There was a man who was legendary in the Hunter world for several reasons.
An extreme attention seeker.
A social media addict.
The self-proclaimed strongest.
He was certainly an eyesore, but everyone acknowledged his potential.
Even active S Grade Hunters said he would surpass S Grade and reach SS Grade.
Deus
An epithet steeped in the arrogance of a god.
Yet no one could dare deny that epithet.
From the moment he appeared, he had claimed first place in numerous Tower achievements.
Judging solely by his accomplishments, he was a Hunter who deserved universal praise.
However, there was a problem with his usual behavior.
All kinds of outrageous remarks appeared on his social media.
「All Hunters are beneath me.」
「You must revere me.」
「The Hunters of the entire world are inferior to me alone. The Unawakened are not even worth mentioning.」
He was arrogant.
His fans said that, compared to his ability, even that level of arrogance was modest.
But to everyone else, it was undeniably unpleasant.
Moreover, while Deus was indeed a top-tier powerhouse even among S Grade Hunters, he was not yet the strongest. That made the backlash even more severe.
The problem was his potential.
He had the fastest Tower-clearing speed in history.
There were even rumors that setting the record for the shortest Tower Ascension was only a matter of time.
He possessed all those accomplishments and abilities.
Yet the sight of him burying himself in outrageous remarks and collecting hateful comments was impressive in its own way.
「It is foolish not to revere a god.」
However, Deus was a reckless rogue even the Hunter world had given up on.
After posting videos for an entire month of personally tracking down every hater and giving them a brutal lesson.
His social media became cleaner than anywhere else.
Deus would personally come, destroy everything, and leave.
Even if someone sued him legally, the American government would only watch Deus’s reaction and take his side.
Deus possessed the greatest potential.
What if someone like Deus defected to another country?
There could be no worse outcome.
So no matter how much people protested, the American government did its utmost to support him.
They thoroughly removed anyone who slandered him and gave him the epithet Guardian of the United States.
At the very least, he had been keeping just within the line.
「Inferior beings. At least Hunters know how to revere me, but those who do nothing but receive protection cannot feel the existence of a god.」
After fighting to the point of exhaustion.
Deus developed an intense hatred for the Unawakened.
He would protect them.
But if they did not praise him, he labeled them heretics and destroyed them.
The White House clutched its head every day over the incidents he caused.
But there was no one on Earth capable of properly stopping him.
The self-proclaimed strongest on Earth.
True to those words, he had remained unscathed even after all manner of plots arranged by those who hated him.
Unless one entered the Tower.
There were not many Hunters left on Earth who could stand equal to him.
That was why Deus was legendary in many ways.
There was absolutely nothing to criticize about his abilities.
But no matter what, his character could not be viewed favorably.
And now.
@Dirdzo012
[Photo]
♥ 1,431 Likes
Did Deus just get beaten?
#Pwned #Deus #BaekCheon-myeong #……
[Comments]
Jeong Myo-hwan: The achievement records for Floor 1 and Floor 2 were updated?
↳SeedMoney: Nope. They are being updated nearly every day. The Floor 3 achievement was updated again today lol. Floor 4 is next soon.
↳Dorong: The Hunter is even from Korea. OMG.
Zeorie: Do you feel the power of Great Korea? Is the world afraid of Korea?
eogoqud: Ah! My national pride is overflowing!
Nari: Why does this narrow country produce talented people every time?
Ben Jon-min: So who the hell is it?
poqnx21: Deus’s real-time response was posted lol.
@Deus
[Photo]
♥ 148,431 Likes
Who dares challenge a god? Show yourself now and I will spare you. (Korean translation)
#Deus #GOD #Deity #……
Deus’s social media was currently in total chaos.
@Deus
[Photo]
♥ 310,817 Likes
To hide is ugly. (Korean translation)
#Deus #GOD #Deity #……
@Deus
[Photo]
♥ 592,983 Likes
Did you ascend Floor 1 through cowardly tricks? It is obvious. (Korean translation)
#Deus #GOD #Deity #……
@Deus
[Photo]
♥ 814,368 Likes
If you intend to hide, then hide for the rest of your life. It is only natural to fear challenging a god. (Korean translation)
#Deus #GOD #Deity #……
Every new statement he made was another display of ugliness.
Accordingly, people carried his outrageous remarks everywhere.
The White House begged him to stop using social media, but Deus did not stop.
The aftermath of it all led directly to attention focusing on Korea.
Deus was someone watched by the entire world.
Naturally, everyone paid attention to the Hunter who had overtaken him and claimed first place.
And the subject of that attention was Baek Cheon-myeong.
Kang Ha-min was Baek Cheon-myeong’s master.
After looking through all the social media posts, Kang Ha-min pressed a hand to the corner of his eye.
The conversation they had shared only yesterday flashed through his mind.
After Shin No-seop informed him that Deus was coming.
He had made a proposal.
[ Naturally, Korea wishes to protect Hunter Baek Cheon-myeong as its highest priority. Accordingly, we would like to make a proposal to Hunter Baek Cheon-myeong. ]
“A proposal?”
[ First, we will publicly announce Hunter Baek Cheon-myeong and directly designate him as a Special Protection Target.
We intend to punish anyone who harms Hunter Baek Cheon-myeong under a ‘Special Act,’ and we are even prepared to wage war! ]
Wh-What?
Kang Ha-min, who had been listening seriously, was dumbfounded.
A Special Act?
War?
What kind of crazy nonsense was that?
[ Hunter Baek Cheon-myeong is worth that much. ]
However, Shin No-seop’s voice was serious.
No, no matter what, they were saying they would even wage war for one person.
At the mention of war, the instincts of a frail man slowly rose up within him once again.
‘Wait. Just wait a moment.’
So he stopped the discussion first.
He could understand Shin No-seop’s words.
It meant that they intended to protect Baek Cheon-myeong even if they had to be this aggressive.
But that would eventually expose his face.
The comfortable daily life he had enjoyed until now would be completely destroyed.
That was the one thing he did not want.
“I understand for now.”
So he brought the conversation to a temporary close.
The next day.
Kang Ha-min was rolling around on his bed and groaning.
Deus was targeting Baek Cheon-myeong.
What should he do about it?
No matter how much he thought, no answer came to him.
Clack—
At that moment, Baek Cheon-myeong opened the Tower’s door and stepped out.
Congratulations on clearing Floor 4!
You have cleared Floor 4 in the fastest time in the world.
[Record Time: 6 Seconds]
The reward for clearing Floor 4 is awarded.
Hunter ‘Kang Ha-min’ has leveled up.
Baek Cheon-myeong had updated the achievement record once again.
Thanks to that, Kang Ha-min leveled up yet again.
[Kang Ha-min]
Level: 23
Class: Gravekeeper of a Ruined World
Grade: Mythic
■ Unique Skills: Enter Grave Mountain / Rise of the Dead / Protection of the Dead / Grave King’s Aura / Legion of Ashes
■ Lineage: Corpse Reconstruction / Soul Binding
He was already Level 23.
He was leveling up at a truly insane pace.
At this rate, he seemed likely to gain another skill soon.
Other people went through all that trouble just to obtain one.
Yet Kang Ha-min gained levels while lying around at home.
It was a sight that would have given other Hunters a brutal reality check.
He felt somewhat guilty about it, but what could he do?
There were worlds like this.
The reward for clearing Floor 4 has been awarded.
You have obtained ‘High-Quality Top-Grade Magic Stone.’
“It is another Magic Stone.”
He checked the reward, but since Floor 1, there had been no particularly notable rewards.
They were all either Magic Stones or equipment.
The Magic Stones were for sale, and equipment was meaningless to Kang Ha-min.
In the end, all of it was scheduled to be sold to Yoo A-rin.
Had only the reward from Floor 1 been special?
Since he had received such an enormous reward as the Heavenly Decree Herb Forest, the others felt relatively shabby.
“Master, are you still worrying?”
“Ah, yes. I suppose I am.”
As Kang Ha-min gave a wry smile, Baek Cheon-myeong sat down in front of him.
As though it were only natural, he turned on the TV.
He had become a complete modern man by now.
[ An unknown record appearing in Korea is gathering people’s attention as Tower records continue to be renewed. ]
The news was discussing the Tower at that very moment.
Naturally, Baek Cheon-myeong and Kang Ha-min were the main subjects of the story.
The news had now begun discussing it in earnest.
He could feel things gradually getting bigger.
‘I can understand why Mr. Shin No-seop would go so far.’
Baek Cheon-myeong’s presence was not something that could be hidden.
It was inevitable that he would be exposed someday.
But if that happened, there was a high possibility that Kang Ha-min would be exposed as well.
Just as Shin No-seop had tried to protect Kang Ha-min’s parents.
But if they stopped climbing the Tower, the world would be destroyed.
Was this why he could not do one thing or the other?
“Master.”
Baek Cheon-myeong suddenly called to him.
“What is the best way to draw attention in this world?”
“Attention?”
That would be.
“Hmm, appearing on TV?”
The internet was dominant these days, but the influence of television broadcasts still could not be ignored.
“Hmm. I see.”
“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
“What the Master is worried about is people discovering that the Master is this body’s master, is it not?”
That was.
Right.
“Then doing the opposite is also an option.”
“The opposite?”
“Instead of the Master, firmly imprint this body’s existence on the world.”
Baek Cheon-myeong looked at Kang Ha-min and gave a chilling smile.
“By directly showing them what happens to anyone who dares challenge this body, ensure that no one can touch you.”
Was this déjà vu?
For some reason, it felt similar to the social media posts from Deus that he had seen today.
Did strong people all think alike?
Still, Baek Cheon-myeong’s judgment was not wrong.
Before people could form other ideas, he would reveal his existence.
Then Baek Cheon-myeong would be the one receiving the attention.
The chance of Kang Ha-min being directly affected would become much lower.
‘I just cannot let people see me traveling around with Mr. Baek Cheon-myeong.’
The more attention Baek Cheon-myeong received, the more hidden Kang Ha-min would become.
To hide a tree, hide it in a forest.
“Okay.”
He made his decision.
“Let’s contact Mr. Shin No-seop again.”
He drew his sword.