9
Chapter 9
Parang's 'Route Setting' skill became more precise and accurate the deeper she went into the sea.
She wouldn't normally go this far, but right now she was moving forward with this skill constantly activated.
After all, it would be a huge problem if something that 'really shouldn't be seen' popped out while they were blindly following it.
Well, since Parang's field of vision underwater was much wider than the camera's, she also had a plan to cut the broadcast using a bad connection as an excuse if push came to shove. She had already informed Yuna in advance, so she would handle it well from the surface.
And fortunately for Parang and the viewers, the situation where the camera would suddenly have to turn off did not occur.
Parang had also predicted the probability of such an event to be slim. Galecus mostly nested alone in isolated places.
There was no need to enter a demonic area like the 'Hive'.
Eventually, she would show them a little bit of those places too, but... not today.
Soon, Galecus's nest began to appear in Parang's line of sight. The current depth was 2.3km.
The camera must have started picking up the nest before long, because the chat window's reaction grew intense.
Parang stopped in her tracks, and Galecus darted into the 'nest' like an arrow.
She had technically lost the fish she was chasing, but neither Parang nor the viewers cared about that fact at all.
Parang knew she would catch it anyway, and as for the viewers...
- What is that?
- How is something like that here?
- What the heck is it really??
- Amazing deep sea ]_];
Because they had actually verified the identity of the 'nest' they had only imagined in their heads.
What unfolded before their eyes was a giant... tube that looked to be 100m long.
You know, the kind of tube that holds toothpaste. It was just floating in mid-air—or rather, mid-water—staying completely still. However, the brand or company name usually printed on the outside of a tube was nowhere to be found. It was just solidly white.
"I don't know exactly what it is either, but ridiculously large objects like that exist at depths over 2km. Undersea Hunters call them 'Objets'."
- Freaking bizarre, honestly
- I'm getting goosebumps in real time too
- I thought a nest would be some kind of cave...
Viewers who had at best imagined corals or massive underwater caves could not hide their astonishment.
"There aren't many Monster Fishes that make caves their homes. Unless it's a substantially large cave, a Monster Fish can't even fit inside, and any cave big enough for them already has apex predators settled in."
Strictly speaking, they weren't the absolute top, but it seemed better in many ways to just say they were the apex for now.
- Apex predators, damn ]_];
- That thing isn't the apex??
- Around what rank is that guy?
"Well.... In terms of monsters, it would be somewhere between a Goblin and an Orc."
- I'm never diving again
- What kind of place is the ocean...
- That thing is below an Orc? Has everyone lost their minds?
Parang smiled with satisfaction at the chat window that couldn't hide its shock.
Because she saw the chat saying they would never dive again. It made her feel like she was doing things right.
To an even more enthusiastic Parang, there was one question that caught her eye.
- Wait, but how is the water color exactly the same as around 1km?
- ?You're right, shouldn't it be completely black?
It was true. In fact, the water color was even brighter around Galecus's nest. Even though sunlight couldn't possibly reach it, the surroundings were far from pitch black, filled instead with a deep blue. It was so bright that the silhouette of the 'nest' could be clearly captured on screen without any special lighting.
"I don't really know the reason either, but once the depth exceeds 2km, the concept of brightness loses its meaning. There are places shallower than this that are much darker, while there are also many places much deeper than this that are as bright as being just right below the surface."
Parang didn't know much about this either. She only knew how to hunt Monster Fishes; the supernatural phenomena that occurred in the 'Monster Fish Zone' weren't something she could find answers to no matter how much she dug into them.
- So we're just ignoring the laws of physics now?
- Scientists wailing in groups LOL
- I think scientists would love it? Maybe not the grad students though
- You son of a bitch, take that back right now
- Well, considering there's something like that stuck underwater, the laws of physics are whatever...
True to the title of adaptable animals, the people in the chat window were taking in this sight just as it was.
No one thought it was staged. After all, the journey from the moment she dove into the sea until now was simply impossible to believe as being fabricated.
"Well then, I'll go inside today to take a quick look around, and then wrap up the broadcast after catching Galecus."
- I seriously can't get used to that nonchalance...
- Is it real that she's talking like she's just going out for a stroll in the neighborhood?
- Isn't going for a stroll and catching a Galecus basically the same difficulty for her?
- Come to think of it, yeah.
Whether they did or not, Parang continued her explanation and entered the tube.
"Galecus is a Monster Fish that is very picky about choosing its nest. There shouldn't be any predators nearby that could be natural enemies, and it needs a long, narrow space along with a place to stockpile what it catches."
- Teacher, it's dark, I'm scared
- It really is scary since it got completely dark all of a sudden
- Why isn't Galecus suddenly glowing? It's freaking scary.
Parang realized her mistake with a gasp. Unlike her, the viewers couldn't see the scenery inside this nest. Even though it was bright outside, it was a bit dark inside.
"Galecus doesn't glow inside its nest. It only emits light when searching for food or a mate."
Parang turned on her light. As it was a special light made by Yuna, it was incredibly bright, and the surrounding scenery began to be clearly captured on camera.
Then, the chat window flared up even more fiercely.
- What is that on the left, wtf wtf wtf
- It's more bizarre than I expected, crazy
- What's that on the right, crazy
- Feels like I'm watching a horror movie
- I think there's something in the front, is it just me?
- Fuck, is everyone watching a different broadcast LOL
- There are bizarre things everywhere, what do you want us to do
True to those words, there were all sorts of things inside Galecus's nest.
Something white that looked like bone, bizarre green clumps of mucus, a sticky black liquid covering the entire wall, and even the front part of Galecus faintly visible in the distance.
Faced with the overwhelming presence that almost completely filled the 100m tunnel, the viewers watching the broadcast couldn't help but shiver.
Whether they did or not, Parang continued her explanation.
"As you can see, a Galecus that isn't emitting light is white. As for these things around here, um... I'll have to explain them a little later."
She briefly added that they probably wouldn't be able to concentrate properly if they listened to the explanation with those things right in front of them.
"I can't catch it in here, so I'll drag it outside to catch it first and then explain them one by one. Ah, before that."
And then she slowly moved forward with the light still turned on.
"It's not like this for every Monster Fish, but Galecus has degenerated eyes like a typical deep-sea fish. Due to the way it hunts for food, it has to be active in dark places."
Parang reached right in front of Galecus and continued her explanation.
"As you can see, once Galecus gets into position inside its nest, it never moves. While it was swimming earlier, it shook its head too much, so I couldn't show you this area, which is why I want to show you now."
Then, she turned off the light, detached it from her body, held it in her hand, and shoved it right in front of Galecus's head.
And then, click.
Most fish don't have eyelids, so they can't close their eyes.
The moment she turned the light on, everyone behind the screen made eye contact with Galecus's empty black eyes.
- Ah wtf, that scared me
- Freaking gross wtf
"Oops, sorry."
- You don't look sorry at all
- I'm getting Shin Yuna vibes from this unfamiliar Hunter...
Honestly, she wasn't sorry. Parang's mischievous side had flared up, and she wanted to tease them a bit.
"Well then, since I've shown you what I needed to show, I'll take it out of the nest now."
- Saying 'I'll take it out' with a 70m monster right in front of you LOL
- The scariest part is that she'll actually pull it off somehow
Parang rummaged here and there through the nest. Her intention was to find Galecus's egg.
Naturally, during that process, the disgusting things scattered around the nest appeared and disappeared on screen. The viewers were dying inside.
- Teacher, I don't know what you're looking for, but please at least turn off the light while searching... We all know you can do it...
In reality, she could have found it even with the light off. Her mischievous side had just flared up again.
Before she knew it, Parang was having fun with the broadcast.
At first, it started with a sense of duty to keep people away from danger, but she liked seeing people feel joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure at her every word and action like this.
'I can control emotions...!'
She felt that way. It seemed a bit twisted, but well, if she liked it, wasn't it all good?
Anyway, even after confirming the location, Parang rummaged through the nest for another five minutes before finally picking up Galecus's egg.
"Found it. It's Galecus's egg."
Anyone who has seen salmon roe or flying fish roe would know, but fish eggs are very different from the eggs of typical land creatures.
- This kind of thing is... an egg?
- Wtf, I never even imagined that
- What on earth were the eggs I knew?
Much less the egg of a Monster Fish. The egg Parang found was a long pouch-shaped Cyst.
Saying, 'This is the egg,' Parang thrust the Cyst in front of her face and squished it around.
Then, the egg sloshed like a water balloon. Adding the light shining on it, the creature inside moving along with the sloshing could be seen clearly.
- Gyaaaah
- Ugh
- Ah, the visual is seriously freaking dirty
- I was watching while eating!!
"Um, sorry to those who were eating."
- But what was that thick white stuff flowing out of the hole earlier?
- Oh...
- What do you mean 'oh', you crazy bastard
"Ah, those are eggs before spawning. After forming the eggs with that liquid in its stomach, it lays them like this when they're somewhat ready to hatch."
- So what are you going to do with these?
"Most Monster Fishes can instinctively feel the condition of their eggs. If an egg breaks or hatches, they can feel it even from a certain distance. This method is the best when you want to draw out a specific Monster Fish."
Parang flashed a mischievous smile and pulled out a net.
She planned to take the eggs out of the nest in bulk. Since she was catching it anyway, she might as well wipe out its seeds.
As if it had studied stock investment, Galecus had divided its eggs into multiple piles and stored them in various places.
Of course, that was a useless effort in front of the ruthless Monster Fish slayer, Yoo Parang.
Parang scoured the entire nest and swept all of Galecus's eggs into her net.
"This should be enough. I'll head out."
Since she was at the very end of the 100m tunnel, it took a long time to get out. It was because she swam slowly to avoid waking Galecus.
And outside.
- What are you going to do now, teacher?
- I'm confident I can calmly accept whatever she does now.
"Now I'm going to pop the eggs. Then Galecus, realizing its eggs are ruined from outside the nest, will burst out in anger."
- I expected this but wtf
- Galecus [- Starting to feel bad for this guy
"Since it's not just one but all of them, it'll probably jump out as soon as I pop them. You might get startled if it suddenly bursts out, so I'll count to three before popping them."
- Thank you... thank you...
- I was so scared I wasn't looking at the screen, thank goodness
"One-"
Having counted that far, Parang smashed the net against the nest entrance.
About fifty eggs popped all at once, and purple mucus spread out.
"Oops."
----------!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rumble-!!!!!
Galecus's body completely filled the angle of the camera that was filming the entrance of the tube from the side.
It looked just like a train passing right in front of the camera.
- Sh1t, you said you'd count to three
- asdfghjkl
- I got scared and spilled my coffee, ah
- I trusted you I trusted you I trusted you
"My hand slipped."
A calm tone, as if saying the weather was nice today.
'I need to teach them what a scary place the ocean is, so this much should be fine.'
Trying hard to hold back her laughter, Parang's mouth corners shot up as if they would reach the surface of the water.
"I'm, pfft, sorry."
- You just tried to hold back your laughter, right?
"I didn't."
She did.