Feeling more confident, Hong Euiyoon made a suggestion with a brighter expression.
"Why not just increase the number of participants? Only 400 people? That's way too few. Awakened ones are all going to want to apply; shouldn't it be at least 1,000?"
"There's no need to let more in. It's better to have fewer people dying."
"People dying…? Why do you have to put it like that?"
Hong Euiyoon shrank back, feeling dejected.
As Yoon Seo spoke, he suddenly felt overwhelmed by the thought that he might really end up having to deal with 400 corpses. In truth, he believed that the number could be reduced even further. One hundred would be enough. But both the Alliance and Seokyoung were desperate to push for more participants.
"..."
Yoon Seo pulled a pill bottle out of his pocket. Kwon Jihan quickly opened the water bottle cap and handed it to him. As Yoon Seo swallowed three pills with water, Hong Euiyoon, Soo Jaehee, and Park Soobin stared at him.
"…What?"
Yoon Seo raised an eyebrow as he tucked the pill bottle away. Park Soobin muttered with a conflicted expression.
"It was hard seeing Yoon Seo take medicine back when I didn't know he was Seo Chaeyoon… but knowing now that Seo Chaeyoon, the one who saved the world 10 years ago, has to live with trauma and rely on those pills, my heart just…"
Park Soobin couldn't even finish his sentence. Soo Jaehee and Hong Euiyoon wore similar expressions, a mixture of regret and helplessness.
Just moments ago, they had been talking excitedly about the Great Dungeon, but now they had fallen silent, as if walking on eggshells around Yoon Seo. There was no need for them to be so sensitive.
'This isn't going to keep happening, right?'
Yoon Seo disliked this kind of tension. It would feel far too uncomfortable if it continued.
"Hyung, let's go home."
"…Yes, let's."
Seeing the atmosphere, Kwon Jihan, who had been watching, stood up and ended the situation.
Yoon Seo and Kwon Jihan headed down to the parking lot.
"Hyung, you're too popular with younger guys."
Just before they parted ways, Kwon Jihan made the remark. He didn't seem to be in a good mood. Yoon Seo shook his head.
"That's not true."
"Of course it is. Soo Jaehee, Hong Euiyoon, Park Soobin. All three of them are younger than you."
"I'm also popular with older people."
"…Ugh, damn it. That's annoying because it's true."
Kwon Jihan ruffled his hair roughly, frustrated. The sudden movement startled Riceball, who had been dozing on top of his head, causing it to bite Kwon Jihan's finger. Of course, it didn't leave any mark on his skin.
"Ah, Riceball. I almost took you with me."
Kwon Jihan handed Riceball, which was dangling from his finger, over to Yoon Seo. Riceball slipped into Yoon Seo's nape.
"Now that I think about it, that item is also younger. Hyung, are you a collector of younger ones?"
"Are you kidding? Don't be childish. Plus, you have way more popularity, Kwon Jihan. Your SNS followers have surpassed 300 million, and you've been ranked first for years as the hunter people want to eat with, the hunter they want to date, and the hunter they wish wouldn't get married."
"…Really? When did you find all that out?"
"You don't have to search for it. Just type in Kwon Jihan's name, and it pops right up."
"I see. So, my name comes up when searched."
Kwon Jihan seemed to be in a good mood, grinning widely. It was a striking and refreshing smile.
"Now you should head inside. I have a lot to do at home."
"Okay. Be careful going back, hyung. I'll come pick you up tomorrow morning."
"You're coming all the way to my place? Let's just meet in Yeoju."
"See you tomorrow."
Kwon Jihan waved goodbye and got into his car. The AI car named Chewy Barley passed by Yoon Seo.
Why bother picking me up when we could just meet in Yeoju? We both have perfectly good cars.
Even as he thought this, Yoon Seo felt good.
***
Beep?
Riceball tapped Yoon Seo's nose with its snout. It seemed fascinated since it was seeing baking for the first time. Yoon Seo added more butter than usual to make enough for Riceball and said, "Riceball, you can't get hair in it, so can you turn back into your dagger form for a moment?"
Beep!
Riceball curled up and suddenly transformed. It became a small black lizard with blue eyes, only about the size of a palm.
"Our Riceball is so well-behaved."
Beep.
The lizard jumped onto Yoon Seo's wrist and crawled up his arm. The lizard, which had been peeking from his shoulder, slid down along his spine. Yoon Seo let Riceball wander around his body.
While the cookies were baking in the oven, he had more to do. Yoon Seo logged into Kwon Jihan's SNS. In fact, he had been checking it repeatedly for several nights.
@JIHAN_S
Does the S stand for S-rank? Yoon Seo thought Kwon Jihan's ID had a nice ring to it.
@yoonyoon
Yoon Seo contemplated adding _s to the end of his ID but gave up because he was too lazy to edit it.
Most of the posts on Kwon Jihan's account were for official purposes. There were promotions for Seokyoung's official events, alerts for evacuations due to the flood bell ringing, and bragging about achievements in the recent raid.
Yoon Seo sifted through all 420 of the official announcements and found three personal posts.
[JIHAN_S]
(photo)
Sebastian and David, who are now beyond the rainbow.
[JIHAN_S]
(photo)
During the S-rank Red Dungeon briefing.
[JIHAN_S]
(photo)
Thank you to my fan club members.
However, from now on, I will not accept any lunch boxes or gifts except for letters.
Please stop; it's a bit much.
There were exactly three. When Yoon Seo saw the last post, he found it so cute that he took a screenshot. Every time he looked at it, it was so adorable that he ended up with five identical screenshots saved in his photo album.
"Why did he stop using SNS? He should keep going…"
Bee?
"It's nothing."
Yoon Seo entered his SNS account. He had created the account to fulfill his promise of reaching 10,000 followers. In truth, it wasn't that he found it difficult to achieve this promise. He discovered that there were companies that could provide as many followers as one wanted. If he wanted to clear it, he could do so tomorrow by simply contacting one of those companies.
However, he knew that what the Revengers truly wanted was not to acquire followers in such a simple manner, which left him contemplating. He felt guilty but was torn between taking the easy route or the proud but difficult path.
'Since I might die in the Great Dungeon, I should at least fulfill the promise as much as possible before going in.'
Yoon Seo checked what others were posting on SNS. Hong Euiyoon's posts were too emotional for his taste, making them unsuitable for reference. Park Soobin didn't use SNS, and Soo Jaehee only posted pictures of food and animals. He also checked Goh Heewon and Park Youngbum's accounts, which were constantly updated with new posts.
[GOHEE1]
Instructions for actions during the Great Dungeon explosion (link)
[GOHEE1]
I felt anxious, but now it seems okay, and then suddenly anxious again.
[GOHEE1]
Expected raid list for the Great Dungeon_HunterNet version 1 (link)
[GOHEE1]
If Seo Chaeyoon, Kwon Jihan, and Yoo Juncheol all go, won't our country be empty? 😉
[pak0TIGER]
RT [GOHEE1] Expected raid list for the Great Dungeon_HunterNet version 1 (link)
[pak0TIGER]
S-grade explosion evacuation map (photo)
[pak0TIGER]
Current situation at the mart… (photo)
There's less hoarding than expected.
People are just going home normally.
The online community isn't too scared either.
Citizen awareness seems to be improving ^^
Speaking of the online community, there was only one place: HunterNet. Yoon Seo logged in since he also had an account there.
Time of post: 21:01, 120 new posts.
More than a hundred posts were being uploaded every minute. Yoon Seo clicked on the visible posts with a click of his tongue.
[Title: There was a reason for SCY's return]
I have an acquaintance in SY.
About a year ago? They started a tracking team for SCY back then.
I wondered why, but it turns out there was a reason.
┗So does that mean SY knew about the Great Dungeon appearing a year ago?
┗┗Yeah, it seems that Seokyoung and most major guilds probably knew.
┗┗┗Rainbow just announced that they only found out today.
┗SY suddenly recruiting a lot of S-grade hunters seems to be because of this.
┗Honestly, Kwon Jihan and the S-grade hunters probably got the word beforehand, right? Haha.
┗┗The Rainbow vice guild master said he only heard about it three hours before the announcement.
┗I really hope fewer people from our country participate this time. The list circulating right now has mostly our people, and it's kind of annoying. Haha, it's time for other countries to participate fairly~~ Ten years ago, our country suffered too much. Why do we have to send so many people again? Haha.
┗┗To say that isn't fair considering the current national power disparity… The power gap between our country, the U.S., and Europe is 5 to 8 times. Other countries have an explosion and flood frequency 5 times higher than ours… We just don't have enough hunters. There's no choice but for our hunters to go in large numbers.ㅠㅠ
┗┗It's because our country is the strongest, so it can't be helped.
┗┗┗If we're the strongest, shouldn't we be protecting other countries?
┗┗┗┗That's a dangerous way of thinking. By that logic, hunters wouldn't have to protect non-awakened individuals either.^^;
[Title: What the Hell is a Hunter?]
Right now, both Hong Euiyoon and Jo Mani are posting that they're applying for the new Great Dungeon.
I seriously don't understand.
Why are they applying?
It's not like they're being forced to accompany anyone; why are they putting their lives on the line like this?????
If I were a hunter, I would just be hiding and hoping others would solve the problem for me…
┗Yeah, everyone thinks like you do. I guess that's only natural.
That's why we're non-awakened.
And that's why they're awakened.
And that's why the number of awakened ones is so small…
┗The awakened must think the same way about us… I seriously don't get it. Why on earth don't they risk their lives fighting monsters for the sake of the world? How could they not step forward?
Feeling more confident, Hong Euiyoon made a suggestion with a brighter expression.
"Why not just increase the number of participants? Only 400 people? That's way too few. Awakened ones are all going to want to apply; shouldn't it be at least 1,000?"
"There's no need to let more in. It's better to have fewer people dying."
"People dying…? Why do you have to put it like that?"
Hong Euiyoon shrank back, feeling dejected.
As Yoon Seo spoke, he suddenly felt overwhelmed by the thought that he might really end up having to deal with 400 corpses. In truth, he believed that the number could be reduced even further. One hundred would be enough. But both the Alliance and Seokyoung were desperate to push for more participants.
"..."
Yoon Seo pulled a pill bottle out of his pocket. Kwon Jihan quickly opened the water bottle cap and handed it to him. As Yoon Seo swallowed three pills with water, Hong Euiyoon, Soo Jaehee, and Park Soobin stared at him.
"…What?"
Yoon Seo raised an eyebrow as he tucked the pill bottle away. Park Soobin muttered with a conflicted expression.
"It was hard seeing Yoon Seo take medicine back when I didn't know he was Seo Chaeyoon… but knowing now that Seo Chaeyoon, the one who saved the world 10 years ago, has to live with trauma and rely on those pills, my heart just…"
Park Soobin couldn't even finish his sentence. Soo Jaehee and Hong Euiyoon wore similar expressions, a mixture of regret and helplessness.
Just moments ago, they had been talking excitedly about the Great Dungeon, but now they had fallen silent, as if walking on eggshells around Yoon Seo. There was no need for them to be so sensitive.
'This isn't going to keep happening, right?'
Yoon Seo disliked this kind of tension. It would feel far too uncomfortable if it continued.
"Hyung, let's go home."
"…Yes, let's."
Seeing the atmosphere, Kwon Jihan, who had been watching, stood up and ended the situation.
Yoon Seo and Kwon Jihan headed down to the parking lot.
"Hyung, you're too popular with younger guys."
Just before they parted ways, Kwon Jihan made the remark. He didn't seem to be in a good mood. Yoon Seo shook his head.
"That's not true."
"Of course it is. Soo Jaehee, Hong Euiyoon, Park Soobin. All three of them are younger than you."
"I'm also popular with older people."
"…Ugh, damn it. That's annoying because it's true."
Kwon Jihan ruffled his hair roughly, frustrated. The sudden movement startled Riceball, who had been dozing on top of his head, causing it to bite Kwon Jihan's finger. Of course, it didn't leave any mark on his skin.
"Ah, Riceball. I almost took you with me."
Kwon Jihan handed Riceball, which was dangling from his finger, over to Yoon Seo. Riceball slipped into Yoon Seo's nape.
"Now that I think about it, that item is also younger. Hyung, are you a collector of younger ones?"
"Are you kidding? Don't be childish. Plus, you have way more popularity, Kwon Jihan. Your SNS followers have surpassed 300 million, and you've been ranked first for years as the hunter people want to eat with, the hunter they want to date, and the hunter they wish wouldn't get married."
"…Really? When did you find all that out?"
"You don't have to search for it. Just type in Kwon Jihan's name, and it pops right up."
"I see. So, my name comes up when searched."
Kwon Jihan seemed to be in a good mood, grinning widely. It was a striking and refreshing smile.
"Now you should head inside. I have a lot to do at home."
"Okay. Be careful going back, hyung. I'll come pick you up tomorrow morning."
"You're coming all the way to my place? Let's just meet in Yeoju."
"See you tomorrow."
Kwon Jihan waved goodbye and got into his car. The AI car named Chewy Barley passed by Yoon Seo.
Why bother picking me up when we could just meet in Yeoju? We both have perfectly good cars.
Even as he thought this, Yoon Seo felt good.
***
Beep?
Riceball tapped Yoon Seo's nose with its snout. It seemed fascinated since it was seeing baking for the first time. Yoon Seo added more butter than usual to make enough for Riceball and said, "Riceball, you can't get hair in it, so can you turn back into your dagger form for a moment?"
Beep!
Riceball curled up and suddenly transformed. It became a small black lizard with blue eyes, only about the size of a palm.
"Our Riceball is so well-behaved."
Beep.
The lizard jumped onto Yoon Seo's wrist and crawled up his arm. The lizard, which had been peeking from his shoulder, slid down along his spine. Yoon Seo let Riceball wander around his body.
While the cookies were baking in the oven, he had more to do. Yoon Seo logged into Kwon Jihan's SNS. In fact, he had been checking it repeatedly for several nights.
@JIHAN_S
Does the S stand for S-rank? Yoon Seo thought Kwon Jihan's ID had a nice ring to it.
@yoonyoon
Yoon Seo contemplated adding _s to the end of his ID but gave up because he was too lazy to edit it.
Most of the posts on Kwon Jihan's account were for official purposes. There were promotions for Seokyoung's official events, alerts for evacuations due to the flood bell ringing, and bragging about achievements in the recent raid.
Yoon Seo sifted through all 420 of the official announcements and found three personal posts.
[JIHAN_S]
(photo)
Sebastian and David, who are now beyond the rainbow.
[JIHAN_S]
(photo)
During the S-rank Red Dungeon briefing.
[JIHAN_S]
(photo)
Thank you to my fan club members.
However, from now on, I will not accept any lunch boxes or gifts except for letters.
Please stop; it's a bit much.
There were exactly three. When Yoon Seo saw the last post, he found it so cute that he took a screenshot. Every time he looked at it, it was so adorable that he ended up with five identical screenshots saved in his photo album.
"Why did he stop using SNS? He should keep going…"
Bee?
"It's nothing."
Yoon Seo entered his SNS account. He had created the account to fulfill his promise of reaching 10,000 followers. In truth, it wasn't that he found it difficult to achieve this promise. He discovered that there were companies that could provide as many followers as one wanted. If he wanted to clear it, he could do so tomorrow by simply contacting one of those companies.
However, he knew that what the Revengers truly wanted was not to acquire followers in such a simple manner, which left him contemplating. He felt guilty but was torn between taking the easy route or the proud but difficult path.
'Since I might die in the Great Dungeon, I should at least fulfill the promise as much as possible before going in.'
Yoon Seo checked what others were posting on SNS. Hong Euiyoon's posts were too emotional for his taste, making them unsuitable for reference. Park Soobin didn't use SNS, and Soo Jaehee only posted pictures of food and animals. He also checked Goh Heewon and Park Youngbum's accounts, which were constantly updated with new posts.
[GOHEE1]
Instructions for actions during the Great Dungeon explosion (link)
[GOHEE1]
I felt anxious, but now it seems okay, and then suddenly anxious again.
[GOHEE1]
Expected raid list for the Great Dungeon_HunterNet version 1 (link)
[GOHEE1]
If Seo Chaeyoon, Kwon Jihan, and Yoo Juncheol all go, won't our country be empty? 😉
[pak0TIGER]
RT [GOHEE1] Expected raid list for the Great Dungeon_HunterNet version 1 (link)
[pak0TIGER]
S-grade explosion evacuation map (photo)
[pak0TIGER]
Current situation at the mart… (photo)
There's less hoarding than expected.
People are just going home normally.
The online community isn't too scared either.
Citizen awareness seems to be improving ^^
Speaking of the online community, there was only one place: HunterNet. Yoon Seo logged in since he also had an account there.
Time of post: 21:01, 120 new posts.
More than a hundred posts were being uploaded every minute. Yoon Seo clicked on the visible posts with a click of his tongue.
[Title: There was a reason for SCY's return]
I have an acquaintance in SY.
About a year ago? They started a tracking team for SCY back then.
I wondered why, but it turns out there was a reason.
┗So does that mean SY knew about the Great Dungeon appearing a year ago?
┗┗Yeah, it seems that Seokyoung and most major guilds probably knew.
┗┗┗Rainbow just announced that they only found out today.
┗SY suddenly recruiting a lot of S-grade hunters seems to be because of this.
┗Honestly, Kwon Jihan and the S-grade hunters probably got the word beforehand, right? Haha.
┗┗The Rainbow vice guild master said he only heard about it three hours before the announcement.
┗I really hope fewer people from our country participate this time. The list circulating right now has mostly our people, and it's kind of annoying. Haha, it's time for other countries to participate fairly~~ Ten years ago, our country suffered too much. Why do we have to send so many people again? Haha.
┗┗To say that isn't fair considering the current national power disparity… The power gap between our country, the U.S., and Europe is 5 to 8 times. Other countries have an explosion and flood frequency 5 times higher than ours… We just don't have enough hunters. There's no choice but for our hunters to go in large numbers.ㅠㅠ
┗┗It's because our country is the strongest, so it can't be helped.
┗┗┗If we're the strongest, shouldn't we be protecting other countries?
┗┗┗┗That's a dangerous way of thinking. By that logic, hunters wouldn't have to protect non-awakened individuals either.^^;
[Title: What the Hell is a Hunter?]
Right now, both Hong Euiyoon and Jo Mani are posting that they're applying for the new Great Dungeon.
I seriously don't understand.
Why are they applying?
It's not like they're being forced to accompany anyone; why are they putting their lives on the line like this?????
If I were a hunter, I would just be hiding and hoping others would solve the problem for me…
┗Yeah, everyone thinks like you do. I guess that's only natural.
That's why we're non-awakened.
And that's why they're awakened.
And that's why the number of awakened ones is so small…
┗The awakened must think the same way about us… I seriously don't get it. Why on earth don't they risk their lives fighting monsters for the sake of the world? How could they not step forward?