Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Ghost Girl's Mansion (3)
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Thud-!
"The boss approved it!!"
The Unity broadcasting platform headquarters.
The team leader, who had stepped out to make a call, returned to the office and bellowed loudly.
"Take down that damn broadcast right now!"
"S-So, we take it down?"
"Yeah! It's... no, it's the boss's orders!"
Chewing on a lollipop instead of a cigarette, the team leader thought to himself.
'Crazy bastard, crazy bastard, crazy bastard! That one-of-a-kind lunatic fucker who won't see his like again this century!'
Live broadcasting in this day and age? What the hell was he thinking?
Defying international pressure head-on, when even the Hunter Association was gritting its teeth and reluctantly complying?
With the Gate Live Broadcast Ban Law emerging as an international treaty.
Whether he thought he could skirt the law by a hair's breadth or was jumping straight into the fire like a frog eager to get roasted golden brown, it didn't matter.
He couldn't play along with a madman's antics.
"Shut down the servers right now and prep a notice. Post an apology or whatever, and tip off the Association about that bastard's info ahead of time so we don't get dragged down with him..."
Ring ring ring-!
The team leader's phone rang as he was barking orders at the staff.
He scowled and answered it.
"Yes, yes, boss. I was just about to take down that godforsaken broadcast... Huh?"
The team leader dropped his lollipop upon taking the call.
"...S-Stop! Everyone stop! Hands off the keyboards!"
"Pardon?"
"That broadcast! The one by that guy Yeoto! Leave it alone! Ah, yes. Father. Yes, yes. Of course. Yes."
Having yelled first, the team leader took the call briefly, then nodded with a pale face.
Pushed by the staff's stares, a senior employee hesitantly raised his hand.
"Uh, team leader? What did the boss say?"
"...The major shareholders and partners from the conglomerate want us to leave Yeoto... sir's broadcast as is."
"Pardon?"
"Our company's top brass! Want us to! Leave Yeoto sir's! Broadcast alone!"
It was phrased as a request, but a top dog's request was practically an order.
The team leader kicked away the fallen lollipop.
"Whew... We got any popcorn left in the supply room?"
"I-I think so. Shall I grab some?"
"Yeah. Someone hurry up and pop a few bags in the microwave."
"Got it!"
"Mine with caramel."
Anyway, the team leader was tied hand and foot now.
Since things had come to this, what was a little popcorn?
Honestly.
This crazy broadcast looked way too entertaining to pass up.
The tranquil Ghost Girl's Mansion echoed with explosive shouting.
"Louder!! Face forward-!! Roaring cheers-!! For 10 seconds-!! With all your might-!!"
"Waaaaaah-!!!!"
Mad Howling
The zombies used Mad Howling!
The effect was tremendous!
"Kieeeek!!"
All the Noble Spiders' attention locked onto the zombies.
Partly thanks to the skill effect, but they were just so damn loud it felt like they were getting aggroed first anyway. Same arthropods as the baby spiders, so their thought process felt oddly relatable.
'While they're distracted, the DPS steps up to clean house!'
I timed it and triggered El Ayla's skill.
"Can you see this butterfly?"
El Ayla whispered, and venom coated her scimitar.
Flutter...
Purple butterflies danced, seeping into the blade.
The effect of Poison Dance, infusing the weapon with poison!
It was a fantastically lethal sight.
'A skill that boosts attack power with evil spirit venom.'
Being poison, it also inflicted poisoning on slashes.
But against Noble Spiders, it might be overkill.
'El Ayla's your classic assassin-type summon.'
All her stats dumped into strength and agility!
With skills, she could one-shot Noble Spiders.
Their poison resistance wouldn't even matter before their heads flew.
Slash! Whoosh!
Sure enough, every dance move from El Ayla swept the Noble Spiders away like fallen leaves.
"Keeek!"
Splat-!
The Noble Spiders spat venom and silk in retaliation.
Specters were a type of ghost.
But they were also summons with physical form.
Like spirits, they took physical hits.
Exceed the threshold, and they'd be forcibly unsummoned.
'Phew, she can dodge somehow.'
The silver lining: as El Ayla's commander, the attacks were manageable for me.
'Necromancers linked to ghosts get vision buffs.'
The little ghosts were like drones and high-speed cameras.
While sharing their vision, I could observe from multiple angles like a surveillance monitor, gaining warrior-level dynamic vision.
'If I couldn't handle this, I couldn't keep up with Ilryun Guild hunters' fights.'
As a proper hunter, this was baseline.
Can't track actor moves? Then you're no cameraman.
And if I could see it, El Ayla under my control wouldn't get hit.
Tap tap-!
Kicking off walls, floors, and ceilings freely, El Ayla attacked in a dance. Ghostly lightness and speed made it possible.
Skipping like a stone, she raised her scimitar and beheaded Noble Spiders.
'And above all, the visuals are on another level.'
El Ayla's beauty was the ultimate selling point.
The sudden influx of donations proved it.
Fuck, they wouldn't give me a dime no matter how much I talked.
I savored the chat with a pleased smile.
Just as expected, you ugly lot.
'Knew it. Plenty of hunters scrape by on looks despite lacking skill.'
Plus, how many hunters had beauty like this?
And one with skills to match? No way they'd hold back. Instant sub and like, right?
'If El Ayla were a hunter, I'd poach her with eight-figure salary.'
Factoring in growth potential, but even just her looks warranted corporate-level contracts.
Top-tier among my summons.
Though zombies and little ghosts were elite too.
I only had three types. Heh heh heh.
The chat was brutally savage.
Was this a gate raid stream chat?
'Should I get a manager?'
I pondered briefly, then gave up.
No bandwidth for that anytime soon.
Damn loans. Damn Charlotte Guild.
'Whatever, who cares if the chat's filthy.'
I never expected respect from viewers anyway.
Did I have an A-rank guild backing me?
Started with my bare hands, even pulled aggro.
Expecting a clean chat in this mess? Too conscientious.
The only half-price deals allowed were ramen and chicken.
Thwack!
"Bruk."
Maybe looking away for a split second was a mistake.
The tanking zombies got body-slammed by mobs.
If that was it, fine, but the slow zombies toppled like dominoes, collapsing the right flank.
"Urk?"
"Keeek!!"
Naturally, the screaming spider monsters seized the chance and rushed El Ayla.
I jolted, mid-kimchi soup dreaming.
"Agh!! You idiots, why'd you flop there?!"
"No, zombies are on auto! Too busy puppeteering El Ayla alone!"
Summons couldn't judge or fight solo, but they could follow broad orders from the summoner.
Here, hold formation.
Though they flopped and ruined it.
"Whatever, since you're down, grab one each!"
Too green to read and react to chat while fixing chaos. I hastily corrected orders.
"Agh...!"
Thud!
Zombies grabbed Noble Spiders while down.
Zombies were slow but strong. Mobs froze solid.
"Good! DPS time! Ayla, go in!"
The chat heated up with self-roasts, but the zombies' sacrifice stalled the enemies.
'Finish before zombies wipe!'
20 Noble Spiders nearly down.
5 left!
Splat-!
Poisoned scimitar shredded spiders.
'One, two, three, four, five!'
Leaping off pinned spiders' backs, El Ayla guillotined all five like a human executioner.
'Last one!'
Splat-!
Scimitar severed the final neck.
I surveyed the wiped mobs and grinned.
Chilling moments aside, kiting them to death was right.
Mob clear in just 3 minutes.
"Cleared. If there's a necro who runs dungeons better, step up."
The cost of 3-minute mob clear was steep.
Party wipe except El Ayla.
"Zombies suck at tanking. If they'd just followed orders, no deaths."
"Look at that mouth. Unity's a big corp alright, viewers classy too."
Damn. This is why summoner hunters suck.
Work hard for results? Credit to summons.
'But momentum's built.'
Aggro pulled as planned.
Maybe overdid it a bit.
I checked site stats on sub-monitor.
'Debut straight to overall rank 2? Insane.'
Live ranking 1st obvious.
Only crazy bastard streaming live was me.
Overall 2nd though?
'2nd across all streams.'
1st was the site's top dog A-rank guild.
Personal streamer 1st easy. Kya, big corp view. Celebrity syndrome incoming.
'Viewers surging. Plan working.'
I snickered off-cam.
'Thanks to that A-rank guild streaming right before mine.'
World Cup ends, shower and bed?
Nah. Unless dawn, folks hit soccer forums, chat with friends.
This time too.
Viewers lingering on homepage post-A-rank stream...
My stream gobbled them up.
'Some from community posts too.'
Still bubble stats, but this bubble might drown ya?
'Bubbles leave foam when popped, right?'
Scientists say water knows answers.
Bubbles too?
Pseudo-science? Ask the water. Glug glug.
'Anyway, ride the momentum.'
Prime time to wash away doubts with foamy hype.
'...Mana's fine.'
Checked status, reviewed plan.
Chat had moved on.
Some still suspicious!
Minority overall, but doubters─or hasty haters─existed.
Even casual viewers swayed by agitators.
Valid suspicion at smooth sailing.
Tangle now? Game over.
'One slip here, no second chance.'
Short, punchy explanation.
One shot.
I triggered skill and spoke.
"Even I can't solo boss plus mobs with one summon. I'm no liar."
Jeering chats urging confession.
'Yes, waited for that.'
I smirked arrogantly, raising index finger.
"So, refilling a few. Call Carnival Zombie Platoon!"
Flash-!
Light flared, and next instant.
The dungeon, lonely with just El Ayla, now had 10 zombies again.
Brief silence, then question marks flooded.
Chat exploded, hitting daily peak.