Chapter 64
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Chapter 64
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: A Strange Bet
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"As you said, Senior, a hero's duty is to defeat the monsters of darkness. That's why we've cleared over 30 dungeons this month alone. The difficulty wasn't too high, but they suited our level perfectly. So, how about an event for the people...?"
"5-person teams. Identical party setup (melee and ranged fixed—doesn't matter if you swap weapons), identical gear (just match the average Gear Score). No rank restrictions—whoever perfectly clears [B-5] the fastest, broadcast live. It'll take down some darkness monsters too. Ah, set the Gear Score around 185. That's our team's average. 200 works too."
"You pick the dungeon, Senior. As juniors, we'll take on anywhere."
— Posted by Kim Sung-cheol (Memoria)
"You're really going to post it?"
Hyun-ah finally spoke up after a long silence, asking cautiously. If Minguk actually posted something like this, the internet would explode for sure.
And it wouldn't stop there—the hero community would blow up again too. In a hero organization steeped in seniority culture, this looked like a cocky rookie challenging a veteran senior.
"Why? Can't I?"
But the Minguk in front of her wasn't the same guy from Hero Academy's 45th class that Hyun-ah knew. He didn't give a damn about hero seniority traditions.
"Umm..."
Hyun-ah furrowed her brow. Kim Sung-cheol's behavior was over the line, no doubt. Even for a junior, publicly tearing someone down like that was too much. But snapping back with a provocative reply like this? It'd draw plenty of backlash too. And besides...
"What if Kim Sung-cheol accepts the bet? This pits Memoria against R's. It's staking the clan's name on it."
"That's exactly why I'm posting it."
"Huh?"
Hyun-ah tilted her head at Minguk's matter-of-fact response. He grinned and explained.
"Since it's on the line for the clan, Kim Sung-cheol can't just brush off the challenge, right? He can't accept without looking weak, but the junior's already thrown down the gauntlet. Anyone not in the know will call him a coward. Bonus: Memoria catches some flak too—scared of some newbie heroes? It's to piss both of them off."
"Ah, no..."
"And me and my teammates are all young newbie heroes, right? We can just say we weren't thinking about clan honor—we thought it'd be fun. They'll write it off as immature antics."
"So..."
Hyun-ah's jaw dropped. He was posting this to rile them up on purpose.
And Minguk wasn't wrong. If anyone called them out, they could brush it off exactly as he'd said: impulsive kid stuff. Plus, Memoria's Kim Sung-cheol had swung first.
"I'll let unnie know. Just in case something blows up, so she doesn't panic..."
"Appreciate it."
R's clan leader Hyun-jung, who'd gotten Hyun-ah's heads-up, was already fuming over Kim Sung-cheol's antics. She gave the okay for Minguk to post right away. Hyun-ah had already weighed the pros and cons in that short time.
Memoria was a top-tier ranker clan above R's. If they took the bait and got crushed, it'd boost R's rep. Even if not, R's lost nothing.
Soon after, the SNS account known as R's Han—Minguk's ID—replied to Kim Sung-cheol's post.
Minguk's bold proposal swept the hero community in no time. Contrary to expectations of massive backlash, opinions split evenly: some called it arrogant, others said treating it like a fun event wasn't bad.
If this had been between female heroes, it would've been chaos. But it was just male heroes clashing. Most heroes—women—were content to watch the show and grab some popcorn.
Male heroes from ranker clans rarely flaunted SNS activity like this. Either way, the community was on fire, and Minguk's name kept popping up among countless heroes.
All eyes turned to Memoria's Kim Sung-cheol. Would he accept Han Minguk's challenge? But as Minguk predicted, Kim Sung-cheol couldn't bite.
"Why not?! That punk insulted me and Memoria!"
The clan leader eyed the flushed hero before speaking.
"You asking because you don't know? What if we lose? Memoria falls to R's. Unacceptable."
"Then we don't lose! That brat Han Minguk..."
"Hero Kim Sung-cheol. Confident you can out-lead that rookie?"
"Th-that...!"
Sung-cheol shut his mouth. A mere newbie, but he'd formed his own team post-joining and cleared up to [B-6]. No wonder Korea's spotlight was on him as a prospect. Skill-wise, the kid was legit, manners aside.
"Same gear scores and skills minimize seniority gaps. No need to handicap ourselves against that."
The middle-aged leader checked online posts and continued.
"You're a 5-star hero, Kim Sung-cheol. That internet punk's barely 2-star. Memoria's name isn't light enough for some casual event. I greenlight only with total victory assured."
"Ugh..."
Sung-cheol ground his teeth. He wanted to shout he'd win for sure, but nagging doubts held him back. Victory was fine, but defeat? Too much to lose.
"Just a cocky rookie's ploy. Calm down, Hero Kim Sung-cheol. We're Korea's premier clan, Memoria. No need to rush against some low-tier like R's."
"Understood."
Sung-cheol failed to sway the leader and backed off. Imagining the incoming online hate already boiled his blood.
As Minguk foresaw, Memoria and Kim Sung-cheol stonewalled the proposal. Nothing to gain from accepting.
● This is obviously something they should accept, right?!
● Memoria chickening out?!
● Guess prestige clans can't hack it? Korea's top clan's silent against R's proposal?
└ That's exactly Chickensoria!
Netizens gleefully roasted Memoria's silence. R's faded glory only fueled the Memoria hate. Somehow, newbie hero Han Minguk's arrogance got a pass.
But Memoria stayed mum, regardless. They figured the storm wouldn't last.
Plus, clan evaluations from the Hero Association dropped in a month. Articles on global and domestic stars/prospects would steal the spotlight from hero fans.
Just weather it till then—that was Memoria's clan owner's plan. Revenge could wait. They were already scheming against R's first-string anyway.
Evaluations were a month out, but R's had to drop "ranker clan" status this year. Yet one intrigued woman's interest cracked the leader's scheme wide open.
Kim Tae-yeon eyed the unannounced guest in her space.
This woman barged into the Raon Hotel's top-floor penthouse like she owned it—power or cash made it possible. She was Rose Group's chaebol third-gen, Jo Soo-young, Tae-yeon's same-age friend.
"What brings you here?"
"Just checking in."
Soo-young plopped into a chair like it was home. She scanned the lavish penthouse. The maid brought tea meanwhile.
"I always think this: living alone in a place like this? I'd get lonely, straight-up depressed. You okay?"
"Maids are here. Kids? Depression over that? Though... yeah, you can't function without a guy, so maybe."
Soo-young pouted openly at Tae-yeon's faux-concerned look. This rich bitch always acting high-class? Annoying. But today, it was her turn to annoy.
Soo-young straightened up, smiling at her. Tae-yeon cocked her head. This friend usually bragged about guys and money before bouncing—what was up? She had something to say.
Tae-yeon sighed lightly.
"What's on your mind today?"
"Nothing big. You manage Memoria, right?"
"Memoria? Yeah, but... wait, you're not suggesting a hero transfer, are you? I'd shut that down now. That's the leader's call anyway, not mine."
Tae-yeon tensed at Soo-young's words. January meant transfer season before evaluations.
"Me? Why would I? Don't care what happens to R's. You know that. Crazy to shell out for your clan's heroes? Our chairman wouldn't approve—he's always yapping about catching Raon, where's the budget for recruits?"
Soo-young shrugged nonchalantly, but Tae-yeon felt uneasy. If not transfers, why bring up clans?
Soo-young sighed at Tae-yeon's wary glare.
"You really have no clue? Don't you check the internet?"
"I do. Been busy lately, though. Sigh... so what're you getting at?"
"Eh, nothing much. Better if you see for yourself."
With that, Soo-young showed Tae-yeon the hero community thread on the R's-Memoria controversy. Comments praised R's guts and branded evasive Memoria as cowards.
"This...!"
Tae-yeon's eyes widened as she read. Her hands flew across the screen, piecing it together. She bit her lip hard.
Rival Rose Group's R's making Raon's Memoria look like chumps online. Endless "Rose Group > Raon Group" comments grated her nerves.
"High rank means squat without substance. No bold newbies like that in your clan, huh?"
Soo-young smirked provocatively from the side. Tae-yeon's teeth ground. This hit Raon's third-gen pride—no, it was inter-group pride now.
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