Chapter 34: Shin Yura, the top star, is f*cked

-Slash!

The goblin scratched Baek Hyunseo.

-Swish.

A bit of blood flowed from Baek Hyunseo’s body, but it wasn’t enough to be life-threatening.

[Fireball]

Someone behind her cast a spell on the goblin.

-Whoosh!

“Kieeeek!!”

The goblin turned to ashes in an instant.

“Ugh….”

Baek Hyunseo looked at her wound, wincing in pain.

Still, she turned around to express her gratitude.

“Thank you… I was too tense and ended up making the mistake of getting hit by a goblin….”

The girl who heard her thanks—Seo Yerin—replied, seemingly flustered.

“I didn’t cast that spell. I was so startled I couldn’t do anything….”

“Then, how did the magic…?”

Baek Hyunseo noticed the wand-shaped artifact Seo Yerin was holding was glowing.

“Is that the one Instructor Choi Juwon gave you…?”

When Baek Hyunseo asked, Seo Yerin nodded.

Thanks to the auto-defense artifact Choi Juwon had given, Baek Hyunseo was able to escape the crisis.

Of course, her life wouldn’t have been in danger from just one goblin, but nonetheless, it was the artifact—more precisely, the one Choi Juwon had given—that saved her when she was cornered.

Baek Hyunseo thought to herself.

‘I keep receiving help from you, even now… just like back then.’

“Kieeeek!”

Numerous monsters emerged from the depths of the dungeon. The students had to endure painful moments as they advanced through it.

“Hah….”

It had been quite a while since Baek Hyunseo’s call. A sense of inexplicable irritation wrapped around my whole body.

‘Damn it, why did she call me and ruin my mood for no reason?’

I had been enjoying a rare moment of rest at home. Actually, calling it rest was a stretch. Even staying still didn’t bring me any comfort.

There were too many people I needed to deal with.

The numerous guilds that took money from Baek Jooseok, the Tower Master Shin Yura, and even Choi Seunghyun, the guild master of Baal.

I wouldn’t feel at ease until I crushed them all.

When I turned on my phone and glanced at the screen, my NATUBE channel caught my eye.

• Channel Name: Masked Instructor
• Subscribers: 1.2 million

The subscriber count had skyrocketed in just a few days. Recently, even my monetization application was approved.

• Current Earnings: 72 million won

Since the views before the monetization approval weren’t counted, this amount was calculated from just a few days’ worth of views. It was still a significant sum.

‘Only two videos uploaded, and I’ve already earned this much. At this rate, I might just make as much as I did during my instructor days if I keep doing NATUBE.’

That thought crossed my mind briefly, but honestly, money wasn’t that important. I already had enough.

‘Of course, you can never have too much money.’

No matter how much money I had, there was no reason to refuse an additional source of income.

‘Ah, right. I should call Seol Euna.’

Thinking back, Seol Euna had helped a lot with creating my channel, editing videos, managing it, and even promoting it.

At that time, she said there was no need to split the profits, but as someone with a conscience, I felt it was only right to give her a percentage from now on.

‘Editing alone costs quite a bit, and the promotion expenses must have been high too.’

If Seol Euna hadn’t used her connections through an MCN to promote my videos using numerous YouTubers, it would have been hard to achieve such an explosive response from the first video.

‘She really promoted it a lot.’

Looking back at the old videos, there was a record of seven big creators reviewing or sharing my video within ten minutes of its upload.

‘That’s why the views skyrocketed so quickly.’

Feeling grateful, I called Seol Euna.

• Hello?
• It’s me, Choi Juwon.
• Oh! Juwon, hello. Is something up?
• I wanted to talk about the earnings from my NATUBE channel. I’d like to share a portion of the profits with you.
• What? I’ve already told you before. I helped because I was grateful for what you did for me in the past. You don’t have to pay me.
• I don’t feel comfortable with that. Let’s split the earnings 50:50. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have even thought of creating this channel. Making this channel helped me get some attention and motivated me to do something. Without it, I’d probably still be a shut-in, doing nothing and wasting away. Please consider this profit share as a token of my gratitude.
• Hmm… This is a bit difficult. Juwon, I don’t think this is something we should discuss over the phone. Can we meet?
• Can’t we just talk over the phone?
• No, definitely not! Are you free now?
• I am, but…
• You’re at home, right?
• Yes.
• Wait for me, I’ll come over.
• Alright.
• Click.

‘What’s going on?’

I was a bit surprised by her uncharacteristic response, but I didn’t think much of it and waited. Shortly after, I heard the doorbell ring.

Ding dong.

• Juwon! It’s me~
• Click.

When I opened the door, I saw her all dressed up.

“Do you have plans today? You seem more dressed up than usual.”

Seol Euna smiled as she spoke.

“It’s been a while since I visited the salon. How do I look? Am I pretty?”

She playfully asked, but there was a nervous look on her face as she waited for my response. I looked her over and nodded.

“You look pretty.”

-Thud.

She pushed me hard in the chest with her arm. Startled, I asked her.

“Why are you doing this?…”

With a flushed face, Seol Euna replied.

“That’s not it. I mean… more importantly, we were going to talk about profit sharing, right?”

“Oh, right. Please, come this way. I’ll bring out some tea.”

“Tea is fine, but I actually brought coffee.”

Seol Eunah handed me the coffee and desserts she had been hiding behind her back.

“Actually, I didn’t come here to talk about profit sharing. I was worried because you sounded so down on the phone. Can you tell me what happened?”

I hesitated for a moment but eventually opened up to her.

I told her everything that happened after my meeting with the Hunter Association President, including how I accepted money from Chairman Baek Jooseok and killed the guilds that destroyed the intranet master key.

Seol Eunah listened to my story with a serious expression.

“I knew Chairman Baek Jooseok was spreading money around, but I didn’t realize his influence was this significant. And don’t feel too guilty about killing the Valdena guild members. They were scum, committing every crime imaginable and making people’s lives miserable.”

“I understand that, but I can’t help feeling uneasy.”

She patted my back and spoke with a sad look in her eyes.

“Don’t try to carry everything on your own. When things get tough like today, talk to me. I’m always on your side. If you’re worried about me leaking anything, we can use a vow spell if that helps.”

“Thank you. There’s no need for a vow spell. I trust you now. Honestly, without your help, I wouldn’t have even dreamed of running the NATUBE channel. It sounds silly, but over there, people admire me. Sure, there are many who criticize me, but there are also plenty of people who respect and praise me. When I read those comments, it reminds me of my days as an instructor, and it gives me some comfort.”

“… I’m glad if I could help, even a little.”

I felt my emotions surge for a moment, but I suppressed them.

“Seol Eunah, there’s something I want to discuss. Can I?”

She smiled warmly.

“Of course, tell me anything. I cleared my schedule today, so I have plenty of time.”

“It’s about recruiting disciples. I’ve received a lot of applications, but I’m not sure when to contact them and conduct interviews. I want to build my influence with my disciples while also getting back at the Tower Lord, but I can’t think of a good way to do it.”

After a brief thought, Seol Eunah replied.

“How about timing the disciple interviews to coincide with the Tower’s talent recruitment period?”

“There’s such a period?”

“Yes, the Tower regularly holds a talent recruitment process. The first stage is a document review, the second is an interview, and the third is a practical magic test before the final selection. I think it would be best if you schedule your disciple recruitment right after the Tower’s second-round interviews.”

“May I ask why?”

“You specified that only ‘unaffiliated’ individuals could become your disciples, right? During the recruitment process, the Tower grants temporary affiliation. So, for someone to become your disciple, they’d have to give up on the Tower’s third magic test.”

“That’s a great idea. The Tower Lord is obsessed with talented people. If talented individuals abandon the Tower’s recruitment process to join me instead, it would infuriate him.”

“Exactly. I’ve checked the comments on your NATUBE channel, and it looks like some impressive people have applied. If you select the top candidates and schedule their interviews to align with the Tower’s period, it will create an interesting situation.”

“Thank you, as always. I’ll follow your advice. Actually, I just thought of something even better. What if I announce it now?”

“Announce it already?”

“Yes. I’ll post on the community that the interviews will be held on that day, so no one applies to the Tower.”

“Hmm… that’s not a bad idea. It would significantly reduce the number of applicants for the Tower.”

I smiled and responded.

“I’m going to make sure it’s the lowest application rate they’ve ever seen. I’ll upload a teaser video that mages won’t be able to resist and promise to reveal everything to those who become my disciples.”

The Masked Instructor uploaded a lecture video and posted on the community.

• Official disciple recruitment period announcement. The official recruitment date, following a preliminary selection process, will be XXXX, Month XX, Day XX. Important notice: anyone who is not unaffiliated will be automatically disqualified. Those with temporary affiliations are also ineligible.

The Tower Lord, Shin Yura, checked the Masked Instructor’s post in the community. She muttered in annoyance.

“Ha, I can see right through his scheme. Who does he think he is, daring to recruit disciples during the Tower’s talent recruitment period? As if everyone wouldn’t flock to our Tower anyway. That insect.”

The disciple recruitment period soon arrived. Shin Yura was trembling as she looked at the documents in her hands. She shouted at the deputy Tower Lord.

“Are you sure you double-checked these documents?”

“I… I checked them several times.”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

• Bang!

Shin Yura kept kicking her desk in frustration.

• Whoosh!

The document she dropped showed the number of applicants for the Tower.

• 7 people.

The Tower, which usually received around 5,000 applicants each year, had only 7 applicants this year.