On top of the wreck of the ship.
The body of the hunter, whose breath has ceased, was thrown into the sea.
Even after getting nerfed, he stubbornly stuck to a no-death build.
What an annoying little brat.
If he had been nailed in his coffin, he should have just stayed put.
[Victory! Earned 28 points …]
On the wreck, all alone, splash.
I stretched out like a starfish and took a moment to catch my breath.
How many rounds have I played?
My body felt oddly languid, so I couldn’t really recall.
It was a sign that it was soon time to step out of the connection device.
When a person doesn’t get any sleep, their body falls apart—my body was sending me a warning.
[System: 47 hours have passed since you logged in.]
[System: Excessive gaming is harmful to your health. We recommend taking a break.]
[System: Sweet dreams are more beautiful when your health is safeguarded.]
Right.
I should probably step out soon.
Once I do, I’ll need to shove food into my belly right away.
And I should probably take some supplements too.
Long-term gaming requires surprisingly delicate maintenance.
But before that, there was something I absolutely had to do.
[Dragon’s Tear]
[Item Grade: Unique]
Some of the tears harvested from the fierce Draconic Dragon long ago.
Tears from dragons can only be harvested right before they die, so you can’t get them through ordinary means.
There’s a way to trade them in a moonlit, eerie temple…
[Acquisition Method: Guild Quest]
[Use: Catalyst for Magic Barriers]
[Can be traded only 120 hours after acquisition. (Remaining time – 00:00)]
[The trading timer only decreases while logged in.]
[Upon death, there’s a 60% chance of losing ownership.]
This was my best loot from the previous quest.
Even the guild holds it in high esteem, and it was tucked away nicely in my inventory.
Naturally, I hadn’t returned it to the SSA guild yet.
Because it’s my rightful loot.
I not only followed the request entirely; I showed results beyond that.
Out of ten enemies, I killed eight—there should be no complaints about that.
It wasn’t me who snatched the item; it was the assassin from Dongmi-cham’s side.
And I’d merely taken the item back from that assassin.
Strictly speaking, these are completely different events.
I don’t know if even the SSA guild would agree, though.
Well, judging by the lack of communication, they probably thought it was lost.
They probably assumed Dongmi-cham recovered it.
The information probably reported that the assassin was killed.
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have pursued the fleeing assassin anyway.
But now, the five-day trading limit had expired.
That meant I could do whatever I wanted with this item!
Still, my hand moved toward the name on my friend list.
To survive in this industry for long, it’s important to show some loyalty.
Since SSA was the one who requested it, I’d say it’s not a bad idea to grant them the right to buy it first.
Of course, I’d have to pay the price.
[Whispering to Dongjak Station Agent.]
– Hey
– Guess what this is?
– (Item Link: Dragon’s Tear)
– I’m going to sleep, so just write down how much you want to buy it for.
(Dongjak Station Agent is typing a message…)
[Infinity Black has ended.]
[Thank you for using our service, Gawol.]
*
What should I eat today?
The menu is obviously ramen, but there are many kinds of ramen.
Even when eating the same ramen, whether to boil it or fry it is a significant issue.
Okay, I’ve decided.
Today, I’ll have Jjajang ramen for the first time in a while.
I lift the pan like a heron on one leg.
Pour in some cooking oil and drop in the eggs. Normally, I wouldn’t bother with luxurious items like eggs, but since they were given to me, I’d better enjoy them.
Once I set aside the half-cooked fried egg, I started boiling the ramen.
“Wow, why do I crave this so much today? I don’t usually eat it.”
I couldn’t quite remember the last time I’d had real Jjajangmyeon.
I’ve eaten Jjajang ramen since my body changed… but the two are definitely different foods in my mind.
The flavor seems similar, but there’s a subtle difference.
While boiling the ramen, I had to keep standing on one leg.
This wasn’t an easy task, so I took a quick break sitting on a chair.
Meanwhile, my phone was buzzing with notifications like it was on fire.
[Infinity Black App – You have an unread message.]
[Infinity Black App – Unread message…]
It’s obvious who’s looking for me so eagerly.
Judging by how many lines the message has, it seems like it’s more than one person.
Probably the guild master or the executives from the SSA.
But what can you guys do if I ignore you?
Are you scared that the opportunity you’ve found will fly away, shivering in fear? What can you do?
That thought made me chuckle softly.
I decided to reply 12 hours later.
I can’t break promises with myself.
Sadly, I’d just have to lie down in bed once my meal was done.
But maybe I’ll take a little peek?
As long as I don’t reply, it’s fine, right?
[Checking the message in secret mode.]
[The other party won’t see that you’ve read the message.]
*
The moment I woke up, an instinct suddenly called out to me.
There’s a devil in my blanket. The kind that has plunged countless humanity into suffering.
I tightly shut my eyes, fearing the realization of this animalistic instinct.
It was pointless.
The devil that approached me couldn’t be avoided just because I turned my back on reality.
Instead, it only intensified my bad feeling since all my other senses became vividly acute.
The devil that approached me—something I couldn’t welcome at all.
What most of humanity in the past considered as ‘curses’ or ‘divine punishment’.
The curse that rusts iron and spills blood, bringing death to flowers.
I forcefully pushed away my fear and lifted the blanket.
In due time, my hand lost its strength.
“I’m going crazy… what do I do?”
The delicate fabric of my pajamas was stained with blood.
Right… the name of the devil is menstruation.
Usually, signs kick in a day or two beforehand.
But I probably missed them because I got too into the game.
Having been stuck in the connection device and falling asleep immediately after—that was probably to blame.
Fortunately, it seemed that no blood had gotten on my blanket.
Washing it would’ve been a pain, but it seemed I only needed to wash my body and change clothes.
“Agh…!”
While I was trying to grab a towel from the storage, a sudden stomach cramp caused my body to curl up.
I’m not sure if I particularly have severe menstrual cramps.
I don’t think I’m exaggerating, but pain is something you can’t really compare with others.
Ever since my body changed, it’s made it even harder to say for sure.
But it seems that the weaker my body gets, my mind gets weaker too.
With my lower belly twisted in pain, cold sweat broke out and a groan slipped from my lips.
“Ugh, huh…! Haa… heh…”
It’s alright. Pain doesn’t last forever.
After all, it’s a humiliation I have to experience once a month.
A little twinge of pain can’t be helped.
So what truly torments me isn’t the pain in my lower abdomen.
Suddenly, what felt like a fortress now seemed like a jail without bars.
I, trapped within, felt like a piece of trash drifting in the vast ocean.
Every time this happens, my heart goes wild for no reason and then without warning, it lifts my spirits—I am, in fact, the monster that torments me.
Darn it.
I can’t go on like this.
‘First, let’s wash my body. Once I wipe off the blood, I’ll feel a bit better, and then I can dive back into the game.’
I was right about that.
Once the water washed over me, it seemed to dilute my sticky feelings a bit.
Above all, it felt nice and warm.
Human skin always maintains a temperature lower than body heat.
So when you hold hands with others, warmth is exchanged, making you feel cozy.
This must be because humans are born to crave warmth from others.
But there are also people in the world who can’t feel warmth like me.
So sometimes, I need to fill my lacking warmth with warm water and other times, wrapped in blankets.
‘It feels a bit lonely. I thought I’d gotten used to it by now.’
In the past, I didn’t have much to complain about.
I didn’t realize that when you’re in pain, you become needlessly sentimental.
That’s why I hated menstruation so much.
The red stains that flow between my legs and the presence of my breasts felt disconnected from me during washing.
Honestly, I sometimes thought about cutting my long hair short.
The stylist sister fussed that it would be a waste, and I figured it wouldn’t help anyway, so I gave up.
It felt bad to run away from it.
I had already changed.
Trying to pretend to look even slightly like before only made things ugly.
That kind of escape wasn’t my style.
‘But there’s no need to bear this pain alone.’
I wrapped a towel around my head and immediately opened the internet.
I checked the stored sanitary pads while searching for a streamer that was live.
As I clicked into each stream, I etched their approximate positions in my mind.
They all seem to be having so much fun.
And here I am, feeling terrible today.
If they’re having fun, then why not invite me to join?
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