Chapter 104

Best Post: Even Kang Changho Was Taken Down by “That Hunter” (Video Included)

– – – – – – – – – – – – – –

(Attached video)

Yeah.

Guys, I saw that hunter too, lol.

How could so much happen in a single day?

I can’t believe we actually went through all that.

Anyway, getting straight to the point, I witnessed that hunter clash with Kang Changho during the attack.

I overheard them while I was evacuating.

At the scene of the dungeon break, the hunter kept telling Kang Changho, “You need to stay out of this.”

But as you can see from the result...

I guess talking didn’t work.

So he dealt with him another way.

It was honestly shocking;;

Who would have imagined there was someone capable of taking Kang Changho down like that?

And he didn’t merely knock him unconscious.

He completely pinned him down and stood over him, watching...

To be honest, when our eyes met, I got a little scared.

[Comments — Sorted by Likes]

[After reading the other posts, I think I understand exactly what happened. He was probably worried Kang Changho would interfere with the raid, so he took him out in advance. lol]

[What a relief.]

[Considering how Kang Changho usually acts, that makes sense.]

=======================

For reference, the video attached to the post shows that exact moment—the one where I was desperately shouting for someone to save Kang Changho.

And the “best post” mentioned in the title?

It was this one.

==============================

[Repost] (Breaking News) The Subjugation of the “Inevitable Malice”... Was Jeong Haseong Not the One Who Killed It?

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At four o’clock on the afternoon of the 11th, the death of the S-rank monster was finally confirmed. However, the identity of the individual who brought down the “Inevitable Malice” has sent shock waves through the public.

The hunter who ended the battle was not one of the country’s well-known S-Classes, but an unidentified man.

Who is he?

Let us first hear from the hunters who witnessed the incident firsthand.

Mr. Lee, a B-Class Awakener, stated:

“I thought he was some kind of lunatic. I mean, what sane person would willingly confront a monster like that? But he deliberately drew it away, saying he was going to kill the boss himself.”

“Deliberately?”

“Yes. Once the mark appeared, the monster would follow him wherever he went.”

▽ Photograph taken at the scene (drone footage)

.

.

.

==============================

“......”

Fine.

Since the article was based on actual events, I would accept its contents as fact. At least it contained no outright fabrications or bizarre distortions. I could let that much pass.

But why had the person who reposted the article felt the need to add those unnecessary comments beneath it...?

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(Images attached)

Whoa, wait. That’s him.

A three-second clip of him appeared during the Flower Baron incident at Hanshin.

The appraiser!!

This is insane. So he wasn’t an appraiser after all.

He was a hunter this whole time ㅠㅠㅠ Wow.

[Comments]

[When was this photo taken? During the Hanshin incident?]

[Yep! I was originally a huge fan of the A-Class hunter who showed up at the scene, so I asked permission to take a picture. Later, I noticed this guy standing way in the background. You can barely see him, though ㅎ]

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The moment I saw the image attached to the bottom of the online article, I clutched my head in despair.

The person in the photograph was unmistakably me during the Flower Baron incident.

‘The image quality is terrible, but my face is still perfectly recognizable!’

Did portrait rights simply not exist in this world?

Apparently, people believed that anyone who performed a heroic deed deserved public recognition, because they posted photographs of complete strangers on internet forums without the slightest hesitation.

What an unbelievable nuisance.

‘Damn it!’

How had things come to this?

All I had wanted was to deliver the final blow to the dying Inevitable Malice!

I had even anticipated the possibility of attracting attention before killing the boss monster. If I appeared carelessly in the media, information about my primary magic could spread everywhere, so I had taken precautions.

‘I deliberately chose a deserted alley to kill the Imoogi. Whenever I encountered anyone, I slipped away immediately. I even went through the trouble of moving the corpses afterward to conceal the traces of my magic...!’

But it seemed I had underestimated the curiosity of this planet’s inhabitants.

[So, what’s that hunter’s name?]

These people were utterly determined to identify the Awakener who had defeated the Inevitable Malice.

“Someone help me...”

The thought of my personal information being exposed to an unknown mob filled me with terror.

I trembled, gripping my phone tightly.

But it was far too early to despair.

The uproar had only just begun.

(NEW!)

[This bastard is the same bastard, lol]

Across the various social-media platforms connected to the major portal sites, I had now become a trending topic for an entirely different reason.

What was that title even supposed to mean?

It had an unmistakably negative ring to it.

And the post itself had already given rise to every kind of groundless allegation and false accusation imaginable.

============================

[This Bastard Is the Same Bastard, lol]

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https://Hunternet/#/search?.......

Hey, look at this.

A while ago, someone posted about witnessing a fight between some hunter and Jung Haseong outside a hospital.

Doesn’t the blond guy in this picture look awfully familiar?

ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Comments]

[Holy crap, lol.]

[Where do people even find posts like these?]

[Why does this guy keep going around beating up every S-Class he meets? lol]

[ㄴWhoa, you’re right. He only picks fights with S-Classes.]

[ㄴ“Target search.”]

[ㄴIs he in the same class as Kang-ssi too?]

============================

In other words...

To summarize the situation:

[The Hunter’s Legendary Achievements:

– Took first place in the White Maze

– Instantly killed the Flower Baron

– Delivered the finishing blow to an S-Class monster

= All accomplished by the same person ㄷㄷ]

Overnight, I had become known as “the mysterious powerhouse who attacked both Kang Changho and Jung Haseong before fighting the Imoogi single-handedly.”

‘I know I acquired pain tolerance, so why does my head hurt this badly...?’

Was this karma?

Was the world punishing me for daring to behave so arrogantly while masquerading as an F-Class?

Now that I thought about it, this was like the lie from The Boy Who Cried Wolf suddenly becoming reality.

‘Wow. So I’m Korea’s fourth S-Class now?’

Or perhaps the true mistake had been charging at the Imoogi the moment I saw it, convinced that the perfect opportunity had finally presented itself.

I scrolled through page after page, reviewing each of my mistakes in turn, but the stories about me never seemed to end.

People were clearly fascinated by the appearance of an unknown Awakener capable of defeating an S-Class monster.

“Haa...”

Now that matters had progressed this far, there was only one thing I could do.

I decided to lie low for a while.

After all, even the news of Jung Haseong—the nation’s highest-ranked hunter—taking a leave of absence had quickly faded from public attention.

How long could interest in me possibly last?

‘Time will take care of it.’

Nothing would improve merely because I continued staring at my phone, so I decided to forget the entire mess for the moment and eat something.

“Ah.”

Of course, before that, I needed to reply to Gu Seohyeong.

“I was so shocked, I nearly forgot.”

Tap, tap, tap.

I picked up my phone again and sent Gu Seohyeong a brief message telling her I was safe.

‘That should be enough.’

Since the phone was already in my hand, I decided to check the other calls that had accumulated.

[Kang Changho 2 missed calls]

Missed calls from Changho?

If there had only been one, I might have assumed he had dialed me by accident.

But twice?

‘Huh?’

The instant I saw his name in the call log, a chill crept through my chest.

Come to think of it, among all the posts circulating online, there had also been an absurd rumor involving Kang Changho.

‘Did he see that article too?’

A shiver ran through me.

I hurriedly called him back, intending to clear up the misunderstanding.

Several seconds after the call connected, however, the Awakener on the other end remained unnaturally silent.

“H-Hello?”

I pulled the phone away from my ear and checked the screen to make certain the call had actually connected.

– ......

Just then, the other person finally spoke.

– To be honest...

“Ah. Yes?”

– When I called yesterday, I was planning to ask what you did while I was unconscious.

“What I did?”

– But now that I’ve had time to think about it, I’m not sure how I’m supposed to say this.

The S-Class paused briefly before continuing.

– I was worried that saying the wrong thing might anger some hidden S-Class hunter and cause an even bigger problem.

The moment I heard that, I shot to my feet.

“That’s a misunderstanding! The whole thing was fabricated. How could someone like me possibly be an S-Class?”

Changho did not even pretend to listen.

– I knew something about you was strange, but I never imagined you were capable of handling an S-Class monster...

“No.”

– If this was how things were going to turn out, you should have told me from the beginning. Then I would have treated you with the respect you deserved.

“I keep telling you, that isn’t true!”

We were not communicating at all.

Kang Changho had evidently reached his own conclusion.

In his mind, an F-Class hunter had lied about his rank and deliberately made a fool of him at the scene of a terrorist attack.

– Kim Ki-ryeo, is what they’re saying online true?

“Yes?”

– Did you deliberately knock me unconscious as part of some plan to keep me from interfering with the boss hunt?

“What?”

– In the civilian footage, it looked as though you were standing on my head while I was lying on the ground.

If he was going to be this convinced of his own theory, why had he bothered calling me at all?

“I just saw that article myself. It only looks that way because of the camera angle. I was actually stepping on a piece of debris.”

I did everything I could to correct the S-Class hunter’s misunderstanding, but despite my efforts, the situation showed no sign of improving.

– Hmm.

Too many separate questions and suspicions had become tangled together.

There was no longer any chance of resolving everything with a few simple explanations.

– I don’t believe you at all.

Kang Changho’s suspicions remained firmly in place.

– The more I observe you, the more it seems as though you secretly look down on everyone around you...

Perhaps this incident had finally confirmed all the doubts he had harbored before.

In any case—

– So your position is that even if it kills you, you’ll never admit to being an S-Class.

For a moment, Kang Changho sounded irritated. Then his voice returned to its usual tone.

– But what can you do? Whether it’s true or not, you’re going to have quite a headache on your hands from now on.

“Yes?”

– You can deal with whatever happens next by yourself.

A headache?

I opened my mouth to ask what he meant, but the call ended before I had the chance.

“Huh?”

Kang Changho had hung up without another word.

“......”

So...

I had failed to clear up the misunderstanding and had apparently succeeded only in irritating an S-Class hunter.

What was I supposed to do now?

“Should I just... eat breakfast?”

I gave up trying to think.

Cold sweat continued to bead across my forehead.

***

Four hours later.

[[Seonhan Daily] Association Records Confirm Mysterious Hunter Is F-Class...]

By morning, nearly all of my personal information had been uncovered.

Now even my official F-Class rank had been exposed.

But that was fine.

With my face already plastered across the internet, there was little point in panicking over the revelation of my rank.

‘Earthlings have an impressive information network.’

I composed myself and took a bite from the lunchbox in front of me.

“Keugh.”

Then, shortly after lunch, another article appeared.

[(Exclusive) “The Discrepancy in My Rank Will Be Explained in Due Course”—Kim Kiryeo Announces Press Conference]

Clatter.

The moment I read the headline, the metal spoon slipped from my hand.

“I announced a press conference?”

Me?

Since when?!