In a high-end residential area of Seoul.

A magic realm hunter student named Ye Eun-byul was studying for her Monster Studies course at the academy in her room.

After a while, she headed to the living room at her mother's call for dinner.

“Oh, when did you come home?”  
“Just now.”

At the table were not only her father but also her brother, who was rarely home due to his busy schedule.  
Ye Do-hyung, one of the few S-rank magic realm hunters in Korea.

As Eun-byul sat down, her father picked up his spoon.  
The family began their meal together.

As they enjoyed a moderately cheerful atmosphere, Eun-byul suddenly voiced a thought that had crossed her mind.

“Oppa, did you know?”  
“Hm? What is it?”  
“About goblins having intelligence. Do you know?”  

Eun-byul recalled what she had learned in today’s general lecture on Monster Studies.  
In response to her sister’s question, Do-hyung answered with indifference.

“They probably do have some intelligence since they’re living creatures.”  
“No, I mean not so simply! I’m talking about things like learning and studying.”  
“Hm, well, I’ve never really thought about it.”  
“Right?”

Eun-byul nodded lightly at Do-hyung’s dismissive reply.  
Before taking the Monster Studies class, she had thought the same way.

“Why are you curious about that?”  
“I had a general lecture at the academy today.”  
“A general lecture? What kind?”  
“It’s called Monster Studies, and there’s a guest lecturer.”  
“Oh, a guest lecturer.”

Do-hyung nodded.  
When he attended the academy, he had taken a course called “Understanding and Exploring Monsters” by a male professor.

While he wasn’t very personable, the professor was well-known as a magic realm hunter, which is why Do-hyung had chosen the course.  
It was probably still a course offered today.

“Isn’t it different from the curriculum I recommended?”  
“Do I have to follow everything you say? That’s my choice.”  
“Haha…”

At Eun-byul’s teasing response, Do-hyung gave a sheepish laugh.  
Regardless, Eun-byul continued to share her thoughts.

“They say goblins show similar patterns within their groups. So, when I went to the dungeon, it seemed plausible. But since they’re E-rank, I’m not sure.”  
“Similar patterns in each group, huh…”

Now that he thought about it, that did seem to be the case.  
Do-hyung stroked his chin, his expression becoming serious.

“A guest lecturer, huh? What’s their rank?”  
“A D-rank, and their job is Paladin.”  
“Oh? For their knowledge, their rank isn’t anything special.”  
“I think so too. No, more than that, can you check if it’s true later?”  
“Sure, that shouldn’t be difficult.”

In the dungeon, goblins were everywhere.  
For low-ranking hunters, high-ranking ones would pop up as well.

“I’m full! Thank you for the meal!”

Eun-byul quickly finished her meal and returned to her room.  
Do-hyung, glancing at her briefly, fell into thought.

“Are you worried?”  
“Oh, yes. It was something I hadn’t heard before.”  

Do-hyung nodded at his father’s words as he replied.  
He planned to ask his secretary to investigate the details.

What if the stories about goblins were true?  
He would need to find out if there was more good information and if they were interested in joining a guild.

While being a bit disappointed in the D-rank, knowledge itself was immensely valuable.  
If they were a guest lecturer, they would undoubtedly be tempted by an offer from the Dawn Guild, a large guild.

Talent was always in short supply, and this was a common issue for every guild around the world, not just the Dawn Guild.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Eun-byul's room.

“Guess he really doesn’t know.”

Even her S-rank hunter brother didn’t seem to know much about the lecture’s content from earlier.  
Of course, goblins were trivial monsters that could be dealt with easily.

‘What if there’s information about C-rank monsters as well?’

Eun-byul licked her lips.  
She had chosen the general course carelessly, but her expectations were continually rising.  
For a D-rank hunter professor, the quality was unusually high.

Eun-byul naturally printed out the materials for the next lecture in Monster Studies.

* * *

The day after assisting with the Wing Guild's C-rank dungeon tour, Eun-byul had a day off, as the next tour was scheduled for the following day.

She had just finished lunch with Si-yoon in the living room.  
Having filled her stomach and enjoying the nice weather, she felt drowsy and let out a yawn.

“Yawn….”  
“Are you going out?”  
“Yeah, I’ll be out for a bit. Is it okay if I use the empty space under the TV?”  
“Sure, all my personal things are in my room. Do whatever you want!”  
“Hehe…”

She had been itching to do something lately.  
Finally, the time had come.

“I’ll go out and come back to decorate right away.”  
“What are you going to buy?”  
“Momobin goods! I arranged to meet for a secondhand deal.”  
“Oh, um….”

Si-yoon scratched her cheek awkwardly at Eun-byul’s response.  
Was she too much of an otaku? Well, still… 

“…The Momobin merchandise is all sold out on the resale platform.”  
“R-really?”  
“Honestly, I want a mug or something, but even the secondhand ones are gone. So I thought I’d settle for some stickers and a keyring!”  
“Oh, I see! Th-that’s understandable!”

Si-yoon clapped her hands in response.

“Do you need anything? I can pick it up while I’m out.”  
“Um…?”

Si-yoon rolled her eyes as she thought it over.  
What was that expression? Kind of cute.

“…I don’t need anything, so just go and come back!”  
“Okay, I’ll be back.”

After saying goodbye to Si-yoon, Eun-byul stepped outside.  
The meeting place for the transaction was Daehak-ro, right next to the academy!  
It was a familiar route, so she boarded the subway without issue.

As always, she found that while it was fine to go places she’d been before, she often got confused when heading to new locations.  

There weren’t many people around, so she comfortably sat in a corner.  
She took out her smartphone and earphones from her pocket.

She casually launched the T-Tube app.  
Videos filled with VTubers and hunters filled her recommended section.

It seemed the algorithm had firmly fixed itself on this side. But, what did it matter?

While browsing through the recommended videos, a title caught her eye: “Summoner.”  

Summoners were a quite rare class even in another world.  
She was curious about how hunters on Earth might be.

Spirits? Golems? Or maybe monsters?  
It couldn’t be a necromancer, could it?

…Oh, there it goes.  
Her brow furrowed involuntarily.

The image of the necromancer who often hung around the hero party came to mind.

Why were all the women gathering around that hero like that…?  
What was so great about that guy that they would act all gloomy and bully me whenever they saw me?

How could there not be a single good memory left?  

Ah, except for the porter. Her presence must have prevented her from getting caught in the crossfire.

The system was different in the other world, but to put it in perspective, she was around the level of a C to B-rank hunter.  

In any case, the necromancer had suddenly dropped off the map at some point, and honestly, she wasn’t curious about where she was.

Instead of recalling such memories, she should watch something entertaining.

Shaking off her random thoughts, she focused back on her smartphone screen.

The summoner in the video used a skill.  
Suddenly, the dirt on the ground squirmed and a massive earth golem was formed.

Following the summoner’s gestures, the golem charged forward and initiated combat with zombies.  
It was huge, about twice the size of a robust adult male.  
It massacred the zombies effortlessly.

If someone were an ordinary person, they might have cheered, “Whoa!”  

‘...What is this?’

Clearly, it was a summoning.  
But this was way below par.

The hunter who filmed the video must have been low-rank, but…  
To put it bluntly, even I could probably replicate this with earth magic right away.

…Oh, could it be? That seems like a reasonable thought.  
She recalled that Da-young had said she would quickly send the filming equipment.

Aside from that, should she try making a goblin and see how it moves in front of the students?  

Initially, she had planned to simply show a video of the combat methods taught in her major, but…  
Investing a little time might not be a bad idea.

While she felt as though she was slipping too far into a stream of consciousness, it wasn’t a difficult task for her.  
She could easily brush it off as “magic tools,” right?  

Monsters could only be seen when entering a dungeon or during a break event where they

 poured out of the gates.  

They were creatures that couldn’t normally be seen on Earth, so they would surely make for good educational material for the students.

Turning off T-Tube, she stuffed her smartphone back into her pocket.  
She organized her thoughts that had just emerged until she reached her target station.

Upon arriving at Daehak-ro near the academy,  
She met the secondhand transaction partner she contacted using the safety number.

“Is there… is there another VTuber? Do you need anything more?!”  
“…No, this is enough.”

The transaction with the clingy man concluded smoothly.  
Aside from Momobin, she didn’t really feel the need for more goods, so they parted ways cleanly.

Finally, she had obtained the Momobin goods.  
When she got home, she would clean them up and store them properly.

As she walked along, grinning to herself,  
She accidentally spotted a large bookstore in her line of sight.

Since she didn’t need to head straight home, she felt light-hearted and entered the store.  
The unique smell of books tickled her nose.

Whenever she caught a whiff of this scent, it made her feel somewhat intellectual. Hehe…  
She remembered that the academy had a library too; she should check it out next time.

Looking around in the bookstore, which was organized by category, she sought out her hobby section.

Novels, novels… Ah, found it.  
With the store being quite large, there were definitely many types of books.

She walked over to the shelf with genre novels.  
From fantasy to romance, martial arts, light novels, and so on, various stories caught her eye.

“Oh…”

She spotted a novel she recognized.  
Had it been published too? It was a story she enjoyed reading quite a bit, so it seemed popular.

As she admired the cover, she reached out for the book she had just found.

At that moment.

“…Huh?”  
“Oh, oh?”

There was someone else reaching for the same book.  
As their fingers brushed against each other and she turned her head, she found herself startled.

“P-professor?!”  
“…Ahn Byeong-kyung?”

The support-type hunter girl from her lecture exclaimed softly.  
Startled, she took a step back and adjusted her glasses.

“What… what are you doing here…?”  

Ahn Byeong-kyung blinked rapidly, her lips and chin trembling as her complexion paled.

It felt as though she shouldn’t be here for some reason, even though she hadn’t done anything wrong…  
…No, that couldn’t be.

“I’m just interested in genre novels.”  
“Wow…”

Ahn Byeong-kyung covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes widening in surprise.

“D-did you read this novel too?”  

She pulled out the same novel they had just brushed fingers against.  
It was a romance fantasy story.

It focused more on the protagonist’s growth and changes in social status rather than the romance aspect.  
Essentially, it was a female lead fantasy story.

“Of course, I enjoyed it. Did you read it too?”  
“Yes, yes! It’s a masterpiece! Th-that scene where the protagonist gains recognition from those around her! I almost cried after reading it!”

Suddenly, Ahn Byeong-kyung clasped her hands in front of her chest, her eyes sparkling.  
What should she say? It was quite an adorable sight.  
If she had a tail, it would probably be wagging excitedly right now.

“If so, have you read this one?”  
“Oh, I haven’t seen that one before. What’s it about?”  

Suddenly, the conversation turned into a book recommendation session.  
But this student…

“This one is definitely a masterpiece! It truly changed my life!”  
“Oh really?”

It seemed they shared some common tastes…?  
Ahn Byeong-kyung’s gaze was now filled with intimacy as it locked onto Eun-byul.

“…What’s your number, student?”  
“I-it’s this!”

They exchanged numbers naturally.  
She already had a list, but she hadn’t registered all of them.

“C-could you send me your reviews once you finish reading…?”  
“Sure, I’ll message you.”  
“I’m looking forward to it!”

Out of the blue, she had gained a friend interested in novels.  
Although they had exchanged numbers with a student, her contact list had increased from six to seven names.  
It was a historic moment.

* * *

After spending a rewarding time with Ahn Byeong-kyung,  
Eun-byul took the subway back home.

Since Si-yoon was likely working, there was no one in the living room.

“Hmm?”

Something was placed on the desk in the living room.  
Curious about what it was, she walked closer to check.

“W-what is this doing here…?”  

It was a mug. A Momobin goods mug!  
Why was it here? What could it be?

As she turned the small box containing the mug around, she noticed a sticky note on one side.

- I remembered you talking about it, so I found this from when I watched the stream a while back! It’s a gift!

“Sniff…”

Her younger sister was the best in the world…….

Tears welled up in her eyes from the unexpected emotion, and she wiped them away with her hand.  
…But, did Si-yoon watch Momobin’s streams enough to buy merchandise?  
She seemed to have a good grasp of VTubers, but…  
Was Si-yoon secretly watching Momobin’s streams too?