11 Gate’s money

The following morning, Hans woke up late since his schedule was completely clear after he resigned from all his previous jobs to focus solely on conquering the gates.

But trying to clear multiple gates in one day was taxing and prone to making some mistakes and injuries, so he opted for a more deliberate approach this time.

He then checked his phone, and as expected, found a message from the association, detailing his earnings.

[Initial Earnings: $43,000,

Minus Association tax(15%)—>$36,550,

Minus Government taxes on F-Rank awakened(28%)—>$26,316]

Current bank balance: [$66,506]

"Mh, I should still be $130,000 short to repay the debt," he calculated and then thought, "And if I were to continue at this rate, it would only take a week or so to pay it all."

"But first things first, let's see what I can do today."

After having his thoughts settled, Hans opened the app and started looking for gates nearby.

He soon found out that a brand new F-rank gate had appeared not so far from him, which he decided to clear right away.

Donning his coat, Hans left the apartment and walked until he was in front of the gate.

And not much to his surprise, not even a single awakened seemed to be trying to clear it, something that was pretty common, and there was a reason for that.

The best awakened would be hired as scouts by the big guilds and carried in higher-ranking gates, while the lower-tier ones were left to rot in the G-Rank gates.

Since most people traveled in groups of three or more, the F-Rank gate didn't provide much of an experience and the rewards were just about the same as the G-Rank ones, so it would be just a waste of time raiding it for many.

However, the real difference lay in E-Rank gates, where monsters had the possibility of dropping a valuable mana stone.

The gates of higher ranks yielded substantial profits, with C-Rank gates potentially earning nearly a million dollars and even higher ranks fetching millions for successful raids by the groups.

S-Rank gates, however, were seen more like a daunting problem due to their extreme difficulty and high-level bosses, which usually increased the likelihood of casualties among the raid teams.

Seeing no one around, Hans entered the gate.

[You have entered the gate 'Graveyard of the Living']

Just like in the previous gate he was enveloped in a thick fog, making him feel uncomfortable, however, this time Hans found himself on solid ground made of rock.

Apart from that, there was nothing else that he could see, making Hans wonder where the gate's name came from.

However, it didn't take long for him to find out the reason behind it as well.

Soon he heard some approaching footsteps and Hans was doubtful to find a humanoid silhouette after turning around.

But when it came closer, Hans couldn't help but be stunned by the sight before him.

It was a gray humanoid monster with almost nothing but bones as its body; its face was sunken, its fingers were replaced with shape nails and very little hair could be seen left on its head.

Shortly, a few other figures started emerging, even if there were some subtle differences in their height and body, they all looked almost the same.

[ Race: Ghoul

Name: None

Lvl: 23

Strength: 17

Dexterity: 29

Endurance: 12

Wisdom: 1

Skills: {Blessing of unity: When they die, unless their body is completely destroyed, they will unite to form stronger beings.}

Evaluation: Rank-F.]

As the ghouls slowly walked towards him, Hans took out his sword in wary, and just when they got closer, they suddenly rushed to him with their sharp nails pointed at his face.

He blocked the first one with his sword and slashed to destroy the ones that followed.

But after the 25th ghoul fell, the bodies of the fallen creatures started uniting in five spots, and after a couple of seconds, five abominations were born from them.

Each of those newly formed creatures was using the skulls and various bones of the previous ghouls as its exoskeleton, while the small amount of skin and flesh that remained in the ghouls' bodies was turned into a muscle-like structure.

These five abominations stood at a height of about two and a half meters (8'2).

Hans went ahead and used his skill, {Piercing Gaze}

[Elite Monster

Race: Giant Ghoul

Name: None

Level: 23

Strength: 29

Dexterity: 26

Endurance: 31

Wisdom: 1

Skills: {Blessing of unity: When they die, unless their body is completely destroyed, they will unite to form stronger beings.}

Description: An abomination created by the combination of five ghouls through the blessing of unity.

Evaluation: Almost on par with an E-Rank.]

After they formed, these five monsters mindlessly started attacking Hans, who, for now, only focused on evading their attacks, taking advantage of his higher agility.

But soon enough, as the battle progressed, he started to fight back, slicing right through the monsters as he unleashed his strength and sharp blade.

However, after he defeated them, the five Giant Ghouls united once again, forming an even bigger enemy.

It looked much tougher, sturdier, chubbier, and taller than the previous ones.

[ Boss Monster

Race: Ghoul Golem

Name: None

Lvl: 23

Strength: 42

Dexterity: 23

Endurance: 47

Wisdom: 7

Skills: None

Description: An abomination created by the combination of five Giant Ghouls through the blessing of unity.

Evaluation: A monster standing at the peak of Rank-E.]

This time though, Hans didn't plan to waste his time on the boss and instead decided to make use of and hone his magic abilities.

He extended his hands forward and conjured the spell {Fire Veil}.

As the spell came into effect, everything around him was lit up in a blazing flame, scorching even a bit of the golem's skin.

With a swift motion, he then retracted one of his arms and launched a {Fireball} like a skilled pitcher.

The fiery projectile hit the monster at an alarming speed, burning a part of its torso.

And as the flames subsided, the monster let out a provocative scream, as if taunting Hans that whatever he did wasn't enough.

However, its arrogance soon faded away when it understood its mistake as a barrage of spells rained down upon it.

{Fireball} {Fireball} {Fireball}

These three-tier-0 spells, coupled with Hans's exceptional control over his mana and proficiency inflicted severe damage on the Ghoul Golem, letting it barely stand.

Seeing that his spells from before still weren't enough, Hans continued to cast more spells until the opponent finally collapsed lifelessly.

The battle lasted a mere 1 minute and 42 seconds, a testament to Hans' formidable prowess.

While it was a terrifying speed, for Hans it wasn't.

"It actually took that many spells", he couldn't help but muse, "I should get my hands on some higher-level tomes. Otherwise, despite the boost in wisdom, my power won't increase much."

[You have killed the boss monster: Ghoul Golem]

[You have leveled up, your wisdom stat has been increased by 5.]

He then took the boss's body and salvaged the non-burned parts before heading out with it.

Learning from his previous mistake, this time he called the transport association to carry the materials for him.

[Congratulations on clearing the F-Rank gate: Graveyard of the Livings]

[You have been awarded with the 1st tier skill {Combine}

{Skill Name: Combine (Tier-1)

Effect: You can combine two first-tier spells and use them as one. The mana used will be triple the amount compared to the two skills when used separately.

If the synergy between the two spells combined is high, there is a possibility of gaining the newly created spell. But if the synergy is below the required level, the spell won't form and the mana will go to waste.}]

Five more days passed and Hans cleared one F-Rank gate each day.

But the experience wasn't enough to help him level up anymore and at the closing of the last two gates, he didn't even gain a new skill.

Nonetheless, he had finally managed to gather the money he needed to repay the debt, so he could finally relax a bit. The next day he planned to finally settle his obligations and whatever he earned after that would be his to spend.

[Current Status]

[Name: Hans

Age: 18

Class: Knowledge Seeker (UNKNOWN)

Title: None

Level: 29

Strength: 40

Dexterity: 40

Endurance: 40

Wisdom: 401

Class Skills:

{Knowledge Hunger}

{Almighty Knowledge}

{Piercing Gaze}

Normal Skills:

{Fireball} (Tier-0)

{Fire Veil} (Tier-1)

{Strong Mind} (E–Rank)

{Stealth} (Tier-3)

{strengthen}(tier-1)

{Mana Barrier} (Tier-1) (Lvl up!)

{Combine} (Tier-1)

{Mana Route} (Tier-1) (NEW!)

{Sword Mastery}(G-rank) (NEW!)

{Earth Projectile} (Tier-0) (NEW!)

{Breeze} (Tier-0) (NEW!)

Evaluation: An aspiring second-circle mage with the power surpassing that of a third-circle peer and an E-Rank swordsman]

{Mana Barrier (Tier- 1)

Effect: Creates a barrier around parts of the user's body, capable of withstanding hits from an F-Rank creature.}

{Mana Route (Tier-1)

Description: A route of mana traveling around your body.

Effect: +5% mana regeneration speed.}

{Earth Projectile (Tier-0)

Description: The basic spell of the Earth path.

Effect: Create projectiles made of solid dirt by using mana.}

{Breeze (Tier-0)

Description: The basic spell of the Wind path.

Effect: Creates a blast of wind that is capable of moving an object that weighs about 15 kg.}

{Sword Mastery (G-rank)

Description: The level of a beginner swordsman.

Effect: Increases the damage dealt with a sword by 5%.}

After clearing two gates, he acquired tomes of Breeze and Earth Projectile spells from which Hans was able to gain an extra ten wisdom stats, thanks to his {Knowledge Hunger} skill.

The only thing remaining for him to improve was higher-ranking spells that would bring him closer to gaining the prowess of a top third-circle mage.

———————

Author note:

For those who don't remember:

Tier 0=G rank

Tier 1=F rank

Tier 2=E rank

Tier 3=D rank

Tier 4=C rank

Tier 5=B rank

Tier 6=A rank

Tier 7=S rank…

The tier is used for magic-related spells and skills, while the rank is used for passive and combat-related skills.