The editor explained that they’ll give Shane a nickname based on his ash-gray hair.

  The camera zoomed in on the figure standing apart from the group, ash-gray hair ruffled like he just woke from bed.

  ...Introduced as “Wolf.”

  Shane rubbed his palm on his face before looking at the screen again.

  The editor still blurred his face in every frame. He appreciated the effort, but he couldn’t help but frown as he leaned back in his chair.

  I look like a suspect on the news.

  The chat surged when the “mystery hunter” appeared, latching onto the nickname instantly.

  He had a feeling this wasn’t going to be a one-off nickname as he pressed his fingers to his brow, feeling a headache coming on.

  His phone suddenly buzzed, and a notification blocked the video.

  [Henry Stone: Captain, they posted the video! Did you see it?]

  [Shane: y]

  Henry had clearly fired off the text the moment he saw Shane in the video. After sending a curt “yeah” as a reply, he returned his attention to the video.

  The video cut to the scene right before the dungeon breach, where the hunters stood in a loose circle, trying to come up with a strategy.

  Of course, the audio from that distance was just wind noise, so the viewers had no way of knowing what was actually being said.

  But the edit told the story.

  The cuts revolved around Shane, as if the video editor had decided he was the “lead”, which, he had to admit, caught him off guard.

  Then came the argument.

  On screen, Shane looked like he was arguing, seemingly shooting down the other party members’ suggestions.

  He settled back in his chair.

  Lead hero? Yeah, right.

  To anyone watching, he probably looked like a new, rookie hunter screwing things up. And without audio, the frustrated gestures of the people around him looked even more intense than he remembered.

  The video was a masterclass in manipulation.

  Kit McKay and his squabble with Luke Hinton over his earbuds ncident was completely cut out. The scene where they drew the Celestial boss in the lottery was also cut out. Even the part where Whitley Barlowe was whining about wanting to switch to a ranged position was cut out.

  Thanks to the high-quality camera, the lip-reading software had no trouble picking up simple dialogues. A subtitle was added to the scene where Luke seemed to be persuading Shane.

  Shane remembered which part this was. It was when Luke was trying to stop Shane from switching positions with Whitley.

  [Luke Hinton: Hunter ??????, this is a dangerous time for jokes.]

  [Wolf: Don’t make me repeat myself.]

  What?

  That last line had been directed at Whitley.

  But edited like this, spliced directly after Luke’s comment, it looked like Shane was refusing to listen to the veteran hunter.

  Shane finally realized what was going on.

  They want to paint me as the bad guy.

  Probably the work of a Josh Miller fan, or maybe one of Luke Hinton’s.

  It was a smart move. People loved villains. Shane knew only too well.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  He hadn’t even tried to filter his words from the [Behavior Lock], counting on the lack of a system recording.

  And now they were being used against him.

  The backlash came fast.

  -Why does he think this is about him? This isn’t a game.

  -Disrespecting Luke Hinton like that is insane. Hinton’s cleared more dungeons than this guy’s had hot meals

  -omg he won’t listen to anyoneeeeee stopppp (crying emoji)

  -He reminds me of the intern I had to train last year jesus

  -bro’s trying too hard to look cool.

  The second commenter was probably right.

  This sort of reaction was to be expected. Even if they weren’t top-rankers, famous hunters like Josh Miller and Luke Hinton had their own established fandoms.

  Another subtitle appeared, this time during a scene where another hunter was questioning Shane.

  [Wolf: There’s no point.]

  [Brian Martin: How do you know—]

  [Wolf: You can tell by the skill’s name.]

  Then it showed the hunters exchanging doubtful glances.

  That reaction was from the draw, when the lottery stuck us with a celestial.

  The editor had spliced reactions from a different moment and laid them over this scene, making Shane look arrogant to the point of being delusional.

  After a shot of Luke seemingly explaining the “correct” strategy, a final subtitle was added.

  [Luke Hinton: How does that sound, Hunter ???????]

  On screen, Shane didn’t even answer and just nodded his head. The scene ended with a reluctant agreement being reached as they all moved to their positions.

  The tension from the argument mixed with the fear of the breach was palpable. The music swelled as the breach tore all the way to the sky.

  Just as a giant, marble foot crossed the threshold, Henry stepped forward to attempt his [Bind]...

  And suddenly, the video cut to a bright, jarring animation of a cartoon king drowining in a puzzle.

  [DOWNLOAD CROWN AND SCEPTER TODAY!]

  …An ad was inserted into the video.

  The way the chat exploded and complained, most of the viewers hadn’t been on any ad-free subscription.

  Neither was Shane.

  -AD???? RIGHT NOW???

  -1/10 ads

  -areyoukiddingme

  -I WAS LITERALLY LOCKED IN

  -yo what did i miss

  The viewers flooded the chat with caps-lock rage. From the timing, it was obvious the hosting site had pushed an automatic mid-roll ad.

  And for the first time, Shane wondered if paying for the ad-free tier was worth it.

  A moment later, the channel owner pinned a message that the ads had not been on purpose and would not come back.

  So Shane decided against subscribing. Years of living on a budget had shaped his habits. He reminded himself that he did not spend much time on his phone to begin with.

  And once the stream was over, all he’d be seeing was hate comments about himself, anyway. There was no point investing money to watch people trash-talk him.

  His phone buzzed again, and the notification blocked the video once more.

  [Henry Stone: Should I report the video? This is slander.]

  Henry was clearly rattled by how the edit framed Shane. He suggested they spam reports to get the video taken down during the ad break.

  [Shane: Leave it.]

  He typed the reply quickly, before Henry did anything stupid.

  He was used to getting hate, there was no need to bother. Besides, if his reputation went down the toilet, the guild offers would stop, too. It wasn’t a total loss.

  In fact, being known as an “arrogant, uncooperative rookie” might be the best camouflage he could ask for.

  Also, having the video taken down now would create new problems.

  Pulling the video in the middle of the uproar would look very suspicious, and his name was already ruined by this point.

  If the edit was going to turn him into the villain, then the least he could do was let the others come out of it looking clean.

  That would keep public opinion of hunters from collapsing entirely.

  The one thing he could not afford was to be pulled into petty fights with politicians trying to pass new restrictions on hunters. “Wolf” could take the heat.

  The ad finally ended, and the video resumed, but the chat was still fuming, behaving exactly the way he had predicted.

  -This was finally building up to something worth watching

  -Stop wasting time on Wolf, I want to see Henry Stone

  -freshly awakened hunters are the most annoying lol

  -how long do we have to suck up to these alphaholes who think they’re hot shit just because they’re an awakened?

  The monsters poured out of the breach, and the camera shook, capturing the panic.

  Shane moved. The moment he dove in to quickly neutralize the Sacred Roses’ [Hallucination Spore] appeared on screen.

  The chat slowed for a second.

  His team managed to drag a few paladins away one at a time, yet there were still too many breaking loose. Shane basically slipped through them without external help.

  [Blink]

  He vanished. A spray of blue blood appeared in the air before a Rose’s pollen-filled sac cauterized.

  [Blink]

  He appeared five meters away, already neutering the next Rose before immediately [Blinking] away as a thorny vine attacked him.

  Thanks to the jacket’s dark color, it didn’t show if he was injured or not.

  The edit lingered on Luke’s hard stare right before he used [Stealth]. Then it cut to the stunned eyes of the others.

  -???

  -Holy shit

  -wtf

  -?????????

  -no way he’s actually good lolll

  Shane’s mind went blank for a moment.

  What the…

  The edit had shifted gears completely, making him look like he was the centerpiece of the raid. The Sacred Roses he failed to neuter were cut out, and his moments of getting slashed were also gone.

  The video made it look like he hadn’t missed a single monster.

  They’d even added a dramatic, bass-heavy soundtrack, timing the beats of the music to his movements.

  Wait, I thought the editor was a Hinton fan.

  Then came the cut where he [Blinked] forward and took the Paladin’s sword straight through his shoulder to shield Henry.

  The soundtrack fell away completely. The audio cut to the raw sound of impact—a crunch of bone that the editor must’ve added manually.