After consulting with the World Association, Min-hyuk posted an announcement at the base on the spot.
[**Base Notice: The number of incidents caused within the base is steadily increasing. All towers involved in serious trouble will face immediate eviction.**]
It was a warning.
If they continued to cause trouble despite this, he intended to cut them down without mercy.
“If every hunter from a specific country ends up being evicted, I ask for your understanding, even if it leaves a bitter taste in your mouths.”
Min-hyuk bowed his head slightly as he made the request, then left the room first.
Following him, the other key figures departed one by one, leaving only the directors of the nations whose towers were currently stationed in Korea.
“Whew…”
Five directors sighed simultaneously.
Honestly, it would be understandable if any of the countries selected this time were evicted.
China, home to the world’s largest villain alliance.
India, which had the most diverse range of villain groups.
Pakistan, heavily influenced by India’s villains.
Indonesia, where villain alliances had seized control of islands and were engaged in actual warfare.
The United States was better than those nations, but it wasn’t exactly normal either.
The proportion of hunters turning into villains had been rising there recently as well.
Living up to their reputation as the ultimate practitioners of capitalism, many committed irregularities—such as using mana doping during guild tests or taking temporary stimulants to force skill evolution.
Could such things ever be obtained through normal routes?
Being the wealthiest nation in the world, it was a place where South American cartels, the Triads, the Mafia, and the Yakuza all gathered to compete.
As everyone wore heavy expressions, a grumbling voice directed at Park Young-hwan broke the silence.
‘Tsk. Did you not pass along the data we provided?’
As the Chinese Hunter Bureau Director spoke reproachfully, the Indian director also clicked his tongue in agreement, staring at Park Young-hwan.
They were spouting nonsense, implying that he should have worked with Min-hyuk to prepare in advance using the materials they had provided.
‘They couldn’t say a word while Master Min-hyuk was here…’
Park Young-hwan looked at the Chinese director with disbelief.
The others felt the same way.
If they spoke nonsense now and Min-hyuk decided not to stay in Korea, what if their countries were excluded as potential immigration sites?
For the directors of China or India, the consequences might go beyond just losing their jobs.
Because of that stress, the Chinese director continued to grumble. In response, Park Young-hwan gave him a cold stare, signaling him to stop.
Park Young-hwan’s past was quite illustrious, though it was often overshadowed by Chun Tae-san or Kim Sun-hwa. He was a top ranker who challenged the SS-rank.
He was the gatekeeper stationed just below that peak.
He was a man who had stubbornly held his position at the very threshold of being called a top ranker.
Perhaps that was why, during Park Young-hwan’s prime, people used to suspect one thing.
‘This guy might be hiding his true strength!’
In fact, many Chinese hunters who relied on their national power to act out had been crushed by Park Young-hwan.
They were all S-ranks.
Some had even planned assassinations in retaliation, only to be wiped out entirely.
He hadn’t survived being wedged between massive villain organizations like the Triads and the Yakuza for nothing.
There was Park Young-hwan, who had entered the Hunter Bureau and overhauled its internal structure.
There was Kim Sun-hwa, who exerted diplomatic influence abroad.
And then there was Chun Tae-san, the very pillar of Korea.
One of the three individuals who had kept Korea standing spoke to the remaining directors in a chilling voice.
“Just as you were unable to stop villains from sneaking into the base, we can only know about their actions after they have committed them.”
Park Young-hwan warned them to stop their useless venting.
He then bowed with a smile and walked out.
‘He’s certainly mellowed out.’
‘You can say that again. In the past, he would have started with curses.’
At the American director’s words, the Pakistani director, a former S-rank hunter, watched the door through which Park Young-hwan had exited with a smile.
‘By the way, you two must have a lot on your minds.’
At the Pakistani director’s question, the American and Chinese directors let out small sighs.
They were in a position where they needed to make a good impression, but instead, their national shames were about to be exposed.
Would anyone want to come to a country crawling with villains?
If two major candidates were eliminated because of villains, only the European Union would be left laughing.
Unlike the directors, whose worries were deepening, Min-hyuk had a much lighter expression than before.
After deciding to actively accept the Hunter Bureau’s help, a much clearer solution to the villain problem had emerged.
Agents would periodically identify villains from each country by sharing system windows with the Hunter Bureau.
Afterward, an official announcement would be made through the World Association.
[**It has been confirmed that China is currently the country causing the most trouble at the 10th-floor base!**]
They would announce it like that.
It would give the nations a reason to take initiative, if only to hide their national embarrassment.
On top of that, notices would be posted within the base.
[**Base Notice: Warning! The China Tower has caused the most trouble, with a risk level of 78%. Please use caution.**]
By issuing such blatant warnings, they would create a sense of crisis.
Of course, even if they caused problems, he also implemented a system where they could lower their risk level by cooperating with the raids to earn Merit Points.
Min-hyuk even went as far as to install a structure in the plaza that displayed the risk levels and Merit Points of the five towers in real-time, seemingly satisfied with the measure of utilizing the villains.
“This pretty much wraps things up.”
Min-hyuk lay down on the sofa with an exhausted expression and logged into HunterNet.
As he browsed around to manage the base, a few posts caught his eye.
One was a post from a hunter who had achieved an S-rank clear.
‘I barely managed an S-rank clear, but it felt a bit strange. It felt like they were responding more systematically than what I’d heard before.’
Another was from a hunter who had explored areas outside the established routes.
‘I only did a B-rank clear, but I tried a different route. These guys suddenly attacked in a completely different way. I barely made it to the midway point before I had to bail.’
These two things bothered him.
He had assumed the response was different for him because he had entered the 11th floor through an abnormal method, but seeing posts that other hunters were experiencing something different from the norm made him uneasy.
He searched further and found constant posts claiming things were different than before.
“Is the criteria being A-rank or higher, or moving through different routes?”
Min-hyuk muttered to himself before falling into a tired sleep on the sofa.
The next day, as soon as he woke up and checked HunterNet, a series of whining posts began to appear.
‘It definitely got harder!’
– ‘Aren’t you just imagining it?’
The board was full of such simple complaints and comments.
Then, as if frustrated, someone posted an analytical thread.
‘I have experience clearing the 13th floor, and the difference in the number of goblins swarming the beginning between before the remake and now is more than ten.’
– ‘I think there’s a difference between the early launch and now too.’
– ‘For sure… at first, only S-clears felt different, but now I can feel it in B-clears too.’
– ‘Isn’t this change getting more intense?’
– ‘What exactly is happening?’
Min-hyuk confirmed that his suspicions from yesterday were becoming a reality.
This was exactly why he had actively requested help from the Hunter Bureau and the World Hunter Union.
“I guess I’ll have to prepare a bit more before heading to the 12th floor.”
He was still confident in achieving a perfect clear.
However, since he had the time, there was no reason not to prepare.
Even if his stats only increased by a tiny amount, that difference could save his life, so Min-hyuk stubbornly continued to run the lower floors.
He even began gathering materials from the 1st floor, which he didn’t necessarily need to revisit.
There was a reason for this.
“Stingy bastard.”
Min-hyuk muttered while glaring at the system window.
After clicking on a post where someone with an S-clear bought a rare weapon trade ticket, a message appeared saying that anything higher required special conditions to view.
He tried to force it open using his authority as the base owner, but it stayed firmly on [**Unavailable**].
A message popped up telling him to earn Merit Points himself to unlock it if he didn’t like it.
So, he planned to collect materials meticulously from the 1st floor and transport them to the 10th-floor base.
[**Base Notice: Player Min-hyuk has collected the maximum amount of materials from floors 1 through 9!**]
“Ahem!”
Clearing his throat, Min-hyuk stood in front of the inn and scratched his head, avoiding the gazes of the people staring blankly at him.
Even he thought the amount of materials he had gathered in his obsession for Merit Points was insane.
Min-hyuk had appeared at the base personally to transport the materials from floors 1 to 9.
Despite it being a difficult task where only materials gathered through repeated clears on specific dates after accepting the quest were recognized, materials were pouring endlessly out of Min-hyuk’s subspace.
“Isn’t that, like, several tons?”
Logs from the 1st floor were piled high, and next to them were neatly organized slime bottles filled with jelly.
But what came next was even more shocking.
As the innkeeper hurriedly began to organize them, Min-hyuk pulled out materials from the 2nd floor to the 9th floor one by one, as if he were just getting started.
“He cut down that much Healing Wood?”
“Check out those fish. There are piles of sharks and giant octopus legs.”
“It’s my first time seeing a whale.”
“Wow… you can even hunt elephants and bring them back?”
Even with soldiers mobilized to help, the materials kept coming out of the subspace without pause.
“Wow… the base owner is about to supply all the materials by himself.”
“This is insane.”
“…I should work harder.”
“No kidding.”
Everyone watched the scene of Min-hyuk’s material delivery in a daze, their spirits dampened.
They had thought they had contributed quite a lot, but they were overwhelmed by the reality that they couldn’t even compare.
However, what happened next was even more surprising.
“I will begin the 10th-floor quest.”
With those words, Min-hyuk disappeared through the quest gate.
He must have cleared up to the 11th floor in an instant, as he returned with two equipment trade tickets at the same time.
“I guess a perfect clear lets you trade for any equipment.”
“Seems so.”
The hunters watched with expectant eyes, wondering what kind of equipment Min-hyuk would choose, but he didn’t pick any of the rare equipment the merchant offered.
“I’ll choose later.”
“Hmm… Is it not to your liking after all? I understand your intent. If you earn enough Merit Points to stabilize the base, I will show you my father’s masterpiece. Please keep up the good work.”
“Yes.”
The expressions of the hunters who overheard the conversation between Min-hyuk and the artisan became strange.
They felt like they had heard something incredible.
From that moment on, the hunters began to act more aggressively, as if they had been awakened.
Hunters who used to only run the 10th floor and above to get high-grade clears began stubbornly running everything from the 1st to the 9th floor to bring back materials.
‘I have to raise my Merit Points!’
They had become obsessed.
As a result, people eventually started discovering hidden elements.
[**You have earned sufficient Merit Points. Would you like to consume all your Merit Points to evolve your skill?**]
They discovered that they could use Merit Points at the central mana stone to evolve skills.
Min-hyuk, being EX-rank, hadn’t felt the need to do it, so he had left it alone.
“I shall prepare my mother’s secret recipe with these materials you’ve brought!”
Some consumed Merit Points to eat special dishes that boosted their lacking stats in an instant.
If it was already like this, what would happen if the base developed further and various merchants or buildings for different fields were introduced?
There would be even more diverse options.
‘The base is insane!’
Min-hyuk’s base was so incredible that posts like this appeared several times a day.
Min-hyuk’s own struggle to get his hands on a masterpiece-grade weapon in his base was also reaching a level of madness.
Min-hyuk continued to repeatedly clear up to the 11th floor without rest until the day came to ascend to the 12th floor.
And finally…
“It is incomplete.”
Regrettably, the equipment merchant brought out an incomplete masterpiece and handed his father’s legacy to Min-hyuk.
“Please wear this and further stabilize the base. I believe someone like you might be able to earn more Merit Points and find the materials and methods to complete this.”
Since it was an artisan’s masterpiece, it possessed its own ego, yet it didn’t reject Min-hyuk. Min-hyuk smiled and nodded at the merchant’s words.
“I will definitely bring you the method to complete this. I’ll wear it well until then.”
Min-hyuk, who firmly shook the merchant’s hands, put on armor instead of a weapon for the first time.
[** (Incomplete Masterpiece) Unfinished Armor Set of the Previous Generation Base Artisan!**]
As Min-hyuk looked at the armor with a satisfied expression, a system window appeared before his eyes.
[**Would you like to enter the 12th floor?**]
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