CH 14

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[It may be the level of candlelight, but it’s capable! (S)]

[Due to low skill proficiency, the skill will be activated at E-class]

In other overseas countries, only those that took an Awakened grade evaluation and received a high grade were forced to awaken. 

But it was different in the Republic of Korea. Those that are E-class and above will be unconditionally awakened and gain one or more basic skills.

When Hara became a civil servant, the first skill she gained was ‘It may be the level of candlelight, but it’s capable!’. Of course, it’s at E-class.

So, what exactly is at the level of a candlelight, you might ask.

Light extended out of Hara’s lightstick in a straight line.

“Wow.”

The children were quite amazed. A white light nearly twice as long as the handspan-sized lightstick shot out from the tip. 

Hara used it to burn the dried branches. Crackle, the twigs made a burning noise.

[Mana has decreased]

“Wow, it’s burning!”

“Wow!”

The branches were burnt black and smoke filled the air. Crackle, crackle. Sparks flew in all directions. Even with such little power, the children applauded happily.

Only the eyes of Seheon, who was seated next to her, narrowed. 

“Are you saying that you’ll make a fire with that?” 

“Oh, yes.”

Hara waved the beam over the branches awkwardly. The branches became scorched wherever the beam touched, but it didn’t catch fire easily.

Of course, it’s possible to heat things up with a candlelight, but making it catch on fire was a different matter.

However, when Hara increased the intensity with a grunt, it soon caught fire. Despite her low proficiency, it seems worthwhile for it to be raised to S-class. While it would become slightly longer no matter how she saw it, for now, she decided to be satisfied with lighting a fire. 

In the meantime, Sookyung, who’d inserted the meat on wooden skewers next to her, brought the meat over excitedly. 

“Ah, it’s hot!”

“Careful.”

The children swung the meat skewers wildly. She didn’t know if they were grilling the meat or playing with fire. 

In the end, Seheon took away all the skewers and grilled them one by one.

“You’re good at this?”

“Camping is a hobby of mine.”

“Ah……”

Hara, who was surprised by his skillful movements, was convinced. As Seheon grilled the meat, he added words unprovokedly.

“It’s because I like moving my body.”

“Wow, do you go to the suburbs?”

“I would also go to distant places when time permits. Come to think of it……”

Seheon spoke his mind in one breath.

“Even sketchily-operated rural camping sites wouldn’t do things like removing mana stones. It’s truly outrageous.”

“Ah……”

His words were referring to the broadcasting station. Hara sighed and smiled.

“I wish everyone would follow the relevant regulations.”

“It’s probably because the punishment is too weak. What did the National Assembly do? Even if a dungeon appears, it would just end with a fine of 30 million won.”

The anchor that started out as a local news reporter began to grumble. Hara shut her mouth.

The children remained silent at their boring conversation and waited for the meat to cook. Then, Heeyeon carefully asked Hara if she could look at the lightstick.

“Oh, of course, of course.”

Anyways, for a civilian, it was just a lightstick. Heeyeon examined the lightstick she received from Hara and exclaimed out of curiosity.

“Oh? Sister, do you like Kwon Wook?” 

“Hm? I don’t, not at all.” 

Momentarily startled, Hara hurriedly denied it, embarrassed. 

That’s right. That lightstick was purchased by Hara at the fan meeting of the idol group that Kwon Wook belonged to.

It was a fan meeting held at the hall of a small club for the fourth year debut anniversary, and fans bought an all-purpose, personal lightstick because there weren’t any official lightsticks. As such, Kwon Wookie’s stage name during activities, ‘Wookie’, was engraved on the lightstick. 

Now, no one would say anything about liking Kwon Wook, but Hara denied it like it was an old habit.

“It’s not mine. I brought it from home, erm, it’s my cousin’s!”

“Wow, something like this still exists?”

“Hey, it must be personal merchandise.”

‘Do I need to explain in detail like, “Yes, it’s personal merchandise, but that’s merchandise from before his awakening, hahaha.” I don’t have to say that, do I?’ Hara was at a loss.

Fortunately, the children didn’t seem to be that curious.

“I like Kim Jung-ah more than Kwon Wook.”

“I don’t like Kim Jung-ah. He looks so scary. What about Lim Yoonhyuk?”

“Lim Yoonhyuk is bad.”

They made a fuss while listing the names of S-class hunters one after another. Then, when Seheon handed them cooked meat, they were probably hungry, as they shoved it into their mouths after thanking him. 

“It’s not good…”

“I’m sorry. There’s no salt here.” 

Obviously it wouldn’t taste good, seeing as how it’s monster meat. The smell was strong and the meat was tough.

But what else is there to eat? The children licked their fingers after eating some meat. Seheon and Hara also only ate enough to fill their stomachs.

Just then, Sookyung said, “I have caramel,” and produced strawberry-flavoured caramel after searching her pockets. 

Hara was delighted at the snack.

“Sister, would you like to have this?”

“Totally. Would you like to give some to Mister?”

Seheon frowned.

“I’m fine.”

“It’s alright if you eat it though!”

It was unknown whether Seheon hated sweets or not, but he refused firmly. 

In the end, Hara and the two girls were the only ones that were chewing on caramel. The sweet smell only lasted for a while, but it made their moods brighten. 

Meanwhile, a huge carnivorous rabbit passed by nearby, and the children were amazed by that sight. 

“Don’t get close.”

“Yes.”

The safety zone was also visible to civilians. Though it wasn’t as visible to them as it was to Hara, the children were careful not to cross the faint yellow boundary. They ended up bumping into each other and falling, causing them to burst into laughter. 

Seheon sighed while watching the dazed children.

“How long will the Seoul regional office take?”

“Because it’s a B-class dungeon, it’ll probably take around three days, but there’s a possibility that they’ll arrive within a day because civilians were involved.”

Hara shrugged her shoulders.

“The Director is the on-site supervisor, so she probably wouldn’t come, but one or two of the S-classes with the Seoul regional office will be organised into an emergency rescue team first.”

It was also thanks to him that the children were able to relax gradually. Seheon and Hara told the children that the rescue team would arrive really quickly because this occurred in the middle of Yeouido.

“If the broadcasting station building collapses, they’ll enter immediately after the entrance path is secured, right?” 

In the moment they were drawn into the rift, Hara and Seheon also confirmed that the gate was small in size. It’s likely that there weren’t many civilians caught up in it. And they were all here.

“For Anchor Yoon, a celebrity, to be on the list of missing persons… They’ll be in hot water when we get out.”

Seheon chuckled as Hara shrugged her shoulders.

“No, this is good, on the contrary.”

“……being drawn into a dungeon?”

Excuse me, has your brain turned a little weird? Those words were written in her gaze as Hara looked at Seheon. Upon feeling her gaze, Seheon smiled faintly and waved his hands.

“There’s such a situation.”

Hara didn’t need to know. The fact that Seheon was trapped in this dungeon allowed him to send those enemy-like people a large piece of taffy. 

But this was just his personal matters. In any case, all he had to do was wait for rescue in the safe zone.

But after a while, Hara opened her mouth.

“I’m sorry, Anchor Yoon. Could you give me a hand?”

“What is it?”

Seheon raised his eyebrows. It was because Hara’s expression looked rather unusual.

Hara stole a glance at the children that became exhausted before she knew it and were leaning against each other while dozing off, before turning back to Seheon again.

“I think I have to try and look for the kid named Seoyeon.”

* * *

The child named Seoyeon kept her unsettled the entire time.

For Hara, this dungeon has been a huge windfall. Although she hasn’t completely turned into an S-class, she was fortunate enough to meet a constellation that others wouldn’t have in their lives.

Even if it was a constellation that kept spouting nonsense about dating the man in front of her. 

Nevertheless, Hara still found this place scary. It’s obvious. It was her first time entering a dungeon over the course of her 10 years as a civil serva—no, of her entire life as a hunter. 

Up till now, it was due to her continuous luck that she managed to save Seheon and the children without any major problems. They’d even managed to locate a safe zone.

However, even when they’re in the safe zone, it was equally frightening to see monsters wandering around. The experience of meeting a carnivorous rabbit and waging an arduous struggle remained vividly in her memory.

It was natural that the children would cry and cling to Hara and Seheon as soon as they met. It’s because they were scared. Hara was also very scared, so it must have been much more frightening for the children. 

While eating the meat, Hara was also interacting with the system window. She’d even looked at the skills.

[User: Kang Hara (Characteristic: Idol fan)]

[Skill list]

– Multiplication (Locked)

Unlock condition: ???

– Just the thought of you makes me strong S 

Usage condition: Physical contact with the designated user ‘Yoon Seheon’

– Flight (S) (Proficiency: 14/100)

Unlock condition: ???

– Please move on (Locked)

Unlock condition: ???

– It may be the level of candlelight, but it’s capable! (S) (Proficiency: 7/100)

– #HAPPYYOURDAY C (S)

Usage condition: Recognition of the target’s birthday

– Other available skills: To be updated subsequently.

She roughly understood. When she was in contact with Seheon, Hara’s stats went up because ‘Just the thought of you makes me strong’ was activated. It was ‘Just the thought of you makes me strong’, but she didn’t get why she had to be in contact to become strong.

And was ‘makes me strong’ referring to physical force?

Just the thought of you makes me strong, and there goes a kick, so Hara seemed to understand the reasoning behind the girl group’s choreography that Hara liked. 

[T/N: There’s a kick in SNSD’s choreography during this particular line, which correlates to physical force I guess? ]

Anyway, aside from this.

Her basic skill, ‘It may be the level of candlelight, but it’s capable!’ was also changed to S-class. However, the proficiency was low.

This was a lesson she’d learnt from Flight. Perhaps the more proficient she was, the greater her power would be. She also tested it earlier while lighting a fire, and when she practised with the lightstick, the output ended up changing dramatically.

So, all that’s left was…

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