368 - Broadcasting Genius Han Se-Ah 3

368 - Broadcasting Genius Han Se-Ah 3

TL/Editor: raei

Schedule: 5/week

Illustrations: Posted in discord

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Ellis headed to the top floor with the grand ambition of leeching a salary, only to find the Adventurers' Guild deserted. The city was suffering from the Knights' actions. A junior clerk frantically organized paperwork, his face tense with worry.

In contrast, the low and mid-rank adventurers bustling about since morning seemed perfectly at ease. Any commotion would likely be just squabbles over temporary party distributions, completely unrelated to the clerk's anxiety.

This had to mean bad news had come down from above.

"I'd like to hear about the 51st floor."

"Huh? Why would you- Oh! It's Sir Roland!" The clerk's gloomy expression brightened noticeably as she looked up at me.

Her change in demeanor was quite adorable, prompting comments to pop up in the chat. It seemed the saying about Adventurers' Guild receptionists being hired for their looks rang true. The petite, brown-haired clerk, reminding me of a squirrel, handed over the documents without hesitation.

The number 51 immediately caught my eye. Below it were ominous words: damage report, missing persons, casualties.

"Hmm... I wonder what made them think they could handle that floor."

"What happened?"

"Looks like some mid-rank adventurers who went up as workers got greedy and entered the 51st floor. They must've thought they could escape if needed after hearing it was a plains."

The knowledge that the 51st floor was a vast plains identical to the 1st floor had become a dangerous lure. The documents detailed how these adventurers had carelessly entered the area.

About six parties, totaling forty people - reckless mid-rank fools who'd increased their numbers beyond the average party size - had let their guard down at the sight of the plains. Only two survivors remained. The rest were either missing or dead. And the monsters that had annihilated them? Goblins.

...Goblins?Cheêck out latest novels on n/o/ve/l/bin(.)c/o/m

"Goblins? Forty mid-rank adventurers were defeated by goblins?" I couldn't believe it.

"It says there were some orcs mixed in too," Grace pointed out. "Maybe the survivors' testimony was distorted by panic?"

Grace and Katie had somehow materialized on either side of me to peer at the documents. Irene, standing a step back, made a small sign of the cross, praying for the souls of the dead adventurers.

Han Se-ah, though not approaching directly, placed her camera over the documents and began slowly reading through them, engaging in conversation with her viewers.

These were mid-rank adventurers, trained to a level that normal civilians couldn't hope to beat even if reborn - like professional martial artists or kendo instructors. And they were killed by goblins, who are about as threatening as elementary schoolers with kitchen knives?

This was closer to news of a UFC champion being ambushed and killed by five neighborhood punks wielding rocks. I couldn't help but doubt my eyes.

"What kind of goblins... What? A legion?"

The chat exploded with comments.

-Looks like they're coming in hard to celebrate the start of Season 2.

-Right? It's about time for something like a Demon King's army to show up. How long are they gonna keep using regular monsters?

-Goblins lol. Teacher Roland's sky-high throw is still circulating in shorts.

-Goblin legion with orcs and centaurs, what's next lmao.

"Someone's running towards us," Grace warned. "Looks like the centaurs we saw in the documents."

"Did they spot us before you sensed them?" I asked.

"We noticed each other around the same time, I think."

In the distance, in the direction Grace pointed, we could see clouds of dust rising.

To think their scouting abilities rivaled those of a 5★ detection-specialized character. No wonder the mid-rank adventurers had died without a peep. Actually, it was impressive that even one had made it back alive.

If up to the 50th floor was a space where mid-rank adventurers could risk their lives to earn money, then from the 51st floor on, it seemed to be a level where mid-rank adventurers risked their lives and simply died. Still, they might be fine coming as support for high-rankers.

"Kiyaaaaaaah!"

"Yaaaaaaah!"

"Humans! It's humans!"

I lowered my stance slightly while gripping my shield. Then I heard Han Se-ah's voice from behind.

"I'm going to test out some advanced magic, so hold your position, Roland."

"Got it," I replied.

If I remembered correctly from what I'd seen on her stream, she had learned Call Lightning as a single-target nuke, followed by Summon Ice Storm as an AoE CC skill.

Mana condensed in her staff, swirling about, and my body responded with a shiver. Whether she was trying to expand the range or apply some variation, her mana moved much more than usual. Even the chat speed slowed down, as if preparing to explode with excitement.

The centaurs, trampling the plains grass as they charged, seemed oblivious to Han Se-ah's mana. With the lower body of a horse and the upper body of a human, they'd decorated their torsos with dye-painted tattoos like barbarian warriors.

"Break through! Break through!"

"Kill the human mage!"

They must have instinctively grasped cavalry strategy. After all, cavalry that loses its speed is no different from archers without arrows.

However, thanks to Grace's quick detection, Han Se-ah's magic was completed even faster.

"Summon, Ice Storm!"

A small whirlwind bloomed. A tiny gust that started right beneath the centaurs' hooves suddenly erupted like an oil-soaked flame.

The blue vortex, barely reaching the height of a person's shin, gaped wide like a sinkhole opening up, swallowing all the charging centaurs. Hundreds of mana-infused snowflakes spun fiercely along the vortex, pummeling the enemies' bodies.

"M-must... run..." one of the centaurs gasped.

The centaurs, their bodies frozen a deep blue and lips turned black, staggered out of the storm and collapsed onto the plains with heavy thuds.

"Ah, mana overload..."

And Han Se-ah, who had been under Katie's protection, also collapsed with a thud.

Was she really trying to hustle some money?

...Please tell me that was the case.