Chapter 159. The Coldest Fire
A message from a friend contained a link.
A space where hunters exchange information about guilds. It was a link connected to the anonymous bulletin board of the curtain.
*
An A-Class Hunter’s Power Struggle!
Since yesterday’s incident occurred in a public place, it spread swiftly through the whispers of hunters.
But the problem lies in its content.
Unlike Cho Sang-oh, who thought he got a decent hit on an S-Class, the witnesses summarized the event like this:
———————
· Legendary Education LOL
· How could he get beaten without putting up a fight?
———————
After finishing his meeting with the representative.
Returning to his private room, Cho Sang-oh checked the post with trembling hands.
On the connected page, many hunters were anonymously continuing their criticism.
———————
· Ah, that’s just how parachutists are.
· Finally made a big mess.
· Everyone, this is why you shouldn’t join family-run guilds LOL. If a good item drops in the dungeon, someone will hog it all, with no chance for others to benefit. That guild had no potential anyway~~ LOL. It was the Hunter with the name Ace who suffered a glorious death thanks to this.
· Another Hanshin? After experiencing Baron Hwa-won, he still hasn’t learned…
———————==
Cho Sang-oh wasn’t particularly hurt by the insults aimed at the guild. He felt indifferent to the term parachutist.
He had become immune to such criticisms after hearing them during Baron Hwa-won’s management failures.
So what if a person is a parachutist?
These days, having a good parent is a skill too. Moreover, he was a precious A-Class Awakened, so at this point, he was more like an airborne troop than a parachutist.
He treated their insults as mere jealousy from the less fortunate.
However, he couldn’t overlook the humiliating slander at the bottom of the screen.
———————==
[Witness Report #3]
Wow, finally witnessing this absurdly entertaining scene LOL.
Actually, I just stopped by a nearby convenience store yesterday!
…(omitted)…
From afar, I saw an armored hunter rolling around getting hit. He was screaming and begging for his life LOL.
At first, I thought, “Is that S-Class out of his mind?? How could he hit someone??”
But after hearing what the kids who woke up later said, it turned out that the guy in the orange armor threw the first punch LOL.
A full-garbed hunter arguing with a civilian colleague…
I guess he’ll be heading to the dock soon to lift some crane cargo? 😭
————————=
A man crawling on the ground.
Raucous screams.
And a cold-faced hunter who maintained a merciless demeanor.
At that moment, Kim Gi-ryeo displayed violence that could seem cruel to the residents of this planet, leading everyone who witnessed it to unanimously express their views.
The sensational claim that Cho Sang-oh didn’t retaliate and was entirely one-sided became the focus of the eyewitness accounts.
“Seriously, who said he got beaten without putting up a fight!”
How could such injustice exist?
-But isn’t it amazing that an A-Class hurt an S-Class?
Of course, there were those in the bulletin board who spoke on Sang-oh’s behalf…
【The Rebellion of A-Class Begins! Analysis of Kim Hunter’s injuries……】
But that was refuted by another post a few minutes later.
—————————
(Employment certification from the Korean Magic Power Science Research Institute attached)
If you’re an A-Class who rushed in after seeing the title, hit that recommendation before you leave.
To put it bluntly, what 30-something Mr. Jo did was NOT surprising at all. It’s simply a phenomenon that follows the traits of mana.
First, Awakened individuals have bodies that are much tougher than ordinary people, which is a result of their nonspecific immune system.
If you significantly lower the Awakening Level through curses or items, that toughness disappears. It’s as if the barrier can be turned off and on like someone taking immunosuppressants.
That’s why nowadays, high-end beauty salons have items for Awakened folks.
If not managed properly, people can subconsciously protect even their hair.
However, breaking one’s immune system may sound dangerous (and it is), but it’s actually safer once you reach B-Class or higher.
Why? Because, at that stage, reflexes become monstrous…
Just because the barrier weakens doesn’t mean agility drops. With quick reactions, they can evade common attacks, and if a real threat occurs, their immunity may automatically kick back in (link to paper), which makes it hard for catastrophic instances to emerge.
So, summarizing yesterday’s incident, this means one thing.
The probability that the victim ‘self-inflicted’ harm with the opponent’s weapon is 100%…
Earlier, someone said it was pretty amazing for an A-Class to injure an S-Class, but from my perspective, the situation itself doesn’t make sense.
Logically, an A-Class can deflect bullets; would an S-Class allow a first punch right in front of them?
—————————=
Someone’s only achievement.
You’d think that would earn high public praise, but now even that small scratch is seen as the opponent having deliberately taken the hit?
As evident from this, people didn’t even consider the possibility that Gi-ryeo was a fake S-Class.
Not even the culprit, Cho Sang-oh himself.
Because that man was officially declared an S-Class Hunter on air. Moreover, he had already proven his status numerous times.
————————=
Guys, I heard from a friend who’s an Association employee that Kim Gi-ryeo has been training with Jeong Ha-seong at the public gym every weekend. Is that true?
————————=
‘Unavoidable Malice’. Siren.
These could be seen as somewhat intentional.
Yet Gi-ryeo couldn’t help but casually get involved with some strong sorcerers in his life.
If I were to name acquaintances, the first would be A-Class Ahn Yoon-seung, followed by B-Class Seonwoo-yeon.
Moreover, he maintained a good relationship with the owner of the Magic Tower and even began meeting regularly with Jeong Ha-seong recently.
—————
【Best Comment】
Today’s tip: If you don’t want to pay a settlement, start with self-harm extortion from your side.
[Recommendation: 32] [Against: 0]
Cho Sang-oh LOL, getting beaten badly yet planning to counter it because of one punch LOL.
[Recommendation: 16] [Against: 1]
—————
Public opinion gradually converging.
—————
· That’s cool! I used to wonder who would buy an item like the Scream Stake, but now I know how to use it.
· Wait, but an S-Class shouldn’t want to hurt anyone, so why would he swing that thing~~
· Even if the pain status effect doesn’t leave traces, strictly speaking, it’s still assault… This time it was a first punch + injury to the throat, a vital point + full-body armor makes it too great. Justifiable defense seems unlikely… 😅
· (Breaking news) Market price for Scream Stake surges 388%.
—————
Yet, concluding yesterday’s friction so simply still left a lingering question.
Gi-ryeo used a magic tool called the Surprise Box to subdue Cho Sang-oh, and as a result, nearby pedestrians also fainted.
‘Come to think of it, what hit me back then?’
Now, the witnesses all had regained consciousness, but still, people found it hard to figure out what Kim Gi-ryeo had done.
What people encountered was clearly something like a stun status effect, yet in this world, no Awakened has that kind of magic.
—————
Am I mistaken? Stun effects are only used by monsters, right?
—————
Of course, it was not only the monsters in the dungeons that could wield stun effects… there were other scenarios as well.
To give a precise example, with a tool like [Surprise Box!], even a human could handle stun-related spells.
However, strangely enough, no one on this anonymous site mentioned that red cube.
The most representative stun item wasn’t even in the discussion!
Yet this was an obvious choice for those ignorant of the incident’s causality.
The Surprise Box.
It had a significant flaw in that it included ‘the owner’ in the attack target…
【 KnowledgeIng 】
[Q. Teach me how to hunt with Surprise Box.]
[A. The hunting method using [Surprise Box!] is as follows.
1. Enter the dungeon with a wind attribute Hunter possessing a rare-grade item, like a Cyclone Generator or a skill of comparable power.
2. Use strong winds to roll the box, causing the effect to trigger where the monsters are located. (If it’s your first time, distance control can be tough. Recommended in blocked terrain like boss rooms.)
3. Maintain a distance of at least 15 meters between the monster and the hunter during this time.
4. The effect of the Surprise Box nearly penetrates armor, so don’t bother with resistance and always use it from a distance.]
That item cannot be used in face-to-face situations. At least in the perception of Earthlings.
But what if a wizard utilized such a conventionally recognized item in a different manner?
Unless one hears detailed explanations, it would be nearly impossible to infer the intermediate steps.
To put it metaphorically, when everyone sees a syringe, they typically think of it as a device for sucking liquid.
But it’s as if an alien sees a syringe and immediately uses it as a knitting needle for its perfect grip.
The alien even manages to knit a wonderful scarf with it. But who would dare to claim that the final product was made using a syringe?
———————
· It’s not a sleeping powder, is it? There weren’t any foreign substances on the bodies of the fainted people.
· If it is a stun item used in an area, could it be the [Electric Eel Skin]?
┕ Dude, that’s a 1.4-meter-long blue outer garment, visible even from outside Seoul when used.
· Speaking of which, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Kim Hunter wearing decent defense gear; is it fine to enter high-level dungeons in formal wear?
———————
Amid various opinions.
For a while, the curtain engaged in heated discussions about how Kim Gi-ryeo managed to stun the pedestrians.
But no matter how much time passed, a candidate among the items just didn’t emerge, and eventually, they began to assume it could be Kim Gi-ryeo’s Awakening skill.
Thus far, no human had employed such status effects, but it wouldn’t be strange for those with such abilities to start appearing…
-Ding!
At that moment.
Several people watching the curtain received notifications on their phones.
It was an alert from an app called Y-Tube, signaling that there was new news on a channel they subscribed to.
【 The First Person in History to Be Stunned Twice by an S-Class 】
Pulling down the phone’s top bar revealed a small preview.
The exaggeratedly synthesized thumbnail naturally attracted interest.
[(Bold Subtitle) I’m the spectator who was carried away by the ambulance, Witness #2.]
Interestingly, the video that pinged contained the exact subject that was currently capturing much attention.
The host of the channel revealed himself as the party involved in the incident and started explaining the overview.
[…So the bulletin board has been buzzing with talk about an electric eel item. Viewers, let me tell you clearly, the reason we fainted back then was…]
However, in this media age, there’s always something to be cautious about.
[It’s because the Hunter suddenly revealed his hidden magic power. The Hunter’s Awakening Level pressure made us faint, you know?]
Right—there’s a lot of fabrication going on.
