Chapter 76
Chapter 76
Civil Servant Hunter’s S-class Resignation Log – Chapter 76
The place Kang Se-jun had brought Yoon Se-ra to was Deoksugung Palace, right near City Hall.
The weather was perfectclear skies with fluffy white clouds drifting lazily about, the fragrance of flowers wafting on a cool autumn breeze. The colorful eaves of Deoksugung Palace in the distance blended beautifully with the serene autumn calm.
What the hell. The atmosphere was too nice for no reason, which just soured her mood.
"Here."
Kang Se-jun handed her a coffee. Damn. Even the coffee was perfect, making her even more annoyed.
After taking a small sip, Se-ra finally let out a sigh.
"Hey, Mr. Kang Se-jun. What you wanted to talk about is related to my L-rank awakening, right?"
"Yeah, something like that. Including that, there's a bunch of stuff I want to ask you about."
I knew it. Se-ra wanted to shout this to those seven idiots who were bound to misunderstand.
A confession? In your dreams. There'd never been any lovey-dovey vibes between her and Kang Se-jun!
"But why'd you have to be so vague and make everyone suspicious?"
"I couldn't just say it outright there. Suspicious? What do you mean?"
"......"
Was he seriously asking?
But Kang Se-jun really seemed clueless, tilting his head like he had no idea.
This guy didn't just lack tacthe was completely devoid of any romance cells.
Then again, after dying and regressing five times, who could blame him? He was always busy clearing dungeons to deathwhen would he have had time for dating?
Suddenly, Se-ra felt a deep pity for him.
"......Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Oh? What kind of look was that?"
"Like you're staring at someone really pitiful......"
"Just your imagination. No way I'd be thinking that right now."
Se-ra flashed a bright smile. He fidgeted with his lips, unable to find the right words, and eventually shut his mouth.
With the conversation dying out, a quiet silence settled between them.
In the distance, people dressed in hanbok laughed gaily as they snapped photos. Their bright faces were free of any worries.
It was such a heartwarming sight that a smile naturally crept onto Se-ra's face too.
Ah, I get it now. This is why everyone risks their lives to protect the world.
Still, she was too selfish to stake her life for others just yet.
"Thanks so much for coming to Cheolwon."
Kang Se-jun expressed his gratitude, clearly thinking the same thing. Se-ra shrugged.
"It was a place I had to go to anyway. My grudge has been building since twelve years ago."
"Has it eased up a bit now?"
"Of course. I can't even remember the last time I slept with my legs stretched out. Felt amazing."
After crying her heart out and even talking with the Administrator, her mind had never felt so at ease. She'd probably never forget that night.
"Glad to hear that."
"You didn't call me out here alone just to say that, did you?"
"No."
But he didn't open his mouth right away. He hesitated, lips twitching several times.
'He's really dragging this out. Is he about to ask about the System Administrator?'
She recalled what Baek Hee-won had said during their second trip to Taebaek Mountain.
Act natural. Play dumb.
The moment Se-ra started rummaging for her thousand-layer mask, Kang Se-jun finally spoke.
"You said Yoon Jae-hun is your brother."
But this was something she hadn't seen coming at all.
"Yeah. Now everyone knows. Our mom is Jeon Hee, and my brother is Yoon Jae-hun."
"Ha, so it was true."
"Why? Is there something wrong with my mom or brother?"
"The problem is I found out too late."
Too late? As Se-ra tilted her head, her face suddenly stiffened.
Kang Se-jun wasn't just any ordinary Awakener.
He was a regressor who'd turned back time five timesnow living his sixth life.
"No way... something happens to my brother and the Association President?"
"Calm down. I'll explain everything step by step."
Realizing her voice had risen without thinking, Se-ra took a deep breath. This was definitely not a conversation for others' ears.
"Before we get into it, one favor. Activate your skill for a sec."
"Why?"
"Your skill has a spatial attribute, so I was wondering if it could block our conversation from outside interference."
Huh? Block outsiders. Se-ra, who'd only thought of it as offensive, was quite surprised by his words.
'Liza-ssi, can this block sound too?'
Oh, got it.
Trapping enemies inside means it can block sound too.
"But even on a weekday with fewer people, my Red Cube is way too eye-catching. Can't you just cast a sound-blocking spell?"
"That won't work. I'll tell you once it's open, but try it for now. I can cover your cube with an illusion."
Se-ra obediently activated her skill.
'Right, it got upgraded.'
Just like the skill name had changed, the follow-up messages were different too.
'Domination.' From the skill description, it seemed to fluctuate based on mana or monster rank.
"Rank went up, and now the skill's even more solid."
Kang Se-jun, who had cast an illusion spell to hide the cube's presence, let out a gasp of admiration.
"It's incredibly sturdy now. Even I can't use my powers properly inside here. Spatial attribute users really are OP."
"Oh, really? Even an L-rank struggles. The word 'Domination' isn't just for show."
If it could suppress L-rank power, combat inside the cube might even be feasible.
"So why'd you have me do this?"
"My magic can't fully block a full-fledged celestial who might be eavesdropping. But your ability seals off space itself, so I figured it could work. You're absolute in this space."
"Celestial? Don't they have better things to do than spy on us?"
"I know one who might. In my past five lives, I witnessed a celestial once."
Celestialthey called it a star, but it was ultimately a god.
He'd seen one directly?
"Is that even possible?"
"Can't go into details. Don't know what butterfly effect it might cause."
She remembered the day he'd first told her his secret. He'd said revealing too much about the future could change things unpredictably.
This was probably part of that too.
"I told you before. In my previous five lives, I'd never seen you."
"I remember."
"Looks like back then, you really......"
Kang Se-jun trailed off, hesitating. Se-ra could guess what he meant.
"Died, right?"
"......Yeah."
"Not just that you didn't notice because I was F-rankyou're sure I died. Did you find something out?"
"Well......"
"No way my brother went off the rails after I died?"
To avenge her against the Cheolwon beast pup and to grow strong enough to protect his sister, Yoon Jae-hun had joined Athena at just twenty and tackled only the most dangerous dungeons to build his power.
How could he have stayed calm hearing his sister died? No way he didn't lose it.
"He caused absolute chaos. Later I heard it was because his sister died."
Probably in that werewolf dungeon.
But why was this time different? Even Se-ra was curious about that.
'Did the Administrator only offer me a contract this time, or did I reject it before? No idea what the difference is.'
Se-ra glanced at the air for a moment but didn't ask.
What mattered was now. The details of other timelines she knew nothing about weren't her concern. Thanks to the Administrator, she was thrivingsmashing dungeons left and right.
"But he's not the only one."
At Kang Se-jun's addition, Se-ra nodded.
"The Association President got mad too?"
"Mad doesn't cover it. If I'd known you were the cause, I'd have told you sooner. Begged you not to do anything dangerous. Wouldn't have let you go to Taebaek Mountain either."
"There was Seongja Rim too. And it's not that threatening to me now."
"Still."
Kang Se-jun sighed, rubbing his face with his hand. Fleeting traces of fatigue, sorrow, and anger showed.
"Please, even as an L-rank, don't be reckless. Be careful. Ha. Now I get why Song Han-na pulled those risky stunts."
"Why? What did the Association President do?"
Se-ra's heart skipped at his words. Jae-hun flipping out was one thing, but Song Han-na doing something dangerous?
"Think why I went to the trouble of blocking space for this talk?"
"......No way the eavesdropping celestial is the Association President's?"
Deoksugung Palace, close to the Association. Her ever-present god's ears could easily reach here.
"Tell Song Han-na to watch out for her celestial."
The notoriously overprotective one of hers.
"It's dangerous. She probably already knows, though."
But Kang Se-jun said to be careful because it was dangerous.
Se-ra's face stiffened rigidly.
Come to think of it, she knew nothing about that celestial. Just that it was top-tiercommon knowledge. Song Han-na had never properly explained, so even its abilities were a mystery.
"What the hell did that thing do?"
"Can't say details. You're alive now anyway, and not just anyone can touch you easily."
The biggest variable, her, had surpassed S-rank to become L-rank. The tragedies of his past five lives probably wouldn't repeat.
"Talking so vaguely just makes it more unsettling."
"No choice. It's not something good to share, and I don't even want to mention it."
His face darkened, as if even thinking about it was torment.
Even though it involved her family, Se-ra couldn't press further.
Fine. Like he said, if it wouldn't happen again, better not to know.
"That's everything?"
"Oh, no. One more thing I want to ask."
"What?"
"Do you know anything about the System Administrator's existence?"
"......"
How many times was he just gonna swerve in without signaling?
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