Chapter 182: Episode 182

After Park Jeongyang announced the new Association President, Frost began his speech before the reporters. He slowly chose his words, then, unable to hold back his tears, briefly buried his face in his hands. The barrage of camera shutters was insane.

“I can’t forget Association President Hong Yul’s final moments.”

Frost was a master of speeches and performance. His vivid stories made the entire audience hold its breath, and his rational explanations made them nod in agreement without even realizing it. His way of speaking had a strange charm.

The former president, Hong Yul, had a strong image of being reckless. That’s why the image of this smart and gentlemanly young hunter came across as incredibly fresh to the public and the reporters.

“The Republic of Korea can rise again.” Frost clenched his fist, his face flushed. “I will make a promise to the nation right here and now! In three years, just three years, I will transform the Republic of Korea into the top hunter powerhouse in Asia!”

A resolute tone, eyes full of conviction, confident gestures—everyone present was falling under Frost’s spell.

“We possess the best prospects that the entire world envies, including the generation of the Three Great Labyrinths. Within a changed hunter development process, the budding talents of the Republic of Korea will grow with more support than ever before. Please do not be disappointed that we are no longer a nation with a certified rank-1 hunter. This incident will be an opportunity for many more future powerful hunters to emerge! No longer is Korea a nation led by a single, extraordinary elite!”

He spread his arms wide. “All for one! Now, all of us are the Republic of Korea!”

“Raaaaah!”

A standing ovation erupted from all corners.

Frost finished his speech and stepped down from the podium, where President Park Jeongyang was waiting for him.

“That was an impressive speech.”

When Park offered his hand, Frost bowed deeply and accepted it respectfully with both hands.

“I will be sure to make the most of the opportunity you’ve given me, Mr. President. I will not disappoint you.”

“Hahaha!”

A smile never left Park Jeongyang’s face. It was evident he thought this was how it should be and that this is how an Association President should be. He was sick and tired of a president who was always glaring like she was about to kill someone, spitting on the floor right in front of him, and spewing vile profanities.

“Ahem, and about that… item…”

“Ah, please don’t worry about that! I’ll have it sent over to you, all cleaned up.”

“I like how quick on the uptake you are.”

Of course, in exchange for making this man the new Association President, Park Jeongyang had naturally received enough financial support for his descendants to live in luxury for generations.

“I’m putting my trust in you.”

“You can count on me, sir.”

* * *

I checked the player community forum for the first time in a while. Opinions on the new Association President, Frost, were sharply divided.

Among the posts, one video had the most views.

[Re-evaluating Association President Frost’s Character.]

Curious, I played the video. The quality was poor, as if it had been filmed on a cell phone at the scene.

Hong Yul sat with her legs crossed arrogantly while Frost knelt before her, pleading.

“My people are trapped in that dungeon. They are my precious family, who have lived and struggled alongside me at Unix. How can I just stand by and do nothing! If you cannot trust us, then at least grant us permission to enter with you!”

“Hey, do you seriously want to di…?”

The video cut off as Hong Yul erupted in anger.

’So that’s what happened.’

I immediately checked the comments below.

—Yeah, ’this’ is what an Association President should be like.

—Honestly, Hong Yul is just a thug. Her personality is rotten. Are there still any suckers worshipping her just because she’s rank-1?

—I’m seeing Frost in a new light. I thought he was just some arrogant rich kid, but look at him, kneeling and begging to protect his people. That’s the kind of person who should be president.

—That’s just Hong Yul being Hong Yul. Frost, who values his organization over his own ego, is a much better leader.

—Let’s be real, both the Labyrinth incident and this Immortal Disaster have proven that Hong Yul and the Hunter Association are disgustingly incompetent.

A fierce debate raged across the internet, but on this video at least, the overwhelming consensus was that Frost was the better choice. Other posts began to surface—cobbled-together compilations of Hong Yul’s most reckless actions—and the number of people defending him grew steadily.

Reading the comments left a bitter taste in my mouth.

’Becoming a legend doesn’t mean a thing, does it?’

Her methods may have been extreme, but no other hunter had ever run themselves so ragged out of a sense of duty. It was repulsive to see people who had contributed nothing to humanity so viciously tear down her life’s work.

And above all else, there was the impending rank-11 Disaster, Nemesis. Whether Hong Yul was right or wrong, was it even possible to stop it without her help?

’I can’t just sit here and do nothing.’

It seemed the Magic Tower would have to make its move.

I refused to believe that someone like Hong Yul would die in a dungeon. It was far more likely that the gate had simply closed, leaving her with no way out. According to Jeong Seojin, all the dungeons that appeared during this Disaster were interconnected. In short, a single, vast continent existed as a dungeon, and the gates on Earth were merely its various entrances.

In theory, one could enter through the Miryang Gate and exit through the Hongcheon Gate.

Of course, it wasn’t nearly as simple as it sounded. Inside a dungeon, communication was impossible, there were no maps, the terrain was treacherous, and countless monsters lay in wait. Finding an exit was like searching for a needle in a haystack. Furthermore, all the dungeons in Korea had already been cleared. There was a good reason everyone considered the missing hunters to be as good as dead.

But the Magic Tower still had an option: the Sixth-floor Trial.

’I thought I was going to lose my mind searching for a dungeon suitable for the Sixth-floor Trial.’

According to Anton’s diary, the Sixth-floor Trial was on the “grandest scale” of all the trials so far. Recreating it within the narrow confines of the tower was impossible; this trial had to be activated from inside a dungeon.

’This is it.’

In my hand was a small, hard object that looked like a black bean. When I’d reached the sixth floor to confirm the contents of Anton’s diary, the usual player message had appeared.

[The magic of the trial is encroaching upon this space.]

[You must pass the trial to advance to the next floor.]

[Will you challenge the trial?]

The moment I accepted, this tiny black bean had dropped from the trial space. It looked like a simple bean, but it was the trigger. Only by activating it in a dungeon of sufficient scale would the grand Sixth-floor Trial begin. Clearing the trial would simultaneously count as clearing the dungeon, granting me access to its core. Once I got that far, I could hack the dungeon, find Hong Yul, teleport to her location, and escape with her.

“Tower Master.”

As I was finalizing the details on the ninth floor, Ea appeared, her silver hair fluttering. “Frost has revealed his true colors.”

“What? Already?”

“Yes. He has introduced a series of new policies to the hunter world.”

When Frost first became president, one of the more cynical opinions had been, ‘What’s really going to change?’ The assumption was that he was all talk and nothing would be different.

But Frost had brazenly proven them wrong.

’This guy…’

I let out a hollow laugh as I read the text Ea displayed on the holographic screen. This wasn’t something he could have prepared overnight. The sheer volume was immense, and the content was radical. Frost had been preparing to become the association president for a very long time.

[Mandatory Uniforms for all Hunters.]

’A three-month grace period will be implemented. All hunters in the Republic of Korea will be required to wear standardized uniforms to instill a sense of belonging and unity.’

Currently, hunters were free to wear what they wanted. In official settings, the dress code was a formal suit or a non-revealing, solid-colored hunter suit. But this new policy controlled everything from casual wear to combat gear. The state would now regulate all hunter suits in the Republic of Korea. While their functions might differ, their external appearance, color, and emblems would be unified. If a hunter required a specialized personal suit due to their abilities, they would have to wear the official Association uniform over it. Only when entering a dungeon or engaging in combat could they use their original gear.

’A complete deprivation of freedom. And next is…’

[Establishment of a Unified Hunter Code of Conduct.]

The title was vague, but the details revealed it was an extension of the previous policy. While hunters had a ranking system, there were no legally defined rules requiring them to salute higher-ranked hunters or treat them as superiors. Their relationships were more like those of senior and junior colleagues in the same industry.

But now, it was a regulation. Like soldiers, lower-ranked hunters were required to salute their superiors, and the official salutation was standardized as “Loyalty.” A command-and-obedience relationship was now legally enforced.

Furthermore, the policy included detailed regulations on appearance, such as hairstyle. For male hunters, bangs could not cover the eyebrows, and the sides of their hair had to be half an inch or shorter. Perms and dyed hair were forbidden, as were beards. For female hunters, there were regulations on skirt length, heel height, and hairstyle. Long hair had to be neatly contained in a hairnet. In effect, a duty to maintain decorum was now imposed on all hunters.

’…It’s like an army. A goddamn army.’

There was also a provision mandating training periods for rank-4 and rank-5 hunters, requiring them to attend at least twice a month during the initial implementation. The official reason was hunter training, but in reality, it would be nothing more than a military disciplinary camp.

[Restructuring of Hunter Revenue Streams.]

[Control of Hunter Commercialization.]

These policies increased the tax on the sale of magic stones and put all private missions under the Association’s control. All civilian requests had to be submitted to the Association, not to individual guilds or hunter offices. Hunters were now obligated to report all income to the state, whether from hunting grounds or dungeons, with failure to comply resulting in charges of tax evasion, with even heavier penalties for hunters. The intent was clearly to limit hunters’ sources of revenue and shift their loyalty from the guilds that paid them to the Association and the state.

’Wow, this is going to cause some serious backlash.’

Over time, hunters’ incomes had diversified; very few lived solely on the sale of magic stones. Now, the Association would collect all income from missions and dungeon raids, then distribute it as a salary. It even included a minimum wage and a pension. It was as if all hunters in the Republic of Korea, not just those affiliated with the Association, were becoming public officials.

This was a stark contrast to existing guild policies, and every single guild was taking a direct hit. The guild masters who had been secretly hopeful about one of their own becoming president must have felt like they’d been struck by lightning.

The more I read, the more shocked I became.

’…Wow, this bastard is truly insane.’

Frost’s goal was the complete militarization of hunters. While this was a growing global trend, it was a radical departure from the modern concept of “Hunting = Business.” It was a thoroughly nationalistic policy, a system that prioritized the state above all else and granted it extensive control over every aspect of hunting. Hunters would no longer fight for personal gain, but solely for the safety of the country and its people.

“Are you seeing this, Tower Master?”

Ea and I turned. Jeong Seojin was ascending to the ninth floor, his expression grave.

“Yeah. You saw it too?”

“Yes.” He adjusted his glasses. “He intends to turn all the hunters of the Republic of Korea into the Unix Group’s private army.”

Jeong Seojin’s assessment was even more blunt than mine.

* * *

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