NOVEL WEB Chapter 43
Choi Hyung-Min’s awakened monster transformation ability was called [Shapeshifter].
It wasn’t like the magic seen in games or novels where one could transform freely. When Choi Hyung-Min transformed into a monster, various conditions were attached. Basically, he needed to have some part of the monster’s body to transform.
Of course, there were other methods.
He could consume the monster to obtain mimetic factors and retain them in his body. Or, with a conductive wire made from the Griden mineral provided by the Hunter Association, he could plug it into his palate like a socket, connect it to the monster’s mucosa, and extract those factors to alter his body.
However, the process caused immense pain and took a long time, making it useless in urgent situations like battles.
Moreover, the type of monster he could transform into depended on his mana capacity. For monsters ranked C and below, just a tooth or a claw would suffice for transformation, but for monsters ranked B and above, a single claw would only allow him to transform an arm up to the elbow.
But of course, once he entered a dungeon, who knew what sort of urgent situation would unfold? When would he obtain the monster’s factors and transform?
Additionally, even if assuming he could use his abilities while outside the dungeon, his method was less cost-effective compared to other hunters from the get-go.
Besides, while other hunters could sell the monster by-products they painstakingly acquired at markets or auctions, Choi Hyung-Min had to keep some of those by-products for later preparation for dungeons due to his ability, causing other hunters in his party to keep their distance and seek other teammates.
‘Is it not unfair that I end up losing out even when I’m working harder than others in dungeons…?’
In the end, despite all his preparation and putting in more effort than others to conquer dungeons, he inevitably earned less than other hunters, leading him down the path of becoming a streamer.
Choi Hyung-Min’s [Shapeshifter] had many shortcomings as a hunter’s ability, but it was highly optimized as a hunter streamer who could churn out numerous content, creating hidden camera pranks and malicious prank videos, to the point that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was born to become such a malicious streamer.
As a provocative video creator conducting hidden camera pranks on hunters, public opinion was divided, but his view counts were overwhelmingly high compared to other streamers.
Ironically, the divided opinions were welcomed by Choi Hyung-Min.
Their view counts would eventually boost his bank balance, and the remaining opinions that defended him would help him, leading to a point where he felt no need to struggle for a rank upgrade anymore.
Thus, Choi Hyung-Min’s [Shapeshifter] ability grew stronger the more by-products he had from the original monster, even allowing for the imitation of abilities, planning a monster show as part of his content.
Although he later canceled that content because he worried about revealing all his cards to the hunters, it turned out that as long as his preparations were ready, he could even perfectly transform into an S-grade monster.
However, there was one significant drawback to Choi Hyung-Min’s transformation ability: once he used his power, he couldn’t revert from the transformation for at least 30 minutes.
The Shapeshifter ability was akin to a mutation at the genetic level, and since his body had adapted to the monster’s flesh, the factors needed to settle within his body before he could return to his original human form.
Or, if he sustained severe injuries that made it impossible to maintain the transformation, it would revert. Despite being of A-grade competence, Choi Hyung-Min had never been injured to the point of reverting from his transformation.
What does that mean?
“Shit, shit, shiiiiiiiit!!!”
What do you think it means? It means he couldn’t revert and would need to run for a while!
“Kya-ha-ha-ha!! Where are you going? Come here!”
– LOL, why are you running?
– It feels like the streamer is chasing you, not running away!
– What? What the heck is going on?
– The streamer’s drone camera is so outdated it can’t keep up!
– Camera has no mercy lol
– Then why not buy a new camera with the donations?
Fortunately for Choi Hyung-Min, his drone camera was an older model, so it couldn’t capture him properly as he fled with all his strength to save his life.
Moreover, the Suwol Plains were filled with reeds taller than a person.
In the dense reed field with limited visibility, the drone camera couldn’t properly identify who was chasing and who was fleeing.
– I can’t see anything.
– The streamer is super fast!
– Noona, don’t fall behind!
– Damn it! The camera can’t keep up!
– We need some help here, lol.
– Mom, are you abandoning us?
And it was the same with Shia’s drone camera.
Though Shia’s drone camera was a state-of-the-art model not yet available for sale, it was unfortunate that she had fallen from 2024 to 2088, making her a severe tech novice.
She just needed to touch the holoscreen button for combat or general shooting, yet her drone was sluggishly following her footprints because it was still in regular shooting mode.
However, even as it tried to get closer, the shock from the battle between Choi Hyung-Min and Shia threatened to damage the drone.
Hunter-specific drone cameras had a safety feature where they would move away if they assessed that the risk of damage from combat was high, causing both viewers to express their frustration.
However, the distant explosions, roars, and the occasional flashes of light indicated that a battle or similar situation was indeed occurring.
Boom! Flap!
“Cough?!?”
Choi Hyung-Min found himself questioning why he was in such a dire situation.
Bang!
Every blow felt incredibly heavy.
He had transformed into an S-grade Dragon Soldier.
With red, tough scales covering him like armor and a head capable of unleashing a dragon’s breath, this S-grade Dragon Soldier, with the power to crush a building or two easily, was a living disaster during the first Great Rift.
It was unacceptable for a monster derived from a dragon to surpass dragons, but beyond just being strong, this being had awareness and was adept at strategy and tactics, which would raise alarms if an S-grade Dragon Soldier appeared in today’s world, where the status of monsters had diminished significantly.
Any ordinary hunter who merely laid eyes on a Dragon Soldier would flee in terror, and Choi Hyung-Min had initially planned to secretly film a hidden camera video, pretending to chase the hunter he would ‘capture’ during the 30 minutes his transformation would last.
But what was this?
How could an S-grade Dragon Soldier fail to even deflect a single punch from that woman?
I mean, was it even possible for such tiny hands to unleash such force capable of shattering a Dragon Soldier’s scales?
“Shit… shit… shit…!”
Choi Hyung-Min was drenched in cold sweat, fleeing at full speed from this mysterious woman.
While he had plenty of experience in pranking others and chasing after them, he had never actually become the prey!
Especially not as an S-grade Dragon Soldier!
“Wait, is she an S-grade hunter?! Where did such a girl come from?!”
At least he was fortunate to be transformed into an S-grade Dragon Soldier; if he had only reached A-grade, he may have been done for at the first onslaught.
Honestly, even now, Choi Hyung-Min felt that it wouldn’t be surprising if he got caught by that woman at any moment.
Even transformed into the S-grade monster Dragon Soldier, he still couldn’t match her.
Was he not collapsing under the onslaught of a mere tentacle swung by her?
Could he clear up the misunderstanding even now? Could he just say it was a prank?! Reveal his identity?!
But, since using his ability meant he couldn’t revert for 30 minutes, and since his vocal cords had transformed with the Dragon Soldier transformation, he couldn’t even produce human speech.
Unless the factors of the monster were fully adapted to his body, at the very least, Choi Hyung-Min was in a state where he could only let out terrifying roars.
Crunch!
“Gurk?!?”
Choi Hyung-Min panicked as he felt a tentacle bite onto his shoulder, rolling away in shock.
Even his scream came out in a monstrous roar, making it impossible to negotiate with words.
Above all, Choi Hyung-Min couldn’t keep his composure upon seeing that woman.
“Found you…”
Bathed in the moonlight of the Suwol Plains, the woman was stunning yet more ferocious than any monster.
The silvery hair shining even brighter than the moon caught his attention first, followed by her blood-red eyes burning with desires of hunger, lust, and greed, which fixed on him, leaving Choi Hyung-Min in a daze wondering who the real monster was, him or her.
This was no joke; Choi Hyung-Min was starting to lose his rationality due to the fear of the white woman.
A broadcast?
What was that at the moment when he was about to die!?
“Wait, is she really human?!”
Her tentacles drooled eagerly as they rose, and what in the world was this, a horror movie?
Choi Hyung-Min felt like a victim of a second-rate horror film.
Grrr…
“Ugh, I can’t think…”
And what was that woman?
Why was she licking her lips looking at him?!
Was he a zombie now?
Of course, it was only natural for hunters to try to defeat monsters, but how could someone he had never heard of overpower an S-grade Dragon Soldier so easily?!
“Shit, in that case, I’ll attack with full force to subdue her first. This is self-defense!”
With that thought, Choi Hyung-Min gritted his teeth and swallowed the rising heat from deep within.
Dragon Breath!
It was a testament to the S-grade Dragon Soldier that surpassed even the dragon that created him, a breath of destruction with power that makes it impossible for even an S-grade hunter to guarantee their life against it.
In Choi Hyung-Min’s case, transforming into a Dragon Soldier and doping his whole body with its by-products meant he wouldn’t achieve the original’s destructive power. However, for most hunters, it would be enough to potentially subdue them with one blow.
“Shit… let it be! I just don’t want to get hurt!”
Though it’s possible she could greatly suffer or even die, the important thing was his own life, wasn’t it?
“Kwahhh!”
“Huh?”
Feeling the confused look on that woman’s face, Choi Hyung-Min wondered if he had gone too far but he let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
Looking at her expression, he thought this breath might be enough to subdue her and, above all, meant his safety was secured.
If things escalated, he could cover her hospital bills and apologize, taking a period for introspection, and he could somehow pass through this ordeal.
Woosh!
Then, as he unleashed the breath he had stored in his mouth, a red flash began slicing through the Suwol Plains.
The reeds caught in the breath evaporated without a trace, and the woman merely looked perplexed, not even attempting to evade.
“Huh, why isn’t she dodging?! Doesn’t she know she’ll die…?!”
Crackle!
“?!?”
Right after he released the breath, witnessing the unbelievable scene, Choi Hyung-Min paled in disbelief as he breathed it out.
What was happening!?
Had she just blocked his breath with her bare hands?!
“What the hell…”
The woman didn’t show any discernible skills or abilities.
She merely tilted her head, looking perplexed, then blocked the Dragon Soldier’s breath with her bare hands.
The massive weight and destructive heat energy of the breath should have overwhelmed her, but her hands didn’t budge even a little. On the contrary, Choi Hyung-Min felt far more drained in the process.
“…This is insane. I’ve bitten off more than I can chew…shit…”
Ten seconds later, as the breath’s duration ended, Choi Hyung-Min found himself unconsciously taking a step back.
No matter how strong a hunter might be, the unprecedented occurrence of the Dragon Soldier’s breath being ineffective was beyond the realm of expectation.
This was something that simply shouldn’t be happening.
Then, as the woman glanced at her hand, she slowly lifted her head like a doll.
“… Is this… breath?”
“Hugh!”
Shia’s pale, pristine palm was slightly charred from the friction with the heat energy.
Yet, not long after, it cleared up neatly, and the tentacles sprouted from her back raised their heads.
“I need to run away…!”
Whack!
“Kraaaah!”
“I won’t let you go.”
At that moment, he felt a pang of pain in his ankle, and Choi Hyung-Min screamed internally.
While only roars continued to escape his mouth, he began to feel dizzy from the pain of the long-absent sensation.
What was happening? What was going on?
It hurt! It hurt! It hurt!
After not being a hunter for far too long, the pain felt more intense!
Choi Hyung-Min managed to regain his senses as he glanced down at the ankle that felt the pain, discovering that a tentacle emerged from the ground, gnawing on his ankle.
In that brief moment, the tentacle had ambushed him and embedded deeply into the ground.
“What the hell! Those scales of the Dragon Soldier! They’re tougher than steel… wait, did it really bite through the scales?!?”
Even as he twisted and struggled to shake off the tentacle, it showed no signs of letting go.
A moment later, the tentacle slowly began to pull Choi Hyung-Min—or rather, the Dragon Soldier—back toward Shia.
“Kyaaah!”
“Noooo, let go!”
No matter how much he protested, only the roars of the Dragon Soldier echoed out.
“Shia! Help!”
“Hehe, hehehehe…”
In stark contrast to Choi Hyung-Min’s desperate heart, Shia’s expression in the distance radiated joy.
In fact, Shia was delighted.
She had chased him down, and now he was finally caught.
Now she could feast.
But what to eat?
Grilled, skewered?
Should she enjoy it on a thin stone plate just as she did with Yeonhwa when they grilled the best parts together?
No, should they stew it like the seonjit soup, so fragrant as she took it out right in front of her house?
Coincidentally, the scales and bones looked remarkably tough.
Cooking it down for a flavorful broth seemed like it would be superb.
“Hehehe…”
“Kyaaaaah! Kraaaah!”
“Come here, don’t go. Don’t run away.”
Hehe, ehehehe.
Ah, I’m drooling.
It smells so delicious.
It smells like human meat.
It shouldn’t smell this good if it’s a Dragon Soldier.
No, I mustn’t think of it as human meat.
For me, human meat is the greatest taboo, the memory I must carry throughout my life.
Yet, that’s a monster, isn’t it?
Eating a delicious monster isn’t a sin, is it?
Right, Menelapie?
Right, Teresa?
Right, Yeonhwa?
“Hehehehe!”
“Kruk! Krah!!”
The tentacle held tightly onto his leg and brought him closer before her.
Despite Choi Hyung-Min roaring and swinging claws, desperate to break free, the tentacle bound his limbs, and apparently finding his loud roars annoying, it muzzled him just like a dragon’s mouth.
“Ugh…! Mmm…!!”
He shook his head, telling her not to.
Seems like even monsters have intelligence?
But it didn’t matter.
With such a delicious aroma wafting through the air.
A monster that tormented humans came right up to her door asking to be caught, how could she let that go?
On the surface, it appeared that this evolved Dragon Soldier was much stronger than the other Dragon Soldiers, but something about it seemed oddly weak and off-kilter. Yet, if it faced a different hunter, that hunter might indeed face danger.
However, she had just rolled into this world.
To survive, she must adapt well and take care of others to secure her place.
Taking this monster down isn’t just for my selfish desires.
She was only handling him before someone else got hurt.
That’s right. That’s it.
“Haha, that’s good.”
The wrapped-up Dragon Soldier, restrained by the tentacle and even muzzled, looked like a perfectly gift-wrapped Christmas present.
Oh, for her, he was indeed a gift.
Surely, it was the Christmas feast she’d been waiting for.
It smells delicious.
As she got closer to smell, it truly did smell like human meat.
Ah, how fragrant.
It would definitely taste divine.
She would reach a state of ecstasy.
“Ah, let’s eat! Let’s eat! Let’s eat!”
While she needed to cook for the viewers, it wouldn’t be bad to take a bite first.
Top-grade fish is best enjoyed raw, and the finest parts of meat are often served as fresh raw meat!
Taking a sliver of this wicked monster’s flesh just raw…
“Thank you for the meal…”
Monster.
Dragon Soldier.
To me, you are a great gift.
Shall I embrace you?
Yes, I will.
It’s going to taste fantastic.
If it smells this good, it can’t taste bad…
Squish!
“Squish…?!”
Just as she was about to bite into the soldier’s shoulder, an unexpected texture stopped her mouth.
What is this….?
The armor of scales and spikes surrounding the Dragon Soldier’s flesh shouldn’t feel like this, right?
Crunch, crunch, crack! This should be crunchy, yet it felt so soft.
What is happening?
Why is it so tender?
Shia realized just before she bit into the soldier’s shoulder that something was wrong.
And she knew what this texture was.
She could never forget it.
It was her art.
It was her taboo.
How could she forget that?
“W-wait!”
Hastily, she pulled away from his shoulder and withdrew the tentacles binding him.
“Kyaaah! Krah!”
Even though she’d only bitten a little, the Dragon Soldier seemed to be in pain, or maybe he was lost in fear, and he acted frantically.
“Huff, huff…. You… human…? A human…?!”
How could this be?! Shia found it hard to comprehend the scene.
What if she had succumbed to the aroma and hastily bitten him without thinking?
Just a bit more hungry, had she rushed to eat him?
“Ah, no. No! What have I done…!!”
Ah, no, no…
Realizing something horrifying was about to happen, Shia quickly wiped her mouth.
Now, she understood that even though he had some sort of backstory, that Dragon Soldier was undoubtedly human.
Shia wiped the drool away from her mouth and even held her breath, making sure not to breathe in the fragrant smell.
Once the body had perished, holding one’s breath wouldn’t matter much.
“Um, um, I’m sorry. Are you alright…?”
“Krah!”
“….”
First, she needed to… calm… him…
Choi Hyung-Min was full of fear and panic, rampaging without reason.
Just moments ago, there had been signs of rationality in those eyes, but now he was rolling on the ground like a wild beast, panicking, driving Shia into a difficult situation.
What to do…
Oh…
“Shia, do you know how to calm a soldier in a panic?”
“Hmm, should I soothe him?”
“A soldier tormented by fear on the battlefield can’t even hear the soothing sounds.”
“Then what do I do?”
“Hehe, would you like to hear? It’s a soothing method honed from years of experience. It’s so effective that even I sometimes rely on it.”
Suddenly, the advice from Menelapie, which she had recalled long ago, made Shia nod and open her backpack.
Originally, she had planned to use this for cooking, but…
“Krah! Krah! Save me…!”
Menelapie’s soothing method…!
“People can be calmed down with a frying pan to the back of their heads.”
BOOM!
The clear sound of metal clashing rang across the Suwol Plains, and moments later, the Dragon Soldier human lay on the ground, writhing like a corpse.
As he squirmed, Shia realized he was still alive.
She could hear his breathing, and his heartbeat was normal.
“Huff… thank goodness.”
Shia finally let out a deep sigh of relief.
She almost caused a huge disaster.
She still found the aroma of human meat enchanting. It shouldn’t have been pleasant… Another of her stakes seemed in danger of becoming irrelevant due to her temptation for human flesh.
“Thank you, Menelapie…”
Your calming method is the best…