Chapter 18: Burning Soul
"Hey, ashley," Hajin said, looking at the panel. "Why did you donate that much?"
The comments jumped as other viewers caught up.
[ CringeSlayer91:] wait she actually donated that much??
[ ShadowMage44:] 100k is insane, that’s like... months of salary for most people
[ ashley:] because i find you entertaining
The line carried a golden donor badge he had not seen before, and the rest of the chat kept rolling around it.
[ ashley:] honestly, i’ve been watching for a few days and i can’t stop. I don’t know if this is real or the most elaborate production ever made, but i don’t care anymore. I want to be part of this world. since I can’t actually come there, being a mod would be enough. let me help you manage things.
’I get that but is it really ok for me to accept so much?’ He thought, still reading the comment over and over. ’Though, there is one problem... what exactly is a mod?’
Before he could ask her, a new panel slid into place in front of his face.
[ New Function Detected: Moderator Request ]
[ A viewer has requested moderator status for your stream. ]
[ What is a Moderator? ]
[ A moderator is a trusted viewer granted partial control over your stream’s community functions. ]
[ Moderators can: ]
[ - Filter and manage chat comments ]
[ - Remove disruptive viewers ]
[ - Highlight important donations ]
[ - Organize community events ]
[ - Pin messages and announcements ]
[ Moderators cannot: ]
[ - Access your system interface ]
[ - Control stream on/off ]
[ - View or withdraw your funds ]
[ - Access your inventory or status screens ]
[ Grant moderator status to: ashley? ]
[ Yes / No ]
He read through the list while walking, trying to understand everything clearly.
’So a mod is like a helper,’ he thought, going through the permissions again. ’They manage the chat and the viewers but they can’t touch my stuff or turn the stream off.’
’Doesn’t seem like there is any harm in that and she did donate so much,’ he looked back at her name, ’it would probably make her super sad if I reject.’
"Alright," he muttered, reaching out and pressing yes.
The panel flashed gold and a new line appeared below it.
[ Moderator status granted to: ashley ]
[ ashley now has access to community management functions ]
[ A notification has been sent to the viewer ]
The comments jumped immediately.
[ CringeSlayer91:] he actually did it
[ ShadowMage44:] gg ashley, you’re officially part of the team
[ ashley (Mod) :] thank you!! I promise I won’t let you down. I’ll start organizing things right away
He watched her name get a permanent golden tag next to it now, different from the donor badge, marking her as something else entirely.
’Well, that’s done,’ he thought, closing the panel and letting it fade from his vision. ’Guess I have a mod now.’
He did not know what to expect from it. Some random person on Earth managing his chat was not something he would have predicted a week ago, but then again, neither was the system, or the stream, or the wolf girl currently unconscious in his arms.
At this point he was just going with it. The fact that her 100,000 stream credit donation instantly converted into enough local Ouro currency to make him wealthier than a lesser noble certainly didn’t hurt his mood either.
His shoulders ached from carrying Juna and his ribs still throbbed where the boar’s hit had landed. Not to mention the longer he walked the more his body started complaining about everything he had put it through in the last few days.
’I just want to rest,’ he thought, shifting her weight against his chest. ’Have a nice warm bath, a steak with a lot of garlic and then fall asleep on a soft bed. I don’t even care how much the steak costs, I’ll eat the whole thing.’
He was already picturing it, a meal that would actually fill him up for once but the system suddenly flashed red.
He jumped, nearly dropping Juna as the harsh color cut through his vision.
[ Warning: Demonic Bloodline Detected ]
[ Proximity: Close ]
[ Direction: East ]
[ Threat Level: Unknown ]
’Demonic bloodline?’ he thought, staring at the red warning. ’Can’t a guy just rest for five minutes?’
He dismissed the panel and kept walking. Juna needed attention first, and he was not about to drag an unconscious summon toward an unknown threat just because a floating screen told him to.
He had only taken a few more steps before a strange pull settled behind his ribs, tugging him toward the eastern road. He frowned, shifting his grip on Juna while his feet slowed down on their own.
’What is this?’ he thought, feeling the pull get stronger the longer he stood there. ’Am I supposed to go that way?’
He had no idea what was down that path, but whatever it was, he was annoyed by that pull.
A new panel slid into place before he could ignore it, this one carrying the same red tint as the warning from before.
[ Tempered Monster Essence Detected ]
[ The boar you defeated was artificially enhanced with demonic blood. ]
[ Source signature matches nearby entity. ]
[ Direction: 200 meters east ]
He read the lines while the pull in his chest kept tugging, feeling his mood drop even lower.
’So the boar didn’t evolve on its own?’ he thought, staring down the road, ’that actually makes a lot more sense when I think about.’
He looked down at Juna, then in the direction the system was telling him to go, ’but still, I can’t just bring Juna or leave her somewhere like this...’
A gold panel slid over the red one before he could keep arguing with himself.
[ New Function Tip ]
[ Tap your Summoner Skill to manage active summons. ]
He frowned at it for a second.
"My summoner skill?" he muttered, shifting Juna a little higher in his arms while the pull behind his ribs kept bothering him. ’Since when does it have more stuff in it?’
He tapped the prompt anyway, and the usual skill tab opened wider than before.
[ Summoner Skill ]
[ Active Summons: 1 ]
[ Juna ]
He blinked at her name, staring at it a little longer than he needed to.
’That was there the whole time?’ he thought, feeling a little stupid while he pressed it. ’Okay, sure, why not hide useful things until the worst possible moment.’
Another menu dropped open under her name right away.
[ View Status ]
[ Unsummon ]
A short line appeared under the second option as soon as his eyes stopped on it.
[ Unsummon: Place the active summon in a resting state until summoned again. ]
His whole mood shifted at that.
’Wait,’ he thought, looking down at Juna’s sleeping face, ’so I don’t have to drag her into whatever is waiting up there, and I don’t have to leave her on the side of the road either?’
He read the line again just to make sure it wasn’t worded in some stupid misleading way, then let out a slow breath through his nose.
"Juna, just rest for a bit," he said quietly, adjusting her in his arms one last time before tapping the option.
Golden light spread under her body at once, and her outline softened in his arms while thin strands of mana peeled away from her and sank somewhere he couldn’t see.
She was gone a second later, leaving his arms suddenly empty.
A final message appeared in front of him.
[ Juna has been unsummoned ]
[ She will remain in rest until summoned again. ]