The Third Broadcast (1)
When Seolhwa appeared on Ente's stream, the community filled up with nothing but talk about it.
So is it really that person??
I clicked the donor ID on Ente's stream and it's an account made literally yesterday lmaooo
Turn your stream on NOW!!!
P l e a s e t u r n o n t h e s t r e a m
The next day, Seolhwa finished some light stretching and stood in front of the capsule.
"Alright, let's head in."
She slipped into the capsule, and the moment she closed her eyes and opened them again, the world of the game unfolded around her. She had set the stream to start automatically.
"Is it on?"
She genuinely couldn't tell whether she was broadcasting or not. It was the first time she'd used a platform other than the game's built-in auto-stream, so there was no familiar tell to go by.
"I guess it's working."
Just then, the chat window she'd tucked into the corner of her vision began to move.
Oh? It's real!
Yep, it's her
So the donation on Ente's stream was actually legit??
Explain the 4-day streaming hiatus
Someone told her to make an account and she actually did, huh
Her viewer count climbed little by little, and the chat settled into a comfortable rhythm.
"I told you before, didn't I? I'm not a professional streamer. I'm perfectly capable of not streaming at all."
When Seolhwa said this, the chat cried out in a chorus of but still!
"As for why I made the account — part of it is to keep records. And people said it was inconvenient not being able to find me, so I made one."
She actually took that feedback??
NOT a pro streamer (made an account because people complained they couldn't find her)
Just debut already lmaooo
And her RP is "hero returned from another world," right? lol
Seolhwa read through the chat at her own unhurried pace.
"As for a formal debut... we'll see."
With that, Seolhwa stepped into the Association building.
The Korea Hunter Association. The institution that managed every hunter in the country and oversaw all the guilds. In its early days it had wielded tremendous power, but in Seolhwa's previous life, the gate wave that erupted simultaneously across the nation had left it weakened.
But without the Association, the guilds can't recruit new members either — so in the end, we're all holding each other's leashes.
That last thread the Association refused to let go of: every hunter, while under Association affiliation, had to complete at least twelve months of probation before they could declare independence and go freelance.
Though in practice, the ones they call promising prospects are already being courted from their academy days.
The moment she stepped inside the Association building, a woman with pink hair was glancing around the lobby — and the second she spotted Seolhwa, she waved and came running.
"Seolhwa!"
Seolhwa waved back in greeting. The little bell hanging from the knot tied around her wrist chimed softly with every wave of her hand.
"Hello there."
Yu-ri looked down at the knot on Seolhwa's wrist, then said teasingly, "Last time I asked you to come along, you went into a gate all by yourself?"
"Ahem."
Seolhwa cleared her throat and changed the subject. "I'm sorry. If there's a good commission today, we'll go together."
At that, Yu-ri's eyes lit up and she thrust her smartphone screen forward.
"Then... would you come to this gate with me?"
⚔ Rank: C
📍 Location: Seoul Outskirts
It was a gate that existed in Seolhwa's memories too. A fixed-type gate — clear it, and a few days later it would reappear in the exact same spot. The basic intel on the dungeon was simple: a plains-type gate that spawned endless swarms of slimes. What she remembered most vividly was how it had taken them an absolute eternity to find the boss monster.
So it still hasn't been discovered yet.
Isn't this just a slime field lol
The gate literally everyone has run at least once
Wait, is this the main quest now??
Glancing between the chat and Yu-ri's reaction, Seolhwa confirmed it — the hidden content remained undiscovered.
"Sounds good. Let's go together."
At Seolhwa's acceptance, Yu-ri broke into a radiant smile.
"Then let's head out right away!"
I don't think I've ever seen Yu-ri smile like that outside of this stream
How high does your favorability have to be for her to actually smile? That grind must've been insane
Tbh other streamers never did manage to raise her favorability
Makes sense — most streamers only multistream with their own circle anyway
Ah, so there are collabs. That's why Ente was so desperate to track me down.
The moment they stepped outside the building, a system window popped up.
"Shall we take my car?"
Yu-ri was spinning a set of car keys around her finger.
If I remember right, it's still a sedan at this point.
In Seolhwa's memories, Yu-ri's car had been a sedan. They walked to the parking lot together, where a white sedan — just as she remembered — beeped and flashed its headlights in greeting.
"My beloved steed!"
Hearing that, Seolhwa laughed inwardly.
The car she sobbed her heart out over when it got wrecked. The first one she'd ever saved up to buy herself.
The moment Seolhwa climbed into the car, the same plum blossom scent as before filled her senses.
"It smells lovely."
"Right?! Plum blossom fragrance is the best. The flower language is beautiful, too."
The exact same words Yu-ri had said the first time Seolhwa ever rode in this car. And so, just like back then, Seolhwa asked:
"What's the flower language?"
"Nobility of heart, purity, grace, and patience. Those are its meanings."
Yu-ri adjusted the diffuser as she spoke. "I keep it here thinking — if you hold onto a noble heart and learn to endure, maybe you can protect everyone. Something like that."
"That's a lovely meaning."
"Do you have a favorite flower, Seolhwa?"
Seolhwa gazed at Yu-ri's pale white hands as she answered. "Lilies."
"Why lilies?"
Seolhwa smiled at the innocent question. "Because I want to sacrifice myself purely, for someone's sake."
And that someone is you — Seolhwa wanted to say it, but couldn't.
The vibe in here is straight out of a dating sim
It's been pink and fluffy ever since Yu-ri showed up
With that face? She could seduce anyone she wanted
Her face is straight-up pay-to-win
"Sacrifice is noble and all, but don't overdo it. You'll wear yourself down to nothing."
With those words, Yu-ri pressed the accelerator gently, and the car rolled forward.
You shouldn't overdo it either, Yu-ri...
A message offering to skip the travel sequence floated into view, but Seolhwa declined it — she wanted to savor this time with Yu-ri.
Her viewers, of course, suffered through it wailing why aren't you skipping, but at some point the chat changed its tune entirely and settled into simply enjoying the atmosphere between the two of them.
I'm a lily guy now
Delicious
The polar bears are facing extinction (viewers dying)
Crazy how this same person, the second combat starts, doesn't blink even once while she's shooting
Ah yes, the gap moe
Seolhwa saw the chatter but didn't react much to it.
"We're here!"
Once they'd finished parking, the two of them headed for the gate, where Association staff stood waiting out front.
"Please stop here a moment. We'll need to see your hunter registration."
Yu-ri and Seolhwa showed their hunter IDs.
"Confirmed. You're clear to enter. If you do not return within six hours, the Association will launch a rescue operation. Good luck."
With that, the two of them walked into the gate.
Inside lay a vast open plain, utterly unlike the scenery of Seoul.
"It's huge."
"We should be fine — the radar teams did share their map with us."
Using the system, Seolhwa projected the Association's data into the air as a translucent overlay.
"One moment."
She drew a short dagger from her inventory. The moment Yu-ri and the viewers saw it, the question came from both of them at once.
"Why a dagger instead of your bow?"
??? Did she just change classes??
Wait where did Aurora go??
???
"Ah — I have a limited ammo supply, and I'd rather not waste it on slimes."
Hearing that, Yu-ri nodded in understanding.
The two of them carved their way forward through wave after wave of slimes.
Normally this gate ends the moment you kill the Slime King. But that's not what this place really is.
The Garden of the Forgotten Mage. That was this gate's true name.
All these slimes overflowing in every direction are the byproducts of a mage's experiments.
Seolhwa scanned her surroundings. And there it was — a single stone pillar, standing alone.
Without a moment's hesitation, she drew Aurora, aimed at the pillar, and drew the bowstring taut.
She released. The mana-forged arrow struck the stone — and was swallowed whole.
From the point of impact, a blue fracture spread spidering across the pillar's surface.
"Seolhwa? What is this?"
Seolhwa smiled. "You know what a hidden stage is, right? That."
Yu-ri stood flustered while Seolhwa radiated perfect calm — and the viewers watching it all were mashing question marks into the chat with abandon.
What is it THIS time
Is this person literally only here to hunt hidden content?
Why does she keep finding nothing but hidden stages lmaooo
The ground warped, and the terrain began to reshape itself. Within minutes, a hill that had never existed rose out of the plain — and atop that hill stood an enormous door.
"A hill just... appeared?"
"Shall we go in?"
Just as Seolhwa moved toward the door, Yu-ri hastily grabbed her arm.
"Seolhwa! Shouldn't we report this to the Association first? Hidden stages have danger ratings, and—"
"It's fine. I'll take full responsibility. Besides,"
Seolhwa met Yu-ri's eyes and smiled in a way meant to reassure her.
"By the time we finished reporting it, this place would already be gone."
Gently steering the dazed Yu-ri along, Seolhwa pushed the door atop the hill wide open.
Screeeech—
The door ground open with a heavy groan, revealing a space that was the polar opposite of the plain's pastoral scenery: a vast laboratory built from cold, gray stone. Orbs glowing with magical power drifted across the ceiling like stars, while shattered flasks and the crusty stains of long-dried reagents sketched grotesque patterns across every wall.
You have entered the Hidden Stage: "Erzsébet's Outdoor Laboratory."
Holy crap, what is this presentation???
This was hidden inside a C-rank gate??
Isn't this straight-up uncharted territory? Nobody's ever posted a clear guide for this place
"What... what on earth did they do in here?"
Yu-ri adjusted her grip on her shield and asked carefully. The acrid tang of mana hanging in the air made her brow furrow. Seolhwa stared at the enormous vortex of magical power churning at the center of the laboratory and answered flatly.
"The private laboratory of some mad mage. The slimes you saw outside were the failed experiments she threw away."
The instant those words left her mouth, the vortex at the center surged violently.
GRUUUUMBLE—!
Floor tiles and broken lab equipment alike were sucked toward the heart of the whirlpool, and in the space of a heartbeat they began assembling themselves into the colossal silhouette of a man — a monster of stone, scrap iron, and clotted masses of sticky mana.
"A golem. And a rather ill-tempered one, at that."
Seolhwa drew Aurora from her inventory once more.
"Yu-ri... you can tank it, right?"
Yu-ri planted her shield in front of her and nodded with grim resolve.
"Of course! Just stay behind me!"
Oh, party play at last??
Seolhwa dealing damage from behind a tank? Precious lmao
Um, that golem's size is NOT C-rank though??