Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 244

244. First Mission

The cabin was empty. Despite this, Undushin remained vigilant. He gripped a short spear, entering the cabin nimbly with his back against the door. Neither Lee Gicheong nor the monster was inside.

‘Could they be in the bathroom?’ he wondered.

However, the bathroom door was already open, revealing at a glance that it was unoccupied.

“Uh, how is it?” a staff member asked from outside. Undushin shook his head and emerged.

“He’s not here.”

“Then…”

The staff members turned their heads in unison toward the fallen monster. They swallowed hard. The brief moment of celebration had passed, replaced by a daunting reality.

The monster was dead, but where had Lee Gicheong gone? Was he dead too? Had Lee Gicheong touched the monster and been consumed, with the monster now imitating him? Could the monster even possess such an ability?

Moreover, Lee Gicheong had entered the cabin as a suspect and hadn’t been seen since. The staff guarding the entrance were numerous, yet none had spotted him leaving. Furthermore, the cameras hadn’t captured any sign of Lee Gicheong. How, then, had Lee Gicheong—or rather, the monster impersonating him—reached Woo Yeonwoo’s cabin, which wasn’t even nearby?

“Monsters… it seems they’re not just waking up, reacting, and attacking,” Undushin said, cutting through the production team’s tangled thoughts. Having encountered monsters before, he could process the situation more easily. “A monster with intelligence. A monster with reason. A monster that strategizes. It seems there are such monsters among them.”

“But in the early videos of Woo Sungwoo catching monsters…”

“The monsters didn’t seem to have any reasoning ability.”

“But why now?”

“It probably means there are different kinds of monsters,” Undushin explained.

People swallowed hard, and the participants watching the scene also felt their throats dry. This was no longer a time to laugh at Woo Yeonwoo.

A monster that strategized, not just one driven by instinct. Worse, these monsters might possess strange abilities like the Awakened ones.

* * *

The revelation that monsters might have abilities beyond simple brute force heightened the tension among the participants.

Ironically, while tense, they also felt a subtle surge of confidence, fueled by Lembury’s achievements. It was almost inevitable. Lembury, and even Undushin, had demonstrated how easily monsters could be caught.

“Once we learn how to respond, it should get easier, right?”

“It’s true the monster has abilities and uses its head, but it doesn’t seem *that* smart.”

“When I hit it, it just took the hit.”

“Ah, I should have stepped up too.”

“Seriously. You have to show your skills early to survive the viewer votes later.”

The participants were impressed by Lembury, but they attributed his success to courage rather than exceptional skill. They reasoned that the monster Lembury faced was likely one of the weaker ones.

That complacent disregard intensified the next day when training began.

“First, I want to do a basic fitness test. Can you see the line here?”

“Yes!”

“Can you see that tree over there?”

“Yes!”

“Touch it and come back. Start!”

Lembury, who began with the participants’ and production team’s undivided attention, surprisingly lagged behind in the short-distance run. He also didn’t excel in the pull-up bar challenge.

Of course, not all physically fit individuals become Awakened, so there were many cases like Lembury among the participants. Woo Joonjung, who Awakened with the most spectacular skills, had originally been a model student who spent fifteen hours a day studying in the library. Consequently, he was the most knowledgeable participant but also the weakest physically.

Undushin openly lamented, seeing Woo Joonjung stumble while running, saying, ‘The glaive [a type of polearm] has gone to the rabbit [meaning a powerful weapon is in the hands of someone who can’t use it].’

However, because Lembury had performed so well the previous day, expectations were high. This led to him being evaluated lower than his actual physical abilities warranted.

Rather than dismissing Lembury, many thought, ‘If even Woo Yeonwoo, who isn’t an Awakened, can do it, we can do it too.’

Of course, not everyone felt that way. Undushin secretly regarded Lembury as ‘the real monster over there.’

‘Idiots,’ Nokcharokcha thought, clicking his tongue as he overheard the participants whispering that ‘Woo Yeonwoo is lucky.’ Nokcharokcha had actually fought monsters several times.

‘They don’t even know how strong the opponent is, yet they’re doing a survival show.’

Nokcharokcha nervously watched Lembury leap out of the swimming pool like a dolphin.

‘Saying he’s not an Awakened is just what he says. Maybe he’s a water-related Awakened. I need to be careful. After all, only one person gets all the benefits in this survival show.’

* * *

While the participants safely underwent physical training for fifteen days, the edited first episode was broadcast on terrestrial television [free-to-air TV].

Even in the terrestrial broadcast version, the highlight remained the monster disguised as a participant and Woo Yeonwoo’s vine-popping scene.

People who preferred to watch it online had already seen it, and it had been reported in the news, but the impact was even greater when broadcast on terrestrial television. Viewers were amazed by Woo Yeonwoo’s surprising abilities, but they also voiced concerns, debating the appropriateness of the broadcast.

―Two people are missing, and one was eaten by a monster. Are they crazy? How can three people die and get injured in the first episode? It’s like a horror movie.

―Too stimulating… Honestly, even if it were released as a movie, it would be rated at least 15+ [suitable for viewers aged 15 and over].

―They mosaic [blur] the gruesome scenes, so what’s with the 15+ ratingㅋㅋㅋ

ㄴThe situation is terrible. And it’s a true story.

ㄴThere are already hunter hunting broadcasts all over YouTubeㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Is that what you call terrible, after editing and mosaicking all the problematic scenes? Even before the Cataclysm, there were many documentaries with that level of intensityㅋㅋㅋ

ㄴInternet videos were always less filtered than terrestrial broadcasts, even before the Cataclysm. But why is terrestrial television terrestrial? Isn’t it supposed to filter things like that?

ㄴ2222 It’s not a show that should be on terrestrial television. They could just stream it online;;;

ㄴ333 When it’s online, people who can handle that kind of content can find it and watch it. But if it’s broadcast on terrestrial television, it comes on even when you’re just flipping through channels.

―Wow. Hunters, monsters, and Awakened ones have appearedㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ There are still so many people living in the pre-Cataclysm era. Is it peaceful there?

―People have to change with the times. I agree that it wouldn’t be suitable for terrestrial broadcast in peaceful times, but I think it’s appropriate in this era.

―I find it informative because I can see the response methods and the appearance of the monsters properly. It’s also good that they provide precautions with subtitles in between.

―No, are only people who are crazy about not being able to watch entertainment shows gathered here? Even if times change, you shouldn’t treat people dying and getting hurt as entertainment. That’s a moral that humanity should uphold in any era.

ㄴCringe ㄷㄷ [Korean slang for “cringeworthy”]

―I agree that it’s useful. But I also agree that it’s stimulating. I think it’s better to broadcast it online only. Not because of moral issues, but because of practical reasons.

ㄴWhat’s practical about it?

ㄴThink about it. What if kindergarten kids watch Hunter Survival and start stabbing every frog egg they see, saying they want to be hunters? It’s better for me to find it online than for hundreds of eggs to be broken nationwide at the same time.

* * *

While people outside were arguing about the program, the 48 Hunter Survival contestants safely completed their fifteen-day training camp. As soon as the camp officially ended, the participants were excited to go home.

No matter how convenient the accommodation, it couldn’t compare to the comfort of home. Besides, aside from the initial chaos caused by the monster incident, they had been training on a tight schedule. Right now, they needed rest more than viewer feedback.

“Is Shin Joowoon taking that bus again?”

“Right. They keep separating them so strangely. Are they deliberately keeping them apart?”

“Why?”

“Because everyone knows we’re close.”

“But why are they keeping you apart?”

“To bring them together later. It’s better to build the hype and then explode it.”

“What does that mean?”

“I regret starting to explain this. Goodbye.”

“?”

When Lembury looked confused, Shin Joowoon smiled and pointed to Bus No. 1.

“Go. Let’s have a meal with Taeri later.”

“Shin Joowoon, ask for help from the people around you if you don’t feel well. Don’t collapse.”

Lembury turned, indicating he understood, then stopped and offered advice. He was worried the skinny guy might seem feeble and faint again.

Meng Wooshin, standing nearby and overhearing the conversation, thought, ‘Is that crazy bastard out of his mind?’ as he looked at Lembury.

Shin Joowoon had placed first in all the physical tests except for the long-distance run and swimming, where Lembury took first place. He even came in second in those two events. Why were they treating such a person so weakly?

But Meng Wooshin didn’t ask, knowing he wouldn’t get a straight answer. Instead, he quietly boarded Bus No. 3.

Lembury also boarded Bus No. 1, immediately closed his eyes, and tried to sleep.

‘I should order pizza when I get back to the dorm.’

* * *

Lembury, dozing off with his head against the window, woke up when the bus suddenly stopped and his forehead hit the seat in front of him.

“Wow, Woo Yeonwoo, I think the fans will love that scene!”

“Were you filming the whole time?”

“I didn’t get told to stop. But your expression just now was really good!”

Lembury stared at the cameraman holding the camera next to him in disbelief. Then, he gave a gentle smile for the fans and looked out the window.

‘Have we arrived?’

However, the view outside wasn’t the dorm. Nor was it the broadcasting station. It was a place he had never seen before.

‘Where is this?’

As he felt bewildered, the large TV in the center of the bus suddenly turned on.

‘What’s that now?’

Lembury looked at it, and the other participants, who had been chattering, quietly stared at the screen. At the same time, the participants exclaimed, “Wow!” while Lembury made a sullen expression.

Because Woo Sungwoo suddenly appeared on the screen. These days, Woo Sungwoo was very popular as a first-generation hunter and hero, so the participants’ exclamation was very loud.

Only Shin Joowoon and Lembury remained still. Woo Sungwoo, unlike his usual self, opened his mouth, pretending to be serious.

“I am honored to deliver the first mission to those who may become my colleagues in the future.”

At those words, the participants, who had been looking at Woo Yeonwoo as if he were their favorite celebrity, were startled and whispered.

“Mission?”

“Now?”

“They’re making us do it right away? No way!”

On the other hand, the viewers watching were even more dumbfounded. They had learned about physical fitness and basic fighting for fifteen days, but how much could they have learned in that time? Yet suddenly, they were being thrown into real combat?

“The team with the best performance among the five teams will all survive. From the remaining four teams, we and the production team will discuss and select one person with the worst performance each.”

“…….”

“The viewers will decide who will be the final one eliminated among those four.”

As soon as the explanation ended, the screen went off, and the bus door opened with an ominous sound.

< 244. First Mission > End