Appearance (2)
Kieeeeeeeeeeee!!
Until that moment, the Giant Armored Beetle had barely reacted to the other users’ attacks.
But now it let out a horrific shriek.
It had no choice.
The uranium round Seon Yul fired had pierced straight through its hardened shell, blasting a massive hole through one side of its head. Thick, viscous green blood gushed out.
“It works!!”
Confirming the damage through his scope, Seon Yul immediately chambered another round.
Clack!
He adjusted his aim just slightly… then pulled the trigger again.
BOOOOM!
Another uranium round tore through the air.
Users always said only mana could counter mana.
It was treated as common knowledge.
But today, Seon Yul was casually shattering that belief.
Crunch!
The second shot didn’t carry the overwhelming force of the first strike, enhanced by Powerful Strike… but it still punched through the beetle’s shell and carved a fresh crater into its body.
Which meant one thing: The damage was real.
And unlike most ranged users, Seon Yul’s attacks were effectively no-cost.
Most ‘Emission-type’ users burned enormous amounts of mana per attack. They specialized in delivering powerful, high-impact blows, but couldn’t sustain continuous damage.
Seon Yul didn’t have that limitation.
Chamber.
Pull the trigger.
Chamber.
Pull again.
Load. Fire.
Clack. Boom.
That was it.
The accumulated damage skyrocketed.
BOOOOM!
For five straight minutes, Seon Yul rained down uninterrupted fire.
Then, activating Powerful Strike once more… He fired again.
BOOOOOOOOM!!
The Giant Armored Beetle’s already-damaged head finally exploded entirely.
Crash.
With a shrill scream, the enormous B-ranked raid monster collapsed.
The entire raid event ended in barely fifteen minutes.
[You have eliminated the Raid Monster: Giant Armored Beetle.]
[Calculating your contribution to the Raid Event…]
[Contribution: 99.1%. Nearly all experience and spoils will be allocated to you.]
[You have gained massive experience. Level increased significantly (Lv. 15 → Lv. 20).]
[You have gained a new ‘Stigma’ point.]
…
…
* * *
[Giant Armored Beetle (B) Raid Event (Completed)]
<This notice will be deleted in 10 minutes.>
Final Contribution Rankings:
- Absolute Safety First – 99.1%
- Gandara – 0.4%
- StatusEffect – 0.2%
- Bulldozer – 0.1%
…
…
- “Seriously, what the hell is this? Even for a Noble-rank, isn’t that insanely hard?”
- “Yeah, you’d probably need two Nobles teaming up to pull off something like that.”
- “So what does that make him? High-Ranker level?”
- “Hard to say. I’ve never actually seen a High-Ranker fight. But… wouldn’t it be around that tier?”
- “An ID that no one’s ever heard of pulling this off? That’s honestly creepy.”
- “Feels like some SSS-tier ability user hiding his identity. But can you even hide an SSS ability?”
- “I mean… maybe? But why would you?”
- “There are weirdos out there who get off on staying hidden.”
- “The moment someone this strong shows up, both UG and NEU (Neo User) are going to start sniffing around. It’s going to get loud for a while.”
- “Watch NEU try to recruit him again. Is Korea going to win the tug-of-war like last time?”
- “I’m Korean, and I’m begging you… Stop hyping up NEU. Every time you guys stir things up, it’s regular users who end up exhausted.”
- “The Korean authorities will move first anyway. If they seriously try to track him down, wouldn’t they figure out who he is?”
- “They’re probably already surrounding the raid area.”
- “Official excuse: “raid cleanup. Real reason: setting up a siege net to catch the guy named Absolute Safety First.”
- “Then they’ll ‘invite’ him in as a witness and start persuading him behind closed doors.”
- “Yeah. Everyone knows how that goes.”
- “Man, they’re all bastards. The original management bureau, NEU… every last one of them. That’s why you just live as a wanderer.”
- “Wanderer? Don’t kid yourself. Half the people calling themselves vagabonds are just trying to create a so-called neutral faction. True neutrality is keeping your head down and living quietly like me.“
- “This is making me dizzy. Seriously, when is this damn community ever going to calm down?“
- “Calm down? Peace is long gone. Just enjoy the chaos.”
…
…
This raid event threw the entire community into an uproar.
The sudden appearance of a powerful figure with an unknown identity was bound to stir controversy, especially since he showed no signs of belonging to any established faction.
And this time, the community’s expectations were correct.
Even before the raid had officially concluded, Director Jeong Yeon Woo had already issued orders for a strike force to swiftly surround the raid area.
In case ‘AbsoluteSafetyFirst’ managed to break through the perimeter, additional containment protocols were activated as well.
The northern dungeon zone required prior authorization to enter. That alone meant AbsoluteSafetyFirst had technically violated administrative regulations.
That gave them legal grounds.
So he had legitimate grounds to arrest him.
Of course, he had no intention of formally detaining or punishing him. The charge would merely serve as a pretext, an excuse to bring him into the Administration and attempt, by any reasonable means, to persuade him.
If they could establish even a cooperative relationship between a top-tier independent user and the Gate Management Agency, the benefits would be immeasurable.
However…
Five hours passed after the raid event ended, and not a single trace of AbsoluteSafetyFirst was found.
Director Jeong even asked several raid participants who were close to the Administration to quietly sweep the surrounding terrain.
Nothing.
It wasn’t simply that they couldn’t locate him. They couldn’t even identify the location from which he had supposedly operated.
This… should not have been possible.
Missing him was understandable. The opponent was clearly highly skilled.
But this wasn’t a matter of failure to track. It was as if he had never been there to begin with.
Director Jeong found himself genuinely unsettled. This was the first time he had encountered something like this.
More personnel were deployed. The area was thoroughly combed again.
Still nothing.
At this point, they even began questioning whether AbsoluteSafetyFirst possessed abilities such as invisibility or spatial movement.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
When other raid participants reviewed footage captured on their specialized smartphones, an even more troubling question surfaced.
The question was…
“Based on the gunshot sound and the destruction pattern observed on the target, we conclude that a sniper rifle was used. More specifically, what we would classify as an anti-materiel sniper rifle.”
Cha Seong Hyeon, Head of the Magic Research Department at the Republic of Korea Gate Management Agency, delivered the preliminary report to Director Jeong Yeon Woo.
“…Does that make any sense? In a raid zone? A gunpowder-based firearm?”
“The data support that conclusion.”
Director Jeong pressed his temples.
“Could this be a magi-engineered weapon? Something powered by magic stones?”
Magical engineering technology had been advancing steadily.
In particular, significant resources were invested in developing long-range weapons operable inside gate zones. Prototype weapons with firearm-like functionality did exist, though none were in mass production.
“Current magical engineering technology cannot replicate this level of power at that rate of fire,” Cha Seong Hyeon replied calmly. “Even the effective range alone exceeds current limitations.”
“That’s ridiculous…”
Both men knew the true state of magical engineering.
At best, modern magic-stone-powered firearms were comparable to old bolt-action rifles, and even those were prohibitively expensive, inefficient, and unsuitable for large-scale distribution.
Yet now they were being told… An anti-materiel sniper rifle had been used?
It made no sense.
“The most plausible theory is that the user possesses a unique awakening ability allowing firearm operation under specific conditions.”
“…Is that realistic?”
“Awakening abilities are inherently unpredictable.”
“Let’s say that’s true. Then what about the disappearance?”
“It may be another awakening skill. A spatial or concealment-type ability.”
“So… he awakened with a rare ability and obtained rare skills on top of that. Everything stacked together?”
There are simply too many unknowns. At best, we can only make preliminary assumptions for now. We’ll need further analysis.”
“…But if he truly awakened with the ability to use firearms inside a mana field… Then we must secure him. No matter what.”
The user known as ‘AbsoluteSafetyFirst’ had just become indispensable to Project R.
Without intending to, he had thrown the Administration something akin to a nuclear-tipped challenge…and then vanished without a trace.
***
Seon Yul, meanwhile, paid no attention to the Administration’s turmoil.
The moment the raid concluded, he closed the entrance to Absolute Space and took a deep rest.
He had reached level 20 in a single raid.
That was more than enough for now. He could afford to rest.
For the time being, Seon Yul planned to remain quietly inside Absolute Space for several days, in case the Administration or other users continued sweeping the area.
He lay down on the bed and opened his mailbox to check the loot he had just acquired.
The inbox was overflowing.
Messages from the Republic of Korea Management Authority. Major corporations. Large guilds.
So many emails had arrived from so many places that it would have taken hours just to skim them.
Naturally, Seon Yul ignored them all. Instead, he opened the system-generated loot notification first.
[Raid Event (Giant Armored Beetle) Loot]
[Ring of Protection <Unique>]
[1 Superior Magic Stone]
[9.4 kg Intermediate Magic Stones]
[2 Large Mithril Shell Fragments]
[1 kg Mithril Powder]
[1 Giant Crustacean Eyeball]
[2 Giant Crustacean Leg Spikes]
[1 Torn Skill Book Fragment (Unique)]
Perhaps it was because his first major drop, the Elite Orc, had been so extraordinary.
Compared to that, this raid reward felt slightly underwhelming.
But objectively speaking, it wasn’t bad. Just… average. Neither exceptional nor disappointing.
As the top contributor, the guaranteed completed item belonged to him. He had also secured a superior-grade magic stone, which was traded by individual piece rather than by weight.
The remaining intermediate stones and crafting materials were obtained without issue.
“Ring of Protection? That’s a great name.”
The item’s grade was slightly disappointing. But the name? He liked it completely.
Seon Yul retrieved the Ring of Protection.
If the performance lived up to the name, that would be perfect. Without hesitation, he lifted the ring and opened its item description window.
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