Chapter 49
Chapter 49
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: That's That, But We Gotta Do What Needs Doing
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Team Leader Yoo! Check this out!”
“What's going on here...?”
A hunter from Nova Guild's raid team thrust his phone screen in front of Yoo Chae-rin as he spoke. It was about an Instagram live stream that had captured massive public attention online.
The account _Princess_Eve had run a live raid broadcast of the Desert Mausoleum for about 50 minutes. Shockingly, it revealed enormous gimmicks that hadn't been detected inside at all, along with boss-level entities in the form of living stone statues.
Regular monsters lurking in mostly sealed coffins, far more numerous—three or four times the expected count—than anyone had anticipated. And the mummy warriors they'd treated as mid-bosses turned out to be just occasional elite mobs.
📰 Breaking News
"10-Year-Old A-Rank Girl Averts Desert Mausoleum Catastrophe... All 48 Adult Raiders Safely Evacuated!" Around 1 p.m. today, four teams of 12 raiders—composed solely of A-Rank and above—headed into the first clear mission for Desert Mausoleum due to a fatal underestimation by the dungeon survey firm, pushing them to the brink of total wipeout. (Photo) (The new dungeon structure 'Desert Mausoleum' in Bon-o-dong, Sangnok-gu, Ansan City) With internal monster numbers revealed to be over three times the reported estimate, the raid teams were surrounded and pinned down for about an hour with no escape. But the one who turned the tide was none other than the 10-year-old A-Rank hunter who's been buzzing on personal SNS and Awakened communities lately—revealed as Ms. Lee. On her very first official gig, she carved out an escape route solo, took down dozens of elites cumulatively, and got everyone out safely. (Photo) (During Ms. Lee's personal SNS live broadcast) Experts are slamming the survey firm, saying "One kid prevented a massive disaster," and demanding accountability. Plus, the entire raid was live-streamed on popular SNS Instagram... Read more.
“Insta... live...?”
Yoo Chae-rin steadied her surprise and carefully examined the photos. Shots of the Desert Mausoleum interior—details not yet public—and brutal combat scenes. The interfaces suggested they were captures from an Instagram live.
Turning around, she caught sight of Eve's startled expression.
“Eve...?”
“Ch-Chae-rin unnie...!”
From the looks of it, even Eve herself hadn't realized. She was clutching Dangdang-i—its forehead camera still streaming—with slightly trembling hands.
Yoo Chae-rin quickly reached out, covering the camera on Dangdang-i's forehead, and shouted.
“Dangdang! Turn off the live stream!”
—Beep?
Of course, even that moment was being broadcast.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
💬 Awakening Gallery
— Anon
Holy shit, today's a total legend lolololololol
Dungeon Management Association << Always bragging about being #1 in dungeon survey accuracy among OECD countries, but word is they tell hunters to fuck off with surveys privately. Princess just exposed it all for real lol
— Anon
But how'd she even start the live?? Isn't there like an NDA clause or something?
— Gyahong
↳ Reply
Princess is only 10, she wouldn't know about that ㅠㅠ
— Anon
↳ Reply
These assholes kept the NDA to block private surveys, right? Wasn't this brought up before?
— Melgaegurim
I once joined a Dungeon Assoc survey team, but it was so off from reality I filed a complaint. They paid me a fat compensation so I shut up lol...
— Elrel
You're an accomplice too ㅇㅅㄲㅇ
— Melgaegurim
↳ Reply
Come on, that's not it~~~
— Anon
(Whoa...)
— Kim Heukgan
Fuckin hell, Princess GOATs national agencies on her first official gig lolololol
Even turned her first dungeon first-clear into a public survey scandal ㄷㄷ
— Hustar
This is huge
— Kim Heukgan
↳ Reply
Time to praise the Princess, yeah...?
— Anon [LMH]
Praise the Princess Princess << Super cute so upvote lol
— Gyahong
Post some windmill proof
— Anon [LMH]
↳ Reply
No proof lol
The story spread like wildfire through the Awakening Gallery and into other communities. In the Active Hunter Gallery, the same old crony cartel started getting thrashed again.
— Anon
What're the Ruined Country guys up to these days? lol
Tried to trash a young pretty A-Rank and got backlash, mommy died? lol
— Jeonbuk War Dragon
KAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
Dit dit dit dit dddddddd dit dit dit dit dit dit iiiiiiii sing sigl i os~~~~~~~~~~
— Heum-cheong
Heum-cheong's mom.JPG (Black photo) Gone lol
Somehow, the floating randos had ramped up their targeting of already-dead guys for another round of corpse-beating. Even serious Active Hunter Gallery regulars reacted hotly to the Instagram live.
— Ppang Inspector
Dungeon Assoc's gonna reel from this one. Vets know this ain't the first or second time. Indies operating solo outside guilds, especially in provinces, got hit hardest—tons suffered big losses cuz the surveyed interiors didn't match reports at all.
— Archer Noi
This is unbelievable...! We can no longer sit idle on Dungeon Assoc's tyranny, so summon a lawyer here...!
— Ppang Inspector
↳ Reply
Class action lawsuit incoming for real.
— Korean Bamboo Sword
Issue is whether the ones who took comp money will join in
— Ppang Inspector
↳ Reply
Tough to get support from them, but at least public opinion won't backlash—that's the biggest win.
⭐ Top Comment
— Cyclops
Withdrawing support for Princess effective today.
Stepping out of fandom relationship.
Eve Princess and I are now one body.
Attacks on Princess = attacks on me.
— Anon
Can a major guild master post shit like this lol
— Cyclops
↳ Reply
Princess was cute af
Praise posts poured in for Minium-i's insane performance, along with frequent mentions of Ophelia.
And.
— Anon
NUOOOOOONGONGKOKOKERKERKGEOKGEOKDKKAKKAKYAGKAKHEUKHEUKHEOGEOGHEUEUEUEUEUJUJUKKGUJUKJUKKAKK lol
Post does not exist or has been deleted.
IP blocked by Awakening Manager.
[Ban Duration: 31 days] / [Reason: Fuck you underage]
[Available: 2046/1/20 15:11:41]
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
There was no way to contact Eve mid-gate raid, and the live popped up so suddenly that response was delayed.
Above all, 270k viewers on the live—including overseas accounts—made it explode into public discourse.
Shutting it down now wouldn't undo the fallout; it'd only grow. Forcing silence could spark a bigger backlash.
“Damn, kid did something big. Honestly, we're guild-affiliated, so we couldn't speak up—blood's loss for us.”
“Ugh... sorry...”
So, after all four raid teams escaped Desert Mausoleum and gathered to talk.
“Nah, it's fine. Don't worry.”
“But... the NDA clause...?”
“Yeah, there is one, but the incident's too huge, and Dungeon Assoc really fucked up bad this time.”
It was straight-up scamming a dream team of 48 top A-Rank+ hunters. And the one blowing it wide open wasn't some known adult, but a newbie A-Rank on her first official raid. Plus, only 10 years old with zero intent. That could be proven.
“Am I going to jail...?”
“Nah, Eve did nothing wrong. Nova should've given prior notice, which bugs me a tad, but if Dungeon Assoc clings to that for immunity... it'd probably ignite even more outrage.”
“Wahh...”
These ~50 hunters—bearing massive fame equivalent to about 5% of Korea's total Hunter power—were unloading nonstop praise on a 10-year-old kid.
“Anyway, that robot buddy was nuts. Man... brings back my childhood dreams.”
“Ehehe...”
“Name's Minyong? Why Minyong?”
“Uh, it's Minium, not Minyong... Made it from aluminum cans originally, then it turned into this...”
“Whoa, made from aluminum?”
“No no! Now it's rare metal and magic stones and... stuff...”
—Clank...
Minium-i, next to her, was bashfully scratching its head after all the praise, grinning dopily.
“Maid lady fought well too. Eagle buddy as well.”
“Did the lady start the live?”
“No. This one did.”
“Whoa, this tiny thing? Smart cookie.”
“Hear that, Dangdang? They say you're smart. Say thank you quick...”
—Beep!!
Thrilled by the praise, Dangdang wildly wagged its loaf-butt in victory dance. Everyone clapped at the pup's antics. Good job, Dangdang!
“Anyway, seems close with Hunter Chae-rin, so didn't wanna bring it up. We'd treat you great if you joined us.”
“Ehehe... I don't plan on joining a guild...”
“Not in Nova?”
“No, Eve isn't Nova Guild. We just keep friendly ties.”
Everyone was shocked at Chae-rin unnie's answer. Not just that I was freelance, but I'd turned down Nova Guild's recruitment.
“Saw you on Insta. Pic with Maxy too, right?”
“Ah, yes! That's right.”
“Lucky. Parents must be proud.”
“Ah... well...”
Chae-rin unnie faltered for a sec, so Ophelia stepped in first.
“Indeed. They'd be immensely proud.”
“Haha! Jealous. Mind introducing my son sometime later?”
“No.”
“Ehh...”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
💬 Comments
— Life Ain't Ruined
Gotta change nick
Wanna go back to Life Is Ruined
— Gyahong
Princess-myu ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
— Life Ain't Ruined
↳ Reply
What the hell;
— Do-shyung-jwak
Good work lol
— Life Ain't Ruined
↳ Reply
Hing
— Joining the Awakening Gallery
@Life Ain't Ruined No worries—guild's consulting lawyers, victims going for group lawsuit
— Life Ain't Ruined
↳ Reply
@Joining the Awakening Gallery For real?? ㅠ
— Joining the Awakening Gallery
↳ Reply
@Life Ain't Ruined Real lol
After the tumultuous first mission, we wrapped up the official raid and headed home. Felt like I'd burned every last drop of energy. Minium-i, who'd become a massive article robot, reverted to its original small size on my command.
Not by removing materials—just a skill thing.
“Minium, you okay?”
—Clank!
Its size hit like 2.3 meters? A full meter taller than me. Studio ceiling's under 2m anyway. Shoulders too broad for the door first off.
So back to 90cm like old times. Just compressed—can revert anytime.
“Suri, you worked so hard too! Fought awesome today.”
—Kiiit...
“Huh? No no! Not a trap—you spotted the gimmick first. Suri did nothing wrong!”
—Kiiit...
Suri seemed down, thinking it caused the trap. But really, no fault—Dungeon Assoc's screw-up.
“Dangdang... well, yeah... you sure stirred shit up good!”
—Beep?!
“You rascal!!”
Results-wise good, but... caused way too much chaos. Gotta train proper next time. No dinner tonight!
“Ophelia, you too—great job. You got really hurt.”
“Thanks to Your Highness's healing, no issue.”
“Heehee, yeah. Still, thanks. You got hurt saving me...”
“Your Highness's safety always comes first.”
Rode Nova's ride home, showered—muscle soreness from all the running/walking. Full rest tomorrow, no gymnastics. Practiced hard for 2 weeks.
So tired... super sleepy...
—Zzz...
“Your Highness, Your Highness?”
By the time Ophelia returned after prepping the bath, Eve was already off wandering dreamland.
“Hehe...”
Ophelia wore a gentle smile.
“Your Highness, please rise. Bath then bed.”
“Mmmuaang.”
But baths can't wait. Ophelia has no feelings.
```