Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 703

◈ 703. First Preliminary Round Begins

“What? We have to submit our phones? I didn’t hear anything about that!”

When Rembrary protested, the staff member showed him the duffel bag slung over his shoulder with the zipper open.

Inside the bag, several phones were already stacked in ziplock bags with names on them.

“It was written on the bulletin board at the entrance. I guess you didn’t see it.”

“There was a bulletin board?”

“…Just write your name on this and put it in here to submit it.”

The staff member put Rembrary’s phone in a ziplock bag, wrote Rembrary’s name on it, and then handed ziplock bags and markers to Hwasa and Ardor as well.

Rembrary watched the staff member take phones from other participants and muttered in dismay.

“This is a problem. What should I do?”

Hwasa clicked his tongue in agreement.

“I know, right? I get bored without my phone.”

“I can endure a hundred days just by looking at Rembrary-nim’s face!”

Ardor was the only one who was cheerful even after submitting his phone. However, Rembrary wasn’t just worried about being bored.

“It’s not about the phone. The Anchovy [slang for a well-connected informant] was telling me something very important just now.”

Hwasa’s eyes widened.

“A tip? What did he say?”

Ardor immediately shut his mouth at the mention of Shin Jo-un, but he perked up his ears, curious about the tip. Rembrary shook his head.

“It wasn’t advice, but a warning.”

“A warning?”

Rembrary checked to make sure no one was around, then grabbed Hwasa and Ardor by the back of the head, brought their faces together, and told them.

“About the employee who died on the island. He was suddenly a member of Black Ring, even though he had no connection. He had been around the place where the Demon King is sealed. Our Mullu was also seen in Black Ring after being around the place where the Demon King is sealed.”

Hwasa pulled his head back as much as possible to get away from the uncomfortable closeness and protested.

“We look like we’re plotting something when you do this!”

When Rembrary let go of the back of his head, Hwasa rubbed his forehead, which had bumped into Ardor’s, and muttered.

“But it’s useful information. If that’s true, then Black Ring, or the power they use, might be related to that place. But there are too few cases to be sure.”

“It’s not just that.”

“There’s more?”

“No. Not really.”

Rembrary looked around again. Perhaps because they had huddled together, some of the participants were looking at them warily.

However, those gazes quickly dispersed when Rembrary smiled and waved at them.

Seeing Rembrary in person must have dazzled them with his radiance.

Rembrary smiled contentedly and lowered his voice to add a truly important piece of information.

“It’s not certain whether Black Ring is using the power flowing around the place where the Demon King is sealed. But it can’t hurt to be careful. The Anchovy said that some of the judges for this preliminary round went to explore the area around that place.”

Hwasa and Ardor both looked surprised and asked Rembrary.

“Power flows around that place?”

“What kind of power?”

“…….”

Rembrary paused for a moment, then continued with what he was going to say.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t hear who those judges were. The Anchovy seemed to know, but they took my phone before I could hear it. But this is good information nonetheless. Let’s be careful.”

Hwasa wanted to protest about the change of subject, but Ardor covered his mouth with his palm and quickly replied.

“Thank you for the good information, Rembrary-nim. Since I have good judgment, I will immediately eliminate any suspicious judges to prevent future problems.”

Hwasa shook off Ardor’s hand and scoffed.

“What if you kill the wrong person?”

Ardor glared at Hwasa as if he were an idiot and replied.

“No one will know the truth, so there won’t be a problem, heretic.”

‘Trash!’

* * *

About 30 minutes later, a small hunter in a black suit appeared from somewhere and shouted, “Over here!”

When all twenty preliminary participants looked in one direction at the sound, the hunter waved both hands wildly again and shouted while jumping in place.

“Over here! Gather over here!”

Rembrary, Hwasa, and Ardor leisurely walked over and took their places at the back of the participants.

Rembrary and Ardor’s goal wasn’t to get to the second preliminary round, but to identify who Black Ring was here. So it was better to be in the back.

Then Rembrary noticed people in a black, large car pointing cameras at them.

‘Come to think of it, there were cameras installed everywhere in the gathering place.’

‘Is that why they made us submit our phones?’

As he was carefully examining the cameras, the hunter who had gathered the participants shouted loudly.

“I’ll tell you about the rules! If you walk about 1km from here, there’s a large iron gate! The preliminary round will take place inside there!”

‘Why is he shouting so much?’

“Room and board are all provided there, and there are professional doctors stationed there too!”

At the mention of doctors, the participants simultaneously looked at Rembrary.

“It’s not me.”

When Rembrary told them gently, the participants awkwardly looked back at the hunter.

“Yes, Rembrary-nim is here as a participant, so don’t go asking him to treat you! And there are staff members everywhere, so you won’t be uncomfortable! The time limit is one week! There are monsters sent from the research lab swarming inside! The three of you who catch the most monsters during the week will advance to the second preliminary round as representatives of Korea!”

‘The preliminary round is going smoothly.’

“And one more thing! There might be a Hunter Joo Min-ki, also known as ‘Jellyfish Hunter,’ inside! Even if you don’t catch a single monster, if you catch Hunter Joo Min-ki, you’ll automatically pass as the top candidate! But he might not be there, so it’s not a good idea to just look for Hunter Joo Min-ki hoping for a comeback!”

That seemed to be the end of the basic rules. The hunter, having finished speaking, took a breath and paused for a moment. He seemed to be thinking if there were any unusual rule violations.

A moment later, the hunter, seemingly struck by a sudden thought, shouted,

“Ah, you can’t pretend that the monsters you caught were caught by someone else! There are cameras everywhere! It’s being broadcast live, so don’t even try it!”

The hunter paused, thinking for another moment, and then asked,

“Anyone have any questions?”

Rembrary, who had been waiting for this invitation, immediately raised his hand.

“Yes, Rembrary-nim! What is it?”

Since Rembrary was the only one to raise his hand, the hunter immediately pointed at him. The cameras swiveled, all focusing on Rembrary.

The hunter, who was supposed to be explaining the rules impartially, couldn’t help but smile when he saw Rembrary.

He was excited because it was his first time seeing the famous Rembrary in person.

“If I handle everything alone and the others can’t catch a single monster, can I choose the remaining two qualifiers?”

However, his excitement immediately evaporated upon hearing Rembrary’s question. Along with the progress hunter’s feelings, the surrounding atmosphere turned cold.

“That’s not allowed.”

As the progress hunter answered sternly, Ardor, who was standing next to Rembrary, raised his hand this time.

The progress hunter had heard many strange stories about Ardor, so he inwardly groaned, wanting to say, ‘Put your hand down.’

However, since none of the other participants raised their hands, he had no choice but to acknowledge him.

“Yes, Ardor-nim. Ask your question.”

“Is it okay to kill another participant if I mistake them for a monster?”

The progress hunter was horrified and shouted.

“You will be disqualified if you kill or seriously injure another participant!”

“What about fighting?”

“All physical fights are prohibited!”

“What if another participant attacks me first?”

‘That’s not likely!’ The watching participants thought simultaneously. But soon, they realized that this question was very important.

They wouldn’t attack Ardor first, but if Ardor attacked them first, they had to defend themselves.

It would be too unfair to be disqualified alongside him while defending themselves.

As the participants stared at him intensely, the progress hunter quickly answered.

“Defense is okay!”

The other participants visibly relaxed at those words.

“Anyone else have any questions?”

However, the participants tensed up again when Rembrary raised his hand once more.

Most of the participants gathered here had watched the three of them huddle together and plot something as soon as Rembrary’s group arrived.

Since they were already infamous, the participants became anxious when they heard Rembrary and Ardor taking turns asking questions.

The progress hunter sensed this atmosphere, but he had no choice but to allow it since Rembrary was the only one asking questions.

“Yes, Rembrary-nim. What is it?”

Even as he spoke, the progress hunter clicked his tongue and thought, ‘The participants who have to compete with that group are pitiful!’

“Is it okay to attack the judges or staff?”

“!”

The progress hunter’s concern and worry quickly turned towards himself.

“That’s not allowed!”

* * *

―ㅅㅂㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Check out the Hunter preliminary round 1 right now ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ It’s a mess ㅋㅋㅋㅋ [ㅅㅂ is a Korean slang expression similar to “WTF” or “holy crap”]

―Did Redrine [Likely the name of the organization running the hunter preliminary round] participate to discover high-end hunters or to butcher them?

ㄴButcher

―But doesn’t everyone already know that Rembrary is the strongest among the people gathered there? Honestly, I don’t think there’s a need to drag this out. Just give Rembrary a vote and let the rest compete among themselves.

ㄴThat’s not fair. You have to give other people a chance too.

ㄴWhether it’s a chance or a waste of time.

ㄴYour thinking is scary. If you go to take a test and there’s an applicant with a higher IQ than you, do you give up and leave?

ㄴWhy are you twisting my words? This is different from a regular test. Rembrary already went on a rampage alone in the preliminary round and knocked out the other participants, the hunters watching, and even the judges. If someone with a high IQ fully uses their brain in a regular test, do other people get swept away and fly away? No, right?

ㄴThat’s true ㅇㅇ [Korean slang for “okay” or “agreed”]

―Rembrary fighting^^ No matter what anyone says, I believe Rembrary is a warm person.

ㄴ?

ㄴAre you from Redrine?

ㄴㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

ㄴCrazyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

ㄴRedrineㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

* * *

The deputy team leader of Bella Team, who was also in charge of this preliminary round, went to check people’s reactions to the live broadcast. When he saw that Rembrary was getting some bad press, he left a comment cheering him on with good intentions.

Anyway, he had made a great profit from the bet last time thanks to Rembrary, so he was subtly returning the favor from behind the scenes.

However, when other people ridiculed him, the deputy team leader became embarrassed and put his phone back in his pocket.

But after looking away for a moment, the deputy team leader returned to his original work and became pleased again.

“As expected, Rembrary is the best when it comes to generating buzz.”

“It’s not enough to just have buzz. We’re not doing this just to get viewership ratings.”

The team leader grumbled from the side, watching the progress hunter shout to signal the start of the walk to the preliminary round venue now that the question time was over.

As the participants began to move, they also slowly followed from behind.

To prepare for the worst, all the hunters of Bella Team in charge of this preliminary round had to be with the participants inside for a week, and that was no exception for the team leader as well.

The team leader hoped that this preliminary round would be completed neatly, unlike the previous preliminary round, and have a positive impact on his performance evaluation.

However, the moment they opened the huge fence gate and entered the preliminary round venue,

Before the progress hunter could guide them to their accommodations, the participants scattered in different directions to avoid Rembrary’s group.

The team leader stared at the scene with his mouth agape, then tightly closed his eyes.