The Red-Tailed Boar Challenge
Hospital room ceiling. Under the familiar white lights, Ha-yeon slowly opened her eyes.
"…Mm."
The brief dizziness she always felt after returning from the Tower faded, and the sensations of reality gradually sharpened. Sensors attached to her arm, a monitor displaying her heartbeat, and the faint electronic hum of machines. It was the familiar hospital room.
"You're awake."
A voice from an old man rising from his chair and approaching. It was Ha-yeon's grandfather, Chairman Song Han-su. His hair was streaked with white, but his eyes remained as sharp as ever. Right now, though, they held a gentle warmth instead of a businessman's cold calculation.
"Was this trip fun too?"
He always asked the same question.
Trip. That's what Chairman Song called the Tower. The reason was simple. He couldn't bear the thought of his granddaughter not coming back. To avoid imagining that horrific possibility. Some who entered the Tower never returned. That was reality. But at least in front of the child, he didn't want to show any hint of that fear. So he always smiled and said it.
Trip. A place you just popped over to briefly.
Ha-yeon's face lit up brightly at his words.
"Yes!"
And with an utterly blissful expression, she said,
"This time, I ate pork belly!"
"…."
"…Pardon?"
The air in the room froze for a moment. The medical staff checking data nearby all looked up at once.
"Pork belly?"
"Yes!"
Ha-yeon nodded eagerly.
"I grilled it on a hot plate."
The medical staff exchanged glances. Pork belly. In the early Tower floors?
"Can you even get pork in the early layers?"
"You'd need cooking tools too…."
"No way it was a red-tailed boar from the deep forest?"
"Pfft… How's a newbie supposed to catch one of those."
The doctors murmured and tilted their heads. Then they nodded.
"Well… maybe she got it somewhere."
"Climbers these days do all sorts of crazy stuff."
The atmosphere brushed it off casually. Meanwhile, Chairman Song stared blankly at his granddaughter for a moment before chuckling softly.
"Hoho… You ate pork belly, huh."
It was an indulgent smile. Pork belly. That was the food Ha-yeon always said she craved. The hospital diet was always so restricted. Greasy foods were mostly forbidden. So Ha-yeon would sometimes whine like this.
Ugh, I wanna eat pork belly. Grilled on a hot plate. Wrapped in lettuce with grilled garlic and peppers dipped in ssamjang, just chowing down—
A simple, humble wish. And now, indirectly through the Tower, it was coming true. How could he oppose her climbing when he saw her this happy?
Chairman Song's eyes softened just a touch.
That was when it happened.
"Oh!"
Ha-yeon suddenly raised her hand.
"I made a friend too!"
"…What?"
Chairman Song's eyes flashed wide. Friend. The word translated in his mind to something entirely different. A friend? No way.
Which damn punk…
A flood of grim imaginings raced through his head. His granddaughter, who had spent most of her childhood in hospital rooms. Limited interactions with others, so she was all the more innocent. And naive about the world. If some shady user tried to take advantage of pure Ha-yeon…?
Chairman Song's eye twitched faintly. But his expression remained serene.
"Is that so?"
His voice was incredibly gentle.
"What kind of friend?"
Ha-yeon launched into an excited explanation.
"Her name's Ji-hye!"
"Ji-hye?"
"Yeah! She's a Holy Knight."
One of the doctors nearby muttered softly.
"…Holy Knight?"
Ha-yeon kept going.
"She's famous in the Tower. We hunted together. And ate pork belly too!"
Her chatter continued nonstop. The medical staff in the back, hearing the name Holy Knight, finally pieced it together and murmured.
"Looks like Ji-hye came down to the lower floors."
"Then it must've been a red-tailed boar."
"Makes sense if they caught it together."
One of the staff sidled up to Chairman Song. It was Professor Park.
He whispered lowly.
"Chairman."
"…."
"Doesn't seem like the situation you were worried about."
Chairman Song narrowed his eyes.
"Why do you think that?"
"If it's a Holy Knight…," Professor Park said cautiously, "it's probably Kim Ji-hye, the Holy Knight. Pretty famous climber in the Tower. Her reputation's solid, not bad at all."
Chairman Song pondered briefly.
"…Hm."
Didn't seem like the type he'd been fretting over. At least not a scammer or criminal vibe. His expression eased a bit. But he wasn't fully reassured. Quietly, he crooked a finger. His secretary approached with a bow.
Very low voice.
"Secretary."
"Yes, Chairman."
"The user named Ji-hye."
Chairman Song's eyes sharpened momentarily.
"Investigate her."
"Understood."
Short reply. The secretary pulled out his handheld terminal right away.
In the room, Ha-yeon was still chattering away excitedly.
"And then! After the pork belly, we had fried rice too!"
"…Fried rice as well?"
Chairman Song smiled indulgently again. But in his mind, the investigation into climber Kim Ji-hye was already underway.
2. Nearly dies, uses pants-run cooldown when newbie shows up, newbie suggests trying red-tail, they go for it
3. Newbie is insanely strong, they catch it
- Wait, what?
- Is this real?
- What floor's the newbie on
↳ 4F
↳ 2F
4F and 2F duo catches red-tail? Bullshit no
-4F is barely past tutorial, how tf do you catch a red-tail
-Obvious Valhalla viral marketing only idiots believe it lol
↳ Fr guilds do that shit all the time
↳ Looks like a pre-arranged actor lol otherwise doesn't add up
-But too natural to be fake
-Ji-hye's face wasn't acting
-No one else but Ji-hye <<< this girl's cannot act, talks like a robot on broadcast, script obvious af
↳ To.day. I.will. show.you. my. rou.tine. in.the. Tow.er.
↳ Oof…
↳ Never watch "Rankers' Daily Life Ep 3: Kim Ji-hye" at 3:44
Clip of catching red-tail on 4F, wtf is this fr
-This real?
-Catching red-tail like that?
-Just body-blocking the pattern? Possible?
-Ji-hye watching from side is funnier
-Valhalla viral you idiots lol
-Even if viral gotta admit it;;
-Wtf's that dagger at the end?
-Nelly's Dagger? She got it from Nelly?
↳ Check the options lol insane
↳ Bind-on-pickup drops early too huh
↳ Hidden piece fml lmao how'd she get on her good side
-Even fried rice, she went all out
↳ Where'd she even grill it
↳ Straight grilling would've been gamey af, how
↳ Borrowed tools from Nelly and learned butchering?
↳ Got dagger and tools whoa
↳ Just Nelly's kid at this point…
-Is she a climber or camping YouTuber?
-Carma and concept both on point… Valhalla newbie debut style?
↳ Ji-hye tried recruiting for Valhalla but got flak, not Valhalla affiliate
-So she's pure then?
↳ Looked underage…
↳ Whoa
↳ See ya lol won't go far
-But fr, can you just grill red-tail meat like that?
↳ Looks delicious af, probably fine
↳ Fresher than my local butcher
↳ Eating so tasty late at night….
After that day, a strange sight began unfolding in the Tower's early sections.
Suddenly, more climbers were venturing deep into the mountains to hunt red-tailed boars.
"Catch it!"
"Dodge the body slam!"
The hunt began. What was even more peculiar came next.
After felling the red-tailed boar, they pulled out a hot plate and started grilling the meat.
"Hey, got salt?"
"Yeah I do."
"Lettuce?"
"No, you psycho."
Then they filmed themselves devouring the delicious meat and posted it all over SNS.
This process had somehow turned into a game.
People called it the Red-Tailed Boar Challenge.
The rules were simple: Catch a red-tailed boar and grill it right there. Post proof video.
Of course, most results were disastrous. Getting rammed and flying through the air by the red-tail. Getting burned by the fire. Even charring the meat and choking it down.
#RedTailedBoarChallenge #PorkBelly #DeepForest #4F
Still, people didn't stop. The trend Ha-yeon had unintentionally sparked was shaking up the Tower.