Chapter 5
“A lair…?”
“Yeah. A dragon’s lair.”
After getting out of the car and entering the secured area where the Gate was located, I told Ha-eun what I’d sensed.
She fiddled with her Hunter Watch, looking serious.
As if she were waiting for something.
“Good thing it seems to be inside the Gate. Its presence isn’t that strong.”
“Th-then what should we do…?”
“What do you mean, what? We do what we came here to do. What do Hunters do?”
“…Clear the Gate?”
“That’s right. It’s not particularly difficult, is it?”
As I spoke, I checked my Hunter Watch.
Streaming for the first time in two days.
Yesterday, I couldn’t help taking the day off.
Since I’d taken the day off without even posting an announcement,
I wondered if my viewers thought I was dead by now.
“Um… are you sure this is okay…?”
“Hm? What is?”
“You said you’re a dragon. Isn’t it… one of your kind?”
“Oh, you mean that? Well, it is one of my kind, I guess. But, hmm… dragons don’t really feel any kinship with each other.”
If anything, they’re more attached to themselves.
When I said that, Ha-eun lowered her head and replied as if she understood.
“I… see….”
“Besides, it seems a lot lower in rank than me. I might as well clean out everything in its lair while I’m at it.”
“Rank…?”
“There it is, just ahead. I’m turning on the stream, okay?”
“Ah! Y-yes!”
After I tapped my Hunter Watch a few times, a chat window UI appeared in the air.
It’d take people a little while to join the stream, so maybe I should head inside in the meantime?
I muted the mic and approached the Association staff guarding the area around the Gate.
“Stop right there. This is a restricted area. Civilians aren’t allowed in.”
“I’m Park Ha-eun from Suppression Team 3… I am!….”
“Suppression Team 3? Hmm, please wait a moment. And who’s this?”
“C-rank Goldie… no, Lee Se-yeon.”
The staff member nodded, went into what looked like a hastily set-up guard post, and made a call to someone.
Ha-eun watched him quietly, then asked me cautiously.
“You still go around calling yourself Goldie?”
“Still? That’s my name. The Association’s the one calling me by my old name without permission.”
Ever since I became a dragon, I’d thought of Goldie as my own name.
But after returning, even when I told people my name, they treated me as the person I’d been on Earth.
They said Lee Se-yeon was still my legal name.
I wonder if I should file for a name change….
“We’ve confirmed both your identities. Follow the path up, and since this is a specially managed Gate, please be sure to carry your emergency beacon.”
Anyway, we got through without incident, and as we headed into the restricted zone, I checked the chat window.
- Falling falling falling falling
- ^Oh^Oh^Oh^Oh^Oh^
- Aren’t you gonna say hi, newbie?
- From now on, this place is ruled by Hunter Minor Gallery
- This tiny streamer doesn’t even read chatㅋㅋ must be nice and spoiled
- Is this the place with the really good edits?
- Asking for the 3,691,553rd time, what are you doing?
What the hell was this?
***
“Ha-eun, can you help me? Ban everyone who crosses the line.”
“Yes!”
- Why the fuck aren’t you explaining yourself?
- What’s with the censorship, seriously, wanna die?
- Bitch
The chat was nastier than usual, and…
[Gold Dragon’s Hunter Stream]
[1,463 viewers]
There were an absurd number of people.
What the hell was going on?
As I stood there flustered, Ha-eun, who was fiddling with her Hunter Watch beside me, sighed.
“Looks like someone posted the coordinates….”
“Coordinates?”
“Yeah. From what I can see, clips of you are circulating online. But it looks like the story got twisted into people saying the videos are edited.”
Following the link she sent me, I found a video claiming that the footage of me breathing fire was faked.
It even went through supposed evidence of editing in detail, one point at a time.
“No, I breathed fire out of my own mouth. How is that bait?”
They were nitpicking ridiculous things and rage-baiting people as if their claims were true.
It seemed this sort of thing had spread all over the internet.
“…This is ridiculous.”
What was I supposed to do about this…?
It didn’t seem like anyone would believe me no matter what I said now.
“Okay, okay, guys? Listen to me for a second.”
- Aja jajajaja!
- Don’t tell us what to do. We’ll do what we want.
- Look at her talking down to us;
- Go on, ban me~ Go on, ban me~ Go on, ban me~ Go on, ban me~ Go on, ban me~ Go on, ban me~ Go on, ban me~ Go on, ban me~
- Those simps keep sucking up to you, so you think you own the place?ㅋㅋ
[Godori donated 1,000 won!]
[Is this where she fakes Gates and streams about it?]
[abc123 donated 1,000 won!]
[Buying this bitch’s personal infoㅋㅋ She looks so fucking hot]
“Aaaah… U-Unnie, there are too many, I can’t ban them all—”
“Hmm, not bad.”
“…Pardon?”
- ?
- ?
- ???
- What the hell are you suddenly talking about?
“I’m getting a thousand won just for sitting here. Maybe we should just leave them alone?”
“Wh-what do you mean by that?!….”
At my words, the chat stopped for a moment.
After a brief silence, the chat slowly began to scroll again.
- This bitch is seriously insaneㅋㅋ
- You idiots keep sending money to someone like this, so she gets spoiled
- Her looks and the way she talks make it obvious she’s just a money-grubbing slutㅋㅋㅋ
- Even if she’s money-crazy, isn’t this just brainless?
- Why don’t you just flash your tits and collect donations?
- She said she’s a reptile. Do reptiles all have holes too?
They were gradually crossing the line.
Humans are creatures that always go along with the mood.
It’s hard for me to be the first one to start something, but once someone else does, it’s easy to follow along psychologically.
And on top of that, the level of vulgarity was steadily rising.
Watching them, I smiled and opened my mouth.
“Sure, sure. I get it. But tell me, what can you actually do by running your mouths like that?”
- What theㅋㅋ
- She’s really gone off the deep end
- What kind of joke is this supposed to be?
- Is this a dominance contest? Fuck, that’s scaryㄷㄷ
“Guys. I can live without streaming. I wasn’t that popular to begin with. And you’re the ones who said I faked it, right?”
I went “Hoo~” and puffed a small flame out in front of my mouth.
“Let’s see if you can say that to my face, too. I have a pretty good memory. The 27 people who just crossed the line with sexually harassing comments.”
As I began calling out their usernames one by one, the chat that had been raging fiercely fell silent in no time.
They’d suddenly have plenty to worry about.
What if their own username came up?
What would happen if I called them out here?
“Normally, I’d want to deal with this my way, but this is Earth, right? I’ll handle it the Earth way. Ha-eun?”
“Ah… Y-yes! I’ll ask for a lawyer from the Association!….”
Ha-eun understood what I meant and answered tactfully.
“Let’s see how this goes, guys. I’ve got plenty of time anyway. I’m a long-lived species. And getting compensation while I’m at it sounds even better.”
After saying that, I checked the viewer count.
[645 viewers]
Honestly, they’re such cowards.
“Ha-eun, I’ll send you the list of the people whose names I called earlier, so take care of them. Track down the people who spread the videos, too. And the ones who are left…”
- Loyal loyal^^7
- Those wicked people!
- I have always been Goldie’s fan and supported her and only posted wholesome comments
[BumperHarvest donated 50,000 won!]
[I-I’ll give it to you]
[DefinitelyNotSuspicious donated 70,000 won!]
[You know me, right, sis…?]
“Good. Just do that.”
I’ll see you after I’m done.
I’ll find every last person who spread those damn videos.
***
After the brief incident was settled, Ha-eun and I checked our equipment in front of the Gate.
No, to be precise, Ha-eun was the only one doing that.
“Are you still not done?”
“Yes. I just have to check this last thing.”
- Boo, how long are you gonna make us wait?
- By the time she’s done, she’ll be old enough to be a grandma…
- [GonnaDie] Guys, keep that up and you’ll get hit with Breath and sued.
- Wouldn’t it be really unfair to get sued after being hit with Breath?
-Kinda boring. Should we bring back the people who left earlier?
On top of that, these impatient viewers seemed to be getting annoyed already.
“Guys, girls usually take a long time to get ready. Do you not know because you’ve never met one?”
- Why are you suddenly attacking us?
- That really hurt…
- Is this the same person who was at the center of a controversy until just now?
- She’s controversial in a different way nowㅋㅋ
- No, why are you saying we’re all pathetic losers with no girlfriends, wasting our lives watching streams right now?
- She didn’t go that far, fuck
- Then why isn’t the streamer getting ready?
“Me? I’m not a girl.”
- ?
- What, so this was a henhouse?
- Does this mean she’s a hybrid dragon with both sets of genitals?
“You little shits, ban that guy. I remember your usernames, too.”
- Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorry please spare me
- Damn~ Two more names getting called
- [GonnaDie] That was natural selection.
Do these guys have no ability to learn?
I was sure humans were a species that adapted and learned quickly.
- But can you really live without streaming?
“No? Do you know how much money I spent on streaming? I have to keep doing it until I at least make that back.”
- What theㅋㅋ
- [GonnaDie] That’s such a streamer-like cooldown…
- Cooldown?
- [GonnaDie] Typo.
But what was with that way of talking?
Was it some kind of trend these days?
“Anyway, we’re going to hunt a dragon. And since there still seem to be people who don’t believe me, I’ll show you that the video wasn’t faked.”
- Dragon?
- Kin-slayingㄷㄷ
“Aren’t humans better at killing their own kind than I am?”
- Gasp
- What
- That’s… not… wrong…?
- It is kind of amazing to see people fighting even at a time like this
“Unnie! I’m all done!”
As I chatted with the viewers, Ha-eun finished getting ready and came over to me.
Seeing her head straight for the Gate, I called her to a stop.
“Ah, wait a second, Ha-eun. Give me your hand.”
“My hand?”
I checked the money in my bank account for a moment, then used a skill.
[Physical Enhancement - Gold]
[Withdrawal 200,000 won - Details: [Physical Enhancement] skill usage fee]
[300,000 won]
A faint golden aura enveloped her body.
“I lowered the output as much as I could because of the cost, but it should still help. It’ll enhance you to some extent, too.”
“Ooooh… I feel so light! But… why are you doing this for me?”
“Because you can’t die.”
At that, Ha-eun looked at me with shining eyes, as if she were moved.
Is she that happy?
“You’re my prospective contractor. I have to protect you.”
“Contract…? Th-weren’t you giving up on that…?”
“Why would I give up? A Gold Dragon’s obsession lasts a good hundred years, you know?”
“Ugh….”
- I’m scared…
- [GonnaDie] I don’t like obsession;
- [BumperHarvest] Dragons really are obsessive. Normally, if they want something, they’ll turn everything upside down without caring how.
- Is the streamer gentle compared to them?
- [BumperHarvest] It’s almost unbelievable unless it turns out she’s actually a wyvernㅇㅇ
- [GonnaDie] “Die, human” is very dragon-like.
“Okay, enough praising me. Everyone quiet down. We’re going in now.”
Then I let go of Ha-eun’s hand and took a big step through the Gate first.
Tap—
After a brief sensation of weightlessness,
the inside finally came into view.
“Is this… an abandoned mine?”
“Looks like it.”
We were in the middle of a dark, damp abandoned mine.
At a glance, it might have looked like an ordinary cave, but the rotten wooden beams here and there preserved every trace of civilization.
But it seemed to have been abandoned for quite some time.
It was the sort of place that creatures living underground would love.
Judging by the airflow, there seemed to be a large open space, too.
Now then, the one who made its lair here…
‘It’s already noticed us. Is it quick-witted?’
The flow of mana I sensed shifted ever so slightly.
Even so, it hadn’t made an aggressive move yet. Was it just waiting for us to pass by?
“Huu….”
“Hm? Ha-eun?”
“N-Nothing… I suddenly have a bit of a headache….”
A headache?
Ah.
“Here, you hold on to this.”
“Huh? What is this…?”
“You know that thing I got last time? The forest jewel? Or whatever it was. I took a closer look, and it produces oxygen by itself.”
This place seemed to be pretty deep underground.
So a lot of carbon dioxide must have built up, making it hard for humans to breathe.
It was only a few steps after I handed Ha-eun the jewel fragment.
Keeek!—
Monsters were already starting to approach us.
Small creatures creeping over slowly from the darkness.
“What, kobolds? They’re not much different from the goblins last time.”
As I said that and started to clench my fist,
Shing—
Ha-eun drew her sword and stepped in front of me.
“You said you had to save money, unnie. I’ll take care of something like this. This time, I came as your partner, not your supervisor.”
For a moment, I almost blurted out, “You?”
Who was worrying about whom?
Besides, since there was a lair here, I’d planned to take whatever was worth money, so the cost wouldn’t hit me too hard.
And I still needed to clear up the whole fake-video thing, too…
“Is that so? Then I’ll leave it to you for a bit.”
Well, she was so confident about it that it would’ve been awkward to refuse.
And honestly, wouldn’t it be more fun to let the controversy build and build, then make a big reveal all at once?
Since things had turned out this way, I’d just watch Ha-eun’s skills for a bit.
As my prospective contractor.
I should size her up and see what kind of jewel I could refine her into.
Tap—
Slash!—
In the dark abandoned mine, a blade blacker than the darkness itself flashed sharply.