Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 392 – Survival of The Fittest (1)

The South Korean Government and the South Korean Hunters’ Association had long since gotten on Han-Yeol’s nerves, but it was only during the funeral that he started thinking about what to do with them.

“My fellow Koreans, I love our country. Unfortunately, the government and the Association have not only colluded with each other for their benefit, but they have caused our country to become rotten to its very core. I plan to root out the forces ruining our country before they run it to the ground,” Han-Yeol announced. Then he gave a signal to Sahas.

The Gurkha raid party members brought in two scarecrows and placed them on the stage. They looked like normal scarecrows, there was nothing special about them, but the reporters instinctively knew these were far from ordinary scarecrows.

Gulp...!

‘One is the government and the other is the association...!’

‘T-That means...’

“This is what I will be doing from now on,” Han-Yeol said.

Shiiik! Chwak!

Magma and ice shot out from his hands without warning and completely obliterated the scarecrows. There was no way these ordinary scarecrows made out of straw could withstand an elemental attack from Han-Yeol, who was now Level 511.

The reporters were absolutely shocked at what they witnessed, especially since it was not a skill but just a materialization of the elements he could control.

Most people would ridicule him for being chuuni if he did this for no reason, but he was fortunately saved from such ridicule due to the situation warranting his actions.

Anyway, the magma and ice annihilated the scarecrows, not even leaving ash behind. This was a performance, but it was not about showing off.

It was about sending a message.

“I sincerely hope my message will reach their ears.”

***

Han-Yeol was renowned as the most powerful Hunter in the world, but people seemed to know him as someone quiet and meek for some reason.

The reason behind this misconception about his personality was simple.

It was right after Han-Yeol obtained the title of the Most Powerful Hunter that all sorts of Hunters started taunting him. Their taunts came through numerous channels such as live interviews, videos challenging him on video-sharing platforms, and so on.

Why would they do such a thing?

The answer was simple: to make a name for themselves. Hunting monsters was the only way most Hunters could become well-known, so some of them tried to take a shortcut by challenging famous Hunters to a duel in hopes of defeating them and becoming famous themselves.

This was not a problem particular to Han-Yeol; many other famous Hunters experienced this on a daily basis.

However, the number of times Han-Yeol responded to such taunts or challenges was a whopping... zero.

This was the reason people thought that Han-Yeol was a meek and docile person.

So why was he showing a completely different side of him at the press conference, all of a sudden?

The performance he put on sent shockwaves throughout South Korea.

[Did Lee Han-Yeol declare war against the South Korean Government and Hunters’ Association?]

[A stern warning has been issued against the government and association. Who will be struck down by his sword first?]

[What is the true meaning behind the performance he put on during the press conference?]

Some of the news were quite neutral, while some were much more aggressive regarding the issue.

[Lee Han-Yeol has decided to operate on the growing tumor within the government and association!]

[The Gentle Giant has been roused!]

[The pesky rats running around have awakened the lion!]

The news outlets pressured and censored by the government all these years finally let loose and started publishing extremely aggressive news in favor of Han-Yeol.

However, there were still some major news outlets that sided with the government and the Association, and these news outlets were quick to criticize Han-Yeol.

[Lee Han-Yeol’s baseless slander should be considered treason!]

[The traitor has to be arrested for committing treason against the country!]

[Parents’ Association and We Love Korea Association have demanded an apology from Lee Han-Yeol!]

[Declaring his intent to conquer the country is no different from treason!]

South Korea was split into two, but the problem was that the split was not done evenly.

The people knew very well that the self-proclaimed elites of society—the politicians, influential figures, business owners, and Hunters—did not care what kind of life the ordinary people were living and what kind of hardships they experienced every day.

The only thing these people cared about was lining their own pockets to satisfy their never-ending greed, and this endless greed of theirs exhausted the people. South Koreans were known for their resilience that overcame numerous financial and political crises, but even these resilient people were at their limit.

The only time the politicians would care about the people was during election time, when they would come up with all sorts of sweet promises promising reform and change to society as a whole. Naturally, none of these promises were kept once the president had been chosen.

Whenever a new president was elected, the rich would only get richer while the poor would become poorer.

The situation in the country was fast deteriorating and hundreds were committing suicide every year. However, instead of reforming the country to improve the lives of the general public, the government would help the rich find more ways to exploit the hardworking populace.

For instance, most of the technology developed by small companies would be blatantly stolen by conglomerates, and there was nothing they could do about it as the government was not willing to help the small guys.

Another example was how the hourly wage in the country was purposely kept low to exploit the working class. Some argued that this was good for small business owners, but they usually ended up with barely having enough to keep their shops running due to the high cost of goods.

It was amazing how the people did not do anything even though society as a whole was in a downward death spiral.

Still, that did not mean they were turning a blind eye to it. Their hearts and minds were filled with anger as they gnashed their teeth at those “elites” who were responsible for these sufferings they had to endure.

It was then that Han-Yeol drew the sword and ignited the fire in their hearts.

And with that, the anger dwelling within them finally exploded.

The scary thing about South Koreans was that they were usually quiet most of the time, but they would turn into a very scary angry mob once their anger was roused.

[We have done our duties as citizens of this country and we persevered no matter how hard things were. However, the government, the Association, and the ruling elites always ask us to sacrifice ourselves while they keep exploiting us!]

[A homeless man recently got slapped with a two-year sentence for stealing a piece of bread! Is that because our justice system is very strict? As if! The ruling elite gets a slap on the wrist and a suspended sentence even though they get caught using drugs!]

[How can you call this a country?! My fellow citizens! Yes, the president is awaiting impeachment! But that is not going to change our country! We need to make the change ourselves! Let us join forces to uproot this rotten system and replace it with one that will ensure fairness and equality for everyone!]

“Waaaaah!”

“Yes! Let’s do it!”

If South Korea’s symbol of freedom in the 20th Century was Gwangju[1], then the 21st Century’s symbol of freedom was Gwanghwamun[2].

A young man gave a passionate speech while rallying the protestors, and this speech was spread all over the country through YouTube.

The winds of change started sweeping across the country fanning the flames of revolution, and the current administration was trying to do their best to extinguish these flames before they completely engulfed the entire country.

Bam!

The acting president slammed his fist on the table and exclaimed, “What is this mess?!”

“T-That is...”

“L-Lee Han-Yeol publicly ridiculed us and the association out of nowhere, and his comments are plastered all over the internet and on the streets...”

“H-Hiiik!”

The acting president had lost the political contest and ended up as the prime minister, which was more of a symbolic position with no authority whatsoever.[3]

Ironically, despite his lack of political backing, fortune was on his side. The president’s impeachment had just granted him temporary control over the nation as the acting president, and words could not describe how sweet his days as the highest authority in the country were.

However, he had not imagined in his wildest dreams that this disaster was going to occur during his tenure as the acting president.

Personally witnessing how the ex-president was ousted after messing with Lee Han-Yeol made him resolve not to mess with—no, not to get involved with him at all, if possible.

Unfortunately, despite his best efforts not to mess with Han-Yeol, his greatest fears had come to life.

Numerous reports were flooding in of the gravity of their situation.

“T-That’s right! The military!”

“S-Sir?!”

“Mobilize the military and stop this coup d’état!”

“B-But sir...”

“That is a bit...”

The situation was indeed dire and there was a possibility of riots occurring all over the country, but the protestors gathered at Gwanghwamun Square were so far peacefully protesting.

Yet he wanted to send in the military on them?

“No, the military won’t be enough. Declare a state of emergency at the highest level and arrest all of those traitors! Slap them with the heaviest sentence possible and make sure they don’t see the light of day ever again! As for Lee Han-Yeol, declare him the most wanted criminal in the country and put a ten billion won bounty on his head!”

The ministers and officials gathered in the meeting room were stunned at what they heard.

Thud! Thud!

A few of the chairs were shoved back as some of them shot up from their seats, but these chairs were quite heavy, so none of them toppled over.

“Mr. President!”

“This is preposterous!”

“Civil war will erupt in our country the moment you give that command! Civil war!”

“This will not be about soldiers fighting rebels but Hunters going against other Hunters! Nobody will be able to tell how much destruction it will cause!”

The ministers vehemently opposed the acting president’s decision, and they were right to do so.

It was a different story if the protests turned violent and anarchy ensued, but declaring a state of emergency just because the protests might turn violent was against the constitution.

Also, what was the reason the ex-president was impeached and he had become the acting president in the first place?

The ex-president had tried to forcefully dissipate the protests, which had ended up blowing up in his face. The ministers were both baffled and in disbelief as the acting president tried to make the same mistake as his predecessor.

Unfortunately, any organization was bound to have people more interested in earning brownie points from those in power rather than discerning between right and wrong.

Bam!

“So what?! Are you going to sit around and let that traitor do what he wants?!”

“The very foundation of our nation is in peril just because of that arrogant brat, Lee Han-Yeol! I agree with you, sir. We must first declare a state of emergency and send in the military to disperse the protestors, then arrest that arrogant brat and have him executed for treason!”

“He is right! He might be a famous Hunter, but we have laws in this country and he has a duty to respect our laws as a citizen!”

The hard-liners doubled down and gave support to the acting president’s decision.

They were all close to the acting president, and every single one of them had been discreetly promoted the moment he had come into power.

The two factions squabbled over whether to declare a state of emergency or not. Still, the voices of those against it were soon drowned as they were going against the decision of the acting president, who was basically the president right now.

“You fools will regret this!”

“Ahem!”

“Ptooey!”

The five ministers opposed to the state of emergency being declared got up and left the meeting room. Right now, this action was no different from resigning from their positions. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ Noᴠᴇlꜰire.nᴇt

Thus, only those in favor of the acting president’s decision were left, and he was able to declare a state of emergency in the country.

***

Han-Yeol’s bombshell announcement turned the peaceful lives of the Hunters upside down.

It was rare for Hunters to become interested in the country’s current affairs, but that was not the case this time as they closely followed the developments and discussed them.

“Did you watch Lee Han-Yeol’s press conference?”

“Ah, I did.”

“What do you think about it?”

“Well, I’m not so sure, to be honest. We, Hunters, don’t really have any problems making a living, right? Even an F-Rank non-combatant can earn hundreds of millions a year if they land a nice job.”

“I guess you’re right...”

Everyone nodded in agreement—except for one.

The most beautiful Hunter among them seemed to ponder about something before speaking up, “But... I do think change has to happen to our country.”

“Huh? Why do you think so, Se-Na?”

1. A city where people rose up against dictatorship and thousands were killed. More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwangju_Uprising ?

2. The main square where people gather to protest. ?

3. Prime Ministers in Korea don’t have any authority. All authority is wielded by the president here. ?