I Am The Anti-Mage

Chapter 116: Unforeseen Danger

The next day, Dong-hyun and Yu-jin arrive with news of the tier-4 Portal Gate.

Ji-woo was speechless when the two of them talked about it at his mother’s place. Luckily, Elijah didn’t really listen to that because she was busy with her own business preparing the food stall.

He didn’t understand why Dong-hyun and Yu-jin were so excited about their success in the dungeon raid. Coming so early to tell him about it, which he himself wasn’t interested in knowing.

But, what could he do?

He was no longer a General in the great war, who had to keep an eye on his back from assassin attacks. He no longer needed to push the people around him away so as not to be dragged into death. You could say he had lost his fangs as a fierce fighter who only thought about killing.

It was also probably because there was his biological family that made his heart soft a little. He couldn’t always put on a serious face that craved blood all the time. Thus, it scared his family instead of protecting them.

Or, maybe because the situation on earth was considerably peaceful despite the calamity making him relax and lower his alertness. Anyway, it didn’t matter as he was pretty comfortable with the way things were now. The Portal Gate clearing would proceed as it should, and the Mapo district would get free from the threat.

“Alright, you two. Calm down a bit. Don’t bother if you guys don’t help.”

Ji-woo then dragged the two hunters aside after helping his mother with the chores. He ends up listening to Dong-hyun’s long story, while Yu-jin only adds a few words to the narrative, despite putting on a bored face throughout.

Sometimes he found it funny to watch Yu-jin talk about what they went through in the dungeon. The naughty woman could get excited too, thought Ji-woo.

Dong-hyun and Yu-jin’s blabbering lasts until noon. Ji-woo then rose from his seat. He felt that being a listener was more tiring than fighting. After the two hunters said goodbye, Ji-woo said that training could get done without him. There was already nothing he could teach Dong-hyun and Yujin. So, there was no point in training together.

However, he made concessions if the two of them wanted to spar with him. He would gladly accommodate the request.

Ji-woo didn’t return to his house and went elsewhere. After talking to Dal-soo yesterday, he called Seok-jin on his way back, asking about the available Portal Gates.

Incidentally, there was one ready, and that was a tier-4 Portal Gate. But, that one was more expensive than before, and Ji-woo had to spend 470 million won for it.

This time the place he came to was Jiri Mountain. Pretty quiet even though the area was one of the famous places in South Korea. Ji-woo walked for a while and finally saw the tier-4 Portal Gate, which had a radius of 4 meters. He then found a small wooden house that he had seen before. Seok-jin informed him that the Portal Gate got neglected, and the price was a little high since there was a shrine for gatekeepers.

At first, Ji-woo was indifferent about it because he didn’t feel anything strange. It wasn’t until he heard Seok-jin’s explanation that he understood why he didn’t find the place odd. The concept was the same as the artifact outfits the porters wore when they entered the Portal Gate.

The shrine got made to counter the Mana impact of the Portal Gate in a small area. And the gatekeeper was able to do his job without getting hurt because of it.

“No wonder it costs more. Sigh.”

Ji-woo then walked to enter the Portal Gate. But, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. He looked back and found nothing. He shook his head and continued on his way.

Zap, Zap–

Not long after Ji-woo entered, a woman appeared from the bush. The woman had a slim body and the same height as him. Her slender waist was gorgeous and seductive. No man could turn away their eyes when they saw that impressive body figure.

“Strange. Did that brat know I was here when he looked back? I almost erased my Mana presence. And in this state, no one should be able to detect it. Hm, interesting.”

The woman came closer to the tier-4 Portal Gate and spoke fluent Japanese.

“I guess I should go in. It’s been a while since I’ve been in a dungeon anyway. It’s been pretty boring out here anyway. Tch, don’t care about Pride. Even if he’s mad, he won’t be able to do anything to me.”

The woman stared at the Portal Gate for a moment then clasped her hands together. A bright red light appeared out of nowhere, and a wooden staff fell into the woman’s hands. She spun the wooden staff a few times with one hand, and then she grinned.

“This is going to be fun, Soul Destroyer!”

Zap, Zap–

Zip, Zip–

Ji-woo was surprised when he first set foot into the dungeon. The environment felt foreign but at the same time soothing. The trees and plants that look fresh, as well as the flowers that were blooming, make the place seem like not an area suitable for fighting.

He strolled leisurely around the area like he was on summer vacation to enjoy the scenery. Before long, he could already sense several Mana entities wandering around aimlessly. But, he still did what he did. He did not panic and did not rush to approach the creatures.

Grrwr!

Suddenly, There was a grizzly bear that was two times bigger than Ji-woo. The grizzly bear stood with its two legs like a ferocious beast ready to chew anything in front of it. The silver armor that the being wore by the grizzly bear looked very menacing and emitted the death aura.

However, Ji-woo just stared at the grizzly bear with his icy cold gaze and bored expression. He didn’t feel any threat at all.

The grizzly bear roared and dashed forward, attacking Ji-woo when it saw no reaction from him. Surprisingly, the attacks were fast, and every slash with the claws was enough to damage the surroundings.

But, in every strike from the grizzly bear came, Ji-woo would dodge and land a counter with a punch to some part of the beast’s body.

The attacks got stopped. And the grizzly bear went limp, then falling to the ground.

Ji-woo approached the bear, who was unable to do anything. Next, he stomped his foot hard on the beast’s head, ending the life of a Portal Gate creature.

Not long after, another grizzly bear arrived. It was probably due to hearing the screams of the dead beast earlier. However, Ji-woo had no problem responding to the creature’s attack.

The grizzly bear swung its long right-arm fast and hard. Ji-woo dodged by jumping toward the grizzly bear’s right and launching a powerful left-handed punch at the beast’s head.

Bang!

The grizzly bear fell to the ground, and blood dripped from the beast’s ears, eyes and mouth.

Not far away, two grizzly bears were running fast toward Ji-woo ferociously.

Ji-woo dodged the beast’s first attack by turning sideways a little. And he immediately continued to attack the grizzly bear that was behind the previous creature.

But unfortunately, Ji-woo’s movement stopped because the grizzly bear that passed before had managed to launch a second attack. And the beasts he was about to strike also launched an attack. So, he had to withstand the two strikes at the same time.

Ji-woo used both hands to block the scratches and caused him to bounce far back.

Kaboom!

Clouds of dust and debris flew everywhere by the explosion that knocked him to the ground.

The two grizzly bears think they have won and manage to kill Ji-woo. However, in reality, he appeared above the head of one of the beasts.

“It ruined my clothes and made me shabby.”

Ji-woo then swung his right hand hard and landed a fatal blow on the creature’s head.

The other grizzly bears didn’t stay silent at that and ended up attacking mercilessly.

Ji-woo jumped off the dead grizzly bear to dodge the claws of the remaining beast. He spun in the air and landed his hands on the head of the last grizzly bear. And he twisted it to break off while landing on the ground.

He took a quick breath as the four creatures died so simply. However, his expression immediately turned ugly when he sensed the overwhelming Mana Presence near his area.

He felt how powerful the Mana Presence was, even though it wasn’t around him. He turned his gaze to the place where the Mana Presence was coming from. Inwardly, he wondered whether the Mana user was friend or foe.

Ji-woo contemplated whether he should go to that place or stay away from it.

Boom!

Suddenly, there was a tremendous and vast explosion. There was fire and electricity in the air surrounding the blast.

Ji-woo could sense that some Mana entities vanished instantly, disappearing into the air. He guessed it was a herd of grizzly bears that died simultaneously in the explosion.

But, despite knowing the creatures got killed by it, he still hesitated to approach until he finally raised his face to look up at the sky.

A woman was levitating in the air and covered in fire and electricity while holding a wooden staff.

“Oh my! I found the boy!”