Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Chapter 240 : Publicity War (1)

Publicity War (1)

As people's attention was focused on the dungeon raid broadcast because of the unusual event—or non-event—that had taken place in Gangnam, the promotion campaign began in earnest.

Advertisements appeared all over buses and subways, and internet banners were plastered everywhere as if it were routine.

By this point, people could really see just how serious the broadcasting stations were about this dungeon raid broadcast.

==

Post: I installed an adblocker for the first time in my life...

Every time I go online, all I see is promotion for the dungeon raid...

Is this for real...

Reply

ㅇㅇ : Seriously, I think this is the biggest promotional campaign ever.

ㅁㄹㅁㄹ : With those S-rank guys participating, it makes sense, lol.

ㅇㅇ : Recently, they even uploaded a video of Park Jung-woo, Baek Hojun, and Lee Soo-ah fighting each other.

ㄴAhyeonLoveSquad : I saw it too, and it was just insane. Were the S-ranks always that strong??

찐만두 : I started to sense it back in Odyssey, but Baek Hojun is just on another level now.

==

There was some grumbling about the excessive promotion, but it only fueled the hype.

Especially, the recent battle video of Park Jung-woo, Lee Soo-ah, and Baek Hojun was more than enough to catch people's eyes.

Hunter classes focused on melee combat were always fun to watch, but the Conceptualization Techniques of Lee Soo-ah and Baek Hojun were especially flashy, standing out even more.

【Watching Baek Hojun and Lee Soo-ah, it makes me respect Park Jung-woo even more for coming back from the rift after three years...】

【A sudden wave of worship】

【No, honestly, surviving and returning from the rift is amazing, lol.】

Discussion about Park Jung-woo kept coming up.

In the video, while the other two fought using their Conceptualization Techniques, Park Jung-woo could be seen fighting with only his two fists.

"... You really let loose."

"It needs to be at least this flashy to grab attention."

Yeon-ji heaved a sigh at Jung-woo's words.

Well, he wasn't wrong.

It might have been a bit much, but it takes this level to make a real impact.

"So why did you call me?"

"Why? Am I not allowed to call you?"

Yeon-ji said that as she conjured then extinguished a flame made of demonic energy in midair.

"Don't just focus on them. Shouldn't I get a little attention, too?"

"Well..."

That wasn't wrong, either.

But Yeon-ji was different from Soo-ah.

It wasn't about her innate talent or personal strength; what mattered was the ability Yeon-ji possessed.

From Jung-woo's perspective, Yeon-ji's Conceptualization Technique was something truly special.

"Isn't what you have now enough?"

"Oh, not at all. You know what happens if you rely on a single ability and get cocky, right?"

Yeon-ji knew her ability was special, too.

Moonlight Bloom, the unique magic and Conceptualization Technique Yeon-ji created.

It generated a vast mirror and a countless number of petal-like mirror shards.

Regardless of physical or magical effects, if it touched the mirror, that force would bounce right back at its origin.

It was a counter-type power among abilities and magic—truly a force to be reckoned with.

As long as she could make her opponent's attack hit the mirror, she could repel even the strongest force.

"The important thing is, the attack has to touch the mirror."

"True."

"If they don't make contact with it, I'm done for."

That was true, though it was doubtful that something like that would happen to someone like Yeon-ji, who had reached S-rank or higher.

"For example, if someone attacks when I don't even notice, like Alencia."

There was a certain degree of automatic defense, but to someone like Alencia who was faster than the mirrors, it was useless.

Basically, it meant her ability wouldn't work on those, like certain teleporters, who could evade the movement of her mirrors.

"If you use your Conceptualization Technique as your main power, you need to find a way to cover your weaknesses."

"Agreed..."

Jung-woo accepted that part, but his questions remained.

"I get that, but it's not something I can really help with."

"..."

"Wouldn't it be better to call Ah-yeon for this?"

He knew a bit about magic from another world.

That was why he could teach circle magic to Ah-yeon, and dark magic to Yeon-ji.

But he wouldn't call himself an expert.

Jung-woo had acquired all sorts of abilities in the other world, but hadn't mastered any of them.

His martial arts and combat skills hadn't reached true mastery either.

His strength came from drawing all he had together and exerting iron will to control it.

That composite—was Jung-woo's core and power.

"I do understand that, but..."

Yeon-ji hesitated about whether to say more.

The reason she called Jung-woo today wasn't just for training advice—truthfully, it was partly on impulse.

'Why am I always training alone?'

Sometimes it happens.

You don't usually offer help to people who seem to handle everything on their own.

If they seem so self-reliant, you think, 'No need to bother, they'll be fine.'

Jung-woo thought about Yeon-ji that way.

Ah-yeon had only recently begun to try seriously, but she was fundamentally lazy.

Soo-ah still lacked self-confidence and didn't really know how to grow stronger.

Yeon-ji, in contrast, managed well on her own even if left alone.

She trained diligently every day and established her own step-by-step plans for improvement.

Even so, sometimes she wished the others would show her the same attention.

But her pride kept her from saying so.

"Hm, then."

Jung-woo folded his arms, thinking briefly before speaking.

"Should I think a bit about how you might fix those weaknesses?"

"No need to go overboard or anything, okay?"

"No, it's definitely not good to leave weaknesses alone."

He had no intention of ignoring Yeon-ji, who, unusually, had called for him.

Of course, Yeon-ji managed just fine solo, and rarely needed help.

That was precisely why, if she asked for it, it must feel like a bigger deal.

How worried must she have been to ask like this?

"Hmph, well... I guess so."

Yeon-ji twitched her lips, trying to hide her expression.

She didn't want to show how pleased that single statement made her.

"Then let's call Ah-yeon too, and discuss—"

"I don't want to."

"What?"

When Jung-woo naturally reached for his phone to call Ah-yeon, Yeon-ji unconsciously grabbed his hand.

She was surprised at herself, but couldn't take back what she'd done.

"I asked you. You're my manager, right? You can help me on your own."

She said it firmly, though the logic was shaky even to herself.

'Now it just sounds like I want us to be alone together.'

What was she even saying?

Yeon-ji bit her lower lip with deep regret.

When she glared resentfully at Jung-woo, he finally seemed to get it and nodded.

"All right. Let's think together, just the two of us."

"... Okay."

"If that's what you want, Yeon-hwa, then so be it."

"..."

At that moment, at the sound of her name 'Yeon-hwa', Yeon-ji's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

And she was startled by her own reaction.

'I'm not a child.'

She couldn't help but sigh at such a trivial thing affecting her heart.

This is crazy, honestly.

Watching Yeon-ji sigh so heavily, Jung-woo finally understood what was going on.

'True, it'd be awkward to ask Ah-yeon for help.'

Thinking of how Yeon-ji felt about Ah-yeon, he guessed it'd be tough to request her help so casually.

If it wasn't something major, asking for help would only wound Yeon-ji's pride.

"Then let's start with just the two of us."

"It should've just been that way from the start."

As Yeon-ji grumbled, Jung-woo unconsciously reached to pat her head, then quietly lowered his hand.

After all, Yeon-ji wasn't a little kid anymore, so it felt awkward to just touch her like that.

'Hmph.'

Yeon-ji knew it too, so she didn't complain.

Still, she couldn't help feeling vaguely fluttery inside.

***

Soo-ah and Yeon-ji were both making their final preparations ahead of the demonic zone.

And so was Ah-yeon.

Especially for her, her power was something no one else could help with.

Estella's power—only she herself, in both past and present life, could fully wield it.

"Divine art..."

Creating a power resembling Estella's authority.

Her authority remained as fragments scattered across the world.

The form was different, but its essence was the same.

It had just transformed into something far more dreadful.

"But... it's not entirely useless."

What was consumed wasn't magic power, but life force.

Moreover, it could draw not only from her own, but others' life force—making it particularly dangerous.

Still, no weapon is without risk.

Overusing magic power could lead to death just the same.

All the countless weapons humans had created were the same.

Even divine art, at its creation, wasn't born out of malice.

After Estella disappeared, her remaining authority was used to enrich the world.

That had become religion, which had grown larger and was abused by more and more people.

The prime example: Benadic.

'Benadic really was remarkable.'

Endlessly evil, a monstrous murderer, but he spent ages perfecting divine art into new forms. The fact that demons were using it now showed how extraordinary it was.

And finally, Ah-yeon had recently finished analyzing Benadic's divine art.

She sought to set the right direction for her own growth, and to uncover what the demons were after.

"They said 'Demon God', right. It's definitely not impossible."

What was required for this, though, was a very powerful demon.

At the very least, a top-rank demon as material, and the sacrifice of countless lives—it took all that to create a 'Demon God'.

Divine art fused human and demon into one, creating a new kind of being.

Humanity was needed in this process only to make full use of divine art's power.

Divine art was, after all, authority and magic strictly for humans.

"And... my new Conceptualization Technique."

The event that happened in Gangnam—it had also been an experiment for Ah-yeon.

She had wanted to test the new Conceptualization Technique she'd reached.

The result had been a huge success, but it wasn't yet complete.

'The efficiency is just too poor.'

Estella's authority drew on public attention, using the wishes of others as fuel.

Ah-yeon channeled wishes in a similar way to perform miracle-like magic.

But relative to what was used, it consumed too much of those wishes.

'This won't do.'

Estella's authority probably consumed wishes in a one-to-one ratio.

Her own magic, at the very least, had to reach that level.

Only then could she carry out the plan Jung-woo spoke of.

"The course of history has already changed."

That's what Jung-woo had told her.

The spark Jin Su-hyuk had lit would never truly ignite.

One way or another, it would need to end.

Either the awakened or non-awakened would have to go extinct.

To prevent that, the only way was to unify everyone, down one path or another.

"Turning everyone into non-awakened would be easier. But..."

The world was already deeply attuned to magic power.

Who knew what might happen if that were all wiped away now?

Ah-yeon understood what Jung-woo meant.

And understood her role too.

"Make everyone awakened..."

Could that really be done?

She considered it, then shook her head.

Whether it was possible didn't matter.

It was already something that had to be done.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

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