Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Is This a Robber or a Hunter?
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📰 Title: In All My Life Hunter stealing equipment from a boss mob? First time hearing something like that. Is this really happening in the real world?
And the newbie's talking about it like it's no big deal, wtf.
Is the world gaslighting me or something?
— Paper Enthusiast Yeah, definitely not ordinary... but if the newbie gets stronger, it's good for us too, right? — Poster True that. Yeah; — Anonymous But something feels off... — Anonymous What's that supposed to mean, teach? — Anonymous Something feels off... — Anonymous Wtf is that? — Anonymous Just hit lol lmao or whatever. 📰 Title: Getting NTR'd by Equipment... No matter how pathetic and miserable our position is, Having something we've owned for hundreds of years stolen... It kinda gives off that forbidden thrill vibe? I'm not the only one feeling this, right...? — Anonymous Why go that far with the forbidden thrill? — Anonymous You can tell they've got experience lol. — Anonymous Fr, unprecedented stuff, pretty shocking. — Short-Eared Goblin Hmm~ The newbie's so intriguing~ Makes me wanna study him thoroughly~ — Anonymous Smooch smooch, getting sucked dry. — Anonymous Old hag targeting him, scary. — Short-Eared Goblin Oh my, age isn't everything~ What's important is unchanging value over time~ — Anonymous That was the defense from the centuries-old goblin. — Anonymous Where'd that bastard go? — Aged Wine is... Hoe~! Don't you dare eye the hunter in my tower..! 📰 Title: Anyway, Hope Other Hunters Don't Notice Him With those guys' personalities, you think they'd leave a newbie with such tasty skills alone? They'll either pull him to their side or eliminate him, one or the other. I'd rather he builds his position slowly even if he's weak... — Anonymous Fr, hunters corrupt newbies. — Anonymous My one healing spot, the newbie, turning into a results-obsessed bastard... I won't allow it. — Anonymous Kraaaah! — Anonymous But yeah, gotta be careful for real... 📰 Title: So (A photo of a three-legged shark monster wearing shoes) Who wins between the newbie and this guy? — Anonymous Obviously our wholesome newbie wins;; — Anonymous Hoon 9 times, watch out. — Anonymous Looks just like a dick lol. — Anonymous Offensive to dicks;; — Anonymous What a wild variety of monsters in this world. — Anonymous So what the hell is that? — Anonymous The moment you try to understand it, you've already lost. "What the hell are these guys even saying."
Do-yoon, who had been focused on his daily life, felt dizzy the moment he checked the gallery.
He'd been pretty busy lately with the aftermath of conquering the tower.
First, regarding the Hidden Piece achievement and rewards.
Even if it was just the early stages, what Do-yoon obtained was an S-grade weapon from the boss mob.
Research plans were underway to unlock its hidden potential and performance.
And that wasn't the end of it.
'Mana stone.'
As expected, talk of mana stones came up, and the association was abuzz once again.
'Why are they bidding so high.'
Calling him to labs he didn't even know properly, or setting up meetings with suited men.
And to all that, Do-yoon could only say one thing.
"Can you continue obtaining mana stones?"
"......"
The researcher's gaze was blatantly obvious.
For a split second, memories of the ugly green guy flashed by, and Do-yoon awkwardly shook his head.
"I don't know the exact mechanism either. It seems tied to my skill, but I lack experience and data."
"...I see."
From their perspective, it must feel like discovering a golden goose.
Even if Do-yoon didn't know much, he was now aware of how precious mana stones were as a resource.
And that South Korea was short on them too.
"The Hidden Piece... you found it in advance through your skill as well?"
"Not exactly in advance; I learned about it on-site via the skill."
"You really conversed with the monster in that boss room?"
"Yes."
The researcher's expression turned subtly odd.
Various curiosities arose, but he held back.
Do-yoon could guess the source of those emotions.
Chatting with monsters that could kill people without batting an eye if they stepped outside.
'It's complicated.'
But Do-yoon, who knew the truth through the gallery and resonance, couldn't simply despise boss monsters.
'Keruk! You're a good guy!'
Just conquering the second floor—he'd gotten help from the Ugly Green Guy, hadn't he?
'Graduation.'
The moment he exited the tower, Do-yoon searched the gallery for the Ugly Green Guy first.
📰 Title: Hoe, the Ugly Green Guy Has Completely Vanished...! The presence I felt from the tower is gone...! This truly means graduation...! Hoe, hoeeee...! Farewell, Ugly Green Guy, goodbye... ㅠㅠㅠ The newbie worked hard too...! — Anonymous No way, he actually graduated? — Anonymous So jealous;;; — Anonymous These guys act like they don't care lol. — Anonymous Which boss mob hates graduation~ As Do-yoon pondered graduation, the researcher, having come to his own conclusion, spoke up.
"...Understood for now. Thank you for your cooperation, Hunter Kim Do-yoon."
"Sure."
Afterward, summoned by Manager Choi Geon-woo, he headed there and heard some great news.
"The amount... will be around this."
"Whoa, a bit more and I could buy a building."
"St-still, you need to keep active as a hunter-"
"Of course I will."
Not doing so would be illegal anyway?
He didn't want to overthink it uncomfortably.
Hunters were half-owned by South Korea.
Meaning semi-forced compliance with their control.
'Good is good.'
But far better than his early-20s military service, so he was approaching activities with a positive mindset.
"Mm, wanna go to the tower."
"...You're the first guy like this I've seen."
Han Ji-hyeok, now even more familiar, looked exasperated at Do-yoon.
"Haven't properly tested what I got yet, body's itching."
The goblin's curved sword, S-grade at that.
Needed to get used to his new weapon ASAP to accelerate conquest speed.
Truth be told, he was eager to swing the curved sword snatched from the ugly green guy.
It looked pretty powerful blocking with the shield; how satisfying would it feel in his hands?
"Sigh."
"Do-yoon oppa!"
From afar, Jeong A-hyeon spotted Han Ji-hyeok and Do-yoon and came toddling over.
"Good morning."
On schedule for work hours, familiar faces started appearing.
Jeong A-hyeon, followed by Cha Yun-ha and Jo Ha-rin approaching one by one.
"Ahh... damn ads."
Cha Yun-ha tiredly swept back her wavy hair, rubbing her eyes.
"You do ads too?"
"Hunters are the face of the nation."
Is that so?
He was still building his hunter credentials, so no such requests had come his way.
"Touching Do-yoon right now would be a crime, right?"
"...A crime?"
"Where else would you mess with a hunter who hasn't fully grown? We'll handle the coverage, so don't worry, Do-yoon."
Jo Ha-rin said reassuringly with her usual cool expression.
'They've been shielding me.'
He had no idea what kind of power struggles were happening up top, but Do-yoon was relieved.
He really didn't want to stand in front of cameras or TVs like celebrities.
"Mana stone payment come through?"
"Ah, yeah. Insanely huge amount."
"If it gets delayed or anything, tell me or the other hunters right away."
"Uh... does that even happen?"
"Usually not, but sometimes they go crazy and pull stupid shit."
"...Ha-rin, isn't that a bit much?"
"Hunters gotta look out for hunters. Don't get complacent either, Ji-hyeok."
"...Got it."
Han Ji-hyeok meekly nodded at Jo Ha-rin's sharp advice.
'That bad?'
As a newbie to the hunter world, Do-yoon couldn't grasp their internal affairs.
"When's the next conquest?"
"...You okay with that, Do-yoon? Usually take rest periods for mental checks and condition tuning-"
"Mental check was perfectly normal, and the association said anytime's fine. Feels like they want me pushing conquests."
The hunters' expressions darkened at his words.
"....?"
Do-yoon found their sudden demeanor odd.
Reason for such a despairing reaction to tower conquests?
"Do-yoon oppa! So you're prepping for conquest right away?!"
Jeong A-hyeon sparkled up at him from the side.
"If other hunters' schedules align, I'd like to go ASAP."
He'd trained hard at the training grounds in the meantime.
Body in peak condition.
Ready to deploy anytime.
"Push to the fifth floor before the exchange event."
"Exchange event?"
Han Ji-hyeok answered Do-yoon's question.
"We'll have a short meet-and-greet with hunters from various countries over a period. Rotating among the six towers."
"This time it's the Tower of the Forgotten Banquet, so South Korea."
"Oh."
Do-yoon got purely curious.
Hunters from South Korea and abroad—surely plenty to learn.
"Don't expect too much."
"Huh? Why?"
"They'll probably be busy with loyalty flexing."
Han Ji-hyeok didn't elaborate.
Would breed distrust of people, not a pleasant experience.
"Since you're good to go, Do-yoon, report to the association first and schedule."
"Okay."
Do-yoon nodded readily.
Conquest.
The thought of snatching—er, acquiring—more boss mob skills and weapons tickled his heart lightly.
#
📰 Title: Wine Lord's Word Makes It Real The monsters in that tower—she definitely knows, right? Yeah; Conclusion: the ugly green guy fully graduated from that tower, right? Not ejection, but graduation. So damn jealous; — Anonymous Not getting ejected is the biggest blessing. — Anonymous Ejection is existential death... Lounging in his one-room and scrolling the gallery, Do-yoon paused at one line.
Existential death.
"Confusing."
Death inside the tower is routine, but ejection death is taken literally.
To understand the irony, Do-yoon posted on the gallery.
📰 Title: Newbie Ejection Question (My Post) So what I know is Stacks build under certain conditions → ejection → kicked out of tower → go half-mad and fly off → if you die in that state, can't return to tower and straight-up die. That right? — Anonymous Spot on. — Anonymous The shittiest part is, we don't even choose to cause gate breaks lol. — Anonymous Feels like someone's grabbing us by the hair and forcing us to rampage. — Anonymous Lol fr. — My Post But that's the same in boss rooms too. — Anonymous At least boss rooms give respawn chances. Die outside and it's game over; — Paper Enthusiast Don't even know why you're here, used your whole life, then discarded like a tool. — My Post Damn, that's rough;; — My Post That's why they flip out over graduation. 💬 Title: Graduation At Least Guarantees Basics (Paper Enthusiast) — Paper Enthusiast Take the ugly green guy for example. You said he suddenly started talking fluently about ancestors and stuff. That's clearly partial recovery of memories from his original world. Other boss mobs say similar things right before graduation. Graduation doesn't usually happen easy like with newbies, but your situation sounds very similar. Conclusion: you definitely have the power to restore our forgotten existence—past memories. And at the same time, give us a chance to return whence we came. — Anonymous Just imagining it makes my mouth water... — Anonymous I am curious about myself too. — Anonymous Vets know a few things, but most is still unknown. — Anonymous Don't know why I have to be hated for no reason in this form;; — Anonymous Teach, that's cuz you're ugly. — Anonymous Hey hey hey. — Anonymous That's enough. 📰 Title: Why the Tower is Truly Fucked Suddenly kidnapped, memories wiped, assigned as boss mob. Don't even know who you are, gotta fight hunters anyway. But these hunters aren't good guys either, obvious at a glance lol. Super evil. Forced to fight assholes you don't even wanna fight, losing your mind. If it doesn't click, get ejected too. Don't know who you are, why you're fighting here, end up discarded lol. What's shittier than this? Why everyone's pretending otherwise but envies the ugly green guy: His graduation is officially confirmed. Memories partially back, graduation means return to original world. At least there he can live his real life. Yeah. — Anonymous Well-written. — My Post That explanation clicks perfectly. Thanks. — Poster Now that you get it, treat me right, newbie. I'm lonely... — Aged Wine is... Hoeee...! Don't you dare touch the newbie..! — Anonymous Look at the tower lord going off lol. — Anonymous Hey, newbie belongs to everyone, line up. 💬 Title: So When's the Next Schedule, Newbie? (Paper Enthusiast) — Paper Enthusiast Time to head back in soon, right? Checked the gal; 3rd and 4th floor bosses from Wine Lord's tower aren't here. Just blast past and clear to 5th. Yeah. — Anonymous Says it easy cuz it's not his job;; — Anonymous Not our job either lol. — Poster More than one or two floors to clear, better hurry. — Anonymous Tower lord's right. — Aged Wine is... Even if you say that...! I'm not handing over the newbie...! — Paper Enthusiast ;;; Calm down. — Anonymous Openly claiming ownership now www — My Post Teachers, what about my say? — Anonymous Once you're in the tower, no choice for you... — Anonymous And so it goes... 📰 Title: But I Think My Stance is Right Newbie's world has more than one or two towers to clear. Even in Wine Lord's tower now, Just armband regulars here number six. Six. Means at least six towers rooted. When did we ever balance-conquest? Waiting'll get us ejected faster. If agreed, upvote once each... — Anonymous Squeezing balls for upvote; — Anonymous Teach, why squeeze good nuts. — Paper Enthusiast I agree too. — Paper Enthusiast Plenty bosses in gal, stacks piling up soon. — Paper Enthusiast Don't clear fast, someone's funeral inevitable. — Anonymous Wtf wtf wtf. — Anonymous Fr, ban and beat anyone opposing newbie conquests now. Six towers.
This was info Do-yoon knew too.
The world was busy conquering towers, after all.
And on Do-yoon's side, he had to prevent the tower's boss mobs from getting ejected.
'Gate Break.'
More people would die.
"....."
The hell that stole his childhood experiences and parents.
'Can't let that happen.'
Thus, Do-yoon wanted to grow his abilities ASAP.
To stop another future where innocents like him suffered.
After that, Do-yoon explored the gallery a while longer before passing out into sleep.