A Turbulent Political Climate
Although the incident with the Chinese hunter had been resolved rather anticlimactically, the social fallout it triggered was severe. Anti-Chinese protests were erupting everywhere.
Historically, Korea had never been on particularly good terms with China or Japan. Relations with Japan were naturally strained due to past historical grievances, and ties with China hadn't been great since ancient times. Still, they had managed to maintain a lukewarm, business-like relationship. They were neighboring countries, shared economic interests, and belonged to the same East Asian cultural sphere, so they occasionally cooperated. Yet, underlying anti-Chinese sentiment had always existed. The reasons were so numerous and varied that even I didn't know them all, but this incident had acted as the spark that set off the powder keg.
The general consensus among Koreans was: "How little must they respect our country for a Chinese hunter to run amok like that?" The daily microaggressions and condescending remarks from Chinese nationals had finally pushed people over the edge. While the Chinese government expressed regret and refrained from defending the rogue hunter, the internet was a completely different story. Online forums were flooded with outrage:
Naturally, Koreans weren't about to take that lying down. They translated the Chinese comments, shared them across domestic forums, and fanned the flames. Anti-Chinese sentiment—already running high due to issues surrounding ethnic Chinese enclaves and other geopolitical tensions—exploded. The forum posts even made their way into mainstream news articles. Normally, online bickering wouldn't make the evening news, but this time was different. The target of the attack was none other than a massive celebrity. A celebrity who was practically hailed as a national hero.
The Sword Saint, Namgung Min, was a hero who had saved countless lives since the early days of the Gate cataclysm. Even after guilds were commercialized and massive wealth became tied to the profession, he continued to help those in need for next to nothing, staying true to his principles even after rising to fame. Countless citizens held him in high regard. He was South Korea's number one hunter, yet he remained incredibly humble and down-to-earth. The fact that the Chinese hunter had dared to target someone like Namgung Min was what caused such a massive backlash.
"An anti-Chinese protest, of all things..."
"Haha..."
Namgung Min wore a deeply troubled expression. He had thought the matter was settled quietly, but it was suddenly snowballing into a major diplomatic incident. The Murim League was currently fraught with worry over the situation. Although the hunter industry itself was largely domestic, they still had to keep a close eye on international relations. A rift between South Korea and China would cause complications on multiple fronts. China's close ties with North Korea also made them a neighbor that required extremely cautious handling.
"Though our national economy has improved thanks to the Gates..."
Still, China was not a nation that could be easily ignored. As they say, sheer numbers are a force of their own. Because of their massive population, they absorbed a huge portion of Korea's exports, making it economically impossible to outright antagonize them.
"It seems the politicians are nursing a massive headache over this," Jegal Cheon remarked, letting out a heavy sigh.
There was nothing we could do about it, but since we were the ones at the center of the incident, it was impossible not to feel some concern.
"Are the politicians blaming us?" I asked.
Jegal Cheon shrugged. "No, not at all. Even they know this wasn't our fault."
"Then it seems best to just ignore them."
"I suppose you're right."
The real issue, however...
"The truth is, our guild maintains active exchanges with China," Namgung Min said.
"Really?"
"Ah, since you do not seem to be aware, allow me to explain."
Namgung Min suddenly launched into a long-winded explanation. He started with the literary genre of Wuxia...
"Wuxia is a genre deeply rooted in Chinese history and culture."
He babbled on about various sects, martial arts, and how the foundation of it all was based on the novels of some author named Jin Yong. In short, Wuxia and China shared an inseparable bond.
"When we develop our martial techniques, we do not merely reference novels; we also translate and interpret ancient texts from historical sects."
Granted, very few of those texts actually contained practical martial arts or techniques... But the point was that they had always maintained close ties and cultural exchanges with China.
"There are Wuxia-themed guilds in China that are very similar to our Murim League."
The Shaolin Temple, a guild formed by actual Buddhist monks. The Wudang Sect, comprised of Taoist priests. The Goddess Sect, an all-female faction. They were actively collaborating with numerous Wuxia-related organizations.
"So they won't look kindly on this incident?"
"Exactly. If this escalates and anti-Korean sentiment intensifies in China..."
Since China was an authoritarian regime...
"They will undoubtedly shut down all exchanges."
And that was something he desperately wanted to avoid. Personally, I couldn't quite wrap my head around why this was such a big deal.
"I don't really get it," I said.
"Is that so...?"
I hadn't joined this guild out of a love for Wuxia, nor did I have any desire to learn martial arts. Naturally, their worries went completely over my head.
My sister, Seohui, chimed in. "I don't care much for it either, but things have been getting a bit scary lately."
Apparently, there was even talk of boycotting Chinese products. Frankly, the whole thing was already over, and it wasn't like Namgung Min had actually gotten hurt, so I couldn't understand why everyone was making such a fuss. No matter how famous Namgung Min was, this level of hysteria seemed bizarre.
"Oh, just ignore it! It'll blow over soon."
Leaving them with those words, I beat a hasty retreat from the meeting room. There was nothing I could do to help anyway. Surely, things would quiet down in no time...
Quite some time had passed since I became a hunter. Not that my daily routine had changed much... but summer had arrived in full force, bringing with it a sweltering, oppressive heat.
"Summer is as brutal as ever."
Last year, I had spent most of my time cooped up indoors, so I hadn't really noticed it. But now that I was regularly commuting to the guild, the heat was impossible to ignore. I rarely sweated, yet the temperature was high enough to make even me perspire.
"It's weird seeing you sweat, Sis," Seohui remarked.
"I find it rather strange myself."
In the ten-plus years I had inhabited this body, the number of times I had sweated could be counted on one hand. It was truly bizarre. Perhaps my body was finally adapting to Earth's environment?
"Just hang in there. Once we get to the guild, the AC will be blasting. It'll be nice and cool."
"True..."
We were currently on our way back from a support group meeting for female hunters. Women made up a tiny fraction of the hunter population. While some of it was due to the physical disadvantages of being female, there was a far darker issue at play: crimes targeting women.
"The world is getting scarier by the day," Seohui sighed.
"Indeed."
These were crimes committed against female hunters inside the Gates. When you thought about it, the danger was terrifying. There were no security cameras inside a Dungeon-type Gate. If a crime occurred in there, there was absolutely no way to gather evidence. Once a dungeon was cleared, the entire space collapsed and vanished. If someone committed a crime and cleared the dungeon after leaving the evidence inside, it was gone forever. Exploiting this loophole, some malicious hunters would lure relatively weak female hunters into their parties to commit heinous acts.
The real tragedy was...
"To think there's no real solution to this."
The law was virtually powerless. Even if a victim reported a crime, proving a hunter-on-hunter offense was incredibly difficult, and even if it made it to court, proper convictions were rare. In the end, the victims were left to weep in silence, with no choice but to retire from the profession entirely.
"And their grand solution is for women to only party with other women."
But there was another catch...
"Even women don't want to form all-female parties..."
Perhaps because they had been coddled and treated delicately since childhood, many of them shied away from the grueling, tedious aspects of the job. They hated the dirty work, like hauling mana stones. But they also refused to hire porters because it would cut into their profits. When they partied with men, some of the male hunters would do all the heavy lifting just to curry favor, and the women had grown accustomed to that treatment.
"Well, at least the people at the meeting today weren't like that," Seohui pointed out.
She might have thought so, but everyone had their own hidden agendas. In the end, the speeches at the meeting were nothing but empty platitudes. We must work hard. We must stand on our own feet instead of relying on others. Just the usual textbook remarks.
A few of the more capable hunters had even suggested forming a party together. After all, with an A-class like my sister and an S-class like me, we could easily form an elite, all-female A-class party.
"Are you really blind to what they were actually aiming for?" I asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Their proposal to form an all-female party."
"What about it?"
Was she seriously clueless? My sister, who had lived as a woman far longer than I had, hadn't noticed?
"Never mind. If you don't know, forget it."
Seohui looked slightly disappointed by my dismissive response.
"In any case, meeting those other people only made me realize all over again how sweet Ah-young and Gyuri are."
"That's true."
Those two were currently running dungeons in a three-person party with another female hunter from the guild. I couldn't baby them forever, so it was a relief to see them doing well on their own. They still insisted it was all thanks to me and expressed their gratitude whenever they could.
Finally, we stepped into the guild building, expecting the cool, refreshing blast of the air conditioner to—
"It's boiling in here!"
—not greet us at all.
"What's going on?"
The air conditioning was completely dead. I grabbed a passing staff member and asked what was happening.
"We can't run the AC right now due to power grid issues."
What kind of absolute nonsense was this?
"The, well... the country is facing a severe electricity shortage..."
Wait, hadn't they been generating energy using purified mana stones? Didn't they brag about having some state-of-the-art eco-friendly energy source?
"Apparently, there's been a bottleneck in the supply of mana stones lately," Seohui explained.
"Why?"
Hunters were constantly clearing dungeons and bringing them back, weren't they?
"Probably because consumption has skyrocketed."
According to the people around us, this year's summer was far hotter than usual, causing AC usage to surge nationwide and triggering a massive energy crisis.
"Ugh... Didn't they just improve hunter working conditions recently? What are those lazy bums doing instead of working?"
"How should I know?"
True... It wasn't like my sister would have the answers.
I wandered around the building, desperately searching for any room with a working AC. Unfortunately, the entire guild headquarters had shut down their cooling systems.
"Argh! Get me Jegal Cheon!"
I went looking for the Vice Guild Master who practically ran the place. I found him in the Guild Master's office, buried under a mountain of paperwork... but the moment I saw him, the curses died in my throat.
"Haha, welcome. You're here," he greeted, his voice strained.
"Uh, yeah... You look like you're melting."
The Guild Master's office was located on the top floor of the building, making it the absolute hottest spot in the entire complex. Yet, the AC was off. He didn't even have a fan running, enduring the heat while sweat literally dripped down his face.
"Why on earth are you..."
"Ah, the power issue... You only have to endure it for today. Everything should return to normal starting tomorrow."
"I-is that so?"
He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts because of the heat, yet he was still drenched in sweat. Seeing him like that, I didn't have the heart to complain. Just what kind of energy crisis was this country facing...?