Fame is generally the result of certain actions.

One can gain fame through steadily accumulated minor achievements, or by reaping the rewards of a single daring attempt and its success.

In my case, it’s both.

The steady record I built up in China, and the still-talked-about Nemesis Transfer I performed in New Seoul as a Nemesis {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} type, brought me fame.

But such fame is not immortal.

Even the legend of Skeleton — once heating up not only every message board but the surface world — is being forgotten.

These days, there’s no shortage of people who, if you mention a General type, might remember, but if you say “Skeleton,” have no idea who you’re talking about.

In a world where everyone is fighting tooth and nail for survival, remembering strangers you don’t personally know is no easy thing.

Fame can also vanish abruptly.

When you do something disgraceful, or act in a way contrary to your reputation, such cases happen often.

I’m not the only outstanding hunter to come out of the school.

Most have hung up their uniforms, but there are plenty who, in their own corners, use the skills and teamwork learned at school to take down the infinite existence known as monsters.

Even in those “mysterious lands,” the gray areas we don’t know much about from our perspective, there are hunters from the school.

Kim Min-young, a senior two classes above me whom I don’t know well, was someone who enjoyed high fame in his domain.

*

Contrary to expectations, this winter wasn’t that cold.

Temperatures fluctuated between below and above freezing, and overall the days were mild.

But this warm winter was the harbinger of another kind of winter.

The forces of Jeon Si-hoon, which had swallowed Seoul, extended their claws in all directions.

Though weakened, the warlord forces around Sokcho and the East Coast — which had been holding on — were reportedly crushed by the legion led by Jeon Si-hoon, according to his propaganda news.

Amid the confused echoes coming from Necropolis were stories of planned massacres and horrific public executions, mixed with reports that they had no choice but to abandon the land due to the increasing number of monsters and ever-harder-to-handle erosion.

One thing was certain — the people in the old warlord areas were leaving Sokcho and moving toward Gyeonggi-do.

Gyeonggi-do is vast and highly urbanized.

The many cities and counties the government had deliberately abandoned still have massive infrastructure installed from when Korea was normal.

Maintaining and properly using that infrastructure is another level of difficulty, but compared to starting from bare ground, it’s an incomparably easier starting point.

These people seemed like ones who would never have any connection to me — but that wasn’t the case.

Park Penguin came to me with a request.

Message from Anonymous458: Skeleton. I’m really sorry, but can I ask you a favor?

The favor was to vet a famous hunter from the warlord side on his behalf.

A peculiar request.

Not recruitment, but verification.

Park Penguin is neither tactless nor shameless.

There were circumstances that left him no choice but to ask me.

Message from Anonymous458: He’s a famous guy. Famous enough to be called “the Professor” of the warlord world.

Message from Anonymous458: But on the other hand, there are some not-so-good rumors.

Message from Anonymous458: I’ve got a bad feeling. You know the type — a big name, but when you really get to know them, they’re all fluff. I got that feeling strongly. He’s had too many cases of dropping the ball on something important, or deliberately putting it off, or sending a junior instead.

Park Penguin didn’t state the exact figure, but he was clearly planning to recruit this “Professor of the warlords” on very generous terms.

Supposedly, like me, he had followers — but not in single digits or dozens. In the hundreds.

When you’re talking about a hundred-strong following, even someone like Park Penguin would feel the strain.

Clearly, he hadn’t called me for nothing.

Message from Anonymous458: Just based on the name value, he’s outstanding, but there are a lot of rumors behind the scenes, and... our situation isn’t great right now.

Message from Anonymous458: That reporter Jeon Si-hoon sent came to see us again. Now that Sokcho is taken care of, I guess they’re looking to make a move on us.

Message from Anonymous458: So you’re the only one I can trust. Having you in our group would be the best, but that’s asking too much. And I don’t want to ask for nothing in return, so if there’s something you want, tell me.

Message from Anonymous458: I’ll back you to the hilt in Park Penguin’s name.

I knew the background for his request.

This friend was having a hard time lately too.

Jeon Si-hoon had just thrashed Sokcho, but the next target, by anyone’s guess, would be the survivor groups near Incheon.

Of those, the largest and strongest was Park Penguin’s — making him an obvious “must-be-taught-a-lesson” target for Jeon Si-hoon and his thugs.

To protect his group from the coming disaster, Park Penguin had already formed alliances with several nearby groups, and even built ties with IAmJesus.

Naturally, he’d be working full tilt to requisition supplies.

Because monsters tend to like warehouses and factories where supplies are plentiful, an experienced hunter is someone any large group would want to have.

Someone like me as an outside contractor is one thing, but what they really need is a professional hunter under their command.

The “Professor of the warlords” was the perfect fit.

But the man was asking such a high price that even Park Penguin had to tread carefully.

Park Penguin has been a message board friend of mine for a long time.

If it’s his request, I wouldn’t refuse — but in truth, there was something I’d been thinking of asking him too.

A programmer.

Yoo Jung-min was doing her utmost to revive a second version of Failnet, but her abilities had clear limits.

“I’m good at maintenance. But building from scratch... it’s giving me such a headache.”

She’s diligent, but she’s not especially talented.

I needed a professional to set the foundation.

Park Penguin would have a much easier time finding such talent than I would.

Message from Anonymous458: You’re building a second Failnet? So you need specialized people for that?

I told him.

His reply came quickly.

Message from Anonymous458: One or two won’t cut it.

Message from Anonymous458: Okay. I’ll put together a team. Don’t know if they’re as good as they used to be, though.

The moment I saw that, I felt my heart beat faster for the first time in a while.

“....”

Not just one person — a whole team.

Tap tap tap

SKELTON: (Skeleton shock) A team?

Message from Anonymous458: Yeah. We’ve got some people who used to work at a portal site company.

Message from Anonymous458: They joined us from where the company building was, and I didn’t know before, but after doing some more recent background checks, I found out they had that skill set. Honestly, in today’s world it’s not much use — but for you, it could be.

That settled it.

The stalled Second Failnet — no, Skeletonnet — could launch much sooner.

It meant I could realize my hazy second dream.

In true Park Penguin style, the terms were good.

A bit of fuel and food, plus a vehicle and personnel for escort to the destination.

No reason to refuse.

*

A jeep arrived.

From the bullet marks on its armor plates, it had clearly seen some action on the way.

“Ah, this area’s fine. It’s over there that’s a mess. This neighborhood is nice — fewer people.”

The team of four was led by a small, wiry but solidly built woman who introduced herself as Chief Choi.

The other three only greeted with their eyes, but they looked like seasoned combat veterans at a glance.

On my side, I decided to go alone.

I could bring Cheon Young-jae along as insurance, but it was safer to have one more body sitting in our own territory.

Given the level of commitment Park Penguin was showing, going alone felt right.

Before leaving, we unloaded the supplies he’d sent.

200g of sugar, a crate of soju, 4kg of rice, a bottle of ethanol, 2 gallons of synthetic oil — small items, but each and every one useful.

“Kim Min-young, right?”

Kim Daram spoke before departure.

I nodded.

“You know him well?”

Honestly, I didn’t.

There were several famous seniors before my class, but—

Especially Um Ki-ryung, two classes above, who was so exceptional he got the call sign “APOLLO” — back before I had one, Jang Ki-young used to give Greek-Roman god names to students he liked.

Kim Min-young, an 11th-class senior, was not a name I’d particularly heard.

“Not really. Don’t recall hearing much about him.” 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Kim Daram nodded.

“He’s one of ours. 12th class. Has experience fighting in China.”

“Really? Then why haven’t I heard of him?”

“Probably didn’t stay long.”

Not everyone who went to China stayed as long as we did.

At least 30% of school graduates experience the battlefield once, then voluntarily give up the honored status of being from the school.

“So why is he so famous?”

That was the key.

Kim Daram glanced around, then lowered her voice.

“Can’t be sure. This is from warlord sources. You’re a General type, Nemesis type, right? Supposedly, before you took one down, he’s known as the first to at least repel one.”

“Seriously?”

“Not certain. There’s almost no information exchange with the warlord side. We just get bits and pieces indirectly. But around Sokcho, he’s quite famous.”

“I see.”

So he did have some reputation.

Which would explain why Park Penguin was willing to spend big to recruit him.

With that understood, I got in the vehicle.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

I’d be leaving this area to Kim Daram, Cheon Young-jae, and Defender, who wasn’t here now.

They were formidable enough that even without me, they could easily repel a surprise attack.

Plus, we had two combatants with them.

Frankly, the increase in our manpower is what lets me move so freely now.

When we were only three, I could never have left the territory with such peace of mind.

Helping Park Penguin wasn’t just because he’s a message board friend — I’ve started feeling strong antipathy toward Jeon Si-hoon as an unstable factor.

Kang Han-min didn’t leave Jeon Si-hoon alive for nothing.

I saved him, but Kang Han-min was the one who stayed with him.

I’d thought of Jeon Si-hoon as just someone with inferiority and twisted hatred, but... maybe Kang Han-min saw something I didn’t.

There’s no denying the world is ending — but within what I can do, I want to slow it down.

As New Seoul, Park Penguin, Sejong, and the surrounding human powers fall one by one, my turn will come closer.

Kim Min-young was holed up at the edge of Gyeonggi-do, in wasteland almost devoid of people.

So-called land of mutation.

A pure white snowfield, but here and there the ugly gray patches of erosion remained.

In some areas, you could see withered, dried stalks warped by erosion.

Abandoned land.

But a good place to test Kim Min-young.

With nests everywhere, and since Park Penguin intended to have him do nest-clearing anyway, I could just watch his skills firsthand and report back.

At what must once have been called a gas station — where countless passing vehicles refueled — several vehicles were now parked in a circle, forming a camp.

“There.”

Chief Choi pointed.

Something was flashing.

Neon signs.

I had no idea why they’d have them lit in broad daylight, but as we got closer, the reason became clear.

Music.

Loud.

The closer we got, the stronger the pounding beat that made my heart thump.

Chief Choi, sitting beside me, spoke.

“I heard he likes parties. And it’s true.”

She was normally taciturn and unemotional, but I could see the contempt in her eyes.

Probably tied to unsavory rumors I didn’t know yet.

And when we arrived at the thumping vehicle camp, I started to get an idea of that contempt’s source.

It was midday, but there was a booze-up in full swing.

In the center of the vehicle circle, a huge fire burned, with men and women laughing, drinking, and eating meat.

On a tall pole hung the carcass of a mutated roe deer — easily over a ton — dripping blood as it was butchered.

“Ah, you guys?”

The guard at the entrance was obviously in bad shape.

Glassy eyes, slurred speech, limp movements, and a rifle without a magazine.

Drugs — or something equivalent.

The warlord side has plenty of addicts.

Geographically, they had many connections with the North and took in many Northerners. In the North, due to lack of medicine, they were forced to grow poppies for painkillers, and in the process, any wariness toward narcotics greatly diminished.

Beyond the guard, I took a closer look inside.

There were plenty of women.

From their dress and behavior, they weren’t wives or family, but companions for brief amusement in exchange for payment.

This was probably part of why Chief Choi showed such distaste.

It seemed to be a group of wastrels who kept a harem of women.

Such groups tend to collapse quickly, but perhaps because of his fame, or because they hadn’t been out of the warlord zone long, they were still holding together.

Chief Choi went to look for Kim Min-young.

As an advisor, I stayed silent and scanned for anyone who looked like him.

Even if he wasn’t famous, if he was a senior two classes up and had been in China, I might have seen him once.

Unfortunately, I saw no familiar face — and on top of that, a small problem arose.

“What the hell? Who are you?”

A young man, early twenties — young enough to pass for a teenager — came toward us with a sharp look.

I didn’t know him.

“Who gave you permission to come here, huh?”

He didn’t seem drunk or high, but he subtly let his pistol show.

A .22 caliber.

Small caliber or not, more than enough to kill a person easily.

The kid was bristling, raising his voice — but our attention was quickly drawn elsewhere.

The music stopped.

And everyone’s gaze turned to one spot.

From a vehicle flashing neon lights, a man stepped down.

A flawless, tight-fitting suit. Fingers heavy with gleaming rings. A stylish cigar in his mouth. Sunglasses. Long hair slicked back with oil. A luxury frock coat flaring with each step. Two pistols on his belt.

No doubt about it.

“That’s him.”

Kim Min-young.

And still, I didn’t know him.