Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Civil Servant Hunter’s S-class Resignation Log – Chapter 17
'So, where's the best spot to watch from?'
Of course, she had no intention of heading to the Association. It would be far too wasteful to pass up a chance like this.
She slipped into a corner first, made sure no one was around, then quickly pulled out the jacket she'd received from the Administrator. Its basic Stealth option activated, blurring her presence. Unless they were S-rank, no one would sense her existence.
Se-ra settled atop a tall tree nearby, with a clear view of the gate.
"Mm. Weapon handover complete."
Just then, she spotted Joo Eun handing his sword over to Do Jun-young. Do Jun-young's face briefly flashed with surprise before twisting into a faint frown, as if he'd heard something he didn't like.
"Is that the raid team for this dungeon conquest?"
S-ranks: Do Jun-young, Joo Eun, Yeongwon's vice-guild master Kang Han-seo, and Suhorang Guild Master Yoo Su-euna total of four.
A-ranks: Suhorang's vice-guild master and four others.
With three healers including the S-rank Yoo Su-eun, they had more than enough firepower to clear it.
"Plus, Joo Eun's the unofficial domestic ranking number two."
Second only to Song Han-na in strength within Korea. His raid teams had never once failed a dungeon conquest. That was why even Se-ra could sit back so leisurely and watch.
Once the raid team was assembled, the nine hunters stepped into the gate.
The surroundings fell eerily silent in an instant. It was the hush born of the crowd's collective fear.
And rightfully so.
Failing to conquer a Rank 2 dungeon didn't just mean a few casualties. If a Rank 3 threatened a handful of cities, a Rank 2 could doom an entire nation to destruction.
Korea, with its small landmass, would suffer all the more severely.
If Se-ra were still just an F-rank, she might have been trembling back at the office. A wry smile crossed her face.
"Administrator, can't you intervene when it comes to gate generation? Not just dominationstraight-up preventing them from spawning at all?"
"...Even as the Administrator, that's impossible?"
His response confirmed it for her.
At the very least, gate spawns weren't something the System Administrator intended.
Not even full control was possible.
Come to think of it, during that first Rank 3, he'd only generated a barrier. In the Rank 4, he'd merely stemmed the mana leak from the gate.
'What even are gates? Where do dungeons connect to? And just who is the System Administrator, anyway?'
She'd sworn not to get curious, but questions kept popping up unbidden.
Se-ra soothed the Administrator, who was sending nonstop pitiful messages like he could do nothing.
"Alright, time's probably up. Guess I'll head in too."
She wasn't planning to do anythingjust dip a toe in. After all, the day might come when she'd have to take down a Rank 2 herself.
First, gear up. She could recognize the mace, so she'd leave it. Instead, the sniper rifle and...
"Ah."
Se-ra's eyes fell on the gloves occupying a slot in her inventory. She'd completely forgotten about them.
"Whoa, these are amazing."
She equipped them, and the index-fingerless glovesperfect for a sniperclung to her hand like a second skin. Handling the rifle felt effortless. More comfortable than even the L-rank jacket, they seemed made solely for her from the start.
Se-ra curiously summoned the gloves' info window.
Name: Unique Gloves (S-rank)
Type: Gloves
Unique Trait: Completely absorbs recoil from all firearms.
Special Note: One-of-a-kind gloves crafted personally by the System Administrator for his sole contractor. Protected by the Administrator's blessing, they endure eternally without damage.
"..."
The rank felt excessive compared to the trait alone. But the special note hit even harder.
Gloves made personally by the Administrator, existing solely for her.
It squeezed her heart tighter than receiving the freely transformable EX-rank weapon or the eighty-billion-coin L-rank jacket.
Gloves just for her. Existing for no one else.
"...It really feels like a Christmas present."
"The contract with you."
Se-ra gently stroked the gloves encasing her hand.
She'd said something similar yesterday with the jacket, but now her mind had changed. What truly felt like a Christmas gift worth rejoicing over was her contract with the Administrator.
"If you keep giving me stuff like this, I'll get spoiled. What then?"
"You'll just keep spoiling me? Sheesh. You're not my mom or dadhow're you gonna handle me getting spoiled?"
Still, she wasn't displeased. Feeling bashful for no reason, Se-ra brushed her face with her gloved hand.
L-rank jacket, EX-rank weapon, and now one-of-a-kind S-rank gloves made just for her.
Even a Rank 1 dungeon wouldn't scare her now.
* * *
Thanks to the stealth effects of her A-rank necklace and L-rank jacket, Se-ra slipped past the hunters controlling the gate perimeter and entered undetected.
"Eep!"
A wave of poison gas hit her immediately, and Se-ra clamped her nose and mouth shut. Harpoon serpentsmust be venomous snakes. She quickly donned a gas mask.
"This place feels more like a snake pit than a cradle."
Looking around, she saw a space vastly larger than the werewolf den.
The Administrator fussed like he was urging caution. Se-ra gripped her sniper rifle. Thanks to the glovesor maybe notit felt even more snug in her hands.
'The raid team's over there, huh.'
She pressed her back to the wall and peeked out. Something enormous caught her eye first.
'Whoa, insane.'
A green harpoon nearly human-sized. And it was attached to a serpent's tail.
'Crazy. A harpoon on the tail. So that's why they're harpoon serpents?'
The dead serpent's body stretched hundreds of meters, its girth no joke. Poison on top of that bulkbefitting a Rank 2 monster.
'And they've already taken down several. S-ranks really are monsters themselves.'
Serpent corpses trailed deep into the cave. Clean sword cuts were Do Jun-young's work; the burst ones belonged to tank Kang Han-seo, Yeongwon's vice-guild master.
'Gasp, what's that?'
Spotting the deepest corpse, Se-ra's eyes widened. It was riddled head to tail with thick arrows.
She could tell at a glance. Yeongwon Guild Master, the ranger, had done that.
'They call him the strongest ranged fighter. For real. How does he pack them in that densely?'
What skill? What weapon? Fighting style? As a fellow ranged specialist, she was dying to know.
The moment she leaned out farther, hoping for a better look
Splat!
Something sticky and heavy dropped behind her. She whipped around into position but held her fire.
"Egg?"
A massive egg, slathered in viscous fluid, lay there on the ground. Steam rose warmly, its shell still soft and squishylike it'd just emerged into the world. Like fresh...
'...I just stepped in shit.'
She'd forgotten: serpents as skilled hunters were masters of stealth too.
Se-ra looked up. Hiss. A serpent clung to the ceiling, staring down with jaws yawning wide.
But something was off.
The harpoon she'd expected only on the tail was on its tongue tip too. Yellow venom dripped from it.
'So this is a Rank 2 mob's class.'
Se-ra patted her jacket.
"L-rank jacket, you're all I've got."
She hurled herself sideways.
Boom! The spot she'd just vacated was pulverized. By the tongue-tip harpoon, which had extended dozens of meters in a flash.
"Wow, mountains beyond mountains."
Just one rank higher than werewolves, yet the danger was incomparable.
"No desire to fight and get spotted. I've seen the dungeon plenty. Time to bail."
Sensing many serpents writhing deeper in, the raid team probably wouldn't come this way soonbut who knew.
Plus, unofficial domestic rank two was with them. With the gate still blue, no monsters could escape, so she could dip out.
'Number two, please handle the cleanup.'
Adieu.
Se-ra activated her anklet item's Haste effect. The gate wasn't far; she'd sprint straight out.
But right as she coiled to leap
With that unbelievable message, the massive egg beside her burst open with a crack.