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Chapter 28
RP: Lizz & Sebastian • TL: Whee • PR: Sebastian • Editor: Kim
The second part of the recording began.
Unlike the first part which focused on introducing the 10 hunters and explaining the special, the second part was a talk show that included a Q&A.
“Of the gates that you’ve cleared so far, which one remains the most memorable? Can we hear the story?”
“Hm… From five years ago, I think the A-Class gate on Nami Island is the most memorable.”
Oh… The crowd was buzzing. The ‘Nami Island A-Class gate’ that Windmaker mentioned was a gate that appeared on August 7, 2026.
At the time, the association measured the gate as A-Class, and the ‘Devil’s Eye’, which had appeared as the boss monster, was a whopping Lv.76.
The average level of monsters that appeared in A-Class gates was between 41-60. In other words, it was common for a ‘gate error’ to occur at that time.
Monsters level 70 or higher were at a level that could only be defeated by at least five A-Class hunters who fought with a strategy. If they didn’t, the participation of S-Class hunters in battle would be necessary.
Unfortunately, there were no S-Class hunters among the first fighters at the time, and only three A-Class hunters were present.
In the midst of great difficulties during the boss battle, ‘Dr. Plant’ had arrived like a comet. As the owner of the Rose Guild and the most famous healer in Korea, he was one of the six S-Class hunters in Korea.
“Oh my god, Dr. Plant?”
The recording studio began to stir. The MC asked an unscripted question, unable to hide their excitement.
“What was Dr. Plant like?”
“As you can see in videos of him, he was very elegant and dignified. His abilities were beyond imagination. The petals he had conjured covered our wounds, and the vines he had grown carried the wounded safely out of the gate. It was an amazing sight.”
“As expected, S-Class hunters are different.”
“Yes. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here today. I came to see him after clearing the gate, and he—”
Windmaker talked about what happened that day. The experience of clearing the gate with Dr. Plant seemed to be very great. It might’ve been boring, but everyone stared and listened to Windmaker.
Among the hunters gathered here, he was the only one who had shared a mission with an S-Class hunter. And so, that fact made him even more special.
“How about the Princess of Dark Flare?”
Swish.
The spotlight turned to Eunha. Eunha’s face appeared on the large LED screen in the back.
“What was your most memorable gate?”
Eunha kept her mouth closed at the MC’s question. There was a slight silence in the studio.
‘A memorable gate.’
For a brief moment, Eunha remembered the gates she had cleared up until now. There were so many to the point where it was literally ‘uncountable’.
If she had to pick one of the most memorable gates, it would be the Unknown Gate, which she had been trapped in for a long time.
‘But I can’t say that here.’
Eunha held her microphone and pondered what to answer, then slowly opened her mouth.
“…I can’t remember because there are so many.”
Pft. A laugh came from an unknown person.
“You’ve only cleared two gates so far. Are you saying that those two times were too much?”
A general hunter was openly sarcastic in their seat. That became the trigger, and another hunter opened their mouth.
“Don’t be too hard on her. For a concept hunter, they might be. Their main job isn’t gate clearing after all.”
In the distance, she could see a screenwriter paying attention to the PD. However, the PD didn’t stop them or the recording and simply watched the scene with their arms crossed.
Due to the nature of a pre-recorded broadcast, it would be simple enough to just edit the problematic parts out.
“I heard that you killed a high-level monster. Why are you being so stubborn with your concept when you’re not even going to get paid? It’s not worth the money.”
Another regular hunter asked. The audience was quiet. In the recording studio that had become as cold as an ice-covered road, a hunter jumped up.
“Can you stop?”
It was the satgat hunter sitting on the far left of the concept hunters’ side. His fist was clenched so tightly that his veins were about to burst. He slammed it onto the table. He seemed unwilling to hide his fiery temper.
“I don’t think those words are in the script.”
“Is there a law that says you have to say only what is in the script? It’s not fun if it’s boring.”
“Aren’t you all curious about why Wolf’s new hunter wears a dress and cosplays as a character? Are you not?”
The general hunters, concept hunters, audience, and even the staff. Everyone’s eyes turned to Eunha.
“You’re right. I’ve only cleared two gates.”
Eunha slowly opened her mouth.
“But it’s not because I’m a concept hunter.”
Eunha turned her head towards the satgat hunter who was standing on the far left.
“This hunter here has cleared six gates this year alone.”
“…”
The satgat hunter loosened the fist he was clenching. Did this woman remember his passing words in the waiting room?
Eunha turned her gaze away from him, this time towards the general hunters.
She gently curled her red lips.
“How many gates have you cleared this year?”
“…”
“…”
Both the regular hunters and the concept hunters became quiet, as if cold water had been poured on them. Among them, Windmaker, who had been silent for so long, spread their fan and covered their mouth.
“Money is more important than numbers. As a rookie hunter, if you aren’t familiar with it, I will carefully inform you that not all hunters receive the same pay.”
“Then I will change the question.”
Eunha turned her head to Windmaker. The face of the Princess of Dark Flare, who had not laughed once, showed up on the LED screen behind them.
“How many people have you saved this year?”
Silence fell once again.
* * *
It would start then.
The beginning of the battle between the general hunters and the concept hunters.
This time, the objective of the third part of the shoot was ‘winning’. Naturally, they were divided into two teams: the general hunter team and the concept hunter team.
The subject of the first match was arm wrestling. As a tournament-style game, the concept hunter team and the general hunter team competed in the order planned in the script.
The first one up from the general hunter team was Windmaker. As if proving that his popularity didn’t stem from his warm appearance alone, he defeated the concept hunter team’s members one after another. The second general hunter in the order didn’t even have a chance to go.
“Ahh… Concept hunter team! Will the general hunter team take five million wones worth of department store gift certificates like this?!”
The MC turned over a flap on the scoreboard located in the centre of the studio. The current score was 3:0. Of course, the three was for the normal hunters, and the zero for the concept hunters.
“It’s my turn.”
Mr. Clown got up from his seat. The concept hunters looked at his back with worried eyes.
“How dare you guys use Windmaker first.”
“My pride had taken a hit. Show us what you’ve got, Mr. Clown!”
“Well, I don’t think I’m going to win, but I can’t show my daughter a 5:0 score because I’d be embarrassed.”
Mr. Clown went out to the centre of the room.
“Mister, are you gonna be okay?”
Windmaker held Mr. Clown’s right hand and murmured quietly enough to be heard only by him.  His arrogance still reached Eunha.
“Come on, let’s begin. Three! Two! One!”
When the MC’s count was over, the two people’s arms swelled up. Windmaker had faced three hunters already and seemed to have lost his strength, as he was struggling quite a bit.
“Ghk!”
Mr. Clown clenched his trembling right hand, shaking as he gripped the table like he was trying to break it. His face was hot and red, and his molars ground together. In a word, he seemed to be struggling.
But—
“Are you that desperate for money?”
The moment Windmaker’s lips drew an arc.
“You still have to play according to your age, though.”
Bang!
The table cracked.
In an instant, the studio froze. The MC, who was blinking his eyes dumbfoundedly, came back to his senses and straightened their microphone.
“U-uh… T-this is a win for Windmaker—!”
Fweet!
The sound of a whistle announcing the end of the match echoed in the frozen studio.
“This broadcast complies with safety regulations, such as ambulance and paramedic deployment! Do not let young children attempt to replicate this!”
Crazily, the MC continued the process smoothly. After that, Mr. Clown trudged back to his seat.
“It was a disappointing match…”
He hid his injured right hand away from the camera.
However, all the concept hunters sitting on their seats, including Eunha, saw it. Drops of blood flowed out one by one from the back of his wounded hand as it sat on the edge of the table.
“That’s too much. No matter what you call it, it’s still a broadcast… Was there anything like this in the script?”
“What did you waste your time doing when you had the power to break even the table? Are you just playing around?”
The concept hunters began to roar. At that time, a hunter who had been silent raised his hand.
“Wait. The wound is worse than I thought.”
The satgat hunter said with an angry voice. The MC glanced at the PD with bewildered eyes. The PD crossed their arms, drawing a large X.
The youngest screenwriter, who was sitting in a staff seat, noticed and rushed to the room.
“I’m sorry, but we can’t delay the shoot. I’ll bring a first aid kit later, so let’s start recording again—”
“What? Later? Can’t you see he’s bleeding right now?”
When the unnamed hunter in a hanbok shouted, the youngest screenwriter hesitated. In the end, the PD who was sitting in their seat said something in a muffled voice.
“Concept hunters don’t seem to have self-healing powers, do they?”
Shaaa.
The air in the studio grew heavy. What broke the silence was the gentle laughter of Mr. Clown.
“Hahaha. A wound like this is nothing compared to what happens in gates. It’s okay, so you can continue recording!”
“However—”
Mr. Clown held the wrist of the unconvinced hunter. His face, which had been comical like a clown’s, turned serious in an instant.
“It’s fine.”
Mr. Clown whispered quietly so that only they could hear it.
Eventually, the rest of the recording continued without interruption. The staff brought a new table to the centre of the studio, and Windmaker sat there, relaxed.
“Just get it over with. You need to heal your wound.”
At the words of Windmaker, laughter flowed from the audience. Some of the crowd murmured, as if criticising Windmaker, but most of the audience was filled with his fans. The voices of the few melted into the laughter of the many and were quickly overpowered.
The MC checked the progress board and put his mouth to the microphone.
“Hey, viewers! The current score is four to zero. The Princess of Dark Flare is the last one remaining. Will she be able to stop Windmaker’s winning streak?”
The camera was raised in the air, and Windmaker’s face was captured by the LED screen behind them.
Rise.
Eunha got up from her seat.
“You don’t need to work too hard. That man is ruthless.”
“That’s right. You didn’t come here to win anyway.”
“Just act moderately without getting hurt and come back.”
The concept hunters whispered encouragingly to Eunha from behind. Eunha took a step forward and slowly turned her head.
“Don’t worry.”
Her red lips curled. Their worried eyes widened.
Standing in front of Windmaker, Eunha silently rolled up her right sleeve.
“Aww, how intense.”
Windmaker rolled their shoulders. Eunha sat across from him without saying a word and put her elbow on the table.
“…Do I look like a concept hunter?”
Eunha asked in a low voice that only he could hear. The moment Windmaker’s eyebrows twitched and trembled, the MC’s voice was heard from the speakers installed throughout the studio.
“Oh, how confident she is! The Princess of Dark Flare, can she defeat Windmaker…”
Bang!
A loud noise echoed throughout the studio. The table had been split in two and fell apart, collapsing on the floor.
The tremor was enough to rattle the light fixtures suspended in the air.
For a moment, the studio was enveloped in silence. Similar to the previous rounds, the match was over in a very short time.
“Next.”
However, the results were different.