Chapter 77: The Genius Awakener's Livestream (6)

“CutiepieOhJinSlurpSlurp!”

An unbelievably embarrassing username was revealed in front of hundreds of thousands of viewers.

┗Cutiepie LMAOOOOO

┗Wtf is that username lolllll

┗From her reaction, it must be her.

┗LMAO this is so fucking funny

Kwon Oh-Jin stared at the username grandly displayed at the top of the result screen. “Ha-Eun...”

“That’s not me,” Song Ha-Eun declared.

"Who else would it be?"

“I-I’m telling you, it’s not me! Just take my word for it, fucker!” Her eyes glistened. She was incredibly embarrassed and on the verge of tears.

Who wouldn't be embarrassed with a username like that revealed to thousands of viewers?

he thought, watching her tremble.

This is hilarious.

Grinning mischievously, he approached her.

“Slurp?”

She flinched.

“Ahh.”

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

“What exactly did you want to slurp so badly?”

“I told you it’s not me! I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“

Pffffft!

Really? Well, you're not fooling me.”

“Sh-Shut up!”

She’s adorable.

Then, Riarc approached her, looking solemn. “Lizard woman... Are you being consumed by your Stigma by any chance?”

Huh? What’s he talking about?

Kwon Oh-Jin wondered.

Song Ha-Eun was stupefied. “What?”

“Maybe he means you developed a desire to lick and devour another human whole?” Kwon Oh-Jin teased.

“...”

Riarc continued to offer his grim insight. “If so, this is a serious matter. You are an Awakener of the Draco constellation. If the Stigma invades your consciousness, your mannerisms will align with the traits of your Celestial...”

The longer he spoke, the redder her cheeks flushed.

“Shut up.”

“What? How could you be so rude when I’m showing deep concern for your situation?”

“I said, shut up.”

“

Hmph!

We may not have known each other for long, but as a warrior, I cannot overlook a comrade’s crisis—”

“Please...! Please, just shut up....”

She crouched on the floor, burying her face between her knees and clamping her hands over her ears, no longer having the strength to endure the embarrassment.

“Uh, well...” Kwon Oh-Jin, who had also taken part in teasing her, looked at Riarc apprehensively. “You messed up on this one.”

“What? What did I do?”

“Not knowing makes it even worse, idiot.”

The more someone took a situation like this to heart, the more agonizing it was.

┗Hilarious shit right here.

┗Damn, she already has a man?? LMAO

┗She must be the Thunder Wolf’s girlfriend, right?

┗Damn, I’m so jealous fr

┗Stigma of the North Star AND a girlfriend... He's got it all. When will it be my turn?

┗Enemy sighted! Fire! Fire, goddamnit!

┗FINISH HIM!

The viewers became so overwhelmingly focused on Song Ha-Eun and Kwon Oh-Jin that it no longer felt like Jerry Kim’s stream.

Kwon Oh-Jin smirked as he skimmed the chat, which was moving far too fast to really follow.

Seeing everyone's reactions in real-time like this is pretty fun.

He didn’t feel compelled to start his own stream, but appearing as a guest like this didn’t seem too bad.

It’s time to wrap this up, though. I got what I aimed for and a little extra.

He had proven himself as a five-star Awakener and scored over a thousand Starstones plus a huge betting payout—more than some people earned from winning the lottery.

Time to pay back what I owe Jun-Man.

“Well, since the competition's over, let’s wrap it up here,” he said, getting ready to leave.

Jerry Kim sighed. Despite losing a fortune to Kwon Oh-Jin, he couldn't help but want to keep him on the show a little longer. After all, the viewership numbers were through the roof. “Why don’t you stick around a bit longer—”

Just then, the tunnel rumbled with a stampede of Murlocs charging in from the far end.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

“Ahhhooooo!”

“Ahhoooo!”

“Ahoo!”

Jerry Kim’s jaw dropped. “Sh-Shit, how many are there?!”

The swarm of Murlocs easily numbered over thirty.

Kwon Oh-Jin quickly raised his spear. “I guess I’ll have to deal with that before I go.”

“My child, do you require my blessing?” Vega asked.

“No, it's not that serious. Just give me some backup.”

She floated up and summoned her lightning. “

Haha!

Leave it to me!”

He swung his spear wide, aiming for the fastest one in the lead.

The Murloc shrieked as it tumbled to the ground.

“Ahhoool!”

“Kneel before me!” Vega yelled, throwing a streak of lightning that coiled around the feet of two Murlocs trailing behind the first one.

Crackle!

As their front line collapsed, the other Murlocs tripped over each other, crashing to the ground.

“Hup!”

Kwon Oh-Jin steadied himself, unable to relax just yet.

Here they come.

One Murloc leaped over the tangled pile, its large muscles bulging menacingly.

“Ahhoooo!”

However, it dashed right past Kwon Oh-Jin.

“Huh?”

It didn't move toward Jerry Kim and Song Ha-Eun either, who were providing support from the back. Instead, the Murloc sprinted madly toward the tunnel entrance.

Jerry Kim glanced around, bewildered. “What’s going on?”

Song Ha-Eun mumbled, “Oh-Jin, this means...”

“Yeah.”

Their behavior had seemed strange from the start.

“They weren’t trying to attack us,” he said. "They were running away from something else."

Rumble!

The entire tunnel shook violently, and a thunderous roar came from deep within.

Boom!

Jerry Kim shouted, “M-Mr. Oh-Jin! Th-The wall...!”

The wall at the tunnel exit began to crumble, collapsing downward and blocking the way out.

Song Ha-Eun removed her eyepatch and scanned the exit. “It’s fine! There’s a gap over there!”

A narrow opening, barely wide enough for one person to squeeze through, beckoned from the rubble.

“L-Let’s get out of here quickly, Mr. Oh-Jin!” Jerry Kim shouted.

“Wait a second.”

“What? In this situation—!”

“Someone’s coming.”

“... What?”

From the same direction the Murlocs had emerged earlier, a group of about twenty people sprinted toward them. They appeared to be Awakeners who had ventured deep into the tunnel.

“Ahhhh!”

“Save us!”

“W-Why is a monster like that inside this gate?!”

Their faces were ghostly pale as they scrambled toward the blocked exit.

“Th-The exit has collapsed!” one of them yelled.

A man with a scruffy beard looked around frantically. “Damn it! F-Find another way out!”

Jerry Kim cautiously approached him. “W-What’s inside there?”

The bearded man frowned. “How the hell would we know?!”

A woman, screaming at the top of her lungs, cried out, “I-It’s a Hydra. There's a Hydra in the depths of this tunnel!”

Song Ha-Eun grimaced. “A Hydra?”

A Hydra was a powerful seven-star monster considered exceptional even at its own level. It was a true disaster in a gate teeming with five-star monsters.

Just then, someone spotted the narrow opening Song Ha-Eun had found. “Here! There’s a gap over here!”

“What?”

“H-Hurry! We have to be fast!”

The Awakeners scrambled forward, but the passage was far too narrow. Over twenty people rushed at it like starving beasts, and not a single one could get through.

Boom! Crash!

Amid the chaos, the tunnel trembled violently as a massive monster smashed through the tunnel walls and revealed itself.

“A-Ahhhh!”

“It's the Hydra!”

Nearly twenty meters tall, it was covered in green scales that shimmered in the dim light. Its nine heads moved threateningly, exuding an intimidation far beyond that of the supercharged Murlocs.

Kwon Oh-Jin frowned, looking up at the enormous beast.

Why is a Hydra here?

While it wasn’t unusual for elite or boss-level monsters to appear in gates, this was different.

There's no connection between Hydras and Murlocs.

An elite Murloc or even the Murloc king would have made sense, but a Hydra was incredibly out of place.

It's not even a sea creature. Why has it emerged in a gate populated by aquatic species?

“Oh-Jin! What are you doing?!” Song Ha-Eun’s shout snapped him out of his thoughts.

He realized this wasn't the time to stand still and ponder. He glanced around at the chaos unfolding near the exit.

“Ahhhh!”

“D-Don’t push me!”

“Get out faster!”

“Yeah, there’s no way I can escape,” Kwon Oh-Jin remarked.

Of course, he had no plan of running away in the first place.

They say boss monsters have the highest-quality Starstones.

In this special gate, there was even a chance it carried not one but two Starstones.

There’s no way I’m missing this opportunity.

He smiled as a thrilling sensation ran down his spine and his heart pounded vigorously.

Thump, thump.

Song Ha-Eun muttered, “Oh-Jin... you’re thinking of fighting it, aren’t you?”

“How could I pass up a chance like this?”

“

Haaa

. I seriously can’t with you.” She casually started stretching. “Screw it. Let’s do this. Running away from a dumbass with nine heads just isn't my style.”

She grinned as she summoned her flames.

He thought,

Ha-Eun might worry about me all the time, but she does love a good fight. She wouldn’t have climbed all the way to seven stars if she were afraid of battle. Sure, retreating is smart when an opponent is too strong, but if you can win a fight, there’s no reason to back down. And beating this Hydra isn’t impossible.

Anyone else would have found it insane for a five-star Awakener to take on a seven-star boss-level beast, but Kwon Oh-Jin had proven time and time again that his so-called insanity wasn't empty talk.

He narrowed his eyes. Even if the opponent seemed manageable, he couldn’t dare to let his guard down, especially in this unique gate.

It’d be great if I had some kind of bait.

There was nothing better to test a monster's might than using bait.

Jerry Kim's frantic shout broke his train of thought.

“E-Everyone, please calm down! If we keep this up, no one’s getting out!”

The people scrambling to escape through the narrow gap turned their attention toward him.

“

Huh...?

I-I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere.”

“Isn’t that Jerry Kim?”

“The streamer?”

The bearded man stomped toward him. “You! You’re that famous streamer, right?”

“Uh, yeah, that’s me.”

“Then you should go buy us some time!”

“What?” Jerry Kim asked, taken aback. He was just as desperate as the rest of them, yet the man wanted him to buy them time.

“You have the Stigma of Sagittarius, don't you? You’re the strongest one here, so hurry up and buy us some time!”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“'Nonsense'? Did you just say 'nonsense'?” The man’s face twisted into a menacing scowl, his gaze shifting toward the orb hovering behind Jerry Kim. “Hey, everyone! This streamer doesn’t give a fuck about the lives of others!”

“What?! I never said that!”

“You all heard it, right?!" the man shouted at the top of his lungs, shoving Jerry Kim by the shoulder. "He’s telling us to stop blocking the exit so he can save himself!”

“This motherfu...”

He stopped himself from cursing. It might’ve been a different story if he had turned off the stream, but he couldn’t just start a fight here with thousands of viewers watching.

The man asked, “As a public figure, shouldn’t you care about others more?

Huh?

Am I wrong?”

“Ugh...”

In the midst of the commotion, people started to turn their attention to Kwon Oh-Jin.

“Hey, isn’t that the Thunder Wolf over there?”

“Wait, the Thunder Wolf is here too?”

“What? Isn’t that the guy the association’s been hyping up lately?”

The bearded man’s eyes gleamed as he found a better target. “Well, well! Looks like we’ve got

two

celebrities here!

Oh

, please have mercy on our poor, pathetic lives!”

He pushed both Jerry Kim and Kwon Oh-Jin toward the Hydra while the crowd erupted in shouts.

“That’s right!”

“You two can help us!”

“You’re famous, aren’t you?”

Kwon Oh-Jin scoffed in disbelief. He couldn’t fathom what being famous had to do with saving people, but he knew public figures were expected to have an impossibly strong moral compass.

You’re famous, so you should sacrifice yourself. You’re famous, so you need to be a role model. I can run, but you can’t.

“Fucking bullshit,” he muttered. Turning to the bearded man, he smirked and whispered, “I choose you.”

“... What?”

Kwon Oh-Jin snapped his fingers out of the camera’s view.

Crackle.

A thin string of lightning snaked from his fingertips, coiling up the man’s leg and burrowing deep into his pants.

“What’s that supposed to—" the man began, but his eyes bulged as he let out an ear-splitting scream. "

Aaaahhhhhh

!”

All nine pairs of the Hydra's eyes shot toward the bearded man.