Chapter 64
Chapter 64
Civil Servant Hunter’s S-class Resignation Log – Chapter 64
"A call for me? Something happen?"
Yoon Se-ra asked as she snatched the half-empty plate of fried chicken from Seong Ja-rim. You couldn't take your eyes off that girl when handing her foodshe'd leave you with nothing but an empty plate.
"You know how Kang Se-jun showed up around the time you two left?"
"Come to think of it, Baek Hee-won, you knew about him too, right?"
"What, that he's living his sixth life?"
"I knew it. Can you see people's info right in front of your eyes? Or..."
"Similar, but a bit different. In terms of special eyes, maybe it's the same."
Baek Hee-won tapped the corners of her eyes.
"It's a title effect that lets me read people's auras. Turns out, a person's unique aura holds more than you'd think. As a shaman, I'm just a little better at sorting and discerning them than most."
The flow of their life, the distribution of emotions, and all sorts of other things. Baek Hee-won added lightly that it was all there.
"In that sense, Yoon Se-ra, you're a given, but Seong Ja-rim, you're pretty unusual too. From you, I sense an aura that goes beyond the heavensstraight into the cosmos. Did you dimension-hop or something?"
"Oh, close. You know dungeons are gates connected to other universal dimensions?"
"...For real?"
Baek Hee-won's face went blank. Hmm, even a mystical shaman didn't know that far. Makes senseif she did, the WDO would already be in on it.
"A whole other world's dimension...? How'd the scale blow up to the universe?"
Baek Hee-won stared at Seong Ja-rim with a complicated expression.
"Time got twisted because of that?"
"Yeah. The dungeon closed without resolving, trapping me in that world."
"You suffered. Glad you made it back."
Baek Hee-won stopped asking questions and patted her shoulder. Seong Ja-rim grinned and shrugged.
"So, what's the story with Kang Se-jun?"
"After you left, I talked to the guy. No idea what he saw in his past lives, but he hit me with something shocking."
Baek Hee-won glanced behind Se-ra and continued cautiously.
"He asked if I knew about the System Administrator."
"Gasp."
Se-ra dropped the fried chicken she was eating.
She'd thought it wasn't weird for Kang Se-junwho'd lived six lives alreadyto know about the Administrator. But to think it was true.
"You didn't tell him I'm the contractor, did you?!"
"Are you crazy? I didn't breathe a word about Yoon Se-ra's secret! Kang Se-jun doesn't suspect you at all, so no worries there. Never!"
Se-ra sighed in relief. Whew. That was closeshe almost spilled everything to the world's most tenacious regressor.
"For the record, I didn't say a single word about the Administrator either. They'd know anyway... You didn't get mad or anything, right?"
At the anxious question, Se-ra looked into the air.
"..."
No idea if they didn't care or if it was no big deal.
"Uh, doesn't seem mad..."
"Really? Good. Anyway, I don't know why Kang Se-jun asked about the Administrator. But from what I saw, it felt like he only just got a clue in his last life."
So he had no idea about the Administrator before that?
Se-ra glanced at the winking emoticon.
Hmm, yeah. Better that he doesn't know. Gotta protect our Administrator's image. One person flipping out over an emoticon is enough.
"Oh, right. Speaking of Kang Se-jun."
"Yeah?"
"He asked me to divine something. Might as well do it now that I remember."
"What'd he want you to look at?"
"Cheorwon Dungeon."
Se-ra froze mid-bite of french fry.
"Cheorwon Dungeon...?"
"I've checked it a few times before, but nothing showed up in my sight."
"What does that mean?"
Se-ra's tone grew urgent. Seong Ja-rimwho knew about her connection to Cheorwon Dungeonquietly set down her chicken.
"Even you can't see it?"
"I'm not omnipotent. I'm just human, and this world's more open to divine interference than ever."
"That means..."
"Something massive might be overshadowing Cheorwon Dungeonso much that even I, or my guardian spirit, can't touch it."
Se-ra's face paled.
"Lately, even my dreams have been restless. No matter how I look, something's about to go down soon."
"What kind of dreams?"
"Dunno."
"Huh?"
"Couldn't see anything clearly. I'm alive, breathing around me proves people are there, but nothing's visible."
"..."
"Like the whole world drowned in night. Super unsettling."
"Right now."
"Hm?"
"Divine it right now. Immediately!"
Finally noticing Se-ra's grim face, Baek Hee-won fumbled out her bell with a "uh uh."
"Sun high above, light the path ahead. My eyes are there, and I see you."
As she shook the bell, a glow filled Baek Hee-won's half-lidded eyes. A hot light like the sun or fire burned within. Se-ra's anxiety faded, captivated by the mystical sight.
How much time passed?
In the utter silence, Baek Hee-won blinked. The light vanished, and shock filled her dark eyes.
"What? What'd you see?"
"Yoon Se-ra."
"Listening. Tell me quick."
"You..."
Baek Hee-won stared gravely, and a bad feeling crept up Se-ra's toes.
Just like the day Seongtap Guild was attacked.
"The Administrator's not saying anything to you right now?"
"Pardon? Uh, no."
"Nothing while you've been here, or on the way?"
"Yeah."
"Then they must not mind me telling you. Se-ra, go to Cheorwon. With Ja-rim."
Baek Hee-won continued heavily.
"The dungeon's gonna break. Magical beasts way stronger than 12 years ago will sweep through. Lots of hunters might die again."
Se-ra's face turned ashen. Seong Ja-rim swallowed hard. Baek Hee-won gripped Se-ra's arm firmly.
"Go. They'll need your power. You can resolve this."
"..."
"To save everyone there, they need you."
Death.
Her brother Jae-hun's face flashed before her eyes.
And her parents', who had smiled at her the same way.
Her parents, reduced to ashes and buried in cold ground.
Se-ra's body stiffened.
* * *
"It's ominous."
A week into staying in Cheorwon.
Kang Se-jun often muttered that whenever he saw the locked gate.
The gate sat in a remote spot, away from military bases, so it took time to notice when it first appeared. No mana detectors back then made it even harder.
By the time Dungeon Break hit, it was too latetotal blackout after.
Cheorwon became a wasteland, North Korea nearby took heavy damage too. S-ranks rushed in, but only Hyeon Jae-hui got close to the boss beast.
She died by it anyway.
Right before the end, she barely killed the boss's guards, got the lock, averting the worst. But Cheorwon became a massive grave after.
12 years of pain, longing, and terror piled on this landit was agony just looking at it, wanting to run.
"A horrific place."
"Sad enough to break your heart, isn't it?"
Kang Se-jun affirmed Joo Eun's words with silence as he approached. Ominous, horrific, sometimes whispers of the dead made it sorrowful.
"If we could soothe the lions' souls, that'd be all I want."
"If Cheorwon Dungeon opens."
"You think it won't?"
"Who knows..."
Even as a regressor, he couldn't be sure. Honestly, he wasn't hopeful.
Living multiple lives taught him hope meant nothing in situations like thisit just ushered in greater despair.
In this shitty world, hope was merely the prelude to bigger letdowns.
"Gotta prepare for the worst."
"True... But with us guarding the gate like this, who could approach?"
A stark lock symbol marked the eerie deep-green gate.
Association staff including raid support teams guarded it ironclad, S-ranks taking shifts in pairs.
"The enemy's the one who massacred Seongtap Guild mid-city and stole the key. Better not let our guard down."
"Right. If it's a mature L-rank Awakener, we'd have a hard time noticing."
"And L-ranks are usually uncooperativeno public movements."
Yoon Jae-hun joined in, approaching with steady steps, smiling brightly.
"Even my boss, the Captain, hides his tracks so well we rack our brains sometimes."
"Never thought I'd hear this about Athena's elusive leader. How's life in Athena?"
"Couldn't be better. Once this is over, I wanna head back."
Jae-hun's gaze turned to the gate. Joo Eun and Kang Se-jun saw the tension grip his sword hand.
"I joined Athena to erase that thing for good."
Knowing he was Hyeon Jae-hui's son, Joo Eun sighed.
"Ah! Not that I want the lock to open, of course. Best if it stays shut forever."
Jae-hun waved it off, insisting no ulterior motives. No one thought otherwise, so they nodded. Right now, in front of Cheorwon Gate, Jae-hun's heart must be the most tangled.
"Whatever happens, I'll return to Athena, but I'd love to stay in touch with you all. Got too focused on powering up, barely logged into the community. I'll check in more from now on."
"Plenty of fun stories out there. My Vice Guild Master stirs up a lot."
"Yeah, that Vice Guild Master wailing about quitting."
Kang Se-jun added, making Joo Eun burst into laughter.
"Haha. What a fun guy. Witty, great with jokes."
Jokes? Kang Han-seo wailing to quit looked dead serious no matter how you sliced it.
But Kang Se-jun didn't point it out. That saintly smile seemed immune anyway.
He'd tried talking a few times in past lives. Pointless. Same results.
"Oh, Yoo Su-eun and Eun In-jae over there log in often too. They're a riot."
"Seemed that way. They'd get along great with my little bro. Should introduce them."
"Ah, you have a brother."
Joo Eun leaned in, oblivious that the brother was public servant Yoon Se-ra, buddy of Yoo Su-eun.
"Yeah. Once this ends, thinking of bringing him to Athena. Captain kindly approved."
But even affectionate Yoon Jae-hun's words hardened Kang Se-jun's face. He'd been watching for differences from past lives...
'His little sister... really alive?'
In past lives, Yoon Jae-hun lost his sister. Multiple times. He'd seen the rage firsthand, unforgettable.
This time, no outbursts or breakdownsodd, but who knew his sister lived.
'Come to think of it, exactly one person alive unlike before.'
Yoon Se-ra. From the first encounter, uniquely captivating, impossible to ignore.
And Yoon Jae-hun, Yoon Se-ra. Same Yoon family name.
'No way...?'
The moment Kang Se-jun hurriedly tried to ask Yoon Jae-hun something.