The Grill-Wielding Saintess of the Dead

Chapter 24: The First Broadcast, Wyvern Egg Jangjorim 1

It wasn’t intentional, but the first broadcast of Shia, the Saintess of the Dead, began somewhere at the very bottom of [Switch].

At first, the divers exploring the depths had no idea what this broadcast was about.

The broadcast title wasn’t anything provocative, and only the default nickname based on [Hunter Isiah]’s personal information was visible, so they could barely guess that it might be a hunter’s stream.

Gradually, a few deep-sea divers, exploring the darkest corners of the platform, began to gather, thinking they had found new prey.

– Holy crap, look at the size of those jugs.

– What is this, a body cam stream?

– Mom, where am I? Mom, where am I? Mom, where am I? Mom, where am I? Mom, where am I?

They had no idea what kind of broadcast it was, but some viewers came with the hope that the streamer might be a hunter, judging by the nickname [Hunter Isiah].

Thus, 13 viewers settled down to watch Shia’s broadcast.

For a beginner, this was considered quite lucky.

Among these viewers, 7 were randomly flipping through channels, 5 were so-called ‘hardcore viewers’ who spend almost 24 hours on Switch, lured by the word “hunter,” and one was a salaryman who had just spat out his breakfast after seeing Shia’s overwhelming holy power pouch.

These 13 viewers would later become the die-hard fans known as the ‘Supreme 13’ or ‘The Holy Tiddy Gang,’ shortened to ‘Holy Gang.’

Of course, right now, they were just deep-sea divers with no particular expectations, starting to watch Shia’s broadcast.

– Is the streamer not going to greet us?

– Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

– Damn, she’s stacked.

– Streamer, give me your number.

– Holy shit, I’m so turned on, brb.

– The guy above is insane, lol.

– But what’s with those tentacles?

Some viewers wanted to dominate the stream to their liking, while others couldn’t help but admire Shia’s voluptuous figure, constantly crossing the line.

However, Shia herself had no idea she was broadcasting.

Though there were only 13 viewers, the strange thing was that the chat activity was unusually high, not just because of Shia’s overwhelming holy power pouch, but also due to her bizarre appearance.

Her silver hair, flawlessly maintained without a speck of dust, her overwhelming chest, her visual beauty that could make her believable as a model or actress, and her perfectly toned arms and thighs made her appearance strikingly attractive.

But the excessively pale skin and the grotesque mass of tentacles protruding from her waist naturally drew attention.

In the early days of the hunter era, this might have been shocking, but by 2088, there were countless hunters with bizarre abilities.

At first, some viewers were startled by the writhing tentacles, but quickly dismissed it, thinking, ‘If the streamer is indeed a hunter, those tentacles must be part of her abilities.’

– Huge boobs and tentacles, oh my.

– Definitely doable.

– Tonight, it’s that one.

– Bet the streamer used those tentacles at night.

Thus, Shia’s first broadcast began without any greeting, and without even recognizing the existence of her viewers.

○○○○○

At first, the troublesome drone was following me properly.

I had no idea what technology allowed it to float in midair, but since it had been keeping up so far, there shouldn’t be any problems going forward.

“Wow, it’s wide.”

The tentacle emerging from my waist acted as a support as I climbed the steep cliff.

Once I reached the top, the vast landscape of the Kurtala Mountain Range, previously hidden by the surrounding terrain, unfolded before my eyes.

Mountains, mountains, and more mountains.

If it wasn’t a mountain, there were small basin-like terrains surrounded by mountains.

According to the information provided by the Hunter Association, the [Kurtala Mountain Range] dungeon was an A-rank erosion dungeon, with an average elevation of 2,000 meters above sea level.

Moreover, the Kurtala Mountain Range was vast, ranking among the top five in size among erosion dungeons worldwide.

After several reconnaissance missions and drone deployments, it was confirmed that the average temperature was 13.9 degrees Celsius, with seasonal changes observed, and the area covered about 800 square kilometers.

It was also speculated to be quite old geologically, as various minerals, including iron ore and limestone, were buried within.

With an area like that, it was nearly the size of a major city.

For example, Daegu Metropolitan City covers 883 square kilometers.

Additionally, this dungeon housed an independent ecosystem separate from Earth, along with a variety of monsters ranging from F-rank to C-rank.

This untapped world held immense potential as a treasure trove.

However, the government hadn’t been able to fully commit to resource development in the Kurtala Mountain Range.

That was due to the wyverns.

“So many of them…”

At first, I occasionally saw dark shapes flying in the sky and thought they were small birds, but it turned out those “flocks” were all wyverns.

Though the Kurtala Mountain Range was home to many monsters and ecosystems, the most dangerous threat was the wyvern horde.

According to the Hunter Association, the number of wyverns inhabiting the Kurtala Mountain Range was uncountable, with their colonies and breeding grounds scattered everywhere.

Even if an expedition were to destroy one wyvern nest, other wyverns would soon fill the void and continue to breed.

And wyverns weren’t creatures that hunters could easily kill, like swatting flies.

A single wyvern was ranked B-class to A+-class, making it impossible for low-level hunters to even dream of setting foot here.

Meanwhile, high-ranking hunters were busy protecting humanity elsewhere, so the government had no choice but to put resource development and mining plans on hold until the wyverns in the Kurtala Mountain Range were hunted down.

If these wyverns had any intention of invading the outside world beyond the gate, the dungeon would have been designated as S-rank instead of A-rank due to the sheer number of wyverns swarming the area.

Fortunately, wyverns had no interest in the gate.

Only a few cases of wyverns wandering through the gate and ending up in the real world occurred when they got lost or separated from their group.

For me, however, it didn’t matter whether the government delayed their plans or not.

As long as I was an authorized hunter, it didn’t matter how many wyverns I killed.

Just in case, I asked a Hunter Association official that Director Choi Bomi had brought along, and the answer was simple: I could kill, cook, and eat as many wyverns as I wanted.

Ah, being a hunter.

What a wonderful job!

“They look almost identical to the wyverns from my previous world. That means they should taste the same, right?”

Menelapie had mocked them as flying lizards, but I was grateful for their existence, having cooked and eaten their delightful eggs many times.

However, the vastness of the Kurtala Mountain Range meant it would take quite a while to reach the breeding grounds if I kept walking.

“I guess I should speed up.”

Sssss

I wrapped my feet in holy power.

Honestly, I didn’t need to use holy power, but unlike my sacred robes, my shoes were just mass-produced items from this world.

If I ran carelessly, they would be in tatters within a day.

Boom!

With the sound of air bursting, I leaped forward.

As I sped through the trees, whenever I couldn’t control my direction, I grabbed onto branches with my tentacles to forcefully change course.

Running through the forest wasn’t exactly my favorite thing, but unfortunately, I didn’t have the ability to fly.

If I had wings instead of these tentacles, I could’ve made a cooler impression. While I acknowledged their usefulness and excellence, their grotesque appearance left me somewhat dissatisfied.

Sadly, angelic wings were too luxurious for the Saintess of the Dead.

Click, click, click!

As if reading my thoughts, my tentacles clicked their teeth in frustration.

What are you going to do about it? You know you’re ugly too!

If you’re mad, then try looking prettier!

You all look like Mongolian death worms!

By the way, because of these tentacles, I spent a long time as an object of fear for the people of the empire, even though I had Emperor Menelapie’s endorsement.

Click, click, clack!

Shut up. Just stay quiet for a bit, and I’ll give you something tasty soon!

After running for a while, I realized I had reached the nearest wyvern group within my sight.

Looking up, I saw the shadows of black wyverns covering the ground.

Near the mountain peak, I could see wyverns guarding their nests.

“Hmm, should I just take them out?”

Honestly, wiping out those wyverns would’ve been a decent choice.

But was it really the right decision to waste food that I hadn’t even tasted yet?

As much as I loved eating, I wasn’t sure I could consume all the thousand-plus wyverns at once.

‘Well, maybe I could…’

No, let’s not take any unnecessary risks.

Moreover, this place was part of another ecosystem, a place I might frequently visit in the future.

If I wiped out the wyverns as soon as I arrived, I might eliminate the future wyverns and their eggs forever.

And then, I would only feast today and never again taste wyvern or their eggs.

Even fishermen release female fish carrying eggs or baby fish, right?

I think it’s a similar concept.

“For now, it looks like there are no nests isolated from the group.”

I enhanced my vision with holy power to scan the wyvern nests, but as expected, they were all clustered together.

“If I touch one egg, I’ll have to deal with the whole group…”

Crack, crack.

I started flexing my hands.

It was truly a shame and a painful fact that the first task I had as a hunter in this world was to slaughter those wyverns.

But what could I do?

My powers weren’t specialized for stealth like Menelapie or Teresa’s.

I couldn’t sneak in quietly, steal, and leave without a trace.

Once I used my powers, this mountain range would explode in a grand display.

That kind of flashy action suited my nature better anyway.

Moreover, this wasn’t the only wyvern breeding ground in the mountain range…

Even though it pained me…

Click, click, click, click!

What’s this?

Suddenly, the tentacles coiled around my hands as if trying to stop me.

These guys usually bicker with me about big and small matters, but they’ve never tried to stop me from enjoying a feast.

What’s going on?

I looked at the tentacles in confusion, and a few pointed in one direction.

Holding my breath, I cautiously moved in that direction, and soon a smell began to waft through the air.

A metallic scent of blood.

It wasn’t human blood.

It was the blood of a beast, or perhaps a wyvern.

Could it be…?

To avoid making noise, I used my tentacles to move through the trees.

Creak, creak, creak…

At the edge of the forest, there was a small valley. In one corner of the valley, a female wyvern, three times my size, lay on the ground groaning.

It wasn’t dead, but it was in pain, as blood trickled from its lower abdomen, forming a small pool.

“A wyvern giving birth…?”

That’s strange.

Wyverns lay eggs frequently, and it shouldn’t be bleeding like this unless it was sick…

Unless…

“Oh, no way…”

“A first-time birthing wyvern!”

Holy crap.

Holy crap.

A first-time birthing wyvern?

An egg laid by a young female wyvern during her first birth?

“Oh, holy… divine starlight…”

Do you know what this means?

In my previous world, wyvern eggs were a luxury food only royalty could afford, and they came in various grades.

Wyvern eggs were considered a high-class delicacy that commoners could only dream of.

However, after a wyvern laid its fifth egg, the quality decreased, and so did the price, making it accessible to ordinary citizens.

Usually, the wyvern egg dishes served by the imperial chefs to Emperor Menelapie and me came from a female wyvern’s second to fourth eggs.

But the very first egg, also known as a first-time birthing egg, was priceless.

It was nearly impossible to obtain, and even I had only tasted it once in my previous world.

The taste far exceeded that of ordinary wyvern eggs.

It was like condensing the richness of a thousand egg yolks into a single, dense flavor, with a fragrance so divine that the memory of it was still vivid to me.

“Churrrp…”

Drip, drip, drip, drip…

Before I knew it, I was wiping away the drool dripping from my mouth.

Not just me, but even the tentacles sprouting from my waist were salivating between their teeth as if savoring the thought.

“Haa, that looks so delicious…”

I held my breath and cautiously approached the female wyvern.

Fortunately, there was plenty of cover, so I could get close to the female, who was focused on giving birth.

I didn’t know why it was giving birth alone, away from its group, but that didn’t matter.

This was a first-time birthing egg. A first-time egg!

I just needed to crack open that wyvern’s skull, take the egg, and make jangjorim…!

“Huff, huff… No, calm down… If I kill it now, the egg might break too. Hold back, hold back.”

Wiping away the drool, I glared at the wyvern.

I wasn’t sure what kind of expression I had, but I was probably smiling.

Huff, huff.

Screeeech! Kraaah!

Yes, keep going! You can do it, wyvern! You can do it!

You can lay it!

The first birth is always the hardest! Sure, it’s painful!

Sure, it’s agonizing!

The pain of your flesh tearing will make you want to cry!

Yes, I understand!

Even though I’ve become accustomed to pain, I still understand how much it hurts when flesh is torn!

But when you overcome that pain… That’s when the first egg you lay will finally greet the world with bright light!

Shia cheered for the wyvern.

The tentacles, blooming like flowers, slowly crept around the wyvern, watching its first birth with piercing eyes.

Screeeeeeech!!!!

Thunk!

With a gush of blood, the wyvern’s first birth came to an end.

Before the still-warm egg could even touch the ground, Shia’s tentacles snatched it up in an instant.

The entire process was captured by the drone camera without a single detail missed.

[Miracle – Purification]

“Heeheeheehee!”

The wyvern egg was as big as Shia’s head.

Using the purification miracle, Shia wiped away all the blood and impurities clinging to the egg, then without looking back, she began to run.

Running at full speed, Shia quickly distanced herself from the newly birthed female wyvern.

The wyvern, belatedly realizing that its egg had vanished without warning, let out a screech, but by then, Shia was already far beyond the wyvern’s desperate cries.

“Hahaha!”

Shia couldn’t help but laugh.

After running far enough from the wyvern, she looked around and found a suitable spot to stop.

“I’m glad I brought the large camping gear.”

Most hunters would pack emergency rations, medical supplies, and auxiliary equipment to help them navigate and survive in the dungeon.

But Shia’s backpack spilled out a large pot, a stand, and containers filled with soy sauce, garlic, and various seasonings.

“Hehe, wyvern egg jangjorim. Hehehe….”

The thought alone made Shia’s grin stretch from ear to ear as she began preparing to cook.

After gathering some suitable firewood, she used her holy power to create friction and start a fire.

Although she wasn’t capable of doing everything like magic, starting a fire was no big deal.

Of course, it had been a very long time since Shia last cooked.

It wasn’t that she felt completely confident, but she had been watching and reviewing videos on how to make egg jangjorim before coming here, so it should be fine!

“Huff, huff…huff… First, I need to boil the wyvern egg…”

Shia poured an entire bottle of fresh water into the pot, then gently placed the still-warm wyvern egg inside to boil.

“Don’t get anxious. Stay calm…huff, huff…churrrp…”

Despite telling herself to stay calm, Shia’s shoulders trembled intermittently, and saliva continued to trickle from her mouth, which was stretched into a mask-like grin.

Unlike regular eggs, boiling a wyvern egg would take at least an hour.

Even considering the high heat of the holy power fire, it was time to calm down a little.

“Y-yeah…churrrp, let’s make the soy sauce seasoning first…”

Shia rummaged through her backpack again, pulling out the soy sauce.

“Okay, half a paper cup of soy sauce… But I don’t have a paper cup…”

While preparing another pot for the seasoning, Shia suddenly found herself facing a major dilemma.

Online, the standard recipe for boiled eggs called for half a paper cup of soy sauce for seven eggs.

But what was she supposed to do for one wyvern egg…?

Suddenly struck with brain fog, Shia stared nervously at the wyvern egg and the soy sauce.

“The wyvern egg is as big as my head… and the soy sauce…gulp….uh, what do I do?”

Calm down, Shia.

I am the Saintess of the Dead.

I fought against malevolent energy for over 60 years in the other world.

Don’t be scared.

If I get scared, I won’t be able to do anything.

“Fuuuuu…”

With a determined expression, Shia poured the soy sauce into the pot.

Given the size of the wyvern egg, it should require about two paper cups worth.

Then add a little more water…

“Is this…right?”

Honestly, Shia wasn’t sure if it was right.

But what could she do?

It was already done.

There was no turning back.

“Next is the sugar… Aaah!? It exploded in my bag!”

Opening the compartment where she stored the sugar, Shia discovered that the sugar pack had burst, making a mess inside.

Reluctantly using her purification miracle to clean up the spilled sugar, Shia decided to use whatever was left for the dish.

“They said to add sugar to taste… So… it should be okay to add a lot, right?”

And then there was the plum syrup she bought at Gyerong Station… No, since the portion was larger, she should add about half a cup of plum syrup, right?

With trembling eyes, Shia poured the plum syrup into the pot, then added the cooking wine.

At this point, the proportions hardly mattered anymore, judging by the look of pure confusion on her face.

Yet, surprisingly, the jangjorim soy sauce broth began to emit a pleasant aroma as it boiled.

“Oh, ohhh…! It smells good!”

Shia smiled in amazement.

The smile wasn’t one of the Saintess of the Dead, but a childlike, innocent grin, as if she had just been given a new toy.

“And then… minced garlic…onions…boil it for about 10 minutes, right?”

It was already done.

Shia wasn’t sure if the seasoning ratios were correct, but at least she had made a delicious-smelling jangjorim soy sauce broth.

“Once the wyvern egg is fully boiled…churrrp…”

Shia’s bloodshot eyes widened as she stared at the pot where the wyvern egg was cooking.

Every minute, every second seemed to pass excruciatingly slowly.

“Huff, huff…hurry…”

○○○○

Meanwhile, the female wyvern, having just laid its first egg, was letting out sorrowful cries, searching for its lost egg.

Screeeeeech!!

The anguished wails echoed through the valley, the cliffs, and across the mountain range.

Wyverns were a matriarchal species.

The oldest and strongest female led the group.

While the larger females guarded the nests and eggs, the males hunted for food during the day.

Though wyverns didn’t possess human-level intelligence, they were known for their strong maternal instincts.

Even if it wasn’t their own, the females guarding the nests would protect all the eggs and young of the group.

And if they heard the sorrowful cries of a mother who had lost her egg…

Screeeech!

Aaaahhhh!

Kyaaaah!

Kraaaah!

Kieeeeck!

…every wyvern in the horde would take to the skies, leaving only the minimum number of guards to protect the nests.

Who dares to touch our children?

Even if their predator was stronger, once wyverns were driven into a frenzy, they knew no fear.

Thus, all the wyverns from the Kurtala Mountain Range’s third peak took flight, leaving only the bare minimum behind to guard the nests, their wings darkening the skies.

In their rage and sorrow, they empathized with the grieving mother who had lost her egg.

Unbeknownst to her, the Saintess of the Dead, Shia, had just made enemies of every wyvern inhabiting the third peak of the Kurtala Mountain Range.