Presence of an S-Rank Hunter (3)

Ring— Ring—

“Hmm.”

Given the situation, it was impossible for the Deputy Team Leader to answer the phone. Seeing his distressed look, I spoke up.

“May I take it instead?”

Usually, when the phone on the Team Leader’s desk rang, it was a call from City Hall, the Association, or somewhere even higher up. They were almost always the kind of calls that made the Team Leader’s veins pop as he argued back.

There was a chance that not answering could lead to some kind of disadvantage. Once I received his permission, I headed toward the desk.

“Tell them he’s away because of the dungeon. Take a memo of who called.”

“Yes!”

The Deputy Team Leader’s instructions were essential. I stood at the desk, took a deep breath to steady myself, and picked up the receiver.

“Seoul Hunter Department.”

— …Is Team Leader Yeom not at his desk?

The moment I answered, a sharp, piercing voice came through. I hesitated for a second before responding with my most polite tone.

“A dungeon was generated in Sector F-6 just a moment ago, so he has headed to the scene.”

— A dungeon?

“Yes. Is it urgent business?”

— Not as urgent as a dungeon, certainly!

“I will inform him as soon as he is reachable after the dungeon is cleared. Who shall I say called?”

— Just say it’s the Civil Service Office! And tell him the Hunter Department is going to receive the ‘Angel Kindness Award’!

“Ah.”

The fact that the call was to deliver news regarding the ‘Let’s Praise’ board caused my mind to go blank for a moment, but I snapped back to reality at the caller’s irritable voice.

— Good heavens, in all my years, an ‘Angel’ descending upon the Hunter Department? It’s the first time in my life I’ve seen the City Hall website crash like that!

“Ha, ha…”

I couldn’t exactly say that I was that angel. As I let out an awkward laugh, I felt rescued by the Deputy Team Leader’s voice.

“Is the call not finished yet?”

“I’ll return to my seat immediately!”

— Well, I’ve delivered the message, so tell him to contact us as soon as possible!

“Yes, understood!”

The person, raising their voice until the very end, hung up. As soon as I put down the receiver, I returned to my seat to check the CCTV. My palms felt damp as the image of the duct-taped picket flashed through my mind alongside the oddly timed call.

“…….”

To think it was just a coincidence felt impossible given the timing of this call about the ‘Let’s Praise’ board.

“Whew.”

My head was a mess, but I didn’t have the luxury of drowning in those thoughts right now. I shook them off and checked the CCTV status.

“What is the situation now?”

“So far, only one Centipede entity has been confirmed. The scale is maintaining Rank C!”

— I’ve just arrived at the scene with the Team Leader! Chick, can you see the Centipede’s current location?

The news of Officer Han, who had left first, reaching the scene came through. Responding to the request for the monster’s location, I quickly mapped it out while watching the footage and sent it to the entire team.

“It is currently near the Forsythia Apartment complex, northeast of the Sage Hospital intersection! I’ve just sent the location, so please check it!”

— Confirmed!

— Confirmed here too!

The members responded one by one. While listening to the tense dialogue exchanged at the scene, I noticed the noise coming through the network was gradually increasing.

It had been a long time since I’d heard such loud static and chaos. Swallowing hard, I kept my eyes on the CCTV and my ears focused on the audio.

— Centipede spotted at 11 o’clock from Building 302 of Forsythia Apartments!

— Officer Han, cover from the rear!

— Understood!

With the word that the Centipede had been found, the Team Leader commenced combat. The sounds of heavy breathing, impacts, loud explosions, and things collapsing were all too vivid. I clenched my fists, rooting for them and praying there wouldn’t be significant casualties.

I desperately wanted to be of help, but my role here was limited. Since the battle area had expanded and the only CCTV that could see the Centipede had just stopped working, there was nothing left for me to do.

Unlike other times, the sounds of explosions didn’t subside. Fearing I might be a distraction, I turned off the outgoing audio on my end and spoke to the Deputy Team Leader.

“Considering the Centipede’s rank, the situation should have been somewhat settled by now, but the battle seems to be dragging on.”

“The Team Leader is out there, so things won’t get out of hand. …We have to hope so, at least.”

The Deputy Team Leader seemed to share my concerns. I hoped the prolonged battle wasn’t because the Centipede monsters had managed to fuse.

The explosions that had continued for a long time finally began to fade. I turned up the network volume, not wanting to miss a single sound from the field.

— Huff, Dungeon… Cleared!

I wondered when it would end. The Team Leader’s voice, reporting the clearance while gasping for air, sounded more exhausted than ever. As the hour-long battle finally concluded, I breathed a sigh of relief, but my eyes widened at the following conversation.

“Well done.”

— The damage is substantial!

“I’ll call the transport team immediately.”

Normally, the Team Leader would have given a rough estimate of the damage in response to the Deputy Team Leader’s question. This deviation from the norm made me worry. My heart sank when the Team Leader, who had been commanding the scene, reconnected to report the status.

— Officer Han was just transported as well.

“…Was he badly hurt?”

— He hit his head hard against a wall. Dammit! If those Association bastards had arrived on time, it wouldn’t have reached the fusion stage! Anyway, I’ll head to the office as soon as I wrap things up here, so don’t clock out early today—stay and wait!

“Understood.”

Given the circumstances, I had no intention of leaving anyway. The Deputy Team Leader announced the end of the operation. I turned off the relay and the network.

“Where was that call from earlier?”

I flinched at the sudden question but answered as naturally as possible.

“It was from City Hall. From the, uh, Civil Service Office.”

“What did they say?”

The Deputy Team Leader, whose eyes widened at the mention of the Civil Service Office, eventually nodded. Meeting his complicated gaze, I informed him that I’d been told to collect the award for the ‘Let’s Praise’ post.

“Don’t tell me that picket was…”

It seemed the Deputy Team Leader was thinking the same thing as me. He gave a faint smile and patted my shoulder, causing me to slump my upper body in exhaustion.

“Was there no mention of the picket or the higher-ups during the call?”

“They mentioned the website crashing, and, uh…”

It was incredibly embarrassing to say the word. I caught my breath and continued.

“They only mentioned the ‘Angel’ thing.”

“Ah.”

The Deputy Team Leader was also left speechless by the mention of the ‘Angel.’ Though we only shared glances, it felt like our minds were in sync. After a long silence, I brightened up at his next suggestion.

“I’m curious about the situation on the ground, so let’s just watch TV.”

“Yes.”

There was nothing like the TV to break the current mood. I immediately turned on the television and watched the breaking news with the Deputy Team Leader.

— The area is currently filled with thick dust. The constant roar that continued until recently has subsided, but the dust covering Sector F-6 shows no signs of clearing. While this dungeon was known as a C-scale, B-rank difficulty, evacuees are saying that the rank might be upgraded once the situation is fully assessed.

“…….”

I had felt how fierce and urgent the scene was through the relay and the network, but I hadn’t expected it to look like this.

Along with the reporter’s commentary, the screen showed Sector F-6. I stared in silence at the scene where the interior was invisible due to the swirling dust.

“…….”

Since becoming a civil servant, it was the first time I had seen such a sight. I hadn’t seen it many times before that, either. To think that things could become this serious just because of Kim Se-hyun’s absence.

— Has the dungeon been cleared yet?

— The news of the clearance hasn’t been officially delivered yet—… Wait, this just in. It’s reported that a transport team has been deployed to move the injured!

— The fact that a transport team has been deployed suggests the situation inside has been somewhat stabilized.

— That’s correct.

— We will check back in with reporter Song A-mi on the scene in a moment. In other news…

“…I hope it was just the dust that was excessive.”

“Yes.”

Just as the Deputy Team Leader said, I hoped the chaos was mostly limited to the dust. I handed the remote to him, and we continued to track the progress by flipping through different news channels.

Media attention was focused on the dungeon, as it had been one of the longest-lasting ones among those recently generated.

I was glad the attention had shifted elsewhere, but even that feeling was tainted with unease. While doing what paperwork I could while watching the F-6 coverage on TV, the office door opened around 9 o’clock, and I looked up.

“Welcom—…”

“Are you all alright?”

“As for me, it’s just a few scratches.”

“I’m just covered in dust.”

“…Me too.”

I expected as much since the dust looked thick even on TV, but I hadn’t realized they’d be this covered in dirt. For a moment, I was speechless at the sight of the three of them appearing with dust clinging not only to their hair but their faces and entire bodies.

“I’m the cleanest, so I’ll go wash up first!”

“Hey, don’t you know about rank? We go by rank!”

“Then since my rank is the lowest, I should go in first!”

“…….”

It felt surreal to see them bickering over the shower room after such a hard time at the scene. I watched in silence as they eventually decided the order by Rock-Paper-Scissors, with Officer Park going first. When the Team Leader slapped his thighs and showed signs of exhaustion, I immediately stood up.

I brought some newspapers from the breakroom, spread them over the round table and chairs so they could sit, and spoke to the Team Leader and Officer Kim.

“Please sit here and rest for a bit.”

“Why go through the trouble of laying down newspapers? We can just sit.”

“It’ll be hard to clean if the dust gets on them.”

“…….”

If the chair cushions were a material that could be wiped off immediately, it might be different, but since they weren’t, it was better to be careful from the start.

The Team Leader and Officer Kim, who were about to sit, paused as soon as I finished speaking. They glanced at me, adjusted the newspapers, and sat down carefully. Seeing Officer Kim fiddling with his neck, I headed back toward the water dispenser.

Or rather, I tried to.