Chapter 70: Struggle for Supremacy (1)
Butcher is dead.
The supreme warrior who traveled the world hunting rankers.
Many believed it wouldn’t be long before he reached the high ranks.
After all, there were few hunters whose rankings were rising as quickly as Butcher's.
But to everyone's surprise, he was defeated and killed in an unexpected place.
And not by another ranker, but by a young hunter from Korea.
The next day, the news was filled with stories about him.
"[Ranker Killer, Hunted Down.]"
"[The Rise of the Ranker Killer's Killer.]"
"[Light Bringer Butchers Butcher.]"
"[Is Korea's Next Ranker Light Bringer?]"
Hyun Suho was the name on everyone's lips again, after the Dungeon Break incident.
Previously known only as a supporter for Silver Knight, this time, he had defeated Butcher in a one-on-one fight.
With this rare scoop, reporters scrambled to dig up information on Hyun Suho.
But no matter how hard they searched, they could find very little about him.
Oddly enough, there wasn’t even a single clear photograph of Hyun Suho.
The few that did exist only showed him in battle gear, with most of his face covered.
This was all thanks to Nova.
[I've erased all records online. No personal information will be leaked.]
"Well done."
Despite the unavoidable attention, Hyun Suho was still reluctant to be in the spotlight.
Even though he had hacked into the Hunter Association's records and altered his rating, there were still people who knew about him.
Especially since Japan and the Reus Knights were already targeting Korea's EX rank.
Thanks to Nova’s help, detailed information was kept under wraps, but the reporters were much more persistent than anticipated.
Upon learning that he lived in Wonsan, they camped outside his house, waiting for days.
Erasing all the photos of him had backfired—it made them even more determined.
The media outlet that could get the first photo of Hyun Suho's face would hit the jackpot, so they were prepared to stay up all night just to get a shot.
"This is practically stalking."
[The professional term is 'paparazzi.']
Fortunately, he had moved to another location, but he couldn’t just keep running away.
Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, heated debates about Hyun Suho erupted online.
★"Why Light Bringer is Overrated."
"I heard Light Bringer is only in his late 20s. No matter how much of a genius he is, it doesn't make sense for someone that age to defeat Butcher, who was ranked 370th. So I've got a few theories.
- First theory: It's all a scheme by Jinryong Group.
If he went to a VIP event, it’s certain that Light Bringer will join Jinryong Guild. I suspect they sacrificed Butcher to promote their rising star.
Isn’t it common knowledge that Jin Seo-yeon is an S-rank supporter? And there must have been a lot of buffers gathered there. They would have loaded Light Bringer up with buffs and top-tier equipment.
It’s basically a rigged matchup, right?
Butcher, on the other hand, was practically bare-handed. And that's not just my theory; it's mentioned in a few articles, so if you're curious, go check them out.
- Second theory: Butcher isn’t really dead; he faked it. He took money or special gear and escaped overseas.
With the money from the Jinryong Group, he could live comfortably for the rest of his life.
If you disagree, then you're just proving my point."
"These kinds of posts are everywhere?"
[Yes. This is one of the milder ones I found on the Hunter Gallery. I chose it because I thought it would be less shocking for you.]
"...This is the mild one?"
In fact, countless internet forums were ablaze with arguments over the fight between Hyun Suho and Butcher.
Among them, very few believed that Hyun Suho had defeated Butcher purely by skill.
When someone did suggest it, it was usually a troll or quickly buried under a barrage of criticism.
Most people were convinced that Hyun Suho had cheated or that Jinryong Group had pulled some strings.
If Butcher had been a low-ranked hunter in the 900s, some might have accepted the outcome.
But Butcher was a proven warrior who had killed more than ten fellow rankers.
It was hard for anyone to believe that a young hunter in his late 20s could have beaten him fair and square.
The more knowledgeable someone was about hunters and their power dynamics, the more firmly they believed this.
Hyun Suho scrolled through the comments under the post.
-"Of course this is true. How could Light Bringer beat a ranker? Not even a dog would believe that."
┕"Nope, I heard Light Bringer played a huge role in the last Rift Break. My cousin's a hunter who was there."
┕"Bullshit. I heard Silver Knight did all the work, and Light Bringer just tagged along."
┕"I was in the Rift Quest. Light Bringer chickened out and did nothing."
-"Is there really anyone dumb enough to believe that Light Bringer beat Butcher fair and square?"
┕"Who's Night Bringer? LOL, you confused him with Silver Knight? It's Light Bringer."
-"If he really took down a ranker at that age, he would’ve been famous long ago. No way a lackey for Silver Knight could beat Butcher."
┕"He's already famous. He lives in Wonsan, and Light Bringer is pretty well-known there."
┕"Yeah, right. Famous in a backwater town means nothing."
┕"What if he’s famous there? He’d just be another nobody in Seoul."
"...Over ten thousand comments?"
[Including other posts, there are well over a million comments.]
It was indeed a big incident.
On the internet, Hyun Suho had already been subjected to a public trial, branded as a fraud who used underhanded tactics to kill Butcher.
In truth, the reaction wasn’t all that surprising.
Even Hyun Suho himself would have been suspicious if a young, unknown hunter had fought and defeated a ranker.
At first, people were excited about the prospect of a new ranker emerging in Korea, but as time passed, the situation changed as rumors spread.
Many came to believe it was all a scheme by the Jinryong Group to promote their own hunter.
Despite being unfairly slandered, Hyun Suho wasn’t particularly upset.
"So that's why the stalkers have calmed down lately?"
[Most of the reporters have left. You should be able to go out now.]
“It’s really amazing. How could public opinion change so drastically in just a few days?”
Hyun Suho rarely spent time online.
He couldn’t help but be impressed by the power of these sites to sway public opinion so quickly.
At that, Nova smiled meaningfully.
[Hehe! I took care of that.]
"You did? How?"
[A third of the comments on your posts were written by me. I fanned the flames of false rumors and buried the sharp criticisms.]
"…How?"
[On the internet, I am invincible. Manipulating foolish humans is just a trivial pastime for me.]
So, a third of the comments criticizing Hyun Suho were actually from Nova.
Nova had skillfully varied the tone, so no one could suspect it was all from the same person.
After all, who would ever imagine that a cosmic-level AI was flooding the internet with posts and manipulating public opinion?
"Should I say… well done?"
[Of course, Master. My purpose is to support you.]
Even though it left a bitter taste in Hyun Suho's mouth, what could he do?
The deed was done, and in the end, it had worked in his favor.
[With this, people's interest has sharply declined. It's still too soon for your identity to be revealed. At least wait until you're level 8.]
Hyun Suho was still only at level 6.
Although he had leveled up unusually fast, he was still far behind the world’s top warriors.
Luckily, the battle with Butcher had worked in his favor.
His martial arts skills were now among the best in the world.
Butcher's mistake had been challenging Hyun Suho purely with strength, underestimating his body modifications, which enhanced his physical power with monster strength, and his mastery of Suho Swordsmanship.
Moreover, Hyun Suho had the Doom Eye's ability, which allowed him to defend against Butcher’s necromancy.
Even taking into account the favorable circumstances, Hyun Suho was far from weak.
He had even fought Butcher without using his Genocide ability.
Objectively speaking, Hyun Suho's combat power was already close to the ranker level.
He might rank within the top 500 at least.
But that also meant he still couldn’t compete with high-rankers.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t need to fear the high-rankers, of whom there were only 100 in the entire world.
But knowing that the Japanese government and the Reus Knights were after Korea's EX-rank hunter—who happened to be him—he couldn’t afford to relax.
"In the end, I need to become even stronger."
There was no avoiding it.
No matter how strong he got, it felt like there was always a bigger mountain in his way.
He had been lucky to reach level 6 quickly, but the next hurdle would undoubtedly be even tougher.
“Well, I have no choice.”
Contrary to his unease, Hyun Suho and his guild, Ex Machina, were growing steadily.
With their maritime trade and mermaid tourism businesses, they were already making a fortune.
Thanks to his mechanical creation skills, initial investments had been minimal, so their net profit was substantial.
Of course, they had to reinvest some of it to expand the guild, but that was inevitable.
"So, what's next on the schedule?"
[We're planning to develop a hunting ground in the Pyongyang area.]
"Are we setting up a guild branch in Pyongyang too?"
[Yes, as your level increases, we've added more Bipo units to manage.]
Bipos were essentially Hyun Suho's summoned creatures.
The experience points gained by the Bipo units all went to Hyun Suho.
Lately, if you looked at how he was gaining experience, dungeon clearing rewards were the top source, followed by the Bipo units.
His own hunting had dropped to third place.
Increasing the number of Bipo units would allow him to reach level 7 even faster.
"Alright. Let's go."
Even though Hyun Suho had become one of the world's top 1,000 strongest warriors, he still had no time to rest.
Hyun Suho purchased an eight-story building in Wonsan, which he was now using as the guild headquarters.
It was fortunate that he bought it early.
As relations with the mermaids improved, land prices in Wonsan City were rapidly rising.
The building was located by the coast, so it was heavily impacted by this increase. The value of the building had already jumped by 1.5 times.
There were rumors that the person who sold the building was bedridden with regret.
Now, it was officially the Ex Machina Guild building.
For some reason, people were gathering today, forming a long line from the first floor to outside the building.
It was the day they were recruiting new members for Ex Machina.
Although Hyun Suho's reputation had been tarnished by falsehoods, Ex Machina was still thriving.
Thanks to their relationships with the mermaids and other factors, it was no exaggeration to say that Ex Machina was now the most successful guild in Wonsan City.
Hunters from nearby cities flocked there after hearing the news.
Even after the first round of document screening, a large number of applicants remained.
The second test was an aptitude test.
Hyun Suho personally took on the role of the second-round examiner.
"Ahhhh!"
The applicant, who had extended his arm at Hyun Suho’s request, screamed and sprang up in shock.
He felt a burning pain where Hyun Suho had touched his arm.
“What… What are you doing?!”
The pain was so intense that the applicant protested loudly, examining his arm.
He expected to see blisters from the severe pain.
But surprisingly, his arm was completely fine—no blisters, not even a scratch.
“Huh?”
He turned his arm around, puzzled, but it was perfectly normal.
The pain had already vanished as if it had never been there.
It was almost embarrassing that he had screamed.
Unfazed by the reaction, Hyun Suho spoke indifferently.
“Rejected. Next.”
Startled, the man exclaimed,
“What kind of criteria is this? I can’t accept this.”
He had only extended his arm for what was supposed to be an aptitude test.
Being rejected right away, of course, he protested.
“I came all the way from Ilsan just to apply!”
“That’s not our guild’s concern. You’ve failed the test, so please leave. We’ll, of course, compensate you generously for your time.”
Finally, the applicant, enraged, shouted,
“Shut up! How could I possibly fail in a lousy guild like this?!”
He was a level 4 hunter in his early thirties.
Although he wasn’t exceptional, he had the credentials to get into a mid-tier guild.
Fuming with anger, he hurled a chair.
Then...
Swoosh!
Before anyone realized it, Hyun Suho caught the flying chair with one hand.
With his other hand, he grabbed the man by the collar.
"Gah!"
The man, struggling to breathe, thrashed around as Hyun Suho gave a low warning,
“If you cause any more trouble, I’ll strip you down to your underwear and throw you out. So, shut up and leave.”
Tears welled up in the man’s eyes as he quickly nodded.
He had heard the rumors about Light Bringer.
Moreover, since he was applying to Ex Machina, where Hyun Suho was the guild master, he should have known better.
However, due to Nova's control, Hyun Suho's photo had never been leaked, so the man didn’t recognize his face.
He never imagined Hyun Suho would be the second-round examiner.
As the applicant fled the interview room, Hyun Suho sighed and sat back down.
"Something’s off. There are way more unqualified people than I expected."
[Could it be that the criteria set by the Sacred Flame are too strict?]
The power that had caused the applicant pain earlier was the Sacred Flame, which Hyun Suho had obtained after rescuing the Phoenix.
It was a flame that burns away corruption, impurity, and evil.
By using it, Hyun Suho could identify those with evil hearts.
It was almost comical to use such a powerful ability, one that could burn down entire nations, merely as a personality screening tool, but it was undeniably effective.
It allowed him to weed out the trash trying to enter the guild.
“There are more than twice as many as I anticipated, don’t you think something’s wrong?”
While it was true that the Sacred Flame’s standards were strict, the numbers far exceeded expectations.
At first, Hyun Suho thought it was just a coincidence, but as time went on, he couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.
This was the intuition of Hyun Suho, who even possessed the ability to foresee the future.
It was not something he could simply ignore.
“Is someone… trying to mess with the guild?”
