It's Okay for Men
South Korea was in an uproar.
Sensational headlines flooded every outlet, and public anxiety surged at a terrifying rate.
Only now, with the situation this dire, did the public finally take an interest in where the hunters had gone. And it was not long before their whereabouts were announced.
Not by the Korean government — by the United States.
"We wish to inform the public that the one hundred thirty-three hunters re-conscripted by the South Korean government and deployed to the stronghold have been rescued by us on humanitarian grounds, and are currently residing at one of our military facilities."
Association President Volkov recited the prearranged lie with a blank face and shameless composure.
"While heading toward an unexplored zone, our American hunter Yeonghak Lee sighted dozens of mutant wyverns flying toward the Republic of Korea's stronghold and immediately changed course. The mutant wyverns were confirmed to be heading for the Korean-sector stronghold, and their levels were determined to be excessively high."
Camera shutters clattered and flashbulbs erupted as Volkov continued the fabrication without so much as a flinch.
"Judging that the hunters inside the stronghold alone would have no chance of handling them, Hunter Lee moved to provide support at once. By the time he arrived, however, the stronghold had already been lost. The hunters had fled in haste and were hiding in a nearby forest. Hunter Lee rescued them on humanitarian grounds and returned with them to American territory."
"Mr. President! Was the wyvern that crossed beyond the gate and caused chaos also one of these mutant wyverns?"
At the reporter's question, Volkov pointed at her as if to say she had asked well.
"An excellent question. Shockingly, yes. These mutant wyverns are believed to store a certain quantity of mana within their bodies, allowing them to operate for short periods even outside the gate, where no mana exists — even without a nearby rift."
"Where exactly did these mutants come from?"
"That, we do not know either. However, based on testimony that they were discovered while flying through an unexplored zone, we can speculate that they originated from a region of Eldorado unknown to us. As you all know, Eldorado beyond the gates is a place where what we don't know far outweighs what we do."
The reporter sat down, seemingly satisfied. Another question came immediately.
"Why was it an American hunter who rescued the Korean hunters?"
"As you know, Hunter Lee is of Korean descent. Upon seeing dozens of excessively high-level monsters swarming in, he judged that Korean hunters were at risk of being harmed and went to their aid, as I mentioned."
"What I'm asking is — if a problem severe enough to destroy the stronghold had arisen, wouldn't it have been better for them to cross the gate immediately and return to Korean territory? Why did American hunters get involved at all?"
"Surprisingly, the Korean hunters refused to cross the gate and return to their homeland."
The frequency of camera flashes spiked, as if the room had decided this was a story worth chasing.
"What was their reason?"
"They claim they were exploited by their homeland, the Republic of Korea. Their feelings toward the South Korean government are extremely poor. We offered temporary protection and proposed returning them to Korea, but every single one of them applied for naturalization. This was carried out strictly according to their own will."
A murmur of incomprehension rippled through the room.
Exploited in Korea?
That country famous for K-pop, bibimbap, and kimchi?
In that advanced nation, Korea?
"When you say 'exploitation'… what does that mean, specifically?"
"That is a question better directed at the South Korean government than at us. The Korean hunters we rescued are currently extremely exhausted. We ourselves have not been fully briefed on the details."
Having delivered everything he intended to say, Volkov rose from his seat.
"That is all the information we can provide at this time. We will hold another press conference once matters have been further organized."
He left the room.
But the words he left behind passed intact into the hands of the reporters, were reprocessed into articles, and were scattered across the world.
And then—
"This!!!! What kind of national disgrace is this!!!!"
The President of the Republic of Korea had just finished reading those same newspaper articles.
His mood was foul in the extreme.
His approval ratings were already sliding over economic issues, and now a security crisis had exploded on top of it. The entire nation was still buzzing about the arson at the Daejeon Gate military base when Volkov's article dropped.
The exploitation of hunters.
The loss of the stronghold.
And for the first time since the Apgujeong Incident, monsters summoned onto Korean soil once again. The Apgujeong Incident of ten years ago was, for the people of South Korea, nothing short of a national trauma.
And now, with the possibility of that nightmare repeating itself—
The president's approval rating was not merely freefalling. It was plunging straight through the Earth's crust toward the inner core.
"Minister of National Defense!! Did I or did I not tell you clearly that the hunters might desert, and to be as careful as possible!!"
"I apologize, Your Excellency! As you instructed, we did everything we could to accommodate the hunters' convenience!"
"You didn't fail to pay them on time for the Magic Stones they sold, did you?"
"No, sir! We paid them more than adequately!! Some hunters received nearly ten million won in cash within a single week!"
"Then those hunters should have held the stronghold! How does it end up like this? And exploitation? I have to hear that word coming out of the mouth of the American Hunter Association president?"
"I-I'm sorry!!"
The Minister of National Defense bowed at the waist, but the president's rage did not subside.
"This was no accident. Someone did this! Lee Yeonghak and Kim Seongho! There's a high probability those two are behind it!"
Breathing hard through his nose, the president fixed a glare on the Defense Minister, who stood with his head bowed, at a complete loss.
"Gather the evidence. Right now!! Someone was clearly riding those wyverns that burned Daejeon. They're hiding somewhere! We need that evidence if we're going to pressure the United States!!"
But the Defense Minister could not immediately answer that he would.
"Well… Your Excellency."
"What is it?"
"The hard drives that stored the CCTV footage… melted completely…"
"There's no evidence?"
"Most of the vehicles exploded as well, so virtually no black boxes survived either. The only remaining video materials are what civilians outside the base captured on their phones or car black boxes, and those aren't clear enough to secure a sharp image…"
"You pathetic excuse for a man!!!"
It looked for all the world like a meticulously planned act of terrorism. Wyverns had no business roaming outside the gate — they wouldn't know where any given building was.
And yet they had known the exact locations of the vehicles and the CCTV records vault, struck them with precision, and fled? It reeked. The stench of foul play was overwhelming. This was the work of a person — more precisely, the kind of thing only possible if a hunter with a belly full of grievances against the Korean government had been riding those wyverns.
But while the suspicion was strong, hard proof was nowhere to be found.
The president's mind began to spin at a frightening speed.
"Find the evidence. Anything will do — just dig something up. I don't care what methods you use!!"
"Understood!!"
"Get out. Right now."
The Defense Minister bolted from the room. Hunter Association President Ju Cheolwu watched the president with cold sweat running down his face. Now it was his turn. He would be torn apart for being a tax-sucking association that never actually did anything.
But the president did not raise his voice.
"Association President Ju Cheolwu."
"Yes."
"Would you like to drop the title of Association President attached to the end of your name?"
It felt as if a cold blade had just grazed his throat. Ju Cheolwu swallowed hard.
"N-no, sir."
"Then take responsibility and carry out what I order."
"Please give your orders, Your Excellency."
The president picked up the newspaper article about Volkov that had been flung onto his desk, began crumpling it in his fist, and opened his mouth.
"Pull the EU, China, and Russia over to our side."
"Pardon?"
"The hunters America took from us. We need to get them back. And for that, we need the cooperation of the international community."
The Hunter Association President understood why the president was speaking this way.
There were still discharged hunters left who could be re-conscripted. But even if they somehow overcame every form of opposition and resistance and succeeded in re-conscripting them again, with the stronghold gone there was no chance those hunters would successfully complete proper rift raids.
In other words, the most critical task right now was rebuilding the stronghold.
And for that, they needed a group to run rift raids, a group to transport the materials required for construction, and a group to actually build the stronghold — at minimum, three groups. In short, they needed every hunter they could get.
"Pressure the United States over violations of international law. By any means necessary!! Humanitarian aid or whatever else — the fact remains that an American hunter entered Korean territory. Seize on that point and refuse to let go. The EU, China, Russia — they've all been burned by America enough times. Bring that up and they'll support us."
"Understood."
"And the hunters who fled this time — Lee Yeonghak and Kim Seongho's crew, along with the newly re-conscripted hunters. Locate all of their families and detain every last one of them at the Hunter Association."
"…Pardon? B-but if we do that, the backlash…"
"I didn't want to choose a method this politically costly either, if I could help it. But the current situation leaves me no choice. We must secure hunter combat power by any means necessary. That requires bold measures. Use their families. Bring every last one of those runaway hunters back."
Ju Cheolwu's face went pale.
The president was the president, but the condemnation that would come down on Ju himself for doing something like this would be enormous. And yet the entire nation was terrified that a new rift would open and a second Apgujeong Incident would erupt.
Something had to be done.
Even if the method was extreme.
"Understood."
Ju Cheolwu had no choice but to say he would do it.
The president waved him out as well, and Ju Cheolwu left the office with a heavy face. The president slammed the desk once in irritation, then rose from his seat.
"Chief of Civil Affairs."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
"The number of hunters available for conscription in the Republic of Korea was estimated at roughly five thousand, correct?"
"Yes, Your Excellency. Looking at the ratios, that is approximately correct."
"And yet the awakened individuals recorded in our database as having been conscripted number barely over five hundred, is that right?"
"That is correct. Many of the existing hunters either had their service extended or attempted to desert and were sentenced to five years of unpaid service, so we are still only at that level."
"The remaining forty-five hundred. Find them. Right now."
The Chief of Civil Affairs blinked at those words.
Was he serious?
He played dumb and asked again.
"How exactly am I supposed to suddenly find forty-five hundred people, Your Excellency?"
"You pathetic man! Are you asking because you don't know?"
The president pounded the desk and roared.
"Social service personnel! Soldiers who were discharged before the Gate Incident!! And male high school students under nineteen — start their physical examinations!! Find people with high mana affinity and register them in the database!! How else are we supposed to conscript and use them in an emergency!!"
Going around one by one to examine an enormous number of men for mana affinity. Would people who knew full well that becoming a hunter meant a high chance of dying simply sit still for it? Massive backlash and social costs would inevitably follow. So the Chief of Civil Affairs, rarely for him, offered his own opinion to the president.
"Well… Your Excellency. If that's the case, there are already quite a few among the current female soldiers who have been identified as awakened. Wouldn't it be better to militarize them and deploy them into the gates? Examining that many men will take far too long."
The president shook his head at the Chief's words.
"If we conscript women, the backlash is severe. Women's organizations, civic groups, the Ministry of Gender Equality — every one of them will raise every kind of noise imaginable."
"…"
"It's okay for men. If you're born a man in the Republic of Korea, you have a duty to protect the country. There will be some temporary backlash, but given time, people just accept it. Men do. So conscript the men. We have to try everything we can. There are too many key figures in society among men in their forties and fifties, so find them among men in their teens, twenties, and thirties. Plenty of young men these days are just loafing around, aren't they? Find those people."
The Chief of Civil Affairs felt the strength drain clean out of him.
If living long were proportional to how much you get cursed at, this man would outlive Dongbang Sak.
But there was no other way.
The stronghold had been wiped out, rifts could erupt within Korean territory at any moment, and the number of hunters was desperately insufficient.
He had no choice but to nod.
"I'll supply whatever manpower you need, so proceed. We must close the security gap by any means necessary. Do everything in your power!"
"Of course, Your Excellency."
With that, the Chief of Civil Affairs also left the office.
The conservative administration won't be able to retake power for a long time.
The instincts he had honed over long years eating rice in Yeouido told him as much.