Chapter 14

4 I couldn’t tell how much time had passed. I had trouble breathing, and muscles all over my body had grown stiff or seized up entirely. [A small number of constellations are impressed by your will to survive!] [They have donated 100 coins.] But I held on. I endured because I believed I could endure. I looked to the faint glow of the thorns in the darkness to assure myself that I was still alive. And I felt the monster’s stomach wall as it slowly grew cold to assure myself that it was dying. [Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire is amazed by your persistence.] [They have donated 100 coins.] When I was hungry, I moved my mouth near the thorn and lapped up the fluid that seeped out of it. The concentrate contained the angler dragon’s life essence that was being sucked out by the thorn. The reason I’d drank the Hammer Seahorse’s Mucus previously was so that I could safely consume this concentrate. [You have absorbed the angler dragon’s power. Your stamina has increased slightly.] I hadn’t consumed enough of it to gain stat points yet, but by the time I made it out of here, I should have gained about two points of stamina. It was one of a few tricks to boost your stamina early on without spending coins. …This isn’t a dream, is it? Vague thoughts drifted through my consciousness like passages of a novel. Can I really do this? I’m just an ordinary reader. Not the main character. It felt like I’d wake up screaming on my bed at any moment, but no matter how many times I closed and opened my eyes, no such miracle happened. ……I wonder if mother is okay. I’m sure she is. It’s mother I’m talking about. Every time digestive acid drained from the bottom of the stomach, I drifted off to sleep. And every time cold river water poured in from the gullet, I jolted awake. Then, at last, the angler dragon’s digestive cycle stopped. Its stomach wall, pressed against my back, rapidly lost its warmth, and the supple texture of its viscera grew rigid. The angler dragon was dead. ……That’s incredible. A bright electric current pierced the darkness. The blurry shape of Bihyeong was floating in midair. Who knew a Stone Hog’s Thorn could be used like that? I had no idea. Did you? Bihyeong spoke as he eyed the Stone Hog’s Thorn glowing faintly in the dark. Stone hogs live near the shore and eat small aquatic species. They pierce their prey’s body with these thorns to desiccate them. To think he’d jam them into the stomach acid gland… Bihyeong’s glowing eyes weren’t looking at me. Naturally, his explanation wasn’t meant for me, either. [A very small number of constellations smile knowingly.] [They have donated 100 coins.] [A small number of constellations finally understand what you were doing.] [Constellations complain that you should talk to yourself while doing these things so they can understand what’s going on.] I ignored the constellations’ messages and drank the last of the concentrate. [You have absorbed the angler dragon’s power.] [Your stamina has increased!] [Stamina Lv.11 -> Stamina Lv.12] With that, I’d accomplished my goals. Bihyeong floated down next to me and continued with his commentary, touching my arm to bring attention to the blackened skin. And this…… Even I didn’t know Hammer Seahorse’s Mucus had this kind of effect… My skin should’ve been melted off by the angler dragon’s stomach acid. I picked up where Bihyeong had trailed off. “Hammer Seahorse’s Mucus protects against digestive fluid. They evolved this way because they’re often preyed upon by angler dragons.” [A small number of constellations are impressed by your knowledge.] Bihyeong shot me a look of betrayal. Excuse me, explaining is my job… “Well, it sounded like you didn’t know what you were talking about. Anyway, are you done with your nature documentary?” ……Yes. “Then give me my reward.” You snarky little—! As Bihyeong grumbled, the reward messages began to appear. [The hidden scenario has ended.] [You have received 9,000 coins as a reward.] [You have become the first person to successfully hunt a level-7 aquatic species.] [You have received 1,000 coins as a reward for this achievement.] Nine thousand coins, plus an extra thousand. Not bad at all. [Coins Owned: 14,800C] Including the five hundred I’d received as donations during my unexpected stint as an extreme survival streamer, my total earnings amounted to ten thousand five hundred coins. This was well above my goal. Ha-ha, did you all enjoy that? We’ll be right back with the next scenario after a quick commercial break! With that, I heard the muted sound of a commercial. “Special package for a new scenario! Eight thousand eight hundred coins, limited time only!” and so on……With the constellations’ eyes no longer on us, Bihyeong floated down to me and spoke, sounding nothing but friendly. Phew…… What a banger of a survival scenario. The constellations’ reactions were incredible, too. “How long has it been?” Four days. Four nerve-racking days. You didn’t even know how many days had passed? “My phone battery was dead.” This had taken much longer than I’d planned. My original goal had been two days……Still, it wasn’t a bad record, considering Junghyeok Yu also took four days to do this on his fourth loop. Anyway, I’d done it. A pleasant wave of satisfaction washed over me and boosted my confidence. I was a normal person with ordinary abilities. But that didn’t mean I was limited to only achieving ordinary things. “…How funny.” It was strange. A work of fiction that had been useless to me all my life had transformed this ordinary human into an extraordinary one. Ooh, you’re already speaking your thoughts out loud? “……” You’re a natural, aren’t you? Talking to yourself is a must for any incarnation looking to put on a good show. Of course, some constellations don’t like it ’cause it seems too contrived, but— “Whatever. Just open the Goblin Shop already.” Why? Is there something you want to buy? “Buying and selling both.” Ugh, then I’ll have to cut the commercials short. Dear constellations, let me check the audio real quick. While Bihyeong was opening the shop, I surveyed the thorns in the angler dragon’s stomach wall. As the stomach wall had dried up and hardened, cracks had formed around the thorns. The stomach lining had become brittle enough for me to break apart with my strength stat. I dug deeper and deeper, picking at the crack with the last remaining thorn. Soon, I came upon an object shining with a brilliant blue light. [Angler Dragon’s Nucleus] It was an aether core found in a level-7 or higher monster. A valuable item that can increase your magic power if processed and consumed. And since it was coming from a sea commander–level angler dragon, it was in pristine quality. I carefully cut the nucleus out of the flesh. Bihyeong looked at me incredulously. “I’m selling it.” Seriously, you— “But I’m not selling it to you. Put it up for auction.” It looked like Bihyeong had given up trying to ask questions and had decided to just accept what I was doing. Haah… Whatever. So how much do you want to list it for? “No coins. Exchange only.” Damn, how do you know all this stuff? Bihyeong grumbled but put it up for auction as I’d asked. He may be single-mindedly greedy, but he’s pretty easy to work with. “Someone will want to buy it soon. Make sure it’s traded for Broken Faith.” Broken Faith? Would anyone even have that…? Anyway, I registered the auction. “Okay. And I want to buy……” I looked at White Star Weapon Aura in the shop. As I’d thought, no one had bought it yet. Most of the constellations didn’t know which items had good value. The Goblin Shop used every trick in the book to empty out the constellations’ pockets, and a higher price tag didn’t always mean higher quality. Wait. Before that, can we talk first? The volume of the commercials went up again after Bihyeong spoke. [Constellations are complaining about the long commercial break.] I saw that the same ads were being looped, and realized what Bihyeong was about to say. “Is it about the contract?” The commercial break was the only way to block out viewers without shutting off the channel. And what we were about to discuss was not something the constellations should hear. Yeah. I was on the fence, but watching you clear this scenario convinced me. Well…let’s give it a shot. It won’t be easy, but I can bail you out here and there. “That’s against the storyteller’s oath, isn’t it?” Oh, of course I can’t blatantly help you. I was just saying. Anyway, you’ll sign it, right? “What are the terms?” Read it for yourself. Bihyeong had already prepared the contract. Typical goblin. I began reading the contract that appeared in a holographic window. <Stream Contract Agreement> Incarnation Dokja Kim (Party A) will form an exclusive contract with Goblin Bihyeong (Party B), effective until all scenarios are completed or he dies. “…I’m Party A?” Ha-ha. Humans obsess over that stuff, right? Even though it’s meaningless here. Anyway, keep reading. 2. Party A must not choose a sponsoring constellation until all scenarios are completed or he dies. I’d expected this part. 3. Party A must only appear in the channel run by Party B. 4. Party A and Party B will share all profits coming from the stream contract. Ratio to be agreed upon. … 10. Should Party A or Party B breach this contract, they will be disintegrated, in accordance with Star Stream regulations. I carefully read to the last line. The contract was surprisingly well written. I’d fully expected the goblin to try to take advantage of me with all kinds of loopholes and hidden clauses, but it was actually quite fair and straightforward. Well, except for one thing. “There’s an important part that’s missing.” You mean signatures? You can just say you agree. A stream contract is a soul oath, so— “I’m talking about the ratio.” O-oh. Ha-ha. Right. Tch, acting like he forgot. That was the most important part. Bihyeong hesitated for a bit, then spoke up like he was doing me a great favor. How about an even half-half? And I’ll waive your channel usage fees. Oh, you know how to calculate the profit, right? We’ll evenly split all the donations you receive. For example, if you receive a hundred coins, we each take fifty. This was how stream contracts worked. A constellation would have their incarnation appear on a goblin’s channel and would split the donations the incarnation received from other constellations. That was how profits were divided…under normal circumstances. “You think I’m stupid? I’m not signing this.” What? But that’s the industry standard… “I’m an incarnation without a sponsor. In order to donate coins to someone like me, constellations have to pay an exorbitant commission to the goblin. You’ve been making bank from that, haven’t you?” Bihyeong’s jaw fell open. I ignored his cartoonish expression and continued. “Ten to zero. You’ll be set with the commissions alone. I’m not giving you a single coin.” What? That’s ridiculous… H-how about seven to three? This was a big increase from his initial offer, but I wasn’t compromising. “Ten to zero.” You’ve gotta be kidding me! Ten to zero? That’s bull— “Never mind, then. I’ll go to a different channel. I hear Gildal’s channel is trending these days. So I should try there.” …Eight to two. I can’t go lower than that. “Ten to zero.” …… Bihyeong’s face turned scary. He looked ready to make my head explode at any moment. But I knew he couldn’t give up on this contract. After all, I’m the last hope he’s got. “The ads are almost over. Can’t you see the constellations complaining?” Finally, Bihyeong seemed to give up. Damn it, fine. So do we have a deal? Oh? He’d given in much more easily than I’d expected. The truth is, I was willing to settle for nine to one…Maybe this bastard was making even more money from commissions than I’d thought. How annoying. “Oh, one more thing.” What? There’s more? “The signing bonus is not included. My five thousand coins. Cough it up.” Bihyeong stared at me blankly. Seriously, you’re… I smiled. You stupid goblin, I’ll show you why humans care so much about being Party A. The things you can do with a contract if you’re Party A… [The stream contract has been signed.] [You have received 5,000 coins as a signing bonus.] Soon after, the ads ended, and constellations returned to the channel. I patted the goblin’s shoulder. “Now then, shall I get out of here?” This is where the real game starts.