The surprise of the massive reward was brief.
He immediately began plucking pieces of bark, branches, leaves, and even roots, dropping them into a Slime Potion.
[This is an incorrect method.]
A system window popped up immediately, informing him of his mistake.
The frustrating part was that it didn’t tell him what the correct method actually was.
“So you’re saying you won’t just spoon-feed it to me, huh?”
Contrary to his grumbling tone, a small smile played on his lips.
At the very least, being told his method was wrong helped him narrow down the right answer faster, so it wasn’t all bad.
“Alright! Then, shall we start the experiment?”
With the remaining time, he set up a campfire and laid out the materials he had scrambled to gather.
Considering the aging process required, he needed to make something before he left the floor.
After performing primary processing on the hurriedly gathered materials, he headed back into the jungle before the time limit expired.
The reason he crawled back into the jungle was to complete the exploration quest for the 6th floor.
With the hope that there might be another massive reward like the Healing Tree, Min-hyuk re-engaged in combat with the surviving monkey troop.
While he was struggling through the 6th floor to discover another treasure, HunterNet was ablaze with talk of the new hunters.
—Aaaagh! I failed!—
—You said it would work if I followed the strategy guide? Which bastard said that!—
—I should have ignored the non-awakened people when they were blabbering!—
—This is crazy… Is this really something you can clear just by reading a guide?!—
—Equipment support is difficult because we have to aim for a Flawless Clear? You sons of bitches! You come and try it!—
Most of the posts on HunterNet were filled with people cursing the government.
It made sense; they had promised support, leading people to expect something grand, but in the end, it was just information on clearing the 1st floor.
They did provide a stipend for about three months, but it was a pittance—barely enough to make a dent in living expenses.
It was nothing more than a token gesture for show.
Even if one failed a Flawless Clear, additional stipends were provided on the condition that they continued to attempt the 1st floor, but this too was unsatisfactory.
This was because of the conditions attached.
1. Continuously clear the Torch Quest.
2. Participate in slime mucus and 1st-floor experiments.
3. Attempt a Flawless Clear a certain number of times per month.
Attaching such conditions?
That much was understandable.
The problem was the additional conditions they heard when they went to apply for the extra stipend after failing.
「Guys! Don’t take the extra stipend. It comes with some really shitty conditions.」
Along with this post, additional conditions that the government hadn’t made public spread across HunterNet.
Unlike the conditions for receiving the stipend disclosed to the public, once people actually went to apply, the officials would slyly bring up other requirements.
—They were talking crazy, saying if I secure a torch, I have to sell it to a company affiliated with the government.—
ㄴ Isn’t that illegal?
ㄴ They phrase it very cleverly. Saying it’s for the sake of Korea… and if I don’t agree to this condition, my priority as a candidate might be pushed back. Some total bullshit like that.
ㄴ I heard this too. They subtly pressured me, saying they hoped I’d hand over slime mucus to a government agency instead of the auction house.
ㄴ They’re talking nonsense. Do they know how much slime mucus and torches are going for in the auction house right now?
ㄴ It looks like corporations lobbied them to try and get stuff for cheap.
ㄴ The rumors are already everywhere. It’s much more profitable to sell the mucus to other countries without taking the stipend.
ㄴ Exactly. Torches are basically “name your price” right now, but they’re trying to take them for nothing.
Hunters were enraged by the claim that they had to agree to these proposals to receive the extra stipend.
Even worse were the proposals given to low-rank awakened individuals.
「Sharing my D-rank proposal. I’m posting this because it’s so different from the information circulating. Anyone else get a proposal like this?」
— Yours seems better than mine. Mine was worse than this. I’m E-rank.—
ㄴ I got a shitty proposal too.
ㄴ It seems there’s a difference based on rank, but it looks like climbing alone is better than accepting such garbage conditions.
ㄴ You’re an idiot if you take the stipend. Cancel it now!
ㄴ Agreed. No need to put on shackles.
Posts claiming that government support was actually a “shackle” began to spread everywhere.
YouTubers and other streamers quickly caught on and started spreading the news to platforms accessible to the general public.
Then, reporters began writing articles to suck up views.
「The Government Kicks Another Own Goal? Instead of Nurturing Properly, They Try to Apply Shackles!」
「Number of Stipend Applicants Plummets Since This Afternoon! Reservers are Canceling One After Another…」
When it became clear that public opinion was worsening faster than ever, the government hurriedly began making excuses.
「Anonymous Official: It seems there was a misunderstanding. We were offering special proposals out of consideration for new hunters…」
They tried this bullshit, but no one was foolish enough to believe it at face value.
Among new hunters, the government’s support plan had long since been recognized as trash that should not be accepted.
At the same time, the realization spread that a Flawless Clear wasn’t something achieved just by knowing a strategy guide.
—A Flawless Clear was only possible because it was Nameless.—
ㄴ At this point, hasn’t it just been proven that Nameless is exceptional? —
ㄴ We can’t do it. Let’s just go to the 9th floor quietly and then try for a 1st-floor Perfect Clear! —
ㄴ A Perfect Clear is probably limited to the 1st floor. From the 2nd floor up, it’s realistic to aim for a B or D rank clear.—
ㄴ Even at level 9, an S-rank clear of the 1st floor is difficult.
ㄴ Even for a level 9?
ㄴ Yeah. The skill is B-rank, but it’s hard. [Hunter Certificate (9th Floor) Identification Code….]
ㄴ It definitely seems hard.
ㄴ Still, if you’re level 9, it’s worth a try. I plan to keep trying.
As the new hunters lamented their reality, those who had entered the tower earlier left comments to comfort them and encourage them to find courage again.
「Don’t aim for perfection from the start; try to slowly increase your clear rate from E-rank or D-rank.」
「Climbing is a long-term game. Even if you only grow by eating cores, you’ll be significantly different from previous awakened individuals.」
「There’s hope if you just aim for skill evolution. It’s definitely different from before, when you had to give up if you awakened a shitty skill.」
Senior hunters pointed out that thanks to Nameless, the environment for low-floor, low-rank hunters had changed drastically, and told them to have hope.
Before long, praise for Nameless began to appear on HunterNet once again.
Of course, some among the general public still didn’t believe it.
— Haven’t the S-ranks tried it yet? —
ㄴ Exactly. If it’s an S-rank, they might have a chance if they have a good strategy.
ㄴ It’s worth trying. Detailed strategy guides have continued to come out after Nameless.
ㄴ People say S-rank awakened individuals are different from the 1st floor.
Usually, the gap between high-rank awakened individuals and everyone else begins to widen from the 10th floor, where useful skills start appearing in earnest.
However, occasionally, some individuals show a clear difference starting from the basic skills received on the 1st floor, and such people were often found among S-ranks.
When those individuals pass the 50th floor and transcend their limits, they rise to SS-rank.
Many of those currently in the top tier did not start with SS-rank skills and dominate; rather, they started as S-ranks, reached the 60th floor, and entered SS-rank.
Perhaps that was why many among the general public still held high expectations.
However, they were soon buried by a single system window that appeared to all hunters.
[The world’s first Flawless Clear of the 6th floor has been achieved.]
At the news of Nameless clearing even the 6th floor with a Flawless rank, talk of hunter stipends vanished, and posts praising Nameless began to flood the boards.
As if to pour gasoline on the blazing HunterNet, a “NEW” tag appeared on Nameless’s long-dormant strategy board.
「Hello. I’m thinking of uploading strategy videos again after a brief hiatus. I found something quite interesting on the 6th floor! Please look forward to it!」
There was an explosive reaction to the post Nameless had uploaded himself.
— What could be on the 6th floor?
ㄴ Since it’s a jungle type, will there be lots of materials?
ㄴ Definitely… looks like he’s going to show us something fun again.
ㄴ My money is ready, just release the video!
The comments on the post exceeded a thousand in an instant.
And a short while later, a strategy video was uploaded.
— What? Re-clearing the 6th floor should only be possible starting tomorrow? —
A comment was posted as if someone didn’t understand.
But the questions didn’t end there.
— I can’t get in.—
ㄴ Isn’t it because you don’t have money?
ㄴ Bullshit. There’s no pay-per-view mark.
ㄴ You’re right. What’s going on?
As if answering the bewildered hunters, a notice was posted at the bottom of the video shortly after.
「* This video is released specifically for those who previously purchased the 1st-floor video. This is a compensation video for the 1st-floor video being released for free.」
— Advanced Course for 1st-Floor Perfect Clear —
— For those who have cleared the 10th floor or higher, a refund will be processed. —
After uploading the extra video as a courtesy to those who had already paid, Min-hyuk immediately began re-clearing the 2nd floor.
Perhaps because he needed many materials for his experiments on the 6th floor, he focused on securing as much meat as possible from the 2nd to the 5th floors.
After completing all preparations, Min-hyuk re-entered the 6th floor as soon as midnight passed.
He might have been afraid when he knew nothing, but since he had already cleared it once, he managed to defeat even the gorilla more easily than expected.
“Now, the real game begins.”
Min-hyuk muttered to himself, smiling broadly as he poured out the bottles of roasted slime he had made in abundance on the 1st floor.
Then, he stuffed the materials from the Healing Tree into the containers filled with slime mucus.
For the first stage of the process, he placed a large number of them over the campfire and went back to exploring the 6th floor.
Even though he had put in plenty of firewood, the campfire went out in less than an hour.
Nevertheless, a smile hung on Min-hyuk’s lips.
“The first step went well. I should do the rest on the 1st floor.”
Muttering to himself, Min-hyuk left the 6th floor without regret and went straight to the 1st floor.
There was a reason why he came back down to the 1st floor instead of staying on the 6th floor even a little bit longer.
“As expected… the 1st-floor campfire is the best.”
Muttering this, Min-hyuk tossed all the materials he had started processing on the 6th floor into the massive campfire.
Unlike the campfires he summoned on other floors, the campfire here never went out.
It didn’t even diminish regardless of how much stuff he put on top of it.
How perfect was this for experimenting?
On other floors, a summoned campfire was enough, but from the 6th floor, things were different.
There were experiments scattered everywhere, and because he was busy exploring the 6th floor, he couldn’t conduct multiple experiments at once.
In that sense, the 1st floor was the perfect laboratory.
“Hmm… should I just film up to this point and upload it?”
Muttering to himself, Min-hyuk began editing the video next to the campfire to upload the first part.
A short while later, Min-hyuk, who had stuffed the materials—which now only required aging—into his subspace, left the tower and immediately uploaded the first video.
「Nameless’s Special Recipe! Things discovered on the 6th floor!」
As soon as Min-hyuk’s video was uploaded, the number of viewers began to skyrocket.
Despite having to pay a higher viewing fee than before, the number of viewers rose sharply as if it didn’t matter.
And finally, one hunter, who was the first to finish watching, left the very first comment in the section reserved only for those who had completed the video.
— Who said anyone could replace Nameless? I guarantee it, no hunter will ever be able to replace Nameless in the future. —
Was it because they agreed with this comment?
The number of recommendations grew as rapidly as the increasing viewer count on the video.
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