Chapter 9 : Program Weed
The promised 10 days had pa.s.sed, and all the Geomchis" level exceeded that of 270. They didn"t acquire any skill, as the main focus of the grind was through quests, and the lowest level the group achieved was 274.
The average level was around 279, in which Geomchi and Geomchi2 were at.
Their strength was too weak in comparison to the Unicorns and Pegasus!
This was the goal they had in mind, due to all the work they"ve put into hunting without a single moment of rest, it seemed to pay off. But in the process, the number of Geomchis declined by 60.
At moments in time, one or two died in the midst of battle until only 353 remained.
Geomchis faces were filled with shame.
"Sorry. Because of us, we may have doomed the quest."
Geomchi2, like a man, cleanly apologized.
"It"s fine. Will it be fine, Weed nim?"
"It"ll be ok."
Irene quickly went over to Hwaryeong. She took her place, and one could see from her drooping shoulders, that she was grieving. It"s not a lie to say between her and Geomchis" self-esteem, she"d win out!
Nevertheless, with this drop of number from the get go, the fear of not being able to succeed the quest took a big toll on all.
"Sahyeong."
"Yeah, Weed. I"ll accept whatever admonishment brought out."
"No. That"s too much trouble. It was something really difficult and you"ve done the best you could."
"Frankly, this is too damaging. Will this really be a dire consequence?"
"You don"t have to worry about the quest."
"Is it really alright?"
"It"s been determined that our power was weaker since the beginning. But we"ll have the opportunity to join forces. "
"Thanks for easing our minds. In this quest, if there"s anything you ask, I"ll oblige."
Geomchi2 made a firm promise.
If it"d within his power, if he said he could, then he definitely would.
Weed thought.
"I guess for the time being, they"ll need to eat heartily."
Geomchis are experts in battle. If there was a way to have leverage over them, it would provide a great advantage.
Even with others, if they have seen the monsters for a while, they would gain enough confidence and courage as time pa.s.sed; and this time they would follow Weed"s command. After having battle this long of a while, one will always show their true color; but this was a positive one.
"Rather, having just 60 deaths is excellent in itself."
Weed had predicted the result to some extent. Since they were forced to undergo such a hunt while having just Irene as the sole Priest, it was a longshot.
"Thank G.o.d we still have a lot."
He had considered that from 100 to 170 people might die from that. If it was above the maximum number, then the severity of this, even with the newly gained levels, will definitely hinder the goal.
Without a single piece of information, to tour the unknown hunting grounds and raise their levels to that extent was a very difficult thing to do. But the toll of just 60 people to complete the given objective was an amazing thing to achieve.
-Yo. How do you a.s.sess your sahyeongs" work?
Geomchi had learned how to skillfully use the chat whispers.
If by any chance a girlfriend who sent him a message, it"d be terrible when he doesn"t know how to reply.
Though, the only use he had through mean of sending whispers was solely to whisper Weed for food.
-Really admirable. I knew they could do it, but didn"t know it"d be this well.
-Ahem. It also exceeded my expectations.
Geomchi was pleased and did not hide it.
The instructors were roaming the battlefield leading the pract.i.tioners. The purpose of it being the quest at hand, but the loyalty between of the brotherhood strengthened as time pa.s.sed.
"Geomchi2 is the type that cares for the well-being of his boys. A deep and caring brother who knows how to treat his bros. Geomchi3"s a bit further away. He knows how to fight and can read the flow of the battle and make good judgments."
Geomchi imminently evaluated the instructors and pract.i.tioners.
"Geomchi4 has a strong compet.i.tive spirit; he"s fast and tough to catch. Even though it is a good thing, this could turn into impatience and spoil things.
Geomchi5"s swordsmans.h.i.+p relied on his Strength, so he lacks the roundedness of a player. Geomchi18? This pract.i.tioner is a surprise, he has the ability unlike other kids. He spent 17 years in the drilling halls. Even if his fencing skill"s a bit lacking, you can trust him to do some good work."
In Royal Road, Geomchi led a crowd of hundreds into battles; whenever and wherever they explore, he tended to watch over the students to gauge their caliber and personality.
The only person who had not been fully comprehended by Geomchi was Weed.
"Even if it"s fame through luck, maintaining it is still difficult."
Geomchi was also informed of Weed"s past and his reputation.
Even in Continent of Magic, Weed entered difficult dungeons that n.o.body dared to venture, alone no less, and defeated them. He didn"t care about the attention of others as he thoroughly and silently hunted dungeons and doing quests.
At that time, his charisma was at its absolute!
Impregnable castles, penetrated.
Strength demonstrated by guilds, didn"t even came close to make him bat an eyelid.
Weed, solitarily, grew stronger constantly.
He broke through impossible and highly praised dungeons, cleaned them up as he finishes his quest; obtaining items no one had ever seen.
All previous records were revised.
There was no dungeon that could prevent Weed.
For anyone else, as if they deliberately wanted to die, they"ll charge in recklessly to fight. But for them, with each growth, the fear of death and loss of reputation increases; providing a constant challenge.
In Continent of Magic, his Reputation was also absolute.
All of the people then who knew of Weed said one thing in unison.
"Continent of Magic, the peerless Jeons.h.i.+n Weed!"
One instant of this was when Weed was riding a horse through the plains. There was a crowd of thousands of people there, as the united guilds were going to war trying to dominate a kingdom; but with emergence of Weed riding his mount through them, all resigned to themselves.
As they were trying not to be obtrusive in Weed"s eyes, they became submissive in order to not obstruct him on his way.
These types of event were only one of the many anecdotes manifested.
The lone Jeons.h.i.+n Weed.
He shook the heart of everyone as their fighting spirits plummeted.
But, it wasn"t in just CoM that he quickly grew stronger; Royal Road too.
"The art of the sword. He thoroughly learned the basics of the art in just one year in the Dojang. So in Royal Road, he could reasonably harness it within here. Since in here, there are skills and stats so that anyone could utilize their body without the ultimate understanding of the art. Proactive and adaptability, he quickly identify the weakness of the opponent and uses it to decrease the difficulty of combat. With what I saw in the Dojang, it does not surprise me that he gotten strong so quickly with such fangs. Nowadays, you cannot find that kind of strength easily; the will to survive anywhere, not just the will to be strong."
If Geomchi had fully utilized his power in Royal Road"s battle, it"d be too easy; so he didn"t necessarily did that.
He just stood nose to nose with the monsters and taking them down!
Where one could only see its tail, the sword itself was imperceptible by the human"s eyes.
There are also murderously strong monsters that wield heavy weapons.
In order to hunt these monsters, one would need considerable experiences and ability. Something that Weed had perfectly adapted to since the beginning.
The predispositions that outsiders could not see were the fighting spirit and the compet.i.tive nature.
He had no fear with monsters. The roundabout way he saw them was that they were consisted of experience points and items.
Weed, like the real weeds, grew stronger as a mean to survive in any situation.
He was already considered as a celebrity, as his broadcasts drew the crowd in frenzy.
Usually, through the conventional broadcasts, they doesn"t fervent people"s chest to any degree.
Hope, courage, struggles, and tenacity.
People were excited by Weed"s every move.
Geomchi really wanted to see Weed"s true nature.
* * *
In KMC Media, there were three broadcasting teams on hold.
"The acoustic calibration?"
"Nearly finished!"
"Make the accompanied music personify to the personality of each cast. Who is the MC host?"
"Shouldn"t it be s.h.i.+n Hye-min?"
"Don"t even dream of it! She is one of the main adventurers on this."
"Bae Seon-hui"s schedule is empty."
"Then arrange it!"
The broadcasting team undergone urgent preparations accordingly.
They laid the groundwork with complete preparation; their aim was to create a film with its own story that surpa.s.ses that of a simple video.
The epic story of a whopping six hours!
They cut as much as possible to reduce the videos to that of six hours for the broadcast.
But this was only from the currently received footages; with the continuing quest in progress, it will become much longer.
The officials showed their dissatisfaction.
"We cannot cut anymore."
It was to inform the audience the basic information regarding Todeum.
View of the landscapes, some of the quests obtained at the beginning that weren"t deemed essential to the audience were cut.
Director Kang decided.
"If this is we can do, I"ll try to negotiate with the manager of operations."
He went up to the manager of operations.
Having been enlightened of the situation thus far, the manager proposed a simple solution.
"Since it is so much, we can just organize it as a regular program. You can broadcast the content once per week on Sat.u.r.day."
"Is that really alright?"
"We can make transition of the existing footages of Weed"s adventure into a regularly scheduled program, doesn"t that sound good?"
"Your words sound fitting, but..."
Todeum"s traveling and the amount of quests were too much to imagine and difficult to fit into the special program. So he did actually gave serious thoughts regarding making it into a regular program; but because the level of the quest was too high and its result was still pending.
The manager said.
"Director Khang, have you determined the quest"s achievability?"
"Hm?"
"An adventure that you don"t know which way it"ll flow will be more interesting. It leaves you with excitement and tension. In Royal Road"s hunting and exploration, doesn"t it always leave you with the feeling of wanting more?"
Director Kang nodded.
Forming party with strangers to hunt and explore always leave you with that feeling!
That kind of feeling escalates with each and every party member obtained on the hunting grounds.
Through the demonstration of power and ability, while sometimes offering a helping hand to those weaker than them, the bond formed becomes that of friends.h.i.+p.
"It is an adventure. But since we"ve already formatted the adventure to that of a film, to change it is something we should not do."
It was not like they can"t broadcast recent events. But to turn the already finished film script to that of an adventure program did not make sense.
Whether the quest was a successful one or that of a failure, the fact that it was a great challenge to overcome was a great pleasure to see.
Director Kang reflected.
"Because of what happened to the Crimson Wing Guild that I"ve became so timid."
Due to the Scorpion King"s curse that many have suffered.
As a result, the guild was disbanded and the concerned parties suffered a downfall.
Taken examples from that huge failure, he became worrisome and didn"t dare to be brave.
"Leaving the adventure in its simplicity is worth it. If our goal is to make the adventure more pleasing, then our station should leave the adventure to take its course."
He was to follow the manager"s words.
In which he thought the words didn"t even bother to have a sense of encouragement within them.
Director Kang ordered the staff.
"Broadcasting team! Dispose whatever scenarios we"ve created so far! And also, please contact Mr. Bae Seon-hui!"
"Yes, understood. What should I say?"
"Tell him we do not need a host."
"Yes?"
"We"ve decided to turn this into an adventure program that shows periodically."
Sc.r.a.pped the created story, and shown the adventure as is. Without showing so much as any prior information, simply expose the viewers to the video was the chosen decision.
"Everything is private! Everything we see and hear will be shown to the audience and let them come to a decision! The footages and sound needs to be at the highest level, and do not disclose any of the contents regarding the adventure!"
The prepared broadcasting program was to hide everything, even the fact that it was Weed"s adventure was masked.
"By the way, what is the name of the program?"
"Huh?"
"Since this is a newly organized program, we should determine a new name for it."
"Well. How about "An Adventure in Todeum"?"
"I think that"s a bit too descriptive."
"Well then, "b.l.o.o.d.y Adventure.""
"That makes sense since the blood can symbolizes the vampires, but it seemed a bit too cruel... and since this is Weed"s adventure, it seems to leave him out on the sideline."
"Ah, also that point, huh?"
It was not an exaggeration to say that the t.i.tle can dictate the ups and downs of the program.
Director Kang and his subordinates debated on the several hundreds of t.i.tles suggested.
After careful consideration, Director Khang"s mind flashed.
"Weed."
"Hm?"
"Lets go with the t.i.tle "Weed." Even if we call it Weed, most people will simply ponder at the t.i.tle and just guess, so it"s ok."
"Then isn"t that sorta like exposing the fact that it"s Jeons.h.i.+n Weed?"
"Ah, that"s the jackpot."
"We"re simply suggesting it rather than naturally showing it in the broadcasting contents."
Director Kang and the committee members exchanged insidious smiles.
The new periodic program t.i.tle of KMC Media that suggests the main protagonist was Jeons.h.i.+n Weed!
It was needless to say the shock would be overwhelming if it was true.
Thus, the program "Weed" was first broadcast on a Sat.u.r.day.
It started from the moment they were dumped on the Land of Vampires till the scene of the Vampire queen"s rescue.
The average rating of first episode was 0.6%.
In comparison to the average 12.8% of other game broadcasting companies, it was far too low at the start of the broadcast.