Translator: Vine
Translated At: Nyx Scans
Chapter: 129
#129. The Scales of Choice
2022.12.07.
Gate South Sector.
Hunter BJ 'HyukieWorld' Namhyuk stared at his phone with a delighted face.
The viewers' chat in the screen was being updated at a tremendous speed.
"Everyone, the stage clear system window just popped up. It's a fact I didn't know either, but it seems Phantom Thief is here."
S-Class hunter Phantom Thief.
Her appearance alone doubled the interest of those watching the broadcast.
Having been embroiled in various controversies and disappearing for several years, her sudden appearance in this South Coast Unknown Gate operation was enough to warrant it.
[So? Where is Phantom Thief?]
[Huhㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I thought she retired]
[Why would she retire when an S-Class life is a guaranteed golden path? If it were me I'd never do itㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[I heard she was scouted by a foreign country and flew over but I guess notㄷㄷ]
[Daaaaamn Phantom Thief noona I believed in youㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
[No where is Phantom Thief...... You can't just talk, you have to show us directly, are you lying again]
[It's bait]
The viewers were clamoring for him to show Phantom Thief's face.
Namhyuk also desperately wanted to capture Phantom Thief's face on his broadcast.
But how?
He only knew that Phantom Thief was here, but he didn't know where or what she was doing.
"Ah... for now, don't turn off the broadcast and just wait, everyone. I'll show you step by step."
Namhyuk stalled for time in any way he could.
Normally, the longer a broadcast went on, the more the viewership would drop.
It had always been that way.
However, today was truly on another level.
The number of viewers had already surpassed 1 million.
And it wasn't stopping there, but continuing to rise in real time.
So many people on my broadcast...
Namhyuk, unable to believe the number, pinched his cheek and rubbed his eyes.
—But the overwhelming emotion was only for a moment.
[Isn't the hunter behind HyukieWorld dead right now??ㄷㄷㄷ looks like a corpse...... chilling......]
[No where did all the S-classes go? What's going on?]
[Ah ㅅㅂ I live in Yeosu what do I do]
The viewers were gradually starting to get anxious.
Due to the nature of internet broadcasting, combat scenes and injuries were inevitably broadcasted as they were.
As Namhyuk, holding the camera, roamed around, the viewers witnessed the situation inside the gate in its raw form.
It was true that the surroundings were temporarily cleared thanks to the brilliant performance of named hunters and captain-level hunters, but the ravages of a large-scale battle couldn't be undone.
Members who were seriously injured and entrusted to healing hunters, members leaning against the wall gasping for breath, members being carried on stretchers to the center where the healing unit was—it was a situation that couldn't be described as good by any means.
Though it was said that high-level monsters no longer appeared, larvae were still squirming underfoot, and some of them had become adults and were attacking the hunters.
In other words, even now, with each unit's captains gathered at the 'passage' that had appeared in the east, the battle was not completely over.
Even now, major and minor casualties were continuously occurring, and many hunters were slowly starting to get anxious about the battle with no end in sight.
That anxiety was being transmitted directly to the viewers watching the broadcast.
[ㅠㅠㅠㅠmy parents live in Jeonnam...... I just called them and they still don't know anythingㅠㅠ I told them to come up to Seoul right away but what if the tickets are already goneㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
[They said it's an island it's fine they can't get out]
[What do you mean can't get out?;;; I saw the monsters have wings? If the gate overflows and the mobs leak out, it's only a matter of time before they cross the sea and set foot on the peninsula]
[Is Korea really going down the ruin path? Aren't we just gonna become an uninhabited country like Iceland;]
[—This sentence contains inappropriate words. Please strive for a clean chatting culture!—]
"Ah, no... everyone, what's wrong? How many S-Classes are gathered here... You saw earlier. Our captain is super strong too. Ah! And Phantom Thief too..."
[No so where are the S-classes now they're not visible ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[HyukieWorld this bastard is just clickbaiting lol it's a well-known fact that Phantom Thief followed Maestro's route and was sold to Japan 2 years ago what are you talking aboutㅋ]
[What's with all the clickbait you're watching the broadcast just fine aren't you? You're the same?]
[Wow for real there are still people who believe the bullshit that Phantom Thief was sold to Japanㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Bring the captain bring the captain bring the captain bring the captain bring the captain bring the captain bring the captain]
"E-everyone. First, please calm down..."
Namhyuk trailed off with a flustered face.
He tried to calm their fervor somehow, but it wasn't easy.
It was an overwhelming task for the obscure BJ HyukieWorld, whose average viewership was around 10.
Using his own unique skill, he could turn on his broadcast anytime, anywhere he wanted.
It was an undeniably more advantageous skill compared to other hunter BJs.
However, the problem was after he started broadcasting.
Namhyuk's skill was only convenient for starting a broadcast.
It wasn't suitable for combat, nor was it a visually spectacular skill.
The fact that he passed the Bokgye Mountain combat test was purely due to good luck.
Even that would have been impossible if he hadn't met good party members, if the Princess of Dark Flare hadn't stepped up to defeat the boss.
In other words, Namhyuk only had his obsession and passion for success, but almost no sources of his own.
He himself knew that well.
That was why.
He was suddenly scared by the tremendous momentum of the chat that was almost flooding the screen.
'...Should I just close the broadcast now?'
The moment that thought arose in a corner of his heart,
[It's all over the internet and TV right now seems like it's on international broadcast too]
[omg link pls]
[https://news.never.com/main/read.never?mode=LSD&mid=shm&sid1=179&aid]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋHyukieWorld about to blow up?]
"..."
Namhyuk tightened his grip on the phone.
Right, how did I get this opportunity!
He ignored the non-disclosure agreement he had signed before entering the gate and turned on the broadcast.
He had steeled himself to the point of giving up his hunter license, even knowing this was a kind of illegal act.
He checked the number displayed on the edge of the screen.
It had passed 1 million viewers a while ago, and had already surpassed 1.2 million.
At this rate, 2 million, perhaps even 3 million wouldn't be a dream.
'Right, I can't back down here.'
Namhyuk, with a bright smile on his face, looked at the camera.
"Now, everyone. Please support me a lot! We'll continue the broadcast after a short commercial."
"It's decided now."
Yoo Hwan said, slowly crossing his arms.
Doctor Plant and Trickster, who had decided to stay at the root, had returned to the upper area where their unit members were, and those remaining below the hole were the Monkey King, Phantom Thief, the Princess of Dark Flare, Maestro, and the young man from Wolf, a total of five people.
"I'll say it again, no one knows what's beyond this door. It might be a trap, and we might never come back. There's also a possibility that we'll be scattered as soon as we enter."
So, let me tell you this in advance.
Yoo Hwan, who had been staring at the golden door, added that and turned his head.
"The priority is not victory, but survival. To safely secure the passage and rejoin the main force to lead the members. Just think about that responsibility..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Yoo Hwan closed his mouth.
"Unnie, let's hold hands and go in."
"Why?"
"The hairy ahjussi said we might get scattered. Yoni doesn't want to be separated from my unnie."
"..."
Ayeon, whining and clinging to Eunha, and,
"I didn't expect to see you in a gate. I thought you just wanted to hide in the back and watch."
"When foreigners are stepping up in a national crisis, how can a Korean just stand by."
Yijun and Siwoo, exchanging murderous glares.
It seemed no one except Eunha was properly listening to Yoo Hwan's words.
Yoo Hwan, scratching his chin and staring at the scene before him, decided to swallow the rest of his words.
Right, anyway, the people gathered here have proven their skills in one way or another.
There would be no need for someone to instill a sense of urgency and lead them.
Each and every one of them already possessed top-class skills.
Except for that young man from Wolf.
That man in the hood.
This was the second time Yoo Hwan had met him.
As a result of sharing a drink with him at the send-off ceremony at the Association last time, Yoo Hwan, by his own standards, had judged him to be a decent fellow.
But apart from his character, his skills were an unknown quantity.
He had thought of asking his rank, but quickly gave up.
While the F-Class Princess of Dark Flare was standing shoulder to shoulder with the S-Classes here, what use was that measly rank anymore?
Besides...
"..."
Yoo Hwan quietly observed the profile of Siwoo, who was having a murderous staring contest with Yijun.
The one who had initially decided to enter the door was not this man, but Lee Hagyun, the Wolf guy who was leading the special mission unit.
But suddenly, this man who had been quietly watching the situation from behind had stopped Hagyun.
'No, I'll go.'
Hagyun didn't argue with that at all.
He just quietly stepped back.
Like a gentle lamb, Wolf's second-in-command, from a man whose rank and alias were unknown.
Watching him, Yoo Hwan thought.
Then the answer must be one of two.
He either possessed skills that even Hagyun acknowledged, or—.
'Shin Gwihoon's son.'
The one who was said to be so frail from birth that he could barely even leave his mansion, let alone awaken as a hunter...
But this man before him walked around perfectly fine.
He even enthusiastically bashed Wolf with Yoo Hwan.
"Time is being wasted. Let's enter."
Siwoo, averting his gaze from Yijun, approached the door.
Yoo Hwan's red gaze slowly followed his retreating figure.
'Does it matter which one?'
He would find out his identity soon enough anyway.
Yoo Hwan followed Siwoo without a word.
The rest of the members did the same.
The five people, standing in a line before the golden door.
They looked up at the door, which was over twice the height of an adult man, with determined faces.
"I'll open it."
Yoo Hwan took a step towards the door.
Just before his large hand touched the doorknob, Eunha glanced to her left at the gaze she felt.
"..."
"..."
And their gazes met silently.
Whether he had something to say or was thinking something else, Yijun's ash-gray eyes were persistently capturing Eunha.
Suddenly, she remembered finding Yijun in front of her mother's grave.
'Why?'
That question still remained.
Click.
The door opens.
A dazzling golden ray of light, leaking from between the doors, cut across their gazes as if to sever them.
[Entering the 'Scales of Choice'.]
In each of their vision, blurred by the haze of light, they were no longer there.
Nevertheless, Eunha didn't avert her gaze from the left until the very end.
Yijun was the same.
Until the haze of light that filled their vision completely disappeared, and,
[Successfully entered the 'Scales of Choice'.]
[Sudden Quest! Annihilate all surrounding monsters and offer them to the Altar of Eternal Rest. (0/666) | Reward: ???]
A new system window appeared before their eyes.
