Chapter 18
Nebula Guild Clears the 50th Floor!
Various news outlets and media rushed to report the story.
[Breaking News: Nebula Guild Conquers the Notorious 50th Floor! 11th in the World!]
[In-Depth Feature: S-Rank Yoo Se-ah—Where Does Her Leadership Come From?]
[Exclusive Report: A Closer Look at the Nebula Guild. What Do They Eat?]
Special documentaries aired day after day, digging up every detail of the guild members' pasts and broadcasting it.
It got so ridiculous that even Shin Eun-woo's school records made the news.
The same old, familiar flavor.
Because the public ate it up.
There was no better way to stir up patriotism.
At last, Korea had broken through the 50th-floor curse and secured a place among the top ranks. The country was swept up in a festive mood.
But the mood at the scene and the mood outside were two different things.
The news of the 50th-floor clear barely drew any attention on Hunter Gallery.
[Title: Heard Nebula Cleared the 50th Floor]
Author: Anonymous
Content:
Apparently Nebula cleared the 50th floor.
I just watched an interview, and they openly said it was thanks to the bait.
Taking all that bait on the fifth floor last time was a masterstroke.
Comments
ㄴSoup Fan: Fuck!!!!
ㄴAnonymous: What's wrong with this guy?
ㄴSoup Fan: I can't see GOAT-chan! They're nowhere to be found!
ㄴAnonymous: This is a serious case of bait addiction. You need treatment.
ㄴSoup Fan: Hmph, what a load of crap!
ㄴAnonymous: Honestly, isn't GOAT-chan responsible for like 80 percent of Nebula's clear?
ㄴTower Climber: You know this is all Blitz's fault, right?
ㄴAnonymous: But is our gallery's GOAT-chan really an NPC?
The discussion about Nebula Guild's 50th-floor clear started veering in a strange direction.
Every conversation somehow ended up back at GOAT-chan.
The bait only made GOAT-chan's presence more pronounced.
At last, a few people began to question GOAT-chan's true identity.
[Title: Is Our Gallery's GOAT-chan Really an NPC?]
Author: Deep-Sea Explorer
Content:
I've climbed to the 40th floor and met a few NPCs, but there's no way one could be that strong.
If an NPC like that exists, why do we need hunters?
Couldn't GOAT-chan just climb the Tower instead?
Their strength makes no sense for an NPC, if you ask me.
Comments
ㄴAnonymous: Isn't it weird that an NPC takes money, too?
ㄴAnonymous: For real, something's fishy. The techniques they use in the videos are weird, too.
ㄴSS Above S: It's more suspicious if they're a hunter. At that level, any country would send them a private jet.
ㄴAnonymous: Maybe they're just an attention-seeker?
ㄴSS Above S: I can't even imagine how much money they'd burn just to get attention.
ㄴAnonymous: Maybe it's possible. Attention-seeking is a real disorder, after all.
ㄴAnonymous: Maybe they're an underage hunter working in secret?
ㄴAnonymous: What do their parents do? What do their parents do? What do their parents do?
ㄴAnonymous: Maybe they just snuck out of the house.
ㄴGold Farmer: Fuck, that's not the point! There's no bait!
ㄴAnonymous: Just keep farming like you always did, lol.
ㄴGold Farmer: I've become a body that can't live without bait!
ㄴAnonymous: GOAT-chan's ruined a bunch of people, lolllll.
One or two hunters started showing signs of withdrawal on the gallery.
Hunters were going crazy because their honey pot had disappeared.
Then another piece of bait came along.
[Title: That Shithead Shin-hoo's Powerless Now (Brace for a Ban)]
Author: GOAT-chan Fan Club President
Content:
I know I'll get banned for posting this, but I'm posting it anyway.
That asshole Shin-hoo really did lose his powers.
When I heard GOAT-chan had beaten the shit out of him, I almost cried.
When I heard he couldn't use his powers, I worked up the nerve to visit him, ready to die, and he couldn't use a scrap of strength.
I wanted to kill him, but I just gave him one good punch in the mouth and left.
Fuck, that felt so good.
Comments
ㄴWant to Quit: You're a brave bastard. I don't know about anyone else, but you've got my support.
ㄴAnonymous: For real, it's harder to find someone he hasn't beaten up. Upvoted.
ㄴAnonymous: So GOAT-chan took away Shin-hoo's powers?
ㄴAnonymous: Get real. He nearly died, so maybe he's suffering from some kind of aftereffect.
ㄴAnonymous: There are hunters who got hurt on the upper floors and ended up as wrecks like that.
ㄴAnonymous: I'm telling you, GOAT-chan's a secret hunter working for the government.
ㄴTower Climber: Conspiracy theorists are going nuts.
ㄴGold Farmer: Ah, I don't care about any of that. Give me back the bait!!
ㄴAnonymous: This guy's making a scene here, too.
ㄴAnonymous: But when you think about it, didn't GOAT-chan suddenly stop handing out bait because of Blitz?
ㄴAnonymous: Right, they were giving it out just fine, then they fought that mad dog and went silent.
ㄴAnonymous: Maybe they don't trust people anymore? They got hurt and disappeared.
ㄴSoup Fan: How can an NPC be like that?
ㄴGold Farmer: Fuck! Damn Blitz!
The discussion about the bait spiraled out of control.
The gallery settled on the prevailing theory that Baek Shin-hoo and the Blitz Guild were to blame for the mood there.
And then a riot broke out.
The hunters began invading other galleries one by one.
Their first victim was the World of Tanks Blitz gallery.
[378388 Toilet Is this the Blitz gallery that got wrecked by GOAT-chan?]
[378387 Toilet Is this the Blitz gallery that got wrecked by GOAT-chan?]
[378386 Toilet Is this the Blitz gallery that got wrecked by GOAT-chan?]
[378385 Toilet Why are so many of you showing up all of a sudden? Go back to your own gallery!]
[378384 Toilet Is this the Blitz gallery that got wrecked by GOAT-chan?]
After carpet-bombing the gallery with spam, they killed time by posting nonsense, but their anger wouldn't die down.
The hunters picked out their next target: the League of Legends gallery.
It was because there was a robot character with the same name.
[14859127 The end of humanity has arrived.]
[14859126 The end of humanity has arrived.]
[14859125 What the hell is wrong with these lunatics?]
[14859124 The end of humanity has arrived.]
[14859123 The end of humanity has arrived.]
[14859122 These guys are from Hunter Gallery. Hunters are coming here and doing this, tsk tsk.]
Somehow, it wasn't as satisfying.
There were too many anonymous users to spam the board.
They looked for an easier target again.
This time, they went to the Rainbow Six gallery.
[517930 Why the hell do you play Blitz? Where'd Shin-hoo leave his shield?]
[517929 Why the hell do you play Blitz? Where'd Shin-hoo leave his shield?]
[517928 Why the hell do you play Blitz? Where'd Shin-hoo leave his shield?]
[517927 Why the hell do you play Blitz? Where'd Shin-hoo leave his shield?]
There weren't enough anonymous users to get a reaction.
After that, they wandered around wherever they pleased, causing mindless havoc.
Since the blitz mode in chess is called Blitz, they raided the chess gallery,
then caused a scene in the Helldivers 2 gallery because one of the missions was called Blitz,
and made a fuss in the speaker gallery because there was a speaker brand with a similar name.
That still wasn't enough, so they invaded the German gallery, the German-language gallery, and the German-culture gallery,
before putting the finishing touch on their rampage at the Hitler gallery.
And so the hunters' blitzkrieg was immortalized on the wiki.
1.
"Achoo~ Achoo~"
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: How strange. Are you feeling unwell? A cultivator shouldn't be able to catch a cold.
Hm. A cold? Is that what wind-cold means?
Could it be that someone was talking about me?
More importantly…
"Um... Taebaek Sword Lord."
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: Yes, child. What is it?
"This robe you gave me. Didn't you call it the Myriad-Attack-Proof Robe? You said it could block most attacks."
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: That's right. It's a precious magical robe I commissioned from the finest Foundation Establishment cultivator.
"Foundation Establishment cultivator?"
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: A magic item maker.
"Ohh. But when I got hit during a fight, it hurt a lot. Is this really a good robe?"
Taebaek Sword Lord's next message was unusually long.
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: What are you talking about! I'm hurt, child! That robe can withstand attacks and ward off filth, and it blocks both cold and heat. When infused with spiritual energy, it moves freely, preserves your immortal bearing, and protects you from spiritual energy and sword qi!
"Huh? What was that about withstanding attacks? I don't understand…"
He uses such difficult words.
It gave me a headache.
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: What am I supposed to do if you still don't understand after I've explained it?
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: You old geezer.
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: What? Are you insulting me, Demon King? What does “old geezer” mean?
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Quiet. Is it my turn to explain?
"Huh?"
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: A bulletproof vest. It still hurts when you get hit, right?
"Oh!!!"
That made sense.
So it just meant it kept you from dying.
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: What is this…
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: See? The MZ gets it in one.
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: What nonsense are you spouting? And what does MZ mean?
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Young people these days don't put in enough effort. Effooooort.
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: Silence! Calling a precious magical robe a bulletproof vest! Isn't that an inadequate explanation? Hurry up and explain its other functions, too!
Grandpa Taebaek Sword Lord was getting worked up.
So it was a good robe after all.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Hah, this old geezer wants everything.
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: Hurry up and explain!
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Wait a sec.
"Is there something else it does?"
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Hold on. I'm sorting it out.
A little while later.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Ah! You have that guy in your world, right? The one whose skin turns green when he gets angry.
"Oh—you're talking about that superhero? Haha…"
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Yeah, that guy! Anyway, every time he transforms, his shirt gets ripped and his pants get all tattered at the bottom.
"Uh… Yeah."
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: So what happens to his underwear?
"Huh?"
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Doesn't his underwear get ripped, too?
Now that he mentioned it, that made sense.
Would his underwear get ripped, too?
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Anyway, cultivators care about their dignity to their dying breath. Their pride rules their brains.
"Pride?"
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Yeah. Their clothes can't get dirty, singed by fire, or torn so their naked bodies show. That's embarrassing. Especially for women.
"Ah… Yeah."
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: At your current low realm, your clothes stay intact, but the fallout at higher realms is no joke.
"Then do they fight naked?"
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Exactly! So cultivators made clothes that don't gather dust, clean themselves if they get dirty, block a decent amount of attacks, and don't tear even when their bodies grow bigger.
"I understand perfectly!"
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: That is precisely what I was saying!
That's kind of amazing.
In short, it means I don't have to wash it.
I'd been worried it would get dirty.
Just then, a message from Heavenly Secrets Pavilion Master appeared.
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: More importantly, you must always be careful with the Reverse Blood Sword.
"Come to think of it, the moment I held the sword, it felt like the world slowed down."
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: The sword's power temporarily raised your realm. Specifically, your spiritual sense became more powerful.
"Huh?"
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: Your thoughts accelerated, allowing you to see a moment as if it were stretched out.
"Uh…"
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Your monitor's frame rate went up, and your reflexes got better, too.
"Oh!"
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: In any case, forcing it to activate when your realm is insufficient could leave you crippled.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Overclock it and your CPU blows up.
"Oh!"
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: That's not all. You could be consumed by madness, lose the ability to tell friend from foe, and slaughter everyone around you.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Berserker.
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: Don't rely on the sword's power. Unless it's a trump card you've kept hidden, don't use it lightly.
"I understand."
They were only saying it because they were worried about me.
I should take their words to heart.
Still, it felt good to beat that guy up.
I just wish I'd been stronger.
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Now that you're done talking, hurry up and move! That place looks suitable.
"Are you sure this time? The last place looked suitable, too."
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Guess this isn't the place. Humans are so picky about where they settle. Just dig a hole and live in it, lol.
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Please be quiet, Demon King. Finding a vital point where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth gathers is an important matter.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Okay.
Didn't they say there was plenty of spiritual energy in the Tower anyway?
Was there any need to go looking for it?
Why were they being so particular?
The place I was in now was already the top of a jagged rocky mountain.
A place hunters would never come.
I'd only come here because I had something to ride. Otherwise, I never would have come.
'Do they have some reason for this?'
Following Jade-Cold Ice Empress's directions, I approached, and a huge cave and a field of flowers—or was it a meadow?—came into view.
Beside it, a sheer cliff dropped dozens of meters. One wrong step and you'd fall straight down.
"There aren't any monsters here, either."
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: That place looks like it would make a suitable cave abode.
"Okay."
At that moment, a message from Five Azure Demon King appeared.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: There it is!!!