Chapter 62
Chapter 62
Civil Servant Hunter’s S-class Resignation Log – Chapter 62
Se-ra's brow furrowed.
"I hope you haven't been training it like a stray dog."
Calm down, please. There's a real reason for that, so don't try to kill me with your voice. You could probably pull it off.
"Then what's the reason?"
Do you know that Baek Hee-won's house is nearby?
Se-ra's eyes widened as she whipped around to look at Ja-rim. Having overheard the voice from the phone, Ja-rim tilted her head side to side with an "Oh?"
"Really? It's closer than I thought."
Oh no. Se-ra pressed a hand to her forehead.
Back then, she'd been carsick the whole ride in Jeong Ho-young's car, and even climbing the mountain, she'd been carried on Ja-rim's back, so she hadn't memorized the location properly.
It's a rift dungeon, so it's too much for her to handle alone. Help her out.
"You're getting swept up in it. Even without that, I'd step in since the dungeon's breaking. If I'd known, I would've just told you to head straight to Baek Hee-won's place."
I figured she'd run off if I did.
"What? Why?"
She was avoiding meeting you, uh. Probably because of that resignation thing...
Se-ra fell silent at the trailing voice.
Anyway, take good care of her. Don't worry about this side. Everyone's in good spirits, and nothing's happened yet.
Se-ra considered asking about Jae-hun but closed her mouth. Getting updates via text at mealtimes was enough.
"Got it, hanging up now. I'll call when it's over."
She shoved her phone roughly into her pocket.
"Who would've thought Baek Hee-won was hung up on that. Must feel bad for not saying anything nice."
"Wouldn't anyone feel sorry for not giving good news to someone who came asking if they could quit their job?"
That was true. Recalling that moment brought the anger surging back. Was she really doomed never to resign?!
"Right now, I feel like I could snipe any monster that shows up."
Se-ra pulled the Jacket of Revival and Unique Gloves from her inventory after a long time and equipped them.
"Whoa, Se-ra. That's insanely cool."
Ja-rim, seeing her equip anything besides the weapon Heat for the first time, drooled at the sight of the jacket. Se-ra's nose stuck up proudly, thrilled to have something to show off.
"Right? Ha, go ahead and envy it all you want. This is an 800 million coin jacket!"
"Gasp!"
Ja-rim, who had been stroking the sleeve, swallowed hard.
"E-eight, eight, eight hundred... million?"
"Eight hundred million coins. Not won. Coins. Way more expensive at System Bank exchange rates."
"Wow, wow! Wow!"
"All thanks to the Administrator's grace. Look at these glovesthe Administrator made them personally and bestowed them on me."
"Gasp! The Administrator made the gloves too and gifted them? Wow, check the rank. S-rank!"
"What do you think? Super cool, right? Total game-changer."
"Yeah! I'm so jealous!"
"Hahaha!"
She'd been bummed about hiding her identity and having no one to brag to, but that regret vanished in an instant.
This must be what it feels like to have your show-off meter fully charged!
"Ah, bragging is so much fun!"
"Se-ra, our Administrator is just too nice. They really treasure you."
"Right, right. How kind is our Elizabeth! I couldn't live without Liz now."
She'd gotten used to it enough to say it shamelessly now.
"Yeah, for real. The Vaskar Administrator never gave their contractor gifts like this."
"Oh? Really? Aren't they supposed to? Don't the adult forms give their contractors stuff too?"
"Hm. Would exchanging communication stones count as a gift?"
"Communication stones..."
'Yeah... I was shocked too...'
She resolved to treasure the Administrator even more from now on. Se-ra hugged the Administrator's emoticon to her chest and stroked it vigorously.
Our Liz is precious.
At the sudden Administrator emoticon, Se-ra stopped fooling around and turned her head.
"The dungeon's about to break. Get ready."
Se-ra gripped Heat, transformed into sniper rifle mode, while Ja-rim drew a massive scythe with two huge blades. It was made solely for counters, but it always looked brutal no matter how many times she saw it.
The space where Se-ra and Ja-rim stood began to warp. A slight dizziness hit, and when she came to, the surroundings had already turned into a dungeon.
The damp, foul smell stabbing her nostrils made Se-ra pinch her nose.
"Ugh, of all things."
The picturesque autumn foliage that had colored Taebaeksan was gone, replaced by a gloomy mire.
And that wasn't all.
"It's poisoned."
Poison from the swamp and trees hung thickly in the air.
Right. She'd gotten that skill as a reward for clearing the Grade 2 dungeon. No need for a cumbersome gas mask now.
"Seong Ja-rim, you okay?"
"Got Poison Resistance. Picked it up saving me in Vaskar."
"Good. Hope Baek Hee-won is fine."
"First, we need to find people, but can we even walk around in this?"
Everything except the ground they stood on was swamp. Even for the two of them, traversing without sinking was impossible.
"Seong Ja-rim, you're a returnergot any related skills or titles? Like creating rocks."
"My specialty is smashing ore veins, not creating them."
"Who knew I'd miss a mage."
If Kang Se-jun were here, he'd make platforms like in the magic stone cave. It hit her how convenient a mage with all attributes was.
"Eh, no choice. Gotta use my ability."
"Se-ra, you sighed like that in front of me even though you knew how?"
Se-ra ignored Ja-rim's complaint and changed the subject.
"Which way was Baek Hee-won's house?"
"That way?"
"Good. Activating skill. Deploy field."
"Isn't that for attacks?"
"Depends on how you designate it."
The designated spot was the swamp's surface. Red cubes laid out a long path over the swamp.
"You can use it like this too."
Se-ra stepped onto the cubes first and beckoned; Ja-rim followed. Thanks to the solid cubes, they advanced comfortably without dipping a foot in the swamp.
"Se-ra, feels like walking a red carpet. Awesome."
"Thank me later. Maintaining just one without attacking doesn't drain much mana."
The red cubes had endless applications. Skills tended to relate to the contractor's adult form, so this was practically a gift from the Administrator.
Se-ra gently stroked her gloves, the item most touched by the Administrator's hand.
"I hear something."
At Ja-rim's whisper, Se-ra perked her ears. Sure enough, voices and dull thuds kept coming from ahead.
"Sounds like fighting."
The two dashed forward without hesitation. That's when the monster attack began.
"Jump!"
They leaped into the air together, and Se-ra canceled the red cubes.
What flew at them was a vine wrapped around a treeno, not a vine.
"The monsters are trees?"
Ja-rim grimaced as she swung her scythe to sever it.
"What is this? Super sticky. Doesn't feel like tree vines."
"Sticky? Come to think of it, the dungeon's called Spider Web Mire, right? Then... spiderwebs?"
"Oh, yeah, looks like it. Check that out."
Ja-rim pointed deeper into the forest, where rock-sized monsters swarmed.
Spider-like, with eight legs, sharp chelicerae, and from their abdomens not thin threads but thick ropes of spider silk.
"Even for monsters, that's overkill. Getting hit by that would be game over."
Fortunately, the forest with the spiders had solid ground, so they landed there. While Ja-rim handled the charging spiders, Se-ra deployed a massive cube.
"Baek Hee-won is that way."
The red cube keenly detected human presence amid the monsters and relayed it perfectly to its owner.
Se-ra canceled the cube, and Ja-rim took the lead.
"Cover me."
The massive scythe sliced through the webs ensnaring everything, while Se-ra's gun sniped the spiders. As they advanced, screams grew clearer.
"Argh, ugh! Get off! Get off! Stay away! Not my houseeee! Do you know how much that house costttt! Defend! Defend! Defend! Aaaah, out of mana! Nooo! My house, my prooooperty!"
"..."
It wasn't a scream. It was the savage cursing of someone desperately trying to save their collapsing house.