People cheered just because a bonfire appeared on the auction house.
Min-hyuk participating in the auction again meant many things to those who had been waiting.
Most people had assumed he was preparing to defect.
As soon as the Hunter Management Bureau publicly courted him, the bonfire was posted, leading people to mistakenly believe he was putting his plans to defect on hold and giving them another chance.
– Phew… Is he giving Korea one more chance?
– Yup. It looks like he’s giving us a chance after hearing what the Director of the Hunter Management Bureau said!
– We’ve been waiting, Savior!
– I knew you wouldn’t abandon Korea!
– I thought I was going to die waiting!
– We got one more chance! If we blow this one too, I’m going to go protest at the Hunter Management Bureau!
– For now, we need to gather our strength and shape public opinion.
– Agreed.
At the very least, we need to tear down that Monster Management Office.
People were highly excited, thinking Korea had been granted one more chance.
However, there were still those who hadn’t let go of their worries.
– I thought he was going to retire because of the bonfires, but I guess not.
– Honestly, he could live more luxuriously than a Middle Eastern billionaire just by selling bonfires….
– That’s what I’m saying.
– We should keep watching for now.
Only a bonfire was posted.
– Facts. Honestly, if you have a way to make money stably, there’s no reason to take risks and keep climbing.
There were some who refuted these concerns.
Most of them were low-floor hunters.
To them, Min-hyuk was hope itself.
But even from a civilian perspective, many shared the same sentiments as the worried hunters.
There were S-class Awakened who insisted on only stable climbs after receiving massive signing bonuses.
There were Awakened who gave up on climbing as soon as they awakened abilities helpful for monster butchering.
There were those who gave up on climbing to become corporate researchers after awakening alchemy-type abilities.
Like them, many chose a safe path over a difficult one.
This wasn’t something that only happened in Korea.
Over the past 15 years, countless prospects had given up on climbing, and as a result, the trend of offering massive signing bonuses to prospects had almost vanished.
Even for S-class Awakened, contracts that provided options based on reaching the 20th, 30th, or 40th floors had become the standard.
And as soon as they reached the 50th floor, they could sign new contracts, much like professional athletes hitting the free agency jackpot.
There was a reason why these types of contracts became the norm.
While everyone began to debate whether or not Anonymous would continue his climb, a post appeared on the board.
– Honestly, isn’t it a win for Korea even if he gives up climbing and just supplies bonfires?
– Facts. It’s a win because the overall climbing speed of hunters will increase.
– They say it’s effective even in the 50s, so it’s definitely a win.
– That’s why we have to hold onto him no matter what.
– Yup.
Just having Anonymous in Korea is a structure that can only benefit the country.
– Hey, you punk.
Is Teacher Anonymous your friend?
– I’m sorry! (Currently performing a grand bow.)
Around the time public opinion was forming to be grateful that he was simply staying in Korea, other nations were also moving very busily.
Seeing as he only posted a bonfire without any other response, they thought they might be able to induce him to defect if they played their cards right.
Perhaps because of that, they tried their best to fan the flames that the Hunter Management Bureau had barely managed to contain.
「It’s not just a problem with the Monster Management Office. It’s a problem with Korea’s overall hunter system…」
「Is Korea properly treating its high-ranking hunters?」
「Korea, where treatment and respect for hunters are weak. It needs to change now…」
「Korea, where competition is among the most overheated in the world. And the government that ignored it!」
Sensational articles poured out.
However, having experienced this before, people immediately noticed why such sensational articles were being published.
– Look at the state of these articles. They’re intentionally trying to shake things up.
– It feels like they’re creating an atmosphere where he should defect right this second.
– Other articles are blatantly bashing Korea while highlighting China’s hunter support policies.
– There are even posts praising the US or the Middle East.
– There really are a lot of journalists who sold their consciences for money.
Journalists who only posted articles bashing Korea, swayed by large sums of money.
Of course, among them were journalists who had long tried to expose the absurdities of the Monster Management Office or the hunter world.
But how would the average person know that?
They were all lumped together as trash journalists and began to be bashed.
Certain media outlets were creating an atmosphere as if it were difficult for talented hunters to operate properly in Korea.
However, Min-hyuk himself didn’t think much of it.
Defecting?
If he were going to do it, he would have done it a long time ago.
Giving up the climb?
If he were going to do that, he would have done it the moment he realized he could repeatedly summon bonfires.
“Gosh. I’m not even thinking about it, but they’re making a fuss all on their own.”
Min-hyuk let out a hollow laugh as he looked at the comments on the video he had posted.
It was understandable, as there were many comments that openly signaled, ‘I’m from a government agency~’.
– This is the CIA. If you wish, please contact us through any channel. Even just a conversation would be fine….
– This is the Chinese Hunter Association. If we could just have a conversation….
– This is the European Hunter Association. We would like a close dialogue….
– Japan….
Before he knew it, the top comments on his strategy video were all occupied by government agencies.
That wasn’t all.
A significant number of the top posts on Hunter Net were about him.
– If I were him, I’d defect. Everyone knows how garbage the treatment of hunters is in Korea, right?
– His heart has probably already half-left.
– Even if he doesn’t give up the climb, he’ll probably go up slowly.
– Yup.
He’ll climb as stably as possible.
Think about how much money he’s made.
– He’ll probably move in a direction that minimizes risk, even if just because he doesn’t want to waste his money.
They had already treated it as a fait accompli that he had become skeptical about climbing.
If he had been an ordinary person, he might have been slightly shaken, but since he had worked at the Monster Management Office and performed duties closely related to the hunter industry, he knew exactly how things worked.
He had seen it up close several times: they would create negative public opinion, manipulate it to make it seem like the hunter had negative feelings toward their guild, and then scout the hunter away.
The way to blow away such schemes was surprisingly simple.
“Should I start uploading?”
The experiment that was the reason he had gone radio silent on the 2nd floor for a while.
To show the first result, he reached his hand toward the system window.
[Would you like to upload the video?]
“Yes.”
The moment he answered, it was uploaded to the strategy board, and a ‘new’ icon appeared on his strategy video, which had been stagnant for several days.
Then, as if people who had been waiting just in case started watching the video en masse, the view count began to skyrocket.
[Hello! It feels like it’s been a while since I last said hello.]
At his affable greeting, everyone watching the video nodded their heads involuntarily, as if they had all felt the same way.
Even though it wasn’t a live stream, people reacted intensely while watching.
[First of all, since this is the first video, I’ll start with a simple strategy for the 2nd floor.]
Saying so, he began the strategy for the Horned Rabbits.
[They’re fast, but their attacks are simple, right? If you just memorize their attack patterns, they’re easier to catch than you’d think. The most important thing is not to panic.]
By moving only a few steps, the Savior of the lower floors showcased the art of dodging every single attack from the Horned Rabbits lunging from all directions.
Meanwhile, his mouth kept repeating the cycle of opening and closing.
[If you stare at them like this, they’ll use an irregular attack instead of a linear one. So, let’s intentionally show them an opening.]
Trusting its horn, it lunges in quickly.
It’s certainly fast and difficult to deal with, but an Awakened should be able to handle it sufficiently.
So, if you dodge the ones flying in a straight line and swing your weapon, you can easily neutralize them.
He even went as far as showing the same movement repeatedly, clearly demonstrating how well this strategy worked.
[Easy, right? So don’t be scared by their speed and try to tackle it calmly.]
He told them not to get scared and run away after barely catching one, but to tackle it calmly, and he even shared an easier strategy, saying it would be more convenient if they brought a torch.
[If you shine the torch, they back off, right? If it gets dangerous, you can do this. If it’s hard to hunt with one hand, just stick it in the ground and use the torch’s area to hunt. Easy, right?]
Was it thanks to the torch?
If he had been performing a solo dance with art-like movements earlier, now he was neutralizing the Horned Rabbits by repeatedly entering and exiting the area as if he were just playing around.
[These horns sell pretty well, right? They’re only 2,000 won each, but let’s make sure to pack them. The core is also near the heart, so please cut it open delicately so it doesn’t get damaged. For your information, these guys are highly toxic, so make sure to wear gloves.]
Min-hyuk, who didn’t forget to broadcast the collection of the Horned Rabbits’ byproducts, stood up from his seat as if he were finished.
Normally, the broadcast would have ended here.
But this time was different.
[You were a bit surprised by the high pay-per-view price today, weren’t you?]
The price was higher than usual.
But there was a reason for that.
[There’s one thing I want to say. After you hear what I have to say, you won’t feel like the amount you paid today was a waste at all. Still, some might find it inconvenient, so I’ve kept the video length generous.]
Saying so, he took the Horned Rabbit meat he had just butchered to the bonfire.
He brought some nearby stones, placed them by the bonfire, and as he began to grill, the meat started to cook with a sizzling sound.
[See the unusual smoke, just like when the slime acid boiled? Through that, can you see the toxins and the impurity-filled mana leaving?]
The smoke continued for a long time along with the sizzling sound, and when it gradually subsided, he lifted the meat and explained the options visible on his system window.
[The toxicity is all gone, right? But do you know what’s really amazing?]
Saying so, he pulled out a slime container this time.
There, he mixed the mucus and acid, aged the meat, and then slowly removed the toxicity near the bonfire.
[This is the final product. The color is a bit different from the one grilled on the bonfire from the start, right? And the options are much better.]
Saying so, he gave a long explanation of the special options.
Perhaps because his experiment was a huge success, a wide smile was plastered on his face.
After the explanation, the man returned to a serious expression and quietly gazed at the bonfire and the experimental objects scattered around.
[It occurs to me that this Tower might be meant to be played by linking each floor. Using everything from the 1st floor, and perhaps the 2nd floor, to conquer the next.]
Saying so, he showed the aged rabbit meat to the camera.
[Maybe we’ve been missing out on this possibility.]
After the video ended, a hunter who watched it first wrote a comment that captured their current emotions.
– What… what did I just watch?