Huu… glug. Delicious.
Just tasting it alone brings out such a rich flavor already.
As expected, soup (or stew) is all-purpose.
It’s tasty as is, but adding in a rich dipping sauce is also good. Plus, just lifting the whole earthen pot for a one-shot is pretty nice.
“When it’s complete, I’ll pour in some radish kimchi broth and chug it down in one go!”
– No, seriously, what a gluttonㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ thinking about downing that terrible soup in one goㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– That young lady… really enjoys her food…
“What’s wrong with that? When I went to the mutation raid dungeon, I even got compliments from the other hunters for this!”
[‘KawaiiHorned’ has donated 10,000 won!]
Oh come on, seriously, sis….
– ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– Screw thisㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– Who even praised that?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– For realㅋㅋ
– Maybe someone like Yane or the hero would praise you?
– Hero: Even I think that’s a bit…
Oh ho, does Menelapie not know that she has to support me unconditionally?
Hmph. Doesn’t matter.
Anyway, no matter what you all say, Walker bone soup is definitely the best. It’s divine and invincible!
Ah, what am I cooking right now?
Other than that, it’s the Walker bone soup I cooked last time in the mutation raid dungeon.
Since I turned on the broadcast, I had to eat something, but couldn’t think of anything, so I ultimately chose soup (or stew) that fills you up any time, and in fact, the most delicious soup (or stew) I know is Walker bone soup.
I was getting a bit tired of only broadcasting from home. When I entered a dungeon near the Han River for a change of pace, I felt quite happy to see a Walker after a long time.
[Kuhh…eek…]
“Hey, get in the pot nicely!”
It seemed like the Walker wanted to escape from the large cooking pot, but opening and closing the lid often while boiling the soup is a major cause for the taste going down.
Even if I can’t cook much, I took some pride in successfully making Walker bone soup last time.
During the raid dungeon strategy, not only did I cook it, but 19 other A-grade hunters also said my soup was tasty, so definitely, it’s one of the few dishes I can show off to others.
By the way, since the last mutation raid dungeon, Walkers have been spotted here and there in other dungeons.
It’s quite common for a dungeon to absorb certain elements and spawn multiple monsters.
Since the rank of Walkers that appear ranges from D to C, aside from their bizarre appearance resembling a human’s limbs twisted and stretched unnaturally, they aren’t very difficult monsters and don’t pose much of a problem.
Originally, their body strength was quite weak, so even D-grade hunter parties could hunt them down easily if they worked together, so some hunters welcomed the appearance of this new prey.
They also say that the bones and materials from Walkers sell decently in the Hunter market.
Well, for me, it’s only worth a meal’s price, though.
“Th-thank you!”
And next to me, a D-grade hunter who looked about 30 was bowing his head.
Because the dungeon’s structure was complex, he almost got attacked by a Walker, and I saved him.
“How can I repay this favor…”
“You don’t need a reason to save someone, right?”
“Ohh… really, thank you…”
Eating Walker bone soup and saving someone makes for a good day.
However, that guy doesn’t seem to know me at all.
Even though my recognition has been increasing, it’s not strange for busy hunters not to know me.
Even my mom said that when she was a D-grade hunter, she was too busy to even watch TV, let alone be a hunter streamer.
It’s probably not unusual that a lot of lower-ranked hunters don’t know me.
Of course, I’m not particularly disappointed that they don’t recognize me.
“You must be hungry; want to eat together?”
“Huh?”
– Why are you offering that?ㅋㅋ
– Glutton, would you eat that? Oh, you were cooking it to eat…
– Glutton… glutton…
Bubbling…!
[Kuh, ex…]
Pfft!
“Sorry, this isn’t dead yet. Anyway, it’s tasty; want to eat together?”
– ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– Walker: kill me…
– 엌ㅋㅋㅋ
“No, it’s fine! Hahaha… I’m not hungry at all… so, um, I’ll go find my party members. Good luck with dungeon exploration and broadcasting, Isia hunter!…”
“Uh-huh, take care~”
Sigh, this is delicious…. Shaking my hand a few times at the back of the hunter who left in such a hurry, I stirred the ladle of the soup again.
Well, if you’re not going to eat, it doesn’t matter.
You poor souls who don’t know the greatness of Walker bone soup…
[‘Selling fried leaves’ has donated 5,000 won!]
Give that to me!
Is that Small Olga…?
That girl had once given in to carnivorous corruption, and now seeing her reach for soup (or stew) too, she seems completely Korean now.
“Oh, sorry. It’s not tasty if you don’t eat it right after cooking. Last time, I cooked Walker bone soup that was about a week old again and it was pretty tasteless…”
–?
–That’s not a matter of taste; soup (or stew) definitely goes bad if left in the refrigerator for a week…
“Ah, should I have put it in the refrigerator…?”
–?
–What?
–??
–Excuse me, I can’t believe the holy maiden forgot to put it in the fridge…
“No… I just forgot…”
–법친ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
–ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Stirring the Walker bone soup, I recalled the important message the Hunter Association had sent me earlier…
“So, it was called the Hunter Train…”
From what I checked on Hunter Wiki, the original purpose of the Hunter Train was to fulfill the basic duty and mission of hunters to prevent the destruction.
A long time ago, due to the Great Rift, humanity was brought to the brink of extinction. Many sacrifices and time were spent, and we barely managed to restore civilization and cities, but even today, we haven’t restored 100% of the territory from before the Great Rift.
In such a situation, the Hunter Train was born.
When the Second Great Rift incident reached a somewhat manageable phase, the first Hunter Train appeared.
Its meaning was to again reclaim human territories by loading numerous hunters onto specially designed massive trains integrated with the technology of returnees, departing from Busan in Korea, and touring countries wherever a railroad leads to Japan, Russia, China, to attack gates and dungeons and hunt monsters that invaded human territories.
What began in East Asia has now become a near-international event, including Europe and the Americas.
Bubbling…!
“Ah, is it done?”
It’s all done, but the bad oil floating on the surface means I need to skim that off first.
And…
The biggest factor determining the taste of bone soup is the smell, but as everyone knows, I have a universal purification beam.
“Purification beam!!!!”
[Miracle – Purification]
Today, I shot the purification beam from my mouth.
–What the heck, you shot a beam from your mouthㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
–Is that purification beam or drool?
–엌ㅋㅋ
–So, the soup (or stew) is blessed with the holy maiden’s drool… how exquisite…
–I definitely won’t eat that.
–Beam!
Once I used purification, the murky smell that was rising before began to give off a refreshing, clean fragrance.
Good. Bone soup preparation is complete.
Now, I just need to invest some time and let it boil.
I sat down near the large pot and turned on my smartwatch to check Hunter Wiki again.
There were many complicated details, but luckily someone who likes to summarize had a decent overview of the Hunter Train.
“The initial purpose of the Hunter Train was to reclaim human territories from monsters, regardless of the country… So, does that mean it’s not the case now?”
–Not that it’s incorrect now, but the purpose has changed a bit…
[‘Bald beam firing saint’ has donated 30,000 won!]
You can think of it as the Hunter Train taking the place of the Olympics.
–엌ㅋㅋ Oh, it feels like a long time since I heard thatㅋㅋㅋ
–That makes sense; it fits perfectly with the Olympics.
–What’s the Olympics? you nerds.
–Are you all excited for your insider knowledge?
–Fckㅋㅋㅋㅋ Now there are kids who don’t even know what the Olympics areㅋㅋㅋㅋ*
–Damn older guys…sigh… back in my day! If we were at the Mart’s home appliance section during the Olympics, people would gather together to cheer and go wild…
“Wow, you sound really old.”
–What the f?
–Huh?
–What?
–You crossed the line.
–ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[‘Zero Paps is great’ has donated 8,000 won!]
Oh, c’mon, master! Aren’t we comrades? You are a returnee too!
“Well, it’s not bad to call it old, right…? I’m not saying I’m young, so it’s not a lie.”
–Ahhh
–How fun the Olympics is…
–Stop right there…
–ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
–엌ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Old folks must be raging since they got abandoned by the Gallery Master?
–But wasn’t the Gallery Master also old?
–Didn’t they say last time that his mental age was 21? Just an old baby with a lot of age…
–Wow, are you legally reaching the age limit?
–?
–Isn’t that crossing the line?
Well, that’s okay.
Such malicious behavior is nothing new, so I won’t make a fuss about it.
In fact, I won’t have a problem even if Menelapie finds out later and makes a big deal about it…
“Anyway, simply put, you can see the Hunter Train as the new Olympics of the hunter era?”
–ㅇㅇㅇㅇ
–For real.
But who even watches the Olympics these days?ㅋㅋ
–For real, even regular people won’t watch it no matter how hard they try, it’s just boring.
Watching hunters streamer is way more interestingㅋㅋ
Even if you gather all Olympic athletes, a few D-grade hunters could easily win against them.
Well, considering that awakened ones emerged, it’s inevitable that the Olympics and World Cups would become obsolete.
Now it’s become a reality where people can fly around or spew fire, so it’s only natural that the prestige of sporting events like the Olympics has dropped.
Well, even without that, when the Great Rift incident happened, humanity was on the verge of extinction, so I doubt there would have been any leisure to hold the Olympics.
“Well, I guess existing World Cups and Olympics don’t really fit this era much anymore.”
As hunter streamers became more active among the public, the viewership for surely would have elevated as well.
I suppose it won’t be easy to attract viewers with just the Olympics or World Cup anymore.
–And I assume that it’ll even go in live broadcasting? ㅇㅇ
–I saw a creepy photo of reporters stationed at stations, and it gave me the chills.
Even hunter streamers could bring their personal drones with them to shoot footage.
I heard that Cheon Ah-Young and Moon Heoseok are also participating in the upcoming Hunter Trainㅇㅇ
–No mentioning other channels please.
Huh? Has the master ever said that?
Never, right?
–Yeah, no one hasㅋㅋ
–What’s up with you playing manager?
Cheon Ah…. Wasn’t she the nice girl who shared a wyvern egg stew with me before I even started my broadcast?
Hmm, she was quite sweet; she even offered me plain rice back then… I won’t forget the grace bestowed by plain rice.
Thanks to her, I could enjoy the wyvern egg stew quite deliciously.
I should repay that kindness someday.
“Oh, should I bring this to Cheon Ah-Young?”
Seeing her enjoy wyvern egg stew, she seems to like food as much as I do…
[‘KawaiiHorned’ has donated 100,000 won!]
Please don’t do that after receiving it… A-Young’s stomach is weak…
“Huh… really…?”
– ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– For realㅋㅋㅋ
Back then I had been starving for three days and ended up sharing a wyvern egg with the Gallery Masterㅋㅋ
After that, I kept learning about the Hunter Train while reading information from the wiki.
According to Hunter Wiki, the Hunter Train has a longer history than expected.
Today, the Hunter Train even serves the role of replacing international sports competitions like the Olympics and the World Cup.
With high-ranked hunters from each country participating, it’s one of the best events to showcase a nation’s strength and competitiveness. Hunting monsters rather than killing each other among hunters is the fundamental theme.
You might wonder where all those dungeons, gates, and monsters came from.
Now that it’s a peaceful world, where are dungeons for hundreds of high-ranked hunters to hunt?
Don’t you usually just crush them?
However, although the world has risen from destruction and civilization and cities have been rebuilt, still 40% of the world’s areas are still occupied by monsters.
Even with regular runs of the Hunter Train, humanity hasn’t managed to reclaim all the land.
Especially in vast and hard-to-manage areas like China, Russia, Australia, the U.S., and the Amazon in South America, it’s even more challenging.
Although some peace and safety for human living areas are guaranteed, fighting monsters is still the reality.
Even Korea, considered one of the safest countries, has regions of North Korea that have turned into places where people can’t live due to monsters and gates.
As a result of the Great Rift, the areas corresponding to South Korea managed to survive with cooperation and alliances with other countries, except for Yeonseo’s existence, but North Korea tried to solve everything on their own by refusing external access during the Great Rift and faced total destruction as a country.
So in the end, the only regions where people could live and have infrastructure concentrated were in South Korea, while over 90% of North Korea became filled with monsters and gates, making it impossible for anyone to live.
I suppose the reason why South Korean men still have to serve in the military is that North Korea has become a paradise for monsters.
“Hmm… the Hunter Train…”
That prize money of trillions is probably a mix of exaggeration and hype, but it’s been piquing my interest, especially since I wasn’t sure what to broadcast anyway.
‘And above all… my house seems to be getting cramped.’
For now, my place is a returnee shelter given by the Returnee Management Bureau.
I can’t remember whether it’s 24 or 26 pyeong, but there’s one bathroom, a large living room, and a small room where I sometimes start my broadcasts.
Although it was excessively spacious for just living alone, the current number of people in my house includes Yane, Menelapie, and my mom, making it a total of four.
Considering my mom just turned adult, that’s acceptable, but both Menelapie and I are over 180cm in height, and Yane has noticeably grown to about 174cm after I recently fed her some Fragment of the Demon King.
She’s probably still growing, so soon she’ll be around my height.
Thus, it’s only natural that I’m starting to feel the house getting cramped.
It’s not that I’m short on money.
The mutation raid dungeon where I cooked Walker bone soup, and from the issues that Small Olga brought me from the Elf Great Forest, I received significant rewards. The Hunter Association also agreed to give me a considerable sum once the accounts for the Mapo District erosion incident involving Menelapie and Lirisia are settled.
However… the food expenses alone probably reach the hundreds of millions a month, so with the money I currently own, it seems a bit challenging to move out, doesn’t it?
If I were to mention it to Yeonseo or Yeonhwa, they’d probably help out, but as a saint, it feels guilty to constantly lean on others.
I’m not completely useless and have the means to manage to some extent, so participating in the Hunter Train doesn’t sound too bad.
It sounds not too bad, to top it off, with a prize of 2 trillion—it’s too tempting to pass up.
But shouldn’t I as a saint be this easily swayed by money…?
‘Hmm, what to do… I don’t want the nickname of capitalistic saint to grow along with being called a troublemaker saint.’
Ding ding!
At that moment, my smartwatch rang again.
Is it Yeonhwa?
“Hello. I, Isia, am philosophically pondering the relationship between money, broadcasting, and food. If you have nothing to discuss, please leave a simple message.”
[Hello! This is Choi Bomi, Director of the Returnee Management Bureau!]
“…….Huh.”
– ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Is this person always blabbering when a public servant calls? Is that a passive skill?ㅋㅋ
“Oh, come on, shut up!”
“Cough, um. Oh, what’s going on?”
– You’re speaking informally to a government employee? Are you the type to disregard people in service jobs?
Not that I didn’t say I could speak informally to Director Choi Bomi…
“…..What’s going on, Director Choi Bomi?”
[It’s not a big deal, but I wanted to check if you received the message sent by the Hunter Association for you!]
“Ah, about the Hunter Train?”
[Yes, yes! It’s a relief that you received the message! All the effort I made by pushing the Hunter Association paid off!]
“Huh?”
Why was Director Choi Bomi pushing for this?
[Actually, do you remember the last time? The Hunter Association requested that they not give you assignments every month but to promote you to S-grade Hunter as soon as possible?]
“Huh? Me?”
Really…?
Oh, I remember now.
I think I heard that the Hunter Association would lend me an AI drone and extend my stay at the Returnee Shelter, and that once I became an S-grade Hunter, I would be given ownership of both the shelter and the drone.
To begin with, if I become an S-grade Hunter, I wouldn’t have to worry about money for life…
Anyway, the Hunter Association wanted me to become a shield to protect humanity as an S-grade Hunter.
[But since you’ve declined to participate in the S-grade promotion, the Association is quite bewildered.]
“That couldn’t be helped. I had personal matters.”
That was the time when I met my mom and smashed those leech-like guys from the San Guild who had kidnapped her…
[Yes, the Association understood that part! So, I’m asking you, Isia… could you please participate in the Hunter Train this time?]
“The Hunter Train?”
I was already inclined to join, but is there a reason Director Choi Bomi reached out to me first?
[The Association is also looking forward to you, but they are particularly hopeful about Menelapie as well. After all, she can be seen as your partner, right?]
“Uh, well, that’s true.”
Although it’s more than just a partner.
[That’s why in some parts of the Association, it seems like they’re overly excited about having two S-grade Hunters comparable to Yeonseo! While the basic direction of the Hunter Train is to patrol and deal with monsters across countries, it can also be seen as a venue for competitive rivalry among countries featuring representative hunters.]
Listening to Director Choi Bomi, I nodded.
She’s probably saying this without hiding anything since she’s been tipped off by Yeonseo…
Well, I more or less expected this.
International cooperation generally works like that.
As long as the world isn’t collapsing right now…no, maybe even if it’s on the brink of destruction, humanity will actively engage in power struggles nearly instinctively.
I thought the Hunter Train would be no exception.
[If you participate in this Hunter Train, the results can be used officially by the Association. That way, both you and Menelapie could become S-grade Hunters together if all goes well!]
“Hmm, is there nothing else?”
[Uh, something else…?]
“I live in a cramped house.”
[Uh….]
“I didn’t notice it when I was living alone, but now, living with Menelapie, my mom, and Yane, it’s starting to feel a bit cramped?”
[Yane…?]
“Well, that’s the case. Anyway, are you going to buy me a house?”
Hearing that, I could feel Director Choi Bomi’s surprise in her voice.
It’s understandable; if it were regular people, they would be overjoyed to even have the chance to become an S-grade Hunter, but…
You can’t just send me off to work for free just for an S-grade title.
Theresa acted like that.
It’s one thing for the poor or those without means, but for those with money, they should collect what’s owed to them.
[Aren’t you already quite rich? Once you become an S-grade Hunter, you can easily buy a house…]
“Nah nah. Just let the Returnee Management Bureau cover it.”
[………………….]
–Ugh;
–But, surprisingly cute?
–Honestly, you’re a total beauty, considering you’re acting all cute with that look.
–If only it weren’t for the Walker bone soup boiling next to you, this would have matched perfectly!ㅋㅋ
–Ah, a beautiful maiden should always have bone soup as their foundational quality, isn’t it?
[Ah, I’ll try to propose that!]
“Alright! Thank you! Then please consider my participation positively!”
[Yeah…]
–ㅋㅋㅋ Aren’t you just shamelessly asking for your house on stream?
–ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
–But anyway, the Gallery Master has also earned quite a bit, right?
–Since the Returnee Management Bureau makes a profit every year, they likely have surplus budget available as well…
Well, I’d need to buy some some midge repellent for the vice-minister, I decided to ignore the follow-up comments from Director Choi Bomi.
In the future, I might need to write a thank-you note to the Minister.
“Oh, when does the Hunter Train leave?”
[There’s still about a month left. By the way, all the recipients of the Hunter Train invitations are high-grade hunters. There’s a hotel reserved for the Hunter folks to stay until the train departs in Busan, where the Hunter Association is located.]
“Ooh, a hotel?”
That’s quite nice.
It was getting hotter by the day.
My family used to escape the heat every summer, going to the beach or the mountains.
Since returning, I hadn’t thought of going on a summer vacation…
“Can my family also go?”
[Um… we do carry trainees or journalists on the Hunter Train, but bringing family along is somewhat rare…]
“My mom is a hunter. Menelapie can also manage herself.”
[Hmm…]
“If needed, I could ask Yeonseo or Yeonhwa as well?”
[No! I’ll handle it myself!]
I guess Yeonseo is a calamity just by being involved with the Returnee Management Bureau or the Hunter Association.
Alright.
So my next plan is set.
I’ll take Yane, Menelapie, and my mom to Busan for a fun trip, and then hop on the Hunter Train for a thrilling ride!
“Thank you, Director Choi Bomi.”
“Yes….”
And with Director Choi Bomi’s strangely worn-out voice, I ended the call on my smartwatch.
–So, are you really going to participate in the Hunter Train, Gallery Master?
–You really going?
“Don’t you think so? They said it outright.”
Honestly, I’d already planned to go, but pretending I wasn’t is more fun.
–Wow, so the next broadcast will be from the Hunter Train?
–That’s awesome, right?ㅋㅋ
–This will be the first experience of the Hunter Train for the Gallery Master.
–The Gallery Master would definitely be prioritized in the monster hunt of the Hunter Train.
–No, other S-grade hunters might join too.
–The broadcast is going to be lit!
“Still, as I’m participating in the Hunter Train, I plan to work hard.”
Since Director Choi Bomi just sounded so tired, I figured I should try my best to redeem her expectations, right?
I’m planning to go with Menelapie, Yane, and my mom, so I better have a good trip.
“So, I plan to broadcast from Busan next.”
–What are you going to do in Busan?
–What’s in Busan?
Haeundae?
“Hmm, maybe wearing a swimsuit?”
–?
–??
– ?
A brief silence fell over the chat window.
–Yane swimsuit!
–ㅇ! Yes! Yane!!!!
–Please put Yane in a swimsuit!
–Please!
“Hey!! I’m the one wearing a swimsuit! Why are you all looking for Yane?!”
–Hero!!!
–You’re a hero now!
–Please put Menelapie in a swimsuit, I beg you!
–Please!
“Don’t you want to know about me too?!”
–That’s true…. But I feel like Master has a belly from always eating like a pig….
“What the heck?!!!”
Do I have a belly?
Hah. Unbelievable.
Alright, let’s see if you’re all still laughing when I start my broadcast from Busan later.
–KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
–What is thisㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– 엌ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
“What’s up, why is everyone laughing?”
Suddenly, I had to tilt my head in confusion at the chat’s reactions filled with laughter.
[‘KawaiiHorned’ has donated 50,000 won!]
“Uh, your soup (or stew) is running away?”
“What?”
Only then did I see the large pot of bone soup that should’ve been bubbling next to me was gone.
Shifting my gaze a bit, I saw that the bottom of the soup pot, like a glass window, had been cracked, and a bizarrely weird arm and leg of a Walker were desperately trying to escape my sight.
…I cooked it for a long time, and it didn’t die…?
Of course, through that gap, all the soup (or stew) that I diligently boiled had spilled out, leaving a long trace like Hansel and Gretel left behind.
“…………………..”
–ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
–엌ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
–Oh no, it’s a walking bone soup!!
“My bone souuuupp!!!”
