Civil Servant Hunter’s S-class Resignation Log

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As Jaeheon’s improved complexion turned gloomy again, Seora comfortingly patted his shoulder. “You’ve been through a lot, protecting me all this time. Compared to what you’ve done, this is nothing. I’m just getting started.”

Since their parents passed away, Yun Jaeheon endured a challenging life, making sacrifices for his younger sister. He deliberately diverted attention away from Seora during related events and, after awakening at the age of twenty, traveled the world, tirelessly earning money. Most of his earnings were sent to Seora through Song Hanna, citing his life within Athena as the reason.

From Seora’s living expenses before securing a job to the officetel she lived in before moving to the penthouse, her car, and other necessities—everything was provided by the money Jaeheon sent.

For Seora, abandoning her brother, who had dedicated twelve years of his life solely for her sake, was inconceivable. She was grateful to finally be able to reciprocate the support he had given her.

Seora existed because of Jaeheon. If he had chosen to save himself by abandoning her, she would have departed this world without any lingering regrets long ago.

“Do you think you’re the only one who cares? I care for you, too. So, enough with the nonsense. Anyone hurt will be under my protection.” Seora expressed these sentiments straightforwardly. Jaeheon blinked at his assertive sister and burst into laughter.

“Sure. Being depressed here would only hold you back. Well then, I entrust my life to you.”

“I will do my best. I’ll guide you so well that all your limbs will stay intact without further injuries. Don’t worry.”

Having reached a compromise, the two set out again to find a way to break through the maze.

The vastness of the place became apparent as they encountered nothing but lifeless bodies along the way, souls long departed.

Each time they came across individuals dressed in uniform, Jaeheon closed their eyes gently to offer solace to their departed spirits. Unable to retrieve the bodies, he pledged to obliterate the dungeon and took their Hunter’s licenses.

“Wouldn’t it be more fitting to take the mercenaries’ Athena emblems instead of their Hunter’s licenses?” Seora, who had been guarding Jaeheon, asked quietly.

All members of Athena bore a symbol of the mercenary corps on their left arm. It was a beautiful emblem resembling the shield and spear of the war goddess leading them. Inside, the member’s name was inscribed, and it seemed only natural to take that as well. However, Jaeheon shook his head.

“The emblem of Athena is our pride. It’s right to carry it until we die.”

One cannot strip both pride and self-esteem from the deceased. It is rather an insult.

Seora nodded in agreement to Jaeheon’s assertion. “By the way, Brother, isn’t something strange here?” she asked, and Jaeheon nodded with a serious expression.

This place was indeed peculiar. The maze itself was normal, but there were other oddities.

“Why have we only encountered corpses so far?”

About forty Awakened had entered the dungeon to conquer it. Assuming all the initial entrants died, there should be about twenty remaining, but they hadn’t encountered a single survivor so far.

Even in a vast space, how could they keep seeing corpses this frequently without a single survivor?

“Come to think of it, I also feel like I haven’t met people as time goes by. Did the maze intentionally limit our encounters because being alone is psychologically more exhausting?”

“That could be possible.”

“But then, how did we cross paths so quickly?”

Seora turned her gaze at Jaeheon’s murmur. A fox was looking at her, wagging its tail. All thanks to the grace of the administrator.

After expressing her gratitude by patting the fox’s nose, she raised another peculiar observation. “The number of corpses is unusually high.” Before reuniting with Jaeheon, she had encountered over ten corpses, and post-reunion, they discovered about seven more. The tally was alarmingly excessive.

“Furthermore, why are there so many Chinese individuals here?”

This location was in South India, far from China, yet there were an abundance of Chinese corpses. They weren’t just Awakened individuals; there were also presumed non-Awakened ones lacking Hunter’s licenses or weapons.

What exactly is this place?

“Let’s summarize what we’ve learned so far.”

Seora, Jaeheon, and the nine-tailed fox convened for discussion. Jaeheon harbored a slight discomfort in the fox’s presence, as if questioning its literacy. However, Seora gestured to dismiss such concerns, emphasizing that without it, escape from this predicament would be impossible.

“This Maze Dungeon differs significantly from the usual ones. Instead of walls, we navigate through a landscape of hazy fog and grass, with no visible paths, forcing us to wander aimlessly.”

“And when individuals trapped here grow fatigued, they are inevitably attacked… But is this assertion truly accurate?”

Seora activated the cube abruptly as the forest once again launched an assault on Jaeheon. This presented yet another anomaly.

With the potions and rations Seora provided, Jaeheon had fully recovered from his injuries and stamina depletion. While his energy was slightly diminished, it was not to the extent that would hinder his movement. Yet, the maze persisted in its relentless attacks on him.

“Could it be that it’s not attacking tired people, but rather consuming them in the order they entered?”

Jaeheon’s eyes widened at Seora’s revelation. After a moment of contemplation, he nodded in agreement. “That might be true. I may have started with a wrong assumption. It’s natural for those who entered earlier to tire out first, but I only considered the latter and didn’t think about the former.”

“There wouldn’t have been time to think. You must have been in a rush to survive. Anyway, if that’s true, the Indian Hunters who entered first are more likely to have perished.”

“Now, there’s only one unanswered question.”

Why are there so many Chinese corpses?

“China wouldn’t have covertly crossed into India to conquer this dungeon. The dungeon opened not long ago, and India initiated the conquest immediately. It’s implausible that Chinese people were residing in this forest either…”

As Jaeheon contemplated, he presented his speculations one by one.

“This might sound absurd, but is there a possibility like this?”

“What?”

“What if another gate connected to this dungeon also opened in China?”

Seora’s eyes widened at Jaeheon’s words. Two gates in one dungeon?

“Thanks to Seong Jarim, we know that dungeons are different planets in the universe. The gates are doors connecting to that planet. But Seong Jarim never said that only one gate appears.”

Right. Although there was a time difference, the gate connected to Baskar appeared three times in total: when Seong Jarim was first trapped there, when she escaped after 108 years, and lastly, when it suddenly appeared in her house.

“The possibility is sufficient. The only thing is that there are disproportionately many Chinese corpses in a skeleton form…”

“They were trapped much earlier than us.”

The two looked at each other. A chilling feeling slowly crept up from their toes.

A dungeon that had occurred in China a long time ago, where so many people had died—it couldn’t be ordinary. It must have been a significant issue when it first happened.

And when it came to dungeons, Jaeheon, who had been a Hunter for longer than Seora, knew more than her.

“Seven years ago, a dungeon occurred in China that was deemed impossible to conquer with their own Hunters’ power. They confirmed it and locked it away without requesting help from other countries.”

At that time, China possessed only one L-class Awakened, Wei Hu. Instead of dispatching the sole L-class to an unknown dungeon, the president opted to secure it immediately. Subsequently, a discreet directive was issued to keep the precise details of the dungeon confidential. They exercised complete control over the surrounding area, making it inaccessible to anyone.

“Captain Ali managed to acquire information about the dungeon, revealing it to be Level 1 and taking the form of a maze.”

“…”

“It’s akin to what’s unfolding here.”

Despite the change in grade, a Maze Dungeon was an unusual phenomenon. Consequently, the likelihood of it being linked to China’s Locked dungeon was quite high.

“If we use the Hunter’s licenses recovered from the Chinese Hunters and seek verification, the connection should become evident.”

In the event that this location is indeed connected to China, seeking assistance from there would be imperative. China may feel compelled to address the situation of having a Locked dungeon within its borders and take steps to conquer it.

“Wow. I recently came across a Key, so we can expedite the dungeon’s opening. Given WDO’s preoccupation with the India dungeon, there’s a strong chance they haven’t reclaimed the Key yet.”

“A Key? Really?”

“Yes, well, to be precise, it was my summoned creature.”

Seora glanced at the nine-tailed fox beside her. While Jaeheon and she contemplated, the fox remained silent, its clear green eyes locked onto hers.

Seora understood that look. Affirmation that their speculations were correct was contained within those positive eyes.

Her discovery of the Key was a stroke of luck. Otherwise, they would have been reliant on WDO headquarters in the United States to send one, further delaying the conquest.

The presence of the administrator proved invaluable. What would she have done without him?

“In that case, we need to go out and inform them of this.”

“Yeah. The problem is how to find the exit.”

Now, with the situation at hand, it made sense to exit, disclose the truth, and organize a proper raid party after reporting the dungeon’s state.

The decision was made swiftly.

“I have a way to find the exit.”

“You do?” Jaeheon was greatly surprised. How could she locate the exit in a place so thick with fog that visibility was severely limited?

“Think about how I found you, Brother.”

“That’s…”

“So don’t worry. Just go out and spread the word about this dungeon.”

“As long as you can do it…” Jaeheon, nodding, suddenly paused. He looked at Seora slowly with widened eyes.

His sister, Seora, gazed back with a subtle smile.

“What do you mean?” Surely not? She wasn’t entertaining those strange thoughts, was she? “Why are you saying it as if I’m the only one going out?” There’s no way. Jaeheon awkwardly forced a smile. However, his sister dismissed his attempt with a brutal response.

“Yeah. You are the only one going out. I’ll stay here.”

Unable to bear it any longer, Jaeheon grabbed Seora’s arm, shouting, “What are you talking about?!”