Sniping the Sniper
Sniping snipers was a common sight on the community forums, but this time around, things were different. Both sides had verified their identities to some extent—and they were even alumni of the same Magic Tower.
-Isn't this AI manipulation?
-It's just agro bait. Someone even voiced that suspicion.
Who snipes their own coworker that often? The original sniper decided to ride the wave.
But then,
(Someone's back view.jpg)
This is you lol. Should I reveal your face and name too?
As Kim Sebin dropped the bombshell of exposing her own name and the sniper's back view, public opinion flipped in an instant.
Kim Sebin didn't stop there—she straight-up revealed his identity. Fresh troll bait ignited, and they spread his photo everywhere.
BAM! "Kim Sebin!!"
Lee Kang-hyun burst through the lab door. Sebin met his glaring, heaving form with calm eyes.
"Why?"
"Post a clarification. Now."
"What clarification?"
"Say that sniper isn't me! Right now!"
"But it is you, isn't it?"
Sebin sipped her coffee with a slurp.
Her attitude—like some dog's barking somewhere—made Lee Kang-hyun growl.
"You... I'm suing you."
"Sue me? For what?"
"False... facts..."
"Bullshit. If you're suing, make it for publicizing the truth. It is you."
"How the hell do you know?"
"'Cause I fucking saw you."
She'd once liked him enough to confess. She'd stolen countless glances, observed him endlessly. She could even tell him apart by the wear on his Magic Tower ID badge.
Of course, not anymore.
Sebin looked at him like a bug. "If you're done, get out."
"..."
Lee Kang-hyun spat curses and left, but Sebin tuned it out. She wasn't idle enough to care about trash like that.
She had tons of work. Personal research, training, commissioned projects, magic consulting... As a mage, she shattered her career highs every quarter.
But right now, something mattered more than all that.
"First, flip public opinion..."
Tap tap tap! Her fingers danced over the keyboard.
Separate from the sniper fleeing, Seiren bait was still burning hot. To eyes warped by trolls, her post looked fishy.
-All baseless speculation lol.
-Writes well. How much they pay you?
-If Seiren's the Association's secret weapon, why's she hunting her phoenix owner?
But Sebin didn't back down. She posted more.
The sharp mind of an academy honors grad handled the opinion war masterfully, successfully erecting a space defense against the community's time-rich whales. Seiren's lurking fans began chiming in.
The Magical Girl Space Command—Seiren's fandom—was born.
Lee Hyun, who'd been coaxing and soothing Seiren, caught on late. Reading Seiren's Bestie's posts, he smacked his forehead.
"This is it."
Lee Hyun shouted.
"Iren!"
"Yeah?"
"Get ready. We got somewhere to be."
"Where?"
"The Association."
2
The Association. The sole government agency among the three powers dividing Korea's awakener industry. Official name: Regional Defense Safety Office under the Superhuman Ability Management Department. More precisely, there's the Daegu Branch, Busan Branch, etc., for each of the eight provinces—but everyone just lumps them as the Association.
No 'Association' in the name, but after the old peaceful era's hunter stories popularized it, they got forcibly renamed.
"Haa, how'd it come to this."
Yoo Kang-hyuk, called 'chairman' instead of 'director' for that reason, was stressed to the point of balding lately.
Back when he attended the academy, the Association was top dog. Then Magic Towers and guilds—those outsider nuisances—rose, eventually surpassing a national agency in power.
How to attract talent? He'd tried everything, but their capital and connections were insurmountable.
"Not a single academy honors grad applying..."
Their only boast was honor, but even that was fading. A public hunter's business card looked pathetic next to Magic Tower papers or big guild team leader titles.
If not for monopolizing dungeon loot trade and distribution, they'd have been extinct already.
They still got big budgets for cataclysm heroics... but only till this year, it seemed.
Congress was pushing to split loot control into a new 'office'-level agency.
If the Association—no, Regional Defense Safety Office—showed no results by year-end, it might really happen next year.
One last coin left. That's why Yoo Kang-hyuk had taken to tearing his hair.
"Ugh, previous director... why'd you let Lee Sun go... Uh, what is it."
His private office phone rang mid-rant about the culprit who'd weakened the Association.
"Uh. Yeah? What?"
Weary-eyed, Yoo Kang-hyuk half-assed responses—then bolted up.
"...Who came?"
-The Magical Girl. The hot topic lately.
"F-for real?"
-Yes. Wants to join the Association.
"Send her up now. No—I'll come down. Heading there!"
She'd thrown her hat in the Association ring out of nowhere.
Now, in the fancy reception room for VIPs—dusty for years—Yoo Kang-hyuk sat across from the Magical Girl.
"If you have conditions, we'll meet them—all of them, whatever it takes."
Yoo Kang-hyuk spoke first. He wasn't stupid. A Magical Girl welcomed everywhere had reasons to pick the Association. With roles clear, he offered a blank check sans haggling.
Sure enough, her agent pulled a paper from his pocket.
Yoo Kang-hyuk's eyes sharpened, but he couldn't help thinking:
'Close bro, she said?'
That was obvious bullshit. Too vast a gap for siblings. The guy had a likable face, but she crushed him.
Anyway. Shoving distractions aside, Yoo Kang-hyuk refocused.
'Won't get played though.'
He'd meet demands, but not if they harmed the Association. What if they were shady operatives? With the Association crumbling, it wasn't impossible.
"S-so, what we want is—"
Hiding suspicions behind a smile, he heard Lee Hyun read it out.
Then Yoo Kang-hyuk double-checked.
"Uh, the Association's secret weapon bit... yeah, side stuff, so let's look at the important parts first."
"Nah, that's the important one."
"...Right. So that... backstory."
"Yes."
"Seiren's identity."
"Exactly."
"That's... it?"
"Too hard?"
Yoo Kang-hyuk scratched his head, then beamed like the sun.
"No way. We'll throw in salary too. Say, 10 billion?"
"Hiek!"
The next day, a post went up on Seiren's channel.