2.

[Preliminary Results of the Resident Vote]
① Taebaek Guild 40%
② Haenampa 38%
③ Asan Guild 22%

These are the preliminary results before the main vote. Shockingly, the winner turned out to be the Taebaek Guild.

“Why?!”
“It’s because we didn’t put in enough effort.”
[Don’t be too discouraged. There’s a message from Representative Han Chae-rin to read the residents’ comments and restructure the plan.]

Hae Eung-eung comforted the dejected entertainers, becoming a solid pillar for them. Nina and Nanase followed her closely, their loyalty unmistakable as she displayed the characteristics of a female group leader. Her seamless integration with the team was evident—she was undeniably a part of the halftime group.

‘Ah, they’ll be disappointed if they see this.’

Min Woo-seong, already acting as a messenger by going out of the gate and bringing back letters, knew the contents of the message. And as expected, the look on the Silent Swordsman’s face froze after reading it.

“I want to see it too!”
“Please show it to us.”

[Reasons for Taebaek Guild's 40%]

No idea what they're doing, but they seem reliable
They look like they can manage the gate and handle things well on their own
The fame of the teenage guild
[Reasons for Haenampa's 38%]

They’re scared of being whipped like cockroaches are killed. Don’t want to be treated like monsters.
Too shaky, worried it’ll cause accidents. Accidents from monsters? No way. But accidents from misused whips? Yes.
How can we tolerate this when a mass-murdering swordsman is protecting our neighborhood?
[Reasons for Asan Guild's 22%]

I hope Eun-ho oppa will protect us.
Can’t stand the rude vice guild leader.
The filming crew doesn’t care about accidents, so they’ll likely ignore the villagers and leave them to die. We can’t trust a guild like that with our neighborhood safety.
Hae Eung-eung’s pupils shook dramatically.

“Aah, unni, don’t be so disappointed! The way you use the whip is really cool! You whip it like whoosh and whoosh and suddenly monsters fly away and bam, boom, bang!”
“It’s just a simple matter of not whipping people. It’s an unnecessary concern.”

Her consolation didn’t help much. Hae Eung-eung couldn’t help but feel stung by the critique.

‘You can’t whip people, you say? Then what is the whip for?’

When the Heavenly Demon used the whip, the believers loved it, so why was it that when she used the whip, the residents disliked it and were practically ready to die?

Had she lacked the skill to control the force? Should she be wielding it less fearfully?

Weapons are inherently scary when swung, so why was she the only one being criticized for using a whip?

‘It’s because of the sound.’

Hae Eung-eung came to a realization. Her whip was too destructive. Her lack of technique and finesse had been compensated with sheer destructive power. Uncontrolled strength had become violent sounds, and the explosive walls and ceilings terrified those who witnessed her actions.

[From now on, I’ll use something else instead of the whip.]

It was practically impossible to drastically improve her technique in handling the whip right now. Therefore, the only solution was clear.

She had to pick up a replacement for the whip.

“Wow! Finally!”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Make sure the cameras are rolling. We cannot miss this opportunity.”

The two participants and the cameraman were excited. Everyone was anticipating the Silent Swordsman's swordsmanship.

3.

[You can’t fight like that.]
[Can’t you step back a little and spread ice like you're scattering it?]
[Don’t try to approach with your body first. The vector manipulation ability would be much better handled like you’re shooting a wind blast.]

It wasn’t until Hae Eung-eung realized that her substitute for the whip was a notebook.

‘Why isn’t she holding a sword?’
‘Guidance, correction, nagging. I’m going to lose my mind.’
‘This is to give us some extra footage, right? She’ll pull out her sword soon and show us some epic massacre, right?’

Contrary to everyone’s expectations, Hae Eung-eung did not grab the sword.

‘If they’re this scared of the whip, they might faint if I hold the sword.’

The viewers accustomed to the game’s V-tube broadcasts easily accepted her swordsmanship, but the viewers from terrestrial broadcasts had much lower tolerance for bloodshed and destruction. At least, that was what Hae Eung-eung thought.

She considered the delicate skin of babies who would react to even the smallest provocation. Instead of focusing on the extremely meticulous swordplay, she decided to simply step back, let the other two show their skills, and watch them.

‘Damn it. I should have just said I didn’t know when they asked me earlier.’

Min Woo-seong regretted his earlier response.

[What role does a fixed panel usually play?]
“Um... mostly, they provide guidance. They carefully observe the performance of the filming crew, give their evaluation, share their thoughts, and point out areas for improvement.”
[Thanks, that was helpful.]

Min Woo-seong had answered the question about the fixed panel without suspicion. Without filtering his words at all, Hae Eung-eung absorbed his advice like a sponge and immediately began her guidance bombardment using just her notebook.

‘It’s helpful, but it feels like my skills are improving, but more than that, I want to see the Silent Swordsman’s sword!’
‘She keeps giving the right feedback, so I can’t even argue, but this is driving me crazy.’
‘The entertainment portion is covered. Can’t they start fighting now? The dungeon’s almost cleared.’

The actual dungeon progression was mostly being handled by Nina and Nanase, the two star ascenders who had shown outstanding talent from the start. With Hae Eung-eung’s advice, their dungeon-clearing speed increased dramatically.

“Forget everything else, but their sensing ability is amazing, right?”
“I agree.”

Even though she wasn’t a reinforcement ability user, Hae Eung-eung had extraordinary sensing skills that could rival those of anyone. No monster could avoid her sharp senses.

‘The dungeon clearing speed is really fast. Compared to the Myeongho Guild’s team, this is even better.’
‘The Royal Club star ascenders have spent money in the dungeon before, and they’ve often traveled together for safety, but this is impressively fast.’

Off-camera, Shin Seong-gwak and the Royal Club’s safety staff were genuinely amazed by the incredibly efficient progress.

‘Hae Eung-eung. Does she have any limits?’
‘Could she possibly have two abilities?’

Normally, dungeon progress didn’t go this smoothly. Teams would often deliberate whether to take a detour to avoid monster traps. They’d engage in tense mind games during recon missions. When they reached crossroads, they’d carefully consider the right path, marking maps and putting effort into reconnaissance.

Such time-consuming tasks were all cut down by Hae Eung-eung’s mere presence.

‘If you awaken all five senses and feel the flow of Qi with precision, it shouldn’t be too difficult. Why is everyone closing off their senses?’

While Hae Eung-eung was the only one who found it odd that others weren’t doing the same, the dungeon boss finally appeared.

“Emergency! Emergency! Dungeon boss!”
“Everyone, gather!”
“Safety personnel, prepare for the emergency.”

The dungeon boss was a monster of a different caliber, with a power level that surpassed regular monsters. In most cases, bosses weren’t tackled directly during dungeon runs.

“If we kill it, we’ll get a lot of mana, right?”
“If we fail to tackle the boss, the dungeon’s progression resets.”
“But if we don’t take down the boss here, we’ll have to deal with respawning mobs and only slowly build our contribution percentage.”

The dungeon boss wasn’t something that had to be killed. It was just a way to quickly raise contribution levels. Contributions could also be filled by clearing respawning mobs.

“Guild leader. Will you join the hunt?”
[For now, I’ll watch the fight between the two and decide.]

Nina and Nanase mustered their courage and challenged the dungeon boss. Hae Eung-eung, watching their tense reactions, couldn’t understand the people’s concern.

‘It’s not even as strong as the bosses in the Beastman’s Valley. Do they really think the two of them can’t defeat this?’

The boss was large and powerful, with a great amount of mana and diverse attack patterns. But that was all.

‘It’s not even as intelligent as the bosses from Beastman’s Valley. There are no patterns designed to confuse players.’

The boss monsters, having mostly spent their excessive mana on enlarging their bodies, had many weaknesses: off-balance posture, wide blind spots, and inefficient weapons. The problem was that despite these weaknesses, Nina and Nanase allowed themselves to be attacked or were too scared to seize opportunities to strike.

[Stop. Step back.]

Unable to watch any longer, Hae Eung-eung stepped in herself.

“Ugh, ugh. The boss is too big and stiff, so ice doesn’t work well on it!”
“It’s too strong to break with vector manipulation alone.”

[Excuses are not necessary.]

In the blink of an eye, faster than even the camera could capture, Hae Eung-eung slipped behind the boss monster’s legs. Her sword pierced the monster’s weak spot, and the massive creature jolted and fell to its knees.

“Wah! Did you just see that?”
“She delivered a fatal blow in one hit.”

No complicated swordsmanship, no need for incredible finesse. Just read the timing, thrust the sword in, and the monster falls.

[This is how it’s done.]
“Wow!”
“That’s incredible!”

The boss monster was neutralized in an instant. The camera crew, applauding with genuine admiration, cheered for her.

[Now, follow what I just showed you.]
“Eh?”
“Huh?”

Hae Eung-eung didn’t finish off the already captured boss monster. Instead, she walked down and held out her notebook once again.

[Practice square penetration, spot weakness detection, and joint immobilization. Repeat until each one is successful.]

“Why… Can’t you just finish it off now that we’ve caught it?”
“I’d rather practice the hunt than finish it off.”

[If, by some unfortunate accident, you encounter a boss monster alone without me, would you want someone else to step in and finish it for you?]
“!!”

Both participants reflected deeply. Hae Eung-eung, beyond being a guest or panelist, had now become their true mentor.

‘They’re determined young people. Their attitude is impressive, especially for third-generation awakens.’

Even Shin Seong-gwak, watching from behind, nodded in approval.

“Yay! We did it!”
“It’s the finish.”

The two of them had finally taken down the boss monster with their combined efforts. Just as they were about to land the final blow, Hae Eung-eung grabbed them and threw them backward.

“Wah?!”

“It’s rolling!”
“What was that? Did the boss monster surprise us?!”

It wasn’t anything like that, though.

[Now, we’ll practice solo hunts in case of an unfortunate accident, where you end up separated and have to fight the boss monster alone.]
“Huh??”
[Then we’ll practice fighting with only one arm, assuming you get injured in one arm. Next, we’ll train with one eye closed.]
“…….”
[Finally, we’ll aim to take it down with one leg, using only one arm and one leg without taking a hit.]

Martial artists, when preparing for life-and-death battles, design specific counter-techniques for each of their movements. Once the martial artist’s training switch is flipped, only perfection can turn it off.

“Grrrr.”

The boss monster Minotaur, battered and bruised, looked pitiful, its massive body now diminished. Instead of eating grass like an ox, it let out a sad cry with clear, innocent eyes.

After being repeatedly subdued, its torn muscles and broken bones healed again, testing the limits of its recovery.

Finally, the Minotaur, exhausted from the repeated boss hunts, made the first move.

“Hmmmmm.”

“Eh? Where’s it going? Hey, don’t stop there!”
“The boss monster is running away!”

The boss monster, unable to bear it anymore, turned and bolted out of the boss room.