When the Chat's Gaze Grows Heavy, Monsters Tremble
"This way. Please go ahead, Minsu-ssi."
The party leader politely extended his hand, clearing a path for me.
We were in the latter half of the Shadow Forest dungeon.
The dense black trees had thinned out, and thick purple mist now swirled up to ankle height on the ground.
I didn't need to see what waited beyond that mist to know.
The sticky scent of mana was already stinging my nose.
The boss room's just ahead.
My survival instincts blared alarms like crazy.
I tried backing away, desperate not to take the lead.
"N-no, you're the party leader. You should go first. I'm just the porter."
"Haha! Minsu-ssi, always with the jokes."
"How could we B-ranks lead the way in this eerie atmosphere? If you clear the path for us, we'll follow behind."
The party members' eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Ever since those three mini-bosses had flattened themselves before me to open the way, they'd placed absolute faith in me.
No matter what I said, no matter how pathetic my excuses sounded, they twisted it into "hiding his power" every time.
I shed bloody tears inwardly as I forced my feet forward.
I wanted to run, but the party members flanked me like bodyguards, leaving no gap to slip through.
Current Viewer Count: 13,240
The blue window in my vision had been holding steady around 13,000 for a while now.
And as we pushed through the forest, I'd confirmed one bizarre pattern.
Every time the chat lit up.
Every time those 10,000-plus people hyped themselves up expecting some epic move from me.
The air gets heavy.
This unpleasant pressure crushing my shoulders—it intensified in proportion to how fast the chat scrolled.
It wasn't my aura leaking out.
It was the gazes from beyond that blue window pouring through me.
Crunch, crunch.
My footsteps squelching through the purple mist were the only sound echoing in the silent forest.
"Kreeek…."
A massive shadow rose from the mist.
The D-class monster guarding the forest like a gatekeeper: the Shadow Golem.
Normally, it'd take the whole party clinging on for dear life in a prolonged fight.
But the moment it spotted me, it didn't charge—instead, it hunched its shoulders and staggered back.
Its hollow eye sockets twitched wildly, as if terrified of something beyond my gaze.
"Whoa… it's real."
I muttered softly.
I wasn't even looking straight at the monster.
I was too scared, eyes downcast, staring at the ground as I walked.
But the viewers were different.
Viewers' cheers overwhelm the dungeon's atmosphere.
Observation Density deploys to upper C-class.
As the chat exploded, the pressure on my shoulders surged.
And that pressure swept forward like an invisible tsunami.
Thud….
The retreating Shadow Golem couldn't withstand it and collapsed flat on the ground.
As if a giant palm from above had slammed it down, its massive body squished into the dirt.
The party members were dumbfounded.
"My god… without lifting a finger, the golem…!"
"This… this is Minsu-ssi's true presence!"
I let out a hollow laugh at the party leader's cry.
It's not my presence. It's those 10,000-plus couch potatoes pointing and laughing from their rooms.
But knowing the mechanism didn't mean I could do anything about it right now.
On the contrary, I realized survival meant fully adapting to this bizarre system.
If I act scared or nonchalant, they get excited. When they get excited, the heavy air intensifies, and the monsters freeze.
That was the survival formula.
Finally, the mist cleared, revealing a grand door carved from obsidian.
The true boss room of the Shadow Forest.
"Grrrrr…!"
The growl from beyond the door was on another level from the mini-bosses.
The ground rumbled, and the mana in the air prickled my skin.
The boss inside had sensed my approach and was unleashing its fury.
"Minsu-ssi, this is the boss room at last."
The party leader gripped his sword hilt tighter, face tense.
The others swallowed dryly, readying for battle.
No matter how overwhelming my presence seemed, dungeon bosses were always fiercest in their lair.
"RAAAAAARGH!"
The boss's roar hammered the door again.
The obsidian shook as if about to shatter.
I instinctively wanted to backpedal. Run away.
Not too late yet. The second that door opens, I'd be shredded in one second flat.
But my legs wouldn't move.
Couldn't move.
Current Viewer Count: Surpassed 14,000
The chat scrolled like mad.
Viewers topped 14,000, the blue window flashing dazzlingly.
Viewers' explosive anticipation converges in one spot.
Observation Density temporarily reaches lower B-class.
In that instant, every sound in the forest vanished.
No wind, no rustling leaves.
The heavy air cloaking my body sharpened into a blade and shot forward.
An invisible shockwave slammed the obsidian door.
Crack!
Cracks spiderwebbed across the sturdy boss door.
And in that moment.
"RAAAA—krrk?"
The ferocious roar from beyond cut off like a lie.
As if someone had clamped the boss's throat, only terrified, ragged breaths leaked out.
"……."
Silence.
The boss room went dead quiet, like a morgue.
The party members' jaws dropped again.
They alternated stares between the shattered door and my motionless back, standing tall without a twitch.
"Just now… Minsu-ssi broke the door's barrier with a mere glance and crushed the boss's spirit."
The mage muttered in a trembling voice.
"This… isn't this S-class level?"
Even the party leader broke into cold sweat, stepping back.
I shook my head wildly inside.
No! It wasn't me!
But the chat was firing off fireworks.
"We're the weapons."
That one chat line burned into my brain. I hated it the most.
Hated it so much. Yeah, you're my weapons.
You're bombs hundreds of times scarier than that boss shivering inside.
I gripped my backpack strap with trembling hands.
This insane misunderstanding wouldn't end unless I opened the boss room door.
Open it. It'll be cowering anyway.
I took a deep breath and approached the obsidian door.
Before my hand even touched the handle, the cracked door slid open smoothly.
Inside the boss room, the Shadow Forest's ruler—a massive four-legged beast—huddled in the farthest corner, tail tucked, shaking.
The instant I crossed the threshold, it belly-flopped to the floor in full surrender.
"Party leader-ssi, the boss seems pacified now… finish it off."
I pointed casually at it, feigning indifference.
The party erupted in cheers and charged.
It wasn't a fight—it was a slaughter. They butchered the unresisting boss in seconds.
Zero casualties clear again.
The moment we exited the dungeon, I bolted home like a fugitive.
Guild staff begged for interviews, but I brushed them off with "I'm exhausted."
One more second in front of a camera, and who knows what nonsense I'd blurt.
After showering at home, the blue window in the corner of my vision had settled back to its usual 10,000s.
"Haa… today was pure luck."
I sprawled on the bed like a starfish, muttering.
But my smartphone buzzed nonstop.
Kang Minsu Boss Room 1-Sec Cut
Hunter Gallery Kang Minsu Analysis Post
The internet was already ablaze with news of my second dungeon clear.