Chapter 50
Chapter 50
Civil Servant Hunter’s S-class Resignation Log – Chapter 50
This is an announcement from the Korean Awakener Management Association. A Dungeon Break has occurred inside the hotel, so citizens, please evacuate following the Association's guidance. An S-rank Hunter is currently guarding the Gate, so don't worry and evacuate in an orderly fashion. This is a repeat of the announcement.
Ja-rim listened intently to Se-ra's voice echoing throughout the entire hotel.
Even as her mana was being drained away relentlessly right now, there wasn't the slightest hint of strain in that vigorous shout. If anything, the words assuring everyone that there was nothing to worry about with her holding the rear carried a powerful resolve.
"An S-rank Hunter, huh. Spot on. After all, Se-ra's the one actually blocking the Gate right now."
Ja-rim gazed at the churning red space.
Even amid the ferocious blaze storm raging inside, the cube didn't waver in the slightest. Monsters that emerged from the Gate turned to ash after barely a few strikes against it, despite the blistering heat.
It was truly an awe-inspiring sight, but that meant Se-ra's burden was equally immense.
"A girl who was F-rank just a little while ago."
She hated having her identity exposed. She didn't want a life of sacrifice. Her own safety and peace came first.
For someone who always muttered those words like a mantra, she'd charged in without a moment's hesitation.
That was why Ja-rim couldn't help but keep an eye on Se-ra. She didn't want to see the tragedy from Baskar repeat itself here.
'At least the Administrator seems to look after Se-ra a lot.'
In Baskar, the Administrator had treated her contractor almost like a proxy, making her handle all sorts of tasks in his stead. Since the Administrator couldn't directly interfere with the world.
But this world's Administrator showed no such intentions. He just watched over her, letting Se-ra live freely as she wished.
So, things would probably be fine.
"Oh, surprisingly, they're evacuating pretty smoothly? Normally, people would be scrambling in panic."
Looking down at the streets below the building, she saw the citizens calmly evacuating under the guidance of Association officials.
Had they always handled things this well? She racked her brain, but her life from 100 years ago in Baskar was hazy in her memory.
Ja-rim quickly gave up trying to recall. It was probably trust in Song Han-na, who had the Association fully under her control.
"To live up to that trust, I need to hold this place down properly."
Se-ra's once rock-solid skill had started to waver slightly a moment ago. It wouldn't hold out much longer.
Strength surged into the hand gripping her weapon. Her job was to endure as long as possible until reinforcements arrived. Keeping that in mind, Ja-rim assumed her stance.
Soon, cracks spiderwebbed across the red cube, and it shattered with a crash, unleashing the pent-up flames into the air.
An overwhelming heat scorched toward her like it would sear her skin, but Ja-rim didn't even turn her head as she swiftly swung her terrifying scythe with its double blades.
Clang, clang! Crunch! Along with the sounds came the sensation of her weapon slicing through something solid. Ja-rim's eyes widened. Goosebumps prickled her skin. The familiar feeling she'd experienced thousands, tens of thousands of times surged through her hand.
Baskar, the planet overrun with ore.
The title earned by massacring countless ore-type lifeforms: Slaughterer of the Great Battlefield.
As it settled into Ja-rim's body, she emitted a reddish golden glow. Vitality surged through her entire form, and her breathing eased. Like a creature finally emerging from water onto land, Ja-rim exhaled deeply.
"Looks like I won't need any backup after all."
A century was longer than she'd thought. Slicing through tough ore like tofu had become the easiest thing in the world.
Ja-rim swung her weapon at the monsters emerging from the Gate. With movements so light, the ore-constructed beasts shattered into pieces.
Amid the billowing dust, Ja-rim's golden eyes gleamed red.
* * *
'The skill broke.'
Se-ra clutched her chest as she guided the citizens to evacuate alongside the Association officials.
The shock of her mana depletion forcing the skill to shatter had churned her insides for a moment. Even gulping down a healing potion didn't ease the pain right away.
'Ja-rim unnie said she couldn't hold out alone. Did Team Leader Do head straight to the rooftop?'
She couldn't contact them for fear of interrupting the fight.
"Guess I should go check."
After confirming all the citizens had cleared the hotel lobby, she slipped into the elevator.
"Administrator, how's Ja-rim unnie? Is she okay? Not hurt anywhere? Has Team Leader Do arrived?"
Suppressing her anxiety, she asked, and the Administrator replied.
"."
What was that? It was the emoticon Lijja used when witnessing something shocking.
"What? What's going on? Is Ja-rim unnie doing something weird?"
"Just go up and see?"
So it wasn't a dangerous situation. She hurried to the top floor.
She hadn't noticed from the first floor, but the hotel was subtly shaking with the sound of something breaking. Se-ra drew her gun again and dashed toward the rooftop.
Even if she wasn't hurt, Ja-rim was probably overexerting herself blocking the monsters from escaping. She needed to check if Do Jun-young was there and join up if not.
With that in mind, the moment she poked her head out the door
"Gasp!"
A massive lump hurtled toward her face like it had been waiting. Her body reacted on instinct.
"How dare you aim for my face!"
An explosive roar erupted from her compact Colt, utterly unbelievable for its size, and the incoming mass shattered into pieces. Judging by the falling stone fragments, it had been an ore-type monster.
"Aw, I should've gone easy. If it had a pricey magic stone attached, that would've been a waste."
Dodging the chunks at her feet and hopping onto the rooftop, Se-ra froze mid-sentence.
How should she even describe this scene?
'A graveyard?'
Monsters pulverized beyond recognition littered the area everywhere.
Sung Ja-rim stood at the center of the corpse mound, weapon in hand, rampaging in excitement.
The deranged puppy vibe was gone. Her golden eyes blazing with a reddish glow as she slashed, killed, slashed, killed, slashed, killed emerging Gate monstersrepeating the cycle of cleaving and slaughtering.
As if born solely for this purpose.
Se-ra finally understood why the Administrator had made that face.
'She's lost it. Flashback to Baskar days?'
Thanks to that, the monsters couldn't escapethey were getting wrecked the moment they emergedbut was this really okay?
"Huh? What's over there?"
Gazing at Ja-rim with mixed feelings, Se-ra absentmindedly turned toward where the Administrator pointed.
And fell silent.
"."
"."
W-wait. No, hold on. Just wait a second. Wait, I said!
'Lijja, please tell me my eyes are playing tricks. Please! Tell me I'm seeing things!'
But her contractor ultimately turned away from her. Se-ra's lips began to quiver.
So, that meant she was seeing this clearly.
"Team Leader Do."
Se-ra uttered the name she really didn't want to say.
"Yoon Se-ra-ssi?"
Do Jun-young's face, staring blankly her way, was etched with shock. Se-ra squeezed her eyes shut.
Damn. He'd definitely seen her gun down that monster. She was screwed. Utterly, completely screwed!
"The gun."
As Do Jun-young's gaze shifted to her right hand, Se-ra reflexively hid the Colt behind her back.
"Wh-when did you get here?"
If he'd just sent a single text saying he'd arrived, none of this would have happened!
"Not long ago. I was about to join in, but Sung Hunter tried to attack me too, so I've just been watching."
That explained it. She'd completely suppressed her power so even he hadn't noticed.
"Team Leader Do must seem like a threat to Sung Ja-rim since you're so strong. She tends to lash out reflexively at powerful foes."
"So you're saying you've personally experienced that threat, and I should take it that way?"
This wasn't a good topic either!
Unable to meet Do Jun-young's eyes, she averted her gaze.
No, wait, it wasn't like I'd been hiding on purpose or anything like that.
As Se-ra racked her brain for a way out of this mess
Thud, thud. The massive footsteps shook the building, and Do Jun-young and Se-ra's eyes snapped toward the Gate.
A colossal monster covered in ore in places slowly revealed itself. Unlike the others, this boss had thick thorns protruding sharply all over its body.
"This feels ominous."
Had there ever been a thorn-covered beast with straightforward attacks? Plus, the dungeon was called Thorn Tree Island.
There had to be some secret to those thorns.
"My instincts were right!"
No time to think. The boss monster swelled up massively, launching its attached thorns in all directions.
Why! Were her bad feelings! Never wrong!
"Team Leader Do! You take that side! I'll handle this!"
No point hiding now that it was all out in the open. Better than letting the city crumble.
Se-ra gathered every last drop of her remaining mana, tears of blood streaming down, and deployed her field. She trapped the scattering thorns within the cubed zones and pulverized them with gunfire.
Do Jun-young unleashed sword energy into the air, and Se-ra sniped any thorns that slipped through.
Meanwhile, Sung Ja-rim worked over the boss monster. Watching her corner and thoroughly trample it, Se-ra almost felt sorry for the once-mighty boss mob.
"Whew. Why show up in the middle of the night, and in this hotel of all places."
It was all their karma.
"You've gained a skill."
Tsk-tsking to herself, Se-ra flinched at the low voice behind her.
"And you're handling that gun quite proficiently."
"."
"Your movements have become incomparably more fluid than before."
How did every single word hit right at the core?
"Uh, uh, well, things just kinda ended up that way."
Se-ra stealthily averted her gaze.
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