Episode 274. That Is Me (2)
Before reporting, what was the first thing that had to be checked?
Obviously, fact-checking.
All the more so if it was news that couldn't be readily believed.
Moreover, VBC wasn't some small-to-midsize broadcasting station no one had ever heard of. After the Great Upheaval, it had risen on the swelling tide and transformed into a major network standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the terrestrial channels.
Camera director Yun Jongjin was feeling that reality firsthand.
Because even players who had acted overbearingly would noticeably soften their attitude when a camera bearing the VBC logo was thrust at them.
Perhaps because of that, his expression was quite complex.
“No, but Sunbae. Is it really okay to push this through like this?”
The question was directed at the studio where rehearsal was in full swing.
There was PD Hyeon Yongseok overseeing the studio.
Hyeon Yongseok answered without looking.
“What are you doing? Not on standby?”
“No, Sunbaeee.”
“Why are you stretching the end of your sentence like that? Creepy. What is it?”
Only then did Hyeon Yongseok look at Yun Jongjin.
And he let out a hollow laugh at the desperate expression.
“That’s the very picture of a puppy about to go, right there.”
“I can’t help it!”
“……?”
When he raised his voice, the surrounding gazes poured onto him.
Yun Jongjin tactfully lowered his volume and whispered.
No matter how much he thought about it, this was too hasty.
“Sunbae, to speak frankly, we’ve only been making a mess of things lately.”
“Look at the way you talk.”
“No, I’m trying to speak candidly.”
Today Arcana.
The recent ratings trend couldn’t be called good by any standard.
It couldn’t be helped.
Unlike broadcasting stations, the trends after the Great Upheaval changed rapidly.
“In the Zero Mountain Range, we lost out to guild-scale individual broadcasts. And if we try to snap up the rumors floating around in reality, we have nothing to offer but speculation. If we push forward after careful deliberation, we can’t even book the panels…….”
Yun Jongjin’s words were all true.
In the age of the Great Upheaval, there was no place for broadcasting stations to step in. The reason was simple. The bait that could even somewhat hook viewers had been rotten for quite a long time now.
“Cheonha Tongil, I know those bastards have been stressing you out. I know, because I’ve heard you backbite those bastards until I’m sick of it while we drank together.”
Cheonha Tongil’s movements.
Even if covered shallowly, like licking the outside of a watermelon, the topicality was guaranteed.
The problem was that the higher-ups didn’t want that, but.
“Just how high up the chain are they entangled with that they won’t even let us speak of it? I understand you’re heartbroken that the project you prepared was completely scrapped. But can you handle this on top of that, back-to-back?”
The news posted on the player community.
The true identity of Heukamryong is Yi Hoyeol!
The facts had not been revealed.
There was only one piece of circumstantial evidence: the testimonies of players. Even that was merely a message that had appeared, limited to players who had witnessed an abnormal phenomenon captured above the Magic Tower.
“On top of that, it’s not even a message saying Mr. Hoyeol is Heukamryong, is it? It’s merely an achievement message about witnessing the return of Heukamryong.”
Yet they were pushing a special broadcast as if it were an established fact.
There was no change in Hyeon Yongseok’s expression.
Yun Jongjin held in a sigh and asked.
“But you’re sure, right? Then it’s fine.”
It might have been the intuition of a genius producer.
But Hyeon Yongseok shook his head.
“No? That’s not it.”
“……Ah, it’s not?!”
Why on earth was this hyung acting like this?
Yun Jongjin was so flabbergasted he wanted to strip off his rank insignia and ask.
If this were the old days when they had nothing, this would have been fine.
Frankly, a single letter of apology would have been enough to get over it.
“But both VBC and you have grown too big for that. We have too much to lose, and we might end up shouldering the burden because of greed to deliver the news faster than everyone else!”
Moreover, the size of the burden was no joke.
The very being over whom more than ten dragons had roared—Heukamryong.
In a way, that day was the day Earth had come closest to destruction.
“At this rate, we’ll really get our heads chopped off…….”
“Jongjin-ah.”
“Yes, PD Hyeon.”
“Do you think I don’t know what you know?”
“……Were you actually thinking about that?”
Hyeon Yongseok shook his head.
“I may look like a crazy bastard, but I don’t move without thinking. Still, well, I’ll acknowledge what should be acknowledged. As you said, I’ve been making a mess of things lately.”
Cheonha Tongil.
Because of those damned bastards.
Months of coverage had all gone up in smoke.
He didn’t know how they had managed it, but to think they had exerted influence all the way from China to a mere broadcasting station in Korea. He was realizing anew what kind of influence the world’s greatest guild wielded.
Hyeon Yongseok raised the corners of his lips in a smirk.
“But since we’ve already been kicked, shouldn’t we kick them back?”
He had no certainty that Yi Hoyeol was Heukamryong.
As Yun Jongjin had said.
At present, there was nothing but the testimonies of players.
Even that couldn’t be called certain evidence. One wrong step and it was over. He might get axed from VBC, which he had grown attached to.
But Hyeon Yongseok desperately needed one big hit.
Of course, a hit to blow away the stagnation of recent times.
A big hit to land on Cheonha Tongil and the higher-ups entangled with them……!
Cheonha Tongil.
And different from the likes of Liu Junchun.
It was the timing to put forth the real ‘Monarch’.
Scritch scritch—Hyeon Yongseok scribbled on the cue sheet with a pen.
“Look, how’s this for a title?”
“……What title all of a sudden?”
“Even for a special broadcast, we need a subtitle, don’t we?”
“Ha, really…….”
When Yun Jongjin closed his mouth, Hyeon Yongseok finally wiped the playfulness from his face. And then he said what Yun Jongjin and the staff most wanted to hear.
“I believe, Jongjin-ah.”
Believe what all of a sudden?
That Hoyeol is Heukamryong?
No, the majority probably thought that.
Not only was there no reason for many players to lie.
But no player other than Hoyeol came to mind who could be called Heukamryong.
But that was merely speculation at best.
So he had been keeping his mouth shut.
When Hyeon Yongseok said something unexpected.
“I believe he’ll be different.”
……Different?
“What will be different from what, Sunbae?”
“I mean that Mr. Hoyeol will be different from that bastard Liu Junchun.”
“……Why Liu Junchun all of a sudden? A grudge?”
Hyeon Yongseok shook his head.
It wasn’t a simple grudge.
Because he actually believed.
Because the path Hoyeol had shown until now was the basis for that belief.
“Mr. Hoyeol has never once hidden his movements. Every action had a clear reason, and he revealed it confidently to the world. Of course, only when there was a formal question.”
That was why Hyeon Yongseok was certain.
“If it’s anyone, if it’s Mr. Hoyeol, he will surely reveal it with his own mouth. That he is Heukamryong, proudly before the whole world. The whole point of our broadcast is to wait for exactly that moment.”
“Wait for the moment……?”
“Simply put, it’s a waiting broadcast for Yi Hoyeol’s major announcement.”
“!”
If Hoyeol did not move……
The special broadcast would be nothing short of a complete disaster.
There was a limit to how long they could kill time with gathered anchors and panels.
But if things unfolded as planned…….
“We can definitely make it explode, whatever happens.”
Now there was only one thing to decide.
“In that sense, everyone give your opinions. What to use for the subtitle.”
“……What you wrote isn’t bad, though?”
“Really? Isn’t it too cringeworthy?”
“There’s a certain charm to being cringeworthy. Honestly, anything you attach to Mr. Hoyeol would suit him, wouldn’t it? Frankly, he even pulls off the epithet of infinitely deep darkness.”
“Well, that is true? Anyone have a different opinion?”
Occasionally a different opinion came out.
But one-upping only led to more one-upping.
No opposing opinions existed.
Thus the title of the special broadcast was decided.『Dragon Monarch, Heukamryong Yi Hoyeol. Roaring at the World.』Bang bang!
*Damn you, thank you for real, System……!!
It must all be because my fame rose excessively.
Why, in the Arcana Continent, a completely different world.
Even in the imperial capital, Antonium.
Wasn’t I the one who received hospitality so overwhelming I could barely raise my head?
‘In that state, my fame must have risen even more.’
Just think of the contribution accumulated while restoring the imperial territories.
A whopping one billion.
It was to the extent that the Emperor laid bare the empire’s foundation before me. Though no message about fame rising had particularly popped up. [Legend, Heukamryong Yi Hoyeol]
The stature of that title must have risen as well.
‘The aftermath of that manifested as a message in reality……’
Outputting a message to players near the Magic Tower.
Even though I had merely returned normally.
This is why there’s no reason for a portal to manifest at the Magic Tower, right?
While one man is in agony, the running of the mouth remains perfectly composed.
“I ended up roaring against my will.”
I didn’t even roar for real……!
But the problem was that there were those responding to my chatter.
Harkon let out a hearty laugh.
“I was convinced. Nothing but you, my lord, would befit the epithet Heukamryong. So what tales of valor have you penned and returned with after a full fortnight?”
Everyone’s eyes were sparkling.
A fortnight in real time.
Approximately two months in Arcana Continent time.
Yes, looking back, a lot had happened.
I truly didn’t want to say it with my own mouth, but…….
Properly formal questions must be answered in some way.
I opened my mouth.
“To tens of millions of demons, an awareness of their station.”
From the first word, it was steeped in Grandpelle-style rhetoric.
[Natural Enemy].
Due to the specialty of the class called Demon Hunter.
He had merely made demons tremble in fear.
Anyway, packaging is the best.
“To the Old Dragon, an ancient pact.”
Here, the Old Dragon was Yunaxus, and the pact was a story related to the setting involving dragons and the Claudie family.
I prayed earnestly as I spoke.
‘Please don’t ask.’
If they were to ask formally what that pact was.
I would end up blabbing about the Claudie…….
About my dark past.
But fortunately, no one there cut off my words.
Of course, the next sentence was problematic enough as well.
“With the Frost Dragon, a game within frozen time.”
To package a life-or-death battle as a game.
My life in the Arcana Continent was no different from the days when the Arcana Chronicles were merely a game. So in a way, it could be seen as a game…….
As expected, shameless.
At my words, the expressions around the table grew serious.
“……You faced tens of millions of demons?”
“Old Dragon and Frost Dragon. They weren’t all the same dragon.”
“Could it be because of frozen time that it took a fortnight……?”
But there was nothing wrong with the statement, so I couldn’t correct it and move on.
Moreover, compared to the last thing.
What I had said so far was but a drop in the bucket.
So I wish everyone would listen without getting surprised…….
“Finally, I disciplined dragons who had lost their pride.”
“……!!!”
As expected, their expressions went beyond surprise to shock. Even Harkon, who would believe me if I said I brewed meju from red beans, asked back.
“D-disciplined dragons? Disciplined as in teaching?”
If I had returned alive after a desperate battle, everyone would have been convinced. After all, the hype that had arisen thanks to my desperate flailing was incredibly abundant.
But discipline was a different realm. Above all, saying ‘did’ meant succeeding in the discipline. Except for a few, including Nam Taemin and Hisagi.
“As expected, Pride.”
“Nothing is impossible for Pride.”
“……What are you saying?”
I understood why Leonie couldn’t easily nod along like them.
Actually, that was the natural reaction.
If it weren’t for the glory of the Claudie family, even I couldn’t have conversed with them.
But while there may be exaggeration, everything was true.
If you ask where the proof is.
……Right.
I didn’t want to say it with my own mouth even if I died.
But there is no way around it here.
I opened my mouth quietly.
“Indeed. As you said.”
“……?”
“I am the one who has been observing and orchestrating them from behind the scenes.”
After dragging it out to the fullest, I continued.
“It is because I am Heukamryong.”
……You went and did it after all, Hoyeol!!
The special broadcast begins on TV.
Its title is.
“Dragon Monarch, Heukamryong Yi Hoyeol. Roaaaring at the world?! Are you really crazy?!”
Wincing.
Even while shocked, the corners of her mouth won’t stop.
Her nemesis, Yi Yerim, left evidence first of all.
Click—
“I feel like I heard something similar to that a long time ago……? Was he this good at games even back then? Damn, I can’t remember. I really should quit drinking starting next year.”
Murmuring things that would make Hoyeol’s heart drop if he heard them.