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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: A Playground of Power
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Seora watched the rift that was slowly starting to coalesce.
The color faintly beginning to emanate from it was blue.
It was an ordinary, standard dungeon.
【A Gate will now be generated. Please prepare for danger.】
【Gate generation complet…….】
【Error detected. Gate generation temporarily paused. The System Administrator is interfering with the Gate.】
【Interference complete.】
【Gate generation complete. The System Administrator is currently controlling the Gate’s magical energy.】
“Wow, it’s for real.”
Even though the Gate was right in front of her, she couldn’t feel a shred of magical energy. If even an S-Class’s senses couldn’t pick it up, then it certainly wouldn’t be detected by machines that sense magical energy fluctuations.
This Gate was now entirely hers.
“You’re amazing, Administrator!”
【Administrator: (*´∀`人)】
“You really are the best, Administrator!”
【Administrator: //(*´∪`)】
‘Look at it getting all shy. It’s so cute.’
So pathetic it was almost adorab—.
“Ahem.”
Seora quickly erased the blasphemous thought before the petty administrator could notice.
“Alright, shall we go in?”
【Administrator: ･:*三( o'ω')o】
“That’s right. All the items from clearing the dungeon are mine…!”
*Heheheh.* A wide grin spread across her face. The items she got from the werewolf den last time were a huge haul, and now she was in for another item party!
‘This is all a mountain of money.’
Wiping away the drool she hadn't realized was escaping, Seora tightened her grip on her weapon and stepped through the Gate.
【Awakened ‘Yoon Seora’ has entered the Grade 4 Dungeon ‘Footprints of the Earth Giant’.】
“Grade 4, huh. A little underwhelming for testing out my weapons.”
A look of disappointment crossed Seora’s face. She had killed a Grade 3 dungeon’s boss monster in one shot, so how easy would Grade 4 monsters be? What a shame.
“…Wow. I guess I really am an S-Class now.”
Muttering to herself with her weapon slung over her shoulder, Seora was startled by her own words.
Just a few days ago, she had been thrown into a Grade 3 dungeon and had prepared for death, yet here she was, clicking her tongue because a Grade 4 was not challenging enough.
Without her even realizing it, her body had already perfectly adapted to her rise in status.
“Humans really are creatures of adaptation.”
【Administrator: ~(⁰▿⁰)~】
Look at that. She was already accepting the strange administrator’s emoticons without a second thought.
“It’s a barren wasteland.”
Beneath the ash-gray sky lay a vast, rocky landscape without a single blade of grass or tree in sight.
As Seora’s presence spread, the pebbles and boulders scattered about began to stir and reveal their forms. They were all monsters made of earth, living parasitically in the earth giant’s habitat.
“Let’s start with Heat.”
There was a perfect spot right next to her.
Seora quickly climbed up to a slightly elevated area, more of a mound than a cliff. As her rank had increased, her overall physical abilities had improved, making her movements incredibly swift.
‘I should check how fast I can move, too.’
But for now, her weapon came first, so she lay prone. A sniper’s true calling was picking off targets from a high vantage point.
“Good line of sight.”
Gripping Heat, which had instantly transformed into a sniper rifle, she aimed at the monsters stomping toward her.
“Bang, bang.”
As she pulled the trigger, the immense magical energy within her transformed into a bullet that tore through the air.
With every shot fired, stone fragments flew. It was nothing to pierce through and shatter several monsters with a single bullet.
She had felt it in the werewolf den, but the EX-Class weapon, blessed by the Administrator’s grace, was drawing out her vastly improved skills to their absolute maximum.
They say a master isn’t picky about their tools, but having a good one was still better. This must be what they meant.
“You made such a fuss every time I tried to touch an S-Class gun. Now I see why.”
Seora let out a low laugh after piercing the head of a slightly larger monster.
The S-Class weapon she had chosen today was not a gun. The Administrator had vehemently opposed it, furiously sending emoticons whenever she so much as looked at one.
And that wasn't all. Later, it had even forcibly opened her inventory and pointed insistently at Heat.
If she had ended up choosing another gun, that petty Administrator would have surely dropped the EX-Class weapon right in front of Hanna.
But now, she completely understood why.
‘Now that I’ve had a taste of an EX-Class gun, how could I ever be satisfied with a mere S-Class?’
A deep smile formed on Seora’s lips at the exhilarating sensation that spread through her each time she pulled the trigger.
Ah, she could never go back to the days when she couldn’t use a gun. Now that she knew this feeling, how could she ever give it up?
A marksman is only complete with a gun in hand.
“Ah…!”
Just then, the hard mound she was lying on began to shake. She quickly grabbed her weapons, retreated, and crouched down. She had intended to wait for the vibrations to subside, but they only grew stronger.
“Huh? Don’t tell me…”
【Administrator: ◝(๑⁺д⁺๑)◞՞】
Judging by the frantic emoticon, the Administrator seemed to agree.
“This mound was a monster?!”
The words had barely left her mouth when the ground she stood on began to rise to an incredible height. The mound grew a head, followed by a body and limbs that sprouted out one by one.
It was an earth giant, a native of this dungeon.
“Whoa, and it’s not just one or two.”
All the relatively high ground in the area had transformed into giants. Their red eyes were all fixed on the tiny Seora.
“It’s quite a spectacle from here.”
Everything in this place wanted her dead.
And yet, instead of fear, she felt a sense of exhilaration. She was completely at ease, even when faced with creatures that could kill her at any moment.
Ah, the moment she truly realized she had changed wasn’t when her rank or stats changed, but in times like these.
Her entire being knew instinctively. They couldn’t lay a single scratch on her.
“The first to strike wins, then.”
With no reason to be afraid, Seora moved immediately. She holstered Heat, now a pistol, at her waist and gripped her new weapon instead.
*Damn.* The way it fit perfectly in her palm, this flawless grip. The feel of it was to die for.
“Alright, then…”
With a grin, Seora swung the blunt weapon at the head of the giant right beside her.
For someone who could kill a monster with a single bullet, how many strikes would it take to smash a giant’s head with an S-Class weapon?
The answer was one.
*Thwack! Craack!* The stone head completely shattered, sending rock fragments flying into the air.
As the giant’s body swayed amidst the hail of falling rock, Seora launched herself forward and swung her weapon again. *Craaaaack!* With an even louder roar, the giant’s body completely crumbled.
Through it all, Seora landed safely on the ground without the slightest loss of balance.
“Holy crap, my sense of balance is insane.”
She had always wondered how high-ranking hunters managed to zip between buildings, leap across rooftops, and fly through the sky.
But now she understood. Their physical abilities were truly great enough to make it possible.
“Ah, this is thrilling. Absolutely thrilling. And it’s even better because the weapon is so good.”
Seora’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the weapon in her hands.
The handle offered a perfect grip, its length was just right, and the rounded head was studded with sharp spikes that could shatter even stone in a single blow.
It was the glorious mace.
【Administrator: (｀- ε - ´ )】
“What’s with that face?”
【Administrator: ◕`ε ´◕】
“Are you pouting?”
The lack of a response confirmed that it was, indeed, pouting.
I mean, what did I do? All I said was that it felt good in my hands, so why…
Ah.
“Ahem. Ahem! Still, Heat is the best, of course. It’s a precious EX-Class weapon, the one and only weapon personally blessed by you, Administrator. This mace is just a sidearm, a sidearm.”
Seora gave the mace in her hand a dismissive shake. Then, with a conspicuously more careful touch, she caressed the pistol holstered at her hip, as if it were far more precious.
【Administrator: (*` н ´*)】
Thank goodness. It wasn't completely appeased, but it seemed to be in a slightly better mood.
So that’s how it is. I just have to soothe it like a child. Okay, got it.
“Alright, time to take care of the rest.”
Since she had come here to test her new weapon, Seora didn’t let go of the mace. However, it was a bit difficult to take down all the giants with such a short weapon.
What did she need in a situation like this?
An auxiliary ability befitting an S-Class weapon.
Seora slit her palm on one of the mace’s spikes and dripped the blood onto it. The black mace instantly glowed red.
【Weapon Information】
Name: Crimson Mace (S-Class)
Type: Mace
Unique Trait: A cursed mace that thirsts for blood. Its destructive power increases as it consumes the blood of its enemies.
Auxiliary Ability: When it consumes the blood of the Awakened recognized as its master, it transforms into a whip for a certain period. The stronger the master, the more freely it moves.
When she had chosen this, Song Hanna hadn’t said much. The auxiliary ability was quite good, but it was meaningless for the F-Class Seora, who couldn’t even properly use a D-Class gun. She must have thought Seora simply chose something easy for her, with her near-nonexistent magical energy, to swing around.
But of course, that wasn’t it. She had carefully examined the auxiliary ability as well. As a sniper, it was good to have at least one sidearm capable of area-of-effect attacks.
Gripping the mace, now soaked in her blood, Seora swung it forcefully toward a giant charging at her.
The mace, having drunk its fill of the dense magical energy of an S-Class, instantly transformed into a spiked whip of incredible length and bisected the giant from head to toe.
*Craaaaack!* The whip slammed into the ground, causing the entire earth to shake violently as if in an earthquake. The giants, too, were unable to advance, stumbling about.
“Ah, this is so good!”
Seora then swung the whip horizontally at the staggering giants. The power of an S-Class hunter under the Administrator’s grace was unleashed to its fullest, instantly cutting several stone giants in half.
Oh, what should I do? Seriously, I’m so strong.
Power, speed, everything was different from before. The superior physical abilities were dizzyingly exhilarating.
Amidst the barren wasteland of flying dust and stones, Seora rampaged wildly with a vibrant smile.
Unaware that all the monsters in the dungeon, including the stone giants, were terrified, she was genuinely happy.
It was a scene akin to a demon descending upon the dungeon.
* * *
The happy memories from the dungeon lasted until she went to work the next day.
To think her commute wouldn’t feel miserable. The taste of monopolizing items was truly sweet.
“Yoon Seora, you look like you’re in a great mood.”
Oops. It seemed she’d been grinning foolishly again.
Quickly schooling her expression, Seora glanced primly at the person beside her. Her teammate and friend, Gong Haeyeon, was looking at her with an expression of disbelief.
“Too late. What’s up? What happened that’s got you looking so pleased with yourself?”
“I just went through a huge ordeal. There’s no way anything good could have happened.”
“Your lips are dry. You should at least wet them before you lie!”
Gong Haeyeon pressed her, but Seora kept her mouth shut. Of course, Haeyeon was a trustworthy friend, but she couldn’t exactly tell her that she had single-handedly cleared out a Grade 4 dungeon and kept all the items for herself.
‘It was quite profitable.’
Earth giants had a rock attribute, making their materials perfect for crafting tank gear. In other words, you could name your price.
Her heart was already fluttering at the thought of her soon-to-be-full bank account. She’d had to take several deep breaths throughout the night. It seemed life really was about hitting the jackpot.
“That’s the look of greed. Come on, spill it!”
‘Man, she’s sharp.’
*Ahem*, it seems my worldly desires were showing.
Seora hastily covered her eyes, which were no doubt shimmering with avarice.
