Chapter 1
It's been six months since I returned to Earth.
Quite a lot has happened since then.
First of all, when I got back, Earth looked pretty different from the way I remembered it.
About 30 years had passed on Earth while I was in another world, and apparently a phenomenon called Gates had appeared.
That had given rise to a new profession called Hunters, and society had been rebuilt into something completely different.
Several countries, large and small, had disappeared or emerged, and a global organization called the Hunter Association had been established, among other things.
I was lucky enough to be discovered by the Association almost as soon as I returned.
Thanks to that, I received several months of reintegration training and was assigned an apartment on the outskirts of Seoul.
And recently, I even started a little job.
What kind of job?
“Guys, I'm feeling depressed.”
- Here he goes again
- How does he use the exact same line every single time?
- That's a template, lol. He's got a script
- [DefinitelyNotSuspicious] Hang on, I'll just send one now
[DefinitelyNotSuspicious sent 30,000 won in support!]
That's right, internet livestreaming.
You might wonder why I chose livestreaming, but it was the perfect job for me.
Being a Gold Dragon, I don't like moving around unless it has something to do with treasure.
I can make money sitting down!
Well, of course….
[Gold Dragon's Chat Stream]
[Goldie]
[31 viewers]
It wasn't very popular yet, though….
It's only a matter of time!
I've already passed 30 viewers, so 300 and 3,000 are just around the corner.
“I used to live surrounded by gold and jewels. Is it really right for me to be living in a cramped little place with a microwave now? So give me some donations.”
- Now he doesn't even say thank you for donations! You lizard bastard;
- Why does everything always end with you asking for donations?
- Tiny apartment (25-pyeong apartment in the Seoul metro area)
- Fuck, some of us are watching from a one-room rental
- Shut up, I'm in a goshiwon
- I wanna be a returnee too. Give me a house, waaah
“Hey. You think returning is easy? I lived in another world for a pretty long time too. This isn't something just anyone can do, you know?”
- If the boss can do it, I probably can too
- Are you disrespecting our streamer??
- Honestly, he's never shown us anything despite saying he's a dragon
- Watching him play games last time, he was cracked
- He got suspended
- ??? : How was I supposed to know my eyes were aimbot?
Games, huh.
When I tried them last time, I got my viewer count into the fifties.
But getting suspended every time I play makes it no fun.
They said the AI thought I was cheating, but I was innocent.
I was just finding the optimal moves, obviously. How is that cheating?
And as a dragon….
Honestly, there's nothing I can show off here.
“Come on, think about it, guys. If I undo Polymorph here, the Hunters will come running, you know?”
- Scared?
- Scared? Are you crazy? If a dragon popped up in Seoul, we'd be so fucked
- [Paraphrase] Say one more word and I'll turn Seoul into a sea of fire
- [DefinitelyNotSuspicious] Nice!!
- Guess even the boss is scared of Hunters
“Huh? No. If I killed the Hunters, it'd cause a bit of a problem.”
- ?
- ?
- ??
- lol
- Confidence: Goldie
- The “I'm strong as fuck” statement…
- But if he's really a dragon, did the streamer customize that appearance himself?
“Customize?”
What are you talking about?
Oh, maybe they mean Polymorph.
“This? No. Polymorph changes you into the form that suits you best. I guess this is the form that suits me.”
Come to think of it, I am a little curious.
Why did I end up looking like this?
Dragons don't really have a gender, to begin with.
So when you use Polymorph for the first time, your appearance and gender get set.
Still, I heard your first form is usually influenced to some extent by what you're familiar with.
For some reason, instead of the familiar appearance of the man I was before transmigrating, I turned into a completely different woman.
Long platinum hair and green eyes.
And a woman with rather sharp features.
That's who I am now.
I don't really know why it happened, but I've gotten used to this appearance by now, so I wasn't particularly unhappy with it.
If anything, regardless of gender, I'd say I got an upgrade in the looks department.
“But now that I think about it, this is ridiculous. Other female streamers have tons of viewers, so why are there so few people watching me? Honestly, I'm pretty cute, aren't I?”
- They came to see your face, then got sick of you and left?
- A female streamer has to act cute too…
- You only ever ask for money. Who'd watch you?
- Without our die-hard crew, the streamer would starve to death…
- How about taking off your clothes?
- Gasp
- Gasp!!
- [★BlackSwordFan] Sis, should I ban that one?
“No, don't kill them. Every single viewer is precious right now. …Actually, maybe I should say I'll ban them and ask for 300,000 won first? How about a shield pass?”
After saying that, I chuckled and leaned back in my chair. The chat slowly began to scroll.
- But why is the boss so obsessed with money?
- Yeah, he begs so much he almost seems like a jerk
…An obsession with money.
It was simply instinct, but how many humans would understand if I told them that outright?
To put it simply, originally only treasure could satisfy my desire to collect things.
However, the special skill I received as a bonus…
[Treasure Digitization] let me treat the money in my bank account as a kind of treasure, too.
Thanks to that, the money in my account could satisfy at least some of my desire.
And then.
[Treasure Collection Rate: 0.1%]
My collection rate had reset when I came to Earth.
Just like in the other world, maybe I'd get something incredible if I filled this up again?
Of course, it would take an astronomical amount of money to fill it, too.
To explain it simply in terms even humans who haven't Awakened could understand…
“You're starving, and you see food. What are you going to do?”
- Eat it
- I could do a mukbang without taking a breath
- You really are a pig
- Shut up
“You can think of me as being in that state all the time. I can't stand it if I don't keep collecting something. Money's one of those things.”
Even now, I was somehow keeping it under control with the allowance the Association gave me, but I was reaching my limit.
I really want to go collect actual treasure now.
Or maybe my stream could blow up and money would start pouring in.
- What about becoming a Hunter, then?
- Yeah, a lot of returnees do that
- Nice, there are even Hunters who specialize in collecting things
- They make a shit ton of money
- You think just anyone can become a Hunter? lol
- The boss is a dragon. They're probably better at it than you, at least
“I actually said I'd rather become a Hunter, but the Association told me to wait for now. Maybe they don't trust me because I'm a returnee and not even human.”
- [★BlackSwordFan] Th-that's not it…
- Boo, lousy Association
- Isn't this the Association doing its job? Why would we need it if anyone could become a Hunter?
- For all that, the boss has been resting for a pretty long time, even if they're a returnee
- And does it make sense to stop people from doing anything?
- Since Goldie's prettier than the Association president, this is the Association's fault
- You don't even know who the president is in the first place
- Get out
- Show us your tail
- What? Your ta■? [This chat message has been blinded.]
I chuckled at their reactions.
I started livestreaming for the money, but it's more fun than I expected.
How do I put it? There's way more dopamine here than in that medieval world over there.
In the first place, the humans there never talked to me this casually.
“So you guys will have to give me money in the meantime. Come on, starting at 200,000 won—”
Just as I was about to keep the stream going…
Riiing—
“Huh?”
The Hunter Watch on my wrist began ringing loudly.
[Hunter Association Suppression Team 3 Manager Kim Sang-cheol]
…Did he hear me complaining about the Association?
“Guys, I gotta take a call.”
- He gone?
- He left
- He actually left
- Is this my world now?
- [★BlackSwordFan] ^^
I turned off the screen and microphone, then answered the call.
They'd asked me not to let my conversations with the Association leak, so these days I just turn everything off whenever I get a call.
Though most of the time, it's just a quick check-in.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Returnee Lee Se-yeon. How have you been lately?”
“I'm… fine. You can see everything through Ha-eun, can't you?”
Park Ha-eun.
The Hunter who first found me, and somehow ended up becoming the one in charge of me.
She's the one in the chat who goes by Black Sword something.
“The problem is, she's been watching even during work hours lately.”
“Uh….”
“Anyway, putting that aside, I have good news for you, Returnee.”
“News? What is it?”
Good news, huh.
Did I get another allowance?
…I ordered fried chicken yesterday too, so things were getting a little dicey.
“As you requested last time, it looks like you can take the preliminary Hunter qualification test. What would you like to do?”
“Hunter qualification… Oh? When?”
“Since it's not a regular test, I think it'd be best to do it tomorrow, right away….”
Huh…?
Tomorrow?
“Um, what exactly does the test involve…?”
“You'll clear a Gate with Hunter Park Ha-eun. A drone for supervision will accompany you as well.”
Um.
“O-okay. I'll come tomorrow, then…?”
“I'll schedule it for then. Please contact me if you have any trouble.”
Click—
Trouble?
There is exactly one thing.
Trouble.
[103,250 won]
…That I only have about 100,000 won left in my bank account.
“Haa… Hup!”
[Withdrawal 20,000 won - Details: [Breath] skill usage fee]
I was about to sigh, but accidentally infused it with a little mana.
Only a tiny flame flickered out in front of my mouth, but 20,000 won got deducted.
…Right, like I said earlier, money is treated as a kind of treasure, too.
So when I use a skill, an equivalent amount of money gets deducted in place of treasure.
But I have 100,000 left—
[83,250 won]
No, now I only have 80,000 won.
…But it's too much of a waste to use the treasures I brought from that world here.
In a way, they're real treasures that I can never get again in this place.
Tap—
Guess I'll have to use my last resort.
- Oh, he's back
- The streamer ditch us again?
- So he had a secret friend??
- Apologize
- Boo
“Black Sword, I have just one thing to say.”
- [★BlackSwordFan] Yes?
“Could you lend me some money? Just… about 30 million won.”
- [★BlackSwordFan] …Yes?
- ?
- …?
- What the hell are you suddenly saying?
Please, just this once!!
If I run out of money, I'm really screwed!!
…Of course, I didn't borrow a single won.