Chapter 47
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: The Section Chief's Request
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Section Chief Jang Hansu of the Hunter Management Bureau was taking a short break in the lounge, sipping his coffee.
He'd been swamped with work lately, which left him exhausted, but the overall situation wasn't bad.
Kim Jia, already a celebrity hunter, had truly skyrocketed in popularity recently.
Stimulated by her exploits, high-rank hunters were suddenly far more active.
Not just them—hunter activity across all ranks was on the rise.
Thanks to that, things had gotten incredibly busy, and incidents were piling up.
Still, it beat the hell out of gates reaching their deadline and breaking loose.
"That was a nightmare..."
The section chief reminisced about the old days.
It hadn't been long since the Great Cataclysm.
Before America's first returner started releasing inventions, undiscovered dungeons breaking was a frequent occurrence.
Inside a dungeon, you could methodically thin out the scattered monsters.
But a rampaging dungeon spewed them all out through the gate at once.
To stop that without casualties required massive manpower.
At least fifteen—no, twenty or more hunters of equal rank.
Meeting those numbers was never easy, so every incident caused huge losses.
Compared to those times, even with more high-rank dungeons appearing now, things were far more peaceful.
'Assuming high-rank dungeons don't rampage, that is...'
If it weren't for hunters like Kim Jia, who'd know.
Honestly, dungeon raids in rural areas were still touch-and-go every time.
High-rank hunters were in short supply not just in Korea, but worldwide.
So despite the fatigue, the section chief welcomed the recent momentum.
- Bzzz...
"Hm?"
Feeling a vibration in his pants pocket, the section chief pulled out his smartphone.
It was a message from a hunter he'd been keeping close tabs on lately.
He read it slowly.
'Hello, Section Chief. It's Sihyun. Is it okay if I take an E-Rank hunter into a C-Rank dungeon?'
An utterly routine request.
Guilds often asked for the same during newbie training.
'Perfect timing.'
The section chief's mind raced.
There was a headache-inducing dungeon on his plate.
He'd come to the lounge to cool off from it.
Maybe Sihyun could handle it cleanly?
If he asked politely, she'd surely agree.
They'd built that much rapport, he thought.
Decision made, he called Sihyun.
- ...Yes, hello?
"Hello, Sihyun. Calling about your message."
The section chief exchanged formal greetings with Sihyun.
Then cut straight to the chase.
"Taking an E-Rank into a C-Rank is fine right away. But first, could I ask a favor?"
- ...A favor?
"Yes. Nothing too tough for you, Sihyun."
The section chief summarized the situation for her.
A large C-Rank dungeon had appeared in Seoul recently.
Two parties of mostly C-Ranks—eight hunters total—had been deployed.
But one party got wiped, delaying the clear.
He wanted her to take it on.
"This isn't me forcing you under the guise of your request. It's just a favor. What do you think?"
- ...Aha.
A brief silence followed her response.
She was mulling it over.
The section chief prayed inwardly for her to say yes.
Large dungeons were avoided by hunters.
Depending on size, they couldn't be cleared in a day.
And rumors were spreading about this one.
One party wiped.
It had become an outright avoided dungeon.
Fortunately, the surviving party said they'd continue if they got enough members.
With Sihyun joining, it'd be a breeze.
No— she could solo it.
'Please, please...'
The section chief stared at the lounge ceiling with bloodshot eyes.
A minute passed like ten.
He gulped down the rest of his coffee.
Leaned back, staring at the ceiling again.
The short but agonizing moment ended with her reply.
- ...I'm fine with it. But it's not my call alone. Can I discuss it and get back to you?
"Of course! Take your time discussing and call whenever you're ready."
A positive response!
The section chief couldn't hide his grin.
Not full approval yet, but his nagging dungeon issue now had a path forward.
Call ended, he left the lounge.
Plenty of work left, but his shoulders felt lighter.
He returned to his office beaming.
Thinking how smart he'd been to steadily build ties with her.
Siyun, slumped face-down on her desk, slowly lifted her head.
"GAME OVER" blazed across her monitor.
The moment opportunity struck, viewers swarmed in excitedly.
Lmaooooooo
Aah...
Died again
Lolololol
Fr lololol
Mentally shattered, Siyun stared blankly at the chat before chugging water.
"Guys, gotta hit the bathroom real quick..."
Mic muted, she flopped onto her bed.
She played this game occasionally because viewers loved it, but it was pure hell every time.
And lately...
Just dodge well and land your hits lol
"Hnnng..."
Her sister piling on the mental attacks had doubled the damage.
She never acted like that in daily life.
Even her TrTube comments were always sweet.
But live chat? Viewers corrupted her into that.
'What if she starts typing weirdly in comments too...?'
The chats hadn't always been like this.
They still toed the line—for now—but what if she ended up like the others someday?
Was this the saintess's fall or whatever?
Why did it have to start with my stream?!
Siyun pounded the bed in protest.
"Bathroom it is..."
She sighed deeply and got up.
Heading to the living room, she spotted her sister on a call.
TV was naturally tuned to Momo Bin's stream.
Another sigh as she used the bathroom.
Then pettiness bubbled up.
'Dodge well and land hits, huh?'
Let's see if she says that after trying it herself.
I won't suffer alone! She needs to feel my pain!
Siyun grinned mischievously and approached her sister, who had just ended the call.
It was a cheap, low-spec game anyway.
Her sister's work laptop could run it fine.
"Unnie, Unnie."
"...Yeah?"
Siyun called out in an excited tone.
Sihyun looked up from her laptop at Siyun.
"Wanna try that game yourself?"
She pointed at the TV.
As Sihyun glanced over, Siyun rapid-fired.
"I've played it before, and it's surprisingly fun hands-on. It's not pricey, so wanna give it a shot if you're curious?"
"You've played it?"
Sihyun's eyes widened.
She couldn't picture her sister playing this.
"Whyy? Weird that I've tried it?"
"No, no, not like that."
As Siyun puffed her cheeks, Sihyun waved it off hastily.
"Isn't this super hard? Must've been rough."
"Yeah, insanely tough..."
Just did it, Siyun swallowed the rest.
"Doesn't watching make you curious? Give it a try, Unnie."
Siyun tempted her again.
Experiencing the difficulty firsthand might snap the falling saintess back to normal.
No more "just dodge well and land hits" nonsense.
She'd realize how brutally hard that was.
Siyun smirked in anticipation.
But.
"Hehe, check this out."
Sihyun turned her laptop so Siyun could see clearly.
Minimized the open document and pulled up the game library.
'What'm I supposed to see?'
Siyun watched obediently.
Sihyun scrolled the list and clicked one.
The game Siyun had just recommended.
'She already... played?'
Eyes bulging, Siyun spotted the playtime naturally.
1 hour 50 minutes. Still refundable.
Sihyun clicked the achievements beside it, showing the list.
She looked up smugly, shoulders squared proudly.
"Whaddya think? Pretty great, right?!"
"Uh, y-yeah..."
Her sparkling eyes demanded praise.
Siyun rubbed her eyes, unwilling to believe.
Looked at the screen again.
85% achievements.
That was why Siyun had been struggling on stream.
Unthinkingly, she fiddled with the laptop to scroll.
'M-my god... what is this?'
Minus the grindy "do X times" ones, everything was cleared.
She'd sucked every drop of value. In just 1 hour 50.
'I've been grinding for hours...'
Total defeat.
Unnie could say "just dodge well and land hits."
She had the skills to mock from chat.
Unlike the other viewers.
Siyun looked away from the laptop at her sister.
Beaming, waiting for praise.
Feeling her cheek muscles twitch, Siyun ignored it and spoke.
"...A-amazing, Unnie! You're good at games too!"
"Played a ton back in the day!"
At the praise, Sihyun grinned brightly, hands on hips, chest puffed out proudly.
A majestic pose.
Siyun's gaze drifted to Sihyun's ample confidence.
Sihyun looked down at her own chest.
Siyun felt defeat again.
"...Unnie's good at everything. What can't you do?"
"Huh? No way. I suck at plenty."
Sihyun's response drew a skeptical glare from Siyun.
Under that intense stare, Sihyun tilted her head but answered earnestly.
"Even this game—I died to everything I didn't know. I just don't forget after seeing once."
"......"
"Games aside? Can't cook, can't clean or organize. Oh, fashion and outfits? No clue."
Sihyun listed them off.
Siyun listened quietly.
And then.
'There it is—the opening...!'
Siyun slapped her sister's shoulder firmly.
Sihyun eyed her sister questioningly at the sudden move.
"Unnie."
"...Yeah?"
"If you don't know something, shouldn't you learn it?"
"Uh... y-yeah?"
Sensing trouble, Sihyun's eyes twitched.
Siyun smirked.
"Outfit coordination. Wanna learn?"
"......Yeah."
Their expressions flipped.
Siyun patted her sister's slumped shoulders and returned to her room.
She sank into her chair, savoring victory leisurely.
A nagging voice called it a mental win, but she ignored it.
Siyun resumed her stream slowly.
That day, mentally refreshed Momo Bin cleared the game and collected the achievements successfully.
Right after dinner.
Sihyun messaged her tutoring student.
- Areum, free the day after tomorrow?
- Yep! Tons of time!
Satisfied with Areum's energetic reply, Sihyun nodded and sent another.
- Wings Guild folks and I are hitting a large C-Rank dungeon. Come observe.
The "1" on the new message vanished.
Areum had read it.
But no reply came right away.
"Hm...?"
Tilting her head, Sihyun grabbed a drink from the fridge.
Finally, a response.
- Yeeesss.......
A terribly listless reply.