Civil Servant Hunter’s S-class Resignation Log

“… You said you were going to Athena with your sister?” Losing the timing due to the sudden intrusion, Do Junyoung, who rarely showed his emotions, had a stern face.

“Ah, Director Do. That’s right. I’m a little worried about being away.”

“…”

Do Junyoung frowned at Yoon Jaehun’s answer. Kang Sejun was frustrated because he couldn’t bear to break the subtle atmosphere between the two.

He’d like to clear up his suspicion, too. Unfortunately, the obstruction did not end there.

“Excuse me.”

When Baek Heewon’s name appeared on the screen along with the phone ringtone, Kang Sejun eventually gave up asking and left. For now, this matter came first.

“It’s me. Baek Heewon, did your fortune-telling tell you something again?”

— Be careful! The dungeon will open sooner or later!

His face hardened sharply as soon as he answered the phone.

“What?”

— It wasn’t anything like fortune-telling, but I saw something. I don’t know why. Ah, was it possible because Seora was by my side?

“What? Could that be the reason?”

Avoiding those who looked at him suspiciously, he distanced himself a bit more. Of course, he would convey the message that the dungeon would open, but he had to hide the information about Seora.

— I told you. She’s a lot more special than you think. Anyway! The dungeon will open soon. Be careful. It’ll be stronger than before.

“That strong? In just 12 years?”

— 12 years for us. The flow in the dungeon might be different from reality. Hundreds of years may have passed there!

Kang Sejun opened his eyes and hurriedly looked at the gate. It was still firmly locked, but…

— That’s why I sent Seora and Jarim. Jarim is Jarim, but Seora’s existence will be the most helpful.

“Are you crazy? That kid is, after all, an S-class! What if she gets hurt?!”

— Because if she doesn’t go, all of you there will die.

“That, what?”

But he couldn’t speak anymore.

The ground started to shake with a sudden roar. Floating hurriedly into the air, he flew straight toward the gate.

If Baek Heewon was right, if the gate here was really open, the person who stole the item Key would surely appear here.

At least he had to catch them.

“The one who stole the Key might show up! The gate may open, so evacuate the people and gather the S-ranks!”

Kang Sejun, who gave orders to the people panicked by the sudden earthquake, cast the next magic.

“Extended Detection.”

Mana gushed out from the red magic circle that floated beneath his feet. Red thread was scattered all over the place. It was Kang Sejun’s eyes that resembled a spider’s web.

He would never let the gate open.

“Fireworks.”

Shortly after he reached the gate, he set off a spark. Beautifully burning flames completely covered the gloomy green door.

“All S-classes have arrived.”

In the meantime, the S-classes who evacuated the civil servants and the auxiliary support team approached. A grim determination was written on everyone’s faces.

“Is the gate opening?”

“I don’t know either.”

“What?”

“But it’s very likely.”

“What kind of guy could put the Key in under these circumstances?”

Yoo Soo-eun trembled at the flames, which were so hot that even approaching them was frightening.

“We must also consider the chance of them throwing the Key in from a long distance. It’s easy enough for a Shooter.”

“There’s nothing under detection magic right now. At least within a 5km radius.”

But no one let down the tension.

They knew because they were all S-classes who were used to fighting against strong monsters on the front line. At times like this, they had to wait and see because non-human enemies used to attack ingeniously beyond their imagination.

Like now.

[Warning!]

[Warning!]

[Warning! A bug has been detected in the system. System error cannot be fixed.]

“… What’s this?”

“A bug? System errors cannot be fixed…?”

The surprising message didn’t end there.

[A virus has occurred. Item Key appears! The Lock will be forcibly released!]

[Unlock Dungeon — Level 2 Dungeon ‘Lava Field’]

“… Fuck. What’s this?” Yoo Soo-eun’s face turned pale.  The Key appeared as a virus, and the Lock was unlocked…? “What bullshit is this…!”

“Everyone, get away!”

As Eun Injae lifted Yoo Soo-eun up and jumped back, everyone distanced themselves from the gate.

At that moment, an intense light burst from beyond the flame that Kang Sejun had lit, offsetting his magic. Everyone’s eyes widened at the flames that scattered into the air.

This was ridiculous. Everyone just thought that the thief who massacred the Castle Tower Guild would come and open the dungeon with the Key. They never imagined that there would be an error in the system.

How the hell? How did a bug and a virus occur in a system that was supposed to be flawless?

What kind of trick was this?

Thump, thump. Kang Sejun’s heart was beating wildly.

System bugs and viruses.

The moment he saw it, he remembered the end of his fifth life.

The end of that life that was the most desperate, the most terrible, and had to be repeated.

He found out about the system administrator right before he was killed by the monster on the 11th floor. So, ever since this life started again, he had been questioning its existence.

When he asked Baek Heewon before, looking at her reaction, it seemed that they really existed…

But what did that mean?

‘A bug here, a virus in error.’

An administrator should be able to solve that. System administrators don’t exist for nothing. So why are they just watching the situation now?

“Kang Sejun, over there!”

But there was no time to think more.

A brilliantly shining golden key appeared in the air that Yoo Soo-eun pointed at. The moment the Key was inserted into the Lock engraved on the gate, the Lock that had been firmly guarding against fear for 12 years was released.

Grooooooo!

Waves of tremendous mana poured out. Even though they had definitely conquered a Level 2 Dungeon, all S-classes got goosebumps at this moment.

This one was different. Even if it differed from what they had dealt with so far, it was very different.

[Level 2 Dungeon ‘Lava Field’ has been released! Dungeon Break is accelerated. Please be prepared for danger.]

[Dungeon Master’s power is too high! The grade of the dungeon is changed.]

[Currently, the level of the dungeon ‘Lava Field’ is Level 1.]

The moment the message rang in front of their eyes, everyone’s faces were filled with despair.

“Level 1…?”

Among the dungeons that had occurred in Korea so far, the highest level was Level 2. Even they struggled to deal with it every time, and the first one that happened had not been resolved until now.

And now the grade of the dungeon went up? Wasn’t this too much?

“Calm down! It’s still not over!”

Those who were in a daze were startled by Yoon Jaehun’s cry. It was as he said.

[4309 days have passed since the gate creation date. The creation date is too old.]

[Warning! Terraforming will occur due to a failed attack!]

The surrounding ground cracked, and lava began to rise. The tremendous heat burned the cool autumn air in an instant. The autumn leaves had disappeared, and the vegetation had thawed. The heat was so hot that even the S-classes, whose bodies were significantly strengthened, could not bear it.

As lava flowed slowly around the gate, Kang Sejun reached out his hand.

[‘Title—Bearer of the Flames of Hell’ is activated. Controls the heat around you.]

Thanks to the title gained through mastery of fire magic, the heat slightly decreased.

Yoon Jaehun muttered as he wiped away the sweat that had spilled for a moment.

“As expected, terraforming has occurred.”

Terraforming was one of the reasons why you needed to deal with dungeons quickly without leaving them for long.

A dungeon whose creation date was too old recognized the area where the gate occurred as its territory and changed the surroundings into a dungeon-like environment.

WDO named this phenomenon terraforming.

Naturally, the dungeon environment was never good for humans, so terraforming had been called the worst dungeon-related phenomenon.

Besides, Cheorwon’s dungeon was, of course, a lava field.

Even if the heat had decreased thanks to Kang Sejun, it did not change that the battlefield was unfavorable to them.

“The boss appears.”

A clawed beast’s foot appeared from within the gate. At the same time, a huge monster the size of a building appeared beyond the enormously large door.

[The boss of the Level 1 Dungeon ‘Lava Field’, ‘The Lava Keeper’ appears!]

Krrrr. A monster’s cry was heard. The saliva dripping from its mouth touched the ground, melting the area around it. Behind the gigantic body, the tail with the head of a snake waggled here and there, glaring at them.

It was a beast reminiscent of Cerberus who came up from hell.

“Since it’s a Level 1 Dungeon, shouldn’t we call one more person?”

When she met the bright red eyes, Yoo Soo-eun reflexively grabbed the hem of Kang Sejun’s clothes. The others didn’t say anything but seemed to agree.

Kang Sejun closed his eyes once at the pupils facing him.

Bugs, viruses, monsters on the 11th floor, and system administrators…

His mind was complicated, but he had to settle it for now. Their lives were in his hands. It was not too late to think about that after solving the problem.

“She’s already on her way. But I can’t say how long she will take since she’s just left. In the meantime, we have to hold out.”