If You Open Your Eyes Wide, You Can See It – Pro Tip
The chat exploded the moment I showed them the crystal embedded in Yan Teacher’s body. Everyone had an opinion, but no clear answer emerged. With the dinosaur weapon debate going nowhere, we switched topics and decided to examine the crystal first.
“Looks like we can’t figure out a single thing about it.”
“Story progression?”
“Hmm…”
I’d been ready to toss it thinking it was just some pretty piece of trash. Now it looked like I’d have to carry it around for a while.
“I’ll hold onto this for now.”
Maybe I should ask Reina later. She seemed to know more than she let on, so there was a chance she might recognize it.
She might even be the key item for story progression.
In the end, the only real gain from Yan Teacher was the crafting material. We never did settle whether the Excalibur-wielding T-Rex or the bazooka-toting Spinosaurus would win, and all that remained was the guess that this crystal was something important.
After roughly wrapping up the Yan Teacher topic, I headed back to the outpost. The moment I arrived, I opened the door to the smithy with a loud thud and casually set down the materials from both Dirtymonga and Yan Teacher in front of the blacksmiths.
“I want to make a new greatsword. Is that possible?”
The blacksmiths’ eyes went wide as soon as they saw what I’d placed before them.
“What! Isn’t this Yankruga material? Where on earth did you get this?!”
“Did you actually hunt one?!”
“Yeah. It barged in while I was on the Dirtymonga subjugation quest.”
At my answer the blacksmiths all let out gasps of astonishment. Their faces were pure disbelief. Just looking at them told me exactly how shocking it was that I’d brought back parts from a Yankruga.
Guess it really was a bigger deal than I thought.
Honestly it had just looked like a big clumsy brute. I only learned its actual name today; everyone had simply called it “Yan Teacher,” so I never knew what it was really called.
“Hooo…”
“I knew you were skilled after seeing you use that greatsword last time, but this is on another level…”
“As expected of the hunter Dante himself acknowledged?”
They couldn’t hide their admiration as they began inspecting each material I’d brought.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen Dirtymonga parts.”
“Everyone avoids that monster. There’s no demand for its materials.”
“The quality looks decent. However, this section here…”
Phil’s eyes narrowed. He pointed at a wound on the Yankruga hide.
“This looks like damage from another monster.”
“Territorial fight?”
“Probably.”
“But I’ve never seen this kind of mark before. What kind of monster could’ve done this?”
“I have no idea.”
“It’s been a long time since we’ve encountered something we couldn’t identify…”
After seriously discussing the unknown creature that had wounded the Yankruga, they turned to me.
“Did you notice anything unusual while you were fighting it?”
“Even the smallest detail is fine. If you remember anything, please tell us.”
A brief silence fell. Then I slowly nodded, opened my bag, and took out the crystal before they could see it. It wouldn’t hurt to get their opinion first.
“If we’re talking about anything unusual, then this is probably it.”
The moment the blacksmiths saw the crystal in my hand, their eyes sparkled.
“An ore I’ve never seen before.”
“Look at that luster. It’s beautiful.”
“How hard is it? Harder than steel?”
“Obviously. It’s the material that wounded Yankruga’s hide. Of course it’s harder.”
They slowly approached, looking at me with careful, almost reverent eyes.
“If it’s all right with you, may we examine it?”
“We absolutely won’t delay the making of your greatsword.”
“In fact, we’ll pour everything we have into it. So…”
Watching grown men beg with sparkling puppy eyes was honestly a little hard to bear, but having once had a blacksmith friend, I could understand how they felt. Getting excited over a new mineral was basically an occupational disease for their profession.
I remembered my old comrade who would light up like an idiot the moment he saw a new ore, then stay up all night forging weapons for us on the front lines. Without the weapons he made, we would never have lasted until the very end.
I wonder what he’s doing these days.
Since this was a parallel world, maybe he and the others were still alive somewhere. But I had zero desire to meet those grotesque faces again.
“You can borrow it.”
“Oh, really?!”
“Thank you!!”
“I’m so excited to research a brand-new ore!!”
“You know the terms, right…?”
The blacksmiths nodded like eager children.
“Of course we do!!”
“Just leave it to us!!”
“Come back tomorrow!! We’ll make you the finest weapon.”
“Got it.”
After nodding to them, I stepped outside. The sun had already set and night had deepened. When I checked the stream timer, it was already the early hours of the morning just like yesterday. Deciding it was time to end the broadcast, I told the viewers.
“It’s about time to wrap up today’s stream.”
“That would be problematic. So today’s broadcast ends here. Bye-bye.”
Streaming has ended.
The broadcast cut off without the slightest mercy. Viewers who had wanted to see more of Haerang’s performance felt a sense of emptiness at how coldly it had ended.
The dopamine rush from watching the entire stream had been insane. Once it ended, the viewers were going crazy from withdrawal. Just like Haerang who was addicted to combat dopamine, they too had become addicted to the dopamine the broadcast provided.
The remaining viewers spent time calming each other down by chatting about the day’s broadcast.
Only after a long time did their dopamine-soaked brains finally start to calm down.
Some went to sleep while others, still not satisfied, began collecting clips and memes to post in the gallery. Thanks to them, the Wilds Hunter Gallery was soon flooded with Haerang posts.
Among all the posts, the one that received the most attention was this.
The post contained every moment from when I suggested a spar with Dante as thanks all the way to the end of our real sword fight. Even the people who had been complaining about the flood of Haerang posts fell silent in front of this one.
A few trolls tried to stir up trouble in the middle, but they were quickly beaten down by the other users. Then one short comment poured fuel on the fire.
After ending the stream, I cracked open a cold beer and relaxed. Today’s earnings were pretty decent; I could afford to buy meat tomorrow. I lay down on the bed, rested my leg on the rolling Nyua, and was about to fall asleep when—
A message has arrived via Pajijik.
I lazily sat up and checked it. A long message had arrived through my Pajijik account. When I saw the sender’s nickname, I narrowed my eyes slightly.
“Haerang-nim, hello. This is the streamer Karayang who has been watching your broadcasts since the very beginning. Would it be possible for us to talk?”
It was the very same “I Like Cheonhyehyang” who had shown up from my first broadcast and donated frequently.