Chapter 241: Butterfly Effect (1)
GDehE4In this world, the popularity of heroes rivals that of celebrities on Earth.4IeD2mU
CFuThat’s why the existence of fan sites dedicated to popular heroes — the so-called “recognized heroes” — isn’t surprising.aPyFva
CHpJjLet’s take All Mute, Khan Elizabeth, as an example. She’s the most popular among all heroes.N6mXhDP
18KUUejThe fan site for All Mute, [Chat Global Disabled], has exactly 50,000,000 members. Not one more, not one less.eFoaXq2
9l0SowCA number that should feel very familiar to Koreans.XxzORm
gXW4p‘Fifty million.’2ExdR
wZKJjNHThat’s the total population of South Korea. Although the number fluctuates slightly, we usually round it to fifty million.WrTWwZZ
X5gbCzNNaturally, this gives rise to questions — logical ones, like.6AKI
puKF– Anonymous156: Exactly fifty million?43XE8
7v30– Anonymous007: Does that make sense? She’s the most popular! Isn’t that way too low?OVJc1
BG31hAfter all, heroes risk their lives to protect humanity.mwv
kMJUGDnIf they’re more popular than celebrities, shouldn’t they have a larger fan base?z1uw6J
U25– Barbarian: Obviously fake.xr3
S5RtliSA reasonable suspicion. And congrats.PAj
QUupsBYou just said the truth.l5yET
xdaNBefore we dive deeper, let’s explain the system of this world — not in detail, just the basics.6GtkSpa
OKBvThis world runs on a strange mix of democracy and feudalism. It doesn’t lean clearly one way or the other. It’s divided — but not like a half-eaten box of fried chicken.8CGnF2R
Oe1– Barbarian: Democracy? As if the people run the country. What a joke.G2maYL
44C– Chunma_Toxic: Kings? Nobles? What century do you think this is?dT7rzY
AWGMqO7– Barbarian: Cows should graze like cows. If they crave meat, they’re done for.4icK9WW
OOfOIN4– Chunma_Toxic: That thinking belongs in the Stone Age.QIkvbB
R3a– Barbarian: And you sound like a caveman.tBiOimr
VpzIKSo how can such a messy, uncomfortable system survive? There are three reasons.DavXv
QjtKnnFirst: the “Blessing.”3IOm9
453EUPHumans who manifest a Blessing are far stronger than ordinary people.vAYBS
NrEos0Even modern firearms don’t usually work on them.yfl97
o2HProbably because this is a fantasy world. Swords are the norm, and hearing bang bang bang everywhere would just feel off.jK5qG
nJXh– Anonymous338: I heard villains combine magic with guns sometimes.zzPCDH
nSA– Nar_System: Yeah, and bullets are so expensive nobody buys them.2ER
AQukfSo what once revolutionized military history is just scrap metal here.tLNv
zaF4k1EThat’s why common people have no way to stand up to the nobles.afmc3S
PpbaB– Barbarian: 1 hero = 100 civilians. (at least senior level)zkbZ
hTdcxN– Barbarian: Warrior-level heroes are worth way more. If you disagree, you’re still right.TTEKSV
OYCC8bB– Chunma_Toxic: “If you disagree” — what country is that city in?AvvrA
Hoer88K– Barbarian: Reported for bad joke. Bye.UqXATP
3aTHhNe– Chunma_Toxic: “Bye” means report now?pZ3
3qmluq– Barbarian: Your dad jokes explain your lame nickname.kfuR0
abM– Chunma_Toxic: Don’t care~^^Z03s
HkJBN4Z– Barbarian: Not my problem.On750c0
amU9An uprising? It would be crushed instantly by nobles with physical power. So powerless civilians have no choice but to follow the system in silence.xlyomL
pjP66p5– Barbarian: Though recently the king’s been trying to win over the people. Opened half his palaces.mM7eH
V9UWN5– Nar_System: Well, to sustain the system, you need the people.GcsqzG
RWBkt9b– Barbarian: Wow! Ribbit!3aP
AmrXiSecond reason’s simpler.YJoa
BqUsZ– Barbarian: Let me tell you about the time I fought demons.BZJDdpm
gJ3BIt’s because of the demons.yNkF
GW7tLrpThey’re a common enemy. Would humans really fight each other while the demons are invading? That would be total annihilation.Zb7
Nt4r5xIn that situation, ideological debates like democracy vs feudalism don’t matter. That’s why everyone just minds their own business.dXRXT
dkBZe– Anonymous338: Dying is worse than being uncomfortable, honestly.WFYH
SWn7Even so, violence has always been part of human history. It’s instinct — natural tendency.i5hiev
yPuA– Anonymous338: The rich are the worst. So many nobles are assholes.xVFO
950PAs democratic ideals begin to spread, aristocrats are quick to draw their swords. They’re the first to rage when their privileges are threatened.AHyEB
59L0u3UAnd over time, as information became more accessible, a new threat emerged for nobles: the “recognized heroes.”nNI
5GW– Barbarian: Want to know what it takes to be a recognized hero?Z5pgZxH
bBhKs8d1. Be insanely strong.Mvyn0RJ
QdUP2. Be good-looking.fOZAf
lVpC3. Have a powerful family.Dqbo
Bh7jK5o– Chunma_Toxic: That’s none of you. LOL.i3NMIKh
XJZKo– Barbarian: Screw you.VHomyg
rSg6WCelebrities can be influential, but not politically powerful. Their impact is indirect.HvQWo0A
wSZBut heroes are more like politicians. Their influence is direct. If they’re also popular, they’re a serious problem for the elites.o5g
Vcx5Even if democracy and feudalism reached a truce, time waits for no one.4d1O
pNzAnd since the situation required balance, a new intermediary appeared: the Hero Association.7FzTsi
ACswovFirst, the Association created an objective hero ranking system.1PeS7
VySQxTLater, to simplify things, they introduced something called H.P.5Jb
rxpu– Barbarian: I have H.P. Can I apply to Lancelot Company? (photo attached)ygygec
KNtdN– Chunma_Toxic: Maybe at your local convenience store.owu
uPFC– Barbarian: Where do you live, huh?xB9MPI
n6sAlso, to manage the influence of recognized heroes, they capped their fan site membership at 50,000,000.Jsh7
QeHx– Nar_System: It worked well. Influence is measured in numbers. Cap the numbers, reduce the influence.HeR
Lu8– Barbarian: Can you summarize that in three lines?Tcbl
wUIF– Chunma_Toxic: That already is three lines.1MW
7bVjzpIn short, the fifty million members on All Mute’s fan site are the maximum allowed by the Association.zQCFN9b
Ckzh– Nar_System: Why exactly fifty million? Who knows. Only the system creator would know.aUTwj2
z9bA– Nar_System: I’ve heard even Changseong, the Association’s vice president, can’t modify it.cOjTIh
8oG– Barbarian: Who the hell is that?JYb
w8RdXvf– Nar_System: If even the VP can’t, who else do you think can?5Kcb
DV2rBut now, an anomaly appears.8xa
4CX9wNt「49,998,724 members. ???? Refresh.」TT9
VGNUDMThere’s a theory called the butterfly effect.15neq
6ClhyI8The flap of a butterfly’s wings…
– 「Seven-Star Hero, Fan Site of Heavenly Class.BTh
upTnMembers of [Sashimi Sensibility]:
50,000,001. ???? Refresh.」fFH
h8X4un…Can trigger a hurricane.OgZ72nQ
jXTF0C– Nar_System: (screenshot) Fan site of Heavenly Class.ZGxpNhG
WT7r5ea– Nar_System: What’s going on with the member count?nwf
wv7xKb– Anonymous192: ??? Just a bug?Z3xwm8p
nS2X– Nar_System: I keep refreshing and it keeps climbing. This hasn’t happened in over ten years.8m6VF0
j6dapW– Anonymous109: Whoa, it’s almost at 50.5 million now.Uqd
v3jMzc– Anonymous338: But why only Heavenly Class’s fan site? All Mute’s is still normal.7Y0C
SVF4– Barbarian: It got hacked. Hero Association’s tech is trash.Piey
9h4Ro– Chunma_Toxic: No way. I work at the Association — that’s impossible. There are over 20 security barriers, 10 of them analog.sN3cTFN
jRYf– Barbarian: You work there? Yeah right.cyj6
JCIei7j– Barbarian: What’s your title? Intern?FYy9OT
oSmWK– Chunma_Toxic: Me.GX3C
XmPTap, tap.ylsz2Av
DtjR– Chunma_Toxic: I’m the president of the Association.I2Nah
HymqKThe winds of change had begun to blow.Eu2
nORD27…Say
DZVW– Barbarian: Blocked.Uzk
Llknk***Bs2
ZHhhX6Monday morning, two days after returning from Busan.qQy8k
OujoEz♩♫♬♪♭TLzjz
PPRvThe blaring sound of the phone pierced my eardrums. Half-asleep, I groped around the nightstand for my phone.qy1VNU
3svJ57“…Who is it?”PYSDs1
Z9OURI frowned and looked at the screen. The culprit who ripped me from sleep was Speedweapon. And half an hour before my alarm was set to go off.ALva0
lLyt1yI almost ignored it, but still half-asleep, I pressed the accept button.wgcSv
0wb“Oh, Speedweapon.”AIuRN29
B8hGE“Ah! Were you sleeping? Sorry, sorry.”6b1PE1
7bcbPWith the phone still to my ear, I drew back the curtain.Nzj65GT
7SOSIt was early winter, and although the sun rose late in the east, the sky was still completely dark.kWF
PIhFIt must’ve been around seven. Classes didn’t start until nine.TTR1Dp
z93Scratching my messy hair, I sat up. A mental brace—when Speedweapon starts talking, it’s a minimum of 30 minutes.wYfHGh
2HwooIn truth, he only calls when something serious happens. If he was calling early on a Monday, something big must be going on.YmNVg1n
YLIZ1I spoke again.dkIyT
vNQLHh“So, what happened?”jxfe9
S9PgmP“Before I tell you, I’m going to send you some pictures. Take a look.”5Mp
cSIKKMI did as he asked. Anything for one more minute of sleep.mbjz
tIoAs soon as I saw the images he sent me…xPfg
QZt0ve‘……?’cv9U6
MYmThe sleep clinging to my eyelids evaporated. Speedweapon insisted from the other end.y6eRH
uvnQB6F“Did you see them?”G0pRjro
gWz“Uh… yeah. But what’s this site? ‘Sashimi Sensibility’?”Fgi
evoHRI“What!? You didn’t even know the name of your fan site?”8R6ALO
LZeWVwK“I just found out it exists.”lePT6f
MuZlM“Wow… I knew you didn’t care about this stuff, but I didn’t think it was this bad… Anyway, do you see the number in the corner of the image?”Dd2OLYD
08iBRl“Yeah. Fifty… and something million.”QBVmd0
jImt“That’s the number of members in your fan site.”x7b
9IP“What……?”0KjMe
NxaOver fifty million fans of me? It sounded absurd, but it was easy to compare—it matched the population of Korea.jpyxhYg
IhtrlOThough imagining how much space that would physically take up wasn’t so simple.LLT
0JoGt‘How many stadiums would that fill?’Mqh
bcGH5kAWhile I was thinking that, Speedweapon kept chattering excitedly. He was talking so fast, his lips couldn’t keep up with his tongue.fXQb09
d6KDX“Surprised? Well, considering you didn’t even know the site existed, that makes sense. But the important thing is that you passed 50 million! That’s what really matters! According to hero regulations, no fan site is allowed to surpass that number. I’ll explain the details later.”hNXZbx
4GUSFRpGod. It’s rare for Speedweapon to skip over explanations.Ttjvg
5dmZxk0I looked out the window again. As always, the sun was rising in the east.p7HZb
1ceusg“In short, breaking that member limit is huge. It’s practically like an enlightened revolution!”GRTy
DewV6He was so excited he was panting between words. Buddy, no matter how much you like to talk, you should breathe between sentences.XrEWkD
Yoaw4x“Because if that membership cap broke, it means…!!”3xQNfmt
46LUdUnfortunately, Speedweapon didn’t get to finish the sentence.YYis
znes♩♫♬♪♭q8yoCvV
f7JB5A call from the director cut in.XrZ57Ba
2Bue18“Wow, what a popular phone I’ve got this morning.”m2eAi
44jnYfjA different kind of popularity than what Speedweapon had in mind.NUtvJ1c
sOKXUI sighed and switched calls. Sorry, Speedweapon, but grown-ups first.T1HI
dJcO“Yes, Director.”gUJMRb
Rvdk3mU“Ah! Were you sleeping? Sorry.”GZB
uIe3T1Again with that phrase. It almost seemed planned. Suspicious.39HrUb
5lZuPX9“I just woke up. What’s the matter?”sCG
deNOXP“I wanted to ask if you could skip class today. We need to go somewhere urgently. Sorry for the short notice… but it’s really important…”R3sIQw
js2JShe measured her words like she felt guilty. Not long ago she told me to enjoy my student life, and now she was going back on that.3EH
BD1yl“No problem.”Co8Y
KVdBut there was no reason for her to feel so guilty. After all, I’m a student and also one of the Seven Stars.BHLyX
AkYA“Really? It’s far—are you sure?”ZZR
Vxk7C4I“If we use the subspace warp, we’ll be there in no time. I’ll get ready right away.”4YChKS
FCS3“Are you sure you’re okay with this?”pNhV0E
nGNrML“Yes. Don’t worry. I’m ready to go wherever.”i80sHX
huWPkNo matter the age or status…RHsQRv
T5jEkyv“Even if it’s Antarctica?”d83
hlVY4e“…….”MhWlFL6
iH3I’m one of the Seven Stars.xWkOD89
NbYThis isn’t easy.lJ2
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Haimiya_cutie.
MahayanaLooks like this trip is going to be long one.
Haimiya_cutie.
MahayanaAntarctica isn’t this bit too far away.
Haimiya_cutie.
MahayanaWow he just found out his fan club exists.