Chapter 44
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: The Calm Before the Storm
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―Shin Ji-ui-nim, confirmed.
Along with the AI's dry, emotionless voice, the conference room door slid open. The first thing that caught my eye was a massive screen emblazoned with the words "Gate Explosion Emergency Countermeasures Meeting." The room was already packed with quite a few people, all wearing grave expressions as they buzzed with intense discussions.
"Shin Ji-ui Hunter, over here!"
Han Jin-woo Hunter, standing near the front of the screen, waved at me. For a brief moment, all eyes turned my way, but they quickly returned to their own conversations.
Se-bin-i hasn't arrived yet, huh.
Around Han Jin-woo Hunter were only Choi Min Hunter and Cha Do-yun Hunter. Choi Min Hunter gave me a quick glance and a slight nod in greeting, while Cha Do-yun Hunter, as usual, didn't spare me a look and just checked messages on Hunter Net.
"Is it really true that the Gyeongpo A-Rank Dungeon is going to explode?"
"The Chairman saw it with 'Heaven's Mandate,' so it's gotta be 100% certain."
He answered calmly, but a shadow hung over Han Jin-woo Hunter's face.
As far as I could remember, I'd never personally experienced a gate explosion, so it all felt a bit unreal to me.
Han Jin-woo Hunter and Choi Min Hunter, as direct victims, must feel it differently.
At that moment, the conference room door opened again, and in walked the Chairman and Se-bin-i.
Thud.
"Huh?!"
I shot up from my chair, my eyes tracking Se-bin-i.
Is Se-bin-i hurt?!
A large bandage covered the left side of Se-bin-i's cheek, and her trench coat—which she always kept pristine—was slightly torn.
"Shin Ji-ui Hunter."
"Ah."
Han Jin-woo Hunter tugged my arm down, making me sit again. But I couldn't tear my gaze away from Se-bin-i.
Se-bin-i rubbed her dry face with one hand, scanned the room with her eyes, and soon locked gazes with me. She gave me a faint smile, but exhaustion was plain as day on her face.
"As everyone has confirmed on Hunter Net, a gate explosion is scheduled to occur at the Gyeongpo A-Rank Dungeon within three days. That's the reason I called you all here today."
The Chairman began speaking even before stepping onto the podium. Everyone held their breath, waiting for him to continue.
"My prediction that the Gyeongpo Dungeon's gate will explode is based on two things. One is my skill, Heaven's Mandate, and the other is the environmental changes in the Gyeongpo Dungeon."
As the Chairman extended his hand into the air, the ring on his finger emitted a dazzling blue light, and a magic circle filled with Chinese characters materialized.
"Heaven's Mandate is a skill that lets me see the future of this world. It mainly shows negative futures."
Whoosh.
A familiar Chinese character floated out from the magic circle.
災
"Disaster."
"Whoa, that startled me!"
I flinched and whipped around to see Ha Mi-jun Hunter grinning at me.
I nearly screamed.
"It's a skill that only gives rough details on location and timing, which is a shame."
Being able to see the future at all was already an insane skill. Plus, it was the only S-Rank divination skill in the entire world, from what I'd heard.
As the Chairman lowered his hand, the magic circle dissolved into mist and vanished.
"The detected threat this time was in the Gangwon Province area, and since the danger level is lower than the Yeouido S-Rank gate explosion, I judged it to be an A-Rank Dungeon. That's why I dispatched Kang Se-bin Hunter there alone."
A murmur rippled through the room. Most of the talk centered on Se-bin-i.
"She went into an A-Rank Dungeon by herself?"
"Even at DF ranking 3rd, isn't that a bit much?"
Se-bin-i's DF rank 3? News to me.
The gap between S-Rank and A-Rank was huge, but not so much that one person could solo clear a dungeon. With A-Rank Hunters providing support, a stable clear was possible... but Se-bin-i had cleared it alone.
Se-bin-i hopped lightly onto the stage and stood straight at the podium.
"Tell them about the dungeon, Kang Se-bin Hunter."
"Time is short, so I'll keep it brief. The number of regular monsters in the Gyeongpo A-Rank Dungeon has increased dramatically, and the item drop descriptions aren't displaying properly."
Se-bin-i gazed upward for a moment, as if recalling something, then spoke again.
"For the boss monster, attack power was the same, but its defense felt drastically higher. It took more time than expected to take it down. These are classic signs of a gate explosion, so I assess the Gyeongpo A-Rank Dungeon has a high risk of explosion as well. That's all."
Se-bin-i bowed and stepped down from the stage. Then she strode straight to our table and plopped down in the seat next to Han Jin-woo Hunter. As she peeled off the bandage on her cheek, a long horizontal gash came into view.
"You......"
"It's just a scratch. I'm fine."
Se-bin-i awkwardly avoided my sharp gaze.
I was worried and upset, but there was no one to blame...
"Han Jin-woo Hunter, could you heal her, please?"
"Leave it to me!"
Han Jin-woo Hunter spread his hand, and leaves fluttered over the vividly bloodstained wound. Each time a leaf caressed it, Se-bin-i's brow twitched, but soon the injury was completely gone. A skill that could even revive the dying made something like this look effortless.
"As Kang Se-bin Hunter briefed, the possibility of the Gyeongpo A-Rank Dungeon exploding is very high. Depending on the internal situation, it could blow any moment."
The "Gate Explosion Emergency Countermeasures Meeting" vanished from the screen, replaced by a map of Gangwon Province. In the center was the Gyeongpo A-Rank Dungeon gate, with photos of a hospital and school below it.
"Local residents will be evacuated to underground bunkers at Gangneung Hospital and the elementary school. We'll go all-out to exterminate the monsters so they don't reach the city. The battle is expected to last a minimum of three days based on dungeon internal time."
"Three days? That's pretty long."
"For an A-Rank, yeah, it's quite drawn out."
Ha Mi-jun Hunter muttered. Three days inside the dungeon was a seriously long time.
From what Ha Mi-jun Hunter and Han Jin-woo Hunter were saying, the Gyeongpo Dungeon didn't sound like a pushover.
The screen advanced to the next slide, showing three large rectangles side by side.
[Internal] [Boundary] [External]
"Following the gate explosion response manual, we'll divide into internal team, boundary team, and external team. The internal team will handle respawning regular monsters inside. The boundary team will deal with monsters leaking from the boundary itself and any the internal team misses. The external team will protect the city from outside the gate."
I got the internal and external parts, but boundary was new to me.
"Han Jin-woo Hunter."
"Yes?"
"Is the boundary different from the inside?"
I whispered to Han Jin-woo Hunter, who lowered his voice in response. He placed both hands on the table and continued.
"Before exiting to the gate from the dungeon interior we know, there's this total chaotic mess of a space. We call that the boundary."
"How chaotic are we talking......"
"Like, literally a complete mess~."
Han Jin-woo Hunter, uncharacteristically, grimaced and pouted. Just thinking about it soured his mood.
"Monsters that look like they crawled out of abstract art flying around, the Statue of Liberty suddenly talking to you... Anyway, it's an incredibly weird space."
"Those are the monsters leaking from the boundary itself that the Chairman mentioned. Visuals you've never seen before."
As Ha Mi-jun Hunter chimed in, the Chairman turned off the screen and stepped down from the stage.
"Internal team: A to B-Rank Hunters. Boundary team: mostly S-Ranks. External team: B and C-Ranks. Team assignments will be notified via Hunter Net after the meeting."
Thanks to Authority, most monsters were easy pickings, but I wondered if boundary monsters would show info.
"Explosion estimated for tomorrow at 2 PM. Assemble at the Gyeongpo A-Rank Dungeon gate by 6 AM tomorrow. Meeting adjourned!"
"Chodang-dong residents, this way to the shelter!"
"Gyeongpo-dong residents, hospital underground bunker! No solo actions—follow the Hunters' guidance!"
"Three! Per! Line! Please~!"
[Eloquence increased]
[Awakener 'Shin Ji-ui's words carry greater power than others.]
[All lifeforms in range are swayed by Awakener 'Shin Ji-ui's declaration.]
[Declaration result: Accepted]
Never thought I'd use Ego like a actual megaphone.
At my single command, people lined up orderly and boarded the shelter buses. The queue stretching along the beach seemed endless. Thanks to teleportation Hunters, we'd made this much progress, but evacuating everyone would take at least another hour.
"Hey, my house is right in front of the gate—if it gets smashed, who's taking responsibility?"
"We'll do our utmost to prevent that from hap—"
"What if it does happen? You think I'm asking for promises right now?"
What's the commotion?
A male Hunter and a man who looked about 70 were arguing at the back of the line. The Hunter, visibly exhausted, kept repeating canned responses like an auto-reply bot, while the man got increasingly furious at his attitude.
Troublemakers were everywhere.
I sighed deeply and approached the male Hunter. The man's gaze shifted to me.
"Oh......"
"What's the problem, sir?"
He recognized me?
The troublemaker's demeanor softened noticeably, and he spoke to me in a much milder tone.
"Oh, uh, you're one of the really strong ones, right? Our house is that blue-roofed one over there—way too close to the gate."
"Ah... yes."
"Just in case, I mean, of course our Hunters will handle it, but if it gets destroyed, where do we get compensation...?"
Even with lives on the line, he pulls that out.
Many older folks saw Hunters as mere monster cleanup crew, leading to cases like this.
Bossing around that male Hunter but using polite speech with me? Exactly the type I despise.
"Your insurance company will handle that, sir."
"Haha... Ah, but that's my insurance—what about from the Association...?"
"Nothing."
[Non-Awakener 'Kang Hwan-in' is swayed by Awakener 'Shin Ji-ui's declaration.]
"For now, trust the Hunters and head to safety."
"Ah, y-yes, of course......"
[Declaration result: Accepted]
The man slunk away, thoroughly deflated, and rejoined the evacuation line. As a bus returned from the shelter, the queue shrank quickly, and soon the troublemaker was out of sight.
"Haaa... Thank you, Shin Ji-ui Hunter."
The male Hunter let out a long sigh and patted his chest in relief.
He kinda reminded me of that theater employee I helped.
Bzzz—
"Oh, phone."
My work phone vibrated then.
[Assemble at the gate immediately.]
The emergency notice blinked. It was finally time to head to the dungeon ahead of the gate explosion.