Chapter 203
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 203
Chapter Title: Fun Broadcast Shoot
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"As everyone probably knows, this expansion event ended in victory for humanity. Garuda, having lost its familiar, holed up in its nest, the Tower of Birds, and the Wyverns retreated after taking heavy losses as well. But that's all. We lost countless people, yet we gained almost nothing in return."
Did that mean humanity had seized the initiative in the war?
Of course not. At humanity's current level, even a weakened Garuda was beyond their reach—their raid teams simply lacked the firepower.
The world's top raid team, White House, was no exception. Sure, there were calls to throw them at the Tower of Birds while the opportunity lasted. But the U.S. government opposed it with both hands up.
If they pushed too hard and lost White House's heroes, America's entire monster defense strategy would collapse.
France had been down that road too. They got lucky when Garai fell and snapped out of it, but Celes, the raid leader of the Imperial Guard, had nearly been corrupted by a darkness monster's mana.
'Chaos didn't drag me into this war just to end it for no reason.'
He'd thought it a hundred times before, but if things continued like this, the future of this world was as clear as day. And there was only one way to stop it.
"From now on, we'll prioritize item acquisition and clear dungeons accordingly. We'll upgrade the raid team's gear until we hit a solid level, then move on to tackling 【A-5】 difficulty dungeons. The schedule's tight, but given how serious the situation is, I think we need to boost our specs as fast as possible—even a day makes a difference."
"Right. We've had three dungeon breaks just this year..."
"Might be the real war coming soon. Not like sitting at home gives us anything to do anyway. I'm in."
"They say even a thin needle follows the real deal. If Minguk's hitting dungeons as main tank, Raid Leader Oh Hyun-ah can't just sit this one out."
"Huh? With the raid leader at 7-stars now, does that mean we're hitching a ride on the bus?"
The team nodded in agreement at Minguk's proposal, giving positive reactions all around. The Garai raid had driven home the need for them to grow stronger too.
"Now, we need to pick which dungeon to tackle first..."
The target dungeon was decided quickly. They voted, and most picked the Gate of the Void.
"To juice up the raid's firepower, accessories are a must. No wonder they cost the most."
"Exactly. And we can snag mana orbs too, right?"
As Yuna said, the Gate of the Void dropped "Heart of the Moon," an accessory that boosted dealers' mana output. Plus, a Gear Score 780 mana orb.
"Best would be the Phantom mana orb at Gear Score 799, but..."
The Phantom Mana Orb only dropped in dungeons in the Netherlands and Brazil.
And while the gap between 780 and 799 varied by tactics and trial runs, it wasn't a world of difference in raw power.
"So, Gate of the Void goal: five Hearts of the Moon plus a mana orb."
"Five already? I can feel the exhaustion setting in."
So-jeong shook her head vigorously at Minguk's words, no doubt flashing back to the grind for the Flame Blade.
"At least the accessories come from the 3rd named's loot chest. Mana orb's the final named."
Yuna beamed as she spoke.
She seemed thrilled to get proper gear from loot chests instead of the high-Gear-Score throwaways from China.
"Then this Lucky Girl from Cheonho-dong can't sit it out."
Hyun-ah was just as pumped.
And so, the Gate of the Void raid began. While progressing through it, Minguk also had to squeeze in another commitment: a broadcast appearance.
《A broadcast all of a sudden? Dungeon clears are tough enough—you're not pushing too hard?》
'Eh, it's not like I'm uninterested. Gotta boost clan fame to recruit new heroes, right?'
《What?! Who dared say that? That clan leader from before? Cheeky bitch! Trying to use our Minguk as a pretty face?!》
'...Ppuu. Aren't you overreacting a bit?'
Minguk shook his head at Ppuu's unusually heated response.
He checked the red light and hit the brakes. Heading to the broadcast station for the shoot, he was driving a top-of-the-line car from the Rose Group.
A gift from group chairwoman Jo Eun-young as thanks for his role in Vietnam's expansion event.
Hearing that brought back flashes of her heated body, but making time to meet was tricky.
Her schedule as chairwoman was insanely packed.
Anyway, the lust she'd stirred up had been vented on Hyun-ah, so no big deal.
《Even so, how could we drag someone busy with dungeon clears into this...!》
'Not that busy.'
《Huh?》
Ppuu's message window shook in surprise at Minguk's reply.
To farm items efficiently, yeah, they'd grind dungeons non-stop. But surprisingly, they didn't have raids scheduled 24/7. Heroes needed time to adapt to monster patterns.
'Could just brute-force it raw...'
But wasting Revival Stones like that? Better to study footage from every angle, test in practice, train counters, then raid. Way more efficient.
That freed up raid leader Minguk for a broadcast slot. Unlike others, pattern training was optional for him.
A bit annoying, sure. But curiosity about this world's celebrities outweighed the laziness.
Plus, he wondered how people would react to him on TV. He'd never seen himself as an exhibitionist, but this world adored him beyond belief.
《Celebrities? Who cares? If Minguk wants any woman, he can have her.》
'Any woman? Come on. Need some connection first.'
《Well... true. But Minguk, don't you have a lot of women already?》
'......'
Minguk fell silent at Ppuu's words. Couldn't argue.
Between Cartel lovers from the GGW raid, ace heroes from other Korean clans, and foreign heroes he'd bedded to clear Qwoo♡ quests—he'd been busy.
But.
By this world's standards, it wasn't that many.
'Gender ratio's wrecked, and the fallout's the worst. Hell, people are saying we might go extinct from population drop before the darkness monsters even finish us.'
The show Minguk was guesting on was a cheesy-titled broadcast called My Precious Hero. But despite the corny name, it pulled over 20% ratings weekly—a bona fide hit.
The concept was straightforward.
Top heroes guest-starred, watching parties of 1- or 2-star heroes—ones lacking skill or with glaring flaws—play. Cast and guests coached their issues and weaknesses, helping mold them into proper heroes.
It showed the human side of heroes (usually seen as invincible) and their growth via top-hero advice, blending fun and feels perfectly.
Some 1- and 2-stars who'd appeared had fixed their flaws and landed spots in top-10 clans. But the real draw was the star-studded guest heroes.
'Raising kids? That's my specialty.'
Minguk had leveled up hundreds of heroes in the mobile VR game GGW.
And the GGW raid team? He might as well have raised them himself.
Sure, they had solid talent and potential. That's why they'd stuck together this long. Anyway, the shoot would run nearly a month—short by his standards, but he couldn't spare more.
Broadcasts were fun, but specs and 【A-5】 clears came first.
"Oh, you've arrived?"
The middle-aged PD rushed over the moment Minguk hit the set.
Not just him. The station president and head of variety—usually lurking and annoying staff—were hurrying over too.
The writers and assistant directors, already on edge that morning, flipped out at the execs' weird behavior.
"Who's got the PD this hyped? Kang Chae-young?"
"Nah... a guy? Looks like a dude."
"A male hero on our show? Korea even have one worth that?"
The chatter died quick—then cheers erupted among the writers.
"Ha—Han Minguk!"
"Korea's hero!"
The PD scowled at the suddenly rowdy staff.
"Anyone who leaks that Hero Han Minguk's on the show gets their life ruined. Station lawyers and Hero Association attorneys are on standby. Got it? And no telling the cast—they're on camera for the shock reactions."
Staff zipped it and nodded, but their eyes on Minguk sparkled. Luckily, no cast had arrived yet besides him.
"Looking forward to working with you today."
"The pleasure's ours. Hope we're not wasting Hero Han Minguk's valuable time."
"Not at all. I actually watch the show—it's fun."
"Really? You've seen our program?"
Minguk exchanged relaxed greetings with the station president and variety head amid all the stares—two women.
Vietnam had thrown worse attention at him daily; this was nothing. Greetings done, a staffer led him to the waiting room.
"Here's a rough script... but feel free to ignore it."
Her voice brimmed with goodwill toward him.
"Really okay?"
"Absolutely."
The lead writer nodded vigorously at his question.
A raw, unscripted Minguk would play way better than stiff lines anyway.
"You know a bit about our show, right?"
"I've monitored some episodes."
"Wow, impressive. With monsters keeping you busy... Anyway, lemme explain the shoot flow quick."
An hour of broadcast chit-chat later, they headed to set—where the cast was already rolling.
Five members: four women, one guy. Seeing the TV faces in person felt surreal.
"Want me to intro the cast?"
A staffer—braided hair, striking—asked carefully as Minguk stared.
"Nah, I'm good."
He smiled and declined her kindness.
He knew the show he'd be on, so names weren't an issue. The five "precious" problem heroes—viewer nickname—were chatting. And Minguk's cue approached.