“What in the world is going on? The more I watch this guy, the less I understand him....”
Inside a brightly lit office—
A man was staring at his monitor with an extremely serious expression.
What appeared on the screen was none other than an internet livestream.
It was the broadcast of Hae-jin, a rookie Hunter who had begun streaming for the first time today.
TAP-TAP-TAP-!
The man carefully typed a message into the chat.
[Yeombani - Streamer. I know it isn't staged, but what kind of Skill is this exactly?]
[Yeombani - I can tell it's defensive, but you aren't even using equipment like a shield. I've genuinely never seen anything like it before, so I'm really curious.]
It did not take long for a reply to come back.
“Ah, Yeombani. You're asking what Skill this is? Come on. If I tell everyone everything, how am I supposed to make a living? It's a secret. A secret. Hahaha!”
He had asked just in case, but as expected, it was no use.
Apparently, casually probing him like this was not going to make him reveal anything.
The brows of the man using the username 'Yeombani' gradually furrowed.
'It definitely isn't staged. I'm one hundred percent certain this is happening on location.'
He was in his mid-thirties.
It might not have suited his image very well, but watching internet livestreams was both Yeombani's greatest hobby and, in a sense, an extension of his work.
Frankly, there was hardly a better way to pass the time.
And Yeombani himself happened to be extremely interested in Hunters.
That was exactly why this mysterious Hunter was driving him crazy with curiosity.
'What exactly is his ability? It looks like some sort of invincibility Skill. Absolute Defense? Is he in a Paladin-type Job?'
He racked his brain and drew upon everything he knew.
'No. If he were a Paladin, I'd be able to see Divine Power. And was there ever a defensive Skill like that? It doesn't feel as though he's blocking the monsters. It's more like he's completely preventing them from approaching. Then... some kind of spatial manipulation?'
No answer came to mind.
The man was using an unprecedented defensive Skill, and on top of that, there was even a dog beside him that appeared to be a Summoned Beast.
His raw combat ability did not look particularly impressive, but each individual Skill appeared to be top-tier.
And there was something else that surprised Yeombani even more.
'He's maintaining a defensive Skill of that level, yet he doesn't even look tired. The stream has already been going for more than two hours, and he's still this relaxed. Does he have infinite Mana?!'
Comparing it to an existing example only made it seem stranger.
Take 'Radiance,' currently ranked fourth among Korean Hunters.
His Job was Paladin, a warrior-type Job that utilized Divine Power received through a contract with a god.
Radiance's signature Skill, 'Divine Shield,' summoned a shield of light formed from Divine Power and possessed the absurd ability to block every attack coming from the front.
Yet even that Skill had clear limitations.
It consumed such an enormous amount of Divine Power that its maximum duration was barely twenty minutes.
Moreover, it had the critical weakness of protecting only the direction the shield faced rather than providing protection from every direction.
And yet Radiance had earned the fourth-highest ranking in Korea largely because of that single Skill.
Which made this even more unbelievable.
'This makes no sense.'
Yeombani could not help keeping a close eye on Hae-jin through the monitor.
'That defensive Skill alone should put him at least at B-rank. No... probably A-rank. Somehow... I want to figure this out.'
After agonizing over it for a while, Yeombani finally made his move.
For now, he would test the waters.
-DING!
['Yeombani' donated 100,000 won!]
[Yeombani - Streamer, streamer. This is seriously driving me crazy. Could you at least tell us your Job?]
Perhaps money truly was the answer.
The moment the donation came through, Hae-jin's ears practically perked up.
“Oh my, Yeombani! A generous one-hundred-thousand-won donation! Wow, thank you very much! Hmm, but you want to know my Job Name?”
[Yeombani - Yes. Can you reveal it?]
His heart pounded.
Just as he silently begged Hae-jin to tell him—
“Unfortunately, no chance. Why is everyone so curious about my Job anyway? What are you, some kind of National Intelligence Service agent?”
Twitch-!
At this point, Yeombani decided to go all in.
He immediately picked up his phone and firmly pressed his fingerprint against the payment screen.
-DING!
['Yeombani' donated 1,000,000 won!]
[Yeombani - Does this improve my chances? I'm seriously curious. I mean it.]
It was ten times his previous donation.
An enormous one-million-won donation had just dropped into the stream.
“W-What is this? One million won? Are you really that curious about my Job? Spending this much money... Wow....”
Surely even Hae-jin could not simply brush aside an amount like this.
The corners of his eyes began twitching.
After thinking for a moment, Hae-jin looked into the camera.
“Now I'm curious too. Yeombani, why do you want to know my Job this badly? Is it really worth donating one million won just to find out?!”
Hmm.
Yeombani began thinking seriously.
This was the turning point.
How he answered now was extremely important.
What words could he choose to get the answer he wanted without putting too much pressure on Hae-jin?
After considering it for a long time, Yeombani carefully typed into the chat.
[Yeombani - I'm a huge Hunter enthusiast.]
“A Hunter enthusiast? Seriously?!”
[Yeombani - I swear on everything I have that it's absolutely true.]
At least he had not lied.
Fortunately, his gamble worked to some degree.
“Hmm. Well, you've already donated 1.1 million won. It'd feel wrong to just pocket all of that and give you nothing.”
After thinking for a moment, Hae-jin spoke.
“I won't tell you the actual Job Name, but I'll give you a hint. My Job is related to land.”
“Land? Related to land?”
He had finally managed to obtain the answer he had been waiting for.
Yet it was still difficult to make any meaningful guess.
Keeping his eyes fixed on Hae-jin's stream, the man clicked his tongue.
Then he picked up the telephone on his desk and pressed extension number three.
“Assistant Manager Choi, I have a task for you. Pull a complete list of everyone who obtained a Hunter Registration Card within the past six months and was assessed at B-rank or higher. No... make that A-rank or higher.”
He ordered the research in a serious voice.
A female employee answered from the other end.
“Yes, Director.”
“And one more thing. I'm about to send you a link. Find out who this person is. As quickly as possible.”
“A link? Director, this is... an internet livestream, isn't it?”
“Yes. I need information on that Hunter.”
“Understood. But may I ask what the information will be used for?”
Assistant Manager Choi sounded slightly confused upon hearing that it was a livestream.
Yeombani answered without hesitation.
“I have a feeling.”
“Are you talking about scouting him?”
“Yes. I think he may be an undiscovered talent worth reaching out to. Please look into it carefully.”
“If you're saying that much, Director... understood. I'll start immediately.”
Beep- Beep- Beep-
The call ended.
Yeombani focused his gaze on Hae-jin on the monitor and muttered quietly.
“I have a feeling. That man is definitely... an unpolished diamond no one else has discovered yet.”
If so, should he not be the one to uncover it?
A nameplate displaying a name and position sat on the desk in front of Yeombani.
[National Intelligence Service, Special Hunter Management Team Director – Yeom Myo-il]
Yeombani.
No, Yeom Myo-il closed his eyes for a moment and thought.
A comment Hae-jin had casually made earlier flashed through his mind.
“What are you, some kind of National Intelligence Service agent?”
'He couldn't have noticed, could he?'
Hae-jin looked young, but Yeom Myo-il could not afford to underestimate him.
His eyes narrowed.
“Hmm, it doesn't look like any more are coming. Well, I suppose I've already caught plenty.”
By the time six hours had passed since the stream began—
A small hill made entirely of monster corpses had formed in front of Hae-jin.
Most of them were Rattlas, but there were also plenty of other monsters mixed in, including Garbage Dogs and Smoking Plants.
A rough count put the total at more than forty.
“We've finished all the meat I brought, and I've had enough fun for today. Shall we call it here?”
[KimPlay - Bye, bye, bye.]
[O00N - Bye, streamer~~]
[Yeombani - Are you streaming tomorrow too?]
“My streaming schedule is still irregular, but unless something special comes up, I'll probably go live. I've got something to take care of tomorrow, so I might start a little later. Anyway, thank you all for watching. Bye!”
CLICK-!
With that final remark, Hae-jin ended the broadcast.
He checked today's results with a satisfied expression.
His peak viewership had reached an astonishing 298 people, while donations and Paid Challenges had earned him more than two million won!
“Wow!”
Seeing the numbers made an exclamation escape him naturally.
He had only started streaming in hopes of earning a little extra income, yet he had already made this much on his very first day.
It felt so sweet that his teeth might rot and give him diabetes.
His audience would likely continue growing in the future, which naturally meant more donations as well.
“And my main source of income isn't bad either. Hehehe!”
“Woof! Woof!”
Hae-jin began moving the monster corpses with Guard.
Guard helped by gripping the bodies in his mouth and dragging them along, so the work finished much faster than Hae-jin had expected.
Using the 'Go Home' Skill, Hae-jin connected the camper van's entrance to the lodge and transferred the corpses into the truck parked there.
Being able to move through space made even this kind of manual labor incredibly convenient.
“Time to get paid!”
VROOOOM--
As Hae-jin drove the truck packed with monster corpses toward the Exchange, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
'Come to think of it... there were quite a lot of questions and donations asking about me. I guess my abilities really are unusual.'
Yeombani, who had become the stream's biggest spender, was the clearest example.
He had spent an incredible 1.1 million won just to ask about Hae-jin's Job.
The same thing would probably happen during future streams, so it seemed wise to decide clearly how he wanted to handle it.
'Hmm... Either hide it or reveal everything openly. Those are basically my two choices.'
Hae-jin sank deeper into thought.
Fortunately, it did not take him long to reach a conclusion.
“Yeah. For now, hiding it is definitely more advantageous.”
Of course, he would not be able to keep everything completely hidden forever.
Whether he became more famous, earned more money, or his stream became an enormous success—
Eventually, the day would come when he had to reveal who he truly was.
But until then, keeping things hidden appeared far more beneficial.
The greatest reason was, naturally, safety.
'Safety comes first. For now, minimizing unpredictable variables should be my priority. Yeah.'
Coward.
Spineless man.
Obsessed with self-preservation.
No matter what anyone called him, Hae-jin would not so much as blink.
Because all of it was true.
You only got one life.
If possible, it was better to live a long one, even if it meant living a little cautiously.
After arriving at the Exchange, Hae-jin sold every monster he had hunted that day.
Rattlas were higher-level monsters worth more than Garbage Dogs.
Naturally, that meant the proceeds were also—
“Thank you for waiting, Hunter Lee Hae-jin. Here is your Settlement Statement.”
“Let's see... What?!”
Hae-jin's eyes widened when he saw the amount printed on the statement.
“Is... is this correct?!”