NGL, i probably wouldnt make the connection even if I did know once upon a time who the person was. Bad memory and all. OTOH, outside of doing some heavy research and or access to a historian, would you be able to name Napoleon Bonaparte's generals and important aids? Yet most high-school students would instinctively know who Napoleon is, and why such an individual would have generals and aids.
That being said, do you think this guy doesn't have access to competent information sources? He is after all dangling access to special information, information you would think would include strong and influential individuals who faught back the hoards of magical beasts for better then a decade. And that's my point. The MC should be equivalent to Musk, Zelensky, or 2pac. People would near instantly be recognized on a national level due to their contribution to their area of influence.
Yet nothing. Strongest man in Japan is an unknown uncle who one shots high rank dungeon monsters and solos disaster class raid bosses.
The crux of the problem is that we the readers have so far been given little information - if any at all - as to how these dungeons actually work and how they and the raiders themselves are managed from the outside, either now or back then, and the most we can do at the moment is make judgments based on the assumptions we've made on how they're run.
We technically have no idea yet whether or not the dungeon raiders of MC's time have kept good documentation and records of their various accomplishments while they were active.
We also have no idea how many of those old dungeon raiders have continued their association with dungeons in a more behind-the-scenes, organizational level. At most, we've seen the entrances of the dungeons and their interiors, but not the actual people maintaining them. They and potential information sources
could be run by competent veterans who have personal or at least secondhand knowledge of MC's past endeavors. It's a reasonable assumption to make. However, with what little has been shown to us so far, it's equally likely that - like the present's dungeon raiders themselves - whatever dungeon management and information sources exist are also overtaken by young people who have no real knowledge of their predecessors. With the exception of maybe the government since they've been mentioned, and who knows how much information they've willingly given to new guy and his group.
In regards to how MC should be seen: Musk and Zelensky are well-known because they are actively doing things in the world right now. Tupac has been gone long enough that, while younger generation may know his name and a vague idea of what he's known for (people specifically into rap music notwithstanding), they may not necessarily known his face at first glance. You can see that in action if you look up some people's reactions to RGG Studio using his likeness for
Stranger than Heaven. Sure, there more people that are likely to know him by sight in his case, but there are just as many people who've seen him and not know who he was until they're told (or even after).
From the looks of it, I see the MC in a similar situation to the latter, but more extreme.
Maybe there are a few people out there who know his name, looks, and accomplishments and can make the connection. But it seems like he's been gone from the scene long enough that his name and accomplishments would not be immediately recognized by the dungeon raiders today.
