novelraw Chapter 148 : Survival Program (3)
Chapter 148 : Survival Program (3)
Survival Program (3)
When the promotion for the 'Awakener Survival' program, ambitiously prepared by PD Do, went online, the general reaction in the online communities was similar.
【Is there any point in doing a survival program with only awakeners? What's different from a regular survival program?】
【All the cast members are unfamiliar faces; it's bound to flop.】
【At least with Alencia appearing, maybe it'll be a bit better?】
The reviews were not very favorable.
Most people said they didn't understand the reason for casting only awakened individuals, and many commented that they couldn't see the difference from ordinary survival programs.
"I guess it's because people have expectations when an awakener appears on TV, but this show deliberately excludes all of that."
"I thought so too. Wouldn't it have been better if they just caught monsters while doing the survival...?"
"If they did that, of course, it would be rated 19+ and just become another hunter variety show."
The atmosphere on set was quite chaotic as well.
This survival program was classified as general entertainment, so any excessively brutal scenes could not appear.
That was the same reason there was a separate channel for hunter variety shows.
'Separating the channels ultimately reduces accessibility.'
That's why PD Do's bold switch to general entertainment was understandable.
"Manager, you know, what exactly am I supposed to do on this survival show?"
As Alencia made her final preparations before the shoot, she asked.
Her outfit was as comfortable as possible, and no other gear or items were visible.
"It's simple. You just have to live on this island for a week."
The designated survival location was a massive uninhabited island near Taean.
Taean was also an area where gates and dungeons occurred frequently, and as a result, several large uninhabited islands had been created—ones that hadn't originally existed.
The island we were on now was one of them.
"So, it's just about filming us living on this island for a week? Is that fun?"
"Well, you have to secure food and supplies, and I heard they'll score you at intervals, giving a prize and reward to whoever has the highest score at the end."
"Really?"
Alencia's face lit up at the mention of a cash prize.
Lately, she no longer needed to worry about money, but she still seemed particularly fond of it.
"There's never anything wrong with having more money."
"That's true."
"But what's the prize?"
"That, I haven't heard yet myself..."
I couldn't understand why they were being so secretive about the prize.
'I don't think money alone will fire up hunter's motivation.'
Looking over the hunters who'd gathered for the shoot, most were roughly C-rank to B-rank.
Seeing the occasional A-rank hunter, it was clear that money wasn't much of a draw.
'But with even A-ranks participating, Shin Ah-yeon's foray into entertainment must really be having an effect.'
Normally, hunters above A-rank barely paid any attention to TV.
But as Shin Ah-yeon hit it big in various variety shows and movies, exploding in public popularity, more hunters started to show interest.
"The prize is an A-rank artifact."
Just then, PD Do cut into my conversation with Alencia.
"An A-rank artifact? You're really offering that as a variety show prize?"
When I asked, dumbfounded, PD Do grinned.
"Of course, it's only rated A-rank in appraisal; it can't be used properly. It's an artifact relic we found in a dungeon."
"If it was found in a dungeon... What kind is it?"
"It's a bracelet."
There were occasions when, rather than mere materials, actual 'artifacts' were discovered in dungeons.
Usually, dungeons manifested as rifts, or gate-type calamities swallowing up ground and bringing fragments of other worlds.
It was, so to speak, a disaster that happened more often as the world became unstable, and demons had several means to artificially trigger such events.
Of course, not all dungeons or gate phenomena were controlled by demons; the majority occurred naturally.
Relic artifacts, among them, were rare finds—artifacts from other worlds swallowed up and appearing in our world.
Naturally, ordinary artifacts would be destroyed if swallowed by a rift or gate, so the ones discovered were all classified as A-rank or higher.
"Where did you even pick something like that up?"
"Last time, I went to film at the beach dungeon here for a pre-shoot. We just happened to find it while filming."
So it wasn't even something they bought—it was found during filming?
If other hunters heard about this, it would be enough to keep them up at night with envy.
That's how much value relic artifacts held.
"I have a photo—want to see?"
"Ah, yes. But is it alright to just show me?"
"We're going to unveil it as soon as filming starts anyway."
Apparently, PD Do wanted Alencia to participate in the show with real motivation, as he tilted the phone so she could see easily.
"This is it. The exact effect hasn't been fully appraised yet, but I heard it's an item radiating special power."
The bracelet in the photo shone with dazzling gold.
At a glance, it looked like a simple gold bracelet, but I recognized it immediately.
The material was orichalcum—very pure and rare orichalcum at that.
"Wow, it really looks the part. Don't you think so, manager?"
Alencia admired the bracelet purely, but I couldn't join her.
After all, I knew this bracelet all too well.
'Estella's Bracelet.'
In other words, it was the Saintess's Bracelet.
***
"So what you're saying is, this bracelet isn't just an A-rank artifact?"
Looking at the picture with a frivolous grin, the man received a nod from Sebin.
"It's Saintess Estella's Bracelet. Its effect is to boost the wearer's use of magic power, making mana absorption smoother and aiding growth."
"Oh, raising the absorption rate of magic power is quite something. Definitely A-rank then."
"And there's one more crucial point."
Sebin didn't know the details about Saintess Estella.
He was born long after the Great War, and what he knew of Estella was only through oral tradition.
"They say if you wear the bracelet, you can access the Saintess's authority."
"An additional authority? For a Saintess, that would be... Alencia Walker. Her authority is electricity, right?"
"Alencia's authority is electricity, yes. But Estella's authority is 'Wish'. The power to grant any desire—almost omnipotent."
It was unknown how much of that power could be used.
It was all handed-down hearsay, not certain fact.
Nevertheless, if that information was true, they had to get their hands on the bracelet.
"That does sound amazing, as you say. If we get it, do you mind if I give it a try?"
"Sure, if you can get it."
"You're so cautious because of that manager? Well, just don't get into a fight, right?"
Sebin sighed at the reckless man's words.
If there hadn't been back-to-back incidents in Korea, he would have gone himself.
But right now, movement in Korea was difficult.
Because of the incidents like the Relic Fiesta, information about the demons was spreading, and Park Jung-woo was using that to track demons in various ways.
'So for now, it's best not to get involved in Korea.'
That was how they ended up with the man in front of them.
UnderStellar, Mikhail Gregoriev.
A Russian S-rank hunter, and a pleasure killer.
Countless awakeners and hunters had tried to catch him, but he always eluded capture like a ghost—a genius of escape.
"So, can I kill this so-called Saintess? I'll avoid the manager."
A bright smile appeared on Mikhail's face, his bloodlust so palpable you couldn't tell who the real demon was.
"If you can."
"Oh, you're really giving permission? Then you'll pay me extra?"
"Of course."
Sebin sighed at Mikhail's gleeful expression.
Thinking that everyone, including this bastard, was underestimating that man too much.
***
「So the Saintess's Bracelet has been found.」
Alencia left first for the designated spot to film the survival program.
Most likely, once all the awakened gathered and PD Do finished a brief orientation, shooting would begin in earnest.
「After Estella's death, that bracelet was certainly kept under strict church watch.」
As filming went on, I called Ardan to ask about Estella's bracelet.
I was curious how it had ended up in a dungeon.
「But one of the Cardinals coveted the bracelet. Because of rumors that if you used it, you could access the authority of "Wishes".」
"So did that Cardinal steal the bracelet?"
「Yes, the Cardinal ran off with it and succeeded in using its power.」
No one knew what wish the Cardinal made then.
But the wish-imbued power within the bracelet responded.
「And then he vanished.」
"Vanished?"
「They say he was sucked into a rift that opened in front of everyone.」
A rift?
'Did he perhaps wish for everyone chasing him to die?'
There's something known as the monkey's paw.
It grants wishes, but the outcome is twisted in the most vicious way.
Estella's power was different, but could manifest similarly depending on the user's mindset.
If the power within the bracelet functioned like the monkey's paw, it might have granted the wish in a twisted form.
'I'll know more once I see the bracelet myself.'
I'd asked PD Do for a look, but he'd declined, saying it was difficult even for him to access.
Currently, the bracelet was being heavily guarded by hunters from the association, and once filming was over, the Taean branch chief would personally present it as a prize.
'Of all places, the bracelet was found in a dungeon in Taean.'
HSN had been the ones to discover it first, but the Taean Hunter Association was taking all the credit.
'Guess they're trying to claim a piece of the pie.'
Anyway, the key was Estella's bracelet.
Originally, I'd only joined the survival for Alencia's publicity, but now things had changed.
No matter what, she had to get first place and win the bracelet.
'If that bracelet is real, the demons won't sit still either.'
"Is there any way the demons could know about the bracelet HSN found?"
'Damian is meticulous. Especially for media companies, he may have planted spies.'
He had a point.
Broadcasting stations, with their flow of information, were one of the top places for intel gathering and dissemination.
'Because of all the recent incidents, the demons probably can't make a direct move. If they do, all the better.'
But that was unlikely, so they'd definitely try something else—whatever it might be.
"Filming lasts about a week, so I'll have to keep watch the whole time. Is everything okay at Unique?"
'Nothing unusual. Yeon-ji's gotten used to handling demonic power. She can even hide her horns now.'
"Oh, really?"
'She only recently started learning dark magic, but her level is already quite high. She has real talent for martial arts too.'
"I see."
I didn't know why the conversation had suddenly shifted to boasting about his child.
But still, it was good Yeon-ji could now hide her horns.
There weren't many people as diligent and capable as her.
'And yesterday...'
"Yeah, alright."
What mattered now wasn't Yeon-ji's talents, but the Saintess's Bracelet, wasn't it?
I thought that, but in the end, I had to endure listening to Ardan boasting about his child for another 30 minutes.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Proud father is proud.
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】