VSP 46

He first needed to gain fame. In a way different from other streams! If luck did not come to him, then he just had to find luck himself.

Z-rank Hunter mumbled words that sounded like they came out of a book of quotes, fitting them to his own situation, and he moved quickly.

[He is so crazy about streaming that he is throwing away his life;]

[lolololololololol]

[Whether he lives or dies, one thing is sure, we are going to see him on the news soon lolololol]

[Mom! I am on TV!]

“Safety announcement.

A B-rank dungeon has overflowed in XX District, XX Neighborhood.

Residents, please move quickly to the nearest safety shelter, or if you live on the outskirts, evacuate outside of Busan as quickly as possible.

Anyone nearby must not approach the site under any circumstance, and please follow the official guidance.

Repeating. A B-rank dungeon has overflowed in XX Neighborhood.

For your life and safety, evacuate immediately.”

Sirens and announcements telling people to evacuate rang out endlessly from loudspeakers all around. The reaction was so noisy it felt like war had broken out, and Z-rank Hunter, who had not done his military service yet, hunched his shoulders.

It was at that moment.

As he turned a corner, his eyes suddenly met the eyes of two Association employees nearby who were helping with evacuation.

The three of them widened their eyes at the same time.

“Huh?”

“Excuse me! Why are you not evacuating!? Hey, you!”

Fortunately, they both looked like ordinary Association employees. No hunters. Z-rank Hunter ran for his life.

“Hey! I said evacuate right now!”

The two Association employees also ran desperately without hesitation. They could not afford to lose a civilian and risk a casualty.

Thanks to that, the video being captured on camera felt more vivid, and the real-time viewer count kept rising.

[Welcome to this crazy stream, newbies]

[Is this really a stream throwing away his life?]

[Hasn’t this been reported? omg]

[Wow, still going]

[Wait… isn’t this going to get hunters dispatched just to catch him?]

[This is basically terrorism lol]

[No joke, isn’t this obstruction of public duty or something? Hahaa]

“Huff, huff!”

While running, Z-rank Hunter still checked the camera to make sure the moment was being captured well.

[Hey Z-rank, you are on the news right now lol]

The situation kept escalating. His heart pounded from nervousness and excitement. The viewer count rose steeply, and soon the unit of numbers changed.

“Wow, huff, am I really on the news? Huff. Where?”

[Not on the big three stations, but on cable news lol]

[And on internet news lololololol]

[Ah Z-rank, you are still far off! With this level of attention you can’t make main news on the big three lol]

[Busan troll guy lost the spotlight to B-rank dungeon monsters haha]

[Hahahaha]

Out of breath from running and talking at the same time, his voice was a mess. Fortunately, it seemed he had shaken off the Association employees chasing him.

Looking at the stream, the real-time viewer count was thirty thousand. He had noticed earlier that the digit had changed, but now that he saw the exact number, Z-rank Hunter’s heart trembled.

Thirty thousand! He had never once reached that kind of record-high simultaneous viewer count. He did not know where the news had picked him up, but it seemed even cable news had stirred up enough attention.

But of course, Z-rank Hunter could not be satisfied. Even now it was already at a dangerous level, but if he ran straight to the shelter, he could maybe gloss it over with a line like, “I got lost on the way while streaming.”

Of course, Z-rank Hunter could not be satisfied. He was blinded by the sudden rise in viewers from just this run.

As he ran, he suddenly ran into an elementary school playground he recognized. Since it was a neighborhood place, he knew the location roughly. He thought it was better to be in a wide place like a playground than in a narrow, hard-to-escape spot.

“Do not be too surprised. I will stream just a little more and then go straight to the shelter.”

[We are not the ones who should be surprised, your future self should be]

[fr lololololol]

[Wow, what are you planning; you could actually be punished]

“Ah, come on, punished? At most I will just be someone who evacuated a little late, that is all.”

Z-rank Hunter did not think it was serious. After all, even now Association employees were running everywhere trying to rescue citizens who had not evacuated. What trouble could it cause if one person was a bit late?

Besides, if you thought about it, it was the country that had failed to prevent the dungeon from overflowing in the first place, making people flee in broad daylight. Why should he be punished for that?

If anyone should be punished, it should be the hunters!

“Don’t worry! I am a local here, how could I not know where the shelters are? So…”

I will just film a little and then soon… to the shelter…

Z-rank Hunter’s voice grew smaller.

Strange. Wasn’t the sunlight bright just now? Why did the screen suddenly grow so dark?

Checking his camera screen while catching his breath as he walked, Z-rank Hunter realized late that there was a shadow cast over his head.

Huh.

[Hey, fuck, that thing]

[What the hell is that?]

[?]

[Fuck wait a second]

[Z-rank you dumb fuck what are you doing]

[What are you dooooing]

[Run you crazy bastard]

Z-rank Hunter turned his head up. And he saw a massive monster shaped like a queen bee, it was looking down at him from above.

The monster twitched its antenna-like limbs, curious about prey that had walked to it on its own, then tilted its head toward Z-rank Hunter.

Of course, it was not a friendly motion to connect with prey that had come close. It was nothing more than a simple motion before eating it.

“Aaaaaahh!”

In that instant, Z-rank Hunter forgot about the stream and screamed, spinning around and running. Snap! Right above his head came the sound of the monster’s jaws snapping shut. If not for his quick reaction, his head and body would have been separated instantly.

Barely avoiding the crisis, he sprinted without delay.

The monster had no intention of letting prey that had walked right up to it go. It spread its wings, which had been folded until then, and flew at Z-rank Hunter. The speed was unbelievable for such a massive body.

He was going to die!

Z-rank Hunter finally felt the reality. The elementary school he had entered had already been mostly evacuated, so there was no one around, no hunters to save him, and he had already shaken off the Association employees.

Only then did he came to his senses, forgetting the stream, and as he saw a dark shadow fall over him, he felt death approaching.

In that instant, a blue light flashed.

Crash! It was a loud noise like two mid-sized cars colliding followed.

The blast made Z-rank Hunter’s feet tangle, and he fell onto the dirt ground of the playground.

“……!”

To make things worse, a wind blew like a storm, whipping his bangs, and the hood he had pulled down over his head flew back, blinding him for a moment.

“Aaahhh!”

Panicked from falling and blinded, Z-rank Hunter flailed until he tore off the hood. By then, the massive monster that had been about to crush him was already flung far away.

Above, the source of the blue light calmly licking its front paw was what had knocked the monster away.

It was a giant blue tiger, one he was sure he had seen somewhere before.

•••

“Ugh.”

Sejun gagged from the sudden mana shortage.

The quick-witted system pulled out a mana potion from the subspace without him saying anything, and Sejun drank it without even pausing to breathe.

As he gulped down the soda-flavored mana potion, he felt the mana that had been dragged down to empty being refilled.

“Haa.”

Sejun let out rough breaths. It had been a long time since he had consumed mana this drastically in succession.

Just a few minutes ago, one of the spirits scouting the area had reported something strange to him.

When Sejun shared sight with the spirit and saw a massive queen bee that anyone could recognize as the dungeon boss, he had originally planned to tell the twins beside him and move together.

If he used his skill, it was not impossible to arrive right away, but going alone could cause serious trouble, so he needed to be prepared. Especially for a hunter like Sejun, whose efficiency was terrible because of mana shortage, going alone was something he normally avoided.