Chapter 127
Chapter 127
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: Hunting in Piyot
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Before he knew it, he had finished all the food. But Yuseong's stomach was still screaming. It was kicking up a fuss, demanding more food right away. And Yuseong had no intention whatsoever of ignoring his body's desperate pleas.
He went to the counter and ordered more food. He wanted to eat more of what he'd just had, but the dishes he hadn't tried yet were calling to him too.
The deliberation didn't last long. He ordered everything he wanted.
Crunch! Crunch!
He diligently shoveled the food into his mouth. But he didn't rush in the slightest. He didn't wolf it down greedily either.
Rushing would shorten the time he got to savor the flavors, and gobbling it down messily increased the chances of spilling.
Yuseong made full use of his physical abilities, honed to extremes by the Nano Machine and Survival, to eat as slowly as possible without dropping a crumb, fully appreciating every bite. Empty wrappers piled up in a neat row beside him once he was done with them.
And the tables around him ended up with even more wrappers than usual.
* * *
After finishing his meal to his complete satisfaction, Yuseong stepped back outside.
The fullness brought a smile to his face naturally. But soon enough, he had to admit he'd spoken too soon.
In front of another restaurant. A delicious aroma pierced his nose. But after stuffing his stomach to the limit at the fast food joint last time, even Yuseong doubted he could fit anything more.
'Maybe just taste it and leave.'
But he immediately changed his mind. Leaving food behind? Sure, he had plenty of leeway now, and in this world, it felt like he could spend money freely. Still, the idea of wasting food was absolutely unthinkable.
No helping it.
'I'll have to walk it off as much as possible to make room.'
He briskly wandered the city. Sightseeing kept it from getting boring.
Once his belly felt sufficiently deflated, he ducked into another restaurant.
And ate.
Every restaurant's food tasted too good to Yuseong. And everyone sharing space with him at the time found themselves ordering more without realizing it.
[Satisfied?]
"Yeah, immensely so."
Yuseong answered as he gazed down at the fantastical feast of lights below.
After wandering a fair distance, Yuseong headed back to base as the sun began to set. It was instinctual.
In his world, night turned an already dangerous place into something far more perilous.
That's why he turned back to his base the moment the flickering sunset appeared.
Soon, the sun had fully set.
But the night in this world was nothing like the nights back home.
Unlike his world—where there was nothing but darkness, darkness, and more darkness no matter where you looked—this world's night was dazzling in every direction.
Light spilled from buildings, streetlamps dotted every corner, and headlights from passing cars kept driving back the city's shadows.
The view from up high especially stirred his senses, parched by a harsh survival life.
'This is civilization.'
Yuseong had seen plenty of what could be called civilization before—crowds of people, city structures, cars, and so on. But he'd never felt the word so viscerally as he did right now.
While he scurried into his hideout like a rat at the first sign of dusk, the people here seemed to grow even more lively as the sun went down.
Gulp! Gulp!
He downed the beverage he'd bought before returning to base. A sweet, sugary taste filled his mouth.
'I really want to live in this world.'
Gazing at the city that banished the night, Yuseong thought anew.
* * *
Back in his own world, Yuseong logged straight into Ark. He no longer had the luxury to compare the two worlds and feel disappointed. He pressed forward toward his goal, nothing else.
As soon as he entered, he turned on his stream like it was second nature.
[Yuha!]
[Hello!]
Viewers greeted him familiarly. Seeing the viewer count skyrocket made Yuseong's heart swell.
The numbers were worlds apart from when he'd first started streaming. Especially after the Necronomicon copy incident and other events, viewers had poured in.
Even with his irregular schedule—which meant viewers inevitably missed out compared to others—his numbers rivaled top popular streamers.
"Hello, everyone."
He greeted them back and chatted lightly for a bit.
[Did Yuseong move spots?]
One sharp-eyed viewer noticed this wasn't the same location as last stream.
"Yes. I moved to another region. Piyot area."
[Piyot?]
[Already?]
Viewers were uniformly shocked that he was in an area way above the level they knew him to be.
[Did Yuseong level up again?]
[In the meantime?]
[Is that even possible?]
"I didn't level up. Still 38."
[As expected, no big jumps]
[38 That Fast Isn't Normal Either]
[You went to Piyot at that level?]
Piyot was a hunting ground for players usually in the high 40s to low 50s. Yuseong's 38 was far too low.
"Leveling up seems to get tough after 30, doesn't it?"
[You gained 8 levels already?]
To those who knew his leveling speed wasn't just fast but unrivaled, it sounded absurd. But what could they do? Yuseong wasn't satisfied.
"So I came here to raise the caliber of monsters I hunt. Hunting here should let me level faster anyway."
[Isn't that too reckless?]
[That level gap is basically an extra boss]
Even the viewers who'd cheered his feats so far saw this plan as overreaching and reacted negatively. Yuseong's response was simple.
"If it doesn't work, it doesn't."
<lololol>
[Lmao Yeah, That's An Option]
[Totally get it]
With that utterly logical(?) statement, he convinced them and headed to his planned spot.
"With the level difference, I'm skipping dungeons for now. Getting swarmed inside would mean instant death. So I'll carefully hunt one-by-one in the field for a while."
Soon, a forest appeared before Yuseong.
"Forest east of Piyot. Lots of monsters, including dragon-type ones like Horned Lizards."
[How is a lizard a dragon?]
"Ask Utopia about that."
Yuseong shook his gun.
"The gun Uncle Cooking Day made me. Deals extra damage to dragon-type monsters. That's why I picked this as my hunting ground."
If it made kills even a bit easier for more XP and items, great. Even if they classified roadside ants as dragon-type instead of Horned Lizards, Yuseong would just be happy—no need to nitpick.
Yuseong stepped into the forest.
It wasn't particularly dense. Sunlight filtered through moderately thick branches, trees weren't outrageously huge or tall, and the terrain was nicely flat—perfect for a stroll.
But Yuseong tensed up completely. This place was literally leagues above anywhere he'd cleared before.
"There's one over there."
Not long after entering, he spotted a Horned Lizard crawling around.
About 1.5 meters tall and 3 meters long. Its size alone might not convey its threat.
But just being in this forest confirmed it was nearly 10 levels above Yuseong.
[Whoa, tense!]
Viewers focused intently, feeling a different thrill from his past fights.
Yuseong holstered his blue revolver and raised the Feather Gale Rifle, aiming at the Horned Lizard.
Bang!
Thwack!
Flames burst from the muzzle as blood sprayed from the Horned Lizard's eye.
[Whoa!]
[Hit!]
Flash!
Its reptilian slit pupil locked onto Yuseong.
[Oh, eye's fine?]
[Not enough damage to burst it]
[No stun on one shot apparently]
Bang!
Second shot. Hit the eye dead-on again. Incredible accuracy.
'As expected, skills make it easy.'
Way smoother than before. Yuseong reloaded swiftly, thinking that.
The Horned Lizard shook its head wildly. Stunned. Yuseong didn't miss the chance, unloading more rounds.
-Kieeeek!
The Horned Lizard charged at Yuseong. True to its name, a massive, sharp horn protruded from its head.
Crunch! Crunch!
It smashed through anything in its path. Yuseong retreated hurriedly, firing nonstop.
The frontal horn blocked shots constantly. According to the strategy guide, bullets would just ricochet off it—no damage.
He had to target elsewhere, obviously. But the horn was so huge that exposed areas were minimal. Especially the head—almost entirely covered.
Still, Yuseong poured fire into those tiny gaps.
It let him stun the Horned Lizard twice more. But eventually, it closed the distance.
Yuseong holstered the Feather Gale Rifle and drew his blue revolver. He opened fire ahead.
Rat-a-tat-tat-bang!
The lively rapid-fire rang out. The Feather Gale Rifle packed power and range but was a bolt-action rifle—a weak point that killed its firing speed.
The blue revolver, though? Automatic pistol. And a high-capacity one at that.
The Horned Lizard was instantly showered in bullets. Yuseong spared no skills or enhanced ammo.
The gun already hit hard. Despite the level gap, the damage piling on the Horned Lizard was substantial.
-Kieeeek!
Thud!
It slammed its horn into the ground, then raised it like it was thrusting at the sky.
Boom!
The earth exploded. Dirt and rocks obscured vision. Not just that—flying debris mixed with the soil pelted Yuseong like shotgun blasts.
Anyone else would've dodged desperately. But Yuseong didn't evade. He glared ahead instead.
Rat-a-tat-tat-bang!
He fired again. The incoming, visibly dangerous large rocks started shattering. By the time the Horned Lizard's attack reached him, only dirt clumps and small pebbles remained.
Sure, they still did damage, but far less than full rocks would've.
-Grraaaar!
Dazed by the dirt and stones, it charged again to finish its prey.
But Yuseong, having broken through, was already waiting with gun raised.
Rat-a-tat-tat-bang!
He'd swapped magazines and resumed firing.
Not long after the battle began between Yuseong and the Horned Lizard.
Thud!
The Horned Lizard collapsed.