Gate Guardians are the second-generation of Realm Watchers and Realm Protectors, made by the original protectors under the guidance of Dungeon Masters Aely and Consig. They are humanoids tasked specifically with the protection of dungeon gates. The Gate Guardians, like the Realm Protectors, are divided into the Klexi, made of metal and master of lightning, the Broton, made of stone and master of earth, and the Mmaso, made of bones and master of flesh.

Defeating Gate Guardians gives a varying amount of EXP, depending on its level and the difficulty of the dungeon. Usually, the EXP equals to about 1% of the final dungeon boss, which makes Gate Guardians a bad target for EXP farming. The chance of actually acquiring loots from Gate Guardians are extraordinarily low, making them unattractive targets for loot hoarders. It is advised that one should only engage with a Gate Guardian if they want to enter dungeons.

Gate Guardians typically yield once they decide their challenger is worthy. If a Guardian yields, the adventurers have earned their right to enter the dungeon. Slaying a Guardian is a choice, but is an ill-advised one. Dungeon Masters will remember the ones who slay their guardians, and sends guardians far stronger to gatekeep these people from entering other dungeons.

Excerpt from "The Ultimate Handbook to Soulbound Creature: Rares"

Melodi Baggardo

It turns out that the third test isn't that hard when there's no time limit. It's all about preseverence and yelling at Eugene so he doesn't let go of his hands whenever he whines about how fatigued his muscle are. After a while, we pass the test. No cheating involved.

"They really need to design tests that involve less swinging," Eugene complains, rubbing his arms and legs as he walks back to the starting line. "Or less sit-ups. Or less physical activities in general."

When he's about to sit down, I smash the stick on his butt. "No time to rest. We're rendering the fourth test. Remember, in this one we are fighting an adversary."

"We have to summon the SCs first, then let them show the stats, and read the stats, then intepret the stats." He talks as if it takes more than three seconds. Then, he sits down anyway and takes the Distortion Orb from inside his outfit. He rubs on it until it glows. Before long, Lek starts to faintly materialize over his head, bobbing around until he reaches his densest form.

"Yo!" Lek announces. "Why do you call? Are you losing another game of Go against Azra?"

As they carry on their meaningless chatter, I try to summon my SC as well. But however hard my orb glows, Alleria is nowhere to be seen.

Maybe she's busy. It's usually around this time that she 'shrinks herself to the size of an ant and witnesses lifeforms smaller than the human eyes can see', in her words.

SCs have their own lives. Alleria talked to me about their lives in her metaphysical forms all the time, about how she can travel across lands just by concentrating her will, and how she can sees shapes and forms incomprehensible to humans. But that's a story for another time.

The machine takes another minute to generate the next level: on the side of a mountain. A wide-worn, frost-covered statue in a murky mountain top marks the entrance to the dungeon. Bristly ice spikes soar against the overcast, and flickers of snow powders the sky. Breath vapors coming out of my nose as I walk closer to the gate, but can't feel any cold. Soul Dusts can't generate temperature, or at least we aren't advanced enough to manipulate such properties.

"We can pick our favorite weapon for this fight, right?" asks Eugene.

"Yes. So, a shortsword?" I walk around the back and to the weapon rack. These weapons are made with blunt iron so they won't injure during the test.

"Dude can't use anything else," Lek says.

"At least I can actually hold stuff with my hands." Eugene barks back.

As I take the sword from the rack, I glance at the flail and the nunchaku placing right next to each other. Azra and Alleria want me to use the flail, and I need to get the good grip of the weapon.

A voice rings out from inside my head. Pick the nunchaku; pick what you're comfortable with, it says. Why make it hard for yourself?

I slap myself in the cheek. I wasn't good enough for my last test. If I don't improve now, when will I?

I pick the flail, then walk back to the starting line.

"So, where is our adversary?" Eugene asks.

I say. "Step forward and you'll see."

Eugene gives me a look you'd give a suspicious intruder before skipping over to the entrance. As he takes the third step, the statue shudders. He takes another step, and the statue rumbles.

The statue opens it eyes—a pair of hollow, bottomless sable hole carved on its stalwart face. As it stands up, the frost on its body falls off and the snow around its feet topple, revealing a hulking figure that looks like a walking stone armor.

Although it's just a couple of heads taller than us, the bulk of ragged rocks make it seems twice as massive. With splitting cracks spattering around its body, it looks like thousands of solid boulders bunched together.

"Ew. What is that? It looks like Azra on a bad day," Eugene scrunches his nose.

"I don't know. Kinda looks a bit like you," Lek chimes in. "I don't think that's a statue. Let me flash the stats."

A light beam shoots out from the SC's round eyes, and the stat menu appears before us.

Name ??? Level 110~120 Breed Stone Humanoid Type Soulbound Health ??? Attack ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? Flair N/A

"Sorry," the SC says in a nonchalant voice. "Never encountered this before. If it makes a move, though, I can register its skill and power level. Once you do damage, I can calculate its rough life total. Once you take damage, rough attack. The usual."

"Wow, you're such a wizzie wringer," Eugene replies.

"Don't blame me, I'm only sixty years old." Sixty years old is very young for an SC, considering their lives spans about seven hundred years at least.

"That's a Soul Realm Protector. Father used to fight one of Legendary stature. This one is much weaker," I say. I thought I knew all the potential tests, but I've never seen a Protector before. This level might have been added in a recent update.

"A Gate Guardian, to be precise," yells Tamara. "They guard the entrance to Core Realm dungeons. This one is the guardian of the weakest Rare dungeons, ones that are eventually cleared and reconstructed to become ore mines. They usually wield weapons too, but this one's gotten his taken away to make it more suitable for your power level."

"Neat." Eugene rubs his knuckles on his other arm. "An opponent that actually fights back for once."

"Don't worry about entering the dungeon," Tamara calls out. "You just need to defeat the doorman."

The creature stares down at us, unmoving. We get the advantage of the first strike: gate protectors don't attack until we show signs of aggression. This one is a big, sturdy, and possibly hard-hitting opponent, but it's not the first time we face something like this.

I turn to Eugene and smile. "Shall we go for the flit-and-jab?"

He smiles back, raising his sword. "Flit-and-jab, it is."