Chapter 15: Reversal of fortunes (3)

“Kill it.”

The moment I spoke, the [Ice Spear] spell was fired almost simultaneously, reaching the Hubbert instantly.

• Ting
• Ting
• Ting

The Ice Spears struck Hubbert’s body relentlessly. Before long,

• Bang

It swayed and collapsed to the ground.

“Waaaaaaa!!!”

The onlookers erupted in cheers. The comment section is flooded with real-time messages.

• Wow, how do you take down Hubbert?
• Wait, how many times did he cast that spell?
• Is there a skill for duplication?
• ????????

Most people were beyond astonishment and awe; they couldn’t comprehend how what they were witnessing was even happening. They could only gather that he was utilizing external mana from watching the mana being absorbed into Choi Joo-won’s body.

Numerous communities began to circulate gifs of the skill that the Masked Instructor had just used.

[How to Hunt Hubbert Like a Common Creator]

• What the heck is this? Seriously?
• I’d have chosen to be a mage if I could cast magic like that instead of being a warrior.
• No, that’s something you’re born with.
• No, they say it’s possible if you use external mana.
• That’s nonsense. Is that even possible?
• I think it might be… or not? Anyway, I’m off to submit my application to be a disciple.

The live broadcast featuring the Masked Instructor had already become a major issue, but as footage of him solo-clearing an A-rank dungeon began to spread across various communities, even those who had initially thought he was just an amateur mage began to flock to Jang Hyena’s channel to watch the live broadcast.

At that moment, Jang Hyena’s livestream surpassed 2.5 million viewers.

This was a record that would go down in NATUBE history for a personal live broadcast.

‘This… this is insane… How many people are actually watching this?’

Jang Hyena was in a daze as she watched the viewer count soar.

The number of livestream viewers does not simply increase because a creator has many subscribers.

Most of NATUBE’s creators’ videos are viewed because the NATUBE magic AI recommends them to users; only about 10% to 20% come from direct searches.

In simpler terms, if a video hits 2 million views, only about 100,000 to 200,000 people search for the creator’s name to watch it.

This means that the number of loyal subscribers is only that much.

The remaining 1.8 million viewers are watching because the video appeared on their home screens due to the recommendation algorithm.

Especially lately, Jang Hyena had been keenly aware of this because she had been monitoring her declining view counts.

‘There are only about 50,000 people who search for me and watch…’

The low view count compared to her subscribers and the low loyalty subscriber ratio were phenomena resulting from her focus on one-off content dealing with “issues” and “curiosities.”

When she covered topics that piqued people’s curiosity or became trending issues, viewers would subscribe out of interest.

However, since these issues didn’t always align with everyone’s interests, there weren’t many who consistently followed her content.

‘If I can just keep this going, it’ll blow up!’

But as the number of live viewers proved, the Masked Instructor’s content was not something that would end as a one-off.

More than a million people wanted to watch a single man clear a dungeon in real-time, not just edited highlights.

If this clearing process were to be uploaded as a video, the view count would skyrocket through the algorithm.

Finishing that thought, Jang Hyena shouted.

“Everyone! The Masked Instructor has taken down the mid-boss of an A-rank dungeon! He cleared it at an unbelievable speed and has finally reached the final boss! You are witnessing a moment in history right now!”

Though she exaggerated her words for entertainment, they were not incorrect.

Until now, mages had been treated as inferior to warriors in dungeons because of challenging passive skills possessed by monsters like Hubbert that made it difficult to defeat them with ranged attacks.

‘But… who would think a mage is inferior to a warrior after seeing that?’

The sight of over a hundred Ice Spears raining down like hail in real-time would be etched in the minds of many.

In future debates about whether mages or warriors are superior, the Masked Instructor’s name would certainly be mentioned as an example.

• Kiiiiiing

At that moment, Choi Joo-won opened the door to the dungeon where the final boss resided.

• Kuguuu
• Guguuung

The ground began to shake violently, and the final boss appeared.

In the last dungeon, there were no other monsters present; only the final boss stood alone.

The more singular the entity is in a dungeon without other monsters, the exponentially higher the difficulty becomes.

[Human, why have you come here?]

An enormous resonance of mana echoed in the air as a Death Knight, clad in a knight’s helmet and armor and wielding a spear and shield, emerged.

Choi Joo-won replied, “Why do you think I’m here? I came to clear the dungeon, you monster.”

[Craaaaahhhh!]

The Death Knight’s roar reverberated with tremendous noise. He spoke in a fierce voice.

[Do you dare insult me, a creature like you, by calling me a monster? I was known as the Swordmaster in my previous life, leading countless knights as their commander. I was the warrior who ruled the era. To be disrespected by a filthy mage like this… how cruel the passage of time is.]

“What are you talking about? You sold your soul to dark magic and became a half-corpse monster.”

[…Don’t expect to die easily. I assure you, I will make your death the most brutal of all those I have seen.]

Those watching the exchange between the Masked Instructor and the Death Knight were astonished.

The reason was simple: the Death Knight was a dungeon boss who spoke and acted like a human.

The more provoked he became, the stronger and more complex his attack patterns would grow. In short, the difficulty would increase.

Because of this, even high-level guilds would often enter the boss room of a dungeon with a Death Knight and start combat without saying a word.

Yet, here was the Masked Instructor, alone, provoking the boss. What on earth did he believe would happen?

Naturally, the chat was in chaos.

• Wow, that Death Knight looks really pissed off.
• Can you do that in a dungeon where he appears?…
• This time it really feels like he’s going to be screwed.
• Isn’t he fighting alone right now? How does he plan to win after provoking him like that?
• I just got here, but is he really clearing the dungeon by himself?
• Ooo, this guy is insane ᄅᄋ Watch the replay later.

Regardless of the chatter, the Masked Instructor quickly charged at the Death Knight.

Jang Hyena shouted.

“Ah! He’s charging at the Death Knight! This is unusual! Normally, when mages face a Death Knight, they maintain a distance and fight from afar. But he’s instead rushing headlong at the boss!”

The reason I charged in like this is simple: performance. If I can overwhelm him with long-range attacks, it will leave a lasting impression on everyone’s minds. However, I might hear comments like:

• “Isn’t he just naturally talented, overpowering everything with his magic?”

But I have to save my disciple, and I need to gather the top talents for Helmunt Academy or the Mage Tower, dismantling their foundations.

Therefore, I must emphasize that my victory over this creature isn’t due to high-level magic, but rather my skills, external mana, and innovative use of magic.

For this reason, I haven’t used any magic above B-rank until now.

Although B to D-rank magic requires some talent, they are generally basic spells that any mage can use. Even now, as I charge at him, I’m only using the release of external mana.

• Paaang

In an instant, I released external mana into the air, twisting my body mid-charge.

• Kwang

The Death Knight’s spear stabbed into the ground where I had just been.

• Whiiing

It was just the spear hitting the ground, but tremendous mana began to surge. One of the Death Knight’s troublesome traits was that mana flowed abundantly from all his weapons and body.

• Paaang

I charged at him again.

In that moment, his spear thrust toward my face with perfect accuracy.

• Whoosh

I spun to the left in mid-air to dodge the spear. However, the close call left a slight scratch on my face. The Death Knight smiled and spoke.

[You foolish human! Acting beyond your means will surely lead to your demise before your allotted lifespan.]

I chuckled in response.

“Is this what happens when you’ve aged and develop a middle-schooler’s disease? Stop posturing and come at me!”

[As you wish. Suffer in pain.]

The Death Knight began to draw immense mana from his body in an instant.

The overwhelming aura seemed to engulf everything around him, sending chills down the spines of everyone present, including Jang Hyena.

Jang Hyena trembled on her floating artifact, thinking, Is this… the power of an A-rank boss?
I feel paralyzed, and chills run down my body… Even from this distance, it feels like I could actually die…

Others felt the same way.

• “Wow… It’s terrifying to watch on screen…”
• “The people filming nearby must be losing it.”
• “The Masked Instructor isn’t showing much against the Death Knight…”
• “Just entering the A-rank boss room alone is impressive enough.”

As people began to lose confidence in the Masked Instructor, a spear made of tremendous mana, connected to the Death Knight’s body, began to fly toward him.

“Get… out of the way!”

The Masked Instructor stood still as the Death Knight’s spear flew toward him, as if he had been waiting for this moment.

Unable to hold back, Jang Hyena shouted at him to run. But he remained unmoving.

• Whoosh

The Death Knight’s spear pierced the Masked Instructor’s abdomen.

[Foolish one. To die so pitifully.]

The Death Knight mocked him.

• “This is insane… we’re screwed…”
• “This is a broadcast accident, damn it…”
• “Ugh… this is too gruesome… Look at the blood…”
• “Looks like mages can’t handle A-rank bosses after all…”
• “Why does he have to show off for no reason…?”

The viewers were in shock.

“Ha ha! I knew it would come to this! This pathetic amateur doesn’t know his place and look where it’s got him!”

Baek Joo-seok, watching the live broadcast, was certain of his victory.

“What… what are you all doing? Get in there!”

Just as the emergency personnel hired by Jang Hyena were about to spring into action due to the sudden crisis

• Cough

The Masked Instructor spat out a mouthful of blood.

Then, placing his hand on the spear made of mana that had pierced his abdomen, he whispered with a smile,

“Absorb.”

If you enjoyed this chapter, you might also like another tale of a falsely accused protagonist. Discover their journey and the challenges they face in a similar narrative.

Read it here: Another Story of a Falsely Accused Protagonist