Chapter 185
A helicopter soared through the sky, and on its door hung a reporter with a microphone. They were broadcasting the chaos unfolding in Naples. Sami Harrison, an American challenger, had a sense of professionalism so strong that she only entered the Tower to share firsthand accounts of its scenes with the public.
"Hello, this is Sami Harrison. The situation in Naples is very severe at the moment. Water Beetles are mercilessly attacking people," said Sami Harrison.
Sami Harrison was undoubtedly the most famous reporter worldwide. Her mere presence on a broadcast propelled viewer numbers skyward. She was a reporter affiliated with CMN. While in Italy, news of the Naples crisis reached her ears, prompting an immediate decision to report.
Sami Harrison requested filming equipment from an Italian media company and even borrowed a nearby helicopter from CMN. The Italian media company could not refuse because her influence in media companies was beyond imagination.
* Here comes Sami Harrison's broadcast!
└ Damn, how did she manage to go to Naples?└ Wow… Of course, it’s Sami Harrison. Speechless!
└ Does she have teleportation abilities or something? How does she always get near the incidents so soon?
└ Send Sami Harrison to the parliament! With her, everything will become clear!
└ Exactly!
As her live stream started, the viewers quickly surpassed 300,000. People from various communities who were curious about the current situation switched to Sami Harrison's broadcast. At this pace, reaching one million viewers seemed like nothing notable.
However, Sami did not care about the increasing number of viewers. Her only concern was how she could convey this scene to the audience in a palpable and impactful way. That was all.
"The Italian army has entered Naples! Three challengers, who happened to be in Naples, are trying hard to fend off the Water Beetles, but since their numbers are overwhelming, it’s hard for the challengers to fight back!" Sami Harrison shouted.
# If you know it’s hard to fight back the overwhelming numbers of Water Beetles, go help them! Don’t just watch from there!
# Yeah, right! What the hell are you doing there! Isn’t this girl a challenger herself?
# Don't you guys know who Sami Harrison is?
# Do you seriously think Sami Harrison would help? She won’t be able to do a proper broadcast if she decides to help out.
# Still, we need at least one more person to help. Can't you see people dying?
# What difference will one more person like Sami make?
# Yeah, that’s right. It's more important for her to show the situation to the world.
The chat room buzzed with comments pouring in rapidly. And the real-time and automatic translations allowed seamless communication for all.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I am a reporter before being a challenger. And a reporter must inform the public about ongoing situations. If the opportunity arises, I will help, but for now, I will focus on broadcasting,” Sami Harrison explained.
Normally, the audience's requests would have waned by now. Sami had a steadfast commitment to her profession. She was the type to jump in a sea of fire to ensure a live broadcast. However, this time, people did not stop telling her to go help. The Water Beetles were ruthlessly tearing people apart, and the audience had to see the brutal scene repeatedly, so they couldn’t help but ask Sami to intervene.
‘I guess I have no choice this time.’
Even Sami Harrison knew that she could not just stand by.
"I think the distance is making this broadcast quite illegible. Let me go down there and see for myself," said Sami Harrison.
The helicopter remained safe from the Water Beetles because its altitude exceeded the monsters' flying range. However, descending posed a new challenge. Despite this, the audience erupted with enthusiasm at her audacious decision.
"Give me the camera!" Sami Harrison shouted.
"Yes, Ma’am!"
She grabbed the camera and jumped out of the helicopter. A flying Water Beetle targeted her when she fell, but her hand spewed something sticky that dragged the beetle down with her.
Thud!
She crushed the Water Beetle with a powerful punch, as they both fell onto the building's rooftop.
# Damn… This is insane. It feels so real.
# Eww! That's gross.
# Is that really a Water Beetle? Why is it so huge? It's as big as a car!
Not for a single instance during the entire fight did the camera lose stability. It was almost like some omnipotent third person was the cameraman. It was impressive.
"I've reached the rooftop. These Water Beetles’ shrieks are no joke. Please lower your volume if you find it uncomfortable,” Sami Harrison said.
Sami jumped from roof to roof while continuing her live broadcast. Corpses of people and monsters were scattered everywhere; it was a harrowing scene. She also saw people looking out of their windows, seeking help, but Sami did not help them.
She focused solely on accurately conveying the situation to her audience, like the citizens’ location. Every time the viewers saw that, the chat room exploded with messages, but she just ignored them.
"The number of monsters is alarming. The number seems similar to the Orcs incident in China," Sami Harrison said.
Afterward, Sami Harrison swiftly moved around the scene, killing Water Beetles and rescuing people who were in danger. The crowd cheered in the chat whenever she killed monsters and rescued people. However, her expression was darkening.
‘I can't handle this on my own. We need at least a hundred challengers like me, or maybe... if we had just that person named Lee Shin…’
With a somber expression, she effectively portrayed the gravity of the situation through scenes of gunfire, the cries of the Water Beetles, and an atmosphere of intensity, deeply impacting the viewers.
"The Italian army should be more proactive in—" Sami Harrison abruptly stopped talking.
She had caught sight of something familiar. Among the flying Water Beetles, a massive Skeleton came into view. Above it, she saw a glimpse of purplish hair.
‘Huh? No way.'
A chill ran down her spine for the first time in her life. Unexpectedly, that sight had made her heart start beating like a drum.
"Everyone! Do you see that?" Her brightened voice made the viewers look at the screen.
# What is that?
# Something is flying over here!
# Isn't that a Skeleton? Oh, wait, what is that?
# Oh, man! Isn't that Lee Shin?
# Huh? That’s Lee Shin? Why would he be here?
# This is incredible! He came all the way from Korea! He is finally here!
# Mr. Lee! The Great Magician!
The chat room erupted in a flurry of messages as the Skeleton descended. Amidst this, Sami Harrison dashed toward it with unwavering determination.
‘This is breaking news! It’s definitely breaking news!’
She had never imagined that she would get to see Lee Shin fighting live. Sami had only ever seen videos of his fights and had never expected to see him here because Korea was so far from Italy.
‘Was he nearby?’
However, that wasn't her main concern at the moment. All she wanted was to present Lee Shin to the public. The news of his appearance caused the viewer count to skyrocket, surpassing her record by far.
‘If possible, I'd love to interview him.’
As she crazily dashed forward, she saw the Skeleton landing gracefully on the ground.
"It is Lee Shin! Lee Shin is really here!" Sami Harrison shouted with excitement.
Lee Shin effortlessly lifted a car to kill the Water Beetle and rescued a young girl. He conversed with the girl, but it was too far for Sami to hear clearly. However, she had an ability just for times like this.
[Sound Amplification]
This skill enabled her to hear distant sounds loud and clear. While it might not seem impressive, it demanded precise mana control, making it quite a challenging ability.
- It will be okay now.
- T-thank you, Sir… Sob.
Viewers cheered as they witnessed Lee Shin consoling the girl and ensuring her safe escape.
‘He's nicer than I thought.’
Sami Harrison used to think of Lee Shin as a cold person, and the idea that he might be just pretending to look nice still lingered in her mind. Therefore, she reminded herself to research him well before forming an opinion.
- Where are your parents?
The girl was panicking, so she couldn’t speak properly. However, Lee Shin could look through her thoughts accurately.
- Don't worry. I'll save your parents. So just go back first and wait for them there.
After the girl left, Lee Shin summoned an army of Skeletons, making the viewer count skyrocket beyond ten million. This marked the first instance where Sami's live broadcast garnered over ten million viewers. Moreover, UTV, previously immune to buffering or crashes, now encountered freezing and buffering issues.
Eventually, UTV set a ten-million-viewer limit for Sami Harrison's real-time broadcast and allowed others to watch her broadcast on different channels. Otherwise, the UTV website would have crashed.
- I apologize, Ms. Sami Harrison. We had to set a viewer limit for smooth broadcasting.
Sami Harrison received a message from UTV and felt annoyed, but she had no choice but to move on. She knew that it was a much better approach than her broadcast exploding.
She refocused on the broadcast and observed Lee Shin’s Skeletons. The army had various Skeletons, all astonishing in their own right, emitting a formidable aura.
‘How can he control all of them alone?’
Sami looked at some of the stronger members of the Skeleton army and wondered if she could win a fight against them. She concluded that she couldn’t say for sure.
‘His magic skills are insane… just like him.’
Sami was lost in thought. She yearned to capture the scenes of Skeletons rescuing people and battling monsters alongside Lee Shin. She did not want to miss anything.
‘What should I do…?’
After a moment of contemplating, she suddenly descended from the building and encountered a Skeleton wearing a robe. Sami approached the Skeleton and spoke to him.
"Excuse me," said Sami Harrison.
"What is it?" The Skeleton, May, looked surprised at the human’s sudden appearance.
"This is a cell phone, and there is a camera over here. Can you please take a video of the Skeletons you're leading? Or, if you want, you can ask another Skeleton,” said Sami Harrison.
May looked momentarily puzzled by the unexpected request. The chat room, in the meanwhile, was filled with ‘lol’s from the viewers.
"This would be helpful for Mr. Lee Shin as well,” said Sami Harrison.
She continued to persuade May; at last, he agreed to accept her request.
"Okay. I think it’s not a bad idea,” May replied.
May summoned a group of humanoid Skeletons and distributed Sami’s smartphones. Sami always carried extra smartphones to be used as portable cameras. Therefore, there were enough cameras for them.
# Wow, I can’t believe that actually worked, LOL.
# I never knew Skeletons could be persuaded.
# But anyways, why do Lee Shin’s Skeletons look so strong?
# Man… There's so much to see. Which one should I watch? I guess I'll just use a split screen to watch all of them.
‘Man… The number of viewers must be insane.’
Even if she tried, she could no longer ignore the number of viewers. Sami logged onto multiple broadcasting platforms to broadcast different parts of the scene, accommodating the massive viewership.
"If you want to see other places, click the link below to access them," said Sami Harrison.
She turned to see Lee Shin flying away on Veck Jack.
‘Is he going after that Lethocerus that he saw earlier?’
Sami Harrison had expected this outcome. A challenger was already battling the Lethocerus, but their efforts were proving ineffective. With Lee Shin's intervention, she was sure the creature would be defeated. So, she had to capture that fight.
"Thank you, Sir," Sami Harrison bowed 90 degrees to May and hurriedly followed Lee Shin.
***
‘She's the same as ever.’
Sami Harrison was a famous woman even in Lee Shin’s past. She was known for her eccentric behavior; she was globally renowned as a reporter.
‘I didn’t expect to meet her here.’
Lee Shin had seen Sami requesting something from May, and while he didn't know the specifics, it was evident. Sami likely asked May to film the Skeletons' rescue operations. Lee Shin considered this a good idea, as broadcasting the severity of the situation would increase public awareness and caution.
"There it is,” Lee Shin muttered, looking at the Lethocerus.
The boss who sent the Water Beetles this time was Lethocerus. If it weren't for the challenger already fighting it, dozens of buildings in Naples would have collapsed already.
‘Hmm...?’
Amid the fierce battle between the Lethocerus and the challenger, Lee Shin noticed people trembling in a nearby building through its windows. He knew that there was no time to just leisurely watch the situation.
[Georg’s Spear]
Several cars on the ground disintegrated and transformed into sharp steel spears in mid-air.
"Just die already,” Lee Shin said.
The steel spears flew toward Lethocerus’ head and impaled him.
Kuaaak—!
The Lethocerus let out a scream, collapsing to the ground in agony. People by the window, trembling in fear just moments ago, finally cheered. Lee Shin looked sideways and noticed that Sami Harrison had captured everything without missing anything.
‘They should understand now.’
Lee Shin thought he had clearly shown how important the existence of challengers was and how vulnerable the world, Earth, was to external threats.
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