Chapter 47
Chapter 47: Shall We Go to a Motel?
"Huh? Mu-yeong? Good morning!"
Han Su-a, catching his gaze, waved with a beaming expression.
He felt it every time, but seeing her look like that with a half-dead face was nothing short of terrifying.
"Good morning to you, but...... why does your face look the same as always?"
"Aah~ The dark circles? Well, I stayed up all night again for some, uh...... not fun—I mean, work."
"What kind of work has you pulling all-nighters every single time?"
"It's a personal business, so that's a secret. More importantly—did you happen to see it?"
Han Su-a pulled out her phone and proudly held it out to Mu-yeong.
It was the Hot Clip rankings.
[Special Boss 13 Levels Above, Hunted in 3 Seconds]
Views: 35,000 | Likes: 8,800+ | Comments: 2,300+
[How to Send Yu Ye-rin Flying in One Hit]
Views: 32,000 | Likes: 7,500+ | Comments: 2,000+
[Legendary Punch King of Hongdae]
Views: 27,000 | Likes: 6,200+ | Comments: 1,500+
"Mu-yeong swept the Hot Clip rankings from first to third today. The comment sections are absolutely going crazy, apparently."
Han Su-a clicked on the first video.
—Who the hell is this nobody Mu-yeong to be eating up all the rankings??
—Fr this is about to go viral lmao
—Did some company buy bot views or something?
Sure enough.
Negative comments were plastered right from the top.
But the dislike counts rose in real time and they were buried almost immediately.
—This clueless idiot still doesn't know who Mu-yeong is lmao
—Did you just get internet yesterday???
—How can someone say that after watching the video? lmaooo
—Fr I wanna crack open his skull and check inside
Naturally, the most upvoted comment rose to the top.
—Ahh, is it you again? Mu-yeong, my love. Mu-yeong, my light. Mu-yeong, my darkness. Mu-yeong, my life. Mu-yeong, my joy. Mu-yeong, my sorrow. Mu-yeong, my pain. Mu-yeong, my solace.
—Leaving my one daily prayer and moving on.
—Coming by for my pilgrimage.
—He had 90% damage reduction and still beat a Special Boss in a few hits???
—Bro stop writing fanfiction lmao
—Factcheck) It's all true
"...... Terrifying."
"It's stranger that you can do things like this and walk away without a scratch."
This somehow felt even more intense than the citizens who pledged undying loyalty to the Demonic Heaven Sect.
Like watching fanatics, almost.
As Mu-yeong scrolled through, Han Su-a let out a small cough.
"Ahem! Oh, and by the way—did you happen to see the Newtube comments?"
"Which ones?"
"The owner of the Random Toys channel. Apparently they left a comment on your Newtube. What did they say again—something like, you're welcome to upload the videos they made?"
"Really?"
"Yes! I checked earlier. It was definitely them—they said you could monetize their videos too!"
For someone with no way of being contacted to reach out first like this.
What sudden change of heart had come over them?
Mu-yeong tilted his head, and Han Su-a excitedly continued.
"It seems like that person has completely fallen for you, Mu-yeong? So they're saying they'll handle all the editing so don't worry about it—just produce the stream content! ...... is what I imagined they meant, at least."
"...... That's quite remarkably specific."
"I-I just have a rather vivid imagination. Hehe, look! A new video went up on the channel owner's page again this morning. That's a speed only a die-hard fan could manage, right? Right?"
"Another one already?"
Mu-yeong was genuinely surprised.
It had only been a few hours since he'd streamed Monster World, and they'd already finished editing it and uploaded?
That's an incredible pace.
He didn't know who it was, but his goodwill toward them shot up rapidly.
Skilled and sharp at the same time.
If they ever met in person, he'd want to treat them to a meal.
When Mu-yeong broke into a satisfied smile, Han Su-a stole a glance at him.
"S-so, what do you think? Pretty great, right? You've basically got yourself an unpaid slave."
"I'll hear the details first before I decide. You said they left a comment?"
"Yes! If you give them a way to contact you separately, they'll probably take some kind of action!"
"Hopefully so."
Mu-yeong took out his phone and went to his Newtube channel.
When he checked, sure enough, there was the nickname 'Random Toys.'
The content of the comment matched exactly what Han Su-a had described.
After verifying it was really them, he left a reply.
At the same time—
Wiiiiing!
"Ack! Oh no, I forgot to turn off my morning alarm!"
Han Su-a fumbled and clutched her phone to her chest.
A suspiciously exaggerated reaction and a painfully awkward performance.
But since she'd shown him her clumsy side from the very first time they met, Mu-yeong let it go without much thought.
His internal assessment of her dropped just the tiniest bit.
"Ahaha, we've already reached the first floor! Oh, by the way—where are you headed, Mu-yeong?"
"I'm going to fill my stomach, though I haven't decided what yet."
"In the morning, obviously the thing to get is a hearty gukbap! I happen to be hungry too—want to eat together? I know all the good places around here."
"I'd appreciate that. I have something to ask you as well."
"Oooh! What is it?"
Han Su-a's eyes lit up.
Mu-yeong lowered his voice as if sharing a secret.
"I was wondering if there are any other peculiar monsters in Monster World. Like that white snake I hunted yesterday."
"Oh, that? The game's only been out for three months so I'm not sure about the higher regions, but I know a few."
"Let's talk over the meal."
"Sounds good!"
Already excited at the thought of the conversation, Han Su-a went ahead.
Mu-yeong watched her from behind and thought to himself.
It would do her a world of good if she lived as diligently as that editor of mine.
.
.
.
.
Sluurp! Sluuurp!
Han Su-a moved her spoon like a starving animal.
She wasn't so much eating the gukbap as she was inhaling it.
Mu-yeong, sitting across from her, watched in fascination.
"You're going to burn the roof of your mouth. Slow down."
"Hoo...... Hoo....... A hot gukbap is only good when it's scorching hot. Besides, this is my first meal in twelve hours."
Half a day with nothing—there was no helping it.
Mu-yeong stirred his earthenware pot, then lifted a spoonful heaped with white rice into his mouth.
The warmth and fullness that made his central nervous system tingle.
Just as he was about to scoop the next spoonful, Han Su-a spoke.
"By the way—you mentioned something about peculiar monsters earlier?"
"Right. I'd nearly forgotten. As I said, I'm curious whether there are more creatures like the Special Boss I hunted yesterday."
"As far as I know, the total number of bosses discovered so far is five. I know their rough locations and levels...... Are you planning to hunt them?"
"For Newtube and stream content. Obviously it won't get much of a reaction if I just hunt ordinary monsters, will it? In that case, Special Bosses that can actually draw attention are the better choice."
"Aah~ True. Slaughtering regular mobs is clearly worse compared to that. In that case...... should I just tell you all of them?"
"No, just the ones I can actually beat."
At Mu-yeong's words, Han Su-a thought hard.
What exactly was the definition of 'ones he could beat'?
Standard practice for a boss raid was to go with at least four people with proper compositions.
The level gap had to be within five to avoid damage reduction.
But with almost no equipment, a thirteen-level difference, and a Special Boss taken down in three seconds?
Mu-yeong's performance had smashed common sense into oblivion, and she couldn't form a clear benchmark.
He beat a thirteen-level gap, so maybe fifteen to twenty levels is fine too? No wait—the higher the level, the more exponentially powerful the bosses become, and to compare them to some Beginner Village......
Attack power, defense, and hit points all skyrocketed madly.
The patterns became bizarre and they wielded area-of-effect abilities.
For all those reasons, she was torn between speaking and staying quiet.
"What's your current level, Mu-yeong?"
"Twelve. Yu Ye-rin is at fifteen."
"Hmm....... In my view it would be too tough right now, but if you get some basic gear and hit around level twenty, it should be worth attempting."
"Is that right?"
"That's right! The next one is a level thirty-five Stone Golem living in the rocky terrain. Its defense is so massive that most physical attacks are nullified completely! For the two of you who mainly use swords, it'd be a much harder fight than you'd expect."
Han Su-a clenched her fist.
She was so excited she leaned her head forward.
"How about hiring a mage?"
"...... A mage?"
"You look for an ordinary person who's changed their class to mage. That way, you'd be able to take it down a lot more easily."
"Declined. The whole point of hunting is for the stream, after all—wouldn't it lose its appeal to watch?"
"That is true, I suppose......."
Han Su-a puffed her cheeks slightly, then settled back into her chair.
At the same time, she shuddered as if she'd just seen a ghost.
"Hiik!"
"...... What's the matter?"
"The, the window......!"
"The window?"
He had been feeling eyes on him for a while now, but what could possibly be there.
Mu-yeong turned his head.
And there he found Yu Ye-rin, staring fixedly through the glass from outside.
"......."
"......."
"......."
A moment later.
Yu Ye-rin came through the door and sat down beside Mu-yeong.
Han Su-a murmured with the most blissful expression in the world.
"Ohhh....... It's really Yu Ye-rin! An actual living, breathing Yu Ye-rin! But standing next to Mu-yeong like that, the picture is...... hehehe."
At the gaze fixed on her as if she were a celebrity, Yu Ye-rin's expression grew awkward.
She adjusted her bangs for no apparent reason, then started glancing back and forth between Mu-yeong and Han Su-a.
As if trying to figure out what sort of relationship they had.
Pout.
Yu Ye-rin's lip jutted out, and she sent a Transmitted Voice.
—Mu-yeong, who is this woman?
—A resident of the same apartment complex. We happened to get acquainted with each other, and since it was breakfast time, we were eating together.
—A neighbor....... I'm not intruding, am I?
—Intruding?
—I meant if you two were...... N-never mind! Pretend you didn't hear that!
At Mu-yeong's reaction, Yu Ye-rin let out a breath as though relieved.
In a noticeably brighter manner, she opened her mouth.
"Hello. My name is Yu Ye-rin."
"Oh my goodness! The honor is mine. My name is Han Su-a. I live in the same apartment complex as Mu-yeong."
"I'm asking just to be sure—which......"
"○○ Apartments! The one five minutes from here."
"What!?"
Yu Ye-rin was genuinely startled.
The apartments she'd just named were the most expensive property in the area.
Mu-yeong quickly added a clarification.
"I moved in about two weeks ago. My master arranged it for me."
"Aah, your master......"
Mu-yeong was currently playing the part of a martial artist who had only recently come down from the mountains.
He'd gotten ahead of any potential suspicion by mentioning it first, and she seemed to accept it.
One hurdle cleared—but he found it odd all the same.
To think that Yu Ye-rin also lived in the vicinity.
With that kind of money, it's not entirely out of the question, I suppose.
Mu-yeong glanced sideways and lifted his spoon.
Tak-tak!
An empty bowl.
Han Su-a was in the same state.
Yu Ye-rin, catching on, stood up first.
"Shall we go get dessert?"
.
.
.
.
—I'm sleepy so I'll be heading off! You two have a wonderful time!
Han Su-a waved and sprinted off into the distance the moment they stepped outside.
For someone who was supposedly sleepy, she seemed to have quite a surplus of energy—but fine.
If she said so herself, what could you do.
With that, one person was gone, and they were left with just Mu-yeong and Yu Ye-rin.
He was the first to break the faint atmosphere between them.
"I didn't expect to run into you here...... good to see you."
"Oh, likewise. We just saw each other an hour ago."
He'd been training all night in Monster World, and now here they were meeting again like this outside.
It had only been a short while since they parted, so why did it feel so awkward.
Yu Ye-rin seemed to feel the same way—she scratched her head for no real reason.
Then she said carefully:
"I can now perform the 10th form perfectly. The 11th form has gotten smoother too, and I succeeded with the Plum Blossom Gradual Bloom one more time."
"You've been working hard. Congratulations."
"It's all thanks to you, Mu-yeong."
"Managing to learn it on your own is something to be proud of, too. There are mountains of people who can't even do it when they're taught."
At Mu-yeong's praise, Yu Ye-rin's lips curved up to her ears.
She twisted her hair self-consciously for a moment, fidgeting restlessly.
Then, as though having made up her mind, she spoke.
"But who knows how it'll actually go in the real world, right? The movements may be the same, but it's still inside a game, after all."
"True enough."
"So I'd like to practice some more now, and I was wondering......"
She turned her head to the side.
So her face wouldn't show.
"Could you watch over me just a little while longer? I actually know a good place where I can use martial arts freely."
"And where would that be?"
"P-please don't misunderstand. I'm saying this with a completely pure heart......"
Yu Ye-rin hesitated for a good long while, then said in a voice so small an ant could barely hear it.
"A motel......"