Chapter 30: Train (3)

Deep Sea Fish Hunting Specialty Broadcast – 30

EP.30 Train (3)

─Aaaah!

─Damn, not there!

─Nooo!!!

When the request to ‘show something scary’ came in, the viewers had a hunch.

‘Ah, she’s going under that seat,’ they thought.

The moment the broadcast showed the interior of the ‘train,’ they had seen it.

The countless white lights sparkling under the seats.

Anyone with a brain could easily guess what those were.

Eyes.

Either a mysterious monster with eyes plastered all over was lurking under the seats, or two-eyed monsters were swarming there.

Either way, it was a sight they absolutely did not want to see through the screen.

But then, why not just stop watching the broadcast?

That wasn’t an option. It was too entertaining.

Plus, there was a bit of pride involved.

“Ugh! Damn, what is that!!”

“I can’t watch this anymore!”

Parang didn’t know it, but among her viewers, a so-called ‘viewing challenge’ was spreading.

The rules were simple. Keep watching the broadcast while Parang introduces the monster, and watch until the final scene where she executes it.

Most people who left midway would come back, which was unique to Parang’s broadcast atmosphere.

They aimed to earn titles like ‘Endurance Squad’ or ‘Last Survivor.’

Of course, there was no actual reward. No one around them acknowledged it.

But there are quite a few people in the world who take such things seriously.

Especially hunters, who had a strong tendency towards this.

A ‘veteran hunter who has been through it all’ should be able to watch Parang’s broadcast, which wasn’t even a real battle.

Though it didn’t always go as planned.

Anyway, filled with the intent to torment her viewers, Parang went under the seats of the ‘train’ and stood on the floor.

It was the first time in her broadcast history that her feet touched the ground.

‘Ah, right.’

Parang took out her phone and tapped it.

She had just received it from Silo.

It was a model that worked up to 15 km underwater.

‘They’ve been going crazy developing this for a while now.’

She recalled the calm smile of the Silo employee.

Currently, they were 4 km deep. There was no chance it would stop working while exploring the ‘train.’

There were only a few places deeper than 15 km, like the Atlantic Hive, the Caribbean Trench, and the Mariana Trench.

It was an over-technology item that made one wonder if humans could even create such a thing.

What Parang did with it was,

─?

─What’s this?

─Why can’t I switch to third-person?

She turned off the third-person perspective mode.

Fear is best experienced in first-person view.

The viewers despaired.

Their hope that it would be less scary in third-person view was completely shattered.

They had switched to third-person view and zoomed out fully when Parang went under the seat, feeling somewhat relieved.

Unable to accept the sudden change in situation, some viewers began to plead with Parang.

─Teacher, please spare us just this once.

─I already got my oil paper ready, haha.

─If it’s so scary, just turn off the broadcast.

─That’s not an option.

─That’s not an option.

─That’s not an option.

“That’s not an option. Keep watching. Don’t leave.”

Her voice, already tinged with mischief, came out with a slight giggle.

And then, a rush of high-value donations from suspicious viewers continued for a while.

Most were textless, so-called ‘cool donations’ or filled with incomprehensible onomatopoeia.

Given that Parang’s broadcast had TTS turned off, it didn’t cause much discomfort. They knew this when they donated.

─‘ㅇㅇ’ donated 70,000 won! –

[ . ]

However, even with continuous donations in the tens of thousands of won, the chat didn’t mention it at all.

To be precise, they were paralyzed.

―――

It wasn’t because an unidentified monster appeared before them.

Quite the opposite.

The thousands of eyes that had been emitting a sinister glow from outside disappeared the moment Parang went under the seat.

What unfolded was complete darkness.

Humans are fundamentally afraid of the unknown.

So, what’s unseen is scarier than what’s seen.

Viewers clutched their oil paper tightly in one hand, trembling as they watched the broadcast.

They couldn’t bring themselves to remove their headsets because they couldn’t give up on hearing Parang’s voice.

And those who courageously kept their headsets on were soon rewarded.

“From now on, I’ll speak a bit more quietly.”

Parang whispered.

Not ‘said,’ but ‘whispered.’

Her sweet and soft voice was melting their ears.

“The monster in front of us is a Hydra. It’s the source of the countless eyes you saw earlier. As you might guess from the name, it’s a single creature under here.”

Of course, the content wasn’t as sweet.

“Hydras are creatures that come from gates, like Bellua or Goblins. When they die, they revert to mana stones.”

─Oh, damn.

─Oh, please.

─? What’s going on, why are you reacting like that?

─She said it came from a gate.

─Oh, right, damn.

─What are you talking about?

A few sudden chats popped up. It might seem random, but Parang and some viewers understood.

Their common denominator was ‘Hunter.’

Veteran hunters who had lived through battles with monsters on land, sea, and air.

They knew exactly what this situation and her explanation meant.

As mentioned in the original story, the ecosystem of this world is strictly divided into two.

Those that come from gates and those that don’t.

Creatures like Orcs, Trolls, and Wyverns that crossed over from gates to Earth never harm dogs or cats.

Similarly, lions or tigers never hunt Goblins or Imps.

It’s not because of some grand reason like a ‘great wall created by the logic of the world.’ The reason is actually quite mundane.

Simply put, ‘they can’t eat them.’

When Goblins die, they turn into mana stones and teeth, so a lion would never fill its belly by catching Goblins.

Similarly, when a dog dies, it just becomes a dead dog, so it doesn’t produce the mana stones that Trolls primarily eat.

Therefore, there’s no need for them to waste energy fighting each other. Even territorial disputes are minimal because their food sources are completely different.

However, there is a common denominator between these seemingly separate groups.

As you might have guessed, it’s humans. Specifically, hunters.

When humans die, they drop mana stones.

Doesn’t this sound like a recipe for murder?

The Hunter Association keeps a vigilant eye on this, so it’s not likely to happen.

Even Silo and the world government agree on this matter.

Anyone caught messing with human mana stones would be hunted by the entire world.

Anyway, and as you might have guessed, the mana stones that monsters of all kinds prefer the most are those from humans.

In summary, monsters that come from gates have an extraordinary ability to detect the scent of humans.

And Parang had just entered a dark crevice where such a monster was lurking.

Moreover, the monster, which had been exuding a sinister aura until now, hid its presence the moment Parang approached.

This behavior could mean one of two things:

It either fled or is preparing an ambush.

Parang’s words were enough to send all the viewers into a panic.

“An ambush is coming soon. Enjoy the chase with the Hydra.”

‘Enjoy the chase’

─What do you mean, enjoy?

– Click. –

Parang turned on her flashlight.

What appeared in front of her was something white and tofu-like in texture.

“It’s the body of the Hydra.”

Even though they were watching on a large monitor, the viewers’ vision was now confined to the small circle of light from the flashlight.

Now, they could only see what Parang saw, what she wanted to show them.

Perfect control of their view.

Soon, the viewers would painfully realize how terrifying this could be.

– Ziiiiiik. –

What they thought was the body suddenly opened its eyes.

The viewers were staring into the eyes of the Hydra.

“The Hydra’s eyes are fluid. They can move freely inside its body and appear anywhere on the surface.”

A whispering voice.

And then, from the side..

– ziiik, –

– ziiik, ziiik, ziiik. –

With each sound of flesh tearing, another eye appeared, staring at them.

– Ziiik. Ziiik. Ziiik. Ziiik. Ziiik. Ziiik. –

– Ziiikziiikziiikziiikziiikziiikziiikziiikziiikziiikziiikziiik. –

They couldn’t see it in the darkness, but they knew more eyes were appearing and staring at them.

Parang swept the flashlight around the area.

Eyes everywhere. Some were so crushed together that their blood vessels had burst, turning them red.

On the floor, on the ceiling.

[ Skill, ‘Waterproof Sanity,’ is active. ]

The Hydra drives its prey into a panic like this before safely devouring them.

“The Hydra has excellent night vision.”

With Parang’s whisper, dozens of eyes detached from the wall and rushed toward her.

#

─Damn, to the left, to the left, to the left, damn it!

Parang swiftly swam through the Hydra, changing directions rapidly.

A living maze of white, pulsating flesh. A terrifying sight that could haunt dreams, but there was something else that added real fear to the scene.

– Zzzzzzt. –

―――――!!

─Ah, damn, that scared me!

─Damn it, the sound, the sound, the sound!

An eye grew from what they thought was a wall.

A radius of 80 cm. An eyeball as big as Parang.

It then extended out long and rushed towards Parang.

Since Parang was deliberately controlling her speed, the eyeball got close enough to almost touch her.

Then, the center split open, revealing a circular throat filled with randomly placed teeth, and five wriggling tongues emerged from inside.

All of this happened within two seconds.

From the viewers’ perspective, grotesque monsters popped in and out of the screen without warning. It was a nightmare.

─Teacher, I promise I will never go diving again. I was foolish. Please stop.

They tearfully repented, but Parang remained silent.

Today, future diving enthusiasts were mercilessly crushed.

Her current viewer count had dropped to half of what it was when she entered the train.

‘Just half more to go.’

Her broadcasting concept had already become twisted.

Thus, the chase that only Parang enjoyed continued.

To the left, to the right. Back to the left, three eyes suddenly appeared in the middle of the path. She quickly turned left, only to find a dead end.

Turning back, she made eye contact with the Hydra. She swiftly turned downward, escaping with acrobatic movements, only to have an eyeball pop out from the right this time.

This went on for about an hour.

Finally, all the ‘die-hard’ viewers had fallen, and the viewer count was down to a quarter.

“Hmm, I’ll stop here for now.”

A sign signaling the end,

─Wow

─The fact is, the die-hards are truly steadfast.

─Oh, I survived today too, haha.

─Let’s have a drink.

Then, the remaining so-called ‘die-hard’ viewers began to toast each other.

And for the ‘die-hards’ who endured the torturous time, a fitting reward (which only they considered a reward) was given.

─Everyone, take your seats!

─All the popcorn is gone, haha.

It was none other than Yoo Parang’s ‘execution scene.’

Only the viewers who endured the relentless visual torment could finally watch the ‘deep-sea monster hunting broadcast.’

Watching the detested monster that had tormented them being slaughtered by Parang’s hand.

The reward that wasn’t really a reward turned out to be quite thrilling.

Before they knew it, the lights were on, and the third-person view was available again.

As many had expected, the Hydra looked like it was made entirely of intestines.

Somewhere between white and crimson, an unpleasant pink hue filled the surroundings, pulsating.

“The color has turned red. It means it’s excited. Its skin is so thin that you can see the increased blood flow.”

Parang suddenly stopped.

An eyeball popped out and rushed towards her.

It opened its mouth and extended its tongue, wriggling.

– Booom— swoosh! –

Parang didn’t miss the timing and created a water bomb, shoving it inside.

Thinking it had food, the eyeball stopped moving and closed its mouth.

But,

– Boom! –

The bomb exploded from within, scattering blood and flesh like fireworks.

――――!!!!

Sensing that something was wrong, the Hydra screamed.

Then, dozens of eyeballs surrounded Parang from all directions—front, back, left, right, above, and below.

But she calmly gripped her spear.

And in a split second,

– Flicker. –

A blue light flashed in her eyes,

– Pababababak! –

The spear was thrust dozens of times at an invisible speed.

– Pshashashashak! –

The eyeballs exploded at an equally invisible speed.

Naturally, the entire area turned crimson with the Hydra’s blood.

[ Skill, ‘Clear Mirror Still Water,’ is activated. ]

Of course, none of it touched Parang.

She quickly swam out of that space.

As soon as she reached a sufficiently wide area,

“Huuuup!”

The spear she gripped parted the water.

Anchoring.

And then, Paang!!

The spear, thrown at a tremendous speed, pierced through the Hydra.

――――!!!

A gaping hole. It penetrated the Hydra so deeply that the end wasn’t visible.

――――……

With a final sound, the Hydra disappeared.

And thud.

A mana stone the size of a watermelon fell to the ground.

─Is that a mana stone?

─How can a mana stone be that big?

─How much is that worth, damn.

─That’s really making my mouth water.

Hunters who knew its value reacted immediately.

The size of a mana stone is proportional to the size of the monster, so they had a rough idea.

But they didn’t expect something the size of a watermelon to just drop out.

A Wyvern’s mana stone is the size of a baseball, and a Dragon’s is the size of a soccer ball.

‘It’s understandable to be surprised.’

There are no monsters the size of a Hydra on land.

‘Is it not in this car?’

Parang checked the device on her chest one last time.

It might have seemed like she was randomly wandering around, hunting monsters and making a slaughter movie, but she had actually been meticulously calculating her route in real-time, thoroughly searching the train’s interior.

And this was the last place. If it wasn’t here, it wasn’t in the first car.

“Then, to the next car….”

Shall we move on? Parang’s words were cut off.

But amidst the rapidly scrolling chat,

─Wow, that size is insane. I’m going diving right away.

Normally, she would have ignored it, but she couldn’t overlook this particular chat.

“What did you say?”

Parang’s expression twisted considerably.