Chapter 144:

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!

“Stop crying! I’m the one who should be crying!” Gong Haeyeon, watching from the side, struck Seora’s back. “Thanks to my colleague becoming my boss, I’ve been tasked with training new employees alone! If you don’t like it, let’s switch. I’ll take the role of section chief, and you can handle the new recruits!”

“Well, that’s not exactly…”

It was clear that when Gong Haeyeon became the boss, she would have the confidence to order Seora around. When Seora thought about it, this situation didn’t sound too bad.

Seora smiled as if asking when she had ever been depressed.

“That’s better. By the way, New Section Chief, have you seen the new recruit before? How was it? How skilled does he have to be for Director Kang to take notice?”

The news that a new employee was coming to the management office had already spread far and wide.

He had aced the theoretical part of the hiring exam and demonstrated solid healing skills in the practical section, securing the job with the highest scores. As a result, every department in the association, constantly plagued by a shortage of personnel, coveted this employee.

However, with both Gong Haeyeon and Yun Seora being promoted, the position in the Dungeon Management Team was left vacant, and his entry was confirmed.

It caused quite a stir. Kang Hana, the director of the support office, barged into Do Junyeong’s office and made a mess.

But what could he do? The vacant spot was in the management office, and given the frequent dispatch missions compared to the support office, a Healer was essential.

Ultimately, Kang Hana returned with a melancholy face after receiving a promise that the next high-scoring recruit would be sent to the support office. His slumped shoulders looked pitiful.

“He’s not the type to run away because he’s scared. He’s got passion and ability, so it shouldn’t be too difficult during training.”

“Lucky for us. There’s nothing as difficult as supervising someone overflowing with passion who doesn’t listen.”

There was such a new recruit last year. They joined the support office and, within a month, the supervisor, who suffered from male-pattern baldness, told them to either fire themselves or fire that guy. They ran to Director Kang Hana and cried their heart out, saying they didn’t know what to do. In the end, the new recruit was let go. Director Kang Hana had a reason for wanting capable new recruits.

“He starts work next week, right? Our team’s new recruit after three years. Ah, I’m finally escaping the bottom ranks. Even though my colleague got ahead of me.”

“I’ll earn more than you. Exciting.”

“Ugh! So annoying!”

Gong Haeyeon lightly smacked Seora’s arm. Although she said that, Haeyeon was happier than anyone about Seora’s promotion.

***

A week passed, and the new employee started work. Wearing a well-fitted suit, Yu Jihyeok didn’t appear as awkward as he did during his first training session, indicating he had firmly set his mind.

“I’m Yu Jihyeok. Please take care of me.” Yu Jihyeok bowed respectfully. Gong Haeyeon introduced each member of Team 1, who would be working together with him. As he listened attentively with a somewhat nervous expression, a hint of color returned to his face when he greeted Seora, who was introduced last.

“Our team’s ace, Section Chief Yun Seora. Just a heads-up, she doesn’t appreciate being called ‘Headbang’, so be careful.”

Haeyeon’s introduction was very much to Seora’s liking. She smiled warmly at Yu Jihyeok. “It’s been a while. Congratulations on joining us.”

“Yes, yes! I’ll work hard!” Yu Jihyeok’s face, responding with enthusiasm, seemed to have regained some composure. One could almost see his tail spinning like a propeller. Moreover, his fixed gaze on Seora showed no sign of wavering.

Gong Haeyeon and Jeong Taeseok exchanged glances with a hint of understanding.

‘This, isn’t it what we think?’

‘It seems so. What a jackpot. If Yu Jihyeok hadn’t joined our team, he might have cried. Come to think of it, he really wanted to work in the management office, didn’t he? It must have been because of this. Amazing.’

‘We should inform Director Kang. She hasn’t given up yet, so she’ll be relieved to hear this.’

‘That’s a good idea.’

Gong Haeyeon swiftly wrapped up the conversation with a look and arranged a desk for Yu Jihyeok. His expression brightened as he took a seat near Seora.

“If you have any questions, please ask me, Yu Jihyeok-ssi. If I’m not around, you can ask Chief Yun Seora. Also, you might be quite busy for a while as you’ll be learning the ropes of the job. We might have frequent dispatches, so be prepared.”

“Yes, understood.”

The enthusiastic Yu Jihyeok took notes to remember Gong Haeyeon’s words. Gong Haeyeon quite liked this attitude.

“The main tasks of the Dungeon Management Team are responding to dungeon occurrences and handling incidents that happen within the dungeons. Right now, we’ll be dealing with the aftermath of a previous incident.”

“Oh, right. Haeyeon, what happened with that Guardian Spirit Guild incident before? I was so busy afterwards that I didn’t get a chance to check how the aftermath was handled.”

While listening to the training, Seora recalled something she had momentarily forgotten: the incident involving the Guardian Spirit Guild’s Healer fleeing. Yu Su-eun had caused quite a stir. Did she manage to capture the running guy properly?

“Oh, that. Hold on, the file is right here.” n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Gong Haeyeon handed her a report. It seemed like she had continued writing after Seora’s visit to the guild and documented the incident.

“Guildmaster Yu Su-eun caught that Healer herself and brought him to the association. That guy was half out of his mind, but his body was perfectly fine. Verrrry, extrrrremely, clean, without a single scratch.”

“…”

While Yu Jihyeok, who had been listening, wore a puzzled expression as if asking what the problem was, Seora quickly grasped the situation.

Yu Su-eun had healed that guy after beating him up… Moreover, considering her fury then, she couldn’t have done it once or twice.

“I informed the Flower Abundant Guild of the truth, and the Guardian Spirit Guild compensated the damage. Kim Yuhyeon, the Healer, was fined and is currently serving time. Due to the escape, he received an aggravated punishment, serving five years in prison.”

“Well, it ended well. That’s a relief.”

The Guardian Spirit gave more compensation than expected. Thanks to that, they managed to reach an agreement with Flower Abundant without further charges. As expected of Yu Su-eun. As much as she was upfront about money, she was also adept at handling situations like this.

Whether Kim Yuhyeon’s mind would genuinely return to normal remained uncertain. Nonetheless, there were no physical issues, and with no concrete evidence that Yu Su-eun had done something, the case was closed. Well, good job.

“Then, work hard,” Seora cheered for the newbie’s training and returned to her spot. There wasn’t much to do. Despite the promotion, today was a genuinely good day.

***

Despite her concerns, Seora’s work remained largely unchanged after her promotion. Whether a dungeon popped and she had to respond, or if a dungeon break occurred near the association and she needed to snipe from the rooftop, it was all within her purview.

Gong Haeyeon handled the most annoying training, so Seora’s role was that of a comfortable team leader. Promotion was nice. It was great. The work was the same, but the paycheck was fatter, making it quite enjoyable.

Living like this, before she knew it, the Lunar New Year holiday had arrived.

Even if you were a government employee of the association, you wouldn’t come to work until after the Lunar New Year unless a dungeon erupted.

So, the association’s employees gathered in the office the day before the holiday and prayed together, asking for at least a break during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Last year during Lunar New Year, she had to rush out at dawn instead of sleeping in, so Seora prayed more fervently than usual, hoping that this year would be different.

However, this year’s Lunar New Year was vastly different from the last.

“Wanna go to Busan?”

After offering the prayer and sighing, she received a call from none other than Kang Sejun. She tensed, thinking it might be another ominous sign of a dungeon about to erupt. But he spoke unexpected words.

“A trip?”

A trip to Busan. He said they were going on a trip. He even managed to secure the supposedly difficult train tickets for the holiday, so he said there was nothing to worry about.

Strange. Were they close enough to go on a trip together during the holiday?

Seora looked at her phone with a suspicious expression. Strangely, the name “Avoid At All Cost” displayed on the screen caught her eye.

— There’s no point in looking at your phone. I’m not going to admit that I dialed the wrong number.

The regressor was now resorting to mind reading.

“As expected of the holder of the title Omniscient Mage, you can also read the mind of the person you’re talking to? You’re an L-class stalker.”

— Please don’t go spouting that in public.

“Everyone should know your identity. It’ll feel less unfair that way.”

— Many things feel unfair. Anyway, I’m not being weird on purpose. I’m suggesting this because I’m sorry in many ways and grateful for your help in the Labyrinth.

Well, she’d helped Kang Sejun a lot up to this point. This should count as a free meal.

As Seora hesitated, an emoticon appeared in front of her in a rather intimidating manner.

【Administrator: (へ°-°)へ ┳━┳】

The icon of jealousy was clutching the meal table. If she said she was going, he’d overturn the table right away.

At first, Seora was flustered by the administrator overturning the table, but now she had become quite accustomed to it. So, she knew how to react effectively.

‘Why? Are you jealous that I’m going on a trip with an outsider?’

【Administrator: ٩(๑ `н´๑)۶】

‘Oh, really? Then, you can simply appear before me. I won’t go on a trip with Kang Sejun, I’ll go with you. What’s Busan? We can even go to the Maldives.

Yip! Suddenly, a fox the size of a dog appeared frighteningly. It playfully wagged its tail with a bright smiling face. Since it appeared as she had desired as if saying let’s go together, Seora burst out laughing.

‘You should show up in your real form.’

Kaing, kaing.

【Administrator: (｀Д´);;;】

‘Alright if you don’t want to.’

Hmph. Seora turned her head calmly and confidently spoke into her cell phone before the fox, “Since you’re suggesting it as a thank-you, you’ll foot the bill, right?”

— Includes accommodations, transportation, everything. 2 nights, 3 days in a hotel ocean-view suite room with a high-quality sashimi course as the basic option.

“Deal.”

Ah, you should’ve said this from the beginning. If you did, I would’ve accepted it without any suspicion. Seora smiled cheerfully, ignoring the shaken fox.