LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 15
“Ugh….”
On July 29th, at 10 AM, Parang woke up.
It was because she dreamt of that day after a long time.
“Haah….”
Her head was pounding. Normally, no matter how much sleep she got, this kind of thing didn’t happen.
It must be because of the dream. Parang staggered and drank a cup of cold water.
Glug-Glug-
“Phew….”
Drinking the cool water made her feel a bit better.
Suddenly, she noticed the calendar hanging on the opposite wall.
Indeed, unlike when she was focused on just playing around, Parang was now suddenly busy.
Parang brought a magic tool and swiftly organized her schedule on the calendar.
First, heading to Hong Kong. She needed to visit Xiao to get some goods.
Afterwards, she’d have to discuss collaboration with Hunter Shin Yuna, and visit the orphanage.
Then it would be Sunday. In the afternoon, she had to meet with the Hunter Association and in the evening with the World Government. But is this even possible?
Considering their relationship, it probably wouldn’t be an organized meeting. It’s more likely they’d pressured her to choose one after seeing her.
The foundational theme was the same, yet their relationship was so bad. Rumor has it they occasionally send assassins at each other.
In her heart, she wanted to skip both entirely. They were all such shady characters.
Well, truthfully, she was leaning more towards the Association, since she owed Manager Choi so much.
In any case, after returning from the Association, there would be an interview on Tuesday.
She was really busier than she could handle.
At this rate, when would she broadcast again?
“Hmm?”
Thinking it over, it wasn’t impossible after all.
Parang was quick to decide. She immediately called Yuna.
“Hello? Ah, I’ve planned the next broadcast like this…”
“Then let’s go in this direction…”
After several exchanges, the line went dead.
A little later, a file was sent to Parang’s phone.
GodUna.exe
After executing it, she installed it on her phone. By pressing the app with a cute fish icon, buttons for broadcasting start, end, mute, and screen blackout appeared.
Now she could control the broadcasting equipment in Yuna’s studio from her phone.
She had to be careful below 4 km where the phone wouldn’t work, though.
Parang packed her things and jumped into the sea.
No need to bring a passport. After all, under the World Government, the world was one—We Are the World.
You don’t go through immigration when traveling from Seoul to Incheon.
And a little later, the internet exploded.
[What’s this title for Yu Parang’s broadcast?]
[Author: Star Galaxy]
(There’s a capture of Parang’s broadcast showing simply the words ‘Swimming to Hong Kong.’)
??????Hong?????Kong?????
– Huh?
– There’s a 20,000% chance it means “Let’s go to Hong Kong.”
n “Let’s go for a swim while we’re at it” has a 50,000% chance.
I’m scared it might really be like that.
It turned out, it was.
#
[LIVE – Swimming to Hong Kong]
– Huh?
All the viewers were resonating with that chat. It was exactly what they wanted to say.
“Excuse me?”
What did you say?
Questions flooded the chat without pause.
– So what’s Hong Kong?
– Where are we?
– Why did the last broadcast end like that?
– Teacher, I really need an artifact…
It was a complete mess. Parang frowned.
Are they really begging for artifacts even here?
Not just one but many. It accounted for about 70% of the chat.
Truthfully, Parang didn’t know, but when the first broadcast started, the atmosphere was similar. She was too nervous to notice.
Those who blabbered on with their sob stories about needing artifacts got banned by Yuna and the broadcast team.
But Parang didn’t know how to do that. So she just laid down the law.
“Talking about artifacts is useless to me. From now on, anyone mentioning artifacts will have their IDs remembered and be excluded from the draw.”
Being underwater made her feel exceptionally confident.
And then a brief moment of silence to organize the situation.
After a moment, discussions about artifacts vanished from the chat.
Satisfied, Parang continued her broadcast.
– Teacher, so what’s going on with Hong Kong?
– Seriously, where is this??
“Hong Kong is because I have a contact over there, and this is the sea in front of Pohang. I’m going to swim from here to Hong Kong, and I’ll end the broadcast as soon as I arrive.”
– Summary: “Let’s go to Hong Kong?”
– LOLLLLLLLLLLL
Now the viewers were in enjoyment mode. She could deal with it.
– So what are you showing us today?
Her shoulders lifted again. What to show?
Of course, she’d show something absolutely amazing. It was time to return as the ruthless monster fish slayer Yu Parang.
“There are three objects I need to periodically check on the way to Hong Kong. There’s a high chance dangerous monsters are lurking around those spots, so I plan to hunt them.”
– “Gwangmolip” donated 6,000 won! –
[What if there aren’t any? Will it just end with swimming?]
“There will definitely be some. The object spots are the only spaces where monsters can settle because there’s hardly any ground or structures.”
Even if there are monsters without objects, there can’t be objects without monsters.
Parang unfurled a map in front of her. She had hurriedly drawn it at home for the broadcast.
– What’s up with the quality of that map?
– Why so shabby?
“I drew it myself.”
– Whoa.
– It actually looks pretty good.
– The detail’s amazing.
“As you can see, I’ll swim past the three objects while hunting three deep-sea monsters, and then reach Hong Kong. Estimated broadcast time is about 24 hours.”
– You’re going that distance??
– How far is that?
– It takes 7 hours by plane in a straight line.
– What the heck????
– “Lee Yong-gyu” donated 4,000 won! –
[Is it even possible to swim for 24 hours while hunting monsters?]
“It’s going to be tough, but it’s doable. I always take this route when going to Hong Kong.”
– I told you to just enjoy it.
– Is this person a monster?
– That’s right~
Parang got a bit annoyed.
“Anyone calling me a monster just now will be permanently banned.”
– Whoa
– What?
– Bye-bye
This was the first rule to be created in Yu Parang’s broadcasts.
“Let’s stop with the chit-chat and get started. I have a tight schedule as well.”
Parang swiftly sliced through the water as she moved forward.
#
2024.7.29.13:22
[Current Depth: 3,319m]
Parang’s swimming sound was objectively pretty pleasant.
The sound of slicing through water felt like flowing water ASMR, according to many.
Thanks to that, many viewers kept her broadcast on like they were listening to the radio. The theme was, of course, stories about catching monsters.
“…So when you encounter a morphing monster, it’s safest to position yourself behind it. Conversely, for a serpent-type…”
– Teacher, even if you give such advice, this humble viewer can’t put it into action.
“Well, then just don’t dive.”
– What the heck is that? What was that black thing that just passed by? It looks so long and wiggly.
– I’m not the only one seeing this, right?
Every so often, cameo-like appearances by monsters were also a treat. It was hard to find fish shapes as they descended towards the 3 km mark.
“‘Why did the last broadcast end so suddenly?’ asked someone. The camera’s battery was almost dead, so I had to cut off the stream suddenly. This time, I brought a charger, so it should be fine.”
Parang was currently navigating through the Pacific’s troublesome points, essentially a hunter’s safe travel route.
Unless there were massive variables, there wouldn’t be any incidents that would require her to turn off the broadcast until reaching Hong Kong.
– Wasn’t that an object?
Both monsters and objects occasionally passed by. In fact, objects were very common in the monster layers. It’s just that monsters are more common.
“That’s right. There are probably monsters inside that object.”
– Is it okay not to hunt that?
– It does look pretty outlandish.
“Normally, that should be hunted as well. But for now, I’m just going to pass since I’m busy with my journey.”
– ‘aNiMotD’ donated 4,000 won! –
[What’s the difference between that and what you’re aiming for?]
“Some objects grow large because of the monsters that have lodged in them. If left alone, they can grow endlessly and later be uncontrollable, so they should be periodically hunted.”
– But how do you distinguish them?
“Um, they look a bit grotesque.”
– How should I know that?
– But if she finds them grotesque, they are indeed grotesque.
– I’m getting scared.
“You’ll know when you see them.”
– ?
What else can I say to explain?
About six hours passed.
The viewers could now understand what she was talking about.
“See? I told you you’d know when you look at it.”
– Oh, I see.
– That looks really ominous.
– I’m really scared. Can we just skip that, Teacher?
“Absolutely not.”
What they faced was an object, a ‘cube.’
A cube, with each side measuring 20m.
However, on its six faces were attached faces that matched horizontally and vertically.
Yes. Human faces. The ones you’re probably thinking of.
With eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, including skin blemishes and pores, 25 faces, each with a width of 2m and height of 2m, stuck together on one side.
The eye sockets were hollow, making it even more grotesque.
“This is ‘Object No. 1 in the East China Sea.’ I call it that because I don’t know how else to name it.”
– That’s valid.
– Seriously, why is something like that in the sea?
– Wait, wasn’t that something that just passed?
The comments in the chat echoed the sentiment. Even if left alone, something disgusting was clearly squirming inside the grotesque object.
– Is that something like an eel?
– It looks like it.
– Oh man, that’s so gross.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t just any eel.
“I call it Makula. It might look a bit disgusting.”
A bit?
Makula was a serpent-type monster around 60m long.
Among serpent-type monsters, there are Bellua and Galecus. They’re long, flexible, and generally fall into this category when they wiggle around.
Due to a lack of researchers, the classification system is a bit primitive. The current classification system stems from the work of Vertea Pavron.
Makula is the one that remains most true to its essence among serpent-type monsters. Long and flexible, it’s always wriggling.
Though it’s not by its own will. Due to its oral muscles being fully packed, it lacks any musculature for its body. Essentially, it’s a pouch.
So it’s easy to see how its body floats and sways in the water current.
– ‘Sky letter’ donated 25,000 won! –
[I understand! Please deal with that quickly, teacher! I think I just made eye contact with it! Please!]
“Absolutely not. There are still explanations left. Plus, Makula has no eyes since it detects its prey through vibrations.”
– Can we please fight while explaining? Please!
“If that’s what you insist on…”
Parang clicked her tongue in disappointment.
Certainly, as the viewers said, Makula looked disgusting regardless of where it settled.
Being full of holes and existing in a hollow environment, Makula has the behavior of constantly seeking nearby holes to enter.
And sadly for the viewers, those holes Makula was incessantly entering were the eye holes of the faces positioned on the cube.
It would enter through one face’s mouth, go out the left face’s ear, then back into the upper face’s eye.
It was an utterly repugnant sight as it wriggled back and forth like sewing through holes.
“Um, but if it starts fighting, it could be even more grotesque.”
– Huh?
– Wait a second!
– ???
Before viewers could voice their doubts, Parang squeezed into the mouth of the face right in front of her.
The inside of the object was cramped, with winding corridors twisted like a maze.
Only the flashlight Parang turned on provided light. Moreover, strange rolling sounds and vibrations felt like something large was crawling beyond the walls.
She was beginning to develop claustrophobia.
The frequency of chat responses noticeably decreased.
– D-d-d
Scattered comments of being scared. Most remaining viewers had probably frozen in place or couldn’t take it anymore and turned off the broadcast.
Parang’s plan had succeeded. Those who couldn’t endure it and turned off their streams would surely think of today’s image whenever they wanted to enter the ocean.
But Parang had no intention of stopping here.
Brrrr-
Parang created an air bubble,
and—boom!—she popped it.
A slight vibration.
In an instant, the vibrations echoing throughout the entire object stopped.
Silence enveloped everything.
Parang knew what that silence meant.
It was aware of her location.
And it wouldn’t take long.
And about three seconds later.
Grrrrrrr!!!!!
Kyaaa!
An ear-splitting sound emanated from the end of the passage as something started crawling toward Parang at unbelievable speed.
From the dark passage, something suddenly appeared.
– Kyaaa!
– What is that?!
– Oh my god!
Makula has no head or eyes.
It only has a mouth on its long, serpent-like body.
Parang turned the camera towards Makula and began swimming down the passage.
“Um, can you see well? It’s much better to explain while looking at Makula’s mouth.”
– I can see it well.
– I can’t take this anymore! Goodbye!
– I’m out! This is too gross!
Makula filled the passage that was about 1m in diameter, chasing Parang. No matter which way the passage turned, it could bend its body accordingly.
“As I explained earlier, Makula prefers environments with ‘many holes and hollow spaces.’ However, such objects are rare, so usually, it burrows into the bodies of other monsters to live inside.”
Parang continued swimming down the narrow passageway. There were spots where Makula’s body blocked the passage and also forks, yet it moved gracefully as if it knew the way.
“For that, Makula’s mouth is suited to dig into tough scales or shells.”
Makula resembled a long pouch. The inside of its empty, circular mouth showed no teeth—only crimson flesh, while sharp, claw-like teeth, shaped like spider legs, ringed the outer rim.
“Those teeth pierce the skin of other monsters, and then it cuts the flesh and pulls it into its mouth. That’s how it makes the body of its home. You can usually see that happening inside a carcass of a massive whale.”
– Are you really explaining that right now, while it’s chasing you?
– What’s inside your mouth right now?!
Indeed, just as she said, Makula was now right behind her.
Thanks to her camera having a flashlight, the viewers could clearly see inside Makula.
It felt as if they were dentists.
Crimson flesh wobbled and mixed with bits of meat and mucus that stuck inside.
It was a sight that could only be described as disgusting. The viewer count had already dropped by nearly half.
Still, there were 23,000 viewers left.
– It’s amazing that there hasn’t been a freeze.
– Didn’t Silo cut off his broadcast to avoid that?
“Well, as for freezes…”
Parang was slightly perplexed as well. It was indeed something she hadn’t considered.
Well, she’d think about it later. This much should be enough to showcase Makula.
“Everyone, did you enjoy your time with Makula?”
– Did we?
– Yes, I had a really terrible time ^^
– Teacher, please tell us your address!
– This is supposed to be fun, right?
– It feels like she’s just toying with us.
“No way! How could I do that to my precious viewers?”
Parang’s lips curled into a smile.