Chapter 5 ….

After the announcement of the world’s first S+ rank for a single strike, Korea was thrown into chaos.

No—
not just Korea. The entire world was stirred up.

[Korean Hunter Who Turned China Upside Down and Made Japan Tremble — Identity Still a Mystery?]

[U.S. President Shocked: “Find That Korean Immediately!”]

[Exclusive Report: What Exactly Is ‘One Strike’?]

All kinds of channels on Hunter Now were flooded with videos about “One Strike.”

Since the site was open not only to hunters but also to ordinary people, the view counts exploded.

Even foreigners who normally stayed in their own communities rushed in, to the point that the servers briefly had to undergo maintenance.

Most of the videos were just clickbait with flashy titles, but nobody cared.

[nicolas case: Does Korea possess a GOAT?]

[Li Changdong: One Strike is Chinese!]

└ Yeah right: How did you even get in here;;

SERGIO: I’m truly jealous. S+ is incredible!

Comments presumed to be from foreigners increased explosively.

The “One Strike” phenomenon was just as intense on social media.

[LOL there’s an S+ above S]

Seriously, who even thought of that?

└ For real lol, feels like a mobile game

└ Wasn’t Korea’s best record S?

└ Nope, S is the world record. There are quite a few though

└ Why are people freaking out over clearing the 1st floor? It’s noisy since morning because of this One Strike or whatever

└ Did someone threaten you to watch One Strike’s news?

└ Isn’t that the first-ever clear of the 1st floor?? People’s reading comprehension really has dropped these days. What’s gonna happen to our country;;;

└ It’s fine, it’s fine. One Strike will probably turn it into S+

└ LOL true. We should get rid of that guy too so our country can become S+

Almost everything was favorable toward One Strike.

Occasional slander was treated as simple trolling—
or it was buried under even harsher backlash and disappeared.

The world’s attention focused on two questions:

Who exactly was “One Strike”?
And what was his trait?

It certainly couldn’t be one of the common traits most hunters possessed.

It had to be a unique trait never seen before.

And that wasn’t all.

The stat growth per level, considered the measure of talent, must surely exceed 10—an absolute top-tier level.

People were already making a huge fuss, claiming that a new and possibly the greatest superhuman in history had appeared.

With this much attention, the person would normally reveal themselves out of pride.

Yet “One Strike” continued to keep his identity hidden without leaving any trace.

According to rumors, from the moment the announcement was posted, all personal messages had been blocked.

Meanwhile, the man everyone was desperately trying to find—

Lee Hyun, “One Strike.”

He didn’t even know the internet was in chaos because of him.

Well… to be precise, after seeing the announcement and the flood of personal messages, he had some idea.

But he deliberately chose not to look into it.

He felt it would only disturb his mind.

Enemies trying to locate a sniper was only natural.

There was no need to worry about them.

“Right now, I only need to focus on getting stronger.”

With that thought, Lee Hyun left his house.

He had cleared the 1st floor easily, but that wouldn’t always be the case.

If he wanted to operate openly as a hunter and earn money, he naturally had to register.

In the modern world, mana stones and monster by-products were strategic resources.

So if someone who wasn’t registered as a hunter tried selling them, they would immediately be investigated.

There were rumors about disposing of them through black markets, but that involved heavy commissions.

“Did I commit a crime? Why should I take the shady route?”

Lee Hyun’s beliefs and sense of responsibility as a former soldier wouldn’t allow it.

Besides, he wasn’t too worried about his identity being exposed through hunter registration.

First, the amount of personal information required was minimal.

And the organizations managing hunter data—the Tower Security Division and the Management Agency—had immense authority and never leaked information to outside institutions.

There was good reason for that.

Imagine if a highly talented hunter’s data leaked and they were lured overseas.
Who would take responsibility?

Because of that, they didn’t even request identifying information that could easily pinpoint someone.

So fears like “Will the Ministry of Defense drag me away if I register as a hunter?” didn’t exist.

As long as no one learned that Lee Hyun was One Strike, everything was fine.

Lee Hyun opened the door to the management office.

Inside were a few civil servants and hunters who had come to sell mana stones. The atmosphere was quiet.

At the ticket machine he saw three categories:

• New Registration

• Mana Stone Settlement

• Other Complaints

There were no people waiting for new registration.

Naturally—awakening as a hunter wasn’t that common.

The moment he took a ticket, a notification sounded and his number appeared.

“Why are you here today?”
The civil servant at the counter asked in a dull voice.

Didn’t I take the new registration ticket? Obviously I’m here for new registration.

Lee Hyun found it a little strange, but quickly understood.

He himself had been a public servant until recently.

Even soldiers who rarely interacted with civilians eventually encountered all kinds of people.

Over time, you stopped expecting much from anyone.

“New registration.”

“Ah. Please fill out the form over there.”

The civil servant spoke without even looking away from the monitor.

Lee Hyun filled out the form briefly.

Name.
Date of birth.
Address.
Bank account for settlement payments.
Several consent forms for data usage.

There were also spaces for trait and ID, but those were optional.

Naturally, Lee Hyun left them blank.

“I’m done.”

“May I have your ID?”

The civil servant extended a hand without taking their eyes off the screen.

After a moment, the civil servant pulled out a fairly large object from under the desk.

Clunk.

Hunter registration included an inventory verification procedure.

“Please place this stone into your inventory.”

The item was literally called “Useless Stone.”

It had no actual use but was registered in the system, making it perfect for inventory verification.

It also prevented ordinary people or weak awakeners from pretending to be hunters.

Swish—

Lee Hyun easily placed the stone into his inventory.

Thanks, buddy!

Who would have thought his tear-soaked rifle would be this helpful?

Lee Hyun resolved to keep feeding future mana stones to the rifle.

After confirming the inventory, he returned the stone.

“Is that enough?”

“Yes, verification complete.”

Only then did the civil servant finally look up to compare Lee Hyun’s face with his ID.

You’re finally looking at me.

Lee Hyun’s lips itched.

If he hadn’t undergone brutal sniper training, he might have spilled the secret.

If this emotionless civil servant knew the man standing here was One Strike, they’d probably lose their mind.

The civil servant stamped several seals on the document.

“You know that levels 1 to 29 are F rank, right? After level 30 you can reissue it as E rank. Safety comes first.”

“Yes.”

Lee Hyun replied dryly.

Looking at the civil servant, it was clear they wouldn’t particularly care if Lee Hyun got hurt.

Two people who expected nothing from each other—

A civil servant and a former civil servant.

“Your registration card will arrive by mail in a few days.”

“Yes.”

Lee Hyun turned to leave.

Then the civil servant suddenly asked:

“Oh, have you cleared the 1st floor? Do you need to settle mana stones?”

“Hm.”

He had cleared it.

But he decided not to sell the three mana stones he had left.

The announcement about One Strike had just appeared.

Selling mana stones now might attract the attention of the Tower Security Division or Management Agency.

Besides, now that he knew mana stones increased his rifle’s mana, selling them for just 50,000 won each felt wasteful.

Lee Hyun shook his head.

“It’s fine. I haven’t entered the tower yet.”

“Oh, okay.”

The civil servant nodded and stopped asking.

Instead, they typed something into the keyboard.

Lee Hyun didn’t know it, but it was the registration status report sent to the Management Agency.

Normally, if someone didn’t settle mana stones, it was recorded as “1st floor not cleared.”

After all, no one would carry mana stones and not sell them.

And even if someone had cleared it, the 1st floor wasn’t considered significant anyway.

Usually this was done lazily near closing time.

But a memo had come earlier, so the civil servant recorded it now.

Lee Hyun casually turned and walked away.

As he did, he heard another civil servant at a different counter speaking.

“Ah~ Hunter sir~ That doesn’t work like that. There’s not much we can do here… but could you try contacting the Management Agency directly? If you explain it like this to the 담당자, it might get resolved.”

“Yes, of course, Hunter sir! You’re always working hard to protect the country, so we should at least provide that level of convenience. Oh no, it’s nothing~”

…In this world, there were many more kind and hardworking civil servants.

The Next Day

“That should be enough information about the 2nd floor.”

Lee Hyun stood in an open field with his rifle, reviewing the data on his phone.

From the 1st to the 10th floor, the environment didn’t change much.

The terrain was a plain with scattered hills.

The enemies were still goblins.

However:

• The hills gradually became steeper.

• Higher-ranked goblins like warriors appeared more often.

From the 2nd floor onward, the clear condition changed to eliminate all enemies.

His outfit was simple but durable clothing from a military supply store.

He couldn’t wear an actual combat uniform, but this was the most comfortable and familiar for sniping.

As he climbed higher floors, he would need proper hunter gear like other hunters.

But for now, this was enough.

After checking everything once more, Lee Hyun entered the tower.

“Would you like to enter the Main Tower of South Korea, Floor 2?”

With that message, Lee Hyun was instantly teleported inside.

The moment he confirmed it, he moved while lying prone.

Distance to the sniper point: about 100 meters.

It was elevated terrain with enough grass to hide his position.

Maybe next time I should buy a ghillie suit.

Avoiding goblin eyesight wasn’t difficult, but more precautions were always better.

Since he couldn’t invest heavily in stealth stats yet, he had to handle it himself for now.

Lee Hyun quickly reached the sniper point.

Below the hill, goblins laughed and chattered, completely unaware.

Seven in total.

Among them were one warrior and one archer.

Lee Hyun slowly moved his scope and selected his first target.

The archer first.

Of course, a goblin’s crude bow couldn’t even compare to the range of a mana stone rifle.

But eliminating variables meant taking out the archer first.

Whoosh—

A pleasant breeze brushed past Lee Hyun.

The wind traveled down the hill and reached the goblins.

“Krrk—krrk—!”

The goblins were chatting normally.

Then the sharpest among them—the archer—began sniffing.

The wind carried a scent.

The scent of prey.

The scent of humans.

“Kekekek!”

The goblin archer waved his bow wildly and shouted.

An enemy was on the hill—attack!

The warrior and other goblins looked up.

They couldn’t see anything.

But their noses told them.

Someone was there.

“KEE—!”

The goblin warrior tried to roar an order.

But he never finished.

BAAAANG—!!!

A thunderous noise the goblins had never heard before.

To them it sounded like a powerful spell.

At that very moment—

BOOM!

The upper half of the archer—the one who first detected the human—

exploded as if it had never existed.

Only the fountain of blood marked where it had been.

What was that?

Was that really a human attack?

An invisible human…

with invisible attacks…

killed their comrade.

Maybe the human on that hill wasn’t prey—

BAAAANG—!!

The goblin warrior didn’t even finish his thoughts.

“…Nice accuracy.”

Lee Hyun quietly admired his shots as he pulled the trigger repeatedly to eliminate the elite goblins.

The 10 stat points he invested after leveling up were clearly noticeable.

Stealth reduced noise.

Precision and stability added significant corrections.

Even light wind could practically be ignored.

At this rate… once I get used to it, I won’t be able to use any other rifle.

Of course, after leaving the military, he wouldn’t be using other rifles anyway.

Like on the first floor, Lee Hyun kept firing at the goblins who panicked after losing their leaders.

One shot.

One thunderous sound.

One death.

Repeated.

[All enemies eliminated.
You have cleared Floor 2.
Rank: S+]

[Item “Choi Ihyun’s Sniper Rifle” leveled up.
Please check the status window.]

“Would you like to exit Floor 2?”

After confirming every enemy with the naked eye out of habit, Lee Hyun nodded.

At this rate…

His next two days could be summarized like this.

[All enemies eliminated.
You have cleared Floor 3.
Rank: S+]

[Item “Choi Ihyun’s Sniper Rifle” leveled up.]

[All enemies eliminated.
You have cleared Floor 4.
Rank: S+]

[Item “Choi Ihyun’s Sniper Rifle” leveled up.]

Lee Hyun rushed through four floors with consecutive S+ ranks.

But the 4th floor clear had something different.

[Item “Choi Ihyun’s Sniper Rifle” reached Level 5.
Please select a skill.]

Looking at the three skill choices floating before him, Lee Hyun grinned.

“Obviously this one.”

The choice wasn’t difficult.

Meanwhile—

By the time Lee Hyun cleared the 4th floor…

The outside world summarized it even more simply:

[ID “One Strike” Achieves S+ on the 4th Floor! Identity Still Unknown!]