[Three days after the conquest of two S-rank Towers. Aboard the Illinois, anchored above Crater Lake, in the captain’s quarters.]
While the global gaming industry was thrown into turmoil,
I gathered information for the next S-rank Tower conquest.
Even though the United States had relatively fewer Hunters compared to its population than other countries, that didn’t mean they just sat around staring blankly at the S-rank Towers.
There was little information available about the Towers in the western part of the U.S., where conquests were difficult. However, at least some data on the Towers in the East, Midwest, and South had been archived by government agencies.
And it wasn’t just the U.S. government that had attempted to conquer S-rank Towers.
Some guilds around the world specialized in conquering S-rank Towers in other countries, and I managed to obtain their strategic reports through Drei.
So, as I familiarized myself with the travel routes to the Towers, strategies for conquering them, and attack patterns of some bosses I had encountered firsthand, I was also clicking away at a game I was playing, auto-running daily quests.
“Hey… the reason Blue Lightning stormed into the NV Soft chairman’s office and had a conversation with him—do we have a good idea why?”
“Yeah. Want to check? Here, this is a report summarizing the situation in Korea. I’ve highlighted the relevant parts. You can just read the key points.”
As my head throbbed from the global gaming industry’s chaos, I had no choice but to gather some information about the suspicious events unfolding in Korea.
“So, basically…”
“There’s intelligence suggesting that Hunters are preparing to take over positions in the Game Rating Board, the esports industry, and related fields.”
Just as Elaine had summarized, the documents that Drei had compiled laid out the major shifts happening in Korea.
Strange, yet undeniably clear.
“So, Hunters are trying to seize high-ranking positions in the gaming industry?”
“Yes.”
“They’re roaming gaming communities, surveying player opinions, meeting with gaming company executives, and reaching out to politicians and aides who have been vocal about gaming?”
“That’s right.”
And all of it was happening with direct involvement from Hunters.
“In terms of finances… Well, Hunters have accumulated quite a bit of funding over time, haven’t they? They’re investing in various gaming companies to secure key positions. In particular, many of them are the same Hunters who participated in the conquest of the S-rank Tower in Jeju Island.”
“Suddenly? For what reason?”
Is it just because my abilities as a Summoner are game-related?
Or do they believe that if they get involved in the gaming industry, they might somehow acquire the powers of game characters and surpass S-rank Hunters?
Or maybe… they just want to create a game featuring Full Limit Break, Full Refinement characters based on themselves?
“Drei would probably know the details better…”
“Oddly enough, I don’t either.”
Drei raised both hands in surrender.
“Even if I tried hacking into their security cameras, those cameras need to exist in the first place, don’t they?”
The reason we were investigating this so closely was that they were being extremely cautious, especially of Drei’s hacking abilities.
“There are no security cameras in the offices they’ve rented in Seoul, and none of their smartphones contain any relevant information. It looks like they’re communicating through… supernatural means.”
“What about meetings? They must be holding serious discussions among themselves. Are they conducting them inside some kind of magic barrier?”
“Well…”
Drei pulled up a CCTV feed on the monitor.
“Looks like they’re holding their meetings inside a Tower. They’re clearly trying to block us from interfering.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Using a C-rank Tower as a secret base?”
I chuckled dryly as I examined the CCTV footage Drei displayed, along with the documents tracking the Hunters’ movements as they attempted to take control of the gaming industry.
“They’re avoiding digital communication to counter our hacking and are using a Tower as their meeting place? Does the Korean government know about this?”
“They do. The National Intelligence Service is keeping a close eye on them.”
Surprisingly, the Korean government wasn’t just sitting back and letting things unfold.
‘I thought all their talent had left, but it looks like they’re finally getting their act together.’
As I later found out, there were people who quickly caught on to my Awakening and movements.
Nine out of ten such individuals had already moved to the United States.
These were skilled professionals with no real power, stuck in bureaucratic positions. Some chose not to report my existence, others actively concealed it, and some interpreted my meeting with the U.S. President, Eisen Armstrong Luigi, as a signal and handed over information to the U.S. before moving there themselves.
Despite losing many capable individuals, Korea was still managing to fill those gaps with competent people and carry out investigations.
“The problem is that even if they try hacking, there’s nothing on their smartphones or laptops to begin with.”
Just as the government had started taking thorough precautions in response to me, Korean Hunters were moving with equal caution.
“What about notebooks, paper documents, or any physical records?”
“They’re inside the Tower.”
Drei pointed to a C-rank Tower standing tall on the outskirts of Seoul.
“And there are always at least two Hunters guarding the Tower entrance, preventing anyone from entering.”
“Even government agents?”
“Yeah. So… the country is in a bit of a bind right now.”
“What, are they afraid the Hunters might start a revolution?”
“Oh my?”
Drei’s eyes sparkled in amusement.
“Elaine, did you hear that?”
“I did. I also now understand where Master’s sympathies lie.”
Elaine, smiling subtly, handed me a mug.
“Master, do you want the Hunters’ revolution to succeed?”
“You see right through me, don’t you?”
As expected of Elaine.
“Well, if I had to choose a side, it would be the Hunters. It’s not like I trust the government.”
“Exactly.”
It wasn’t about politics or ideology.
“The Hunter industry and gaming industry have both been constantly oppressed, regardless of political leanings.”
Hunters had been forced into national defense, told that they must protect their country from global threats.
Gaming? Well, it had a terrible reputation even before the 2000s, and that hadn’t changed.
Despite the fact that Hunters were risking their lives fighting inside Towers, they were still mocked for “wasting time playing games” if they weren’t out there battling.
Even the organizations and associations meant to oversee the industry were often led by individuals whose dedication to gaming was… questionable, to say the least.
“Now that I think about it, there’s a similarity here. The people holding top positions in these organizations—are they truly for the Hunters? For the gamers? The answer is… doubtful.”
And I wasn’t the only one thinking this way.
“This country was never for the Hunters or the gamers. It just leeched off them.”
Among the darkness of the world that I learned through Drei, there were countless clues revealing the ideology of industry insiders in this country.
What should be done about such people?
Could they truly be free of even a single speck of dirt on their suits?
Not a chance.
Unlike in the U.S., where evidence of drug use or child pornography could take someone down instantly, bribery and employment fraud clung to them like dust deeply embedded in their tailored suits.
For now, since they weren’t directly interfering with my conquest of the U.S. S-rank Towers, I hadn’t bothered exposing them.
Honestly, I was too busy dealing with America’s own deep-seated corruption to worry about them.
And one more thing—
“Commander, in the U.S., we could send the data to the President since he’s on our side, but in Korea… will it even be dealt with?”
“…Hard to say. It’ll probably just end with a scapegoat taking the fall.”
Would exposing them actually lead to real consequences?
That thought alone had made me hesitant to act.
“Drei, can you send an email for me?”
“To whom?”
“To the person working tirelessly—not to restore normalcy to the Hunter and gaming industries, because they were never normal to begin with—but to completely rebuild them the right way.”
Just as President Luigi had mobilized the CIA and FBI in the U.S., if there were people taking direct action in Korea, there was no reason not to help them.
“Still, I never expected this person to step forward like this.”
“Do you know why?”
“Why?”
“It’s a metaphor, but… it’s because they broke out of their shell, nyah.”
“…”
A metaphor…?
* * *
[A Short While Later — Seoul, Game Rating Board Headquarters]
“Argh, damn it!”
A middle-aged man with a bald head was frantically opening and closing filing cabinets, cursing under his breath.
“What the hell is this mess?!”
He pulled open a drawer.
Inside, rows of official binders commonly used in government offices were neatly labeled with years and titles.
Rustle.
He opened a binder labeled ‘Meeting Minutes’.
Inside, stacks of A4 paper were neatly arranged—but the documents were suspiciously crisp and new, unlike their labeled year.
“…Damn it, those crazy bastards!”
His gaze shot to the top-right corner, where multiple signatures were scrawled in the approval section.
No matter how he looked at it, it was obvious that someone had forged names using different pens, and some of the names were outright incorrect.
There were signatures from people who hadn’t even been employed at the time.
Some names belonged to people who were working there, but their listed positions didn’t match their actual roles at the time.
Nothing in these documents was legitimate.
Although they were labeled as meeting minutes, the printed contents inside had nothing to do with the actual discussions that should have taken place.
“You incompetent fool…! I told you to make proper meeting records, and you just had AI scrape together a fake report?!”
The documents were supposed to contain discussions about the review process for a specific game.
Instead, they were filled with unrelated genre classifications and censorship justifications for a completely different game.
“Sh*t, sh*t…!”
If this got out, he was finished.
Because right now, he was the chairman of this institution, and the team leader who had ordered these fabricated documents at the time was—
Rip!
“!!”
A sharp crackle behind him.
A masked figure, draped in a black robe, loomed over him.
From beneath the mask, eerie blue eyes glowed ominously.
The chairman’s legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the floor.
“N-No!! Please! I don’t want to become a mindless vegetable!!”
[Who said I would make you a vegetable?]
Crackle.
[I’ll just tamper with your neural signals a little. You’ll remain brain-dead for a few years—don’t worry. If you’ve done well by your family until now…]
“Wh-why are you doing this?! Who the hell are you?!”
[I will start by changing things from the closest places.]
Zzzzt!
[To create a country that can truly stand the test of time.]
“Ahhh! No, please—!”
[For now, all people like you… will be put into a brain-dead state. Rest assured.]
As the black-robed figure placed their hand on the chairman’s head—
[Until this country becomes normal, you will remain in a vegetative state.]
Crackle-Crackle-CRACK!
Blue lightning surged through the chairman’s body, and he slumped over lifelessly.
* * *
“Master, the chairman of the Game Rating Board has collapsed from a stroke. He’s in a coma.”
“What? Seriously?”
“Yes. CCTV footage captured a black-robed individual at the scene.”
“…Oh, for fuck’s sake. Who the hell is this…?”
