My Assigned Hunters Climb the Tower - Chapter 44

========== CHAPTER 44 ==========

“Ah, aaaaaaah!!”

“Crazy! They actually killed them! They cut their heads off!!”

It wasn’t virtual reality; it was a real death in reality. It was a horrific execution that proved the Tower’s warning about the simulation being disabled was no bluff.

The hunters covered in warm blood screamed and fell backward.

The beautiful aerial garden instantly turned into a slaughterhouse ruled by fear and despair.

Kang Hoon sat down on the spot, clutching his mouth, and Kang Ji-hyun and Kwon Do-geun were also frozen, engulfed in shock.

Only Gyeol muttered with coldly sunken eyes as he watched the blood-soaked execution ceremony.

“Now the Tower’s true face is finally showing.”

[Community: HunterNet – Real-time Hot Board]

Title: Honestly, the hunters who just got their heads cut off didn’t actually die, right? Author: RoomCornerAnalyst | Views: 642,109 | Likes: 3,211

The scythe flying and cutting the head off was insane production. I was honestly startled seeing the blood splatter; but last time at the 1st-floor entrance, kids had their guts burst and limbs cut off, and they were walking around perfectly fine outside, right? Isn’t this just a disqualification and them getting kicked out of the Tower? The Tower guys probably just added intense hologram effects to scare people lol.

[2,841 Comments]

TowerParrot: Yup, 100% simulation effect. If they really killed them, would they let it be broadcast worldwide?

Anonymous1: The kids who were disqualified last time are probably at home eating chicken watching the broadcast lol. Those three are probably spawned on the plaza floor right now, confused.

K-Hunter: Ah, but the production was too cruel. Almost threw up while eating. Still, glad they’re alive.

VotingIsMyThing: I pressed ‘dislike’ on one of them earlier because they were rude, if they really died, does that make me a murderer? lol Obviously fake. They’ll come back alive when it’s all over.

Title: [Breaking] Fucking crazy… Three headless corpses just fell in front of the Tower; Author: PartTimerAtCafeInFrontOfPlaza | Views: 3,492,011 | Likes: 52,104

(※Warning: Cruel / Writing in text only) I’m working part-time at a cafe near the Tower’s restricted area, and suddenly there was a thud, thud, thud sound from the air, and three people fell to the ground. Everyone who saw it up close screamed, fainted, and it’s chaos. They have no heads. Blood is pouring from the neck stumps and the asphalt is all soaked. It’s the same clothes the three hunters who got cut by the scythe on the broadcast were wearing. Ambulances came, police put up police lines, it’s chaos… This isn’t fake. They really died.

[18,942 Comments]

Nameless1: Please don’t lie… Are you crazy? Is it for real?

NewsBot: [Breaking] Hunter Bureau, “3 headless corpses fell in the plaza in front of the Tower of Truth… Identified as the first batch of disqualified participants.” The news just broke, holy shit…

Nameless4: Are you crazy? Then does that mean everything until now where they almost died to monsters was real too?

VotingIsMyThing: Wait a minute… Then the kids who were disqualified earlier, they died because they got over 100k dislikes from viewer votes. We… We pressed the button and killed people?!

SaveMe: Huk… I pressed dislike on someone just for fun, what do I do? Did I become a murderer?

Justice: This is truly insane… The Tower was just a crazy murder game. Can’t even vote as I please anymore.

KangHoonMom: How many dislikes does our Hoon have!! Please, nobody press it ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Title: The world’s media is exploding right now. This really is a human slaughter show. Author: FactChecker | Views: 4,102,999 | Likes: 89,102

They say disqualified participants in the US, China, and Japan also fell as dismembered corpses at their respective country’s Tower branches. The US had 15 disqualified people alone, and the military was dispatched because the plaza reeked of blood. The viewers who were laughing and chatting until just a moment ago, asking “who should we disqualify~,” effectively pressed the murder button in real-time. It’s no joke now. The 100 people inside are either going to die to monsters or get sent to the guillotine because they were disliked by viewers, one or the other. A real hell has opened up.

[10,401 Comments]

Nameless1: My hands and feet are shaking… The 1st-floor lobby was heaven.

Nameless2: They said Hwang Tae-ja is 11th. If Hwang Tae-ja makes a mistake and gets hated, does his head fly off too? Even though he’s Rank 1?

Nameless5: Wow… So if you act up trying to hog everything like Hwang Tae-ja and get 100k dislikes from antis, you’re really done for…

Nameless8: Please everyone come back alive… I can’t vote for fun anymore ㅠㅠ

Not long after the three headless corpses fell to the ground, a bizarre phenomenon occurred. The bodies that were growing cold slowly scattered like black mist and evaporated completely into the air.

However, on the pure white marble floor where they had been lying, only a dark red pool of blood—the trace of a human who was alive and breathing just moments ago—remained eerily.

“Huk…… Haa…….”

The surviving hunters stared at that horrific bloodstain and trembled like aspen trees. Being torn apart by a monster’s claws was scary, but the realistic terror that their heads could fly off without warning at the flick of a finger from 7 billion invisible people froze their souls.

When no one could open their mouths and everyone was in a panic, it was Hwang Tae-ja who broke the heavy silence.

“Get a grip, everyone!”

Hwang Tae-ja shouted thunderously as he slammed his greatsword into the floor.

“There’s no time to be scared and trembling at some bloodstains like this! Their deaths are unfortunate, but we are the ones who must break through the next floor’s trial immediately. Now is the time to close our eyes and recover our stamina, not be terrified!”

At Hwang Tae-ja’s firm shout, a few hunters who had been frozen flinched and lifted their heads. After scanning the scared hunters, Hwang Tae-ja immediately lifted his head and stared straight at the giant golden eyeball floating above his head.

Behind his confident expression, a strange nervousness lingered, as he too didn’t know when his head might fly off due to the public’s whim with his ambiguous ranking of 11th.

“And I declare to the viewers around the world who must be watching us from beyond the screen.”

Hwang Tae-ja’s voice rang through the terrace, more desperate and solemn than ever.

“Please do not press the vote button based on likes/dislikes or emotions, not for individual gain!”

Hwang Tae-ja clenched his fist toward the eyeball.

“Evaluate us coldly based only on results and dedication, seeing who truly wields the sword for the sake of humanity. Don’t treat our lives as light entertainment!”

Hwang Tae-ja’s desperate speech echoed on the terrace, and not only the hunters but even the viewers beyond the screen fell into a strange silence.

Kang Hoon, who had been quietly watching that scene from the corner, muttered softly as if impressed.

“Wow…… that guy, his appeal is no joke. He looked genuinely desperate. People might hesitate to press dislike now, right?”

At those words, Kwon Do-geun, who was standing with his arms crossed next to him, let out a snort behind his mask.

“No, Hoon-ah. That’s acting.”

“What? Acting?”

“Yeah. Knowing the camera angle, the timing of eye contact, the breathing with deliberate tragic trembling. My pro actor eyes see it all. Honestly, the emotional delivery is a bit clumsy…… but in an extreme situation where everyone is terrified like this, it’ll work incredibly well on the public.”

At Kwon Do-geun’s cold-headed analysis, Kang Ji-hyun clicked her tongue as if it were absurd.

“I can’t believe a guy who’s into showmanship like that is Korea’s Rank 1. Did all our real rankers freeze to death somewhere?”

Kang Ji-hyun tapped the floor with the tip of her staff and turned to Gyeol.

“Speaking of which, it’s weird. Gyeol, didn’t any other named rankers enter besides Hwang Tae-ja among these 100? Hwang Tae-ja has been doing everything alone since the 1st floor, I don’t see any other guild masters or top rankers.”

Before her question could even finish, Lee Seong-ha, who had been looking away, suddenly pointed at his own chest with his finger and grinned.

“Hey, ranker? Are you talking about me?”

“…….”

Kang Ji-hyun’s face contorted instantly. It was an expression of clear, extreme disgust, as if she had stepped on the most horrific filth on the street.

“Please shut your mouth. I feel like throwing up. You think I’m talking about a neighborhood cult priest like you?”

“Neighborhood cult! That’s harsh, Sister!”

While Lee Seong-ha and Kang Ji-hyun were bickering as always, Gyeol reached out into the air without a word and opened his subspace.

Sseueuk—.

The space rippled, and that massive, top-tier magic shielding tent he had used in the 1st-floor waiting room popped out of Gyeol’s hand. At the sight of the base camp being set up majestically once again in a corner of the blood-soaked terrace, Kang Hoon and Kwon Do-geun began to set the tent’s angles out of habit.

Gyeol, who had finished setting up the tent, only then answered Kang Ji-hyun’s question indifferently.

“Rankers? They’re all in here.”

“What? They’re in here? Then why are they so quiet?”

Gyeol glanced at the group of hunters bustling outside.

“They’re observing the situation.”

Gyeol opened his mouth indifferently as he settled onto the mattress.

“Do you know what top rankers do first when entering an unknown dungeon? They grasp the ecology and rules of the dungeon perfectly. It’s the #1 principle for veterans to act cautiously without acting rashly until that detailed grasp is finished.”

Gyeol stared at Hwang Tae-ja, who was still shouting with his neck veins popping outside the tent.

“If you think of this Tower as one giant dungeon, lowering your body and grasping variables is first. Acting like that, blabbering to everyone to get the spotlight without knowing anything, is basically suicide.”

Kang Hoon, who was listening to that, tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.

“Then why is Hwang Tae-ja acting like that? He’s Korea’s Rank 1. Shouldn’t he be acting cautiously like the other rankers, like you said?”

Gyeol took a blanket out of his subspace, tossed it to his party members, and smirked.

“Do you think the standard for a ranker is just based on how many dangerous dungeons they clear while risking their lives? No. It just mechanically calculates scores by combining the hunter’s base stats, granted grade, and number of cleared dungeons.”

Gyeol looked straight into Kang Hoon’s eyes and asked.

“Hoon-ah, do you know where the place that created that ranking system and gave it authority is?”

“Well, obviously the government agency, the Hunter Bureau……”

Kang Hoon, who had been answering without thinking, suddenly had his eyes widen. A short sigh mixed with realization escaped the boy’s lips.

“Ah.”