Hunter Debut Broadcast (2)

While I was handling the goblins and harvesting the mana stones, the chat somehow exploded into activity for some reason.

"Ha-eun?"

"...Y-yes, yes!"

"So, what now?"

...She seemed a bit shocked too. Why is everyone acting like this? Goblins are the lowest-level monsters, aren't they? Isn't this par for the course? Even a human mage could pull this off.

"W-well... we have to take down the boss to get out!..."

"Got it?"

Clink— I gazed at the five low-grade mana stones gathered in my hand and activated the skill.

Treasure Digitalization.

It had already been super helpful to me, but it wasn't just a passive effect skill. It had one core function that was the real star.

The ability to sell items right on the spot. The money gets deposited straight into my account.

I had no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠idea where the vanished items went, but since the cash was real, I didn't dwell on it.

More importantly...

Even a light skill use deducts tens of thousands. Is this sustainable? I just made less than what I spent...

The math doesn't add up at all. Well, whatever—time to squeeze the viewers for the rest.

These guys are quick on the uptake...

"Ha-eun? Let's head this way."

"Y-yes!"

As I strode through the forest without hesitation, the chat filled with a mix of worried messages.

"Guys. Can't you smell the money? Money scent everywhere. Sniff it out!"

"Acceleration? Want me to show you how? Just donate, donate away."

Honestly, it's not that advanced. It's just boosting mana propulsion and riding the flow. Like flooring the gas in a car.

And yeah, I was saving cash in case we got trapped here, like the viewers worried. But I doubt we'd get lost. The vibrating rotten stench was guiding me.

Is it because this is a low-grade gate? Or are humans just that weak...

"Hey, rules say no badmouthing each other."

"...Ban them, unnie?"

"Give 'em 5 minutes first."

Ha-eun, trailing timidly behind, spoke up cautiously. Kinda feels like I really have a manager now.

"Come to think of it, you're a hunter too. Don't you have stuff to do?"

"Huh?"

"Like monster subjugation or whatever."

"Oh, I'm just here as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a supervisor. I'd step in if it got dangerous, of course..."

I chuckled at her implication that it wouldn't get dangerous.

Kieek?—

"Whatever, as long as it's fine."

Time to deal with the ones in front of me first.

Kek... Pow!—

"Let's see... 40,000 won?"

After shredding dozens of goblins to bits and selling their mana stones, I stood up. We'd gone pretty deep. The unpleasant mana and rotten stench were much stronger now. Even Ha-eun could smell it.

"It's nearby."

Hmm, now what were the habits of those carnivorous plants again? That green guy yapped about it constantly.

Swish—

...Oh, right.

"This is... pollen."

First, lure ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the target, then spray numbing or sleep-inducing powder. Then devour the immobilized prey.

Bad matchup for them, though. To numb me, they'd need something that could take out a million elephants at once.

Crunch— I clenched my fist and slammed it into the nearest tree.

Boom!—...!

The impact shook loose a cloud of yellowish pollen. Then, red sap like blood oozed from the split trunk. It reeked of fish, probably mixed with human or monster blood.

"Not your average tree. Guess this is the boss?"

"U-unnie! Above!"

Feeling threatened, tentacles burst from the trunk toward me. Startled Ha-eun drew her sword from her waist, judging it an emergency. A black blade wrapped in bandages—grotesque. That's an artifact, huh.

I'm interested in that weapon, sure, but I had more to show first.

"Sorry, Ha-eun. Your skills next time."

Step— I stepped forward, blocking her path.

I could Acceleration and slice all the tentacles, but that'd look repetitive. It's my debut stream—I wanted to pull serious aggro.

Tap—

I partially released my polymorph, closed my eyes, and opened them. No longer human pupils—slitted reptilian ones.

"Wh-what...?"

The Dragon Eye induces fear in viewers, so Ha-eun backed away at the sight.

Whoooosh—

Ignoring her, I widened my eyes and tracked the tentacles' paths. They crawled slow, like time stretched. At this price, slowing perception is the limit, huh.

Snap!—

In about a second, I mapped the optimal path and grabbed every incoming tentacle in one motion.

Crush!— I slammed them down and stomped, sealing their movement.

"Alright, guys, special event. First to drop 300k, I'll show you something insane."

"Sweet, 300k reaction incoming!"

300k should let me pull off a mild one. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with as much mana as possible, fusing it with the air.

Fuse. Compress. Ignite.

And...

Fwooooosh!—

Release.

The breath turned to fierce flames, blasting straight at the tree.

Like a flamethrower from my throat, the fire engulfed the tree and surrounding ones.

Money's gone, but the aggro's solid. Investment for the future.

"Whew, cough cough."

After burning all my mana, I cleared my throat looking at the blazing forest and tree. Throat's a bit raw from not using it in ages.

Glancing at chat, it was ablaze like the tree in front of me.

"300k Breath is kinda weak, but good thing it's a tree—burns nice!"

I figured it'd pop off. Humans always reacted big to Breath, good or bad. Visual spectacle wins.

A status window popped up then. That tree was the boss, and extra rewards too. Pretty generous— I grinned, but then...

A crucial fact hit me as I eyed the charred remains.

"Wait, hold up. Where's my loot?"

"I-it all burned up..."

"Ah."

Damn.

"No, my reward!!"

Staring blankly at the ashen pile, another status window appeared.

Huh? Special reward?

Plop— A small green gem fragment dropped in front of me.

That evening, in the Suppression Team 3 office at the Hunter Association Seoul Branch.

"Haa..."

"Sir, you've been sighing a lot more lately."

"You wouldn't sigh?"

Kim Sang-cheol let out a long sigh after reviewing the drone footage. He'd seen plenty of returnees, but this one was off the charts.

'At least she's not hostile to humans...'

Even as an S-rank hunter, his experience and instincts screamed danger at the woman on screen—the self-proclaimed dragon. And now Team 3 had to manage her, putting his job at risk.

"She needs money to use skills, right sir?"

"...Yes."

"Then if we provide just enough under 'support funds' to control her—"

"Did you skip the interview logs? She said she could rampage herself."

Releasing her into society was upper management's call again. What was the chairman thinking? If rampage meant going berserk, grabbing every treasure indiscriminately...

"No way we could stop that in the city. Massive casualties for sure."

She said the 300k breath was her spent cash. Not enough for A-rank monsters yet, but flip it: 300k lets her handle B-rank threats or hunters. At 3 million or 30 million? Unimaginable power.

...Earth got a monster the Association can't handle.

As Kim Sang-cheol rewatched footage for his report, timid Park Ha-eun approached.

"What now, Hunter Park Ha-eun? You insisted on field duty, what's left?"

"W-well... my brother called..."

"Park Sang-hyuk?"

An A-rank hunter on the cusp of S. Contact from him meant...

"He saw a new monster in the latest gate..."

"The Incheon one?"

"Y-yeah... Sudden collapse inside, rushed out and saw something huge."

"B-rank gate, and he fled...?"

"H-he set up a barrier!..."

Suppression Team 3 handled suppression—erasing info or monsters before public knowledge.

"New monster off radar? Check and handle quietly. Got it—"

Ding—

As he nodded, sorting his thoughts, a new email popped on the monitor.