Chapter 79: The Genius Awakener's Livestream (8)

“

Oh?

I-It really is glowing.” Song Ha-Eun stared down at her chest, wide-eyed. “No way...”

Even though the battle had ended and all mana had been retracted, the Stigma of Draco on the left side of her chest still shone.

“

Argh!

Fuck, that hurts!” She grimaced, clutching her chest tightly as intense flames engulfed her whole. After a moment, the erupting fire flowed back into her.

“Ah...”

she murmured in disbelief, lightly clenching her fist.

With that simple motion, three fire dragons materialized and twirled around her arm.

Fwoosh!

“Woah.”

The heat radiating from the dragon-shaped flames was even more intense than the flames that had ravaged the Hydra. There was only one explanation for such a sudden and dramatic increase in her Stigma's power.

“O-Oh-Jin! I-I-I’m an eight-star now!” she shouted excitedly, dashing toward him.

“Ahhhh!”

Overwhelmed with joy, she threw her arms around him and rapidly planted eight kisses on his cheek.

“

Pfft

, okay, okay. Calm down, Ha-Eun.”

“Calm down?! How can I?! I’m an eight-star! An eight-star, bitch!”

She was understandably ecstatic since the gap between each star level grew exponentially. Eight stars was effectively the maximum level humans could reach—the final step before ascending to the transcendent stage of high-ranking Awakeners. Awakeners that were nine-star or beyond were incredibly rare and couldn't be called "human" anymore.

Kwon Oh-Jin wanted to share in her joy, but Vega glared at her with narrowed eyes.

“

Hmm

. Aren’t you embarrassed, acting this way in front of so many onlookers?”

The Awakeners who were huddled near the exit murmured to themselves in awe.

“H-How could the two of them defeat a Hydra by themselves...?”

“The Thunder Wolf and that woman are both insane.”

“Wow... an eight-star? Seriously?”

“The Thunder Wolf even has a girlfriend... I’m so jealous.”

“Ah.”

Song Ha-Eun suddenly recalled where she was.

Vega sat atop Kwon Oh-Jin’s head and shook her legs, clearly displeased. “

Hmph!

You're really shameless, aren't you?”

The heel of her shoe repeatedly poked his forehead.

“I-I just forgot for a second!” Song Ha-Eun stammered.

“How could you just forget where you are?! And don’t you think the level of physical affection between you two is a bit excessive?”

“

Pffft.

It’s not like we’re siblings, so who cares?”

“You practically

are

siblings, just not by blood, are you not?”

“No, we’re not!”

“

Whoa, whoa,

both of you, calm down.” Kwon Oh-Jin stepped in to settle down the bickering women.

Then, he approached the Hydra’s corpse, shortened his spear, and swiftly cut into the carcass, revealing two blue Starstones—each the size of a soccer ball.

As expected.

The sheer brilliance of their glow valued them at millions of won at the very least.

Nice! This is great!

Completing the Black Heaven quest wouldn't be too difficult with these and the thousand-or-so Starstones he had taken from Jerry Kim.

“Let’s head out now, we'll deal with the rest later.”

Using Exceed had left him exhausted and almost fully drained of mana.

Lightning Flames is effective, but it uses up a ridiculous amount of mana.

His abnormally large mana reserves allowed him to last as long as he did. Any other Awakener would have failed to last even a minute.

“Yeah, I wanna get home quick and shower," Song Ha-Eun said. "I’m drenched in sweat.”

“I call dibs.”

“No, you can’t do that. Ladies first, don’t you think?

“Then come in with me if you’re so upset.”

“

Oh

, you think I won’t?”

As the two bantered like usual, Jerry Kim approached the party.

“Um... Mr. Oh-Jin! We’re all alive because of you! Thank you!”

He bowed deeply and handed over a business card.

“This is my contact information. If you ever need anything, please let me know. I will be sure to repay this favor! And... I apologize for my earlier actions.”

“That’s okay.”

He must be referring to the competition he suggested to crush me in front of an audience,

Kwon Oh-Jin thought.

Sure, he didn't approach me with good intentions, but I got a hefty sum in the end, so it's fine.

Exchanging contact information and thus building a network could only be beneficial, especially considering Jerry Kim's influence as a popular streamer.

“Th-Then, to wrap up the stream, could you say a few words to the viewers?” Jerry Kim asked.

“Of course.” Kwon Oh-Jin lightly waved at the camera. “It was fun being part of the stream today. See you all again if the opportunity arises.”

┗Daddy Wolf! You were amazing!

┗Miss, one Thunder Wolf, please! Miss, one Thunder Wolf!

┗BO (short for Bye Oh-Jin)!

┗You looked so cool taking down the Hydra! I’m gonna keep rooting for you!

┗Lol tbh after seeing the news I thought you were just some stuck-up talent, but you’re actually pretty chill.

The chat was flooded with positive reactions. The livestream collaboration had accomplished everything it possibly could.

Kwon Oh-Jin declared, “Well, I’ll get going now—”

“Y-You bastard!” an angry shout erupted from the bearded man he’d used as bait earlier. Panting heavily and glaring at him as he approached from behind, the man spat, “Y-You did that, didn’t you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb, motherfucker!” the man shouted, gritting his teeth. “You were the one who made me charge at the Hydra!”

“

Haa

, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The man, who was only enraged further by Kwon Oh-Jin's feigned ignorance, grabbed him by the collar.

“Do you think I’m just gonna let this slide,

huh?!"

His face twisted in rage.

"I’m going to report everything that happened here to the association!”

“Go ahead. Do whatever you want.” Kwon Oh-Jin smirked and gripped the man’s wrist that was clutching his collar. “By the way...”

Crack!

“Arghhh!”

“Don’t touch me, you bastard.”

The audacity of this piece of shit...

Kwon Oh-Jin thought, then turned away. “Let’s go.”

Leaving the man clutching his wrist in pain, Kwon Oh-Jin and his party members headed home.

***

Although they had planned to head straight home, exhaustion got the better of them, so they checked into a hotel near the gate instead.

After Kwon Oh-Jin and Song Ha-Eun had showered, everyone gathered around a table full of drinks and fried chicken that shined in all its glamor.

“Alright, then!” Song Ha-Eun raised a can of beer high in the air. “Cheers to a successful hunt and me reaching eight stars!”

“Cheerssss!”

“Cheers.”

The cans clinked softly. Then, she began chugging her beer.

“

Kyaaa!

This is what life’s about!” she exclaimed, sounding like an overburdened office worker finally unwinding after a grueling day.

“What are you guys drinking? Vega asked.

“Beer. Would our goddess like to try it?”

“

Hmm

. I’ll try it,” Vega said, flying over to a small glass. She took a sip and scrunched her face. “

Ugh!

It’s bitter!”

“

Hahaha!

Looks like our goddess doesn’t understand the taste of life. Life is bitter—so beer’s bitter too!”

Manager Song seems to be in a good mood today.

“Then try this one, Vega.” Kwon Oh-Jin handed her a different glass.

“What’s this?”

“It’s fruit soju. It’s sweet—should be to your liking.”

“Very well, then.”

Vega took a sip.

“Ooooh!”

Her golden eyes sparkled. “This is delicious! This really is sweet fruit liquor!”

Vega hummed a cheerful tune and gulped down the soju.

Not long after, she had finished her third consecutive glass.

“

Hehehe

. As expected of my child. You know exactly what I like.” She floated over to Kwon Oh-Jin and caressed his hair. “Well done. You're such a good child.”

... Is she drunk?

he wondered.

Nah, no way a Celestial can get drunk, right?

“

Hehehe

, I’m sorry... I couldn’t be more helpful...” she mumbled.

“She’s actually drunk.”

“Huh?”

Vega cocked her head and tugged at his hair. “What do you mean, I’m drunk...? I am the Weaver, a mighty Celestial! There’s no way I’m drunk...”

Her face flushed red as she staggered.

With a smile, Kwon Oh-Jin caught her with his hands, preventing her from falling off his head. “Riarc, is it possible for a Celestial to get drunk?”

“Her physique seems to have gotten weaker due to the restriction, so it might be possible,” Riarc said, looking at Vega awkwardly. “She won’t have much time to stay manifested anyway. Let her enjoy being tipsy for a bit.”

“Sure, why not?” Kwon Oh-Jin replied, taking a bite of the chicken.

“By the way, Oh-Jin,” Song Ha-Eun called out.

“Yeah?”

“About that guy earlier... Are you going to be okay?” she asked while opening a new can of beer. “I didn’t see it, but you definitely did something, right?”

“Yup.”

“The whole thing was livestreamed, so it could get messy if he raises a complaint.”

While the man had been the one to provoke him first, it wouldn’t look good if the public found out Kwon Oh-Jin had used him as bait.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it covered.” He grinned, raising his beer can to hers.

“

Hahaha!

Alright then, I’ll trust you on that! Cheers again!”

The lively drinking continued for about an hour.

“

Hehehe...

Oh-Jin, I became an eight-staaar.”

“My child~ Come closer! Let me stroke your heaaaad!”

Fuck me.

Kwon Oh-Jin looked around. “Riarc! Where the fuck are you, you bastard?!”

“A true warrior sleeps early to prepare for the next day’s training.”

“The fuck?”

***

An enraged man with a thick beard cursed furiously.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! The Thunder Wolf, that bastard... I won’t let this slide.”

Fuming, he typed out a lengthy tirade, accusing Kwon Oh-Jin of intentionally putting him in harm's way during the Hydra fight.

“

Hehehe

, if I upload this along with the footage from back then...”

It would deal a significant blow to Kwon Oh-Jin’s public image—no, perhaps worse. Deliberately directing a monster’s attention toward someone else was a serious crime.

For someone affiliated with the association, expected to uphold the law above all else, such a malicious act would undoubtedly provoke widespread criticism.

“

Khahaha!

You messed with the wrong person.”

The man recorded a video of himself accusing the Thunder Wolf and unlocked his phone.

“Hmmm?”

Before he could upload the video, he noticed his own face on the trending videos list.

“What is this? How is the video already up?”

He clicked on the video, which was titled “I’m Sorry.” On screen, a man who looked exactly like him, dressed in a suit, bowed his head.

[First and foremost, I would like to apologize to the public for the discomfort caused by my actions during the stream.]

“W-What is this? What’s going on?”

[Allow me to explain why I screamed and ran toward the Hydra.]

“...

Huh?

”

[In that moment of fear, I thought the only way to make the Thunder Wolf and Jerry Kim act was to draw the monster’s attention. I fully understand that this was a clear violation of the law, but... I had no choice.]

“W-What? What kind of bullshit is this guy saying?!” the man yelled, grabbing his monitor in frustration.

[Once again, I sincerely apologize for my actions and promise to accept any punishment deemed appropriate.]

The video had already accumulated over a million views.