Chapter 174
Chapter 174
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 174
Chapter Title: Part 2 Episode 37
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“What’s this kid Dun going to teach you after kidnapping you?”
Seong Mun-young, the Abyss B-Class hunter who’d come to pick up Pyo Sang-hun, frowned as she asked.
“How to fight monsters. He gave me all sorts of tips, too.”
“What does he look like?”
“Light brown hair, red eyes. Seemed awakened. He was summoning little slimes and stuff.”
When Pyo Sang-hun described his appearance, the others snickered.
It matched Nipin Dun’s looks exactly.
“Buzzcut, the conspiracy theory memes are over.”
“What’s a conspiracy theory meme?”
Pyo Sang-hun scowled at the sudden nonsense about conspiracy theories.
“You don’t know Dun?”
“Damn, this guy’s serious about the hidden cam. Starting to get creepy.”
“This kidnapping story’s faked too, right?”
Their reactions were weird after he told them about Dun. Who the hell was this guy?
He didn’t like how no one seemed to believe him.
Pyo Sang-hun pulled out his phone and showed them a selfie he’d taken with Dun from his gallery.
“You’re a total asshole. When’d you photoshop that?”
“Damn, it looks real.”
Even after showing the photo, they still wouldn’t believe him.
He got that this Dun kid was famous, but did they have to dismiss the idea of meeting him outright?
Pyo Sang-hun turned on data and typed ‘Dun’ into the search bar.
「Dun (NinaPinTa) - Namuwiki:Main Page」
The top result was an info page.
Thinking he might be a hunter managing the awakening simulator, he tapped it.
A photo of the person called Dun appeared at the top. He was flashing a V-sign with both hands and grinning.
‘Same face...’
「Category: NinaPinTa/NPC」
Pyo Sang-hun rubbed his eyes seeing the category. No matter how many times he read it, the text didn’t change.
‘Dun’s a game character...? An NPC?’
「[Profile Photo]
Real Name: Dun Savark
Race: Human (presumed)
Age: 16
Family: Rihaowell (adoptive mother)
Nationality: Licht Empire (presumed)
Abilities: Summoner」
Pyo Sang-hun read through Dun’s profile. The real name ‘Dun Savark’ from the contract Dun had written matched what was on Namuwiki.
「Table of Contents
1. Overview
2. Basic Appearance
3. Abilities
4. Quests
5. Conspiracy Theories
5.1 Dun = Developer’s Self-Insert Theory
5.2 Dun = Gate Administrator Theory
5.3 Dun = Mastermind Theory
5.4 Other Conspiracy Theories
6. Incidents/Controversies
6.1 Offensive Quotes
7. Popularity as an NPC
8. Evaluation
8.1 Hunters Who Took the Dun Route
9. Trivia」
There were tons of sections.
A chill ran down Pyo Sang-hun’s spine as he read from start to finish.
NinaPinTa’s infamous toxic character.
Frequently appeared in random areas, with massive fan and hater bases.
Exceptional summoner commanding many creatures, but trapped in a low-stamina filefish body.
Seemed to lord over players with items and hidden class quests.
If you got on his good side, he’d occasionally help level your account steadily, turning those players into top rankers fast.
Long list of sections, detailed subsections—talked-about and eventful NPC.
‘No hunter named Dun?’
He couldn’t believe Dun was a game character. He read intently and searched more, but it all pointed to the same person.
The pushy early attitude, the cocky speech—identical.
Even the summoner abilities matched.
The most absurd part: even the current association president became a ranker through Dun.
What kind of kid was he?
「Boomer Dun Clip Compilation」
His mind went blank from the ridiculous facts, so he clicked into the YouTube clips like he was possessed.
‘Pigtails? Mom tied these for me.’
‘Love manga.’
‘Don’t you know where Nipin’s wealth and fame come from? Don’t wanna take the big shot’s quest?’
‘Gotta bet money on every wager to make it fun~’
A compilation of scenes from Dun’s childhood to now.
The wiki hadn’t fully clicked, but the videos confirmed it.
That was him. Speech patterns matched perfectly.
“......”
Pyo Sang-hun froze, YouTube still open.
“Dun... is a game character?”
His voice shook in shock.
When Pyo Sang-hun had played NinaPinTa, he’d focused only on straightforward quests he could clear right away, no exploits.
He’d followed a friend’s hand-me-down mage warrior class path, hit second job change fast, then quit.
So this was his first time hearing about the famous game character Dun.
“Hey, cut it out. Not funny.”
“No, fuck. I really met him.”
Frustrated by their refusal to believe, Pyo Sang-hun got serious and snapped.
“What, you’re saying you actually met him? Not a joke?”
“Then cosplay?”
“What’s cosplay?”
A term that explained this unbelievable situation came up. Pyo Sang-hun sighed in relief and asked what ‘cosplay’ meant.
“Fans dressing up like him, copying outfits and hair.”
“Like costumes?”
“Yeah.”
Pyo Sang-hun turned off data, went back to his gallery, and stared at the photo of Dun on his phone.
‘Too identical for a costume...’
Everything was weird. He’d just ask tomorrow.
[Morning Noona! Glad we crossed paths, even briefly today.]
[Have a good night.]
(Emoticon with hands clasped, eyes sparkling)
Pyo Sang-hun sent a message to the amazing Lee Sae-byeok with reverence.
[?]
[LOL sleep well too]
A reply came dozens of minutes later. The question mark bugged him a bit, but ‘sleep well’ made him happy.
* * *
Pyo Sang-hun headed to the spot Dun had told him to come, retracing his memory.
Hearing Dun was a game character was such a shock that their brief time together days ago felt like a mirage.
He half-expected no one to be there when he arrived.
Dun might’ve changed his mind and bailed, or this could all be some mental-type monster’s twisted prank.
But surprisingly, Dun was right where they’d agreed to meet.
Leaning against a tree, dozing off just like last time. The videos showed him sleepy most times, and here he was napping again.
He was sleeping so soundly that Pyo Sang-hun set down his stuff and waited.
A little rustling made Dun’s head jerk once. His closed eyes snapped open.
“Ah... smack, what. When’d you get here.”
It was so identical to the videos that goosebumps rose. Pyo Sang-hun blinked blankly before finally speaking.
“I searched you like you said. Only game character stuff came up?”
“Oh. Yeah, that’s me.”
The casual admission was too shocking. Hardcore concept addict? But top quality.
Forcing the ‘cosplay’ lens made some parts seem off.
‘He mentioned tough times before?’
Pyo Sang-hun decided not to argue and just accept it.
No reason to make an issue if he wasn’t hurting anyone by calling himself Dun.
“Why’re you looking at me like that? Kinda pitying.”
“What’s my look like?”
‘Like you’re staring at some pitiful bastard.’”
“......Nothing. Can we start?”
Pyo Sang-hun took off his hoodie, tied it around his waist, and stretched lightly.
“Love a quick start.”
This time, Dun summoned the creature Gae-ddong-i.
[Dunni!]
Gae-ddong-i tackled Dun right after appearing. Dun hugged back, wrapping arms around it.
Pyo Sang-hun alternated glances between Gae-ddong-i and the cosplay Dun, face confused.
Soul-deep cosplay? Or real?
“......”
“Look, look. Scared of Gae-ddong-i?”
“......”
“Hey, you scared of Gae-ddong-i?”
“......Ah. No, no, it’s fine. Thanks to the little rainbow slime last time, not scary.”
Since he felt no fear toward Gae-ddong-i, Dun skipped showing its form or fight demo.
“Gae-ddong-ah, Snowdog form, but make it softer, bigger eyes.”
The monster from the rank test that had terrified Pyo Sang-hun.
Gae-ddong-i’s ‘Snowdog’ was rounder, more translucent than original.
“So, how’s that. Legs shaking?”
“S-seems fine.”
Dun eyed Pyo Sang-hun’s slightly tense face. Right level—not scary, brainwashable.
Good to adapt at this difficulty for now.
He’d panicked hard against Snowdog in the test hall, struggling the first stage.
Still, Pyo Sang-hun followed Dun’s instructions diligently without complaint.
Propose tamed version of new monster.
Repeat attacks until fear fades.
This simple, effective training went on for a full week.
Endure tolerable fear, and it buries under familiarity.
Each stage conquered, Dun tossed a famous snack he’d gotten somewhere.
Overcoming fear made snacks extra sweet.
After school, head to meet spot, greet Dun, start assigned stage training. Train, then goodbye.
Repeating this routine longer, soon the realistic Snowdog and slime-recreated monsters weren’t scary anymore.
Steps gradually ramped up, opponent monster forms diversified.
Each time facing Dun—who helped tirelessly despite the hassle without complaint—he wondered about the true nature, but decided not to mention.
At some point, fear and doubt about Dun’s identity vanished. Didn’t matter anymore.
NPC, cosplay hunter—whatever.
Whatever it was, a kind soul reaching out to help. In ways, like his most admired Lee Sae-byeok.
“Deep breaths, slow.”
“......”
Dun dangled a brutal monster he’d gotten somewhere right in Pyo Sang-hun’s face.
Its four eyeballs on its face darted crazily, locking eyes with him.
[Kieeeek!]
Poisoned fangs snapped open and shut fiercely before his eyes.
Faint fear welled up, then vanished quick. The situation was too absurd.
“So, how’s it. Real monster. Scared?”
“Surprisingly, no.”
Pyo Sang-hun zapped the monster with his hand. Then sliced its body with his sword.
Monster corpse on the ground.
Dun smiled faintly down at it.
“About time to hit a gate, huh?”
He’d been waiting honestly. Pyo Sang-hun nodded vigorously.
“Kinda exciting.”
“Huh. Exciting?”
“Even imagining clearing an F-rank gate without fear feels awesome. Now it seems possible.”
Pyo Sang-hun sparked his hand, checking mana output concentration. No fear made mana control smoother.
“Thanks mostly to you. I’ll retest soon, raise my rank.”
“Yeah.”
Dun checked nearby gates on the smartphone Ri Joo-hyun had gotten him. A fresh F-rank gate in some distant mountains.
“Let’s do that one today.”
Pyo Sang-hun looked at the gate location Dun pointed to.
F-rank gates could be cleared by skilled normals, so safe passage.
Nodding, Pyo Sang-hun pulled out his foldable wheeled cart.
Brought from dorm since low-stamina Dun needed it.
After the creature summon transport got mistaken for a monster, they’d stuck to carts. Built stamina and strength too.
Pyo Sang-hun dragged the cart with Dun aboard while opening the gate navigation app.