Civil Servant Hunter’s S-class Resignation Log

We kindly ask for your understanding regarding the inconsistency of character pronouns, particularly for the Entities (ex. The Greedy Predator). In Korean, pronouns are rarely used, making it challenging to ascertain a character's gender or identity until later narratives unfold. Update twice a week [SUN] & [THURS] starting August 2024! Also please check out our new Hunter series!

“Welcome. We’ve been waiting for you.”

At Mumbai Airport, instead of an employee of the India Association, an Athena mercenary in black combat attire welcomed Seora.

“I’m Rani Sharma from Athena’s Asia branch. It’s an honor to meet you, Hunter Headbang.”

“Please just call me Yun Seora, Hunter Sharma…”

“Please call me Rani as well. I’m assigned to Head Yun Jaeheon’s direct unit. From here, I’ll be your guide. Don’t worry; I know the way well, as I’m from India.”

Ah, Seora realized that Ali had sent her with some care based on Rani’s introduction. No one under Yun Jaeheon would dare to treat Seora disrespectfully. Rani would probably provide a detailed and sincere explanation.

Due to the distance to the dungeon, Rani said they would continue by a small plane from here. As they boarded the plane adorned with the emblem of Athena, she explained the situation in detail as expected.

“It’s been about two months since Head Yun entered the India dungeon. We dispatched additional reinforcements since it shouldn’t take this long unless it’s a Maze. Unfortunately, none of them have returned. So, the captain seems to be speculating that it might be a Maze Dungeon.”

Ali had also noticed. Well, without the use of Gate Stones and with difficulty finding an exit, the only dungeons that take a long time to escape are Maze Dungeons.

There are only two ways to escape a Maze: find the exit or destroy the core of the Maze.

“Have all the combat-capable members from the Asia branch entered?”

“No, there must be no hole in Athena’s power. That’s why the captain requested support from you.”

Although Seora would’ve come regardless of the request, she didn’t explicitly mention it to Rani.

“But there doesn’t seem to be an official announcement about this yet from the Korea Association.”

“Oh, they won’t make it public. This isn’t something Korea accepted at the president’s request; it’s something I personally took on.”

“Is that so?”

Rani looked a bit puzzled but didn’t inquire further. Athena, being a stateless organization, doesn’t like getting involved in other countries’ affairs.

“We’ve arrived.”

It had been several hours since they boarded the small plane. The destination was a high plateau. It seemed unofficially known, probably due to the occurrence in a deep forest where no one lived. Among the gathered people, all were Awakened.

Among them, the first to catch the eye was the sturdy figure of Ali Russo.

“You came.”

“Nice to see you again, Captain.”

As Seora arrived, all eyes turned to her. There were admiring looks, guarded expressions, and a fair amount of concern and apology. The last group probably consisted of those worrying about the head branch’s younger sister entering the dungeon.

“Thank you for coming all this way. I’m Raul Khan from the India Association.”

“I’m Yun Seora. If possible, I’d like to hear about the situation right away.”

“To start from the beginning, India, which was planning to conquer the dungeon, sensed an anomaly first and reported it to the WDO. WDO thought it was odd that the level of difficulty was higher than the measured level, so they requested collaboration with us. It was an agenda that came up during the WDO meeting after the Labyrinth raid. It might be related, so I mentioned it.”

Seora nodded in response to Ali’s explanation. Dungeons are connected to other planets; she was well aware of that.

“How many Hunters are currently inside?”

“Five S-class Hunters from the Indian side and three S-class Hunters from Athena are missing. The number of A-class Hunters and below is more than that. However, since no one has returned alive, we’re speculating it might be a Maze Dungeon. But even so, it’s definitely strange.”

It made sense. Eight S-class Hunters, among the top in the world from both Athena and India. Even if it’s a Maze Dungeon, at least one of them should have completed the raid by now.

“That’s why we requested your support. You’re a spatial ability user. If it’s a maze where one can’t use magic, you might be more helpful than Kang Sejun. Even if that weren’t the case…” Ali, who had been speaking without pause, faltered for the first time. The mention of Yun Jaeheon’s disappearance and calling his sister was awkward for her too. “But did you really come alone? The Korea Association wouldn’t send you alone to such a dangerous place.”

“The Korea Association didn’t accept your request. I came here on my own. And the other two L-class Hunters are staying behind for some tasks. Seong Jarim remembered a new piece of information.”

As the only one in the room aware of Seong Jarim’s identity, Ali raised her eyebrows. Seora left the room with her.

“The nature of the world dungeons has changed after conquering the 8th floor of the Labyrinth.”

“What? What does that mean?”

“I closed a Level 2 dungeon that appeared in the underwater of Korea just before coming here. The owner of that place was none other than the god Hephaestus.”

Ali stroked her chin. Her face was filled with disbelief as if questioning the possibility of such a thing.

“Of course, it was an alter ego, not the actual deity. It’s not a god but a monster… or whatever you want to call it, but it was something similar. It seems there’s a possibility of gods appearing in the dungeons that will emerge in the future.”

“Gods’ alter egos? Now we have to fight against those stuff too?”

“Their power is weaker than the actual deities. Of course, they’re still gods, but fortunately, Hephaestus was cooperative and willingly eliminated himself for me. But not all gods will be like that, so dungeon raids will become more dangerous. And…”

Seora’s gaze turned toward the gate at the center. The flow of the gate, shimmering with a deep blue light, somehow looked ominous.

“There might be the influence of a god in that dungeon as well.”

“This is insane. Why the sudden change?”

“According to Seong Jarim, it’s the influence of the 9th floor of the Labyrinth. I don’t know what’s coming out of there, but there might be quite a significant threat.”

“What? But why are you telling us this only now? There was no mention of this during the meeting after the 8th-floor raid.”

“She forgot about the dungeon’s changes, she says. It happened several decades ago on that planet.”

Ali closed her mouth. It was easy to forget with Seong Jarim always smiling. The fact that she had lived for a whopping 108 years on a different planet.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about that. So, what exactly happened on the 9th floor?”

“I don’t know about that. Even if I knew in advance, we couldn’t prevent it, and it would only add to the confusion, endangering the world. So, she decided to remain silent. She promised to reveal it once the news of the Labyrinth awakening is announced.”

“Well, if it were in the past, I would have said it’s nonsense… but with the experience of a 108-year-old elder, we can’t hastily judge.” In any case, Seong Jarim’s judgment might be more appropriate than theirs, who knew nothing. In the end, Ali nodded. “While we raid this dungeon, Seong Jarim will report that matter to the WDO?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s leave that matter aside and focus on this dungeon.”

Ali provided Seora with support items: emergency rations, potions, emergency rescue supplies, and more filled her inventory. Seora changed into combat attire and put on her jacket.

“What’s the plan?”

“Hunters below S-class will focus on identifying survivors and battling monsters. You and I will search for the exit or the core of the Maze. With our senses, we should be better than the others.”

“I want to find my brother first.”

Seora came here not just for a dungeon raid but to rescue Yun Jaeheon. She wasn’t a virtuous hero like her mom, and those who entered here weren’t ordinary civilians. She had no intention of prioritizing them over her brother.

“I thought only your brother had a sister-complex, but it seems you’re not much different, huh?”

“Since my brother joined the mercenary unit at a young age to protect his last remaining sibling, wouldn’t it be natural for me to want to protect my brother, risking my life as well?”

“Right. You’re right.” Ali nodded with a bewildered expression. Being a sibling pair with such a good relationship, it was no wonder Yun Jaeheon had embraced the idea of parading around with that damn congratulations placard like a cape…

“Then, we find the core after rescuing Yun Jaeheon. That’s acceptable, right?”

“Of course.”

Seora wasn’t affiliated with Athena, nor was she a citizen of India, where the dungeon occurred. Even though she came in response to a support request, she had no reason to obey Ali’s orders, so the two reached an agreement.

“Athena, listen up! Stick to the plan we discussed earlier. Since Gate Stones are useless in maze dungeons, prioritize survival as much as possible!”

“Yes!”

A resounding answer followed. Truly a mercenary unit. Their loyalty was unmatched, far beyond comparison with most guilds.

“Then let’s go in!”

About ten Hunters, including Seora and Ali, entered. After a slight dizziness, when Seora opened her eyes again, she was alone.

【Awakened ‘Yun Seora’ has entered the Level 2 Dungeon ‘Endless Road’.】

“The Maze…”

When she heard about the Maze from Kang Sejun, Seora envisioned a typical maze where solid walls surrounded her, allowing only forward movement.

However, the maze unfolding before her eyes was different from what she had known. First of all, it was overgrown with grass like a forest, and dense fog made it difficult to secure visibility. If she found it challenging, it would be nearly impossible for other Awakened to see beyond their noses.

“Come to think of it, that’s what a maze originally meant.”

A maze doesn’t simply refer to a path. It denotes an area where the direction is difficult to discern, and the path’s start and end are unknown. The most famous maze, shaped by the Minotaur in the labyrinth of Crete, is just one example, and the actual forms of mazes vary widely.

“In a place like this, finding the exit is even more difficult.”

As she raised her head, a pitch-dark ceiling came into view. Whether it was the night sky or the cave’s wall, she couldn’t tell. It was simply pitch black, making it impossible to discern what it was.

In the surrounding dense fog and the sparse grass, which didn’t form clear paths but rather rose roughly, she couldn’t guess which direction to go.

However, she didn’t panic and called upon her only companion.

“Administrator-nim.”

A majestic nine-tailed fox appeared in the air. Seora grasped his cheek and pressed her forehead against it.

“Help me. Can we find my brother’s energy here?”

【Administrator: (ง •̀_•́)ง】

Seora felt greatly relieved at the encouraging emoticon.

“Then please.”

Seora quickly climbed onto the fox’s back, making sure she held her position to avoid falling. After confirming this, the fox started running swiftly.

With each step of the fox passing through the grass, the rustling grass collided with Seora’s arms, causing quite a bit of pain. Even though she was wearing a jacket and combat attire, the grass seemed like entirely different vegetation from the one on Earth.

“Wait!”

Even while running, Seora’s eyes quickly scanned the surroundings, and something strange caught her eye. Descending from the fox’s back after it stopped, she immediately headed toward that direction.

‘Skeleton?’

It was none other than a human skeleton.