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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Stocks with Caution, Loans with Even More Caution (1)
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Necromancers are a one-tool profession: cameraman.
Anyone unfamiliar with Necromancer Hunters might scoff, "What kinda bullshit is that, you degenerate?" But it's a straight-up fact.
In this day and age, Necromancers handle electronic devices better than they do corpses.
You can tell just by watching modern horror flicks.
'Y'know, like how ghosts in those movies make phones ring or send texts?'
Or how protagonists stubbornly crawl into haunted ruins where spirits supposedly lurk if you wanna die.
These days, you don't even need plot logic to explain why those suicidal maniacs do it. Just call 'em reckless YouTubers, and you're done.
And if the protagonist's a broadcaster to boot...
Some directors figured ghosts needed to mess with camera gear or broadcast screens for slick production value.
'That's how a few films had ghosts crawling out of TVs, hijacking the internet, or bricking phones.'
Turning off cameras or snapping spirit photos? Child's play!
Hell, ghosts even hijacked the broadcast feed itself.
The terror of supernatural spooks turning the tables on human tech—the pinnacle of science.
That must've been the intent of whichever director first cooked up those tropes.
'But tech breakthroughs often start as wild, pie-in-the-sky ideas.'
Wonder when it was...
A Turkish Necromancer who binged horror movies saw a scene where an evil spirit hacked a computer to manipulate a camera.
And thought:
—Could my ghost summons pull that off?
Long story short: Yeah, they could.
Ghosts summoned by Necromancers can interfere with machines and radio waves.
'That sparked the ghost drone revolution.'
The Turkish Necro got nabbed after goofing off with the idea in video chats for laughs, but his brainstorm lit up broadcasters worldwide.
'Especially those covering gate raids.'
Cameras work fine inside gates, regular broadcast gear too.
But who's holding the damn camera?
A civilian PD?
Joke's on you? Film and die?
That'd win you a Darwin Award for sure.
An Awakened lugging the camera? Dream on.
How many cams do you need for a shoot?
Hiring just ten Awakeners would cost more than the raid team—and that's before camera crew pay skyrockets.
'Even if an Awakener takes the gig, it's a headache.'
You need rear situational awareness.
Manipulating monster aggro.
Dodging attacks while sticking to the team's formation.
Master all that, and you might snag decent footage.
In a chaotic dungeon where monsters clash with Hunters, killing intent explodes, and spells zip overhead.
In that mess, filming without pulling aggro and surviving? A cameraman that good...
'...would just be a Hunter instead.'
I guarantee it, as a third-year cameraman.
One month in, they'd realize their true talent and quit.
For real.
Impossible for normies.
Elites wouldn't touch it.
That's the gate live cameraman gig.
'Enter Necromancers.'
Standard ghost summons are invisible.
Built-in stealth skill.
They fly, phase through objects.
Get smashed? Resummon and done.
They can even jack into electronics for live edits.
Best part? Zero labor costs past summoning!
Free filming!
Necro controls 'em directly, but no cameraman beats ghost summons for cost-performance.
That's how cameraman work became one of the few outlets for Necromancer talents.
Sure, it's relatively safe—but got downsides.
Late quits, early starts.
"Shit, overslept again."
I glanced at the clock after waking and clicked my tongue.
Maybe fallout from those overtime hell days before quitting the office grind—I've been sleeping in lately.
Or blame the drinks with that senior buddy last night.
"Oh right, gotta check the stock market."
Today's session started a while ago.
If nothing went down overnight, it climbed more.
'About time to dump Hunter Association shares.'
Meant to sell yesterday afternoon, but got drunk and crashed?
Even cold water feels like tooth fairies stabbing my gums instead of brain—film must've cut out hard.
Yeah, you little shits. Think I don't see your conspiracy? Tooth fairies and cavity fairies merged like Sethco and pest control.
"Ugh."
I clutched my head, groaning, and fired up the TV and PC.
'Trend held as predicted up to yesterday.'
Break-even on profits right about now, by my math.
Stock market punishes greed.
Ah, but my greed? Totally calculated.
Watching post-retirement flows,
I got 100% conviction on a surefire investment.
So what's next?
What else? Fuckin' scale up the capital!
"Grab a loan, pay it back with profits!"
Retirement fund leveraged 20x like a beast.
This is the savage heart. Beastman Jeong Do-jin.
I stretched, yawning big.
'Other stocks netted ~30%. Time to bail here too.'
Talk big, but loan interest bites.
No crash signals on Association stock yet.
But other sectors screamed it.
'Looks bullish, but reversal incoming.'
Hunter Association's cash cow? Gate lives.
Monsters more thrilling than blockbusters.
Hunters battling humanity's threats.
Gate raid live streams hooked viewers fast, birthed a massive market.
'Movies, dramas, variety, arms industry—all dipped toes in gate streams.'
Retired athletes turn variety stars, right?
Hunters snag ads, dramas with their fame, clout, raid cash—jumping every industry.
'And lately? Signs those sectors are dumping Association stock.'
Planned to sell when I got home yesterday.
Drunk and forgot, looks like.
-Click. Logged into stock site on PC.
'What, like something huge happened overnight?'
No way it'd tank enough to hurt.
That's what I genuinely believed then.
📰 Breaking News[Viewers, breaking news! A Gate Live Broadcast Ban bill has just been proposed in parliament!]
"Huh?"
That was BGM news alert—right before the bombshell blanked my brain.
I stared at the TV, jaw on floor.
Foreign backdrop, Hunters stretchered out behind anchors yelling their heads off.
📰 Breaking News[Last night, theシャル Guild suffered a catastrophe during a gate raid. It's been 12 hours since rescue teams rushed in.]📰 Breaking News[Yes, criticism is pouring in over theシャル Guild's reckless move.] [It was a live stream with just a 5-minute broadcast delay. The disaster aired almost real-time, amplifying the shock.]
What the fuck? What the actual fuck?
'What? What's going down?'
Despite the anchors' calm breakdown, my booze-fogged brain wouldn't compute.
This vibe—familiar yet ominous.
That groggy feeling when global shit hits the fan overnight, and you're the only one not getting the news flash.
But I sensed it crystal clear.
'Gate raid failure? During a live stream?!'
This was beyond fucked.
📰 Breaking News[Thankfully no fatalities thanks to Healers, but this is the worst disaster in over 10 years since gate raid safety protocols. In response, UK Parliament—] [The international community mourns this tragedy—gate raids turning from existential threats into entertainment—and condemns the Hunter Association for enabling it—]
Fuck, can't they dumb it down? Explain like I'm a high schooler with a C in Korean.
'News! Find news articles!'
Gate. Raid failure.シャル Guild.
I hammered the keyboard, found it instantly.
No hunting needed.
Top real-time search, fuck.
'So... UK's Charlotte Guild tried forcing a raid beyond their paygrade, epically failed?'
Hunter Association catching strays too.
They pushed live streams, so take responsibility.
And what responsibility? Obvious as hell.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Ban live broadcasts of gate raids.]
The anchor answered my dread.
Caked in makeup, she read on.
📰 Breaking News[That's the gist of the international bill governments worldwide are proposing: the so-called 'Gate Live Broadcast Ban Law.']
Fuck.
FUCK!
Gate live ban.
Sever the Hunter Association's main revenue.
'Gate lives banned?'
Whole industry shakes.
Famous Hunters double as pro streamers now.
Solo YouTubers.
Guild-run channels.
Plenty types, but non-streaming Hunters? Eccentrics or billionaires.
And in capitalism, you think money-hungry suits stick to pure raid streams?
Stream-famous Hunters image-make, then invade all sectors.
'What if gate lives collapse?'
Hunter world crumbles wholesale.
'Not shakes—collapses!'
Yeah, upsides too.
Businesses gutted by Hunters revive.
'I.e., corps eyeing Association's rice bowl.'
The one Association snatched with "Share the feast, yeah?"
Cars killed carriages.
Cars superior every way.
'Ban car production?'
Carriage makers.
Horse breeders.
Fodder farmers.
Tons of jobs revive.
If auto industry tanks.
Carriage folk banked on it—after their biz got crushed.
Bet they curse auto corps, hold rituals, bribe officials.
'Same for those robbed by Association!'
Can't stop this.
Not even reincarnated ex-chairmen groveling publicly.
'No deaths this time? Misses the point!'
Core issue: People can die anytime in raids.
Obvious, but ignored till now.
Civvies watched raids like hero movies, cheering Hunters like firefighters or war heroes.
Streams shrugged off flak via "right to know."
Bullshit journo logic.
Worked till recently.
'No mass deaths from gates since the Great Cataclysm.'
Humanity unbeaten against gate disasters historically.
Not like '80s alien invasions—Earth invincible, humans gods!
'Not anymore.'
Now, which psycho network risks live raid streams?
At best, safe post-raid edits as regular TV.
Meaning my cameraman career crosses the Styx in tears.
Then the anchor landed the KO on my zoned-out ass.
📰 Breaking News[With another Gate Live Ban bill tabled, Hunter Association and related firms' stocks are expected to plummet.]
"...What the fuck?"
Stocks.
You fucking teeth! My stocks!!
Trembling hands yanked open the phone stock app.
"Please, fuck, please!"
App booted.
I saw it.
💥 STOCK CRASH! 💥
[Stock: Republic of Korea Hunter Association, Inc.]
-64.10%
"KIIIEEEEEEK!!!!!"
My leveraged loan up in flames.