Chapter 12
Baek Jin-seong was in despair.
Even fighting 4 against 2, to be honest, he didn’t have the confidence to fully overpower the hunters.
Before he knew it, he had been subdued by a hunter who had closed the distance.
The hunter climbed onto his back and began twisting his arms.
“Hah… Dammit, why are you being annoying, making me hold you like this?”
“Let go of me, you bastard…”
“Don’t use such harsh words, kid. You sound weak.”
Baek Jin-seong called out for help to the only man he could rely on.
“Hyung-nim, please help me!”
The hunters sharply warned the man.
“Hey, beggar, if you value your life, don’t even think about getting involved.”
“Hyung-nim, hyung-nim, please! I’ll reward you properly!”
Baek Jin-seong resisted with all his strength.
The hunter, who had been twisting and pressing his arm, spoke as if weary.
“Hah… This guy’s actually stronger than he looks. I guess I’ll have to poke a few places to wear him down.”
Baek Jin-seong’s face went pale.
“Leave it to me.”
At that moment, as the hunters’ shadows grew darker,
Pshhh.
The hunter who was stepping forward with a knife had his head blown off.
Fwoooosh.
And a fountain of blood surged upward.
Until the corpse lost balance and fell, no one fully understood what had just happened.
“W-what… is this?”
Pshhh.
This time, Baek Jin-seong saw it.
As the man pointed his finger at a bewildered hunter,
A drone, floating behind the man, instantly killed the targeted hunter.
Fwaaah.
Again, a fountain of blood erupted.
This time, the hunter who had been pressing down on Baek Jin-seong collapsed weakly.
He checked the chat.
- Wow, what is this?
- Did that person do that?
- Crazy…
- Is this even possible? These hunters are supposed to be notorious on the 10th floor, and he took them down in one blow?
Baek Jin-seong looked at the man’s face again.
He scanned the hunters with a calm gaze.
The hunters, having lost two comrades in an instant, frantically waved their hands and stepped back.
“W-wait… we’ll leave quietly, just spare our lives.”
“Hyung-nim, no! Those guys…”
Pshhh—
As if that had been his intention all along, the man blew off another head.
“Uaaaaah!!!”
The last hunter, realizing there was no intention to negotiate, charged with a scream.
He was rolling on the floor in no time.
He had avoided the attacks of the drones that had already appeared, but the attacks from two newly appeared drones had severed both his legs.
“Kyaaah!”
The man’s finger slowly pointed toward the screaming hunter.
Sensing the shadow of the grim reaper descending, he frantically opened his mouth.
“Spare me…!”
But that desperate plea didn’t last until the end.
- Wow, crazy, what is this?
- I got chills just now.
- Could that be Neia?
- Neia was on the 9th floor until yesterday.
- Someone check the 10th floor hall right now.
Soon, the chat went into overdrive.
- It really seems to be Neia? 10th floor cleared.
- Even the tower experts are making a fuss about it.
- So it’s really Neia?
- Huh, she did use Korean earlier.
- Wow, to actually see Neia in person…!
Baek Jin-seong’s pupils shook as he looked at the chat.
‘Neia…?’
He knew Neia, of course.
How could he not?
A globally famous supernova.
Just about ten days ago, she appeared and had been relentlessly bombing the tower—Neia herself.
He hadn’t expected her to really be bombing it!
Baek Jin-seong, who had narrowly survived thanks to Neia, bowed at a right angle and said,
“Thank you, Hyung-nim! But may I know your name?”
“There’s no such thing.”
“What? There’s no one in the world without a name.”
“You don’t get it, huh? I said there’s nothing to know.”
Baek Jin-seong flinched under the man’s gaze.
Even a single gesture from him invoked fear, likely because of what had just happened.
“Stop babbling and leave. I saved you, that’s enough.”
“Ah…”
To be honest, Baek Jin-seong didn’t want to lose this connection.
He instinctively knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
[Viewers: 10,130]
The number of viewers had surpassed 10,000.
It was clear that Neia’s appearance had drawn viewers from all directions.
“I… I can help you. I’m actually quite strong myself.”
“You want to help?”
“Yes!”
“Then disappear right in front of me. That’s how you help.”
“Eh?”
“You heard me. Scram.”
Neia’s calm but threatening tone was enough to scare him.
Baek Jin-seong bowed and turned quickly.
“Ah… got it, I’ll leave immediately!”
He hurriedly retreated toward the safe zone.
Meanwhile, the chat erupted.
- Baek Jin-seong, are you dumb or what?
- What are you doing, Jin-seong? That’s Neia! You should at least get her contact info.
- Wow… this is a major opportunity to become a top streamer, and he’s letting it slip.
They seemed to think he was just foolish.
But Baek Jin-seong thought leaving was the right call.
Neia’s serious expression was genuinely frightening.
He could predict why she had reacted that way.
“Probably because of the SSS-grade strategy.”
Neia was still a secretive figure.
It was a mystery how she had such strong abilities at such a low level.
And what were those mysterious drones?
Other secrets that hadn’t surfaced were impossible to anticipate.
So perhaps his presence was burdensome to her.
As he shared this thought, the chat expressed surprise.
- Jin-seong, you seem different, man.
- Kind of smart, huh?
- So, you’re giving up on Neia?
Baek Jin-seong saw a new chat and chuckled.
“Hyung-nim, I’m a man with ambition. Giving up? No way.”
He hadn’t given up yet.
He only retreated to avoid backlash.
He needed to think calmly.
- You have a plan?
- Hurry up, I feel dizzy waiting.
- But if you leave now, how will you meet Neia?
“Well, I’m Neia-hyung’s teammate. I can see how fast she plays through my mission window.”
He shared the mission window with the viewers.
- Ah?
- Oh…
- I see?
- Whoa, the kill count is climbing insanely fast.
- Haha, unbelievable.
- Are those drones hunting just now?
[Mission Complete!]
[New Record Achieved!]
[‘Shortest Mission Completion Time’ updated. 3:07:31 → 00:26:11]
It had been about 15 minutes since Baek Jin-seong parted from Neia.
[Complete the mission with your team in the Sky Garden to earn points. 100 / 100]
- Gather Polana herbs +3 points
- Hunt Deathvine +1 point
- Recover the temple artifacts and return them +10 points
Yet he had completed the team mission alone in that short time.
A performance worthy of being called a monster.
The chat was about to explode at this miraculous feat.
- Didn’t expect to witness this, even indirectly.
- Did you hear that explosion a moment ago? How strong is she?
- Seriously, the floor shook.
- Wow… that firepower is like a 40th-floor player.
Amid the chaos,
[Amazing Achievement Unlocked!]
[Calculating Achievement…]
[Strategy Rating SSS Achieved!]
[Unprecedented Record!!]
[This record will be engraved in the Hall of Fame.]
[Rewards Increased.]
[Rewards Increased.]
…
[Moving to the 11th floor waiting room shortly.]
Baek Jin-seong took a deep breath and steeled himself.
The first thing upon entering the waiting room: abandon his ego and lie flat.
And to receive the rewards…
- Wow, so many?
- Scary… just one strategy and I leveled up twice?
- What kind of world does Neia live in?
- Crazy, it’s an S-grade reward box?
- Will the material box be amazing too?
The rewards were jaw-droppingly amazing.
Leveling up twice was shocking.
He not only ranked first in the team mission but also seemed to benefit from the SSS-grade strategy.
[(11-15 Floor) S-Grade Reward Box]
[(11-15 Floor) S-Grade Material Box]
- Jin-seong, hurry, I feel dizzy.
Baek Jin-seong wanted to open the reward boxes in his inventory but refrained.
He had already planned what to do before tackling the 11th floor.
He approached Neia and lay flat, offering the reward boxes.
“Please make good use of these, Hyung-nim!”
He felt Neia’s gaze and swallowed dryly.
“What’s the meaning of this?”
Her voice asked for the meaning.
Don’t get nervous, he thought. How could he answer?
“I want to serve under you, Hyung-nim.”
“Tell me, why go this far?”
“Well… you saved my life, didn’t you?”
Of course, it was a slight exaggeration.
Neia’s chuckle suggested she might think similarly.
Being next to a star like Neia on a personal broadcast had massive advantages.
But Baek Jin-seong knew the world ran on give-and-take.
Observing her secretive patterns, if he didn’t provide value, she wouldn’t allow him to stay.
“I see, so you recognized me as Neia?”
“Yes! It’s an honor to serve someone like Neia.”
“Right, I am Neia, but what benefit do I get from taking you in?”
“If you allow me to accompany you, I’ll give you all the reward boxes as now.”
Baek Jin-seong didn’t expect that to be persuasive.
Neia wasn’t money-driven.
If she needed money, she would’ve revealed herself.
‘But Hyung-nim won’t hide behind a pseudonym forever.’
She was Korean.
Eventually, her real name would replace the alias.
Building recognition through streaming would be one of the benefits he could provide.
It was a mutually beneficial proposal.
He even considered giving her the entire share of the broadcast’s revenue.
A 9:1 split, all to her.
Even that might not fully satisfy her.
Still, he decided to present the offer.
“Good.”
“Eh?”
“I’ll allow you to accompany me up to the 15th floor.”
Baek Jin-seong noticed Neia smiling as she looked at the reward boxes.
‘Could she be… a hoarder?’
Shortly after, Neia and Baek Jin-seong parted ways.
[Returning to Perontaro.]
Back in Perontaro, Baek Jin-seong felt dazed.
He immediately checked the viewers.
[Viewers: 60,143]
An enormous number of viewers.
Such numbers were rare unless a player was tackling the top floors.
And oddly, it kept growing.
Checking his stats:
[Currently Applied Stats: +36]
He should have had 1,800 points.
But only 36 were applied.
Reason:
[Stats exceeding your level cannot be held.]
In other words, as a level 13, he could only use the 36 points he had earned so far.
A humble stat limit, but he wasn’t dissatisfied.
His potential hadn’t vanished.
At full strength, he would surpass even the current #1, Miller.
‘Feels like a dream.’
Meeting Neia was like a stroke of fortune.
It promised immense growth.
And he had earned the right to accompany her.
He had given a lot in return.
Some might call it foolish, but he even gave up part of his broadcast revenue.
Neia didn’t take the rights, as he didn’t understand the ‘Messenger’ trait.
It was only a matter of time before it was discovered, and he chose to offer it himself.
As expected, she was full of secrets.
Though she eventually accepted, it was both a concession and a gain.
Bam-ba-ba-bam.
While Baek Jin-seong was thinking this,
- Wait, why did you end the broadcast earlier?
He had briefly ended the stream before talking to Kang Sun-woo.
The viewers, curious, even sent large superchats to ask.
But that had been his plan.
“Ah, thank you, Schnell Chicken Hyung-nim!”
He planned to properly showcase his abilities to Neia.
‘Now begins the so-called collection time.’
