The Protagonists Are Murdered by Me - Chapter 10

What is the definition of ‘protagonist?’

It varies from person to person, but I’m referring to the selfish people who grew up eating the blessings of the whole world by themselves.

Furthermore, as the 21st century has changed, there hasn’t been any ‘crisis’ for the protagonists to deal with.

They’re outdated characters.

In the past they’d die, their girlfriends would die, their families would die, their friends would die, or their colleagues would die.

What about these days?

There’s absolutely no such thing.

Nowadays the protagonists just know everything, never put their acquaintances in danger, and overwhelm everything with more power than a villain has.

However, the two protagonists I’ve hunted so far were very weak for a protagonist.

One was the ‘tutorial’ and the other was because I was lucky enough to hunt it when it was sealed.

Then.

What about a protagonist who just started their prologue?

[2…1…0]

[Travel Completed.]

[You are a hunter who came to attack Snow Peak of Paulownia.]

[The protagonist, Lee Yeonjun, is Level 63.]

‘Crazy…’

Shortly after entering the dungeon I had a sour expression, and Celeste who noticed it tilted her head.

“Let’s listen to the briefing first.”

Let’s think about it.

The level of the first protagonist I hunted was 33.

Not to mention his strength, his movements and controls were enough to impress me when I first saw it.

His sword dance was at least above A-Rank, and what if he actually used his full ability?

He was at least D-Rank and his mana output is comparable to a C-Rank.

But he also complemented his speed with ‘technique,’ increased his strength with ‘talent,’ and controlled the rhythm of the duel with ‘judgement.’

All of those things showed a level comparable to Earth’s A-Rank superhumans who simply wielded D-Grade powers.

What about Lee Yeonjun?

Will Lee Yeonjun who was born and raised on Earth have technique, talent, and judgement?

Though classified as C-Rank, does he have perfect body control even though he has only recently awakened?

The other day I overpowered a B-Rank monster.

However, it was only B-rank in brute strength.

Its movements were simple, and I didn’t even have to be careful because it didn’t have any abilities.

In other words, it was just a mob.

This means that it’s different from a C-Rank protagonist.

But let’s say I can kill him somehow.

There was just one other problem.

How am I going to kill him?

Even now, three cameramen are following behind and seven drones are flying in the air.

Each of them is going to be showing the faces of the prospects, so how can I sneak a murder?

Besides, Lee Yeonjun is together with Jang Hyunsuk who is a S-Rank superhuman.

Frankly speaking, if I deal with them now using these equipment I’m 100% certain I’ll lose.

This is driving me crazy.

The briefing ended while I was agonizing over it.

“Then, let’s get going.”

As soon as Jang Hyunsuk spoke, the parties began to enter the first part of the dungeon.

14 people, senior hunters and aspiring hunters.

It was none other than Jang Hyunsuk who led the group.

He is a S-Rank hunter, had a long range ability, and is the most recognizable hunter.

Thirty years ago when monsters first appeared, hunters who did meritorious deeds gained fame.

Because they were the hope of humanity.

But now handsome hunters with good abilities gained fame.

Although all they actually do is appear on TV, people still praised them as heroes.

That’s the way it is.

The C-Rank Dungeon Snow Peak of Paulownia is currently being broadcast live all over the world, and it is drawing attention from other countries as well because two newcomers who have been quite controversial have gathered.

The eldest daughter of the Costantini family who awakened as a D-Rank superhuman at the age of 17.

And Lee Yeonjun, who lived his entire life as an ordinary person, had awakened as a C-Rank superhuman through hard work and diligence.

Viewers aged 19 and older were able to watch the live broadcast by clicking on any tab among the cameras from 1 to 7.

It was also no surprise that Lee Yeonjun and Celeste had the highest ratings.

The reason was simple.

Lee Yeonjun is the first ordinary person with a 0% aether absorption rate to awaken as a superhuman.

And Celeste who caught the attention of the world with her gorgeous appearance to the point where she had become a celebrity.

To be honest, among the seven trainees, Celeste’s ability was the most mediocre.

She was only noticed because she awakened at an early age, but there were plenty of other D-Rank superhumans who awakened before the age of 20.

One hunted monsters with the superpower to pass through matter, another could run at super speed, and there was even one who had a rare psychic power.

While all five superhumans had splendid abilities, Lee Yeonjun and Celeste had normal strengthening abilities.

‘Hmmm. As expected. We got a lot of people on Cam 1.’

Jang Hyunsuk smiled contentedly as he looked at the rising numbers on a thin pad attached to his wrist.

If there’s one thing the public doesn’t know, it’s that there are actually separate channels between a regular channel and an ‘official hunter’ channel.

Despite it being the trainees’ debut, the number of related channels not revealed to the public were tallied separately, with the largest number gathered in the channels of Lee Yeonjun and Jang Hyunsuk.

The reason is simple.

An ordinary person had solved the problem of awakening superpowers through ‘effort’ with the help of his guild.

So there were famous hunters, guild masters, politicians, and advertisers among the viewers who were curious and wanted to unravel the secrets.

While the number of viewers in the public channels were evenly distributed, it seemed natural for officials to flock to Lee Yeonjun’s private cam.

But…

[What’s wrong with Jang Hyunsuk?]

[Why does it seem like he’s the most excited one when it’s the trainee’s debut?]

[Ah. ㅈㄴ so lame.]

[What? ㅠㅠ my oppa is so cool ㅠ.]

Jang Hyunsuk was always popular, but he rarely received such attention when he was solo hunting.

In fact, Jang Hyunsuk had little experience even though he’s high rank, and was just as excited as the trainees were.

He also often flaunted his status as a senior hunter by playing the role of assisting trainees.

His ability ‘flash whip,’ a terrifying superpower where he freely wielded red aether on both hands to cut down enemies at once.

Although it was the most eye catching power among the D through A Ranks here, the officials did not come to see him.

They were already S-Rank themselves or people who come in contact with S-Ranks every day.

They were not interested in Jang Hyunsuk’s ability or rank.

Their interest lies in Lee Yeonjun.

Due to Jang Hyunsuk excessive behavior, officials naturally began to look at the other hunters.

There was another hunter who stood out.

It was Celeste.

Celeste had the lowest viewers among the seven prospects because officials were confident she would be working with Salvatore Costantini in the future anyways.

Besides, what’s the need to analyze her, a normal strengthening superhuman?

Everyone knew she was a talented hunter, but that’s it.

There were many hunters as great or better than her.

So, what they noticed was not Celeste’s superpowers, but her innate ‘talent.’

[Oh my supreme-ruler. Did you see that?]

Someone posted a message in the private channel chat window.

[I can’t believe she’s dealing with the Spring Wolf that way.]

Spring Wolf.

Its attack, which scratches four times by quickly pouncing forward was difficult to respond to with the human reaction, so it was normal to avoid it by sidestepping.

Other aspiring hunters have also been trained by their senior partners in advance, so they have memorized the monsters’ attack patterns.

But even knowing the Spring Wolf’s weakness, it was difficult putting it to use.

And contrary to what was taught by other seniors, Celeste was backstepping instead of avoiding it sideways.

Backstepping against a monster that pounces?

Normally, it would be suicide.

To their surprise, however, Celeste calculated the Spring Wolf’s exact attack range and immediately wielded her sword to cut its neck without stepping sideways to avoid its attacks.

It was also surprising that her D-Rank strengthening overpowered the D-Rank Spring Wolf alone, and the whole process was so smooth that it was admirable enough.

But they were only a little surprised.

Her talent is great, and if she had studied thoroughly in advance, it was only the natural outcome.

However, the way she dealt with the monsters that appeared afterwards was enough to surprise many hunters.

[Hoo. So that’s how you can deal with that? It’s unusual.]

[Hmm…Well, that’s how it is done, but it’s not as easy as it looks. How confident in yourself do you have to be to pull that off?]

Unlike the Lee Yeonjun and Jang Hyunsuk duo who were both being watched, Celeste was the only one being watched of the two.

In fact, Yoo Seodam has been using his aether blade without coating it with aether, and the pistol in his left hand would sometimes fire warning shots.

The support from Yoo Seodam would sometimes catch the eyes of normal viewers who were watching Celeste at the time.

[What? What is he? His shooting skills are no joke.]

[All hunters have to be able to do that to become a hunter.]

[ㄹㅇㅋㅋ]

[The person above, have you ever fired a gun?]

[No, you idiots. Don’t you see? His shots are perfectly timed.]

As the viewer pointed out, Seodam timed his shots.

No matter how weak a pistol is, a small-sized monster would be pushed back.

Like before it could hit Celeste, or when two or three started to gather, or when she was in a bind.

But if it wasn’t really a dangerous moment, his pistol was still.

There were times when Celeste would somehow manage to respond to the enemy in an improbable way even though it seemed like he would have to fire his pistol.

As if he knew that Celeste would successfully block it, Yoo Seodam would remain still.

Viewers began to take notice of Seodam when they viewed Celeste’s channel.

This place is a C-Rank dungeon at best.

Under normal circumstances it was a low level dungeon that nobody cared about.

But, what if there was a hunter who fought the monsters by taking advantage of its minor traits that are not even registered in the monster database?

It was natural to be interested.

At first it was a very small interest.

Interest in just seeing something unusual.

[What’s wrong with the Hook Spider all of a sudden?]

[Oh my. Isn’t that the blood of the Water Driftor? It’s disrupting the spider’s sense of smell.

It’s fine even if you don’t have the full knowledge of every D-Rank monster.

If you’re a S-Rank superhuman you can defeat it with just a lift of your finger.

[No? Wasn’t the 36th step of the Spring Wolf a random jump?]

[How does he know the timing to shoot?]

[He’s pointing his gun as if he knew in advance.]

However, what if you had the knowledge of every monster in the dungeon and not just one two?

What if the person was a 15-year veteran hunter?

How did the hunter who has been fighting on the battlefield for 15 years without a single superpower stick around the battlefield powerless?

In order to confront the powerful forces, what method did the hunter, who had no superpowers, use?

Also, It wasn’t just him.

Among the 17 people gathered here, Yoo Seodam’s physical abilities were the lowest.

Because even the three cameramen who were following the parties were stronger E-Ranks.

However, the viewers were speechless.

The fact that Yoo Seodam is more efficient than any other superhumans.

Very rarely he would pump aether into his aether blade and quickly swung it, or when completely blocked the enemy’s movement with a low-grade pistol that wouldn’t even be used by a veteran hunter.

Moves that were so simple with no splendor.

But in its unglamorous monotone lies its beauty.

[That guy, it’s Yoo Seodam.]

[I’ve heard of him.]

[Is he the hunter who has managed to survived this far as a F-Rank?]

[Huh, so that’s the movement of a F-Rank?]

Although the public may have only recently seen Yoo Seodam through a viral video, very few people knew about Yoo Seodam the hunter.

However, they didn’t feel it was worth paying attention to F-Ranks, but the video helped them change their minds a little bit.

If you’re the only hunter who has survived for 15 years as a F-Rank with no superpowers at all.

[Oh, I remember now. He’s the hunter who spent three years exploring Hell Gate.]

If you’re a hunter who achieved something that even S-Rank hunters didn’t dare to do.

Viewers slowly began to switch.

Normal viewers were still focused on Lee Yeonjun, but hunter officials were beginning to look at Celeste.

“What is this?”

Looking at the number of viewers reflected on his wrist, Yoo Seodam tilted his head.

Although he led some trainees in the past, this system was quite unfamiliar to him because at the time he did not broadcast live like this.

Slowly, the number of ‘interests’ who were watching Celeste began to increase from dozens to hundreds, but Seodam paid little attention to it.

Rather, he was paying attention to Lee Yeonjun.

All of a sudden, Lee Yeonjun violently unleashed his power and jumped into the pack of monsters.

He was acting too recklessly as a trainee.

‘What’s wrong with him? Is he crazy?’

As soon as I thought so.

[The protagonist Lee Yeonjun has gained the skill Take Notice (A).]

[A new hashtag ‘#Broadcast’ will be added to the protagonist Lee Yeonjun.]

[The hashtags summary of the protagonist Lee Yeonjun has been modified.]

#Drug_Strengthened_S-Rank_Hunter_Broadcast
#Fusion_Fantasy #Drugged #Bitter #Comedy #Rapid_Growth #Broadcast

‘…Hey, what the .... is this?’