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[Under-Dok] (TL: A pun on "underdog". The "Dok" is Korean for poison.)

A monster that preys on human sympathy and attacks its unsuspecting prey. It grows by devouring the life force of its victims.

It sprays poison in the air near the vicinity of a wounded person, and waits for prey to come near. Please be mindful of the ground first when approaching an injured person.

It is surprisingly weak against fire.

The human race had been constantly pushed back by the monsters that exhibited strong resistance to modern weapons. But, when the new weapons called superpowers manifested in a few select humans, they were able to start hunting monsters instead.

The appearance of various Monster Streamers could be attributed to being a surge in humanity's confidence.

Even then, from the monsters' point of view, humans remained as prey and a source of protein. The reasons for monsters hunting humans were remarkably similar, too.

As a pastime, to eat, to show off, and for the fame and honour....

And so, the way they hunted humans were varied accordingly.

"Is that an Under-Dok?!"

"Oh my god! Has it taken over the victim already?!"

"Hah... Looks like I'll be writing another explanatory statement."

"Where are the gas masks?"

The expressions of the rescue crew crumpled in unhappiness.

The one-star rated monster, Under-Dok.

A monster that dealt with powerful poisons. It was a silent and dastardly assassin that lurked underneath an injured human being, and when another comes to save this person, it would then poison this would-be saviour.

Thanks to that, the Under-Dok was also one of the monsters that rescue crews watched out for, as well. For various reasons beyond that one, too.

'And she seriously didn't want to listen to our warnings, too!'

'Tsk. She's done for, now.'

'Hah... How should I explain this to the higher-ups now?'

A family was in danger of being totally ruined at this rate. Unfortunately, these rescue workers had witnessed the numerous horrific deaths caused by monsters, so the current scene didn't even qualify as a true tragedy in their eyes.

No, this was simply a 'boring' accident where they saved one but the other ended up dying. That was all.

They were not omnipotent gods, after all. They simply didn't have the leeway to save those troublesome and uncooperative civilians.

They would've liked to avoid writing up lengthy reports, though!

"Hurry up! Hurry!"

"Let's finish this and leave before other monsters show up!!"

"Hurry up with the recovery of the remains!"

The rescuers began putting on the prepared gas masks.

They weren't scared or worried; the Under-Dok didn't possess the ability to mount a physical attack, after all. As long as one wasn't poisoned, it was of no threat whatsoever. Normally.

So, they rushed to clean up the mess in order to depart right away.

That was, with the exception of one person.

"It's too early to give up."

Choi Kahng-Sik spoke while pulling out a lighter from the front pocket of the discarded tent bag.

'And it's not even a dimensional pocket, either.'

He felt like he'd be able to find almost everything he needed from that dang bag.

Since the MS Yu Il-Ahm happened to be an Esper capable of wielding fire, one wouldn't think he'd need to use a lighter. Thanks to his continued insistence that his powers weren't for something as lowly as lighting a campfire, however, Choi Kahng-Sik had to lug one around everywhere.

That said, he didn't expect it to be used in this manner.

*SFX for flames lighting up*

And so, the dry grassland lit up in flames all thanks to a lone lighter.

"Hey! What do you think you are doing?!"

"What about the bodies...?!"

The rescuers cried out in alarm in the midst of putting on their gas masks. They hadn't even gotten around to recovering the bodies yet, but the youth went and started a wildfire!!

Choi Kahng-Sik corrected them, though.

"They are not dead yet."

The Under-Doks only targetted injured humans. Why? Because, they preyed on human's life force, so they needed the person to be alive in the first place.

Choi Kahng-Sik couldn't help but admire the mother and daughter duo's tenacity.

'Wowsers. They're still alive, somehow!'

He now had no choice but to believe that the pretty girl kicked by the Any-Won was still alive. The same goes for the girl's mother who just collapsed to the ground, as well.

That sinister one-star monster didn't kill its poisoned prey right away. You see, an injured person served as excellent bait, and it was true that the more bait there was, the better it would be for the monster's dinner plans.

Before the monster completely sucked out all the life force of its victims, it'd keep them alive.

'And, before that happens....'

Choi Kahng-Sik pulled out a fire extinguisher and ran towards the direction of raging flames.

While still carrying around the extra weight of the camera.

┖ Hey, hey, hey! Mister Cameraman is doing something else now!

┖ Please go and save the pretty girl. ㅠ

┖ Uncle? You are hella better than those Espers, dude.

┖ You save her, and I'll be showering you with Benjamins, man!

Choi Kahng-Sik did not possess a lick of sacrificial spirit or a desire to save another life. No, if he was serious about saving others, he'd have left behind his camera already.

Indeed, his intentions were less than pure.

[A certain god is showing his interest.]

[A certain impatient god is showing a mild interest]

He was going to use this opportunity, this moment when the number of viewers suddenly skyrocketed, to propel himself into the world of Monster Streaming.

….To become the new Monster Streamer, the 'MS'.

'Even if I persevere as a Cameraman, it's still impossible.'

He tried pretty much everything for the past ten years in order get his revenge against the monster Bul-Raid that murdered his family, but not one place took him seriously as he wasn't an Esper.

Those ten years were wasted years, indeed.

'No, that isn't really true, is it?'

Choi Kahng-Sik possessed far more in-depth knowledge than regular Hunters, actually.

He was quite different from most of the Hunters, who were blessed with an exceedingly simple mindset of flinging the most powerful attack they could muster as soon as they spotted a monster.

No, what Choi Kahng-Sik had was the so-called 'wisdom of the weak'.

"The Under-Doks are weak against fire. If you had the chance to read the monster encyclopedia distributed by the Hunter's Association, then you should know this fact already. But still, you should be in the dark as to why this monster is weak against fire."

*SFX for flames raging on*

The flames setting alight the dry grasslands quickly spread on the blowing winds.

It was only a matter of time before the mother and daughter duo would be engulfed!

'Now!'

*SFX for fire extinguisher expelling chemicals*

Choi Kahng-Sik jumped into the fire while spraying the contents of the fire extinguisher. He endured the hot sparks flying at him from everywhere with nothing but pure willpower.

And like this, he ran hard - to where the mother and daughter duo were!!

Of course, he didn't forget to continue streaming.

"The poison of the Under-Dok quickly loses its effects at high temperatures. In other words, fire is more like a weapon to subdue the monster rather than its actual weakness. The b*stard should start moving towards the colder direction soon. And that should be this place, where I am right now."

His immediate surroundings became cooler after he liberally used the fire extinguisher.

He had created the only escape route.

Of course, the one-star monster, Under-Dok, wouldn't die from this kind of fire. But, simply because of the reason that it didn't like its surroundings, there was a good chance that it'd try to get away.

A very, very high probability. that.

"Ahhhh!"

Out of the blue, the pretty girl shot up to her feet and rushed towards him. Not one trace of her cutie-pie persona of before could be found on her right now.

In other words...

┖ XX!! A freaking zombie!

┖ Eeek!! My eyes! >0<

┖ Run! This stream is getting crazier!

The number of comments from the shocked viewers flooded in, but Choi Kahng-Sik decisively ignored them all. He had no time to pay attention to their reactions, after all.

Cold sweat traveled down his back.

'What the hell, isn't this a bit too close for comfort...?'

Just as the distance between the pretty girl and himself narrowed, he suddenly felt dizzy. It was a clear sign of him being poisoned!

The high heat did weaken the poison of the Under-Dok to some degree, but it still wasn't enough. Well, being this close now rendered all of his previous actions meaningless. He couldn't allow the monster occupying the body of the girl to approach him anymore. Though, touching her was no different than killing himself.

Fortunately, he was in possession of a rather wonderful weapon at that moment.

Clang!!

A refreshingly clear sound rang out.

The sound originated from when he swung the fire extinguisher with almost every ounce of strength he could muster, connecting splendidly with the chin of the possessed pretty girl.

"Ah-ahck!!"

The pretty girl issued a shriek and fell down to the ground.

The Under-Dok couldn't mount any sort of offense, since the only means of attack it had was to spread poison around the host it was currently possessing.

[A certain impatient god is showing signs of discomfort.]

[A certain god is criticising you.]

'Everyone, are you itching to see the stream conclude earlier than scheduled? Is that it?'

Choi Kahng-Sik retorted to the gods inwardly while running past the collapsed pretty girl to reach the unconscious Madam.

"Orya!"

He didn't even bother to check whether she was still alive or not, and hoisted her over his left shoulder. He started the wildfire right away and disrupted the monster's mealtime pretty quickly, so there shouldn't have been enough time for the creature to suck the life force out of the captured humans.

If he hesitated just like the rescue crew out of fear of the poison, he would be removing a couple of corpses, instead.

*SFX for flames raging on*

The flames raging on the grasslands were getting fiercer still.

"Kkeuhck!!"

Not wanting to burn to death in this place, Choi Kahng-Sik quickly retreaded the path he created with the fire extinguisher.

Of course, he ran into the possessed pretty girl, too.

"Aouww..."

She looked completely out of it and was in a pitiful state. Still, Choi Kahng-Sik wordlessly lifted the heavy camera up got ready to swing it down on her.

It was then.

*SFX for something popping loudly*

A loud farting noise akin to an old engine misfiring resounded out. A half-transparent gas-like spectre escaped from her body and rose up into the sky.

'Yep, it's running away, as expected.'

The Under-Dok was a spirit-type monster that didn't possess an actual body. One could say that its poison was its main weapon, its main body and even its Core.

Since things weren't working out as it'd like, it quickly gave up and ran away.

Choi Kahng-Sik lowered the camera he used to threaten the monster and breathed out in relief.

'If it didn't come out for real, then I...'

If that happened, well, he'd be left utterly helpless.

He couldn't just abandon the pretty girl like the MS Yu Il-Ahm had done, after all. But, carrying around someone who was no different than a biological weapon was also rather stupid.

In any case, he really was kissed by Lady Luck today.

"Thank you very much for sticking with this low-class stream until now, everyone. From today onwards, the MS Yu Il-Ahm who had sh*t on himself quite thoroughly, will not be appearing before you anymore. Ah, that's right! Maybe you'll get to see me on tonight's news bulletin! Well, my name is Choi Kahng-Sik, a Cameraman who ended up appearing before the camera all thanks to this unexpected incident! Thank you for watching!"

┖ Hul? A Cameraman just declared the end of the stream! ㅋㅋ

┖ Oh, in that case, will you be the one doing the stream in the future?

┖ An MS Cameraman? ㅋㅋ

┖ What an interesting guy! Ok, will see you again! (≥∀≤)/

Choi Kahng-Sik said good-bye to the viewers and turned the camera off, before slinging its strap around his neck. He then lifted the pretty girl with the now-freed hand, placing her on his right shoulder.

And so, he was carrying both the mother and the daughter on his shoulders.

'Seriously, man! The ahjussi from this household owes me a huge thanks!'

Well, he was saving his wife and daughter, so there.

Of course, as far as compensation was concerned, he had earned plenty by now. He got to bring in the most important thing for an MS - the viewers.

The Monster Streamer - MS.

Probably the best job available in the current era.

Would he be able to attract this much attention ever again when, to begin with, he wasn't even an Esper? Today, he had succeeded in taking his first step within the world of the cutthroat industry of the Monster Streamers.

Maintaining a stable viewership remained the most important aspect, but Choi Kahng-Sik wasn't too worried about that.

[A different god is sneakily making an entrance.]

[A certain god is welcoming the new god by spreading popcorn around like confetti.]

[Number of viewers: 4]

Because, the number of viewers on this side increased, that was why. And that, in turn, made the heavy camera feel like a toy for toddlers.

He no longer felt envious of the Espers.

As they rode on the rescue vehicle, one of the rescue crew threw him an off-handed question.

"Hey, man. You were an Esper?"

As if they had agreed to do this in secret, everyone's gaze landed on the youth at the same time. A normal person wouldn't be able to display the level of bravery as he did against a monster, that was why.

"..."

"....Gulp."

They pressured him for answers with silence.

Choi Kahng-Sik finally replied as his eyes caught the site of Seoul getting ever closer through the window.

"No. I'm just..."

Should he say he's an apostle of a god?

[Eyes of a certain god are sparkling brightly.]

"Actually, I'm an aspiring Monster Streamer. As an aside, I'm also an atheist."

[A certain god received a mental shock.]

< Chapter 5: Viewers (1) > Fin.

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