Surviving as a Broadcaster (2)
As the sun slowly sank toward the horizon in the early evening, a chill wind swept through the streets. I had returned to District 6 once again. The warm glow of sunset reflected off the buildings’ glass windows, lighting up the entire area. I kept my identity hidden behind a hoodie and a black mask. Revealing my face right now would only cause problems.
I stepped into a convenience store and bought a triangle kimbap and a 500ml bottle of water. I needed to put something in my stomach before pulling off something this big. While I ate the kimbap, I never forgot to keep watch on the street outside the glass.
“Hmm, this is actually pretty good! It’s totally my style.”
Lens had been staring at the human food with open curiosity, so I’d bought him some cat food to try. …I’d deal with that later.
Anyway, the results of my earlier experiments left me honestly dissatisfied. The guidebook said every constellation had wildly different standards for what counted as stimulating content. Since I needed to figure out exactly what kind of violence the Beating Meister enjoyed, I had run a few simple tests. I started with flicks to the forehead and gradually escalated the level of physical force.
The conclusion was clear: playful levels of physical contact weren’t enough to clear the daily mission. In short, it didn’t satisfy the guy’s sense of fun.
That meant the next step was harassment-level “display of power,” but…
“Lens? You said I could raise my stats with points earlier, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right?”
I closed the guidebook and pressed a finger to my temple. It was a relief that I didn’t have to shout everything out loud.
My current stats were honestly pathetic. I already knew I was a nobody, but seeing the numbers in front of me still hit twice as hard. The only small comfort was my relatively high Perception. Still, there was no point getting depressed over a three. According to the guidebook, three was average for a normal person. Ten was the human limit, and anything above eleven entered superhuman territory.
“Alright. What should I raise first?”
1,300 P
Stamina, Strength, Agility, Magic Power, Perception, and Charm. I had to choose carefully among the six stats. A bad first investment could ruin my entire build, and this wasn’t a game; it was reality. Since survival came first, physical stats like Stamina, Strength, and Agility were non-negotiable for someone who had to use violence. Among them, Strength was the most important. Raising my base power would help me enormously.
You have invested 400 points into Strength.
Strength 3 → Strength 4
Four hundred points for a single point increase. Considering what even one point meant for a human being, the impact was enormous. And the cost would probably keep rising with each additional point.
You have invested 500 points into Strength.
Strength 4 → Strength 5
The cost increased by a hundred points for every single stat point gained. That meant the next investment would require six hundred points no matter which stat I chose. Focus and prioritization were essential.
Lens spoke up. “It’s been a while since I saw a human raise Strength first. Most of them start with Charm.”
“Charm?”
“Every human I’ve watched did the same. Of course, to an angel like me all humans look identical. Charm barely changes even when you dump points into it.”
I let out a small laugh at Lens’s words. “That makes sense. But you’ll never understand how much chaos even a tiny difference in charm can cause.”
“Huh?”
Well, of course a god wouldn’t understand humans. That was probably why their standards for violence were so arbitrary.
That was when the convenience store door opened with a chime. A couple walked in arm-in-arm. The man started ordering at the counter.
“Hey! Give me a pack of cigarettes.”
“Oppa, you have to pay for this too!”
I had been looking for him. I didn’t know his name, but I remembered his face clearly.
“Yes, I’ll help you with the payment.”
I pulled my hood lower and waited until the couple left the store. My target had walked right up to me. Now it was time to test how strong I had become.
I left the convenience store and immediately followed the couple. The tattooed man led his girlfriend into the alley beside the store—the same place we had fought yesterday. I gripped the water bottle in one hand and quietly closed the distance. Then I dumped the entire contents over the back of his head.
Splash!
“Wh-what the hell!”
…No narration popped up. I quickly checked for a daily mission clear message, but it proved that harassment-level physical force still wasn’t enough. In the end, I would have to actually injure him with my fists.
The tattooed man whirled around, his face dripping wet. “You son of a bitch, who the hell are you?!”
“Oppa, this guy’s crazy!”
“What’s your problem? You wanna go?”
The tattooed man shook off his girlfriend’s arm and took a fighting stance. That was when the narration rang inside my head.
Genre: Violence, Action, Hardboiled
The constellation Beating Meister wants to see a refreshing act of revenge. Defeat the delinquent.
Target: Myung Jin-ho (0/1)
🎁 Reward: 500 points
🎁 Additional Reward: —
⏰ Time Limit: 1 hour
⚠ Penalty: 500 points deducted on defeat.
A sudden quest? Of course. The Beating Meister wouldn’t want to watch the protagonist of the broadcast lose either.
“Who the hell are you?!” the tattooed man shouted.
The shabby alley grew brighter as streetlights flickered on one by one. I stared at him silently.
“Already forgot? We met yesterday.”
“I-I don’t know you! Who are you?!”
The tattooed man kept screeching at the top of his lungs. I slowly lowered my mask.
“I came to finish what we started. You should remember now, right?”
His eyes widened, then a vicious smile spread across his face.
…Honestly, I wasn’t sure I could win. The cooldown on Tenacity still hadn’t reset.
“This crazy bastard. Fine, bring it on.”
Instead, I activated Insight on him immediately.
Unique Skill: Insight
Perception stat is influencing the skill.
Perfect Insight achieved!
So this was his level. The best part of Insight was being able to gauge an opponent’s ability through their potential. With potential like this, he was probably a little stronger than me… or at least he used to be.
“Perfect timing. Yesterday you dared to mess with our big bro…!”
Myung Jin-ho swung his fist with a wild shout. I threw my own punch at the same time. The first strike had to be mine!
Thud!
My fist connected solidly with his face first. Nice! This was exactly why I had dumped everything into Strength early on. I figured higher Strength would support Agility and make my punches faster too.
Daily mission completed.
You have earned 300 points.
You have earned 500 bonus points!
So it only cleared once the violence reached actual combat level. Twin streams of blood poured from Myung Jin-ho’s nose.
“Wait, my nose! My nose is bleeding!”
He called for a timeout and bent over, staggering. That was when his left hand flashed!
I knew it!
Slice!
I twisted to dodge the dagger, but the blade still carved across my forearm. Damn. His Agility was higher than I expected. If I hadn’t known about the Left-handed and Dagger traits from the Insight result, I might have been caught completely off guard. What a dirty bastard…
“You son of a—how did you?!”
I drove my fist into his shocked face again. Another straight punch!
“Ugh!”
“Oppa!”
He finally collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.
Sudden quest completed.
You have earned 500 points.
The constellation Beating Meister sponsors 300 points as thanks for hitting the right spot!
I had finished today’s daily mission, but there was still work left. I walked over to the fallen Myung Jin-ho.
“You… who the hell are you? When I tell our big brother, you’re dead meat.”
Taking them all out at once would be inefficient. These guys were valuable prey for my daily missions. I needed to savor them slowly, once per day.
“Sure, bring your friends. I won’t stop you.”
“What?”
“Tell them I’ll take them on anytime. No matter how many. The more the better.”
“Y-you bastard, just wait!”
I let Myung Jin-ho go. It felt like deliberately releasing a caught mouse so it would lead me back to the nest.
“Hoo…”
My fists were trembling. My heart pounded wildly. The intense rush of victory I felt for the first time seemed to lift me up. Thump. Thump.
I… had really become strong.
Feeling it in my bones, I couldn’t describe how fun growth could be. Was Ha Yeonjun truly getting stronger? For real?
I looked at my blurry reflection in the building’s glass window. I had always wanted to become a cool hunter. I thought I could only experience that dream by watching other hunters’ streams, but…
I looked up at Lens.
“Kekeke— Looks like you’re enjoying yourself.”
“You’re right, Lens. I have to admit it. The fun of growing stronger is real.”
“But you’ll have to complete violent missions every single day from now on. You okay with that?” Lens asked with a mischievous chuckle.
“Don’t worry about that. Because…”
I already had a plan.