"Puhaaaa…!!!"
Having fallen down the long esophagus of the Ichthyosaur and landed in what I assumed to be its stomach, I flailed for a moment before grabbing onto some building debris that had been swallowed along with me, climbing up and lying down.
It's a relief I reinforced my body with Cursed Energy; if I had fallen without taking any measures, my death would have been certain.
"…Phew, first of all, aside from that."
I swept my wet hair back and looked around.
Walls with a squishy texture emitting a slight red glow. Zombies floating on the water. And an unknown stench.
I frowned at the sight, which was more disgusting than I had expected.
[Scenario Clear Failed.]
[Paid service settlement will begin.]
[100 Coins have been deducted for the channel usage fee.]
[The Constellation, 'Prisoner of the Golden Headband', applauds your struggle.]
[You have been sponsored 100 Coins.]
[The Constellation, 'Demonic Judge of Fire', frowns at your despicableness.]
[The Constellation, 'Secretive Plotter', hums at your judgment.]
Quite a few messages arrived while I was falling down the Ichthyosaur's esophagus.
Ignoring the reactions of the Constellations, what I needed to focus on was the message stating that I failed to clear the scenario.
Unlike the Main Scenario, the penalty for failure wasn't clearly written as death, so it certainly wouldn't mean immediate death.
If that's the case….
"…Dokkaebi."
[Haha, were you waiting for me? I wonder why?]
"I'm asking about the scenario penalty."
[Hmm? What do you mean by that? Naturally, the price for failing the scenario is your life, isn't it?]
[If that were the case, it would have been written as 'Death' in the failure section from the beginning. Am I wrong?]
[…Hahaha, how interesting.]
The Dokkaebi applauded me, asking if I deduced that far with just such a clue.
However, since that praise contained a bit of mockery, it only made me feel lousy.
[Yes~, as you guessed, failing a Sub Scenario does not result in immediate death. That is, if you can pay the Coins. But…, it doesn't seem like you possess that many Coins?]
"…."
[Coins Possessed: 1,500 C]
The amount of Coins I possess is 1,500.
I don't know exactly how much value this amount holds, but seeing that raising a stat from 1 to 10 requires 1,500 Coins, it definitely seems insufficient.
However.
"Then create a new Hidden Scenario."
[…What?]
I had no intention of negotiating with this guy anyway.
I will get out of here without paying a single Coin.
[…Haha, it seems you don't quite understand your position because you're receiving attention from quite a few Constellations right now. You are a bug. A bug. A bug that dies with a single wave of my hand!]
"Then try killing me."
[…Uh?]
The Dokkaebi's expression stiffened for a moment.
Why, did you not expect me to react like this?
"I don't know who you are or what you do. But I know this one thing. You are a broadcaster."
If it were a broadcaster with a large number of viewers, commonly called a 'big corporation', they practically wouldn't need to mind the viewers. If they cared about every single small remark, they would end up losing the viewers who had been watching them until now.
In other words, in that case, the broadcaster is the 'Master' (A) and the viewer is the 'Servant' (B).
But for a broadcaster who isn't like that, the roles of Master and Servant are reversed.
This Dokkaebi's viewers total 21. Seeing how he said things were going well because 21 people were watching, his usual viewer count must be even lower.
If that is the case.
"You have no choice but to walk on eggshells around the Constellations, am I wrong?"
[…Ha, haha. Hahaha!! Yes, that's right! But so what! Even if you say that, the fact that you will die because you cannot pay a certain amount of Coins does not change!]
The Dokkaebi burst into laughter, telling me to know my place as if it were absurd.
At that sight, I couldn't help but let out a faint sigh.
"You're stupid, Dokkaebi. I don't even need to look it up to know. You don't know how to broadcast."
[…How dare a insignificant human spout such words—]
"If you're so confident, why don't you check the reactions of the Constellations you're so afraid of?"
[…What do you—]
Startled by my words, the Dokkaebi hurriedly checked the reactions of the Constellations.
Then, his face slowly began to distort.
[The Constellation, 'Prisoner of the Golden Headband', pulls his hair out at your astounding remark.]
[The Constellation, 'Monarch of the Small Fries', boos the Dokkaebi who cannot say anything back to your eloquence.]
[The Constellation, 'Abyssal Black Flame Dragon', smirks.]
[A majority of Constellations begin to grab popcorn at the moves you are about to make.]
"I ask you again, Dokkaebi. Are you going to let me, who makes your viewers excited, die just like this?"
[T-This guy…!!]
The Dokkaebi gritted his teeth, flashing red eyes.
Keep getting angry all you want; does the situation change?
-Ring!
"…Mm?"
…The situation did change.
[A Hidden Scenario has arrived!]
[Hidden Scenario - Commander Slayer]
Category: Hidden
Difficulty: A+
Clear Condition: Kill the Ichthyosaur 'Sea Commander' and escape from its stomach.
Time Limit: 10 days
Reward: 9,000 Coins
Failure: Death
To a situation very disadvantageous for that Dokkaebi.
[N-No. Why did this suddenly!?]
He began to howl with a shocked expression, saying he couldn't understand the current situation.
…Don't tell me that guy doesn't know about Hidden Scenarios?
"Since my business with you is done, let's pretend the scenario issue never happened. Now get lost."
[This bastard, seriously since earlier…!! A-And do you think you can clear a scenario with A+ difficulty alone?!]
"Hmm…."
[Fine, let's negotiate! If you pay me 5,000 Coins within a month…, no. 3,000 Coins, I'll pretend this never happened….]
"Why do you think I can't clear it?"
[…What?]
I sneered at him once, then stepped on the floating debris one by one, heading somewhere.
The destination was the least dense section of the stomach wall, found by scanning the surroundings with Cursed Energy.
Arriving there, I briefly touched the wall and began to concentrate.
[D-Don't tell me you intend to tear through the stomach wall and get out?! You're stupid! The Sea Commander is a 7th-grade monster species! With your current skills—]
"…Shut up a bit. I can't concentrate."
[….]
I realized it instinctively.
I cannot get out of here with Cleave (捌). Meaning, I must get out using Dismantle (解).
However, the stomach wall has started to squirm; it seems the Sea Commander's gastric acid will cover this place soon.
Time is not sufficient. I must get out of here as quickly as possible.
Can I do it? As the Dokkaebi said, can I escape this place with my current skills?
-Thump, thump….
No, it's not 'Can I do it?'. I must do it.
Let's imagine freely. My future self who has transcended limits.
The image of me tearing through this monster's stomach wall and exiting.
-Thump, thump.
Suddenly, the sound stops. Has the surrounding become quiet? No. The surroundings haven't changed. The only thing that changed is me. It was because I fell into a high level of concentration, enough not to feel what was around me, enough not to hear anything. However, that is not important to me. What is important to me right now is.
-Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
Kill this bastard. Tear this bastard apart. Win. Escape.
Only that.
"My Dismantle (解) is a technique that fires invisible slashes at high speed, cutting as if with a formless sword."
Revealing One's Hand (Resonance).
As the phrase implies, the act of intentionally informing the opponent about the nature, activation conditions, or weaknesses of one's technique. It is truly a restriction of 'creating disadvantageous conditions for oneself.'
However, for a Jujutsu Sorcerer, this can become a double-edged sword.
"Scale of the Dragon (龍鱗), Recoil (반발), Twin Meteors (한 쌍의 유성)."
Incantations (Jusa/呪詞) corresponding to the spell, and Hand Signs (Jang-in/掌印) representing hand movements.
For a Sorcerer who can use Jujutsu even while omitting incantations and hand signs, performing them completely to use Jujutsu becomes a restriction that creates disadvantageous conditions for oneself, just like 'Revealing One's Hand' mentioned earlier.
-Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
Revealing One's Hand. And Incantations and Hand Signs.
The common point between these two is that they are restrictions that create disadvantageous conditions for oneself. In other words, this becomes a form of 'Binding Vow' (Sokbak/束縛) for the Sorcerer.
Binding Vow. It is a kind of equivalent exchange. By intentionally adding disadvantageous conditions to oneself, one can strengthen the effect of the technique.
-Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
Extreme concentration with death right before my eyes.
The Binding Vow regarding Revealing One's Hand and not omitting Incantations and Hand Signs.
Magic Power stats strengthened by Coins.
And finally, although not yet fully bloomed, the talent as a Jujutsu Sorcerer that might rival that man called the strongest Sorcerer in history.
-Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
.
.
.
One possibility and miracle that germinates as all the above conditions begin to mesh together.
When an attack imbued with Cursed Energy is performed, a spatial distortion phenomenon occurs when the error between the time of physical impact and the time of Cursed Energy collision is within 0.000001 seconds.
At this time, the Cursed Energy takes on a black color instead of the original blue, and possesses power to the power of 2.5 of a normal attack.
Sorcerers name this as such.
"Dismantle (解)."
-Pajijijijik—!!!!
Black Flash (Heukseom/黑閃).
-Kwa-a-a-a-ang—!!!!!!
-Kieeeeeek─!!!!!!!!!
Dismantle flies while tearing through the stomach wall at high speed accompanied by flashing black sparks.
It continues straight without any thought of stopping, eventually disappearing beyond the horizon.
Pieces of the Sea Commander's flesh and blood falling down like rain.
Watching that scene quietly, I closed my eyes silently and savored it.
[You have experienced Black Flash.]
[The attribute, 'Jujutsu Sorcerer', is further strengthened.]
[Understanding of the attribute, 'Shrine', increases.]
[A majority of Constellations are astonished as if they cannot believe the scene before their eyes!]
[The Constellations have sponsored 500 Coins.]
[The Constellation, 'Prisoner of the Golden Headband', rejoices and pulls his hair out!]
[The Constellation, 'Abyssal Black Flame Dragon', eyes sparkle at the technique the Incarnation, 'Kang Yuhyeon', just fired!]
….
Sh*tty alarm messages. Not even giving me a moment to savor the lingering feeling.
Should I ask the Dokkaebi?
Well, leaving that aside….
[The Hidden Scenario has ended.]
[You have obtained 9,000 Coins as a reward.]
[You have succeeded in hunting a 7th-grade monster species for the first time.]
[You have obtained 1,000 Coins as an achievement reward.]
"Now, shall we move on to the next step."
I frowned momentarily at the slowly rising sunset light and began to walk.
Of course, before that, I took everything I could get from the Ichthyosaur and came out.