World-Saving is a Skill

Chapter 67

Chapter 67

I sat watching the video without saying anything. To put it simply, this video was a kind of bandwagon piece.

Or, more accurately, one of those so-called “wreck car” videos. If an issue popped up, the creator would cover it, give their opinion, spin stories, and pull people in with controversy and chatter.

Whether I liked or disliked such videos didn’t matter. As long as it wasn’t illegal, it was just another way to make a living. There was no high or low in that.

“Hmm. I get the gist of it.”

The video’s uploader was a Hunter, and it seemed they had built quite a following by posting this sort of content. The views and subscriber count right on the screen proved their popularity.

And the suspicion and speculation they raised about me was very simple.

The Korean government was intentionally propping me up.

— The economy is flatlining at zero growth, resource control is tightening by the day. In times like this, people cheer for a hero, right?

So the claim was that the government needed a distraction to cover their own failures.

— Take Bratsk’s Refrigerator, for example. Perfect bait. Strictly speaking, Hunter Yoo Chan-seok only had one true achievement in Korea.”

Gyodong Island.

— A rookie Hunter taking down a grade 3 Erosion Core? Sure, impressive. But think about what came after. Doesn’t it feel like he’s been cleverly avoiding doing anything inside Korea since then?

That guy was good at weaving his story.

— Activities overseas are hard for Koreans to verify, aren’t they. Tsushima, Siberia, Dover in England. All foreign soil.

That much was true. Since the emergence of Erosion Zones and monsters, nations had become somewhat isolated. For things that happened outside, the channels for confirmation were almost all blocked off.

Koreans wouldn’t step outside the country unless they were crazy. Dangerous, filthy, poor. Just like that man said, my overseas activities were nothing more than rumors in their ears.

— Videos and records can be faked. Bratsk’s Refrigerator? Honestly, who even knows if that Erosion Core was really destroyed. And one of the Hunters there was none other than the famous Lee Se-eun.

So according to him, Han Sang-ah and I had done nothing, and Lee Se-eun had taken care of Bratsk’s Refrigerator before handing the credit to us.

— And Han Sang-ah, who accompanied him at Bratsk? She’s the granddaughter of the Geumyang Group’s chairman. You smell that? Reeks of something rotten.

Rotten smell my ass. He had no idea what I went through with her. It felt unfair.

— Yoo Chan-seok is a manufactured hero. I won’t disparage his initial achievements, but the feats that spread afterward on the news? Those need serious scrutiny.

With that, the video ended. I clicked my tongue. Below it, the comments scrolled endlessly.

“Well, comments on this sort of video are predictable.”

Nobody who disliked the uploader would bother watching it. Naturally, the majority of comments were full of doubt about the things I had done.

“Erm…”

Without another word, I handed the phone back to its owner with a smile.

“You worked hard.”

Once he left, I stretched.

“Funny, I was just worrying if I had no fuel left.”

Something good had just come my way. The Hunter who posted this video didn’t mean to help me, but in the end, that was what it looked like.

The uploader was a Hunter named Sohwi. When I looked him up, it turned out he had some skills. Of course, someone without skill couldn’t just sit back making videos and expect to live off it.

I pulled out my own phone and contacted the Korean Hunter Association President.

“President. Mind if I ask a favor?”

— What is it, oh… is this about that video that just went up? We’re preparing an official response at the Association…

So the Association was doing something, but…

“There’s no need. Instead, I’d like to upload a video of my own.”

After a pause, the President spoke in a cautious tone.

— Sorry, but I think I need to know what kind of video you’re planning.

“Oh come on, just watch. It’ll be more fun than you think.”

I briefly explained the video I wanted to shoot. The President’s reaction was heavily negative.

— Do you even realize how people will see you after that?

“What does it matter? It’s not like I’m filming a commercial.”

Image management was for people who earned money with their image. That didn’t apply to me.

— Still, you have to think about the future, man.

“I understand, but I’m going to keep taking down grade 1 Erosion Cores. There’s no need to think about my future”

Future? To hell with it. I could die the next time I went after grade 1s. Those who walked into danger didn’t plan for later. Because nobody knew what would happen.

— Damn it, you know, if you weren’t riding this wave of attention right now, I would’ve cursed you out from the start.

“Then I’m glad I am.”

The reason I asked for the Association’s cooperation was simple.

— So, you’re saying you’ll post a thirty second video on the Association’s official channel. And in it, you’ll call out to Hunter Sohwi, tell him if he has a problem to come fight you. Then if he agrees, you’ll livestream the duel?

“Yes, exactly. I’m glad you understood. I’ll need the Association’s help with filming once it’s up.”

“If he refuses, I’ll find another way.”

— So you really won’t back down huh.

This was the quickest, simplest way, which was why I asked for the Association’s help. If they refused, I’d have to set everything up on my own.

— Hell, I’d rather it happen under my watch. Fine. But if it blows up in your face, it’s on you.

“Thank you.”

With the President’s permission, I moved fast. I shot a short video, no fancy title needed.

[This is Yoo Chan-seok.]

That was enough.

“This is Yoo Chan-seok. I recently watched a hilarious video.”

I began with a greeting, then mentioned the video Sohwi had uploaded.

“I can’t stand people who have no skill but won’t shut up. Turns out this Sohwi is calling himself a Hunter.”

But the truth was, he hadn’t done a thing as a Hunter for the last two years. Just like Taebaek’s figurehead.

“Honestly, it’s disgusting. While other Hunters put their lives on the line fighting monsters, this guy has been holed up at home for years making videos mocking them. He must have no shame at all.”

In truth, I didn’t really find it that disgusting. Everyone had to survive. If you could live without danger, of course you’d take that path. But he chose to take shots at me. That was a declaration of war.

If someone wanted to fight, I had no reason to understand or respect them.

“Oh, and I’m not some hero manufactured by the government. Here’s the real secret.”

I scratched my head with an awkward face.

“I’m actually a human weapon raised by Hitler, who faked his suicide and went underground with the Illuminati to fight the Jewish financiers and the Freemasons.”

I lifted my middle finger at the camera.

“Sohwi, right? You little bastard. Try inciting people with words that make sense.”

Ahem. I cleared my throat.

“So what you’re saying is that I have no skill, and that my reputation is just hype, right?”

I got up and stepped closer to the camera.

“Then come here yourself and get your ass kicked. If you’re up for it, leave a reply. We’ll set a date and place, go live, and fight.”

That was the end of the video. I didn’t have any plans to make money with this anyway, so I kept my video short.

“Wait, are you seriously posting this on the Association’s official channel?”

The man filming looked at me with worry.

“Yes. I already cleared it with the President.”

Your boss gave the okay. What was there to worry about?

“Well, in that case, I guess I have nothing else to say.”

The video went straight up on the official Association channel. The President probably hated the idea, since posting a clip full of swearing and provocation damaged their reputation.

But refusing would’ve meant missing the advantages this would bring the Association.

“Chaos is coming.”

Sohwi waved his hand. Honestly, when he waved it, he hadn’t expected a high five in return.

Until now, Sohwi had kept making videos about other Hunters, and none of them reacted like me.

This time, I had swung back. All that was left was for the slap to land.

Sohwi wasn’t the only one making money off issue videos. And since I had responded, it was like a nuclear reaction. The ones in the same business weren’t going to ignore it. They’d all jump to make content.

The main question was clear. People wanted to know how Sohwi would respond to my declaration of war.

“Let’s see you defend yourself for once.”

I checked that the video was live on the official channel, then headed back toward the training room where Han Sang-ah and Jung Oh-hoon were practicing.

* * *

Sohwi sat staring at the comments on his newest upload. His face wasn’t bright. It couldn’t be.

“I’m screwed.”

This was a man who lived on attention. Of course he could predict what people were interested in and what they expected.

“This guy is insane. Why would the Association let that video through?”

The problem was the short video Yoo Chan-seok had posted on the Association’s channel. In those few seconds, it crammed in every possible way to grab attention. By cost-effectiveness, it was like a hearty rice bowl meal.

The video had directly targeted Sohwi, who had uploaded the clip about Yoo Chan-seok. Stop yapping, come out and fight. That was the simple content.

“I’m going to go insane.”

And Sohwi knew exactly how much that kind of simplicity excited people.

“Wait, but what good does that even do him?”

As expected, there were just as many comments criticizing Yoo Chan-seok as there were demanding Sohwi respond. People said his words were too crude, and questioned his character.

Hunters cared about their image. None of them would ever respond the way Yoo Chan-seok had. That was why Sohwi had felt safe posting his video.

But already, over thirty other clips had popped up online covering the clash between him and Yoo Chan-seok.

He couldn’t stay silent. His livelihood was on the line.