Chapter 52
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: EP.52 Newbies Who Aren't Newbies Raid
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"Word has come about the reclusive billionaire philanthropist who's been secretly supporting wounded soldiers from the war against the darkness monsters for the past twenty years while hiding his identity. And today, with Christmas just around the corner, another heartwarming story awaits the public."
The announcer's voice, clear and bright, continued as she read from the script.
"Just yesterday, our country's ranker clan, R’s—Rose Shield—successfully cleared the [B-6] difficulty dungeon 'Black Orc Fortress' and collapsed it in the process. We'll now connect to our on-site reporter. Reporter Yang Sohyun?"
The story on TV drew eyes to the screen from everyone around. Words like ranker clans, heroes, and dungeons were perfect hooks for grabbing attention and interest. A woman holding a microphone pointed to a flat clearing with a beaming smile on her face.
"Yes, this is reporter Yang Sohyun. As mentioned, I'm here at the site where the [B-6] dungeon 'Black Orc Fortress' once stood in Seongbuk-gu. The dimensional gate that connected to the darkness monsters, which once threatened safety around here, is completely gone now."
As the reporter spoke, footage comparing the old site with the gate to its current state began playing as background material.
"According to the soldiers who were guarding this place, the R’s raid team entered for the assault yesterday morning, succeeded in clearing the dungeon, and at that exact moment, the dungeon's mana dispersed. That's what caused it to collapse."
"From what I know, the odds of a dungeon collapsing are incredibly slim. Just how rare does it have to be to warrant the word 'slim'?"
"That's right. Based on everything we've learned so far, the average probability of a dungeon collapsing is a mere 0.01%."
That was already factoring in the condition that the clear had to reach a certain level of perfection, which made the odds even lower. In such circumstances, it wasn't a low-difficulty dungeon spawning 1st or 2nd-grade monsters—it was a [B-6]. The media's attention was inevitable.
"That's an incredibly low probability. So, who are these heroes that collapsed the dungeon for us?"
"Ah... I was shocked myself while verifying this. There's a huge twist here."
Footage of R’s clan's newbie Team 4, GGW members, began airing. Naturally, these were materials provided by R’s clan.
Clan leader Hyun-jung had prepared these materials and a response strategy the moment she heard Minguk had successfully cleared the dungeon and it had collapsed—positioning it to benefit the clan's evaluation. The first news outlet on the scene eagerly bit, making it a win-win for both sides.
"Did 1st-year newbie heroes collapse a [B-6] dungeon?"
The announcer, looking at the footage, asked in a stunned voice. It was a line prepared well in advance, but genuine surprise colored her tone.
"Yes, it's an incredible achievement. A raid team made entirely of 1st-year newbie heroes succeeding in a [B-6] dungeon clear is a first in our country. Even looking worldwide, it's fewer than twenty times ever. An extraordinary feat."
"And collapsing the dungeon on top of that..."
"Our country is the first. And astonishingly, the raid leader of R’s clan's newbie Team 4 who collapsed the [B-6] dungeon has been revealed as the male healer hero, Han Minguk."
Minguk's photo zoomed in large on screen, drawing gasps from women watching. True to his mana-awakened hero status, his handsome features pulled their eyes to the screen.
With full hero gear equipped too, he looked straight out of a fantasy movie protagonist.
"A male hero as raid leader!"
"Yes. Han Minguk is known as the first among male heroes to take on raid leader duties. It must not have been an easy decision. According to R’s clan officials, his abilities are truly outstanding."
"As a newbie hero, he's already drawing massive expectations. But haven't countless promising stars appeared before us only to vanish?"
"That's a valid concern. But as the saying goes, you can spot a great tree from its first leaves. Raid leader Han Minguk earned his raid qualification and personally led clears over twenty times. Considering the qualification exam was last month, that's at least one dungeon every other day."
This record was heavily influenced by spinning the dungeon wheel nonstop to farm mana crystals.
Either way, by common sense standards, it was an absurd number of clears. Normal heroes typically hit two or three dungeons a week. But Minguk, the shut-in raid leader of GGW, operated on a whole different level from their norms.
These facts about Minguk were neatly packaged as the hot sweat of a raid leader striving for humanity's peace.
Thanks to that, the news—which started with the dungeon collapse—quickly shifted to coverage of R’s clan's newbie Team 4, GGW, especially Minguk. Just being a male hero raid leader drew huge attention, but his proven skills amplified it.
Heartwarming stuff. So where does that raid leader live?
R’s clan has been on a downward slope lately. Hope Minguk turns it around and restores Rose Shield's old glory.
Shouldn't the Hero Association step in?
Why would they?
He's a raid leader who could make it globally. You think other countries will sit still? Especially the US and China?
N-No, Minguk is off-limits! You guys!!!
Right! The Association needs to support heroes like this. Where are all the revival stones bought with my taxes? Send them to R’s!
R’s first string is so lame, their clan eval is gonna tank hard this year…
If Han Minguk hits the world newbie rankings, won't that boost their score?
Won't matter, first string is trash…. Park Dayoung retired too soon.
Raid leader Han Minguk carries the DNA of the Hero Era—an exceptional hero.
You guys need to stop. Every time a promising kid shows up, it's the same crap?
He slept one night and woke up to a whole new world. That was Minguk's current feeling.
He'd drawn attention before just for being a male hero. But now that it hit the airwaves, he realized that past interest was nothing.
"...So I told you not to go to the clan house?"
They needed to submit the loot from yesterday's successful [B-6] dungeon 'Black Orc Fortress' clear and file the report. But with the dungeon collapsing causing a huge fuss, Team GGW couldn't return to the clan house. They got held up chatting with soldiers and barely escaped home.
Hyun-ah silently nodded at Minguk.
"No way. Really?"
"Yeah. If you go now, it'll be chaos. Reporters aren't the only ones swarming the clan house area—civilians too. It's insane."
"That's from the broadcast, right?"
Minguk had caught that embarrassing morning news. He'd flipped the channel quick, but still.
"Yep. You're a full-blown star now. Well, you were famous before, but..."
Past fame was just from being a male hero. Now it was different. He was a raid leader with world-class potential from day one. The [B-6] clear proved it.
"So we have to keep holding onto this stuff?"
Minguk pointed to the hero gear piled in one corner of the house. With the place not being huge, the dozen-plus pieces cluttered the room badly.
"Someone from loot processing is coming later. Unnie's secretary too. Unnie's stuck with reporters and can't make it. She said to tell you she's sorry."
"Nah, whatever. I'm fine."
Minguk nodded at Hyun-ah's words. No real need to meet anyway. Nothing to discuss.
He knew clearing a [B-6] was a big deal. But he hadn't expected this level of hype. Hyun-ah cleared it up.
"Media's hyping it, but it's because expectations are sky-high."
"People's expectations? For us?"
"Yeah... As you know, we don't have many raid teams active on the world stage."
Minguk made a dubious face at Hyun-ah's words.
Sure enough, Korea's raid level lagged far behind the otherworldly powerhouses Minguk found unimpressive. National ranking hovered around 20th, with only two teams in the world top 100.
Obviously not R’s first string. Hero Era's 72nd and Memoria's 99th barely scraped in. Sadly, Rose Knights' first string languished around 900th, down 870 spots in ten years.
"The raid leaders of Hero Era and Memoria first strings made names early too. But not like you, clearing [B-6] as newbies. You did it."
"Eh, I'm a veteran gamer. Different from them."
"Uh... y-yeah?"
It was a weird answer she couldn't quite grasp, but Hyun-ah nodded anyway. Minguk's leadership was impressive enough for national buzz. Leading them to clear a [B-6] proved it.
"And this attention? Mostly people wanting you to become Korea's representative raid leader. Grow that much."
"Worrying their hearts out. Haha."
He was already a fully grown raid leader, planning to smash every darkness monster here to get home.
Hyun-ah smirked, eyeing Minguk's tilted head with a complex gaze. She glanced down at her hero pad. Since the broadcast, the internet had been a cyber warzone. All about Han Minguk.
Stuff like leaving R’s for a top clan to grow, or shipping him to the US or China for humanity's future as a global leader. Useless drivel.
'Idiots who don't know jack...!'
Every time she saw it, Hyun-ah seethed. No one could lead like Minguk better than her. She was the main tank for his raids. So she hoped the rumors wouldn't shake him.
"Mm..."
Minguk had felt Hyun-ah's prickly stare for a while. No clue why, but post-broadcast talk, her eyes burned into him. And the spot... not quite abs or thighs...
'Fell for me again from the broadcast?'
Last night's passion flashed back unbidden.
"Oh Hyun-ah, come here a sec."
"Y-Yeah?"
Instinct won. Minguk called her over, pulled her close, and started groping. Her eyes shook in flustered panic, but only briefly. It didn't take long for her to melt into the fox girl.
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