The gate was a type of dungeon. Monsters appeared inside the gate, and once entered, it was impossible to leave until the gate's core was destroyed.

Typically, the core was located in the boss room of the gate, and if the core was destroyed while the boss was alive, the boss and any remaining monsters inside the gate could escape outside. This situation, where monsters emerged from the gate, was referred to as a "Gate Break."

Even an F-rank gate break posed a significant threat to civilians, so the gates were managed collaboratively by the government and private guilds.

"Here is my entry permit."

"Academy cadet Heo Sungshik, correct? Verified. You may proceed."

"Thank you. Good luck with your work."

Government agents were stationed to guard the gate. This was a government-controlled gate management zone.

When the gate detection system identified a gate's occurrence, agents on standby would arrive to restrict access until the gate was cleared to prevent accidents.

"An F-rank gate… brings back memories."

In front of Sungshik was the portal of the F-rank gate, emitting a reddish shimmer. The portal's red hue had a specific reason. Gates were categorized by colors: red (F), orange (E), yellow (D), green (C), blue (B), indigo (A), and violet (S).

"Judging by how faint the red is, it must be on the lower end of the F-rank. Maybe goblins will appear."

Even within the same rank, the intensity of the color indicated the type of monsters and the level of difficulty. The lighter the color, the easier and weaker the monsters were.

―You have entered an F-rank gate. Destroy the gate's core.

As the system notification sounded in his mind, Sungshik saw a maze-like dungeon resembling a cave before him. At the end of his sight was a figure smaller than a person, seemingly a goblin.

"Just as expected, goblins. And this cave type dungeon is the lowest tier."

In such dungeons, there were typically few goblins leading up to the boss room, and the boss would likely be alone without any guards.

Sungshik began moving immediately.

"Karruk?"

The goblin in the distance spotted Sungshik and appeared startled, fumbling to pick up a nearby stone. As the goblin moved, Sungshik dashed forward.

Whish―

The goblin, seeing Sungshik charge, hurled the stone. Sungshik unsheathed his sword mid-run and deflected the projectile.

"Karu!"

The goblin, shocked that the stone was deflected, tried to throw another stone with its other hand, but by then, Sungshik was already upon it.

Slash―

"Kiek!"

The goblin, now with a deep gash on its chest, collapsed. Sungshik quickly pierced its heart to finish it off, shaking off the blood from his blade.

"Whew, the sword cuts better than I expected."

Although it was a basic weapon provided for practical use at the Superhuman Academy, the sword was surprisingly effective.

Staring at the sword, an information window appeared.

[Supply-Type Normal Sword]
Grade: Normal
Attack Power: F
Features: Well-maintained, retaining its original sharpness.

"Whoever manages this really does a good job."

Sungshik continued deeper into the dungeon. From then on, there were no obstacles. Drawing upon his combat experience and the Swordmaster trait, he quickly eliminated the few goblins he encountered and reached the boss room.

"The Swordmaster trait is truly impressive. My swordsmanship feels far superior to my past life."

It wasn't an exaggeration. Even setting aside his physical skills, his understanding of swordsmanship seemed to have greatly improved.

"Alright, time to take down the boss."

Pushing open the massive door before him, Sungshik saw a goblin twice the size of an ordinary one rising to its feet.

'Analyze.'

[Boss] Goblin Warrior
Grade: 1-Star (★)
Combat Power: F+
Species: Goblin

The information was simple but sufficient.

"I considered the possibility of a hobgoblin, but a Goblin Warrior will do."

"Grrr…"

The Goblin Warrior, growling lowly as it rose, was roughly the size of a high school student. Its body was at least twice as large as that of a normal goblin, which was about the size of an elementary schooler.

With its menacing face and club in hand, it would have been terrifying to a normal person, but to Sungshik, it was merely laughable.

"At the end of the day, it's still just a Goblin Warrior!"

Sungshik charged straight at the Goblin Warrior. His S-Rank Trait―Hyper Perception whispered to him, assuring him the attack would succeed without issue.

"Keueeek!"

His quick strike left a deep wound on the Goblin Warrior's abdomen.

Thud.

Dropping its club, the Goblin Warrior clutched its spilling entrails with both hands and fell to its knees.

"Grrr…"

Even in its dying moments, the Goblin Warrior glared at Sungshik with hatred. Sungshik glanced at it briefly before stabbing its heart.

―Ding. You have defeated the F-Rank Gate Boss, Goblin Warrior.

For Sungshik, armed with high-grade traits and skills, the F-rank gate was far too easy. Having survived hellish battles in his previous life, an F-rank gate was child's play.

As the Goblin Warrior's body disintegrated into light particles, it left behind coins and a single fang.

154 Coins
[Common] Goblin Warrior's Canine

'Trash loot.'

Upon inspecting the item using Analyze, it was indeed trash-tier as expected.

"Store in inventory."

After awakening as a superhuman, one gained access to an inventory. While its size depended on one's grade, a 1-star inventory could easily store these small items.

―The dungeon core has appeared. Destroy the dungeon core.

With the notification, the dungeon core emerged from the stone the Goblin Warrior had been leaning against, which split in two.

'This is the first time I've seen a hidden dungeon core in an F-rank gate.'

Normally, hidden cores appeared only in gates ranked D or higher, making this a rare sight.

Clang.

Unconcerned, Sungshik smashed the core. While unusual, it wasn't worth dwelling on.

―The dungeon core has been destroyed. Time remaining until gate closure: 24:00:00.

With the destruction of the core, a message appeared. Typically, once the core was destroyed, the dungeon would disappear within 24 hours. Failing to exit the gate before then would result in a forced expulsion after 24 hours.

―Congratulations. Stat up! Agility has increased by one level. Agility F → F+.

"Oh, already?"

Sungshik was surprised by the faster-than-expected stat increase. He had anticipated some stat growth after completing a few dungeons, especially since he had undergone intense training in the trading room prior to entering the dungeon.

However, he hadn’t expected it to happen this quickly. It was all thanks to the [SS-Rank] Pocket Watch trait. Normally, even for an F-Rank, it would have been challenging to see such rapid growth.

"As expected, the pocket watch is a late-game trait."

Although he was five years behind others, the pocket watch trait promised such rapid development that he could easily close the gap. Given the numerous gates approved for him by the principal, Sungshik was confident that leveling up would be more than achievable.

"Alright, let's head to the next one immediately."

Sungshik’s steps toward the entrance seemed exceptionally light.

"Screeeech!"

The lifeless bodies of goblins lay scattered everywhere. At the center of it all, the goblin shaman let out its final death cry and collapsed.

―Ding! You have defeated the F+ Gate Boss, Goblin Shaman!

―Congratulations. Stat up! Strength has increased by one level. Strength F → F+.

"Phew, that one made me sweat a bit."

This battle required some effort, primarily because the gate boss was a goblin shaman who continuously summoned goblin guards.

Being on a solo hunt and still having relatively modest stats, Sungshik could have been overwhelmed by the endless tide of goblins if he wasn’t careful.

"But the results were better than expected. The synergy between [A-Rank Sword Demon] and [S-Rank Hyper-Senses] is incredible."

The synergy between 'Sword Demon' and 'Hyper-Senses' had shone in challenging situations, offering guidance on how best to navigate them. Thanks to this, despite some difficulty, the battle was cleared smoothly.

"And now, it feels like a rank-up isn't far off."

Sungshik could sense how close he was to a rank-up after the recent stat improvement.

"Status window."

Name: Heo Sungshik
Title: None
Rank: 1-Star (★)
Stats: Strength F+, Agility F+, Endurance F+, Magic F
Traits:
1. [EX] Consumption―LV 1
2. [EX-Rank] One More Time (Unavailable)
3. [SS-Rank] Pocket Watch―LV 1
4. [S-Rank] Hyper-Senses―LV 1
5. [A-Rank] Sword Demon―LV 1 (Growth-Type)

Skills:
1. [S-Rank] Insight (Restricted)
2. [C-Rank] Explosive Strike (Rank Restricted)

All three of his main stats—Strength, Agility, and Endurance—had risen by one level. If he could push these stats up just a bit further, reaching 2-Star rank would be well within his grasp.

"And it seems like the Sword Demon trait is nearing an upgrade too."

Although he couldn’t see it, his instincts told him that the Sword Demon trait was close to gaining enough experience. Even if he couldn’t increase his stats further, an upgrade in Sword Demon alone could propel him to the next rank.

"Alright, let’s keep grinding hard. No time for breaks—onto the next gate."

Just as Sungshik was about to stride confidently toward the exit, he hesitated and turned back.

"Inventory storage."

―85 Coins acquired!

―[Normal] Goblin Shaman’s Explosive Orb.

It was, once again, just junk. This time, the dropped item was the Goblin Shaman’s Explosive Orb. When thrown, it would detonate upon impact, making it excellent for destroying inanimate objects. However, it was nearly useless against monsters that had natural resistance to physical projectile damage.

Unlike the basic attacks of Awakened beings, which always inflicted physical damage, these types of items had minimal effectiveness on monsters.

Such items were categorized as junk, offering little value. Still, selling them at a general store could net even a single coin.

Sungshik’s knowledge of the future included various ways to multiply coins. Coins would later become a critical resource for making him significantly stronger.

"They say every little bit adds up. For that time, I’ll collect even a single coin to contribute to the seed money."

Feeling satisfied, Sungshik carefully stored the junk items left by the Goblin Shaman into his inventory and turned back with a satisfied expression.

"Kkeng."

With a brief death cry, the gnolls collapsed one after another. Even during his training sessions in the trading room, gnolls were incredibly easy opponents. At his current strength, nearing 2-Star rank, they weren’t even enough to warm him up.

"Too easy."

Scanning his surroundings, Sungshik saw the heaps of gnoll corpses. The F+ Gate dungeon, "Gnoll’s Village," had spawned quite a few gnolls, but they were no match for Sungshik, armed with the Sword Demon and Hyper-Senses traits.

"Alright, let’s wrap this up by finishing off the boss."

The boss room for this dungeon was located at a shrine up the path behind the village. As he walked along the path, a shrine came into view, and kneeling in prayer (?) in front of it was the boss monster.

'Insight.'

[Boss] Gnoll Priest
Rank: 2-Star (★★)
Combat Power: E-
Species: Gnoll

"Oh, a Gnoll Priest."

The boss, kneeling before the shrine, was indeed a Gnoll Priest. While regular gnolls were 1-Star, the Gnoll Priest, despite not being a combat-type, was 2-Star.

"Which makes it all the more advantageous."

A monster with low combat power but a high rank! Such monsters were a favorite among all Awakened.

"Grr?"

The Gnoll Priest turned around, seemingly sensing Sungshik’s presence.

"Hello? First time seeing a human? Let’s not waste time—let’s finish this quickly."

Walking leisurely, Sungshik approached. Having grinded through several gates intensely, he was admittedly tired. This being his final gate, he allowed himself to be more relaxed.

"Where should I strike first?"

Pointing his sword at the Gnoll Priest, he alternated between aiming at its neck, arms, and legs.

"Grrraaah! Kekekeke."

Perhaps sensing that it was being mocked, the Gnoll Priest began chanting a spell in an unpleasant tone.

"Oh no, you don’t!"

Thud―

In an instant, Sungshik dashed forward, aiming at the Gnoll Priest’s staff as he swung his sword.

Slash―

"Kekekegh!"

Unable to react to Sungshik’s swift approach, the Gnoll Priest’s staff and hands were severed in one clean strike.

"Krrraaaagh."

The Gnoll Priest fell backward, trembling as it clutched its now wristless arms.

"Does it hurt? I suffered a lot in the future too. Tsk, I’ll end this without pain."

Just as Sungshik thrust his sword toward the Gnoll Priest’s heart, something happened.