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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: A Masterful Performance
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“Time to get out of here.”
Thanks to the administrator's blessing, I've managed to conceal my stats perfectly. Seora headed toward the gate, picking up items scattered across the floor as she went.
Wow, just as you'd expect from a grade-3 dungeon. Look at the quality of this mana stone. A werewolf hide? Can't leave this behind. This is great.
Feeling like she was looting a treasure vault all by herself, a wide grin spread across Seora's face.
‘But I can't seem to find my shoes anywhere.’
The jacket wrapped around her feet was a bit uncomfortable, but she didn't want to walk barefoot through the blood-soaked cave, so she headed for the gate just as she was.
It had truly been an eventful day.
“Hmm. Since I have to hide the fact I'm S-rank now, I guess I can't get my bloody revenge on Park Jinyong. Man, that's a shame.”
But I can't just reveal my identity to punish that bastard.
I'll have to mention this to Siljangnim.
Do Junyeong, with his gruff yet caring side, would surely find a way to get back at the guy somehow.
And it wasn't long before Seora realized just how wrong she was.
It was great that the boss monster's death had opened the gate, allowing her to get out safely, but...
Why on earth was the park, which had been perfectly fine before she entered the dungeon, now completely devastated?
“What in the world happened here...?”
That wasn't all. In the middle of the destroyed park, two men stood.
No, one of them wasn't standing. Another man was holding a large, bloodied man up by the neck.
“...Siljangnim?”
She could see Siljang Do Junyeong choking the battered Park Jinyong.
‘How...?’
Seora's expression stiffened slightly.
Do Junyeong, the head of the Management Office and the second most skilled Hunter in the Association, was a highly experienced A-rank Hunter. He was a bit stronger than Park Jinyong, but they were still the same rank...
But looking at the utterly wrecked Park Jinyong, it seemed as though Do Junyeong had completely overpowered him. The gap between two A-rank Hunters shouldn't be this wide, should it?
As if in response to Seora's question, a message appeared.
【The title ‘System Administrator’s Contractor’ is activated. You can now view the information of a desired target.】
【Awakened Information】
Name: Do Junyeong (S-rank)
Title: Master of the Holy Sword (S-rank), Sword Demon (S-rank)
Attribute: Combat-type Swordsman
Contracted Constellation: The One Who Forged the Holy Sword
Note: Currently operating undercover as an A-rank Hunter
‘Gasp.’
Seora held her breath for a moment.
The ability to see someone's information. Only a select few among the Awakened could do that... And now, she could too. It was an absolutely broken ability.
It's nice being the one with the broken ability, though.
‘So Siljangnim was hiding his true strength.’
Was it because she had seen his information? Seora could now feel the power surging around Do Junyeong, so much so that it was strange she hadn't noticed it before.
I see. So that's the power of an S-rank.
‘I'm glad I asked to have my power concealed. If I can sense this much, Siljangnim would have definitely noticed the change in me.’
Her decision had been the right one. Seora breathed a sigh of relief and slowly approached him.
“Siljangnim.”
Do Junyeong, who had been glaring at Park Jinyong with cold eyes, flinched in surprise and whipped his head around.
“...Hunter Yoon Seora?”
The moment he looked at her with disbelief, Seora decided what she was going to do.
“Siljangnim... I, I just barely made it out of the dungeon, ah...”
From now on, I am a patient.
Seora continued speaking with great difficulty, then suddenly clutched her head as if struck by a dizzy spell and crumpled to the ground.
It was a masterful performance, worthy of an S-rank Awakened.
【Administrator: ꒪⌓꒪ 】
She easily ignored the administrator's "Are you crazy?" look.
“Hunter Yoon Seora!”
The pitiful victim, unaware of her masterful acting, Do Junyeong, carelessly tossed aside Park Jinyong and rushed over to Seora as she collapsed.
“Blood...!”
Blood? In the middle of her passionate performance, Seora's eyes darted around in confusion. She was only faking it, so there was no way she could be bleeding...
Ah.
“What on earth happened in there?”
Do Junyeong's gaze fell on the jacket wrapped around her feet instead of shoes.
It was soaked through with a thick liquid. It looked so serious that anyone seeing it would think she had been torn apart somewhere.
‘Oops.’
Seora was flustered. She knew there was blood on it, but she hadn't expected this kind of reaction.
And why would she? It was a mixture of 99% wolf monster blood and 1% of her own. The blood of the very monsters she had one-shotted with her EX-rank weapon.
Seora suddenly felt very sorry for the worried Do Junyeong.
“It's not my blood. It's fine, I just got it on me while running away.”
Since it felt gross to leave the monster blood on anyway, she quickly unwrapped it. Her pale feet were revealed, with only a few small scratches on the soles.
“See? Nothing's wrong, right?”
Seora smiled faintly. But her trembling lips made it obvious to anyone that she had been through a severe ordeal.
His face hardening even more, Do Junyeong immediately made a call. An ambulance arrived shortly after.
“Y-Yoon Seora-ssi!”
The moment the ambulance stopped, the doors flew open and Jeong Taeseok jumped out.
She wondered why he was in an ambulance when he didn't seem hurt, but then she saw him glance toward Do Junyeong. It seemed he had been so scared of the rampaging man beating up Park Jinyong that he had taken refuge in the ambulance.
“Are you okay? Are you safe? *Sob*! You have no idea how worried I was that something had happened to you, Yoon Seora-ssi!”
Jeong Taeseok collapsed to the ground and started bawling, tears and snot streaming down his face. It wasn't a pretty sight, but Seora could understand how he felt, so she answered with a weary smile.
“Yes, I'm okay...”
Even she had to admit she didn't look okay at all.
“We'll transport her to the hospital immediately. Since the gate issue remains, Gyejangnim Jeong Taeseok will accompany Hunter Yoon Seora in my place...”
Just as Do Junyeong was speaking, the gate, which had still been emitting a blue light on one side of the park, began to shrink before disappearing completely.
The gate... had closed.
“...Seora-ssi. Did you... by any chance, defeat the werewolf...?”
Taeseok turned to Seora with a stunned look. Having anticipated this since the moment she stepped out of the gate, Seora calmly shook her head without a hint of panic.
“How could I? I was nearly killed by a regular wolf, let alone a werewolf...”
Seora's arms trembled faintly, as if she were still terrified. It was clear to anyone that she was frightened, so neither Taeseok nor Junyeong asked any more questions.
“Can you stand? I see you don't have any shoes. Maybe there's a spare pair in the ambulance...”
Thankfully, Do Junyeong changed the subject. It was only a short distance, so Seora was about to say she could just walk.
【The System Administrator bestows a gift upon his one and only contractor.】
【A pair of soft, fuzzy slippers has been added to your inventory.】
But the message that appeared before her eyes made her miss her chance to speak.
“...”
What? What gift? Not just shoes, but soft, fuzzy slippers...?
She hurriedly opened her inventory, and sure enough, next to her EX-rank weapon, Hit, sat a pair of fuzzy slippers. With a blank expression, she took them out and held them in her hands.
They were just as described—incredibly soft and fuzzy slippers. They were even shaped like bright pink bunnies.
【System: ((๑✧ꈊ✧๑))】
Don't look so excited...! Stop looking at me with such expectant eyes...!
Seora gripped the slippers so tightly it seemed she might crush them.
As Do Junyeong and Jeong Taeseok's expressions turned awkward at the sudden appearance of bright pink bunny slippers, Seora really wanted to throw them away. But.
【System: ʘ_ʘ 】
Her petty benefactor, the administrator, was watching...
In the end, Seora put on the slippers with a gloomy expression.
‘Well. They are very soft...’
I'm not lying, thank you, Administrator. I would have been perfectly happy with them if I were at home...
“...Shall we go?”
“...Let's.”
Seora looked at the two men with an expression that pleaded, *Please don't ask any questions*. Thankfully, Taeseok and Junyeong boarded the ambulance with her in silence.
“Ah, but what about... that man?”
Taeseok pointed at Park Jinyong, who was still lying on the ground. Do Junyeong's face twisted in displeasure.
“He'll be punished, of course. Contact the Association and have him put under surveillance. It would be nice if we could just lock him up in prison, but...”
Do Junyeong sighed in frustration. Seora thought she knew why.
He had thrown her into a dungeon, but she hadn't died. She had returned alive and relatively unharmed, which would make it difficult to impose a harsh punishment. Moreover, Do Junyeong had already gotten his hands on him.
Understanding his dismal mood, Seora smiled and told him it was okay. Though that only made his expression harden further.
“His punishment will be decided after consultation with the Association President. In the meantime, Gyejangnim, please draft a letter of protest to the Cheongrang Guild. I will send it myself.”
“Y-Yes, sir.”
Do Junyeong's expression was so murderous that Jeong Taeseok shut his mouth.
Soon, the ambulance left the park with its siren wailing.
Thinking that it was finally all over, Seora sighed and leaned back. But instead of feeling relieved, she felt utterly miserable.
‘To think I have to go to the hospital wearing these attention-grabbing bunny slippers.’
【Administrator: (*´╰╯`*)♡】
Are you the only one who gets to be satisfied?
Administrator, we need to have a talk later.
* * *
“This is why I like Siljangnim... He's truly an admirable person.”
Lying in a hospital bed, buried under the covers, Seora let out a happy sigh.
She was in a two-person hospital room. Though it was called a two-person room, she was the only patient, making it no different from a private room. Better yet, the Association was going to cover all her hospital bills.
“Plus, I get two days off from work. I love it.”
She wasn't particularly injured, but on the grounds of severe mental shock, she was given permission to be hospitalized for a day and rest at home for another before returning to work.
Seora did not refuse this consideration. Of course not. The mental shock must have been immense.
She had suddenly jumped from F-rank to S-rank, after all.
“...Now I'm suddenly depressed.”
She looked sadly at the slippers on the floor next to her bed. Her mind and body had suffered so much from having to wear them all the way to the hospital and until she was admitted.
When some kids saw them and wanted them, she had wanted to just hand them over. But the administrator had thrown such a fit that she couldn't.
‘Thanks to the blessing's concealment, no one found out my rank changed, and I gave a plausible excuse, so they shouldn't be suspicious.’
Only after being admitted to her hospital room did Seora briefly explain to Do Junyeong and Jeong Taeseok what had happened in the dungeon.
“There were two werewolves. But they seemed to be in the middle of a territorial dispute, trying to tear each other to death. The wolf monsters were doing the same, so I used that chance to escape and hide.”
“The werewolves both died in the process. Most of the wolves couldn't move either, so I was able to get out through the gate that happened to open just then.”
This was something that actually happened in dungeons from time to time, so Seora spun her lies smoothly.
Besides, if not for a situation like this, the only other way a bottom-tier Hunter could survive a grade-3 dungeon was by contracting with a Constellation. And both Jeong Taeseok and Do Junyeong knew very well that Yoon Seora was too weak to even form a contract.
The problem would be if they insisted on running tests, just in case...
“Administrator, there are ways to test if someone has contracted with a Constellation, right? If they test me, will my contract with you show up?”
A contract with the System Administrator, whose existence was unknown to anyone.
If this fact became known, she would undoubtedly become the center of global attention. She might be dragged around everywhere and used as a communication terminal for the administrator.
Being treated and used like an object was the last thing she wanted.
【Awakened Information】
Name: Yoon Seora (S-rank)
Title: System Administrator’s Contractor (EX), Sniper Who Watches the Battlefield (S-rank)
Attribute: Unique Ability-type — Sniper
Contracted Constellation: None
Note: The one and only contractor of the Administrator of Planet—Earth
At the reassuring message that appeared just then, Seora's eyes widened.
She was clearly the System Administrator's contractor, yet it said she had no contracted Constellation.
‘Does this mean the System Administrator is completely unrelated to the gods—that is, the Constellations?’
There had been many theories that gods ran the system. If the administrator wasn't a god, then what in the world was he?
‘And that note is too strange. The Administrator of Planet—Earth? Does that mean there are other planets?’
She had never encountered information like this while working as a civil servant. Of course, as a low-level employee, the information she was privy to was limited.
But one thing was certain: if this were ever revealed, she would immediately find herself in the eye of a storm.
