“Hoit~.”
She formed her fingers into the shape of a gun, aiming it at the orc.
A bullet of sand tore through the air.
The orc instinctively sensed the danger, raising its steel shield.
“Not a chance.”
*CRUNCH!*
The steel shield was ripped apart like paper.
Without losing momentum, the sand bullet pierced straight through the orc’s head.
With the sound of a skull exploding, the orc’s massive body collapsed lifelessly.
I could distinctly feel how much stronger I had become.
It was incomparable to my power before I acquired the Eye Opening (TL Note: Refers to a skill that grants enhanced perception or new abilities) skill.
****
“WAAAAAAARGH!”
Just then, another orc’s roar echoed from the opposite side of the plains.
It was a battle cry filled with fury.
The orc must have witnessed its kin fall just moments before.
However, that orc couldn’t charge at me.
“Even if it takes all day…”
“…I can hold you.”
Two sand totems, identical to my form, clung to the orc’s torso from both sides, desperately holding it in place.
Through several battles, I had realized a crucial fact.
It was impossible to defeat an orc in a direct confrontation using a sand clone.
My only experience with martial arts was the Taekwondo I learned in elementary school.
Even if I controlled them, my clones would merely become sandbags.
So, I revised my strategy.
Simply grappling and holding on.
The sight of my sand doppelgangers grunting and struggling to restrain the orc was quite comical.
After acquiring the Platinum skill, many things had changed.
It wasn’t just the raw power of my magic that had increased.
My mana pool itself had grown incomparably vast.
Thanks to this, I could now stably maintain up to four sand totems, whereas even one had been a struggle before.
Of course, there were drawbacks.
The more skills I used simultaneously, the more intensely the sand was consumed.
The sand from the quicksand pit I had initially conjured was now nearly depleted.
Barely 10% of it seemed to remain.
Even now, my sand was running out before my mana.
I could only summon up to two totems.
I snapped my fingers.
The two sand totems holding the orc inflated according to my will, then erupted in a powerful explosion.
*KABOOOM!*
“UWOOOOOH!”
Hit by the explosion at point-blank range, the orc was reduced to a tattered rag, collapsing to the ground.
Immediately, the familiar alert appeared.
[Congratulations on clearing Tower Floor 9 (EXTREME)!]
[First Clear Bonus applied!]
[Rank 1 Bonus applied!]
After gaining my new skill, I had effortlessly stormed through floors 7 to 9.
Everything felt incredibly easy.
“Good. Tomorrow it’s Floor 10.”
Before I knew it, I was facing another boss battle.
The boss monster itself didn’t particularly frighten me.
After all, I had cleared up to Floor 9 without any hindrance, even without using my full power.
Yet, a slight unease lingered.
The nightmare of the Floor 5 boss battle resurfaced.
If I were to encounter that mad mage again this time…
The mere thought was horrifying.
‘Should I just skip it this time, even if there’s a hidden piece…?’
Of course, I had received good rewards.
The invincible Mischief VPN (TL Note: A humorous reference to a powerful, disruptive ability).
And as a small bonus, a Gold Skill Book.
But fear was still fear.
I genuinely thought I was going to die back then.
“Nah, they might not even appear… Besides, I don’t even know if there’s a hidden piece this time.”
I shook my head, dispelling the ominous thoughts.
****
‘First, let’s check the gallery.’
As soon as I got home, I habitually turned on my computer and logged into the gallery forum.
Was it a coincidence?
The Hunter Gallery was buzzing with discussion about my recent exploits.
[Title: Who’s the person who’s been dominating the rankings from Floor 1 to 9 lately?]
[All the ranks from 1st to 9th are under the nickname ‘ㅇㅇ’, and the score difference is insane.]
[They’re basically 3 times ahead of the second-place person. Is this for real?]
“Oh, that’s me.”
Dopamine surged as I realized my story was electrifying the gallery.
I scrolled down with a satisfied smile.
But the reactions were a little strange.
– Demigod is probably furiously typing on social media again LOL
– But seriously, who is it? A hunter secretly trained by the government?
– No way it’s Korea.
– For real. How could Korea do what even America couldn’t LOL
– But it’s ‘ㅇㅇ’. Who else but a Korean would use ‘ㅇㅇ’?
– They say it’s not ‘ㅇ’ but ‘o’ or ‘0’? Foreigners call it ‘Double O’.
“Double O? Me?”
That wasn’t the end of it.
[✪ Title: NIS (TL Note: National Intelligence Service) Insider Info) Rank 1 is a Chinese secret weapon.]
[This isn’t just my speculation, for real.]
[Those in the know are aware that the Chinese Communist Party’s movements have been unusual lately, for real.]
[It’s called the Great Wall Project, where the state gathers 10 teenage prodigies, pushes them into the Tower, and extracts S-rank hunters.]
[It’s highly probable that ’00’, who just rewrote the rankings, is a result of that project.]
– ‘Not just my speculation’ special: It’s always unsubstantiated speculation.
– China already tried ‘Team China’ and got crushed by Demigod, what nonsense are you talking about?
– So they lost face and secretly made another one.
– So ’00’ is an experimental subject number?
– So they went past 99 and became the 00th? LOL
– Do you take China lightly? It’s not 99, it’s 999,999 people.
“What? China? What’s China got to do with this?”
I swallowed a hollow laugh and continued to scroll.
[✪ Title: Isn’t the Pantheon Guild hiding something right now?]
[Everyone’s barking up the wrong tree talking about China or whatever, but the real truth is elsewhere.]
[You know the world’s number one guild, Pantheon, right?]
[Everyone knows Guild Master Croft is trying to raise his daughter as his successor.]
[But his daughter has been absent from public appearances for several months now…]
[So isn’t it obvious that the current Rank 1 is Croft’s daughter?]
[They probably gave her all sorts of support through guild power, and she’s just emerged after her training.]
[The moment she breaks through Floor 20, there’ll probably be articles like ‘Pantheon’s Princess Makes a Dazzling S-Rank Debut!’]
[I’ll bet my hand on it, for real.]
– That actually sounds pretty plausible.
– Isn’t Pantheon Demigod’s affiliated guild? Are they backstabbing their own guild member?
– Strictly speaking, Demigod is directly government-affiliated, and Pantheon is just a cooperative partner.
– Considering the relationship between Croft and Demigod, it makes sense that Pantheon would try to screw over Demigod.
“No, what makes sense? Are you kidding me?”
China’s secret weapon, the princess of the world’s number one guild.
Beyond these, there were countless posts from self-proclaimed insiders pointing to completely unrelated people from completely unrelated regions as likely candidates.
‘The person you’re looking for is right here!’
I screamed internally.
It was such a contradictory feeling.
I didn’t want my identity to be exposed, but at the same time, I had an intense desire for everyone to know that I was the protagonist of all this glory.
‘Should I drop a little hint?’
I subtly placed my hands on the keyboard, intending to write a post as a guest user.
[Title: Isn’t it actually someone who’s already here?]
[Author: ㅇㅇ(1A1.11E)]
[You might remember, there was someone here who certified the Extreme difficulty before. Could it be that person?]
“Ah, damn it! My IP!”
Macagno, you son of a b*tch! You should’ve included an on/off function!
I deleted the post at lightning speed.
Fortunately, no comments had been posted.
‘No one saw it, right?’
I immediately fled to the Mage Gallery.
Then, I frantically requested help.
[Title: URGENT) Looking for someone to post on the Hunter Gallery for me]
[Author: ㅇㅇ(99L.99C)]
[The content is this:]
[‘The person who’s been taking Rank 1 lately, isn’t that the same person who certified Extreme difficulty before?’]
[Please just write that.]
[I beg you.]
A moment of silence fell over the gallery.
Soon, a flood of pathetic reactions poured in.
– Refrigerator: (Pathetic stare emoji)
– Magic is Firepower: Oh, this is a bit… not easy…
– Beetle: …Why don’t you just hold out until Floor 20? That’s safer.
‘Was this really that stupid…?’
Overwhelmed by a belated wave of self-loathing, I moved to delete the post.
But then, a comment appeared.
It was Pikachu.
– Pikachu: LOL This sounds fun-y. Are you really going to manipulate public opinion in the gallery-y! I’ll post it for you-y!
A very slight, truly very slight, sense of guilt and self-loathing washed over me.
But that feeling quickly vanished before the surging anticipation.
‘Right, embarrassment is fleeting, but glory is eternal.’
“To think I’d really end up asking another gallery to manipulate public opinion.”
A short while later, Pikachu’s post indeed appeared on the Hunter Gallery.
Quick-witted as always, they had posted it as a guest user, not with their fixed nickname.
[Title: That Rank 1 person, isn’t that the one who certified Extreme Clear before?]
[Author: ㅇㅇ(211.47)]
[You know, the person who briefly certified a few days ago and then disappeared.]
[They were clearly Rank 1 back then.]
[They even had a few popular posts.]
– Was there such a person?
– Ah, I think there might have been. It’s hazy.
– When I tried to look for it, all the posts were gone? What’s going on?
– Wasn’t that just a fake?
“Are these guys seriously brain-damaged?”
I pounded my chest in frustration.
How could they forget something that happened just a few days ago?
Even if gallery ‘shitposts’ are forgotten after ten seconds, isn’t this a bit much?
There were even several popular posts related to it back then!
People’s reactions were far too lukewarm.
It felt almost alien.
As if they had all been put under some kind of spell…
The bait I had thrown was quickly buried under other posts after only a few comments.
“It’s because there’s not enough firepower. The covert advertising’s firepower is too weak…”
I tore at my hair in front of the monitor.
“Oh, I’m seriously going crazy…”
I needed them to take the bait properly so I could make a grand entrance, saying, ‘Ah, that’s actually me.’
Why isn’t anyone making the connection?
It’s me! Me!
Dopamine, which should have been flowing, was now causing withdrawal symptoms.
My whole body tingled, and my mind felt empty.
I couldn’t think straight.
With trembling hands, like a drug addict, I typed.
[Title: The Rank 1 person, that’s actually me…]
“Gah! What am I doing?!”
I hastily pressed backspace.
‘Hold on. Just hold on.’
I took a deep breath, trying to calm my mind.
“Hmph… haah…”
‘Right, certifying after clearing Floor 20 won’t be too late.’
‘I’ll wait. Until someone puts the pieces of the puzzle together first…’
“Please, someone notice already…”
I prayed fervently.
