[Goblin Ranger Remnants in Full War]
Kieeeek!!
A goblin, wrapped in grenades, was about to perform its last struggle by removing all safety devices, aiming to take itself out among the hunters.
There were still quite a few goblin remnants left. Goblins may not be of adult intelligence, but at least they had a child or lower-grade adolescent mentality.
Having intelligence meant that they could learn effectively, understand tools and strategies, and, of course, feel anger and fear.
At that moment, one goblin was completely excited due to its rage over its kin being slaughtered and the fear of death.
And when there was a momentary gap in the hunters’ response network, it leaped into the midst of them, wrapping stolen bombs and grenades from a human military base around itself with the determination that it wouldn’t die quietly!
“Motherf—!?”
“When did this bastard show up!!”
“Self-destruct! Get out of the way!!”
Seeing the panicked expressions of humans, the goblin trembled with joy, instinctively aware of its impending doom.
Yeah, you guys have hogged all the delicious and rich goodies of the surface world.
I have always hated you little bastards and wished to kill you.
Yet, you are far stronger than our kind—how infuriating!
Even if it’s self-destruction in the end, just being able to take you along with me to the other side makes me smile as I die!
The goblin’s arms had already been torn apart by humans, yet it could still manage to pull the pins from the grenades.
Kehehehe! Come on, you human bastards!
[Blizzard of Ice]
Jjeo-eong!!!
However, the goblin did not fulfill its dream.
It couldn’t take a single one of those hateful humans with it and, as its life began to drain away, the goblin realized it couldn’t move at all.
Surely, it had pulled all the pins.
Once the pins are out, all the bombs attached to a goblin’s body should explode.
But why am I still alive?
No, why aren’t the bombs going off?
And why can’t I even move?
It didn’t take long for the goblin to realize it couldn’t take a single step, couldn’t wiggle a finger, or even roll its eyes to look elsewhere.
“Hah, hah… Y-Yeonhwa…”
“I’m late. I’m sorry. All the goblins in the northwest dungeon have been eliminated. Is this one the last?”
“Yes! Y-Yes!”
As soon as those words were said, Yeonhwa drew the sword she had at her waist and sliced the frozen goblin’s body into pieces.
Yeonhwa’s sword exuded coldness, cutting through the goblin like a soft tofu or cake, making the friction almost zero.
The frozen grenade seemed to have been frozen solid, reacting not at all despite the pins being pulled.
“You’ve done well.”
“No, thank you, Yeonhwa!”
Icicle Nine, Yeonhwa.
Though she had only officially received her hunter name for a few months as a young woman, she was quickly emerging as a genius hunter.
No, calling her a genius was too mild.
She not only outperformed seasoned A-grade hunters but also single-handedly annihilated a multitude of goblin remnants assigned to the northwest.
“Is she really the granddaughter of Yeonseo?”
“Wow, she’s really strong! Back when I was her age, I barely reached C-rank…”
“Making it to A-rank in my forties? Talk about feeling jealous!”
Other hunters murmured that Yeonhwa was strong because she inherited Yeonseo’s bloodline, but a hunter’s awakening ability wasn’t necessarily passed down through blood.
Even if she was Yeonseo’s granddaughter, it was possible she wouldn’t have become an Awakened One.
Yeonhwa’s strength came not from being Yeonseo’s granddaughter but purely from her own innate talent and insane hard work.
In fact, before being saved by Shia, she relentlessly delved into dungeons as if she wanted to die.
[This concludes the 83-hour operation to eliminate the Goblin Ranger remnants!]
[We thank all the hunters!]
[Hunters who have sustained injuries or feel unwell, please proceed to the medical headquarters immediately.]
As an AI announcement declared that the goblin ranger remnants had been completely dealt with, all the hunters lifted their heads.
A hologram appeared above the hunters, displaying various notices and expressions of gratitude towards the hardworking hunters, along with the assurance that the hunter association would cover all medical expenses incurred during this raid.
But what the hunters focused on was something else.
[The contribution level of all hunters has been calculated!]
Contribution level.
Contribution is usually calculated during special events like “emergency summons” or “raids,” and it represents a comprehensive indicator of each hunter’s performance and importance as assessed by the hunter association’s AI.
Contribution could almost be considered a hunter’s report card or portfolio, comparable to a sales chart or specification sheet.
It’s atypical for someone like Shia or Yeonhwa to solo-play effectively; usually, most hunters belong to a guild, similar to working for corporations or public institutions.
The guilds or organizations provide access to dungeons that individuals can’t reach alone, or those that require massive capital investments, so it’s necessary for hunters to submit their contribution levels to join most guilds or institutions.
[A-grade Hunter, Ahn Yuseong – Contribution Level 8.98%]
[A-grade Hunter, Se Hwarang – Contribution Level 1.42%]
[A-grade Hunter, Yulia – Contribution Level 4.24%]
…
“Oh, I thought the rear support part might be at 0 percent, but here we are with a decent score?”
“Shit… If I can’t surpass 9 percent, I’ll have my salary docked by the guild…”
[A-grade Hunter, Ahn Iyon – Contribution Level 3.25%]
…
[A-grade Hunter, Yeonhwa – Contribution Level 41.79%]
“What? Wait, what?”
“41 percent…?”
“Whoa, what the f—…”
“Is this a contribution error?”
“Do you really think the association’s AI is that incompetent? Errors like that don’t just happen.”
In general, a contribution rate of around 10 percent or so is average for the top contributor.
But for someone to have a contribution level of 41 percent is beyond overwhelming—this was almost a realm of otherworldly standards.
“Of course, it makes sense. Yeonhwa single-handedly wiped out the northwest remnants, after all.”
“They say she’s the next rookie or something; she truly is on a different level from us.”
If the gap weren’t so vast, and if they felt they could reach that level with more effort, it would have sparked jealousy.
However, when someone reaches a standard that places them leagues ahead and makes comparison impossible, people begin to feel awe or envy.
This young woman, barely in her twenties, has an overwhelming contribution level compared to those who have been hunters for decades.
“Wow, if she has a 41 percent contribution level, just having goblin rangers show up would mean she could annihilate them all by herself, right?”
“It won’t be long before she reaches S-rank.”
“But it’s been over ten years since we had an S-rank in our country, right?”
“I reckon she might break through.”
“Being Yeonseo’s granddaughter really shows; she’s strong for sure. Congratulations, Yeonhwa!”
As Yeonhwa stared blankly at the hologram, she bowed her head to the hunters excessively praising her.
In the past, she would have brushed off any hunter’s acknowledgment and rushed to another dungeon immediately after checking her contribution level.
Though she might have appeared quite rude and immature in other hunters’ eyes, she had no grounds to argue.
“…Ah, yes. Thank you.”
Previously, she wouldn’t have felt satisfied even if her contribution was high.
’41 percent…’
I really worked hard.
Feeling a peculiar sense of relief, Yeonhwa relaxed her body.
It was akin to the pleasant feeling after a good workout, yet it was even more gratifying than that.
Even after clearing dungeons, she didn’t feel any real joy when receiving praise as an excellent student at the academy.
Was it merely because she became an A-grade hunter?
Or was it because, ever since Shia saved her, she had gained some mental comfort?
‘In the past… I would have thought it wasn’t enough and pushed myself into dungeons until I was too exhausted to move…’
Even she didn’t understand why she acted that way.
What did I want to achieve that led me to push myself like that?
Was it guilt over surviving instead of my older sister, Yeona, who died to save me?
Was I feeling disgusted that I survived instead of her, even while being so weak?
Looking back now, all those reasons might hold true.
In that sense, Shia truly was Yeonhwa’s saint.
Of course, as she herself said, it may have just been a coincidence that Shia saved her.
Just like a butterfly’s wings creating a storm, or warm winds melting away the cold winter they came from, Shia was such an existence to Yeonhwa.
It might seem like a random fluke, but simply being present made Yeonhwa feel like her real sister had returned.
“…I should brag to my sister.”
Though she wasn’t her actual sister, Yeonhwa had started to think of Shia as one.
Opening her smartwatch, she took a selfie—something she usually never did—then accessed Shia’s contact.
“Oh?”
Then her eyes narrowed as she noticed a message that was already there.
[3rd Ethical Review Requires Legal Representative]
○○○
3rd Ethical Review
A crucial gateway for returnees deemed in need of special management to integrate into society.
While Shia had seemed to live freely, doing as she pleased on hunter broadcasts thanks to the previous 1st and 2nd ethical reviews, the truth was she hadn’t truly become a member of society yet.
She wasn’t registered for insurance or pension, and all her identity tags bore the ‘temporary’ title.
Once the 3rd Ethical Review was completed, the deceased saint, Isia, would receive a formal ID without the ‘temporary’ designation guaranteed by the Hunter Association, and if she desired, she could stay permanently at the temporary returnee shelter provided by the Hunter Association.
Various health insurance or support benefits, pensions, and tax breaks would also begin flowing in properly after this review, but conversely, passing the 3rd Ethical Review was significantly challenging due to its comprehensive nature.
The reason for the difficulty in passing the 3rd review was straightforward.
It provokes the most hidden or potentially dangerous aspects that returnees want to conceal. In fact, even observants from the returnee community were present during this review.
And as people were returning home after work or enjoying dinner with acquaintances during their leisurely time, Shia and Yeonhwa arrived at the Returnee Management Bureau.
“I’m sorry. You must want to rest, but it’s because of me.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s actually good that the review was requested from our side, not the management bureau,” Yeonhwa replied kindly.
For whatever reason, it was clear that Shia was mentally prepared enough to request the review herself.
“By the way, I didn’t expect S-grade hunter Yujin to come.”
“He seems quite famous? I’ve heard of him a few times in the gallery…”
“If we exclude Grandma Yeonseo, he’s probably the one who has worked as a hunter the longest, right?”
“Oh?”
Was he the first returnee?
After the Great Rift, he returned just ten days later and had a blast.
‘Thinking about the observers is pointless; they’re not here to show their faces.’
Thus, Shia and Yeonhwa entered the familiar building of the Returnee Management Bureau and stepped into the prepared Ethics Review Room.
Yeonhwa, as Shia’s legal representative, went to the opposite observation room, while Shia sat with her ethics review officer, Director Choi Bomi.
‘Oh, they really did come.’
During the 1st and 2nd ethical reviews, only Yeonhwa had been present.
But this time, three new faces were sitting there.
S-grade hunter Yujin, who looked like a rather sharp handsome man with brown hair, but in reality, he was nearing the age of 70, almost from the same era as Grandma Yeonseo.
He’d gone missing during the first Great Rift and returned ten days later. Even though he only returned ten days after, he had claimed to live in a fantasy world with magic and steam for 20 years.
In fact, during the mental assessment, Yujin’s mental age was evaluated to be twenty years older than his actual age.
Anyway, this was Yeonhwa’s first time meeting the famous Yujin in person.
‘He really looks like a returnee.’
And across from him sat someone wearing armor that completely enveloped their body.
Many hunters wore armor, but it was always designed with modern enhancements.
However, this armored knight appeared to be from a true fantasy realm.
The armor was so large that it concealed any hint of the wearer’s physique, making it impossible to deduce their gender. All Yeonhwa could discern was that this person had stayed completely still in their chair since arriving.
Wait, but are they even human? They’ve not budged an inch since the beginning.
Not even the slightest tremor of breath was visible.
And the final person had pointed ears, suggesting they were an elf.
Whether they were another returnee or a member of the Elf tribe from the Erosion Dungeon was uncertain, but given the context, it was more likely that they were a returnee.
The combination of the seemingly emotionless S-grade hunter Yujin, the unmoving armored knight, and the perpetually discomforted elven woman was quite bizarre.
“It’s been a while! I watched your broadcast, Shia!”
“You watched my show?”
“Of course! I had to for work, but did you know your show is super popular? In the gallery already…”
“Is there anything from the dishes I made that you want? I can whip it up for you if you’d like.”
“…………”
The moment she clamped her mouth shut, a chilling silence filled the room.
“Shia, there’s no way I can eat fried bug legs, no matter what!”
“By the way, what made you request the ethical review first, Shia? The higher-ups are quite curious about it.”
“It seems it isn’t common?”
“Yes, most people are just anxious to delay their ethical reviews.”
“So, when I feel like doing it, I just do it. I had things to address too…”
Slowly changing the subject, Shia picked up the tentacle from her waist and placed it on the table.
The tentacle’s mouth opened slightly, and something was expelled.
“Shia?”
Director Choi Bomi, clueless about Shia’s intentions, tilted her head in curiosity.
What is that?
It looks black… But somehow it seems to pulsate like a living creature.
What is it? Why does it look so tempting?
Shaking off her hazy mind, Director Choi Bomi shook her head.
“What do you think this is?”
“Oh, obsidian? No, it seems too red to be obsidian. It kind of looks like a rare mineral that’s moving slightly.”
“Would that be nice?”
With a slight smile, Shia turned her face into a perfect blank expression.
“It’s a fragment of the Demon King.”
“…..!!”
“?!”
At that moment, both Yujin and the armored knight sitting in the observation room jerked up from their seats at the same time.
The armored knight revealed nothing, but Yujin’s face was contorted with a significant twist.
Especially in Yujin’s eyes, there was a glimmer that spoke of a desire to kill someone right then and there.
