Gate YouTube: Streaming to Newbie Constellations
Gate exploration: one, two, three, four... ten, eleven... At the very least, more than twenty Constellations are gazing down from the sky.
Not every Hunter draws this many watching eyes. Sure, she'd hidden various tells from human-origin Constellations, but she'd also dangled plenty of tantalizing hooks to snag their attention. So right now, to them, she must look like a Hunter brimming with talent. Exactly the result she'd hoped for.
Haneul's mind had cracked after 62.5 billion years rubbing elbows with cosmic freaks, but when it came to handling divinities, she was second to none. Maybe her shattered psyche was what made it possible.
But why no reactions from outside?
When she'd first entered the gate, she'd slipped in silently, killing her presence entirely—that could explain it. But outside, she'd wandered carefree. They should've noticed her then, no problem. Yet the Constellations were swarming her now, acting like they had no clue about the outside world. As if they'd only been peeking into gates...
Okay, analysis complete.
It was the difference between watching YouTube clips and hunting down a Twitch stream yourself. YouTube's algorithm always served up the easy-access stuff. Someone who binged random videos eventually got hit by a truck—or in this case, dove into Twitch for the live action.
VTubers had clips, highlights, all sorts of bite-sized content. Even overseas ones came with subtitles, letting even Haneul—who barely scraped by in one language—watch worry-free. YouTube's accessibility made it king, just like this gate. The outside world? More like obscure personal Twitch streams.
So the Constellations eyeing her now were newbie lurkers, not deeply invested in humans yet—just scrolling YouTube. Her job from here: hook those casuals and drag them to her live Twitch show.
They seriously gonna watch me eat, shit, and shower too?
If so, these Constellations were hardcore voyeurs. But wouldn't they skip the outside world for that? Totally understandable. Sure, some were pervy ones hot for humans, but anyway—Haneul was convinced she'd cracked the gate's first secret.
Gates are YouTube!
A ding! chimed in her mind, complete with a phantom alert: [You've uncovered the gate's secret! Reward granted!] Pure imagination, of course. This world had no status screens or quests—no rewards for epiphanies.
To grab attention, gotta show something stimulating, right?
A little more thought would've revealed it didn't have to be edgy. Constellations varied wildly in tastes: some craved violence, others serenity; massacres or mercy; science or sorcery... With such diversity, any display in a gate was bound to hook someone. Twisted ones even baited Hunters into contrarian acts. Cain and Choi Seok-hyeon were prime examples—slaughtering decades-long family to qualify as an Apostle.
Point was, if they were gonna bite, they would. Somehow.
But all their attention!
Haneul hadn't reached that nuance. Or maybe she had and ignored it. Right now, she needed a way to captivate every Constellation watching her. Violence and peace. Slaughter and sparing. Science and magic. Honesty and deceit. Brawls and stealth kills. How to satisfy it all at once?
I got nothin'...
People succeeding on internet streams, webnovels, webtoons—they were legends. Swallowing her awe, Haneul blankly stared at the monster sneaking up from behind.
"Whoa, you're huge."
A lizard had crawled into view. Normal lizards fit in your palm, but this one's shoulder height matched hers. Body length around 5 meters. Honorary wyvern territory. Faint footsteps, blistering speed—perfect ambush predator for newbie Hunters.
Gazing at it calmly, she figured it was overkill for a D-rank gate. Kim Seung-hyeok might need to fight seriously to take it unscathed—and he was B-rank. Sounded lame on paper, but B-rank was peak for unsponsored Hunters. Human top-tier, like that bald powerhouse from the Journey to the West comic.
"Kisssht."
The lizard flicked its tongue, advancing. Drool splattered; it clearly saw her as prime chow. Its sickly yellow reptilian pupils seemed to curl wickedly.
Staring it down as it closed in, Haneul reached her decision. She wasn't the planning type anyway. What mattered was her iron will to seize their eyes. Courage! Guts! Grit, spunk, nerve, bravado! Vitality and madness! Aggression and savagery!
She hocked twin spit wads from her hands, dropped into stance.
The Bloodthirsty Countess Filling Her Bathtub anticipates your next move.
The Terror of Fog-Shrouded London awaits your scream.
The Last Saint Holding the Broken Flag worries for you.
The Beast Tamer Who Sculpted the Wooden Chicken shows interest in taming lizards too.
The Emperor Who Erased 'Impossible' from the Dictionary tells you to do the same.
"Ooh."
Erase 'impossible' from the dictionary? Music to her ears.
"Kishararak!"
The lizard closed the gap, jaws gaping wide as it lunged.
"Waaaaaah!"
Haneul flung herself forward, mouth agape too.
The Last Saint Holding the Broken Flag questions why you're opening your mouth.
"Meeeh?"
"Yeah, go ahead and eat that application."
"Kkya!"
"Nope, not that. Get a stamp and approve it."
"Woo—ka—!"
"...I told you no spilling stone dust on the bed."
"Kyuit."
"You eat the carrot; just send the mana stone as a gift."
"Grrrrr..."
"Yep, Cheonan A-rank gate. Bring back the two isolated Hunters. Thanks."
Baek Hye-seo, guild master of Cheon-gun Guild—home to summoner Hunters—was having her usual day. Reviewing the last batch of join requests from executives, checking performance on ventures they'd dipped into, ignoring investor gripes, sending gifts to Korea's allies in lieu of meetings, dispatching aid to critical gates. One body wasn't enough, but as a summoner guild master, she juggled hordes of summons.
Technically "72 Demons," but who had time for specifics? Summons, shikigami, familiars, demons—Korea lumped 'em all as "summons" to save breath and brainpower.
A regular summoner saying that would've sparked outrage from Hunters and Constellations alike. But she was one of Korea's five S-ranks. Hitting S-rank meant near-familial bonds with your Constellation—no summoner Hunter dared contradict her. Other S-ranks? They were all a screw loose somewhere, ignoring such trivia.
Thus, her word was law in summoning circles. And she became Korea's cushiest-working Hunter. Seventy summons at her beck— not all combatants, which let her shine as a versatile guild master. Business acumen, combat prowess, personality: a perfect hexagon.
That was Baek Hye-seo, munching potato chips in her office.
Her one flaw: extreme agoraphobia. But she nailed every task flawlessly, so hexagon held.
Even she had a nagging worry, though.
Still no clue...
Taming gate-dwelling monsters—not her skill-summoned 72 Demons, but wild beasts. A task from her Constellation, the King of Wisdom commanding 72 Demons.
Apostle to a 72-Demon lord, yet she commanded only 70. The last two hinged on completing that assignment. Two years in, no progress.
How the hell do you tame a monster?
Some showed glimmers of intelligence, but no dice. They charged to die before submitting. Even horned rabbits scoffed at violence. Proof: even the world's ~10 Masters couldn't break one. That Master was a summoner too, likely Apostle to the World Tree of spirits and beasts.
Hye-seo had felt an insurmountable wall against that Master. Top-tier in Korea herself, yet Masters were otherworldly. If they failed, taming was impossible.
And summoning two more Demons won't...
Make me a Master?
Her Constellation insisted it would. But Hye-seo was skeptical. The Master she'd met was untouchable—practically a Constellation incarnate. Her talent couldn't bridge that.
That was her verdict.
Then what's the point?
No Master path, no reason to waste money, time, emotion on taming...
...Am I just an enoki mushroom?
As acute lethargy crept in like always—
The King of Wisdom Wielding 72 Demons urgently shares good news!
A Constellation message floated before her eyes. Her eyelids twitched faintly.
Urgently? The King of Wisdom she knew was aloof, composed, dignified. Such phrasing felt off.
"Good news?"
The King of Wisdom Wielding 72 Demons shouts that he's found a Hunter taming monsters!
"...Pardon?"
The King of Wisdom Wielding 72 Demons—
Basalt Lizard, Titan Gorgon, Cutter Sparrow, Plague Wing, Claw Eagle, Obsidian Serpent, Killer Ash Rabbit, Shadow Hound, Ghost Fox—
In other words, taming every beast-type monster in a D-rank gate live, one by one... lizards, gorillas, sparrows, pigeons, eagles, snakes, rabbits, wolves, foxes, and more.
Even chatting with them.
"Qu-quick..."
Staring blankly at the final message pinpointing the gate, Hye-seo bolted up, shrugging on an outer coat.
"Banpo-dong D-rank gate..."
A must-recruit darling Hunter was right there. Bursting from her office, she told her waiting secretary:
"Jina, cancel today's schedule."
"Yes, got it—wait, what?! Why?! You have that meeting with Heukcheon Guild!"
"Something more important came up."
"Wh-what?! Wait—your coat?! Guild master... you're heading out now?"
"Yep."
Hye-seo's outings were seismic even for Choi Jina, her secretary. The guild master who handled eating, sleeping, everything in-office—going outside? Nothing short of inter-guild war tomorrow could stop this.
"...At least tell me where."
"Banpo-dong D-rank gate."
"Banpo-dong... Got it. I'll push the meeting somehow."
"Thanks."
A faint smile at Jina's resolve, then Hye-seo leaped out the window. Fresh outdoor air after a year—invigorating.