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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: An EX-Rank Weapon
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Jeong Taeseok nervously tapped his foot, his expression anxious.
As he glanced back and forth between his watch and the gate, the sound of a car screeching to a halt reached his ears.
When Do Junyeong, the Chief of the Management Office, stepped out, Jeong Taeseok looked as if he was about to burst into tears, as if he’d just met his savior.
“Chief!”
“What’s the situation?”
“The gate still won't open. I'm sure the boss monster hasn't been defeated, so how could this possibly…”
“Then we have no choice but to force the gate open.”
“What?”
Taeseok’s eyes widened when he saw the green magic stone Do Junyeong pulled from his pocket.
Wasn't that a precious Gate Stone, something you could only get with an incredibly rare drop rate in dungeons? To think he was going to use such an astronomically expensive item, capable of forcibly opening and closing gates, right here!
This time, Jeong Taeseok was so moved he actually did burst into tears.
“Opening the gate.”
Do Junyeong ignored Taeseok and pressed the magic stone against the gate. A Gate Stone of this purity should have no problem opening a Rank 3 dungeon.
…At least, it should have.
【Warning! The rank of the dungeon ‘Werewolf Habitat’ is too high! Gate Stone cannot be used!】
【Warning! The Gate Stone is shattering from excessive use!】
As the successive warnings rang out, the green Gate Stone crumbled into pieces.
“…”
“…”
Do Junyeong and Taeseok stared wide-eyed, completely caught off guard by the unexpected turn of events.
The magic measuring device clearly said it was Rank 3, so why was the dungeon's rank suddenly too high? And the Gate Stone shattered from excessive use?
Was this even possible?
But the surprises didn’t end there. A new message appeared.
【The current rank of the dungeon ‘Werewolf Habitat’ is EX.】
Shock settled on the faces of Do Junyeong and Jeong Taeseok.
An EX-Rank.
That was a classification used only when a dungeon was so powerful that ranking it was meaningless. Even Do Junyeong had never seen an EX-Rank dungeon in his life.
But a mere werewolf dungeon was EX-Rank?
‘Impossible. In that case, Hunter Yoon Seora, who's trapped inside…’
Do Junyeong’s expression hardened instantly. If this was true, there was no way Yoon Seora was coming out of there alive.
No, perhaps she was already…
Junyeong’s fists clenched tightly.
“Ah, are you the civil servant in charge?”
Just then, Park Jinyong, the very person who had thrown Seora into the dungeon, approached them. Taeseok gasped and shot a nervous glance at Do Junyeong. Unaware, Park Jinyong swaggered over and continued speaking.
“It's not like I did it on purpose, but hey, my bad. I was just trying to show that F-Rank the dangers of a dungeon. How was I supposed to know it would close?”
“…”
“Still, it's a good thing she was an F-Rank. Not like she'd be any help anyway, right? Just think of it as a good thing—we made one sacrifice, and the gate closed without anyone else getting hurt…”
Park Jinyong’s cheerful rambling was cut short. Do Junyeong had seized him by the jaw.
His chillingly calm eyes fixed on him.
“Pushing someone into a dungeon is forbidden by law. Even if the other person is a Hunter. Surely the attack squad leader of the Cheongrang Guild wouldn't be unaware of that.”
As Do Junyeong's grip tightened, Park Jinyong's bulky frame was slowly lifted off the ground. Park Jinyong’s eyes bulged. He grabbed Do Junyeong's arm with his thick hands, but it didn't budge.
“Guh, ugh, ack…!”
“And if you did it knowing the law, that warrants aggravated punishment. Adding attempted murder to obstruction of official duties.”
“Urp, ugh!”
“Section Chief Jeong Taeseok. Please record this. I am punishing A-Rank Hunter Park Jinyong of the Cheongrang Guild under my authority.”
“Ch-Chief, agh!”
As Junyeong’s fist rose high, a deafening roar erupted, and the ground shook.
The park where the gate had appeared instantly descended into chaos.
* * *
“…So this is the power of an S-Rank.”
Goosebumps rose all over Seora's skin.
There had been roughly thirty wolf-type monsters in the cave. But now, all thirty of them lay dead, strewn across the floor. And that wasn’t all.
“A one-shot, one-kill on the werewolf, too…”
A single mana bullet.
That was all it took to kill a werewolf that stood nearly three meters tall.
I mean, even for an S-Rank… is it normal to kill a Rank 3 dungeon's boss monster in a single shot…?
“Administrator, Administrator. No matter how I look at it, these stats seem way too overpowered, don't they?”
Are all S-Ranks like this? Was I just so used to being a useless F-Rank that I can’t grasp these numbers? Do all S-Ranks normally have such monstrous abilities?!
As Seora stared, her gaze shifting between the sniper rifle and the dead werewolf, the weapon’s information window appeared before her.
【Weapon Information】
Name: Heat (EX)
Type: Firearm
Unique Trait: Can freely change its form according to the owner's will. (Limited to firearms.)
Special Note: This firearm is imbued with the System Administrator's blessing. Accuracy and destructive power are each increased by 200%.
“…”
Seora rubbed her eyes. She looked at the status window, rubbed her eyes again, looked again, rubbed her eyes again, and looked again…
But no matter how many times she checked, nothing changed.
So, this… this… gun she was holding in her hands, no, this venerable *Mr. Gun*, was EX-Rank…
“…Administrator, do you normally give EX-Rank items as gifts? And this unique trait is just broken, you know?”
The gun suddenly felt heavy. Seora's hands trembled as she held it delicately with both hands.
It was common for higher beings—that is, Constellations—to sponsor gifts or skills when one contracted with them.
But what kind of madman gives away an EX-Rank weapon!
And look at this unique trait. It can change form at will.
Seora whispered softly.
“Colt.”
The weapon flashed, and its heavy weight instantly lightened. The sniper rifle had transformed into a Colt in a single moment.
“It's real…”
She had seen many weapons since becoming a civil servant, but she could say with certainty that she had never once seen a weapon that could freely change its form.
This revered weapon was far more valuable than the newly minted S-Rank Seora herself.
【Administrator: /(*´ ∇｀)】
Just then, a very strange message appeared.
What is this? Some kind of text message…
“Administrator… Don't tell me, are you the System Administrator?”
【Administrator: (*＾▽＾)／】
Is it real? Is it really the System Administrator?
“But why is the message…”
Like this.
What's with the emoticons? As far as she knew, when Awakened contracted with Constellations, even if full conversations were impossible, basic communication was still an option.
So why was the Administrator, of all beings, sending her emoticons?
Seora, who had imagined a serious, fearsome, or at least somewhat normal image, felt a huge shock, as if she'd been smacked on the back of the head.
Emoticons. She had never heard of any Awakened contracted with Constellations communicating like… like this.
“Excuse me, Administrator. Why are you only sending emoticons?”
【Administrator: ˃̣̣̣̣̣̣︿˂̣̣̣̣̣̣ 】
It was crying. Seora asked again.
“Y-You can't possibly *only* be able to communicate with those, right?”
Please, please tell me I'm wrong.
【Administrator: o(T^T)o】
But this Administrator crushed her hopes. Seora unconsciously smacked her forehead.
My god. A contractor who communicates with emoticons. And it's the Administrator, no less!
“The emoticon Administrator who gifted me an EX-Rank weapon…”
【Administrator: (*´∀`*)ゞ】
‘Don't act shy! I was being sarcastic!’
She couldn't tell if it didn't get the hint or if it was acting this way on purpose.
No matter how I look at it, this Administrator seems very strange. Is my contract really going to be okay?
【Administrator: ꒪⌓꒪ 】
Oops, her worried expression must have been too obvious. Seora quickly smoothed her features.
“No, let's think about this. When would I ever get my hands on such a broken item? Accuracy and destructive power boosts, not to mention it can freely change its form.”
Return this broken item just because it's scary to hold? That's absurd. This was a precious treasure she had to cling to tenaciously, even if it meant grabbing the Administrator's pant legs and never letting go.
‘Right, let's just think of it as winning the Powerball. Compared to winning the Powerball, being born with a diamond spoon is nothing.’
Seora whispered to herself, as if trying to brainwash herself.
“I'll use it well. Thank you.”
Pat, pat.
Seora patted the weapon as if stroking a baby's bottom before carefully placing it in her inventory.
Until now, it had held nothing but junk, but now it seemed to shine as if gilded in gold. It probably wasn't just her imagination.
“Now that I've dealt with the werewolf, the gate should open, right?”
【Administrator: ◝(・ω・)◟】
“Then I should probably head out…”
Seora started to walk but stopped short and looked around.
A blood-soaked cave, thirty dead wolf monsters, and one werewolf with its head blown off.
It was still an impressive sight, but there was one problem.
“If I go outside now, other S-Ranks, at the very least, will notice that my stats have changed, right?”
That was a problem.
No matter how much you honed your skills, it was impossible for an F-Rank to jump to S-Rank in an instant. It was even more impossible for her, since her awakening limit had been F-Rank.
If this got out, she would undoubtedly become the target of a lot of unwelcome attention. She hated that idea.
She didn't want to bear the weight of responsibility that others forced upon her. Nor did she want to live a life of sacrifice, just as someone else had.
“Is there any way to prevent anyone from finding out my stats have increased?”
【Administrator: ◔_◔?】
“…I don't want to let anyone know. Anyone at all. So please, I'm begging you.”
Seora clasped her hands together and pleaded earnestly.
She hated the idea of a life crushed by the responsibility that demanded sacrifice. Her only goal was to live freely and comfortably.
Perhaps her desperation was conveyed.
【The System Administrator bestows a blessing upon their one and only contractor.】
【The blessing ‘Silver Veil’ is activated.】
【Blessing ‘Silver Veil’
Effect: A blessing granted by the System Administrator to their contractor. A portion of the contractor's stats will be hidden by a veil. No one can view these stats without the contractor's permission.】
Seora's eyes widened at the blessing bestowed upon her.
“Th-thank you.”
She was a little stunned, not having expected it to agree so readily. It was probably just her imagination, but she felt as if something had truly settled over her body, and she ran a hand down her arm.
Is this what a contract with a higher being is normally like?
“Really, thank you.”
【Administrator: _へ__(‾◡‾ )>】
“…”
Just when she was starting to feel moved, the emoticons would make her feelings crumble. Seora, who had almost given the Administrator a cold, dead stare, quickly wiped her face to change her expression.
Right, what's it matter if my contractor is a little strange, as long as I get these special perks.
…I just hope it's only a little strange, not a lot.
