Just a Porter? (Part 2)
The static crackled sharply.
Junil froze for a moment when the noise hit.
What the hell?
The static looked like something was about to appear, only to vanish again.
Thanks to that, Junil noticed it right away.
Current Constellation Viewers: 591
The number of Constellations watching had grown quite a bit.
It's increased quite a lot…?
Over a hundred more had joined.
To human viewers, a hundred extra people would mean nothing. But the number of Constellations was different.
When you considered the influence each one of them exerted here, gaining nearly a hundred in a single day was an enormous deal.
After I cleared the Goblin Swarm, it only went up by about seventy.
Even with a cool BGM playing in the background while he took down the Goblin Swarm, the increase had only been around seventy.
So this is what having the protagonist around does.
Simply by joining Kang Hae-il’s party as a mere porter, the viewer count had shot up by over a hundred.
And nothing had even happened yet.
“Hoo…”
Junil took a slow, deep breath.
If just being near the protagonist draws this much attention… it also means the risk is just as high.
Having dealt with Constellations many times before, Junil knew exactly how harsh their standards were toward random supporting characters or extras standing next to the protagonist.
This kind of interest could flip into hatred in an instant.
One wrong move and it’s over.
From here on, he had to stay razor-sharp.
This is completely different from the hero work I’ve done before.
He had lived as a hero seven times already, but the eighth commission he was carrying out now felt entirely different in nature.
I’m not the protagonist.
To this world, Junil was nothing more than an extra.
This world favored the protagonist. The Constellations were the same.
But an F-rank extra who couldn’t even help a protagonist like this?
To the Constellations, that was practically an enemy.
Junil had to prove his usefulness without fail. Both to the party and to the Constellations.
If I do that, an opportunity will come.
As Ham had already told him, the number of Constellations currently gathered around Kang Hae-il was in the tens of thousands.
In the early stages of the story, it was an insurmountable gap.
But Junil knew how these things worked.
As the story progressed, even keeping five thousand—let alone ten thousand—would become difficult.
Seven thousand.
Junil repeated the number to himself.
He had watched until the very end when only seven thousand Constellations remained.
That was the point he needed to aim for.
Once he stably raised his own viewer count to seven thousand, he would drag Kang Hae-il’s down below that number.
The moment those two graphs crossed—
Mission complete. Two billion won secured.
Everything would be over.
While he was lost in that grand plan—
“Um, Mr. Moon Junil?”
One of the team members walking ahead called out to him.
It was the Holy Knight, Jeon In-su. A middle-aged man with a kind face.
“Yes?”
“You said you were a porter, but… what’s your skill? I don’t see any luggage on you…”
The Constellations were getting excited, thinking Junil’s identity was about to be exposed immediately.
But that wasn’t going to happen.
“Oh, it’s nothing special.”
Whoosh.
Junil opened his inventory and tossed in a random rock.
“It’s an inventory ability.”
“……Oh.”
The person who had asked—assuming a porter would just carry things with raw brute strength—widened his eyes in surprise.
“Hmm? That’s pretty useful.”
“Well, that’s pretty much all I’ve got.”
Junil shrugged casually, glancing at the Constellations’ reactions.
Now that they understood why he had called himself a porter, the Constellations were impressed.
“Then does that mean your physical abilities aren’t that great?”
“Yeah. I’ve got a bit of strength since I’m supposedly a porter, but that’s about it. The inventory’s all I’ve got.”
“Ah……”
Another person chimed in from the side.
It was the mage, Kim Chaeyoung. A woman who looked to be in her late twenties.
“But… how exactly do you use your inventory?”
She phrased it politely, but she was basically asking what the hell he could actually do with it.
Junil answered without missing a beat.
“After killing goblins, you guys just throw away weapons like these, right?”
He pulled a goblin’s dagger out of his inventory. He had picked one up earlier after dealing with the swarm goblins.
“Stuff like this can be sold for money later, can’t it? But carrying it all is heavy and annoying. So I’m here to carry it for you.”
“Wait. That actually makes money?”
“You could at least sell it to a junk dealer. In games, doesn’t everything like this turn into money anyway?”
In reality, it would make money here too.
Although the weapons monsters used looked like ordinary iron at first glance, they were contaminated with magi.
Magi was simply another manifestation of mana—a kind of dark version of it.
If processed properly, it could be turned into magic stones containing a considerable amount of magic power.
Usually alchemists or high-level blacksmiths handled that work. Once that infrastructure was built, items like these would definitely become valuable.
Of course, Kim Chaeyoung had no idea about any of that.
Just because it makes money in games, does that mean it’ll work here too…?
She spoke with a slightly worried tone.
“Don’t push yourself too hard, Mr. Porter.”
It seemed she thought the porter was overreaching just to prove he was useful.
Whether she said it indirectly or not, the meaning was clear.
“I’m not pushing myself. But… over there.”
“Yes?”
“The goblins are here?”
“?!”
As soon as Junil spoke, he quietly stepped back.
“Kiiik!”
“Kiiiiaaak!”
The party members flinched in shock.
“S-shit!”
“What the—when did they—?!”
In truth, they had been surrounded for a while now.
They didn’t even notice. They’ve got a long way to go.
Thud! Thud!
Goblins that had been clinging to the cave ceiling began dropping down one by one.
“Grrrk!”
“Grrk!”
Their sounds were a bit strange, weren’t they?
Junil scratched his head as he looked at them.
Hmm… is it because of me?
“Grrrrraaaah!”
Swarm Goblin Lv.5
They had entered a swarm state.
It was probably because of the pheromones still on Junil’s clothes.
The party members, seeing swarm goblins for the first time, were horrified.
“W-what the hell are those things?!”
“They’re swarm goblins.”
“W-what does that even mean?!”
“Stay calm! Miss Chaeyoung. We just need to form up like before!”
Still, as a B+ ranker, Jeon In-su shouted and took the lead in responding.
Oooong—!
He clasped his hands together as if in prayer, creating a barrier that blocked off every direction.
Kim Chaeyoung also began casting her magic.
Chain Magic Bullet
It was the most basic spell that fired mana bullets in rapid succession.
Boom-boom-boom!
Normal goblins were knocked down after taking a few hits.
But the swarm goblins were different.
“Grrrrrr!”
“Keng! Keng!”
They charged forward on all fours like wolves, looking completely unfazed as if they hadn’t even been hit.
“W-what the—there’s no damage?!”
Junil muttered from the side.
“Fire-type attacks work well on them.”
“……Really? I’m a lightning mage.”
That was when it happened.
Whoosh!
Kang Hae-il appeared wrapped in flames.
He had been far ahead of the group, so he was only now joining the rear that had been surrounded.
“I’ll break through in one direction.”
Hae-il rolled his shoulder once, then threw a punch.
A massive wave of flame shot forward.
BOOM!
The goblins were burned pitch black and erased.
Even the swarm goblins were no exception.
“Grrrk…?!”
Thud.
They crumbled into black ash.
“This way!”
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
With the goblins dead and a path opened, the team began moving.
What ridiculous firepower. Damn unfair world.
Even as he ran alongside them, Junil couldn’t help but feel dumbfounded remembering how he had meticulously slit the throats of swarm goblins one by one.
“O-over here too!”
Whoosh!
Boom!
More goblins vanished.
He’s definitely gotten stronger. Still way too sloppy, though.
An S-rank’s firepower was monstrous.
It made sense, since the story board had poured every ounce of energy it could into him.
But Kang Hae-il’s handling of that power was clumsy.
It was like a child driving a 1,000-horsepower 12-cylinder muscle car.
All he could do was go straight forward!
“Over here!”
BOOM!
The goblins hit by his attacks were obliterated as if struck by a natural disaster.
But—
“Grrrrraaah!”
“Grrrr!”
Strangely, no matter how many holes they punched through, the encirclement only grew thicker.
“We’re surrounded again…?!”
Countless openings, irrational tactics, stupid decisions…
Good grief.
Junil stomped the ground a few times, either out of frustration or to check something.
Thump. Thump.
There are still enemies up ahead. Is this really going to work?
At this rate, they would never escape the encirclement.
It would be better to put their backs to the wall and fight with the resolve to kill every last one.
“W-what should we do? It doesn’t feel like we’re making any progress…”
The quick-witted Kim Chaeyoung muttered, but Kang Hae-il simply bit his lip and walked forward as if he couldn’t care less.
“We’ll just break through.”
Right as the Constellations’ reactions were reaching a peak—
“Hae-il, instead of breaking through the front, let’s break through the rear.”
Junil couldn’t hold back any longer and spoke up.
If they kept this up, they would all die.
“……?”
Everyone except Kang Hae-il looked at him with eyes that said, Who the hell are you to open your mouth?
“If we keep pushing forward, the encirclement will only get worse. The rear only looks surrounded. In reality, there are fewer goblins there.”
Hae-il seemed to consider it for a moment, then nodded.
“Rear it is.”
He accepted the suggestion immediately.
The party members were flustered.
“Huh? From what I can see, there are more in the rear?”
“Doesn’t matter. Rear.”
“U-understood.”
The Paladin, Jeon In-su, took the lead swinging his massive war hammer, with Kang Hae-il following behind.
The formation had been flipped.
Rear became front, front became rear.
“Keng! Keng!”
“Grrrrk!”
As the wolf-like goblins charged, the other mage, Kim Seong-wu, screamed in terror.
“W-what the hell?! We’re at the very front now?!”
“We swapped the front and rear of the formation.”
In truth, swapping front and rear was an absolutely insane tactic.
All the goblins that had been focused on the tank line of Kang Hae-il and Jeon In-su were now targeting the mages.
“Run! Everyone!”
When Junil shouted, the mages’ fear exploded.
“U-uaaaaagh!”
Kim Seong-wu screamed as he started running, and Kim Chaeyoung followed right behind him.
“Damn it… is this really the right move?!”
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
Saying there were more goblins in front so they should break through the rear?
It was a garbage tactic.
All those goblins from the front would now be attacking the party’s vulnerable backline.
They were exposing their weakest point to the enemy’s strongest force.
“Kiiiiaaaaak!!!”
“Kiiak!!”
The goblins seemed to know it too, rushing forward with glee.
But there was a solution here.
But what if Julian shows up~
Step.
Junil stood in their way.
He faced the goblins charging straight at him.
“Kiiiiaaaaaaaaak!”
“Kiiak! Kiiiiaaaaak!”
Their eyes were murderous.
The mages had no time to look back, and Kang Hae-il and Jeon In-su were too far away.
In other words, Junil was completely unmarked.
This should be about right.
Tap. Tap.
He tapped the ground with his foot a couple times, then—
Mana Punch
He slammed his fist down.
Thud.
A heavy vibration.
Right after, the ground split open.
Craaaaack—!
“Kiiak?!”
“Kiiiik…?!”
The pursuing goblins hesitated.
But it was already too late.
BOOM!
The ground collapsed, revealing a pitch-black hole.
Rumble rumble rumble—!
Exactly.
When he had tapped the ground earlier, he had confirmed the earth beneath was hollow.
All that talk about front and rear had just been to fool the party members.
Luring the goblins here had been Junil’s plan all along.
“Kiiak?!”
Whoosh!
The lead goblin that had been excitedly charging forward fell straight into the hole in an instant.
“K-kiiaaaaaak?!”
“Kiiiiaaaaaak…!”
Crash!
The ones behind it all fell as well.
“Kiiiiaaaaak…!”
They flailed their hands desperately, but—
Goodbye, you walking experience points.
They plummeted straight down and turned into ketchup.
Splat!
With that, nearly all the goblins that had been following them were wiped out.
The Constellations cheered wildly at the performance of Junil, who had been pretending to be a mere porter.
The number of viewers skyrocketed to an all-time high.
Nice.
Current Constellation Viewers: 701
It had surpassed seven hundred.
Incarnation ‘Hero - Julian’
Progress: 7.01%
At that moment, static began interfering with his vision.
Crackle—
Huh?
Was he really going to see the memory this time?
No.
Instead, something else appeared.
Objective: Kill Kang Hae-il
Reward: ???
A hidden quest had appeared.