Chapter 13: The Water Spirit’s Trick

The streamer Yudok.

He was known for playing strategy simulation games and titles like MolgaWho, which revolve around domain management.

Because of that, he didn’t have a massive viewership, but perhaps thanks to his consistency over the years, he had about 700 regular viewers.

He was a management game specialist streamer.

“Alright~ that’s it for today~!”

— [Ehhh!! Already?]

— [Wait! You’re ending it here??]

— [Just a little more!]

— [Extend! Extend!]

As viewers voiced their disappointment, Yudok gave a small smile.

“Ahahaha, I’m just a little tired.”

[Staff1 has sent a donation of 10,000 won.]

<Manager! Can we get an extension over here~>

— [Extension time, let’s goooo!]

— [Just a little longer, please~]

— [You’re going to ignore the extension requests?]

Normally, with this level of begging, Yudok would have extended the stream.

But today, he was really exhausted.

“Guys, I pulled an all-nighter. I’m so tired right now—can’t you see the dark circles under my eyes?”

[Writer has sent a donation of 10,000 won.]

<<Um, I don’t see them? You’re really ending it after taking donations?>>

— [Oho, a streamer who takes the money and runs?]

— [10,000 won and he’s out? Boom!]

— [Leaving like this? No conscience? Boom!]

— [What kind of combo move was that? Insane lol]

The viewers had no intention of letting him go easily.

As they persisted, Yudok made a proposal.

“Then how about this?”

He raised one finger and continued.

“I’ll start the stream earlier tomorrow and end a little later than usual. Sound good?”

It was a fair compromise.

Honestly, if he had more energy, he would’ve liked to keep going, but streaming while that tired would just tank the quality.

It was better to end things cleanly.

“Yeah, that sounds good. I agree with the proposal.”

“Right? Everyone else okay with that?”

— [Call!!!]

— [Co-o-o-o-ol!! Lol]

— [We’ll remember this.]

“Great.”

Yudok soothed his viewers as he prepared to end the stream.

But then—

[jvvReporter has sent a 5,000 won donation along with a video.]

<Yudok, please just watch this one video!!>

“Huh?”

Just as he was about to end the stream, a video donation arrived.

He hesitated for a moment, debating whether to play it.

But he respected the viewer’s effort.

“Alright then, thank you jvvReporter for the donation. I’ll watch this last video, then I’ll end the stream.”

Yudok played the video.

It was a clip of Exitra playing MolgaWho.

The video continued as Exitra met a knight, toured the domain, and triggered a sudden quest.

“Wait, isn’t this Exitra? The one they call the brainiac monster?”

— [That’s right!]

— [CCC]

— [I watched him duel once, and I swear I needed a diaper.]

— [That was insane.]

— [One pair of underwear was NOT enough lol]

The viewers already knew who Exitra was.

He was the very person who had forced Dogry, a major streamer, to shave his head.

The one Dogry had called a ‘brainiac monster’.

Even now, other streamers were reacting to and analyzing Exitra’s battle clips.

That’s how shocking his gameplay was.

“As someone who also streams management games, I’ve played Heir of a Fallen House. I even tried playing as a Spirit Summoner back then, but honestly… that class just isn’t viable.”

Yudok shook his head.

It wasn’t called a trash aptitude for nothing.

But Exitra had managed to win—using that very trash aptitude—against an Assassin, its worst counter.

It was an unbelievable feat.

Something no other streamer had ever pulled off.

“But… this domain’s condition looks awful.”

— [Domain condition: Rock bottom~]

— [That place is hell… run.]

— [Grim Reaper: Sorry, but this is my private property. Kindly leave.]

— [Lololololololol]

The state of the domain was truly abysmal.

Crumbled walls, run-down buildings…

Just seeing it was enough to know—this was a total mess.

“At this level… it’s a reroll candidate. Might be better to start a new game altogether.”

— [OX]

— [That’s the best option.]

“The domain’s already trash, and now there’s even a dehydration quest… You have to fix the well to clear it…”

— [Lolololol]

— [Didn’t Yudok do that quest too?]

Yudok made a disgusted face.

He was remembering that time.

“I did that quest once… and it was a nightmare. I had to keep hauling water from the lake to fill the well… haah… just thinking about it…”

Yudok shook his head.

It was pure grinding hell.

Just recalling the back-and-forth trips to the lake was enough to give him chills.

— [Didn’t it take like three hours to carry all the water?]

— [That quest is seriously rage-inducing.]

— [The distance between the lake and the domain is random. If you’re lucky, it’s close—but if not, it’s way too far.]

Clearly, the viewers were familiar with it too.

Yudok shut the video with a grim expression.

He never wanted to relive that misery again.

“Alright~ that’s it from me today~”

— [Yuba~ (short for Yudok Bye~)]

— [Yuba~]

— [See you tomorrow~]

— [Notifications turned on~]

“Hahaha, then~ see you!”

***

[Dehydrated Domain Residents]

[Description: The domain is suffering from a lack of water, and residents are showing symptoms of dehydration. If left alone, people may die of thirst. Quickly restore the well to normal in order to save them.]

[Success Condition: Normalize the well (Deaths: 0)]

[Reward for Success: 5 Points]

[Failure: -5 Satisfaction, +10 Discontent]

“Oh no…”

It’s the dehydration quest.

[If the lake is far, this quest is literal hell lololol]

Exitra turned to Ray and asked a question.

The difficulty of this quest depended heavily on how far the lake was.

In fact, every future quest involving the lake would also be affected by this distance.

“Is there a lake nearby?”

“Yes, there is.”

“How far is it?”

“It’s about a 30-minute walk from here.”

— […]

— [That distance is insane.]

— [30 minutes one way? That means a full hour round trip!]

— [??? : I told you! My insight is crazy good!!]

— [This isn’t just bad—it’s a total disaster lol]

The distance wasn’t just bad—it was unbearably far.

Exitra hurriedly checked the well water.

“Just as I thought. It’s dry.”

— [The grind begins!!]

— [Exitra, it’s time to get to work!]

— [??? : Dolsoe, are you ready to labor?]

— [Hey, slave, it’s work o’clock.]

— [??? : Dobby is no longer free ㅠㅠ]

The streamer’s suffering and exhaustion were the viewers’ entertainment.

The thought of Exitra grinding away seemed to bring joy to the chat, which was flooded with nonstop “ㅋㅋㅋ”.

[Chairman has donated 10,000 won.]

<New Mission: Clear the quest without a single death, and I’ll give you 100,000 won. Deal?>

— [Ooooh, the Chairman’s here!]

— [Big spender, what brings you to this humble channel…?]

— [100K mission? That’s way too generous ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

— [Wait, is this even doable? It’s way too far??]

— [When I got that quest, like four of my people died on the way to the lake… ㅠㅠ]

Everyone expected failure.

The lake was just too far.

The round trip alone could easily kill a few villagers from dehydration.

Even the Chairman didn’t think it was possible and probably offered the mission half-jokingly.

But there was one thing they all overlooked.

Exitra gave a confident smile.

“Everyone… did you forget what my aptitude is?”

ChatGPT said:

— [??]

— [????]

— [??]

— [????]

Ding~

— [????]

The chat filled with question marks and hooks.

Even Chronos, who was silently watching, seemed curious enough to send a message.

That was when one of the viewers suddenly understood Exitra’s words.

Exitra’s aptitude.

Spirit Summoner.

And what comes to mind when you think of Spirit Summoners? Spirits, of course.

There was one spirit perfectly suited to solving this quest.

— [Spirit Summoner! The Water Spirit!]

— [Ah! That’s right!]

“Ding ding ding~ Correct! But sadly, no prize~”

Exitra grinned and summoned the Water Spirit—Undine.

A shimmer of blue light began to swirl.

Looking closely, you could see a small, adorably shaped fairy-like creature within the glow.

— [Ahhh!!]

— [Right, spirits don’t care about distance…]

— [Nobody picks that aptitude, so I totally forgot about it.]

— [Water spirits can create water!]

[Chairman has donated 10,000 won.]

<Wait, hey now! That’s not what I meant at all…!!>

— [The Chairman got trolled ㅋㅋㅋ]

— [This is comedy gold ㅋㅋ]

— [I could swear I hear a black milk cow crying somewhere… or is it just me?]

***

Ding~

[Wow, this isn’t right…]

Splash!

Exitra used Undine to fill the well with water.

It was crystal clear water, rich with spiritual energy.

Even better, Undine’s power was specialized in healing.

Because of that, the water she created was infused with restorative energy, and the villagers who drank it instantly returned to normal.

“It’s water!”

“It’s so refreshing…”

“I never knew water could taste this good… This is a first for me…”

“We don’t have to worry about water anymore…”

[Quest ‘Territory Inspection’ cleared.]

[You have earned 10 points.]

[Side Quest ‘Dehydrated Villagers’ cleared.]

[You have earned 5 points.]

The quests were completed successfully.

No one died, and it was all over in an instant, with zero hardship.

The viewers, however, were left feeling empty inside.

The result was nothing like what they had imagined.

— [Oh, come on…]

— [Damn it…]

Seeing those reactions, Exitra smiled and held out his hand.

“Now then~ Shall we collect our payment?”

[Chairman has donated 100,000 won.]

<No, I mean… wow… I… huh…>

— [Dear customer, are you perhaps… flustered?]

— [Oops! Another black bull fleeced!]

— [ㅋㅋㅋ Black bull, really ㅋㅋ]

“Thank you for the 100K, Chairman~ I feel like I’m surviving thanks to your donations.”

Exitra grinned with practiced ease.

The chat was filled with waves of “ㅋㅋㅋ” and comments mocking the Chairman.

Meanwhile, the now-recovered villagers approached Exitra.

“Exitra… thank you so much!”

“If it weren’t for you, I don’t know what would’ve happened to us…”

“My son was in a terrible state just this morning, but thanks to you, he survived. Thank you.”

[Due to your quick response, the villagers have been deeply moved by your actions.]

[Achievement unlocked: ‘Faster Than a Water Truck!’]

[Villager Discontent -5]

[Villager Satisfaction +5]

— [Oh, an achievement!]

— [Water truck achievement? Never seen that one before. What are the conditions?]

— [Is this a hidden achievement for Spirit Summoners only?]

The viewers were surprised by the achievement.

‘Faster Than a Water Truck’ was something no one had seen before.

“I can’t believe I got an achievement here. I really didn’t expect it.”

Achievements related to the villagers could reduce discontent and increase satisfaction.

And unlocking achievements also granted special decorative items and bonus points.

So it was always best to grab them whenever possible.

‘Not bad.’

He had avoided the worst-case scenario.

If even a few villagers had died, their discontent would’ve spiked, and any satisfaction he had earned would’ve vanished.

That would’ve been a terrible way to start things off.

It was a huge relief to have avoided that fate.

“Um… Exitra…”

As he scanned the chat, momentarily distracted, one of the villagers stepped forward.

The villager was in terrible shape.

His hair had already begun falling out, and his arms and legs were skin and bone—like he was barely holding on.

Malnourished from prolonged starvation, his appearance was painfully tragic.

“I’m so sorry, but… could you spare some food?”

[Side Quest generated: ‘Starving Villagers’]

[Territory Difficulty: Minimum]

His work wasn’t over yet.