Gatebreaker: The Demon War Returns

Chapter 5: Unsettling Dreams and a New Challenge

The small act of kindness in the library, a fleeting gesture to a flustered freshman, lingered in Choi Hyun-woo's mind longer than it should have. It was a ripple in the calm, cold surface of his existence, an echo of a past self he thought long dead. The youngest hero, always so eager to help, so full of an unshakeable optimism that had been brutally snuffed out. Hyun-woo pushed the memory away, a familiar ache in his chest. Sentimentality was a weakness he couldn't afford.

Yet, the next few days, a subtle shift persisted. He still moved through the school like a phantom, his presence a silent, imposing force. Students still gave him space, but the fear in their eyes was now mixed with a strange curiosity, a hesitant respect. He noticed it, the way their gazes lingered, the way some of the girls tried to catch his eye with a little less overt flirtation and a little more genuine interest. He still mostly ignored them, but the automatic, dismissive sneer that used to curl his lips was less frequent.

His sessions with Kim Da-eun continued to be the only truly engaging part of his day. She had a knack for finding obscure texts on mana manipulation and ancient gate lore, theories that, while often flawed, provided a framework for him to apply his own brutal, practical knowledge. He found himself explaining things with a little more patience, his tone less curt, almost… instructional. He still wouldn't reveal the source of his knowledge, deflecting her curious questions with a cold stare or a noncommittal grunt, but the shared intellectual pursuit was a powerful, unspoken bond.

One night, the dreams started. Not the familiar nightmares of his dying world, of screaming demons and fallen comrades. These were different. Fragmented. He saw flashes of a woman, her face obscured, her voice a soft murmur he couldn't quite grasp. A sense of warmth, of comfort, that was utterly alien to him. He'd wake up in a cold sweat, his new apartment feeling even more sterile and empty. He hated them. Hated the intrusion, the unwelcome emotions they stirred.

He tried to ignore them, to bury himself deeper in the modern world's knowledge. He spent hours online, navigating the vast internet, learning about global politics, the history of this "Awakened" phenomenon, and the various guilds and organizations that managed the gates. He scoffed at the bureaucracy, the endless regulations. In his world, survival was the only rule. Here, they had committees and paperwork. "Fucking ridiculous," he'd mutter to himself, scrolling through endless reports.

A few days later, a new announcement rippled through the school. A joint training exercise with another high school, involving a larger, more dangerous C-rank gate. This wasn't just a class activity; it was a serious operation, overseen by professional Awakened hunters. The students were buzzing with a mix of terror and excitement.

Hyun-woo felt a flicker of something akin to interest. A C-rank. Finally, something that might actually offer a slight challenge. He read the details. The gate was located in an abandoned industrial complex on the outskirts of Seoul, known for its unstable mana fluctuations and the presence of more aggressive creatures, including larger ogres and even some lesser demonic entities.

During lunch, he overheard a group of students, mostly boys, complaining about the upcoming C-rank.

"Are you serious? A C-rank already? We're going to get slaughtered!" one whined.

"Yeah, and they say there might be some of those… demon types in there," another added, his voice trembling.

Hyun-woo, usually tuning out their chatter, found himself stopping near their table. He didn't say anything, just listened, a faint, almost imperceptible frown on his face. He noticed one of the younger students, a scrawny boy named Lee Ji-hoon, looking particularly pale, clutching his lunch tray with white knuckles.

"It's going to be fine," a girl tried to reassure them, though her voice lacked conviction.

Hyun-woo's gaze fell on Ji-hoon. The boy looked like he was about to throw up. A memory, faint but clear, surfaced: the wide-eyed terror of new recruits in his old world, facing their first real demon horde. He remembered the feeling of wanting to crush that fear, to instill discipline, to make them understand the brutal reality.

He walked over to Ji-hoon's table. The group immediately fell silent, their eyes wide as Hyun-woo approached. Ji-hoon visibly flinched.

Hyun-woo picked up a discarded napkin. He began to fold it, slowly, deliberately, into a sharp, intricate shape. His movements were precise, almost mesmerizing. The students watched, captivated.

"Fear is a weapon," Hyun-woo said, his voice low, not cold, but firm. "It can be used against you. Or you can use it." He finished folding the napkin, creating a sharp, pointed dart. He flicked it with his thumb, and it sailed across the table, embedding itself with a soft thwip into a piece of bread on Ji-hoon's tray.

Ji-hoon stared at the napkin dart, then at Hyun-woo, his mouth slightly agape.

"Focus on what you can control," Hyun-woo continued, his gaze sweeping over the group. "Your movements. Your weapon. Your breath. The rest is just noise. And those 'demon types' you're worried about? They're just bigger, uglier rats. Nothing more."

He turned and walked away, leaving the stunned students in his wake. It wasn't a pep talk, not in the traditional sense. It was a cold, hard truth, delivered with the blunt force of a seasoned killer. But for the first time, he hadn't just dismissed their fear. He had addressed it, in his own brutal way.

Da-eun, who had been watching from her table across the cafeteria, offered him another one of her small, knowing smiles. The crack in the steel wall was growing, slowly, almost imperceptibly. The new world, with its strange comforts and its even stranger challenges, was starting to leave its mark. And perhaps, the old hero, reborn, was beginning to find a new purpose beyond just vengeance.