A post was uploaded to a community site.
– Dokkaebi is doing a live broadcast. Attaching the link.
The link in the post led to the Korean Association’s official promotion address, and those who clicked it could indeed see Dokkaebi.
The Dokkaebi on the screen was in a lava zone.
– If it’s a lava zone, what floor is that?
– Floor 40. I heard even S-rank Hunters find it tough to climb even one floor a day starting from there.
– But why a live broadcast all of a sudden?
– Didn’t you see the news? China and Japan are practically grabbing Dokkaebi by the collar and shaking him right now.
– They said if you kill someone with a Hidden Piece Achievement, you can steal the achievement. They didn’t say Dokkaebi’s name directly, but anyone can see they were targeting him.
– But does that even make sense? Finding and killing a Hidden Piece Achievement holder in Korea?
– Nothing is impossible in this world. Just stay neutral for now. You don’t want to get screwed over for posting nonsense.
– Neutral, my foot. The state monitors and protects all Hidden Piece Achievement holders. There’s no way they wouldn’t know.
– Can you guarantee there isn’t a single case like that among the achievements Dokkaebi earned?
– The problem with Dokkaebi is that his identity hasn’t been revealed. There are too many secrets. Even when something like this happens, he can’t give a satisfying explanation.
While the debate raged on, Dokkaebi began to move.
“Since many people are curious about how to obtain Hidden Piece Achievements, I’m going to show you personally.”
Dokkaebi moved deeper into the Labyrinth.
Lava crocodiles appeared from various places and opened their maws wide. Massive fireballs flew toward Dokkaebi.
Bang!
Boom!
The ice walls created by Dokkaebi blocked the lava crocodiles’ attacks.
– Whoa… Damn, putting everything else aside, his skill is the real deal. There aren’t many people who can block that with Magic.
– Can’t you just use ice Magic?
– I mean, if you pour a ton of Mana into it, it’s possible. But doing that makes it hard to catch the Boss Monster that appears later.
The Dokkaebi on the screen didn’t stop at just blocking; he created spears made of ice and pierced the lava crocodiles’ heads.
Thuck!
Squelch!
The ice spears that flew in all directions hunted the lava crocodiles as if they possessed a will of their own.
The area where the crocodiles had been froze over, emitting a pure white chill.
– Look at how the cold is maintained. How much Mana do you have to pour in for that to be possible?
– Truly marvelous.
– Wow. It must be nice not having to worry about the air conditioning.
– Where did the air conditioning comment come from?
– Holy crap. That came out of nowhere.
As people who had heard the rumors gathered from all over, the number of live viewers increased to millions.
The numbers didn’t stop there and continued to rise.
Dokkaebi also hunted the Monsters appearing in the Labyrinth and arrived at the area where the Boss Monster was located.
A massive volcano.
From within the hot lava flowing inside it, a beastman in the form of a crocodile emerged.
The wall of Floor 40.
The Lava Crocodile Beastman.
It was an existence like a Gatekeeper that separated those worthy of being an S-rank Hunter.
Not only those known as the Twelve Constellations but all the famous S-rank Hunters below them had hunted it alone.
“This isn’t what you guys are curious about, right?”
As Dokkaebi acted casually and snapped his fingers, dozens of ice spears emitting a pure white chill rushed toward the Lava Crocodile Beastman.
Crack!
Crake!
Dozens of spears pierced the Lava Crocodile Beastman’s body, and when Dokkaebi snapped his fingers again, they exploded simultaneously.
K-boom!
Along with the sound of a massive explosion, the chill spread in all directions. Within the white smoke, the lava and rocks froze.
In the center of it all, the Lava Crocodile Beastman stood frozen.
Along with that, a door leading to the next floor appeared, signaling the completion of the Labyrinth raid.
– Did he just kill it in 1 second?
– This is insane.
– That’s Dokkaebi for you!
– Isn’t he basically on par with the Twelve Constellations?
– He’s seriously strong.
– Is he strong enough to slap the Cheonma?
– Is the Cheonma a neighborhood dog to you? No matter how much China has fallen, the Cheonma is on a whole different level, kid.
– A few others besides the Cheonma could probably do that much. But his skill is still incredible.
– I can’t believe a powerhouse like that appeared in Korea again. It gives me goosebumps.
Before long, the number of people watching the video surpassed millions and reached tens of millions. Accordingly, various languages appeared in the chat window.
The content being translated in real-time was mostly admiration and shock.
– If Korea is like this, shouldn’t they be one of the World’s Top Five?
– I only heard stories about Dokkaebi, but this is crazy.
– Is there anyone else who can put on a performance like that?
– I’m jealous. If only we had a Dokkaebi too…
– But isn’t he still a murderer? Just a pathetic guy blinded by Hidden Achievements.
– Booo. You uncivilized Koreans praising a murderer.
However, some people deliberately slandered and tried to pull Dokkaebi down.
“Then, I’ll show you what you really want.”
Dokkaebi didn’t even pay attention to the chat window as he moved his feet.
He stood in front of a rock protruding like an awl, located a short distance north of where the Boss Monster had been, and raised his hand.
“Hey, Association Presidents of China and Japan. Watch closely.”
Then, when he struck the rock with his fist, a golden fragment symbolizing a Hidden Piece appeared.
– He found a Hidden Piece.
– Was it really something that appears just by going there and hitting it?
– How does he find things hidden like that?
– What the? Then the talk about him killing people was all bullshit.
– You idiot. He probably found some like that, but stole others by killing people. How could he find them every day?
The reaction was split exactly down the middle.
“I wonder if you’ll say this was faked in a video after seeing this.”
Dokkaebi let out a hollow laugh and pulled something out.
A golden ticket.
Most of the chat reacted by asking what that was, while someone informed them of the ticket’s identity.
– It’s a Floor Challenge Ticket.
– Oh my god.
– A Floor Challenge Ticket? Why did he pull that out? Is he going to challenge someone?
– Aren’t the floors above Floor 40 mostly ruled by S-rank Hunters?
– Who is the owner of Floor 40?
– It’s Ryuki.
– Ryuki? The Twelve Constellations member from Japan?
– Holy…
The speed of the chat window increased dozens of times over.
“Why do you keep trying to half-heartedly suppress me with your weight? Do I look like a pushover? Does Korea look like a pushover?”
At Dokkaebi’s words, the Koreans wailed.
– Hell yeah! Do we look like pushovers to you?
– Man, that’s refreshing.
– These guys only beat us up and don’t say a peep to the United States or others.
– Exactly. We’re the country that has Dokkaebi; do we really have to take hits like this? Wasn’t strength everything in the Hunter world?
Among the positive public opinion, there were those who were worried.
– I know he’s incredibly strong, but isn’t this a bit of a sudden escalation?
– The challenger is always at a disadvantage in a Floor War… It’s not like he’s fighting some random guy. Does it make sense that he can beat one of the Twelve Constellations?
– I’m a fan of Dokkaebi too, but this looks like he’s overreacting. This went a bit too far.
– Why?
– Dokkaebi said Japan was behind the Sealed Sacred Relic incident and wiped out the floors Japan was ruling. Japan must be sharpening their blades.
– Ah… so there’s a high chance Ryuki is prepared?
– Absolutely.
As the heat that had risen cooled down quickly, Dokkaebi tore the ticket in his hand in half.
At the same time, a message announcing the start of the war appeared to Hunters all over the world.
After seeing that, one of the Twelve Constellations uploaded a post on social media.
– If Dokkaebi wins, I’ll donate my entire fortune, change my nationality to Korean, and become Dokkaebi’s Slave.
The Labyrinth Cam literally only had a filming function; it didn’t have a function to view the broadcast.
‘I’m curious about the situation outside.’
In particular, I was most curious about the reactions of the Association Presidents of Japan and China.
If I were to take a guess…
They were probably smiling so wide their lips were trembling. Specifically, the Japanese Association President likely had a grin from ear to ear.
‘Because it looks like I walked into hell on my own feet.’
Floor 40 of the Labyrinth was a floor held by Japan.
Since I declared a Labyrinth War against Japan, they wouldn’t have just sat still.
They probably didn’t think I would actually enter Floor 40.
Still, they would have made preparations just in case.
[The owner of Floor 40 chooses the restrictions.]
[The challenger’s Mana is restricted to half.]
While I was smashing the Labyrinths held by Japan, information that I used Summoning and Magic must have been passed along.
Since they even confirmed I was challenging it alone through the Labyrinth Cam, a restriction making me challenge it alone was meaningless.
If they could, they would have wanted to prevent me from using Magic itself.
However, the system didn’t allow that.
From Japan’s perspective, restricting the Mana used for Magic would have been the best choice.
[The war method is a Captain Battle.]
[You must fight until one side is completely defeated.]
[No time limit.]
As the messages disappeared, the scenery of Floor 40 appeared.
A rocky area where lava boiled.
On the opposite side of where I stood, hundreds of Japanese Hunters were standing with weapons in hand.
‘The Samurai Guild.’
The guild representing Japan, and the place where Ryuki, one of the Twelve Constellations, served as the Guildmaster.
It was an elite guild consisting only of Hunters A-rank and above.
Since they received the floor Buff, it was safe to consider them all S-rank.
“Crazy bastard.”
“You crawled in here alone?”
“No matter how much they praise Dokkaebi, looking down on Japan is intolerable.”
While the members of the Samurai Guild gritted their teeth, Ryuki raised his left hand with a relaxed smile.
The Samurai Guild members fell silent.
“What kind of disgraceful behavior is this when everyone is watching?”
“We are sorry!”
After silencing his subordinates, he looked at me and curled his lips.
“Why? Are you flustered because the restrictions and match format weren’t what you expected? You’re awfully quiet.”
“You used your head quite a bit. I’ll give you a compliment.”
“…Quite? Pwahahaha!”
Ryuki laughed so hard he practically shed tears.
“Quite? Quite? Wow. This is seriously driving me crazy. Your confidence is definitely top-tier. Guys, did you hear what he said?”
“We heard him.”
“Who wants to instill some manners into this insolent brat?”
“I will challenge him first.”
A man with a beard walked forward.
At that moment.
A circle was drawn around the man and me.
Should I call it an arena where the Captain Battle takes place?
Brief information flowed in.
Influence cannot be exerted outside this circle, and the moment you step out, you are disqualified.
[The Captain Battle begins.]
The opponent lowered his stance while gripping the scabbard tightly and placed his hand on the hilt of the sword.
“I will make you pay for ignoring the Great Empire of Japan.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the opponent lunged forward with his front foot, took a stance, and drew the sword in his hand, swinging it in a wide arc.
An iaido technique.
However, his movements were clearly visible to me. I infused Mana into my fingers and caught the sword he swung.
The blade was caught between my index and middle fingers.
With a slight twist of my wrist, the blade snapped in half instantly.
I threw the broken blade at the man, who was frantically trying to create distance.
*Thwack!*
It pierced the opponent’s heart directly.
The dead opponent turned into powder and left the battlefield, and the eyes of the remaining Japanese Hunters darkened.
Not with a sense of defeat, but with the determination to kill me.
“So this is the level of Japan.”
“…You little.”
Suddenly, another guy leaped forward.
The circle was created again, and the match began.
The opponent approached at a tremendous speed with his fists clenched.
He arrived right in front of my nose and swung a fist imbued with Mana.
I caught that hand.
“Did you think you could win if you drained my strength through a Captain Battle? But I don’t know if you can even drain my strength with this pathetic skill.”
I imbued my other hand with the energy of flames and struck the opponent’s face upward.
Boom!
A blue explosion erupted.
The opponent’s head flew off and turned into powder.
I had taken care of two enemies in an instant.
I turned my head slightly to gauge the opponent’s atmosphere.
‘They’re still unfazed.’
They probably didn’t think they could beat me from the start anyway.
They likely intended for Ryuki to finish me off after I exhausted all my strength with my halved Mana.
However, that would act as a worse move than an all-out war.
Vroom!
The Dragon Heart sucked in the surrounding Mana and refilled as much as had been emptied.
[Mana Drain has been activated.]
[A portion of the opponent’s Mana is absorbed.]
A Skill obtained as a Hidden Piece on Floor 40.
Well, even without this…
There was no way I would lose.
But with this, it was even more certain.
I curled the corners of my mouth and beckoned the opponent with my finger.
“Next. Come out.”
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