Explosive Views
Mu-hyuk woke up, did his morning workout, ate breakfast, and logged into the Illusion homepage. He rubbed his eyes as he stared at the view count on his post, which had rocketed to the top of the tips board.
Am I seeing this wrong?
He'd definitely posted it just yesterday.
The date...
No matter how many times he checked, it was clear.
But already?
"Two million views?"
He confirmed it over and over, but it didn't change.
"Whoa."
Was the tips board always this active?
He wondered.
Curious, he checked the comments. There were too many to read every one, but he could skim and spot standout keywords easily enough.
For example, SNS.
Only then did it click.
"Ahh..."
If it had spread through broadcasts, SNS, internet news, blogs, and U-Tube, this surge made perfect sense. Viewers tuning into Illusion TV must have helped a ton too.
An unexpected bonus.
Truth be told, he'd posted it out of annoyance at other users selling dungeon locations.
He'd figured it'd take one or two months to hit maybe 5 million views tops. But at this rate? Easily over 10 million.
That meant 20 million won in revenue.
"Hmm."
Now he had a dilemma.
Invest more in the village?
No need to convert cash to gold—he already had about 700 gold in his Illusion character's inventory.
Buoyed by the view spike, Mu-hyuk felt good, but thoughts of the iron mine development tempered it. He'd watch and wait a bit longer.
Hm, any paid views yet?
He checked his personal settlement info.
Last Month's Settlement: 6,111,750 won
This Month's Settlement: 2,898,000 won
His monster strategy guides were still selling steadily.
He skipped last month's figure—he'd checked it before—and focused on this one.
Mid-month already, and nearly 3 million won meant he'd hit around 6 million by end of month.
The steady income from the paid board gave him some financial breathing room.
Maybe time to post another one.
Grinning, he whipped up a new monster guide.
The Giant Elephant boasts overwhelming destructive power—one solid hit could force a logout. Its defense matches that offense, making attacks hard to land, but it's slow as a result. It relies more on sight than senses. To hunt it easily, start with a spirit: a Spirit Master's summon can...
He finished and posted it.
Post created.
He browsed the homepage a bit more to gauge Illusion's current trends.
Hm, still a ways off?
Story-wise, guild war content was coming soon. To join, he needed to develop the village fast.
Guild war rewards were pretty juicy.
With his thoughts sorted, he was about to log in when his phone rang.
"Hello."
(Oh, you picked up?)
"Was just about to log in."
(Phew, perfect timing. I just finished my quest, so I've got time now. Wondered what you've been up to in Illusion, bro.)
"Ah, building up the village."
(Village? The one from your noble title?)
"Yeah."
(Anything I can do there?)
"Nah, nothing really. There's a decent hunting spot nearby, though."
(For real?)
"Yeah, but efficiency's not great."
(Doesn't matter. As long as I can see you. Heading there!)
"Okay, I'll be hunting at the Bamburk Mountains entrance near Column Village."
(Cool, see you soon!)
"Yeah."
He hung up, and a text came in right after.
It was Sung Min-woo.
No reply came even after waiting, so he set the phone down—then it buzzed again.
"Hm?"
Not Sung Min-woo this time.
Jeong Seon-ip was none other than Rudolph.
"Sheesh."
He'd come for arrow duplication.
Poor guy, kinda.
Time to ask for a favor soon, but honestly, nothing yet. Their contract would drag on a while longer—sorry.
No more texts.
He finally set the phone down and lay in the capsule.
Hiss.
He opened his eyes in the new world, Illusion.
*
It was like armor of bone.
Skeletal warhorses charged with rattling clamor, their riders swinging sharp weapons in a furious rush.
Like a tidal wave crashing down, humans would scream and flee from that overwhelming force. The monsters scattered in terror, shrieking as flesh exploded in agony.
But the tsunami hadn't crested yet.
Crunch.
Ferocious warhorses smashed faces, honed spear tips pulverizing bone.
The wave advanced, trampling fallen monsters.
Inevitable death.
Yet the battlefield slaughter raged on.
Pat-pat-patter.
Razor rain fell like meteors.
Heaven's punishment.
Even mindless beasts quailed in fear. As the endless arrow barrage ceased, explosions erupted from all sides.
Boom.
The brutal blasts battered eardrums, seared flesh, stole sight.
Heart pounded thump-thump. Air quivered, space warped.
Trembling gaze couldn't tell if it was blast aftershock or heartbeat illusion.
Kieeeek!
Before the echoes faded, biting cold surged.
Blizzard tore wounds.
Bodies burned cold, frozen stiff.
-------!
Swordsmen exploited the moment, shoving in with shields, slashing blades, body-slamming.
The massacre didn't halt.
New monsters lunged from shadows. Swordsmen held firm, raising blades and charging.
Two savage waves collided with a splash, winds whipping like blades in the aftermath.
Where winds died, a figure rose. Armored and helmed, sword and shield in hand, arrogant eyes fixed on monsters—one man.
Slash.
Each move severed a monster's neck.
One, two.
Another, then two more.
Feral aura swept surroundings, hot breath scorching air.
Swoosh.
All halted.
The man who'd ended the fight with overwhelming power removed his helmet.
"Hoo."
Mu-hyuk, leader of the skeleton legion.
Time for rest, then move.
At the Bamburk Mountains' entrance, monsters clocked in at level 140.
Individual EXP wasn't great, but numbers and speed made it decent overall.
Leveling up, scouting mines, stress relief.
Three birds, one stone.
"Alright, hang in there a bit longer."
No idea if they understood nuance, but they got orders—so maybe this too.
Clack, clack.
A few skeletons indeed clicked jaws.
Felt like chatting.
Even without, audience made solo talk less weird.
He'd been leaving Illusion TV on lately—got used to it.
Even tempted to address viewers sometimes.
Still awkward, though.
"Ahem."
He swallowed words rising in throat, quickened pace. Soon, more monsters appeared.
Dispersed Armor Cavalry, Bone Swords, Armor Knights—monsters chased summons.
Via shared vision, he confirmed and lured them slowly to center.
Dozens soon clustered.
Nice haul.
Top-tier pull for a solo player—max level, max scale.
Mu-hyuk grinned at waiting Armor Archers and Armor Mages.
Thud, boom rumble boom!
Massive battle erupted again.
*
During crafting break, a man trudged up from afar.
He plopped before Mu-hyuk, silently watching. Mu-hyuk looked up late.
"Gimme."
"Ah."
Rudolph, here for arrow dupes.
Mu-hyuk rummaged inventory.
"Here."
Rudolph snatched arrow, inspected.
◈ Transparent arrow usable only by Untroo Archers.
◈ +22 Attack Power
◈ Strength +2
◈ Durability 5/5
◈ Special Skill: Transparent Arrow Duplicate
◈ Restricted to: Untroo Archer
Sighing wistfully.
"Haa, Transparent Arrow Duplicate."
Activated special skill.
Transparent arrows materialized.
"Staying here a few days."
"Here?"
"Yeah, duping extras."
"Do what you want."
Mu-hyuk stood.
Temple contract bound Rudolph—he'd keep it, or stats reset. No escape worries.
"Hey, bro."
"Yeah?"
"Party...?"
"You'll just leech EXP?"
"What do you take me for?!"
"PK criminal?"
"Ugh, I quit that!"
"Whatever."
He knew Rudolph had quit PK, but teased anyway. Grinning mischievously, he formed party and invited.
⊳ Invited user 'Rudolph' to party.
⊳ User 'Rudolph' has accepted.
Back to hunting.
Scouting Bamburk Mountains for the buried iron deposit.