“Everyone’s so lucky.”
The noisy chatter abruptly stopped at Kim Jaemin’s gloomy voice. When the atmosphere shifted because of him, Kim Jaemin panicked and waved his hands frantically.
“I shouldn’t have said something weird…!”
All 30 surviving participants had reached level 100.
That meant everyone had acquired weapons related to their respective classes.
The eyes of those gathered in the lounge shifted toward the dull, dark armor Kim Jaemin was wearing.
“Jaemin hyung, your armor looks cool too.”
Lee Hajun gave a thumbs-up to lift Kim Jaemin’s spirits.
Among the participants, only four had obtained legendary-grade weapons.
Roy, having practically summoned all the Spirit Kings of the Four Elements, was considered to have improved more than anyone else here.
Although Lee Hajun was an A-rank hunter, it felt like he had gotten a good weapon because of his rank.
Kim Jaemin, on the other hand, was only B-rank.
“Why didn’t Jaemin hyung get one?”
However, Roy knew this wasn’t all by chance.
Earth had said that to prepare for the invasion of the Continent of As, it was enhancing the abilities of Roy’s close companions.
{…Four is the maximum at once.}
Earth murmured in a sulky voice. It hadn’t singled out Kim Jaemin; rather, it had just arranged so that everyone except Kim Jaemin among Roy’s group received weapons for now.
{In the next mission, Jaemin-nim will get a weapon too!}
At Earth’s voice, Roy patted Kim Jaemin’s shoulder in comfort.
“Hyung, just wait a bit. Who knows? Maybe next time, a legendary-grade weapon will appear for you too.”
“No, I’m not expecting that.”
Kim Jaemin shook his head vigorously. Because they were close, his true feelings had slipped out before he could stop them.
He thought just getting this far was a miracle. Fans didn’t call him a zombie for nothing. Kim Jaemin even knew people were betting in online communities about when he would be eliminated.
Among the 30 participants, the number of fans who visited Kim Jaemin was relatively low, ranking near the bottom.
“You can look forward to it. You’ve survived this long not just because of luck. It’s because you’ve worked hard, and the fans recognize that effort.”
Kim Jaemin had worked harder than anyone else here. Roy had made it this far with Earth’s help.
If he were in Kim Jaemin’s shoes, he might have given up before reaching this stage.
“Thanks for saying that.”
Kim Jaemin rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand to hide their redness.
“You should be called the King of Effort, not a zombie!”
The mood shifted as Lee Hajun backed Roy’s words. Others joined in with their own encouraging words, and Kim Jaemin shook off his gloom and smiled brightly.
“Roy, it really happened just like you said!”
Kim Jaemin ran over to Roy as if flying, clad in jet-black armor soaked in ink.
“This is a legendary-grade armor!”
Although the armor Kim Jaemin had gotten at level 100 was black, its color was dull. The armor he was wearing now reminded one of a night sky untouched by moonlight.
{You told me to trust you, right?}
Earth boasted excitedly to Roy.
‘Yeah, good job.’
Roy patted Kim Jaemin’s shoulder as if to calm him down while replying to Earth.
“Participant Kim Jaemin, may we have a moment for an interview?”
“M-me?”
“Yes.”
The production team approached the thrilled and overwhelmed Kim Jaemin with a request for an interview. He followed them with a dazed expression.
They hadn’t been conducting personal interviews with participants for a while, but Roy knew the crew had taken individual interviews with every participant who had obtained legendary-grade items.
They hadn’t told Kim Jaemin this fact, worried he might get discouraged again.
‘He’s already at level 200.’
Roy watched the spirits bustling around with a moved expression.
“Pii!” (Why am I the only one not growing?! This is a conspiracy!)
“Por.” (Maybe it’s because your mental age hasn’t changed.)
“Pii!” (Does that make sense?)
As Ber vented his frustration, flapping his wings, Aqua gracefully wagged her tail.
“Pii…” (That’s kind of cute.)
“Pheek!” (I need to be cool, not cute!)
When Ris tried to console him, Ber only grew more agitated.
‘Why is Ber the only one whose form hasn’t changed?’
Roy was genuinely curious about this too.
Solum had maintained the shape of his original form since being summoned. When Roy reached level 200, Aqua and Ris had also regained their original appearances.
Aqua’s true form transformed into that of an adult woman. Ris grew so large he could carry people.
Currently, both spirits were in their smaller, more manageable sizes, but they could return to their original sizes at any moment if they wished.
{I’m not sure about that…}
Roy gauged Earth’s voice, but Earth truly didn’t know either.
‘Maybe it really is because Ber’s mental age is low, like Aqua said.’
“Pii!” (Contractor, I heard everything!)
Ber flew over to Roy, who was deep in thought, stroking his chin. The other spirits gathered around Roy, circling him.
“You look cool enough as you are.”
To soothe Ber, Roy lightly tapped Ber’s back with his index finger. Naturally, the gesture didn’t comfort Ber at all, making him even more agitated.
“Sigh…”
Roy took a deep breath. The vitality spreading through his body felt strange yet oddly familiar.
{Hero, you’re finally one step closer to your old strength!}
Level 300.
The helplessness he felt when he first fell to Earth, unable to use any abilities, felt like just yesterday.
All the events that had happened flashed through his mind like a slideshow. Roy watched the Spirit Kings excitedly laying waste around him with their powers.
“Piiiiik!” (I can manifest my true form now too!)
Ber was the most excited of all. Whether it was because of level 300 or not, Ber was finally able to fly through the sky in his true Phoenix form.
“Por.” (But why does your cry still sound like that?)
Aqua, still maintaining the form of a small mermaid princess instead of her true adult form, swirled an icy vortex that grazed Ber’s wingtip.
Ber flapped his wings lightly and melted the ice attempting to freeze them.
“Pii?” (Yeah, that’s a mystery to me too.)
The majestic Phoenix, unlike his usual form, cocked his head in confusion. Although it was an incongruous sight for such a solemn figure, Roy realized he had grown used to Ber’s cute cry.
While the Phoenix’s voice was heavy and echoed inside his head, the sound was still unmistakably Ber’s.
“Everyone, come here.”
They still couldn’t freely use the full power of their true forms. Still, the restrictions were far fewer than when they had first been summoned to this world.
“It feels like all four seasons are gathered here.”
Shin Jimin looked around in awe.
Originally, the dungeon had resembled a dense jungle. Now, patches of icy hills had formed here and there, and parts looked like lava was flowing as if a volcanic eruption had just occurred.
Where the wind blew so fiercely one could barely stand, the grass and trees bowed as if stamped by the footsteps of a giant wind spirit. In another area where leopards frolicked, various earthen sculptures emerged from the ground like a spirit’s playground.
“Thanks to all of you, I was able to safely reach level 300. Thank you so much.”
Roy bowed to the fans huddled nearby. Even if the fans cast buffing spells, leveling up this much in a short time was truly unheard of.
‘The production team spent a fortune to get this for you all!’
Lee Jian had also been eyeing the artifacts handed to the participants with envy.
Buffer Stacking Artifact.
An artifact that any Hunter Idol dreamed of obtaining. It allowed buffs from multiple buffers to stack, providing the fuel for rapid growth.
Since it was a consumable artifact, it was incredibly expensive and very hard to acquire.
‘This program is worth the investment.’
Dangheon was currently recording the highest ratings and popularity ever seen in the history of Hunter Idol survival shows.
The survival show where High Cycle debuted had held the top spot for a long time, but many believed Dangheon would soon overtake it.
That was why the production team had invested so heavily.
‘But actually, regular hunters don’t use Buffer Stacking Artifacts much. They just level up.’
Although hard to obtain, not everyone wanted the artifact. Gradual growth and mere leveling made a difference in combat power.
This was why Hunter Idols generally had lower combat abilities than regular hunters of the same level.
‘That’s why regular hunters looked down on Hunter Idols, calling them all style but no substance. But when High Cycle appeared, those criticisms disappeared.’
High Cycle was a remarkable team in many ways. Not only were they top-tier in the Hunter Idol scene, but Kim Taejin’s hunter abilities were among the best of all hunters.
‘So let’s make sure to surpass High Cycle.’
Han Jihoo talked about how great High Cycle was but never envied them, only wanting to surpass them.
‘I feel the same way.’
Roy straightened up from his bow and smiled, making eye contact with each fan.
It was still strange to see their faces blush every time they looked at him. Although many had followed Roy on the Continent of As, no one had given such blind affection as these fans.
“We’ll be counting down the days until your debut, Roy-nim.”
Shin Jimin was certain Roy would be among the debut members. At first, his dancing and singing skills were lacking compared to other participants, but now he was recognized as a solid member.
“Yes. Please cheer for me a lot.”
Speaking now like a true idol, Roy gestured to the spirits.
Level 300 was called the cursed threshold. From this point on, leveling up became incredibly difficult.
‘I’m still far from there.’
Roy had yet to unlock his full true strength. He had only just opened a small crack in the once tiny breath of his abilities.
{Hero, what’s the next mission?}
‘One that drastically reduces the number of participants.’
As they exited the dungeon, Roy answered Earth’s question briefly. And Roy’s prediction was correct.