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chapter 9
-?
-Why all of a sudden?
-Did he do that because he saw them?
-Ah, just go away already.
-Shameless bastards.
When Hanbit’s screen disappeared, the viewers reacted heatedly.
Now only Yeonwoo’s broadcast screen was visible.
Swish—
At the same time, the players’ movements came to a complete stop.
With only Yeonwoo’s screen, they couldn’t obtain the information they wanted.
That bewilderment was obvious even without seeing their faces.
‘I can see what’s going on in their heads.’
From anyone’s point of view, Hanbit clearly looked like he was targeting the slime below the cliff.
That meant the choices available to them were limited.
They had to be mindful of other competitors too—they couldn’t just sit and watch forever.
Rather, taking the slime first was the most sensible option.
Rustle—
Just as expected, the players didn’t take long to decide.
Hiding their bodies among bushes and trees, they approached quickly.
Druruk—
While gauging the distance, Hanbit slowly began to let out the fishing line.
The hook at the end was that old man’s special product.
When a button was pressed, thin needles would shoot out in all directions.
It turned the catch into something like a hedgehog.
‘They don’t look like complete amateurs.’
The intruders drew closer, suppressing their movements as much as possible.
But it was far from enough to completely hide their presence.
Druruk—
Hanbit’s fishing line slowly descended toward the bottom of the cliff.
It had already passed nearly halfway.
‘I see them.’
While surveying the forest, Hanbit’s eyes met those of the intruders who had revealed themselves.
Three men and women wearing equipment.
Judging by their different weapons, they seemed to be a party from the start.
Swish—
Turning his body toward them, Hanbit turned the broadcast back on.
Then he raised his hand and slowly waved.
“……?”
The three stared blankly at him, flustered.
-Oh, he turned the screen back on.
-Why is he waving?
-All of a sudden?
The viewers were equally baffled by the strange behavior.
But Hanbit’s greeting had a slightly different meaning.
Drurrruk—
In an instant, the loosened fishing line dropped rapidly.
Before the three could react, the hook made contact with the Bomb Slime.
Chwak—!
As the button was pressed, needles shot out radially.
The impact immediately triggered the slime’s explosion.
Puh-buh-bung—!
The Bomb Slime’s body burst open with a resounding noise.
Since other slimes were clustered nearby, the explosion was several times more intense.
And that explosion was only the beginning.
Bang—!
Puh-buh-bung—!
Bomb Slimes in the vicinity detonated in response to the noise.
It began a chain reaction of explosions among their kin throughout the forest.
“Aaagh!”
“Argh!”
“Up! Go up!”
The three intruders in the forest tried to flee the area quickly.
But slimes weren’t only on the ground.
Thud—
Thud-thud—
Above their heads.
From the thickly grown branches, dark-brown slimes came pouring down.
Unable to react in time, the three were swallowed by the explosions.
Puh-buh-bung—!
“I was just saying goodbye.”
Watching their deaths, Hanbit waved calmly.
Even weak monsters couldn’t easily withstand that kind of chain attack.
-LOL holy shit.
-Is this guy insane? LOL
-If you can’t have it, blow it up.
-The greeting was legit, right?
-Yeah, you got hit, right?
-Trying to take it for free. LOL
The chat window, filled with laughter, scrolled rapidly.
Looking down, Hanbit reeled in the rod and changed the hook.
‘Now it finally shows up.’
One space that had remained quiet even during the chain explosions.
The gap between the cliff and the ground.
Gurgle—
A dark-brown mass slowly emerged from within.
In the past, Hanbit had called it a dud bomb—true to the name, it didn’t explode.
Druruk—
As he moved his hand, the fishing line descended rapidly again.
When the gleaming hook embedded itself into the soft body of the slime, he pressed the button.
Chwak—!
Even with the needles spreading radially, the slime didn’t explode.
Calmly reeling in the line, Hanbit placed it alive into the pouch he’d brought.
-?
-Why didn’t it explode?
-Is it a dud bomb?
“Oh, yeah, it really does feel like a dud bomb. These guys don’t explode, and they grow by eating their own kind.”
Hanbit nodded at the perfectly timed chat comment.
-No, how did you even know that?
-Go on, say you read it in a web novel again. LOL
-This guy’s not a newbie.
-Check if he’s ever been hit by a truck.
-For real, isn’t this his second life?
“…No? It’s really not.”
-As if.
-Of course it’s not, yeah right. LOL
-He’s probably soaked in fantasy.
-Kinda cute though.
His oddly defensive reaction was taken as a joke.
Letting out an inward sigh, Hanbit noticed Yeonwoo approaching quietly.
“Wow, there was a gimmick like this. But is it okay to share that info?”
“What info? The dud bomb?”
“Yeah. If you clear the quest with this, everyone’s really going to copy it.”
He pointed at the Bomb Slime inside the pouch.
But Hanbit smirked and said,
“Let them search all they want.”
***
‘That was close as hell.’
Standing at the edge of the forest, Kim Jaeha cursed inwardly.
Moments earlier, he had witnessed three players explode along with the Bomb Slimes.
Even with high levels, predicting damage from chain explosions like that was difficult.
And if he were discovered, he’d be completely at odds with Black Dragon and Roper.
“Hoo.”
Dropping everything else, he’d logged into RP in a hurry.
Half doubtful, but after watching Roper’s broadcast, he’d even received the real Artsvel quest.
And he’d kept the broadcast screen open the entire time from start to now.
‘Idiots. How could this just be a newbie?’
Most players who received the quest went off to find their own methods.
Because of the shallow thought that they were better than the beginner who first discovered it.
A delusion born of ignorance.
‘Those big companies, seriously. They’re already pushing ahead as it is….’
Kim Jaeha was convinced.
That player called Black Dragon was planted by a major corporation with a vanguard team.
He must have obtained information about hidden skills and the Artsvel quest in advance, then blown it all up.
‘What’s the goal?’
The reason for teaming up with a streamer and openly revealing the information.
Using a Hero-grade spellbook as bait meant there had to be something bigger.
‘Did something happen on the vanguard side?’
The top vanguard teams were currently stuck in many ways.
If they’d found a breakthrough, diverting competitors and public attention would be a natural choice.
‘Whatever, I’ll at least clear the quest.’
Since he’d logged in using company gear, he had to produce results quickly.
Whether the vanguard talk was realistic or not didn’t matter.
If he dawdled, he’d definitely get chewed out by his department head.
Step—
Glancing at Black Dragon’s screen, Kim Jaeha moved into the forest.
But he never obtained Bomb Slime material.
***
“You brought this disgusting thing and called it medicine? Just looking at it makes me sick. I’m an idiot for expecting anything.”
At Artsvel’s shop, Hanbit was being berated.
On the table between them lay Bomb Slime material that had turned into a squishy liquid.
Unlike its dark-brown exterior, the inside shone with a golden hue.
-Getting roasted, nice.
-Big sis…….
-I won’t forget today’s humiliation.
-Heading to clear the quest right now.
The viewers had gone crazy, completely smitten with Artsvel.
Given her beautiful appearance, it was understandable.
Though liking verbal abuse was something he couldn’t quite grasp.
“I’ll compensate you in money for the Julio matter, so take it and get lost. I don’t deal with people who toy with human lives.”
Despite having caught Julio, her response was cold.
Her mother’s condition had been steadily worsening, nearing its limit.
At such a time, her disappointment was immense because she had secretly harbored hope.
Knowing that well, Hanbit asked her,
“You won’t even try? The situation isn’t good right now.”
“You dare say that? After bringing me this garbage?”
Artsvel snapped angrily, looking like she might draw a weapon.
Since this was a conversation he’d repeated several times in the other world, he knew exactly how to handle it.
Hanbit scooped up a spoonful of the golden jelly with the spoon he’d brought.
“Look at this. Doesn’t it look like pudding?”
“Pudding my ass. You’re going to feed that to my mother—!”
Thup—!
In an instant, the spoon was shoved into Artsvel’s mouth.
She froze, eyes wide, unable to react.
And then—
“Mm!”
She suddenly clamped both hands over her mouth and ran to the bathroom.
Whoooosh—!
Screams and the sound of water followed for a moment.
“What the hell is this?!”
Artsvel came rushing back, her anger reaching its peak.
She grabbed the dagger on the table and strode toward him.
“Do you want to die? What did you make me eat? Something disgusting came out!”
“That’s the true nature of the illness you and your mother have been suffering from.”
“What?”
“You’ve been sick too, haven’t you? You just endured it alone.”
“How do you know that….”
Artsvel, who had been hiding symptoms similar to her mother’s, was flustered.
She’d done her utmost to appear fine.
‘You can’t even call that foolish.’
To avoid worrying her mother.
To avoid giving scum like Julio leverage.
To keep her livelihood going despite everything, Artsvel had hidden her pain.
Even now, it was something unimaginable without extraordinary mental strength.
“What you ate was a parasitic seed. It causes trouble inside your body.”
“A parasitic seed?”
A parasitic seed rarely found in the southernmost regions.
It attached itself to the stomach and grew, and only Bomb Slime mucus could detach it.
It had happened because the seed had clung to ingredients during trade.
“So it wasn’t a disease, but a seed?”
“Once you vomit out the parasitic seed, it’s over. It’s not a disease.”
“Vomit it out……”
At that moment, Artsvel’s eyes changed.
Grabbing the golden material, she rushed out of the shop.
[Moving to cutscene.]
Sss—
The screen changed with the message, showing Artsvel holding the golden jelly.
With a resolute expression, she stood before her mother.
“Mom, I brought medicine.”
Sitting on the bed, Artsvel propped up her mother’s weakened upper body.
A spoon filled with the golden, jelly-like liquid.
After a moment of hesitation, she let it flow into her mother’s mouth.
The change happened immediately.
Gulp—
“……!”
Her mother’s eyes flew open as she swallowed once.
Covering her mouth, she staggered toward the bathroom.
Sss—
With that scene as the last, the screen returned.
The expression on Artsvel’s face standing before Hanbit was noticeably brighter.
