ACS 04

Episode 4

After the last goblin hunt, I took care of the K2 rifle at home with a gun cleaning kit and gained a new skill, [Rifle Maintenance].

On top of that, after my pistol practice at the range gave me two new skills, the number of firearm-related skills increased to five.

‘Acquire just one more, and they’ll all merge and upgrade into a ‘Higher Skill’?’
That’s irresistible. I immediately ordered a pistol from the Untied black market.
“All I have to do is maintain a pistol, right?”

A few days later, a K5 pistol was delivered.
“Great, let’s get it cleaned right now.”

[Through pistol maintenance, you have acquired the ‘Pistol Maintenance’ skill!]
[Pistol Maintenance Lv.1: Maintaining a pistol through cleaning keeps it in good condition. The pistol’s durability recovers slightly.]

[You have acquired 6 firearm-related skills. All 6 skills are merging and evolving into a Higher Skill!]
[‘Rifle Marksmanship’, ‘Rifle Inspection’, ‘Rifle Maintenance’, ‘Pistol Marksmanship’, ‘Pistol Inspection’, ‘Pistol Maintenance’]
[…]
[You have acquired the ‘Novice Firearms Proficiency’ skill!]
[Novice Firearms Proficiency Lv.1: You become proficient in handling all types of firearms. Firearm damage, accuracy, aiming speed, and reloading speed are slightly increased.]

“Wow, insane.”
All types of firearms.
‘That means sniper rifles, machine guns, air guns, even relics like muskets are all included!’
This is game-breaking.

“And if this is the ‘Novice’ level…”
I can’t even imagine what additional effects the Intermediate level would bring.
“Good. I should take on another request this weekend.”

Even though it’s a combat role in a public corporation, the work-life balance is decent. I think it’s fine to do another request this weekend.

“Sigh… They’re recruiting mercenaries to participate in the Gaema Highlands reclamation operation…”

Kim Song-hyung, the administrator of Untied’s request board, was deeply contemplating the issue raised in the staff meeting.
‘They say participating in this operation will grant unregistered Awakened a pardon.’
Everyone on the staff was tempted by that. Since all Untied staff members are unregistered Awakened, they were all living in hiding. So, when the government stepped forward promising a pardon, it was tempting.
“We’ll clearly be used as cannon fodder.”
But even knowing that, a ‘pardon’ was too tempting to resist.

They even reportedly proposed registering Untied as an official guild with the Civilian Response Office, integrating it into the system.
“This is an offer we can’t refuse… an irresistible proposal.”
Yet, Kim Song-hyung felt somewhat bitter.

She hated the idea of a bound life, which is why she remained an unregistered Awakened even after awakening a decent ability. If tied to a guild or the Civilian Response Office, there are mandatory requests to fulfill. You could be forced to participate if the government demands it.
However, as an unregistered Awakened, even if most work was illegal, she could work whenever she wanted.
“I should ask the forum.”

The deep web forum where unregistered Awakened from around the world gathered. Its precise name was the Anti-Register Forum, or ARF.
Of course, she couldn’t ask on the public forum board… She decided to post the question on the staff-only board visible only to forum administrators.
The forum staff consisted of administrators from unregistered Awakened communities in various countries. So she was also part of the staff.

“I’ll do that later… there are 5 requests in. Quite a lot of people are using this request board lately.”
‘And the frequency of gate appearances is gradually decreasing too.’
Some even argued that as time passes, gates would no longer appear.
With new Awakened numbers also declining and gate frequency slightly decreasing, the argument was that eventually, both new Awakened and gates would reach ‘zero’.
“This request is… ‘Please handle it quietly. Revenge?’ A bit dangerous.”

It was a request for revenge against a murderer who brutally killed the client’s son. The client seemed quite wealthy, setting a high price of 100 million won.

― Note: I believe the target is an Awakened individual.

“That’s the problem.”
It’s a murder request. And it seems the target is likely an unregistered Awakened too.
‘Among unregistered Awakened, those who are criminals…’
Most possess fairly strong abilities.
Petty criminals like pickpockets among unregistered Awakened get caught even by regular police and don’t last long. After being caught, they are forcibly registered as Awakened and punished. Awakened receive heavier penalties for crimes.
But a violent criminal strong enough to commit murder and still not caught? This is a dangerous one.

“Ah, there was that person who uses guns last time.”
Nickname… ‘Cassandra’?
“A woman? It’s an unusual nickname.”

She was an Awakened who made an impression by neatly handling the previous Cheorwon goblin pack request in just one day.
Even if it was an easy request, I didn’t expect it to be handled immediately. Swift action, clean cleanup, and most notably, an Awakened who used a gun as a main weapon, which is rare.
‘If it’s a gun…’
Even a strong Awakened, without defense-related skills, would most likely die to a bullet.
That’s why that Redneck Awakened edge lord from the American South, who tried to invade the White House and overthrow the government while shouting Awakened supremacy, ended up Swiss-cheesed by bullets.
So, unlike monsters, guns are still effective against Awakened, maintaining the balance between non-Awakened and Awakened.

“Hmm… Let’s hold onto this request for a bit and then assign it later. No matter how good you are with a gun, you’re still a rookie in this industry.”
I plan to assign a few more requests first, and if the work is satisfactory, then I’ll assign this revenge request.
“Then… an orc warrior extermination request, and a goblin pack extermination request. I’ll assign these two.”

I forwarded the incoming requests to ‘Cassandra’.

Two more requests came in.

― Deadline: Within this weekend

“Now I can’t even rest on the weekend.”
But to improve my specs, I need to keep taking requests and gain real combat experience.
As I learned from the last goblin pack extermination, skill proficiency increases faster in real combat.
‘I need to level up combat-related skills as quickly and as much as possible.’
That way, I’ll be able to pull my weight when the ‘Day of Destruction’ the system warned about arrives.

“Two orc warriors are roaming a film set… and a goblin pack extermination request like the last Cheorwon one. Two of them.”
A goblin pack isn’t scary. The problem is the orc warriors.
‘The tier has increased.’
Starting with orcs, they require more bullets to take down. While a single bullet can pierce a goblin’s skin and tear through its insides, orcs have tough, leathery skin requiring at least three shots to penetrate.
‘And their bones are dense too.’
It’s better to aim for the heart rather than the head. Piercing the hard skull would waste a lot of ammo. It’s better to aim for the heart between the ribs.

“Let’s quickly handle the goblin pack request first, level up my skills a bit more, and then tackle the two orc warriors.”
As soon as I thought that, I got in my car and headed towards Yangyang, where the goblin pack was reported.
‘It’s a resort construction site… so plenty of cover.’
The optimal environment for someone who uses a gun.

Woohoo―.

The electric car started with its characteristic humming noise.
“Let’s go.”

[Driving Lv.1 → Lv.2]

“Must be here.”
Clunk—.

I quietly closed the car door and entered the closed resort construction site.
“You can’t come in here.”
“I’m Cassandra, here for the request.”
“Ah… please wait a moment.”

One of the guards blocking entry made a call somewhere and then let me in.
“Please, take care of it.”
“Don’t worry.”

This time, the numbers were considerable. A whopping forty.
‘I heard a lot of funds have already been poured into building this resort.’
So they probably wanted to hide that it was an area where a gate could appear.
Additionally…
‘Monsters appeared and killed some workers, and they probably didn’t want rumors spreading about that either.’
If word got out that a horde of goblins appeared, it would be bad news for the construction company, so they turned to the underworld. And I accepted it.

“The workers are the only ones who got screwed over.”
Compared to typical industrial accidents, damages from gates and monsters require greater compensation.
Because it’s damage arising from the company’s failure to properly prepare for a special circumstance. A situation more unique than an industrial accident.
‘They probably didn’t want to pay the compensation either.’

I strongly wanted to publicly expose this dirty scheme, but I held back.
‘If I want to receive more requests on Untied, I have to follow the industry rules.’
All details of a request are confidential. They must never be revealed. That’s the rule of the industry.

As I got closer to the construction site, I heard the ‘kerruk’ sounds of goblins.
‘They said the goblins don’t leave the construction site after coming out of the gate.’
What does that mean? Most monsters, after exiting a gate, go on a rampage like rabid dogs.
But why? Why stay here?
“Hmm…”
Whatever. Them being gathered in one place also makes them easier to shoot. Works for me.

Swoosh—.

I quietly got down and started moving slowly.

[Stealth Lv.1 → Lv.2]
[Crawling Lv.1 → Lv.2]

‘Nice.’
My crawling speed increased slightly, and noise decreased further.

Swoosh—

I kept moving and successfully positioned myself where I wanted.
“Clear view.”

Kerruk―
Kerrrr!!
Queeeek―!!!

Fifty? Looks like way more than that…
As I observed the goblin pack through the scope… I spotted something out of place.
“What the fuck.”

[Goblin Chieftain]
[Leads a goblin pack of considerable size.]
[Preparing for a ritual to evolve into a Goblin Overlord.]

‘A Goblin Overlord…!’
A Goblin Overlord.
One of the powerful entities that appeared when the gates first opened.
‘They said destruction is coming… didn’t think it’d come this fast.’
Also, the construction company bastards tried to scam me by posting this as a regular goblin pack?
“…I’ll deal with you after this request.”
The second rule of the industry is that when making a request, all details must be disclosed without omission or alteration.
And the client, the resort construction company, broke the industry’s second rule.

“That aside. First… let’s kill them all.”
Honestly, I’m a bit scared. But…
‘It’s too remote; calling for backup would be too slow.’
This is tough.
And this is my request. It came to me.
‘I’ll have to face situations like this often from now on.’
To prevent the world’s destruction, I need to be able to handle battles of this level.

““Phew… Inhale—.”

I adjusted my breathing, assumed a stable stance, and pulled the trigger.

Thump—!

“Queeeek!!!”
““Keruk?”
““Kueeeee!!”

I fired at the Goblin Chieftain preparing the ritual in the center, but unfortunately, it didn’t die.
‘Ah, damn it…’

Woohoo—.

A reddish mana barrier blocked the bullet.
“Damn it.”
Click—.

I switched my K2 rifle to burst-fire mode.