IRTPTA 31🌸

Episode 31

It happened before she even had time to react.

“……”

“……”

Silence filled the measuring room.

“Uh.”

Seoyeob’s startled voice broke it, followed by Ipado’s booming laughter.

“Hahaha! Seoul machines are weak as hell!”

Laughing heartily, he threw an arm around Seoyeob’s shoulder.

“Girl! Come to Busan! The measuring boards here are solid—never break! And while you’re here, we’ll grab some sashimi and knock back some soju!”

He went on like he had caught an opportunity, but his loud voice passed straight through her.

That was because when she turned her gaze toward him, she saw not only Ipado’s face, but something else.

<Status Window>
Name: Ipado
Rank: S
Server: Earth (S3-EH)
Affiliation: East Sea Guild
Title: Man of the Sea (S)

Why… why can I see Ipado’s status window?

Confused, Seoyeob looked at the others.

<Status Window>
Name: Hwang Taesan
Rank: S
Server: Earth (S3-EH)
Affiliation: Black Dragon Guild
Title: Dragon Warrior (S)

He was blankly staring at the broken measurement device.

<Status Window>
Name: Kim Ihan
Rank: S
Server: Earth (S3-EH)
Affiliation: Glory Guild
Title: Popular Life (S: Variable)

He was smiling like he’d just enjoyed a play.

<Status Window>
Name: Park Woojun
Rank: A
Server: Earth (S3-EH)
Affiliation: Korea Hunter Association
Title: Shield of the Investigator (A: Variable)

“Wh-what the hell is this? And why is this thing acting up now?!”

Park Woojun panicked at the dials going haywire after the machine broke.

<Status Window>
Name: Yoon Byeonggeun
Rank: S
Server: Earth (S3-EH)
Affiliation: Korea Hunter Association, World Hunter Federation
Title: Sword Emperor (S)

Finally seeing the association president’s window too, Seoyeob barely held back a laugh.

“I can see other people’s status windows?”

The fact was far more shocking than the machine breaking.

No way…

Hesitant, she picked one and tried interacting with it. To her disbelief, the details of the title unfolded before her eyes just like her own.

<Title: Popular Life (S: Variable)>
You live off the love and attention of others! Give back to those who adore you, for strength grows with love shared and received.

Unique Active Skills:

• Riding on Rumors (S*)

• Charm of Speech (A)

• Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth (A*)

• Superstar of the Block (A)

• Eye of the Sage (B)

• Born to Be Stylish (C)

Unique Passive Skills:

• Stardom (S)

• Rumor-Monger (C)

• Love is Everything (C)

Seoyeob swallowed hard.

She had deliberately chosen someone she knew the least about, but nothing was hidden.

The president’s skills were already widely known, Woojun’s had been announced right after his awakening, and Hwang Taesan’s were fairly intuitive.

But Kim Ihan’s skill details had always been wrapped in mystery.

Everyone knew he had buff skills, but their values constantly fluctuated, and the rest of his skills had never been revealed.

So she had chosen him, thinking maybe it was just an illusion of her knowledge—yet…

<Skill: Riding on Rumors (S)>*
Current Power: C
Even a rumor without legs can travel a thousand miles. Your allies will ride those words and soar.

※ This is a variable skill. Power fluctuates depending on <Passive: Rumor-Monger (C)>.

It was all real. Not hallucination.

And more importantly, she realized something staggering.

“His buff was only C-rank when he gave me +18%? Then what happens if it ever reaches S-rank?”

Her shock grew when she saw what determined the power.

<Passive: Rumor-Monger (C)>
To be popular, you must get used to being the subject of gossip.

└Effect: Aggregates your notoriety across the server for the last 90 days into a single value.

“So that’s why.”

Now it was clear why Kim Ihan acted like such an attention-seeker.

Whether he was born that way or the title forced him into it didn’t matter. Everything he’d done made sense now—delaying gate breaks to stir controversy, showing up wherever the hottest issues were, disappearing first when Korea collapsed…

“Wait. Just yesterday and today, his name blew up everywhere because of the lightning strike at Bukhansan. That means… the buff he gave me back then might’ve been even weaker than C.”

Seoyeob’s thoughts raced.

“I knew it. There’s always a reason S-ranks are S-ranks.”

And compared to that…

“This skill of mine is the real cheat.”

Her <Guardian’s Time> and <Atlas’s Safehouse> were already powerful, but <Server Administrator> was on a different level.

Being able to freely view other Hunters’ full details—status, skills, titles—was insane.

Knowing your enemy was already a rare and prized ability; being able to see everything meant knowing every strength and every weakness.

No wonder analysts and insight-types were so valued, second only to blacksmiths among non-combat classes.

“I’ll have to update the rest of the regions too. A small price to pay.”

The restriction didn’t even feel like a penalty compared to her other skills’ limitations.

Hopefully I won’t break a measurement device every time I update, though…

She smiled awkwardly at the president.

“Sorry. I think I broke it… It can be fixed, right?”

“With a good smith, yes. But since this has never happened before, I’ll need to report it to the World Hunter Federation.”

His face was gentle, but his gaze was sharp, analyzing her.

If Kim Ihan was a sly fox, this man was a silent eagle—ready to strike.

Unfortunately for him, his prey was a tiger he couldn’t catch.

!! Alert !!
Status abnormality detected.
<Passive: Blessing of Heaven (S)> nullifies effect.

Seoyeob’s alert chimed, and at the same time, the president’s did too.

<Skill: Confessional Eyes (A)> is canceled.
Target is immune.

“I can even see other people’s alerts too?”

She realized she would need to turn this ability off sometimes, or her life would be buried under notifications.

So his skill was called Confessional Eyes, huh… kinda lame name.

<Skill: Confessional Eyes (A)>
Who dares lie before the throne? Speak truth, for confession is the only path to survival.

She had always known he had a truth-forcing skill—that was how he’d rooted out so much corruption in the Association.

But she hadn’t known its name until now.

Like Kim Ihan’s <Charm of Speech>, the president used his silently to pull truth out of people.

“Knew you’d try it.”

It didn’t work on S-ranks, but almost no ordinary Hunter could resist it.

Noticing the faint twitch of his brow, Seoyeob asked in a trembling voice:

“President… don’t tell me… you think I broke it on purpose?”

She looked at him with shock and betrayal.