blue system message. What? She thought to herself, wiping the drool from her mouth and sand from her eyes. So...the system wasn't a dream? The blue screen made of mana was evident enough it wasn't a dream. She had never seen something like the Sovereign System before, even with her constant obsession with hunters and their abilities. No other hunter had ever talked about a Sovereign System, quest, or becoming a "Player" for that matter. It was something the Eunjung was finding out was very unique to her and her alone.

After waking up, Eunjung sits up and begins to examine the System she was now entitled to. From what she could tell, the system itself worked similar to that of RPG games she would play as a kid. From the looks of it, Eunjung had the ability to house items in her own "inventory" thanks to being the Player. The inventory acted similar to a pocket space where she could store and summon items she put in her inventory, it being seemingly limitless and weightless as a perk of being a pocket space. On her "Character Sheet" she was able to see her level, stats, equipment, and many other parts of traditional character sheets from RPGs. Most importantly she noticed how, while only being level one, some of her stats were above 10, most likely due to her natural awakening.