Fridge

The clones couldn't stay focused for even 10 minutes no matter how good the lecture I put on was.

If I even looked away for a moment, they somehow noticed and immediately switched the channel to some provocative Shorts.

In the end, I changed the direction of clone training.

I hadn't given up on the dream of effortless auto-hunting.

I had only decided to use my head a little more.

After thinking it over, I bought another cheap spare smartphone.

Then I looked for a harmful-content filter app for minors in the app store.

“Looks like this one has zero stars, so it must be the best.”

As a rule, apps like this are guaranteed to work best the lower their rating is and the more profanity there is in the reviews.

The reviews were full of insults telling them to stop violating students' human rights.

Human rights? What human rights do clones have?

From now on, the only things the clone could watch were the educational videos I approved.

I set a few mini-clones, shrunk to palm size, on the desk and propped a locked phone up in front of them.

“All right, today's lesson is this.”

Today's video was a spear-fighting tutorial.

I handed each of them a toothpick to use as a weapon.

“As expected, the best weapon is the spear.”

It's easy to learn, and its power is maximized when used in formation.

For someone like me, who would be controlling a large number of sand clones, a spear suited me better than a sword.

Probably.

It was the same argument I'd read to death every time Hunter Gallery went to war over the “sword vs. spear” bait topic.

“Now, concentrate properly and follow along.”

The mini-clones began staring intently at the martial artist moving on the screen.

A few of them stood up and started imitating the movements.

The motions were still clumsy.

But they were definitely improving little by little.

“Yes, that's how you learn, slowly.”

Smiling in satisfaction, I sat down at the computer as always.

From here on, I'd leave those guys to handle the combat training themselves.

Time to focus on my real job.

As always, I logged into Hunter Gallery.

“Let's see if there's anything fun today....”

I needed some fresh bait.

I was scrolling mindlessly when....

“Huh?”

A title stood out glaringly in Hunter Gallery's featured-post list.

A post with abnormally high views and recommendations, giving off an ominous vibe.

I clicked it without hesitation.

[Title : Exposing the Atrocities of A-Rank Hunter Eun Mirae.]

Hello, Hunter Gallery.

I'm just an ordinary guy in my twenties, like anyone else.

I can no longer keep this to myself, so I'm writing this with all the courage I can muster.

The person I'm accusing is Ms. Eun Mirae, an A-rank ice mage and researcher at a government-affiliated research institute.

Eun Mirae recruited test subjects by telling ordinary people like me that they could awaken as Hunters.

But the true nature of that experiment was horrific torture.

Participants, including myself, were forced for 30 days in a completely sealed facility to do the following.

Force-fed a bowl of dirt every day for 30 days.

Giving us electric shocks every day for 30 days—just enough to keep us alive....

And on top of that, we suffered other horrific things I can't even bring myself to mention.

We endured those hellish days only because we had one hope: that we might become Hunters.

But after 30 days, not a single one of us awakened.

They lied to us.

They used their status as A-rank Hunters to treat ordinary people like us as lab rats.

Everyone, please help us.

Please give this a recommendation once so it can spread far and wide and the proper punishment can be dealt.

I finished reading the post and stared blankly at the screen for a while.

I realized it right away.

“This.... That's my story.”

The comment from that mage-villain I'd copied.

The one that said if you ate dirt, you could become an earth mage, and if you got shocked, you could become a lightning mage.

You actually tried that for real? And with ordinary people, no less?

Sure enough, the comments section was already burning hot.

ㄴ If it's real, isn't that insane?

ㄴ [Reporter] Hello, this is a reporter from XX Daily. Please send the details by email.

ㄴ It's probably fake, right? Why would an A-rank Hunter do something like that?

ㄴ There's no proof at all. What are we supposed to believe?

ㄴ I'm staying neutral for now.

The gallery was a chaotic mess of curses and insults, claims that it was fake, and reporters sniffing around for a scoop.

It was total mayhem.

Comments were piling up several times faster than usual.

The situation was spiraling out of control.

After the gallery had been burning hot for quite a while.

A new featured post popped up.

The author was none other than Eun Mirae herself.

[Title : I'm Eun Mirae. I'm here to explain the current controversy.]

The explanation that followed was extremely reasonable and logically sound.

First, the experiment was not coercive torture, but a proper research project conducted by mutual consent.

Second, all participants had been fully informed beforehand of the experiment's details and risks.

They had also personally signed a contract stating the possibility of awakening failure and physical and mental aftereffects.

Third, each participant was paid more than 1 billion won upfront.

Fourth, throughout the experiment, healers were on standby 24 hours a day and checked each participant's health one-on-one in case of emergencies.

Also, to this day, not a single participant has reported any disability or health issues.

Finally, fifth, participants were free to drop out of the experiment at any time. Even then, they would still receive the 1 billion won.

At the end of the post, she had even attached a mosaic-blurred copy of the contract and photos proving the huge transfer of funds.

A perfect explanation, leaving absolutely no room for rebuttal.

As soon as the explanation post went up, the boiling public opinion flipped 180 degrees in an instant.

ㄴ Huh? 1 billion??

ㄴ Hey, if they're paying 1 billion, I'd do it too. Give me the job right now.

ㄴ Did you do this sweet gig all by yourself?

ㄴ So you're saying you took the 1 billion and then exposed them for not awakening??

ㄴ I'm good at eating dirt. I've got 20 years of dirt-spoon experience. Where do I apply?

The whistleblower was instantly reduced to a scammer.

Watching the accuser become a total con artist in real time, I clicked my tongue.

People's attention soon began shifting to why they'd even done such an experiment in the first place.

Soon, the Hunter Gallery veterans started speaking up one by one.

ㄴ But doesn't that experiment look familiar somehow?

ㄴ For real. Eat dirt, get shocked. Sounds like something I've heard before.

ㄴ Ah, right. That mage-villain comment.

ㄴㄴ Yeah, lol. Holy crap, they really tried that? lol

The gallery was once again blazing with a new bait topic.

An A-rank Hunter working at a government-funded research institute.

The fact that Eun Mirae had seriously experimented with a comment from an online forum.

That gave people a brand-new bit of gossip to chew on.

ㄴ 1 billion won each for a bait comment? Our tax money's melting away~

ㄴ Wow, there really are people who believe this lol. I don't even believe it myself lol.

ㄴ I eat jajangmyeon every day. Shouldn't I awaken as a Jajang Mage???

ㄴㄴ What kind of ability is a Jajang Mage supposed to have lol

ㄴㄴ It means you summon jajangmyeon inside the opponent's head and kill them.

ㄴㄴ Sounds like some Jajang-Jajang Fruit nonsense.

Most of the reactions were mockery.

I watched it and quietly muttered to myself.

“I really awakened, though.”

Beetle didn't lie.

In any case, the commotion seemed to settle down for the moment.

I headed to the Mage Gallery.

Sure enough, there, the incident's central figure, Fridge, had just posted a grievance-filled rant.

[Title: Shit, I'm getting flooded with news interview requests….]

Author: Fridge

What a pain. Sigh....

It was a short post. Beneath it, familiar nicknames were leaving comments.

ㄴ Magic is Firepower : I told you last time after trying it myself that it wouldn't work. And you really did it.

ㄴ Fridge : I figured maybe it would work if a non-awakened person did it....

ㄴ p깟쮸 : lol so how much of the budget did you blow through this time? Aren't you getting fired now? lol

ㄴ Fridge : Shut up. I'm stressed enough as it is.

ㄴ Fridge : Beetle, do you still not want to reveal your source now? If I'd known just that, the research would've been a lot easier.

But Beetle remained silent as always.

Right then, I stepped in.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ(D55.555) : Hey, shouldn't I get royalties for this? If you've got money to hand out 1 billion won at a time, you should've given some to me instead~ Haaah. Then I would've told you everything.

As always, a bait comment tossed out casually.

But the reaction that came back was unexpected.

Suddenly, Fridge got serious.

ㄴ Fridge : Wanna actually try it?

ㄴ Fridge : Come to our research institute and I'll pay you. I'm serious.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ(D55.555) : Ah, looks like an in-person meetup is still a little too early, haha;

I backed off with a casual remark, and Fridge snapped at me as if she'd been waiting for it.

ㄴ Fridge : See? I told you that guy would never show.

ㄴ Fridge : Ah, but seriously, why didn't it work? Hey, be honest. Was there something else involved?

Persistent questions.

But I didn't know what the difference between them and me was.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ(D55.555) : Mmm... ttu-ttya-ttya... newbies don't know about that....

ㄴ Fridge : Ugh, I don't know anymore. Whatever happens, happens.

It felt like you could sense just how furious she was from the comments.

***

A few days later, I was lying on the living-room sofa, munching snacks and watching TV.

Just then, the evening news was covering that incident from a few days earlier.

On the screen, Eun Mirae, the center of the controversy, was being interviewed herself.

“Is that Fridge?”

A black knit dress that clung tightly to her body and showed off her figure.

A pure white research coat draped over it.

Her dark-blue hair, neatly tied up, made her cold aura stand out even more.

She looked like the textbook example of a cool-beauty elite.

Even as camera flashes burst around her, there wasn't the slightest tremor in her expression.

A reporter asked a question.

“Researcher Eun Mirae, you graduated top of the class from the country's best university and earned a doctorate at the youngest age on record, correct?”

“Yes, I'm pretty impressive.”

“But the public says it's hard to understand why you carried out an experiment that appears so unscientific, like feeding people dirt. On that point....”

“The people who need to care about public opinion are politicians, not scientists. I'm a scientist.”

“There are also criticisms that the experiment was inhumane. Do you not feel any moral responsibility?”

“If we even kept expensive healers on standby and paid out 1 billion won, shouldn't it be you people keeping quiet?”

She answered the reporter's questions without missing a beat, all while keeping that expressionless face.

Through the screen, I could feel the deep irritation hidden beneath that cold expression.

I grinned at the sight.

And then I immediately opened the Mage Gallery.

I was just about to upload the news screenshot as-is.

“...What, it was already posted? Why is it so fast?”

[Title : Fridge News Just Dropped lol]

Author : p깟쮸

You can really tell she's pissed lol

ㄴ Fridge : Delete the post ㅡㅡ

ㄴ ㅇㅇ(T11.111) : I watched it on TV. I'm a fan.

ㄴ p깟쮸: You must've had a hard time keeping a straight face. Good job holding it in. lol

ㄴ ㅇㅇ(T11.111) : Judging by your face, looks like you couldn't hold it in? lol

ㄴ Fridge : Ah, seriously, shut the hell up, you lunatics!!

ㄴ p깟쮸: You're pouting. Cute.

ㄴ Fridge : Fuck....

In the end, Fridge vanished after leaving behind the last words, “I'm really quitting the gallery. You guys can go play among yourselves.”

I leaned back in my chair and burst out laughing.