Flag

“... the one who invaded the dwarven royal palace, the dwarves’ savior, the one with a steel jaw, the attention hog....”

“How do I turn this off!”

“... recently slaughtered 157 orcs, and can even eat rocks for attention....”

I hurriedly fiddled with the system window.

In the end, it took quite a while longer before I could turn the voice off after it had kept echoing.

As if the booming voice from just moments ago had been a lie, the surroundings fell silent again.

“No one heard that, right?”

I looked around, just in case someone had heard.

Fortunately, the road was empty.

It probably hadn’t reached my neighbor Jeong Manho, either. Probably.

“That could’ve gone really badly….

I let out a sigh and looked down at the pure white flag in my hands with mixed feelings.

I still liked the flag itself, with its golden hourglass emblem.

More than anything, I liked that I had my very own emblem now.

It was just hard to stomach that noisy, humiliating self-introduction feature from a moment ago.

“If I had a guild, I’d hang this up right in the lobby.”

Of course, the megaphone function would have to stay sealed away forever.

I shrugged and went inside.

Whether it was useful or not, I had to brag about it online first.

I sat down in front of the computer and opened Hunter Gallery out of habit.

But the mood in the gallery was different from usual.

The board was plastered with a single topic.

[Breaking) New A-rank Hunter officially announced, whoa]

[I heard they’re actually a foreigner?]

[The A-rank causing a stir right now—I see it a little differently….]

Only then did I remember the text message I had received from Dung Beetle a few days ago.

[Official announcement for the A-rank Hunter will go out sometime next week. Coordination with the government is done. We’ll keep the personal info controlled as much as possible, so don’t worry.]

“Ah, right. They said it was today, didn’t they?”

I’d forgotten because I’d been living such a fulfilling life lately.

For now, I set aside the post I was going to upload and started reading the posts in the gallery.

A nonstop stream of speculation from everyone.

“First, let’s check what news actually came out.”

These days, even news was something you looked up in the gallery.

It was the fastest and most accurate source.

Sure enough, a post with a straight screenshot of the news screen was up on the Monthly Best board.

A thoughtfully collected set of screenshots from every news outlet.

I silently expressed my thanks and started reading the headlines.

[South Korean government officially announces registration of a new A-rank Hunter]

[Hunter Association, “For national security reasons, personal information will remain undisclosed. Please refrain from excessive rumors.”]

[Recently cleared Floor 20… Potential above S-rank?]

Several related article headlines filled the screen.

Among them were plenty of trash articles fishing for clicks with sensational titles.

[Hunters leaking overseas. Is the public to blame?]

[New A-rank… actually the hidden child of S-rank Kim OO]

[They say they don’t know the identity, but the perks are ‘full options’... public outrage erupts]

[The new A-rank is actually former idol C-lady....]

“Do these people have no fear?”

I let out a dry laugh, dumbfounded.

If some Hunter saw this and went berserk in protest, what did they think would happen?

They should be glad I’m the kind, gentle type, considering I’m the one involved here.

I scrolled back up and clicked the first normal news item.

The content was extremely formulaic.

‘... The Hunter who cleared Floor 20 a few days ago and proved their qualifications has, in consultation with the Association, decided not to reveal personal information for the time being. This is a measure to ensure the Hunter’s safety and future activities...’

That was all there was to it.

It didn’t reveal when I had cleared Floor 20, what my class was, or even my gender.

As Dung Beetle had said, it seemed some degree of information control was definitely being carried out.

I nodded in satisfaction and scrolled down to the comments.

To be honest, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I read the article just for the comments.

Sure enough, all kinds of people were already posting comments.

First came comments guessing who it might be by bringing up each guild’s prospects.

ㄴ Isn’t this someone from the Hwaryeon Guild? People have been saying they were a strong candidate for promotion since last year.

ㄴ I’m pretty sure it’s Lee Jinhyuk. That guy’s the real deal.

ㄴ You’re all talking nonsense lol. They’re not affiliated with a guild; they’re a solo Hunter. I heard it from someone on the inside.

ㄴㄴ The “insider” you know is just the cleaning lady, isn’t it? lol

Or people drunk on national pride while comparing the country’s power, and people mocking them.

ㄴ Kyaa, we finally surpassed Japan at A-rank lol

ㄴㄴ Ugh, national-pride bro, please…

ㄴㄴ But honestly, at this point, isn’t it worth being a little nationalistic?

ㄴ Yeah, but still can’t beat China~~

ㄴㄴ I love Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

Of course, there were also people who were just plain angry.

ㄴ The Hunters you’re hyping up would get wiped out by one punch from Demigod Fist lol

ㄴ fr, they should quit this whole K-Hunter raising nonsense and just take support from the U.S. instead

But the biggest group was people simply expressing envy.

ㄴ Ha, I want to awaken too...

ㄴ Awakening isn’t the end of it, though. You also need the ability to climb all the way to the top.

ㄴ fr, even if I awoke I’d probably get cut down on Floor 1…

ㄴ That guy’s already on easy mode for life. So jealous, so jealous.

ㄴ The world is so unfair…

I read through every single one of those comments carefully.

Before I knew it, a smile had crept onto my face.

A thrill surged up from the tips of my toes.

“Tsk, something feels missing….”

But just watching made my fingertips start to itch.

I was dying to jump into this huge bait myself.

In the end, I couldn’t hold back and put my hands on the keyboard.

And I typed in one very simple, clear sentence.

“It should be okay to just test the waters this much.”

[Title: That’s me?]

[Author: ㅇㅇ(77T.77U)]

[Content: The A-rank from the news is me.]

ㄴ Ugh, Top Anon bro is at it again. Go eat something.

ㄴ You’re not A-rank, you’re a special-grade attention hog.

ㄴ This guy really butts into everything.

The usual reaction.

People still thought I was just a crazy troll fishing for attention.

Not a single person believed me.

But the atmosphere began to change little by little.

A few people started offering serious analyses.

ㄴ But seriously, isn’t Top Anon being A-rank actually plausible? If you remember how he showed off his gear before, it wouldn’t make sense unless he were A-rank.

ㄴ I’m an A-rank gallery user, and I’ve seen Top Anon there too.

ㄴㄴ Holy shit, the country’s doomed. A guy who spends 20 hours a day browsing galleries is A-rank?

“What’s wrong with checking the gallery? Even S-ranks do it….”

Honestly, I think Dung Beetle, who writes handcrafted macro posts every day, is weirder than I am.

I just occasionally manipulate featured posts and write bait posts for harmless little pranks—that’s all.

There was no reason for me to be treated like this.

Regardless of my grievance, an atmosphere of accepting me as A-rank was slowly forming in Hunter Gallery.

There had been so much evidence, it was only natural.

I smiled in satisfaction.

“Huh?”

I was quietly running the rigging machine, sending posts defending me into the featured list.

Then I saw a post that made me frown.

[Title: Why are you name-dropping so much for just one troll? Is this his personal gallery or what?]

[Content: Please stop making the troll into a named regular, for fuck’s sake]

But this opposing opinion was instantly suppressed by a barrage from other users.

ㄴ Fact) The writer is broke and doesn’t get any attention, so he’s all worked up.

ㄴ If you’re so salty, why don’t you show off a legendary item too

ㄴ He handed out 100 chickens, so that’s legit

ㄴ Honestly, it’s already too late to complain about making him a named regular lol

“Goodness.... Justice is still alive after all....”

I nearly shed tears of emotion for a moment.

To think they were fighting for me, someone they’d never even seen, and shielding me from criticism.

By now, a fandom had formed to defend me even without me stepping in myself.

There was no need to use duplicate accounts anymore.

“Is this the power of a named regular...?”

The argument kept going.

The fact that I was A-rank was almost being accepted as a foregone conclusion.

But now people’s interest had moved elsewhere.

‘So is Top Anon the newly announced A-rank, then?’

Then came the decisive rebuttal.

One user posted an analysis piece organizing my activity logs by time.

[Title: Long) Why Top Anon Can’t Be the Newly Announced A-rank.txt]

[Content: Three-line summary.

1. Top Anon is A-rank.

2. But he was already A-rank to begin with, and he isn’t the one who was newly announced this time. The timing doesn’t line up.]

ㄴ Can’t this guy count?

ㄴ But what he says does seem to be right?

People couldn’t argue against this logical analysis.

In the end, public opinion swung completely in a new direction.

A new line of reasoning immediately backed it up.

ㄴ Yeah, this makes sense. They haven’t even released the info because it’s classified as a state secret—who’d be the psycho going around saying, ‘That’s me,’ out loud?

ㄴ Now that I hear it, that does seem right.

ㄴ Then who the hell is the new A-rank?

ㄴ No idea. But it’s not Top Anon.

“Tsk....”

I clicked my tongue in front of the monitor.

A conflicted feeling welled up.

It was definitely satisfying that I had hidden my identity perfectly.

But it was frustrating that I couldn’t let them know I was the hottest topic in Korea right now.

“Should I add some extra proof here?”

A momentary impulse seized me.

What if I revealed just a little more of my identity?

What if I told them that none of the A-ranks so far matched me?

People would be shocked, and I could become the king of the gallery once again.

“Sigh, I should hold back.”

But I drew on superhuman patience and suppressed the impulse.

I had to endure it.

I knew.

That things like this are more fun when people come to the answer on their own.

Watching people speculate about me is more enjoyable than revealing my identity myself.

I was the kind of kid who knew how to wait for the marshmallow before eating it.

In the end, I decided not to provide any additional proof and quietly watch the situation unfold.

“Oh, right, I should post proof of the flag too….”

Watching my own story unfold made me forget what I had originally meant to do.

I spread the flag out on the floor and took a photo from an angle that would create as little shadow as possible.

Naturally, the place to post it was Mage Gallery.

[Cleared Floor 31 and got this. They even made me a personal flag and mark. Do you guys have marks like this too?]

Not long after the post went up, the wizards who’d been lurking quietly started appearing one by one.

ㄴDung Beetle: The design is pretty cool.... I don’t have a mark like that, though.

ㄴDung Beetle: Should I make a personal mark too?

ㄴDung Beetle: What do you think about drawing it in green, with something like a typhoon or a spirit bomb vibe?

ㄴFridge: Are you a middle schooler or something?

ㄴDung Beetle: (dejected Dung Beetle emote)

ㄴMagic Is Firepower: Ah, this. It’s one of those things they only give to people who diligently clear quests up through the late 30s and build up enough affinity.

ㄴMagic Is Firepower: Later on, it’s fun how the NPCs’ reactions change depending on the flag’s rank.

ㄴMagic Is Firepower: More than anything, when it activates, it recites all the titles you’ve earned so far, which is both fun and moving.

“That’s moving? This guy’s a little weird too, huh.”

The title ‘Heinous Slave Master.’

Where am I supposed to feel moved by that?

I shook my head.

ㄴMagic Is Firepower: But what did you do to get a flag right from the start?

ㄴ ㅇㅇ(88R.Y88): It just got handed to me after I cleared a quest. And I met Seymour too, and he treated me really kindly.

ㄴFridge: Well, it’s not like this newbie playing by a completely different set of rules from us is a one-off or anything.... By now, it doesn’t surprise me much anymore.

At that moment, pkkatju, who had been quietly watching the conversation, left a comment.

ㄴ pkkatju: You’re really fast.... At this rate, it feels like you’ll reach the floor I’m on before long.

The moment I saw that last comment, I was swept up in a strange feeling.

Newbie.

From the first time I came to Mage Gallery, that’s what these people called me.

But I had grown at a pace that defied their common sense, and before I knew it, I was breathing down their necks.

“By then, I won’t be a newbie anymore, will I....”

A vague sense of regret washed over me.

I stared blankly at the monitor for a moment.

If I end up catching up to all these people, then what happens?