S-Rank Bombshell and Heroine Purge
"Haha, what a mess."
Yoon Sungjin, who had been eyeing Hunter Gallery for usable material, clicked his tongue. With all sorts of info jumbled together, it was total chaos—impossible to tell fact from bluff or outright lies. Fine for mindless scrolling, but not when hunting intel. He'd check the deep threads once the hype died down. For now, he closed the tab to peek at reader reactions.
Yoon Sungjin clicked his tongue the moment he saw the comment section, wrecked as bad as Hunter Gallery.
"Sheesh..."
He'd tossed in a new heroine to lighten the heavy vibe, but that backfired. 'Burning concepts? That's standard subculture power creep—nothing special.' Didn't these folks know healing flames? Made him smack his lips. Character personality gripes he'd get, but overpowered complaints? No way he saw that coming.
'Guess real superpowers make folks picky here...'
Even before, readers shoehorned reality in: "Too strong for fiction," "Makes no sense." Stacks built up and exploded now.
'Never thought it'd blow up this bad.'
Instant-death cards would nuke the series day one. His head throbbed at the unexpected backlash. "Only fix is... heroine-kill?"
She was his ace, but readers hated her. Truth was, these reactions? Seo Dami fans pissed.
Hayunha, modeled after their idol Seo Dami. But outdoing the real deal.
'This mocking our eternal A-rank Dami-noona's legacy?'
'Noona can't do it but this clone can? Backstabbing? Ragequitting comments!'
Fandom zeroed in, turning comments toxic. Timing's everything.
If Seo Dami's "official" third S-rank news hit before Hayunha's debut, it'd be praise. Instead, fan fury tanked the vibe. Life's all timing.
Yoon Sungjin conceded: 'She was a bit OP for an early girl anyway.' Heroine-kill classic it was. Dami S-rank now, fans might forgive, but image ruined. Time to axe her. Bitter, but flow locked in. Push story-wide stuff, bend for side bits. Webnovel way.
Decision made: glorious death for Hayunha. Time to write──
"Message?"
The dread of every webnovel author: reader DM. 'No way the legendary one...? That 5,700-char epic...?'
Nah. Heart pounding, he checked. Comments/DMs ignorable later, but early serialization? Gotta brace for damage.
Opening Pandora's box, Yoon Sungjin burst out laughing. "Pfft-haha!"
Tension snapped; couldn't hold it. Fan—a porter—thanked him for life-changing escape from crisis. Praise overflowed. How not laugh? To him, anyway.
Hunter fic as life guide, manual, faith...? "Even here, Cheolmin types exist."
World's the same. Reminded of past-life buddy Kim Cheolmin, wuxia nut. Obsessed: studied anatomy, meridians, han medicine for "if I isekai." Ended up doctor, not warrior. Birds of a feather.
Fantasy fan Yoon memorized soap to steel beside meridian-memorizer. Landed in hunter world instead? Nostalgic comments made him chuckle, replying to lost friend.
High school teacher: "Useless novels—study vocab!" But pal became doc via wuxia. Yoon smiled: his hunter tale helped someone.
Still, "Family aside... asking a stranger career advice?"
Webnovel author quizzed on guild scout? Overkill. "Super immersed reader."
100k won support too—treat nice, but chuckle-worthy. 'Figure it yourself. Cheolmin didn't bug wuxia authors for kung fu...'
Grateful or worried? Chaos. Conclusion: 'Their life, their call.'
"Heroine death sparks protagonist growth... Tasty plot."
Heroine-candidate kill stung, but solid arc. Thirst-trap death fuels hero rise—delish. 'Wrap arc 1 with Hayunha's fall, Steel Guild doom, Kim Min's leap. Perfect.'
Nice flow. Reader-response magic. No moping over backlash—Yoon rode the wave.
"Hunter tale needs gate breaks, right?"
Kim Min hunts Steel Guild. Guild flails under assault. Hayunha, family lost to their atrocities, teams with Kim Min to expose filth.
Public hate brews; nation eyes corrupt guild. Perfect purge chance.
Guild's desperate play: force gate break, heroics to flip opinion. Absurd self-sabotage, but win big if it works. Cornered that bad—do or die.
Control crisis, stage reversal. But──
"Why... why's another gate breaking? This wasn't in the plan...?"
Everyone's got a plan—till not. Chain reaction: red gate breaks. Blue gate stunt for chaos-heroics? Fucked.
Hayunha dies heroically shielding folks. Latest episode.
Seo Dami read it, paling like death row. "What the hell? I die...?"