Chapter 59: The Secret of the Ancient Temple (3)
Monster World headquarters, 15th floor.
Inside the empty office, Assistant Manager Lee Da-hye sat alone, glaring at her monitor.
There was only one reason she was still here long past clocking-out ti.
"Kyah, he never disappoints. That scene just now could be edited into a standalone clip."
[Mu-yeong—Golem One-Shot Kill, 26 minutes 03 seconds]
She was keeping a separate record of highlight tilines for the strears who had taken on the advertisent deal.
Of course, it was work she could have done the next day, but her nature—the kind that wouldn't rest easy unless she guarded the live broadcast—gave her no choice.
Especially when it was Mu-yeong's stream.
She had just turned the speaker volu up and was leaning in with full concentration when—
"Wait, Da-hye. You haven't gone ho yet?"
"Eek—!"
Lee Da-hye let out a shriek and shot upright in her seat.
She turned around to find Team Leader Park Seong-jun holding a coffee cup.
"T-Team Leader? What are you doing here all of a sudden?"
"Ah....... Sothing urgent ca up that had to be handled today. But what about you, Da-hye?"
"It just so happens that so of the strears were running their ad slots today, so I was checking in to see how they're doing."
"Really? So that was today."
Park Seong-jun leaned in with an intrigued expression.
On the monitor, the broadcast feeds of several strears were playing in split view.
The one taking up the largest portion of the screen was, of course, Mu-yeong.
"Mu-yeong definitely has the most viewers. He must be popular?"
"It's probably because he's the most entertaining person playing Monster World right now."
"In what way?"
Park Seong-jun's characteristic tone slipped out.
The beginning of a sharp round of questioning.
Lee Da-hye answered without sugarcoating.
"Do you see that strear called 'Jia-rang' over there?"
"Yes, she's hunting trolls with a four-person party."
"Trolls in na only—it's practically just killing ti, so honestly, it's a bit dull to watch. And 'Jakseupaek' over here is running a shop in town, so sa story."
"Hmm......."
Park Seong-jun sent a signal that said just as I thought.
Advertisents are often called howork streams.
As in, it's sothing you have to do half-unwillingly—you hate it as much as howork, but you need the money.
And that's not all.
Having [Ad] written in the stream title tends to drive viewers away, and the strear themselves has to watch their words in front of the sponsor.
As a result, putting off fun content for another ti happens all the ti, and for the most part they can't match their usual energy.
"But Mu-yeong is different. Even during a sponsored stream, he's saying he's going to go hunt the Stone Golem—just the two of them."
"......Pardon? What did you just say?"
"He said the two of them are going to hunt the Stone Golem......"
"No, no, no. Before that."
Park Seong-jun blinked several tis and furrowed his brow.
"Mu-yeong's level is 20, isn't it? Don't tell the party mber is level 50 and carrying him?"
"No? Both of them are level 20."
"Th-then."
In all his years, he could count the tis he'd stumbled over his words on one hand—and yet he pointed at the screen.
"Two level-20s are going to raid a level-35 Special Boss right now? Am I understanding that correctly?"
"You've got it exactly right."
"And you think that makes any sense?"
Park Seong-jun stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what he was hearing.
He was himself a player who had taken Monster World all the way to level 43.
About a month ago—or thereabouts—he'd had the experience of fighting the Stone Golem.
I barely cleared that thing at level 38 with a four-man party—is he kidding? That's not just so ordinary boss!
Outrageous health, iron-clad defenses, area attacks, movent that was surprisingly quick for a golem.
Sohow, sohow, it took twenty minutes to clear.
With one party mber dead at the end.
The difficulty was that brutal—and these two were going to beat it with just themselves?
With level-20s who'd be taking 90% reduced damage at that?
"Ha ha ha......."
Park Seong-jun let out a hollow laugh.
Lee Da-hye knew exactly what it ant.
"I told you, didn't I? Mu-yeong is different."
"His ability to generate buzz is certainly top-tier. Though only if he actually clears the boss."
"I also think the chances are low, but...... if he genuinely does clear it—"
"External ad deal confird. No matter what highlight any other strear pulls. Guaranteed. I'll stake my word on it."
Park Seong-jun exercised his authority as Team Leader.
Ordinarily it would be a matter that had to go through a eting, but right now it didn't matter.
Because if they actually pulled it off, there would be no better footage than that.
"I'll go take care of what I have left. Don't mind , just do what you need to do."
"Will do."
Scraaaape!
Park Seong-jun returned to his own seat and pulled his chair flush against the desk.
He pulled up his work on the center monitor and plugged earphones into the computer.
He had originally planned to finish up quickly and head ho, but his plans had changed.
The boss fight looks like it's about to start—I'll watch just this part first.
Quieting the faint pounding of his heart, he opened Mu-yeong's stream on his right monitor.
He clicked full screen and settled into watching mode.
Could he actually clear it?
No matter how he thought about it, it made no sense.
But what if it punched through that near-zero probability and beca reality?
"I'll have to back him. Enough to look like favoritism."
Letting a star player like that go would be nothing short of foolishness.
.
.
.
.
It had been about five minutes of walking after killing the Mud Golem.
Black stone piles unlike anything in the surroundings began appearing here and there.
The talisman's trembling had grown stronger as well—enough to know at a glance that the temple was drawing near.
"This must be the place. The atmosphere shifted completely all of a sudden."
"If we follow the path just a little further from here, the boss should be there."
"No telling when it might spring out, so let's slow down a little."
Slowing his pace, he swept his gaze sharply around.
There wasn't a single sound—as quiet as death.
Enough to make you believe this was literally dead ground.
Mu-yeong pushed his senses to their limit and took each step with deliberate care.
Following the path like that, they found a building half-buried in a pile of stones.
It had taken the full brunt of the ravages of ti, yet even so, its original grandeur seed to radiate through.
No—if anything, the way it had beco one with the earth made it feel all the more mystical.
"That must be the Ancient Temple."
How to put it.
Mu-yeong had grown up in the Ten Demon Mountains and had seen plenty—yet this left him with no choice but to feel a sense of awe.
The peculiar beauty that ca from ancient greatness fusing with the power of nature.
Where else could you ever see sothing like this?
—The atmosphere is genuinely insane lol
—Fr, the map design is top-notch
—I'm using this as my wallpaper lol
—Perfect for spacing out lol
"Let's head inside for now."
He moved forward again alongside Yu Ye-rin, who was visibly tense.
Splat.
The mont they stepped inside, pooled water rushed up to et Mu-yeong.
Moss and vines joined in to soften the soles of their feet, but there was no ti to think about that.
"Woah....... This is genuinely amazing."
"Remarkable."
A space that words like wide alone couldn't do justice—an utterly magnificent vast hall.
Torches burned at countless pillars all around, amplifying the sense of mystery even further.
Mu-yeong scanned his surroundings and pressed the talisman between his fingers.
The trembling has grown even stronger.
It was definitely connected to this place, but where exactly?
Mu-yeong looked straight ahead.
Concentrating his Eye Focus Technique, he spotted a stone door positioned at the far end.
Moving a little closer, he could tell for certain.
There was a groove carved into the center—and this talisman would fit into it perfectly.
Ku-gu-gu-gung!
Right then, the stone piles surrounding the door began to tremble.
As if soone had used Telekinesis, they shot high into the air, circled around, and fused themselves together.
—It's coming it's coming it's coming
—'That bastard' has arrived lololol
—Finally, it begins lolololol
—Raid ON lolololol
—Open the bets! Open the bets! Open the bets!
"Mu-yeong. That is......."
Yu Ye-rin, face taut with tension, tightened her grip.
Mu-yeong, on the other hand, was as unhurried as could be.
He had co here to kill it in the first place—no reason to be nervous.
Instead, he checked the chat window.
8,000 people. An all-ti record.
History had been made.
If he could just hold this, the external ad deal would be as good as in the bag.
Mu-yeong's lips curved into a smirk as he looked upward.
"I'm opening the bets now. Ti limit is ten minutes."
"Excuse !?"
"The question is: do we kill the Stone Golem or not?"
—Insane lololololol
—Ten minutes is way too harsh lololol
—Did you an to say one hour? lololol
—Where does this confidence even co from lolololol
The chat didn't just explode—it erupted.
The viewers knew.
The recomnded clear ti for the Stone Golem was thirty minutes. And that was for a four-man raid.
[10 minutes or more—17,000 POINTS vs Under 10 minutes—1,000 POINTS]
—I'm sitting this round out. There's no way I can guess this lol
—This isn't even a guess, it's lottery-level lol
—Level 20 vs the Stone Golem...... but then again, it's Mu-yeong, so who knows.
—You don't know. I think I do, actually lol
Nobody could commit easily, and the points refused to climb.
Bet on Mu-yeong like always and go with the safe bet?
Or this ti, write it off as a failure and go contrarian?
['Dan Jung-seon' has donated 100,000 Won.]
—Bald monk, which way are you betting?
['Shaolin Temple Captain' has donated 100,001 Won.]
—Still thinking.
['Dan Jung-seon' has donated 100,002 Won.]
—Goes without saying, but abstaining isn't an option. And I'm going all in—my entire balance.
['Shaolin Temple Captain' has donated 100,003 Won.]
—Don't you go hiding cards on .
Even the Five Pinnacle Masters couldn't make their decisions easily.
Then, out of nowhere, the points for under ten minutes surged sharply.
[10 minutes or more—54,000 POINTS vs Under 10 minutes—51,000 POINTS]
—Forget it. I'm going all in on Mu-yeong lolololol
—That lunatic is insane lol
—You just dropped 50,000 in one go???
—Even 100x leveraged trading is safer than this lol
—Power-Up Mode ON lolololol
—Is this even physically possible? lolololol
['Mu-yeong's Sasaeng Fan 1' has donated 10,000 Won.]
—Yah, you nonbelievers, Mu-yeong is always a safe bet so just trust and go lolololol
—Facts lol
—If you don't trust Mu-yeong, then who exactly are you trusting lolol
—That person's gonna ruin their life cosigning people later on lol
—But is under ten minutes really the safe bet though?
—If Mu-yeong says he's confident, that's what makes it the safe bet lol
Even so, the majority of opinion leaned toward ten minutes or more.
No matter how hard they tried to think positively, their heads had concluded: this is impossible.
[10 minutes or more—384,000 POINTS vs Under 10 minutes—73,000 POINTS]
['Sword Wraith Hwang Il-chung' has donated 1,000 Won.]
—This is your big shot, everyone. If that triggers, you're looking at minimum 5x returns lol
—That's true lol
—When else are you gonna score big if not now lolol
—I'll just put a little in and watch
—What a chicken lol
—Gonna rake in points today and do sothing nice for my parents lolololol
—That's a death flag if I ever saw one lol good luck
While everyone was still deliberating, the stone mass had already reached the verge of taking its complete form.
Arms, legs—everything finished except for the head.
['Dan Jung-seon' has donated 100,000 Won.]
—I'm going all in on under ten minutes. Even so, he wouldn't just casually throw out ten minutes for nothing.
['Shaolin Temple Captain' has donated 100,001 Won.]
—Sa thought here. There must be a reason he called it out like that. I'm also going all in on under ten minutes.
The Alliance Leader and the Divine Monk had placed their bets.
At the sa mont.
—Intruder. Initiating elimination.
The Stone Golem's eyes flashed as it spoke.
Mu-yeong matched it.
"Stones can talk?"
"It is a boss, after all......?"
"The world really is full of wonders. Live long enough and you'll see everything."
At those words, Yu Ye-rin stared at Mu-yeong's face intently.
Her expression said: the strangest thing around here is standing right in front of , what are you talking about?
Even that leisureliness vanished the mont the Stone Golem moved.
Ku-gung!
A single step.
Not even much—it had only moved about one ter—yet everything shook.
"Should we split off for now?"
"Let's. Keep to the principle of hitting it when you can read the openings."
"You know this already, but the level gap is severe, so even a graze will an death."
"Good luck."
Fwat!
Yu Ye-rin burst sideways.
But the Stone Golem didn't even spare her a glance—its gaze bored straight into Mu-yeong.
More precisely: into a certain stone fragnt hanging at his neck.
—You have finally co. I have waited long.
Fwoooong!
The boss's eyes turned crimson.
—One who seeks to break the seal. Prove yourself worthy.
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