NOVEL NEXT Chapter 40
Mo-ba mo-ba
B-b-b-b-b-b
Ga-ji-ma ga-ji-ma ga-ji-ma
The broadcast ending screen shows viewers desperately trying to catch Momo-bin.
Si-yoon rests her chin on one hand, glancing at the incoming chat messages.
Since she can’t just rush outside right now, she sinks into her thoughts.
In the living room, a faint sound catches her attention.
She occasionally spots messages popping up under her sister’s ID in the chat.
That means her sister must have discovered the Merk cup she left in the living room.
‘There’s no way I’ve been caught this easily…?’
She deliberates for a long time.
If it were up to her, she’d love to gift every type of merchandise, but that would be the same as revealing she’s Momo-bin.
She would feel too shy to bear it, and her sister’s fantasy about Momo-bin would shatter.
It didn’t seem like a good method for either of them.
On the flip side, ignoring it wasn’t easy either.
How much did she want that cup, that she even went out for a secondhand deal…?
In the end, Si-yoon gifted her sister the mug she wanted most.
Now, the timing is crucial.
After a sufficient time gap following the broadcast, she needs to emerge from her room.
She must explain where the mug came from and how she had watched it on the show, all with solid plausibility.
“It’s all or nothing, all or nothing….”
Si-yoon pumped herself up.
Enough time had passed, so she slowly heads to the living room.
Cautiously, she opens the door and peeks into the living room.
Hup, heh…
“…?”
Her sister is sitting on the sofa, sniffling.
She had expected her sister would be either expressionless, focused on something, or wearing a friendly smile.
This was a completely unforeseen scene.
“It’s so, moving…”
The opened goods mug on the table rises into the air.
Her sister naturally holds the handle and takes a sip of her drink, then returns the mug back to the table.
No matter how many times she saw it, it was a fascinating sight, but Si-yoon was slowly getting used to it.
Huh…
Out of nowhere, her sister wipes her eyes with a handkerchief.
Si-yoon stepped into the living room, wearing a slightly sour expression and approached her sister cautiously.
Only after Si-yoon got close did Si-hyun look up.
“Oh, is work over?”
“Uh-huh… What are you doing?”
Si-yoon looks at Si-hyun’s hands.
“Oh, this?”
Si-hyun shows her sibling what she’s holding so clearly.
It was the female protagonist’s fantasy novel.
“This was recommended by a student. It’s an incredible masterpiece…”
“R-really…?”
“Since I bought it as a book, do you want to read it too? It’s really, really fun.”
“Oh, okay. I’ll read it after you finish.”
Si-yoon answered awkwardly.
After their conversation wrapped up, Si-hyun turned her attention back to the book.
‘…Nothing unusual, huh?’
If she had suspected or caught on to anything, there would have been some reaction.
Her sister continued to immerse herself in her reading.
Si-yoon pondered whether to let it slide like this.
However, just ignoring it felt too off.
She stood still, crossing her arms in contemplation.
Regardless, Si-hyun kept diving deeper into her book.
‘Forget it!’
Si-yoon boldly made her choice.
“How about the mug? Do you like it?”
“…Ah, yeah! I really like it. Thanks, Si-yoon!”
“I’m glad to hear that!”
As Si-yoon cheered happily, Si-hyun smiled back at her.
“You liked Momo-bin’s broadcast too, huh? Do you watch it whenever you can while working? At night, you just suggest watching something else since you’ve seen it all, right?”
“…Uh, yeah?”
“Hehe.”
When Si-yoon went along with it, Si-hyun flashed a clear smile and turned back to her book.
Si-yoon scratched her cheek with a slightly uneasy expression.
By some twist of fate, she had become her own biggest fan.
*
The next day.
Si-hyun got into the Wings Guild’s van and headed towards the dungeon.
At that moment, Han-gyeol handed her an item.
“Si-hyun, this was given to me by the master to pass on to you.”
“…Ah, thank you.”
What she received was the video recording equipment she had ordered earlier.
Even though live broadcasting inside the dungeon was impossible, filming itself was feasible.
In fact, the videos produced occasionally by the management office were all filmed and edited that way.
Using that point, Si-hyun planned to initially showcase video materials during her lecture.
Once all the equipment she had ordered was ready, she aimed to enhance the quality of her lecture with rich audiovisual materials.
After all, once you make them, both the equipment and videos could be used endlessly.
Si-hyun intended to invest generously in production costs.
Thanks to Da-young’s suggestion, they not only got help with adapting to C-rank dungeons but also saved a lot of money.
“They’re making the rest step by step, so it won’t take long.”
“Ah, that’s a relief.”
Si-hyun nodded in satisfaction.
Of course, the sooner, the better, but as long as there was no major delay, she was satisfied.
Even when the equipment was finished, making the learning materials would require time anyway.
So she decided not to rush things.
“Si-hyun! Si-hyun!”
“…Yes?”
While she was lightly organizing her thoughts, a man in the backseat called out to her.
“I heard that’s a VR device, right? Can we see it after you’re finished?”
“Um… Is that okay?”
“You need to test it before showing it to the students!”
“Oh, definitely.”
Testing is important. That’s a solid point.
As Si-hyun nodded, the two men high-fived and continued talking.
“Should we help with the filming as well?”
“Isn’t it too much to do it all alone?”
“…Can we do that?”
“Of course!”
When Si-hyun hesitated, a group of men responded in unison.
Seeing them was like watching a pack of well-trained large dogs, making Si-hyun grin.
At the same time, the faces of the Wings Guild members, who witnessed her lovely smile, were disarmed in an instant.
‘Ah… I really did well being born into this world!’
‘Life can be this beautiful!’
‘All the struggles I faced just seem to fade away!’
One by one, their smiles spread and their shoulders relaxed.
Today, the atmosphere in the Wings Guild’s van was lively.
They moved inside the C-rank dungeon.
Si-hyun cast appropriate buffs on the men and then put yesterday’s plans into action.
After glancing at those engaged in combat with monsters, she quietly squatted down and began using earth-element magic.
The earth beneath began to squirm and shake.
The surrounding soil gathered, gradually rising up.
The shape of a squat monster began to form.
“I should change its color too, right?”
She added details to the earth goblin that still maintained the original earthy tone.
The dull brown skin slowly shifted to a deep green.
“Si-hyun, what are you doing?”
Before long, Han-gyeol approached Si-hyun, who seemed to be busy.
While still focusing on the earth goblin, Si-hyun responded.
“I’m making a model.”
“A model, huh?”
Han-gyeol looked perplexed.
He kept glancing back and forth between Si-hyun’s serious expression and the earth goblin.
Si-hyun’s demeanor was as serious as when they had broken into the boss room the other day.
‘How on earth did she make that…?’
Even though this wasn’t the first time he had seen Si-hyun’s antics, he couldn’t believe how quickly she had produced a goblin.
Eventually, Han-gyeol gave up trying to understand.
“Uh, what are you going to use it for?”
“It’s for a lecture.”
Si-hyun, still adding details to the goblin, replied without looking away.
She was putting in that much effort.
‘For a lecture…?’
That meant it was something to show students at the Academy.
In that moment, an idea struck Han-gyeol’s mind!
The Academy students were going to envy the heck out of this opportunity.
“Si-hyun, about this part here…”
Han-gyeol squatted down next to Si-hyun.
He offered various suggestions for details to her.
“…Ah, I missed a detail there. Thank you!”
“No problem! Haha!”
The goblin’s details began coming to life more and more.
Then suddenly—
“Si-hyun! What are you doing?”
“Wow! What’s this? A goblin?”
“Is it, is it alive?”
D-rank men approached them one after another.
At first, they were startled by the goblin.
But once they heard its purpose…
“What are you going to use it for?”
“It’s for a teaching material.”
“Aha!”
Once they learned the goblin’s purpose, everyone chimes in with their opinions on the creation.
“Let’s make it so that students won’t let their guard down around goblins!”
“How about making the eyes like this?”
“…Oh.”
Various ideas come forth, and Si-hyun adds details.
‘Truly, having a lot of people is a good thing.’ She thought.
Thus, that day, a fearsome and hideous goblin model was born.
The finished model looked even more eerie and fierce than a real goblin.
*
In a luxurious apartment in Seoul.
A man with a deeply furrowed brow clutched his smartphone, lost in thought.
Yu Byeong-jun, an S-rank Hunter and spear specialist in South Korea.
“Damn girl…”
Recently, sleepless nights haunted him, all because of Hunter Kim Ji-a, who relentlessly pursued him.
To stand tall as the best spear-user in Korea, he had used every means at his disposal.
When he was at a lower rank, he would intercept the dungeons Kim Ji-a committed to.
Then, once he leveled up, he hoped she’d just vanish, even going so far as to set up situations to steer her toward the dungeons she feared.
But Kim Ji-a didn’t stop.
She brushed aside every challenge thrown at her without breaking a sweat.
With quivering fingers, Byeong-jun checked the Hunter’s community for any updates.
[Title: Did you hear the news?]
[Anonymous]
“I heard Kim Ji-a successfully conquered yet another B-rank dungeon in the provinces lol.”
– Alone?
└ Yeah, she soloed it.
└ Crazy girl; isn’t she afraid?
– I tried dropping down to a lower rank alone after watching the news, but it was tough lol.
└ Not something anyone can do lol.
└ There’s a reason people form parties.
└ A 2-person party is totally doable, but going solo is seriously hard.
– Isn’t she about to hit A-rank?
└ For real?
– How many A-rank dungeons are in Korea right now?
[Title: It’s crazy even overseas, lol]
[Anonymous]
“I occasionally lurk in foreign communities, and every time they suggest hiring Kim Ji-a, I get filled with national pride lol.”
– Hahaha!!!
– I agree, I agree.
– Would she even go? lol
– Damn, another mention of Kim Ji-a…
Byeong-jun looked up with a thoroughly crumpled expression.
All he could see were posts praising Kim Ji-a, both here and there.
He was certain he was the best spear specialist in Korea, yet hardly anyone mentioned him.
“…Is that the only way?”
This can’t go on like this.
His growth has stagnated, while that girl keeps getting stronger.
His hindrances had been ineffective.
If it’s like that, he needed to outperform her and prove himself.
Byeong-jun contacted his secretary.
“I’ll be heading to an A-rank dungeon next week, so adjust the schedule and have it reserved.”
– Yes, understood.
Byeong-jun clenched and unclenched his fist, gritting his teeth.