Chapter 17: Proving Worth (5)

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 17: Proving Worth (5)

The sun hung high in the sky.

“…Are we supposed to face that?”

V muttered as he leaned against a tree and looked down the cliff.

Just watching from a distance sent two of the employees into panic.

Yon, feeling cold sweat running down his back, spoke to V and Hyeok.

“…We’re not here to fight. Our goal is to gather information. So, there’s no need to be that tense.”

He glanced down the cliff.

A strange boundary where the desert met the land.

In the vast open space stood a man, and scattered around him were corpses reduced to ashes.

It wasn’t hard to figure out who had caused the carnage.

The man walking alone among the ashes.

He was burning.

‘How can a person be so nonchalant…?’

That man must be the creature the administrator mentioned.

‘Our top priority is survival.’

The second priority was to gather as much information as possible.

The most important thing to achieve both was to avoid being noticed.

Yon recalled what the administrator had told him.

– They won’t care about you unless you make them aware of your presence. You can’t even touch them, so no matter what happens, do not react. Got it?

Do not react in any way.

The administrator had repeatedly emphasized this.

“Under no circumstances should we react to him. Got it?”

Yon had repeated the same warning so many times that V looked fed up.

“You’ve already said that 20 times. We’ll be fine.”

“…We should have enough information by now.”

They had gathered information, holding their breath around the burning man until almost noon.

Yon smiled in satisfaction, having filled an entire sheet of paper with data.

At that moment—

Whoosh.

“There you are.”

An eerie voice accompanied the sensation that the flames around the man were flaring even higher.

Whoosh.

The man’s body disappeared along with the flames.

Immediately after—

Whoosh!

As the heat intensified, a terrifying aura accompanied the sight of the burning man appearing right in front of them.

“Accept the pain…”

With the man’s anguished howl, the surrounding flames surged once again.

The fire burned even more fiercely than before, and the very air around them felt scorching.

“What?!”

V gasped in shock and covered his mouth with both hands, but it was too late.

The burning man turned to look at Yon’s group, raising both arms.

Flames began to gather in his hands.

And then—

As the flames in his hands took clearer form, the burning man’s eyes shone with a terrifying light.

“Damn it! Everyone, run…”

At the same time as Yon’s frantic shout, flames shot from the burning man’s hands.

The flames cut through the air, speeding towards the group.

“Dodge!”

“Aagh!”

Hyeok, unable to dodge in time, was hit by the fireball and thrown beyond the bushes.

But the burning man didn’t stop, releasing even more intense energy.

“Accept the pain…”

The burning man spread his arms again, as if preparing to embrace them.

Flames erupted from his entire body.

“Ugh!”

“V!”

V was engulfed in the flames unleashed by the burning man.

The fire spread in all directions.

The forest began to burn.

In an instant, two of them had been taken down.

“Accept the pain…”

Once more, the burning man spread his arms as even more intense heat gathered around his body.

The gathered heat soon formed a massive sphere.

It was a gigantic sun.

Yon felt a sense of helplessness.

A merciless sun that seemed as if it would incinerate everything on the ground shot toward them.

Yon squeezed his eyes shut in the face of the oncoming death.

‘…’

But no matter how long he waited, death didn’t come.

In fact, he no longer even felt the searing heat that should have burned his entire body.

‘Did I die instantly?’

Or perhaps this was the afterlife.

Slowly, Yon opened his eyes.

And then he blinked at the figure standing before him.

“You’ve come to your senses?”

A familiar voice and presence.

At the same time, a sense of calm washed over him.

The man standing before him was someone Yon knew very well.

“…Administrator?”

The person standing in front of Yon was Shin Seongjin.

With his arms crossed, he silently waited for Yon to speak.

“…What about the others?”

“Look beside you.”

At his words, Yon looked around and saw V and Hyeok, who had gone on the reconnaissance mission with him, lying unconscious.

Yon fought to control his surging emotions.

‘I failed to follow the administrator’s rules fully…’

But he was alive.

“Thank you…”

“Alright. So, how was it?”

The response was cold.

But Yon knew.

There was no need to say more.

The rest would be unnecessary embellishments.

What direction is the Administrator pursuing?

‘Probably, he’s prioritizing the company's operations above all else.’

That would be of greater help in protecting the world, after all.

Yon's joy and gratitude for surviving were set aside for the moment.

The fact that they narrowly escaped death might have been for the purpose of obtaining information.

However, even so, the Administrator wouldn’t abandon them.

Yon knew this deep down, which is why he wasn’t discouraged by the Administrator’s stern attitude.

“…I’ll make my report.”

Yon immediately sat up straight.

* * *

“…That’s all I saw.”

After listening to Yon's entire story, I fell silent.

‘This is unexpected.’

It was nothing special.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Yon and the others arrived at the coordinates earlier than anticipated.

As expected, there was a creature-like life form there.

“…So, you’re saying there was a man engulfed in flames who was shooting fire everywhere?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

A man whose entire body was on fire.

It was clearly a creature.

And a biological one, at that.

‘So far, no problem.’

It was as expected. The issue lay in what came next.

Yon said he saw a confrontation between the flaming man and an unspecified group of people.

Naturally, the threat extended to Yon and his group, so the outcome was predictable, but…

“So, those people were quickly defeated by the creature?”

“Yes. As noon approached, the flames surrounding the burning man intensified, and he swiftly overpowered the 30 people who were confronting him. We were discovered shortly afterward.”

According to Yon's description, this creature was at least a 7th-rank one.

Perhaps even higher.

Moreover, if 30 people were mobilized to deal with one creature, then the scale was different.

I frowned at a possibility.

‘…Was this an official hunt?’

Proof is a content available to Gold-ranked companies.

However, there are occasional instances where creatures grow if the proof fails.

“Damn. Yoo has passed on something troublesome.”

In such cases, an official extermination order would be issued from the headquarters.

Naturally, if another company dealt with the creature, it would fail to be proven.

In simple terms, it meant a competitor had emerged.

I glanced at the monument.

The hologram was still floating there.

[Assigned Points: 500]

[Proof of Value: 0/1]

[Time Remaining: 83 hours 59 minutes]

About three and a half days remained.

Originally, that would have been enough time, but… the situation had changed.

“Everyone, prepare yourselves. The time may be tighter than expected.”

I immediately called for the staff.

Before long, Khan, who had recovered, cautiously approached and asked,

“Is it okay to set off right away without any preparation?”

I knew what Khan was concerned about.

He was worried about acting too rashly against an opponent that had easily overpowered dozens of people.

I patted Khan’s shoulder.

“It’s fine.”

Even if the creature’s rank was high, it wasn’t a problem.

The creature was only at a Gold level.

If it were truly a serious issue, the headquarters would have intervened directly.

‘Or they would have issued a formal notice to the major companies through the enforcers.’

They wouldn’t mess around with a formal notice, no matter how reckless Yoo might be.

This meant it was still something a Gold-level company could handle.

‘Of course, we’ll only know for sure once we see it…’

It might turn out to be easier than expected.

“The real estimate can only be made once we see it, but we can handle it.”

Hearing my confident tone, Khan nodded.

“Yes, understood. Shall I gather all the staff right away?”

At his words, I shook my head.

Realistically, the only staff capable of handling a 7th-rank creature would be Khan, Yon, and Mari.

Bringing more people would only slow us down.

I pointed out the members one by one with my finger.

“You, Yon, Mari, and I—just the four of us will go.”

My finger finally pointed to Mari.

She flinched and pointed to herself.

“Me too?”

“Of course. If we’re bringing Yon, who just returned, why wouldn’t you come? You’ve been resting all this time.”

In any company, the most capable employees are the ones who get worked the hardest.

Mari didn’t seem too pleased, but what could she do?

When a superior gives an order, you follow it.

“Ugh… fine. I’ll go.”

I glanced over and saw that Yon and Khan were already ready, waiting for Mari and me.

‘Efficient as ever.’

Perhaps this is why Administrators tend to work their most competent employees even harder.

“Ugh, what’s going on? Am I alive…?”

“Ugh, how long were we unconscious?”

At the perfect timing, V and Hyeok regained consciousness.

“Great timing. I have a request for you two.”

“Y-Yes…?”

I patted their shoulders.

“We’ll be stepping out for some external work, so take care of the company while we’re gone.”

I handed over the management of [Kobold Raid] and [Kobold Warlord] to V and Hyeok, who had assisted Yon.

They would quickly figure out what to do.

“Alright, shall we go then?”

But first—

“What about the armor?”

Turning my head, I saw Doran with a weary face, holding a set of familiar-looking armor in her hands.

In her hands was armor that seemed all too familiar.

"Ugh... Do you even know how many days I've been working overtime?"

She grumbled and handed over the armor she was holding.

"I rushed it because you said it was urgent."

[Refined Triangular Plate Armor (D+) * 4]

- Absorbs a single fatal hit but will be destroyed afterward.

"Oh, and this too."

Doran took the bow and arrows strapped to her waist and handed them to me.

[Refined Bow and Arrows (D)]

- A bow and arrows imbued with the spirit of a master craftsman. Each shot is strong enough to pierce through even rock.

"I've delivered everything you asked for. Now I'm really going to rest. Even if there's more work, I'm taking a break. Four nights of staying up is just too much!"

Mumbling like that, Doran staggered off toward the dormitory.

Considering she hadn’t slept a wink since transferring here, it was probably her fourth sleepless day by now.

"Make sure to take one each."

I handed out the triangular plate armors, except for the bow and arrows, to the staff.

Mari and Khan grabbed the armors with tense expressions.

"...You guys seem nervous?"

As I casually asked, both Mari and Khan nodded simultaneously.

‘It’s only natural to be nervous.’

Except for Yon, none of them had ever gone outside before.

I looked up at the grand front gate.

I hadn’t really noticed it when viewing it on my mobile screen, but seeing it like this brought back memories.

‘This gate didn’t open without my permission, did it?’

It should be fine, right?

It probably would be fine.

As long as they followed the basic rules carefully...

‘The real danger starts from Diamond tier anyway.’

So, for now, it should be okay.

I slowly approached the gate.

Swoosh—

Countless interfaces popped up in front of me.

I selected "Proof" from them.

A large minimap then appeared in front of the gate.

[Teleport - Prove Yourself! (Temporary)]

- Party: Shin Seongjin, Khan, Mari, Yon

- Coordinates: 1447, 577

- Type: Biological

When I opened the gate, the scenery before me was a vast green meadow.

‘So this is how it’s going to be, huh.’

[Warning!]

- You are not Gold tier. You are under the company’s protection.

An opaque barrier surrounding the company premises was visible.

"Eek!"

Mari gasped, covering her mouth in shock.

She had made eye contact with a creature beyond the transparent barrier.

There were legless humans, giant spiders, and enormous flying birds.

Each one of them was a creature roughly equivalent to rank 5.

Thankfully, though, they hadn’t noticed us at all.

‘Those things are dangerous, yes...’

But what's even more dangerous are the employees from other companies, or to be exact, those from PK-specialized companies.

‘If we run into them by mistake, we could be in real danger.’

I subtly turned my head to check on the staff.

Mari and Khan were tense, their eyes glued to the creatures beyond the barrier.

Yon was following behind me with his eyes closed.

‘...I don’t really need to tell them about this yet.’

To ease their tension, I called out to Yon.

“Yon, do you remember the rules I told you?”

“Yes.”

“What’s the most important thing to be cautious about?”

“We must not make them aware of our presence.”

“Correct. As long as you follow the rules I gave, nothing will happen.”

Probably.

Swallowing my last words, I moved forward and placed my hand on the transparent barrier.

Beep—

[Authorization granted by Executor Yoo.]

The transparent barrier was soon lifted, and an arrow appeared above, pointing the way.

Now that the barrier was down, it was like we were truly putting our lives on the line.

‘The arrows only show the shortest route to the destination, right?’

Of course, it ignored any obstacles in the way, so it wasn’t a very reliable function.

I shrugged.

“Yon, take the lead.”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]