[At that moment, in a large-scale facility in Jeju Island. A lounge in the National Training Center.]
“Man, some people are getting entire five-star hotels rented out for them in the U.S., while we’re stuck staying in a government training center.”
An A-rank Hunter scoffed, speaking sarcastically.
On the lounge’s TV, reporters were broadcasting a hotel from afar in real-time, exclaiming excitedly, “Oh! A shadow just passed behind the curtains!” as if it were some major breaking news.
“If we’d successfully conquered the Jeju Tower, we’d probably be partying at that hotel too.”
Another A-rank Hunter responded in a calm voice.
“Come on, at least try to empathize. You don’t have to hit me with facts like that all the time.”
“There’s nothing to empathize with. The ones who succeeded in conquering other Towers versus the ones who failed to eliminate a Tower and had to retreat. Who do you think deserves more celebration?”
“Do you always have to argue facts?”
“Snarking about it won’t change anything.”
Despite their different personalities, all the A-rank Hunters gathered in the training center’s lounge were in the same situation.
“So, what should we do now? Huh?”
“What are you gonna do?”
“I’m thinking of taking a trip to the U.S. for now.”
The U.S.. A trip.
“Are you planning to become an illegal immigrant?”
“More like I’ll challenge an A-rank Tower in the U.S. and just never come back.”
“And then suddenly, a suspiciously similar-looking Hunter named James Kim appears in West Virginia?”
“I’m a Chicago Bulls fan.”
“Whatever.”
Even those few words carried an implication that didn’t require speculation—it was a reasonable conclusion.
“You wanna come to the U.S. with me?”
“I’m staying in Korea.”
“What? Why?”
“Now that all the S-rank Towers are gone, only the A-rank Towers remain. It’s not like the [Master] or the [Maid] are going to handle all of them, so someone has to conquer the A-rank Towers.”
Does staying behind make someone a fool?
Not necessarily—everyone has different circumstances, so it’s hard to say.
“Do you really think people like Blue Lightning or Ironblood are gonna move to another country? They’re gonna stay in Korea. If new S-rank Towers appear, they’ll go for them. Are you planning to farm A-rank Towers to level up until you’re S-rank?”
“That’s part of it. If you want solid experience, what better way than having A-rank Hunters take on A-rank Towers? It’s a life-or-death challenge.”
Just then, another video started playing on the news.
“I’m gonna reach S-rank here, then head to another country.”
“Heh, so you have a plan, huh?”
“Of course.”
It was an intense battle scene—footage from the government’s official UTube channel, titled ‘Jeju Raid: Phase 1’.
“Hey, did you see the comments? People are saying if Blue Lightning had even grazed that sword, he’d have been sliced clean in half.”
“What about Ironblood? No one’s worried about her?”
“You a fan of Ironblood or something?”
“No. I just figure if no one shows concern for her, she might lose her mind and go berserk.”
“Nah, nothing about her.”
The two Hunters checked the comments on their phones.
“They’re disappearing, right?”
“Yeah. Refresh and check again.”
Most comments praised Blue Lightning’s flawless evasive tanking during the Phase 1 raid.
– Where’s Ironblood?
– The video starts mid-raid, so they probably edited out the part where Ironblood got taken out early.
– Is Ironblood even in Jeju right now? If you see someone giving her tangerines, that person is definitely not a local, lol.
There were some mentions of Ironblood, but those comments vanished one by one with each refresh.
Some comments referred to her as “I.B.” or “Bloodiron,” using coded language, but the A-rank Hunters didn’t bother analyzing the malice behind them.
Even though Phase 1 had failed, there was hope for Phase 2.
It wasn’t like a game where they had to start from full HP again. In reality, they could recover their stamina and mana, reorganize, and fight the boss again.
If there had been enough S-rank Hunters, they could’ve taken turns tackling Towers like they did with lower-ranked ones.
Three S-ranks had been deployed—so ideally, the one guarding Seoul could’ve come to Jeju to replace Ironblood’s absence.
“Think that kid in Seoul will come?”
“Even if they wanted to, they can’t. They’re built for protecting the big shots. You really think the guys in Yeouido are gonna let them leave?”
“Ah… Yeah, you’re right. That kid’s never leaving Yeouido then.”
Every Hunter had different reasons for being excluded from S-rank Tower raids.
The public assumed it was because they were too young or still a minor, but those who knew the truth understood there were other reasons.
“Hey, do you think the statue boss can be blocked with [Absolute Barrier]?”
“Probably? But I’m not saying I agree with the Yeouido folks… There’s no need to bring them down here just to fight the statue.”
“Why not?”
“If we just recover our mana for a week and go in again, we should be able to take the boss down. That’s why you and I—and everyone else—are staying here at the training center.”
“Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”
Under normal circumstances, they would’ve been venting their frustration over the failed raid, each going their separate ways.
But at Blue Lightning’s request, they had gathered here.
To recover their mana as quickly as possible, analyze battle footage, predict the boss’s patterns, and prepare countermeasures.
“Hey, you think Blue Lightning is gonna end up as the leader?”
“No idea. He’s not really that type, but you know what they say—sometimes the position makes the person.”
The Hunters debated Blue Lightning’s leadership potential, weighing his personality against the responsibilities of a leader.
But they didn’t discuss it any further.
“He’s getting paid way more than us anyway. What can we even say?”
Blue Lightning was S-rank.
They were just A-rank.
“Let’s just get ready for Phase 2. We clear it, then figure out our next move.”
The only thing they could do was rest quietly, recover their mana as quickly as possible, and wait for the raid to succeed—for Jeju Tower to fall, just like the rest of the country’s S-rank Towers.
And for the second raid attempt, they would take part, leave their names in history, receive medals, increase their pension, and later use that reputation to appear on broadcasts, tell their war stories for appearance fees, or find other ways to monetize their achievements.
That was the plan—
Until—
“Huh?”
“…What the hell?”
Outside.
“Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!”
A woman’s piercing scream rang out.
“Jeju Tower…!”
* * *
[5 Minutes Earlier]
“Commander, I’ve finished syncing the TV screen~”
Drei, holding two cables in her hands, gestured toward the 85-inch TV installed in the suite.
In one hand, she held an HDMI cable connected between the TV and herself. In the other, a C-to-C USB cable.
It was essentially a converter and a relay device.
With Drei acting as an intermediary between my smartphone and the TV, we were able to view exactly what we wanted on a much larger screen.
[Elaine: Can you see, Master?]
“Yeah, I see it clearly.”
The world Elaine was looking at.
Without anyone noticing, she had slipped out of the hotel and infiltrated Jeju’s S-rank Tower.
The government didn’t know.
The U.S. didn’t know.
President Luigi knew—but he didn’t say anything.
The moment he made any sudden moves, the sharp-eyed ones would immediately realize, “The Master is up to something, and he’s trying to divert attention!”
“Elaine, do you detect anyone else who might have infiltrated the Tower?”
[Elaine: No signs detected. There were a few Hunters stationed near the entrance when I entered, but now that I’ve reached the boss room, I don’t sense anyone.]
Maybe it was because the Korean government was aware of China’s past attempt to secretly conquer a Tower using submarines.
They had stationed surveillance Hunters to prevent foreign Hunters from sneaking in and taking the Tower.
Unfortunately for them, none were capable of detecting Elaine’s flawless infiltration.
[Elaine: Do you have a clear view?]
“Yeah, it’s clear.”
Elaine stepped onto the boss room’s magic circle.
A shiver ran down my spine at the sight—it was even more brutal than the battlefield shown in the government’s Phase 1 raid footage.
“This is bad.”
Blood was splattered everywhere.
I remembered there were some healers among the A-rank Hunters. The thought of how much they must have struggled and exhausted themselves trying to heal in this hellscape made my stomach churn.
[Elaine: Master, what is the boss’s status?]
At her question, I immediately grabbed my smartphone.
Bzzz.
The screen shifted, and the moment I saw the status bar displayed in the upper part of the screen, I put my phone down.
“Full HP.”
[Elaine: I see. So, the boss’s health in reality does not function the same as it would in a game. Understood.]
Elaine stepped forward, her sword glowing with aura.
[Elaine: Please watch closely, Master. My victory.]
“Of course.”
Click.
I popped open a canned drink and leaned back on the sofa.
“I trust you, Elaine.”
All I had to do was one thing.
“You can do it, right?”
[Elaine: Of course, Master.]
Believe.
Moments later—
Jeju Tower vanished.
* * *
And not long after the Tower disappeared—
“So, let me get this straight…”
An office in the government was thrown into chaos.
“He said—‘I was so frustrated, I just conquered it myself’?”
