Civil Servant Hunter's S-class Resignation Log – Chapter 9
Se-ra gazed at the crack that was slowly beginning to cluster together.
The faint color emanating from it was blue.
It was an ordinary general dungeon.
"Whoa, it's real."
Even with the gate right in front of her eyes, she couldn't sense any mana at all. If even her S-rank senses couldn't pick it up, then naturally the machines that detect mana waves wouldn't detect it either.
This gate right now was entirely hers alone.
"So cool, Administrator!"
"The Administrator is the best, as expected!"
'Look at him getting shy. He's just too adorable.'
Really, so pathetic it was cute...
"Ahem."
Se-ra quickly erased the irreverent thought before the narrow-minded Administrator could notice.
"Alright, shall we go in?"
"Right. All the items from raiding the dungeon are mine...!"
Ehehehe. Her mouth stretched into a wide grin on its own. She'd gotten a ton from the werewolf habitat last time, and now another item party!
'These are all money-makers.'
Se-ra wiped the drool threatening to escape without thinking and gripped her weapon tightly once more before stepping through the gate.
"4th-grade, huh. Might be a bit lacking to test out the weapons."
Disappointment crossed Se-ra's face. She'd one-shot a 3rd-grade dungeon's boss monster, so how easy would 4th-grade ones be? What a shame.
"...Whoa. I really am S-rank now."
Se-ra, who had been slinging her weapon over her shoulder and grumbling, belatedly realized what she'd said and jolted in surprise.
It had only been a few days since she'd been thrown into a 3rd-grade dungeon and braced for death, and now here she was, clicking her tongue that even 4th-grade was insufficient.
Unbeknownst to her, her body had perfectly adapted to her elevated status.
"Humans really are creatures of adaptation."
See? She was even taking that weird Administrator's emoticons in stride now.
"It's a barren wasteland."
Under the ashen sky lay a vast rocky expanse without a single blade of grass or tree.
As Se-ra's aura spread out, the scattered stones and boulders around her began to stir and reveal themselves. They were all monsters made of clay, parasites in the earth giants' habitat.
"Let's start with Heat, then."
There was a perfect spot right nearby.
Se-ra quickly climbed to a slightly elevated area that suited the word "rise" more than "cliff." Her grade had risen, boosting her overall physical abilities, making her movements incredibly swift.
'Gotta test how fast I can move, too.'
Weapon testing came first, so she dropped to her belly. A sniper's true flavor was mowing them down from on high, after all.
"Great sightlines."
She gripped Heat, which had transformed into a sniper rifle in an instant, and aimed at the monsters thundering toward her.
"Bang bang."
Pulling the trigger unleashed the tremendous mana dwelling within her, converting it into bullets that sliced through the air.
With every shot, stone fragments exploded. Piercing and shattering multiple monsters in one go was nothing.
She'd felt it in the werewolf habitat too, but the EX-grade weapon blessed by the Administrator was drawing out her vastly superior strength to its maximum.
The craftsman doesn't blame his tools, but still, a good brush is betterthis was exactly that.
"No wonder you threw such a fit every time I touched an S-rank gun. I get it now."
Se-ra chuckled lowly as she pierced a larger monster's head.
The S-rank weapon she'd chosen today wasn't a gun. Every time she'd reached for one, the Administrator had bombarded her with emoticons in fierce opposition.
Not just thathe'd even forcibly opened her inventory and pointed wildly at Heat.
If she'd insisted on another gun, that petty Administrator would've dropped the EX-grade weapon right in front of Han-na without a second thought.
Now she saw exactly why.
'Once you've tasted an EX-grade gun, how could you be satisfied with some S-rank trash?'
Her lips curved into a deep smile at the thrilling sensation spreading with every trigger pull.
Ah, there's no going back to the days without a gun now. How could she give this up after knowing the taste?
A gunner was only complete with a gun in hand.
"Ah...!"
Then the hard rise she'd been lying on began to shake. She gripped her weapons and swiftly retreated, lowering her body. She'd planned to wait out the vibrations, but they only intensified.
"Huh? Don't tell me..."
Judging by the frantic emoticon, the Administrator thought the same.
"This rise was a monster?!"
No sooner had she spoken than the ground beneath her feet shot up to an enormous height. A head sprouted from what had been a mere rise, followed by a body and limbs bulging out.
It was an earth giant, resident of this dungeon.
"Whoa, and not just one or two."
Every slightly elevated spot around had become giants. Their red eyes all fixed straight on the tiny Se-ra.
"What a sight."
Everything here wished for her death.
Yet she felt no fearonly exhilaration. Even facing things that could kill her anytime, she was at ease.
Ah, moments like this, not the grade or stats, made her truly realize she'd changed.
Her entire body instinctively knew: those things couldn't lay a scratch on her.
"First strike wins."
No reason to fear, so Se-ra moved immediately. She tucked the pistol-form Heat into her waistband and drew her new weapon instead.
Whoa. The perfect grip sticking right to her palm. Amazing hand-feel, for real.
"Alright, then..."
Grinning, Se-ra swung the blunt weapon at the giant's head right beside her.
How many strikes would it take for herwho could kill monsters with one bulletto burst an earth giant's head with an S-rank weapon?
The answer: one.
Splat! Boom! The stone head shattered completely, sending fragments flying through the air.
As the giant's body wobbled amid the hail of stones, Se-ra launched herself and swung again. Kaboom! A louder explosion, and the body crumbled entirely.
Amid it all, Se-ra landed safely on the ground without a hint of disruption.
"Damn, balance is insane too."
She'd always wondered how top hunters zipped between buildings, hopped rooftops, and soared through the sky.
Now she got it. Their physical prowess really made it possible.
"Ah, thrilling. So damn thrilling. And with great weapons, it's even better."
Se-ra looked at the weapon in her hand with sparkling eyes.
The handle offering perfect grip, the rounded part with just the right length and sharp spikes that crushed even stone in one hit.
What a glorious mace.
"What? Why the face?"
"Sulking?"
No reply meant he really was.
What did I even do? I just said it felt good in the hand...
Oh.
"Ahem. Well! Still, Heat's the best, of course. The one-of-a-kind EX-grade weapon personally blessed by you, Administrator. This mace is just backup, just backup."
Se-ra waved the mace around carelessly. Then, with noticeably gentler careas if it were far more preciousshe stroked the pistol tucked in her pants.
Good. Not fully over it, but his mood had improved a bit.
Got it. Treat the Administrator like a kid and coax him. Okay, understood.
"Alright, time to clean up the rest."
She'd come to test the new weapon, so she kept the mace in hand. But this short weapon made dealing with all the giants tricky.
What was needed in such cases?
The S-rank weapon's auxiliary ability, naturally.
Se-ra sliced her palm on the mace's spikes, then sprinkled the flowing blood over it. The black mace flashed red for an instant.
Name: Crimson Flail (S-rank)
Type: Mace
Unique Trait: A cursed flail that thirsts for blood. Its destructive power increases the more enemy blood it absorbs.
Auxiliary Ability: When absorbing the blood of its recognized owner, an Awakener, it transforms into a whip for a set duration. It moves more freely the stronger the owner.
When she'd chosen it, Song Han-na hadn't said much. The auxiliary was good, but meaningless for F-rank Se-ra who couldn't even handle a D-rank gun properly. She probably thought it was just easy to swing for someone with barely any mana.
Of course not. Se-ra had checked the auxiliary too. As a sniper, she needed a wide-area backup weapon.
Se-ra gripped the mace soaked in her own blood and swung vigorously at the charging giants.
The mace, gorged on her S-rank dense mana-infused blood, instantly morphed into an enormous spiked whip and cleaved the giant from head to toe.
Kabooooom! The whip slamming into the ground made the earth dance like an earthquake. The giants staggered, unable to approach.
"Ah, too good!"
Se-ra swept the whip horizontally at them. The S-rank hunter's power, amplified by the Administrator's blessing, halved several stone giants in a flash.
Ah, what now? I'm really too strong?
Strength, speedeverything was different. Her superior physicality made her dizzy with euphoria.
In the barren wasteland amid flying dust and stones, Se-ra rampaged with a vibrant smile.
Unaware that every monster in the dungeon, stone giants included, was terrified, she was genuinely happy.
It was as if a devil had descended upon the dungeon.
* * *
The happy memories from the dungeon lingered even on her way to work the next day.
Her commute wasn't torture for once. Item hoarding was this good?
"Yoon Se-ra, you look thrilled."
Oh no. She'd been grinning like an idiot again.
Se-ra clamped her mouth shut and shot a prim look at the person beside her. Her teammate and friend, Gong Hae-yeon, wore an incredulous expression.
"Too late. What's up? What good thing happened to loosen up your face like that?"
"After that huge incident recently? No way something good happened."
"Your lips are dry. If you're gonna lie, at least wet them first!"
Gong Hae-yeon nagged, but Se-ra didn't budge. She was a trustworthy friend, sure, but could she really say she'd soloed a 4th-grade dungeon and hogged all the items?
'Jackpot.'
Earth giants were rock-attribute, perfect for tank gear. Which meant top dollar.
Thinking of her soon-to-swell bank balance made her heart race; she'd done deep breaths all night. Life really was about that one big hit.
"Look at those greedy eyes. Spill the truth!"
'Damn, sharp as ever.'
Ahem, guess her worldly desires were showing.
Se-ra hurriedly covered her eyes brimming with greed.