The Rice-Eating Hero’s Capitalist Streaming - Chapter 60
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Capitalist Streaming of a Freeloading Hero
Episode 60
Constellation’s Game [Lyka]
Today was quite busy from the morning.
It wasn’t that I was short on time since I woke up early as usual.
But going from Seongseo to Sangam during rush hour… was more grueling than I thought.
And when I arrived at the location, my mindset was far more determined than usual.
What do I mean by that?
‘First place. I absolutely have to get first place.’
It was because while stamping the supplementary contract for filming this morning, I saw a part that made my heart race.
[* Players who survive all competitive missions and achieve 1st-3rd place can choose one of the following special rewards as compensation.]
[1. Guild Membership Selection Right]
[2. A-Rank Hunter License]
[3. 500,000 LP]
[Selection will be made by participants in order of highest rank, and once a reward is chosen, other participants cannot select it.]
Even 300,000 LP would have made my nostrils flare, but this insane prize money had nearly doubled!
If I get that huge sum of 500,000 LP, not only could I pay off all our family debt in one go, but I’d also get incredibly close to unlocking unique equipment.
So I absolutely have to get first place here by any means necessary.
Wouldn’t just making it into the top 3 give me a chance?
Possibilities aren’t enough.
If I barely scrape into 3rd place and don’t get the prize money, I might cry from frustration.
Of course, our PD Jeongmin Lee just scoffed at my ambition.
[First place? Are you insane… or what?]
[I’m not insane.]
[Didn’t you hear what I said? The average participant level is almost 40!]
[I’ve reached level 35 too.]
[No, that’s actually impressive, but… you know Seong-hwan Lee?]
[I know of him.]
[There are at least ten monsters like that.]
[Anyway, I’m going to get first place, so keep that in mind, PD sir.]
[Your groundless confidence is insane.]
[So if you get the chance, maybe try some cheating too.]
[Bullshit. Even as a joke, don’t say stuff like that…]
[Come on, aren’t we friends?]
Anyway, after meeting up with Jeongmin and having a quick lunch, filming time finally approached.
“Participant Geon-ryul Lee?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Please come this way.”
And with a determined expression, I arrived at the filming location and slowly entered the stage interior following the staff’s guidance.
President Jeong kept confidently appealing that it would be an incredible scale…
‘They rented out the entire dome stadium.’
The scene that met my eyes as I entered the stage was truly spectacular.
“Well, there’s about 20 minutes left until filming, so please make yourselves comfortable.”
“Your seat is over here, so please don’t leave this area. It’s better to use the restroom beforehand.”
Above the dome stadium… brilliant lights and dozens of drone cameras were illuminating the stage from all directions.
Most of the participants who had arrived were already lined up in their designated spots in neat rows and columns.
And the most shocking part was the enormous crowd of spectators filling the stadium.
Wasn’t this supposed to be just a variety show with unknown rookies participating?
Even if the mentors are well-known rankers…
Why did so many people gather to watch these little kids?
“Phew.”
While thinking this, I looked around and saw quite diverse participants warming up in their respective spots.
Since they said missions would start right from the first filming, they seemed to be preheating their bodies in advance.
Well, some participants were greeting each other and chatting, apparently having prior connections.
“…”
Not particularly interested in such things, I just waited for filming to begin.
And when those somewhat boring 20 minutes had passed.
“Alright! Thank you for waiting!”
Along with bright white lights pouring onto the platform, a high-pitched voice that thunderously echoed through the stadium broke my idle thoughts.
‘Oh.’
The person who then walked up onto the platform was a man quite familiar to my eyes.
Kim Sinwoo, the nation’s top hunter specialist caster, dressed in an immaculate tuxedo.
How does a returnee know all these people?
I could say I naturally learned about them from diligently watching shorts from after work until bedtime.
Maybe it’s because my algorithm is entirely filled with Gate-related content.
I even developed internal familiarity with famous people in this industry.
Anyway…
Walking to the center of the stage, he began the proceedings with his characteristically refreshing voice.
“The greatest survival show on earth to determine South Korea’s top hunter! The entrance ceremony for <Hunters School 3> begins now!”
Waaaah―!
As soon as Kim Sinwoo finished speaking, thunderous cheers erupted from all directions, and I couldn’t help but be startled once again.
I had confirmed before filming that the audience seats were packed full.
But actually hearing those people shouting gave me chills throughout my body.
Hmm.
This suddenly feels a bit burdensome.
Surely my parents won’t find out before the first episode even airs… right?
By the way, this Kim Sinwoo fellow has quite the voice.
He’s probably holding a high-performance microphone, but his voice doesn’t get drowned out even in this massive cheering.
“Now, no need for long explanations, right? The stage where you’ll take your entrance exam is revealed right now!”
When Kim Sinwoo raised his hand high, the floor of the stadium where the mentees stood became transparent with a grand sound effect.
And from underground, a massive holographic image began rising.
Rumble―!
Ohhh―!
Cheers erupted from the audience seats once again.
This time I was quite surprised too.
This is probably like a dungeon implemented in virtual reality…
The quality and scale are considerable?
“Wow…”
Collapsed building forests and vine-covered roads, N Seoul Tower broken in half.
This was… Seoul as a ruined city implemented on an overwhelming scale.
If Seoul had failed to prevent Gate outbreaks in the early days like some South American country.
It might look like this by now.
But somehow looking at it gives me an inexplicable sense of déjà vu…
Must be my imagination, right?
“This is insane.”
“Look at that quality.”
The other mentees standing around me seemed quite surprised too, each expressing admiration in small voices.
But I was concentrating more intently, observing the details of the hologram map.
The strange angle of the collapsed 63 Building debris.
The placement of that rusted pipeline crossing Gangnam Boulevard.
And even the locations of manholes scattered throughout the roads.
‘What? Why does this look so familiar?’
But my thoughts couldn’t continue any further.
The host’s explanation was beginning to resume.
“The theme of this mission is [Virtual Dungeon: Frozen Seoul]! And the meaning of this mission is precisely…”
Two large characters appeared on the screen.
[Grade Determination Battle]
“This is your initial grade determination battle.”
As soon as Kim Sinwoo finished speaking, the audience fell silent.
Especially the participants’ eyes began to shine with a completely different feeling than before.
And this was a natural reaction.
The meaning of these words “grade determination battle” was something anyone familiar with the <Hunters School> series could anticipate.
The representative format of Hunters School that assigns each participant their respective grade and differentiates all treatment based on that grade.
Moreover, the higher the grade you’re ranked from the start, the more opportunities you’ll have to build recognition…
From the mentee participants’ perspective, this was a mission they had no choice but to be fired up about.
“Shortly, you will enter [Frozen Seoul], where you must survive for 240 minutes…”
The host continued with a brief explanation of the dungeon’s rules, and the contents were quite interesting.
And those contents were…
Ding-!
All contained in this system window that appeared like a hologram.
〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓
< Main Scenario : Frozen Seoul >
∎ Basic Rules
* Each participant will be summoned to random coordinates on the dungeon’s outskirts.
* This is a farming-type dungeon. External items cannot be used inside the dungeon.
∎ Victory Conditions
Survive for the time limit of 240 minutes.
Final rankings will be determined based on survival time.
In case of final survival, rankings will be determined through mentors’ [Final Evaluation].
All participants who succeed in final survival will receive [Badge of Honor] as a reward.
∎ Core Objective : Maintaining Body Temperature
Starting body temperature: 37.0°C
The ‘Frozen Seoul’ dungeon becomes increasingly cold as time passes.
Moving toward the dungeon’s center allows you to obtain more diverse means to protect your body temperature, but more dangerous monsters appear.
Cooperation between participants is encouraged to overcome the dungeon’s challenges.
If you can perceive and utilize the dungeon’s hidden systems, you’ll be able to achieve better results.
Death determination: When all life force is depleted due to combat or when consciousness is lost due to hypothermia, you will be moved outside the dungeon.
Recovery means: Absorbing [Heat Orbs].
* Each [Heat Orb] can recover 0.1°C of body temperature.
* [Heat Orbs] can be obtained when defeating ‘monsters’.
* When defeating ‘participants’, you can obtain the [Heat Orbs] that participant possessed.
∎ Dungeon Boss
Lord of Bitter Cold, General Winter
(General Winter)
When the boss is defeated, all players’ body temperature decrease rate is reduced by 50%.
The player who defeats it will no longer experience body temperature decrease.
※ Warning!
Boss defeat is not a mandatory condition for dungeon clearing, and therefore it is extremely powerful.
〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓
As soon as all the rules were revealed, the venue buzzed with chatter.
“Hmm… random spawn?”
“This makes forming teams difficult too.”
“It’s completely individual competition.”
“Hey, PvP is allowed. This means… it’ll be brutal from the first mission?”
Anxious voices erupted from here and there.
Especially the faces of healer and support-type participants turned pale.
If they encountered powerful monsters or combat class participants while alone…
Depending on the situation, they could literally become trapped rats.
‘Certainly, this is spicy.’
And once the explanation of all rules was finished, several participants raised their hands and began asking questions.
“At what temperature does body temperature result in death determination?!”
This was something I was definitely curious about too.
Since it’s also the most important rule in this mission.
“That will vary from person to person.”
Kim Sinwoo paused briefly before continuing.
“The production team considered around 25°C as the limit body temperature, but the mentors said they’d be comfortable even at 17-18°C.”
Oh ho.
Then it’s not a system-controlled method…
The venue buzzed again, and new questions followed.
“What is the Badge of Honor obtained upon victory used for?”
The answer to this question came immediately.
“During the course of this <Hunters School 3>, the ‘Badge of Honor’ will serve as currency. Beyond this, we cannot tell you more yet.”
Questions continued after that, but from my perspective, there weren’t any particularly nutritious questions.
“Are parties possible?”
“They are possible!”
“Is it possible for all participants to survive?”
“Theoretically possible, but we think it’s close to impossible.”
However, just one thing.
There was one question that instinctively caught my ear.
“Can Heat Orbs be traded by any chance?”
“It’s possible. All trading between participants inside the dungeon is free.”
Perhaps for Rice Eater, there was no content more important than this.
‘For now… first place should be the top priority here. But still, if possible, should I eat rice… ?’
Thinking thoughts that would have made the Constellations curse first if they heard, I burned with even more motivation.
But come to think of it… I probably can’t turn on streaming during the entrance mission.
Since this isn’t a real Gate.
This is a bit disappointing?
I heard that if you turn on streaming during <Hunters School> missions, Constellation sponsorships pour in tremendously.
“…”
While I was having such thoughts for a moment, question time ended.
“But don’t worry too much, everyone!”
Perhaps because the participants’ expressions were varied, host Kim Sinwoo’s expression was all smiles.
“In this first mission, not a single participant will be eliminated.”
Oh, at least they have some conscience?
“This mission might be an opportunity for some, and might feel unreasonable to others…”
“But mentee grades are scheduled to change plenty through future missions, so if you do your best, opportunities will surely come again.”
And the next moment.
Whirrrr-!
The figures of the five mentors appeared on the largest screen in the center of the Dome Stadium.
“These five mentors here will never use only your ‘force’ as their evaluation criteria!”
The mentees’ expressions brightened somewhat after hearing the host’s words.
Though they still didn’t know what would be done with the rankings assigned here.
Just the fact that there would be no ‘elimination’ was quite reassuring.
Of course, the host’s words were no small comfort to me as well.
This way, at least… the first round and the second round.
I’ve secured 4,000 in appearance fees, haven’t I?
Hehe.
I was thinking such thoughts when…
“Now then… let’s begin the entrance ceremony for <Hunters School 3>! Transport!”
With the host’s spirited shout, a brilliant pillar of light engulfed the participants and swirled around them.
Paaaaat―!
And then…
[Checking participant identification code.]
[Conditions have been met.]
[Entering virtual dungeon, ‘Frozen Seoul’.]
The real show had begun.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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