NoName’s one-handed sword sliced through the flames and smoke, cutting into the knight’s abdomen.
In the limited field of view, the quick strike was over before anyone could react.
The knight, clutching his stomach, fell back and shouted up at the woman, “Kuh, kill me!”
He hadn’t given up on the game.
If he delayed any longer, he would mess up the respawn timing with his teammates and wouldn’t be able to participate in the following object fight.
The woman’s emotionless eyes turned red.
‘As expected, she knows too. She knows that killing me would be a loss…!’
How could someone who held a Gold Rank not know this?
“If you’re not coming, I’ll go!”
The knight, in a state of despair, reached out his fist toward the woman’s throat.
Couldn’t there be a lucky punch?
But that expectation was soon dashed.
With a desperate flail, NoName quickly twisted her body.
Clang-!
The sound of her fist connecting with the solid gauntlet echoed cheerfully.
“Stay still.”
NoName seized the knight’s wrist, kicked his shins to unbalance him, and twisted his elbow behind his back to subdue him.
In the blink of an eye, the knight was pinned beneath the woman, unable to move.
Clatter-
The woman dropped both swords to the ground and pulled out a third weapon.
“Just kill me cleanly! What is this each time?!”
“Isn’t it amazing how a duster deals damage based on lost health?”
“I don’t want to know that kind of stuff!”
A new teabagging weapon appeared in Wagal.
NoName took the duster and gently tickled the back of the knight’s neck.
Gahhhhhhh!
The knight’s waist bent like a bow.
– Duster is ridiculously strong, LOL
– 33 kills! Are we going for 33 kills?
– Don’t end the game! Kill more!
– How did you figure out the lost health proportional damage tooltip, it wasn’t even written there, LOL
– Teabagging is strongly encouraged, LOL
– Na-me is the cleaning king! Na-me loves cleaning!
[Yggdrasil has been destroyed.]
[Victory]
The once bright rainbow-colored duster was now stained red with the filthy blood of knights, wizards, and priests.
[‘Cat Love is the Best’ donated 3,300,000 won!]
– You thieving jerk!!!!!
Na-me threw off her frustrated mask and spoke up.
“Thank you for the 3,300,000 won donation. I think this will be the end of today’s broadcast.”
– Today’s broadcast was the last game?
– This can’t be happening, Na-me!
– Come back as my small, broke Na-meㅠㅠㅠ
└ Na-me is still small
– Na-me is worth 200 billion…
– I have to pay 300,000 won just to barely watch a game?
Na-me gazed blankly at the viewers expressing disappointment.
‘What do you mean 200 billion, I only have debt…’
In the comments section of the video uploaded on V-tube, people were only talking about the rich, conglomerate, 200 billion girl, so there was no fun in following the reactions.
Someday, she would need to properly explain herself.
[Video shared – ‘Adellada1빙’ shared it for 10,000!]
“Hmm?”
A viewer showed Adella’s broadcasting video.
‘She timed it perfectly, huh?’
In fact, the reason Na-me suddenly started broadcasting was to wait until Adella’s Virtual YouTuber stream was over.
On the screen, Adella crumpled to the ground and clawed at the earth, crying out.
[No way…]
– Wow, did Adella get demoted?
– Look at that red score, LOL
– 10-layer hamburger patty complete!
– How desperate must she have been to abandon a thief for a shield knight, LOL
[Please return to me. The sight that was as vast as the wilderness, the reaction speed that was as fast as a beast. Please return the Challenger badge to me! Aaaaaah! Oh heavens!!!!!]
“Ugh.”
Na-me gasped.
A madwoman.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Adella was acting like a lunatic right now.
She appeared pale as a corpse, letting out hollow laughter.
[I can’t remember the scenery I passed because I fell too fast… I’m so drained, I have nothing left…]
Na-me entered the stats site and checked Adella’s records.
– Wow, that’s pitiful
– It’s true that thieves are trash in this meta, but that win rate…
– What kind of scores are dropping like a troop commander, LOL
– No wonder her mental is breaking, I agree
Recent record: 2 wins and 26 losses.
After a 7-game losing streak, she barely managed to get 2 wins, then immediately suffered another 19-game losing streak.
It seemed she had plunged from Challenger to Diamond with a win rate of 7%.
Amidst the ridicule of countless viewers, Adella ended her broadcast.
*
[1st Floor.]
Despite the sun having set, it wasn’t too chilly.
Late at night, Adella and I put on windbreakers and went out for a walk.
Adella wore a black cap pulled down deep, her small head covering half of her face with the brim.
Today, her expression looked as dark as the shadow cast on her face.
Let’s talk as we go.
We exited the well-organized apartment complex and soon entered a sparsely populated walking path.
Entering a small path between the fences, we climbed a few stone steps.
Eventually, we came across an empty lot with discarded construction materials, and behind it, a lush reed field stretched out.
The sporadically placed streetlights illuminated the reed field swaying in the spring breeze.
We walked for an hour or two every day at this time for our health, and since hardly anyone walked this way, it was a frequently used path.
“How’s the broadcasting going?”
I began with a light question.
Adella let out a deep sigh and replied, “It’s okay, I guess.”
“Well, in life, there are ups and downs. If everything always went well, what would be the fun in that? Right?”
Celebrating achievements should accompany overcoming adversity and effort.
Even if someone won a prestigious competition using hacks, wouldn’t they feel emptiness rather than a sense of achievement?
“Losing is one thing, but my mental isn’t holding up. I keep losing, and my tension drops. I’m starting to feel like the viewers’ chats are all scraping against me. I’m the one who is angriest at myself.”
If she had her cat ears and tail right now, they would undoubtedly be drooping.
Adella remained in such a low-pressure mode that my consolation wouldn’t make a difference.
I held her hand tightly and gently rubbed her knuckles with my thumb.
“Was your team luck not good?”
“I should have killed that fire sorceress back then… Haa, I guess it’s not just bad luck with the team, but my skills aren’t what they used to be.”
“Really? Slump?”
“Yeah. My focus is slipping, my body isn’t keeping up with what I think, and most importantly, my reaction speed has dropped, which is the most fatal. I keep losing in one-on-one fights…”
“I see.”
I had assumed she’d have some dissonance adjusting to her new body.
After all, there was no way the physicality in virtual reality with a realistic setting capped at 0.9 could perfectly match reality.
“And why is this body so slow! Last time, my reaction speed test came out to 120 ms, did you know?”
“You’ve been in virtual reality all along, using it without any delay. To be honest, that was still all hacking, wasn’t it?”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
“And normally, the average human reaction speed is 0.2 seconds. With that speed, you should consider yourself blessed.”
Since I based it against the body of a 16-year-old, it was only natural.
Thanks to that, my face looked a bit younger, and didn’t my chest grow larger than before? She wouldn’t admit it, though.
“So you’re telling me that all the Challenger-level players conducted one-on-one matches as psychological battles? Predicting the opponent’s moves without even seeing what would happen?”
“If you want to get back to the top again, you’d need to have that level of skill.”
“Haa… They really were monsters. Ugh, I just want to go back to school quickly. It’s not like I’m Dracula moving around only at night…”
Adella kicked the stones scattered on the roadside to vent her frustration.
“Shall we run once?”
I stopped and tidied up my shoelaces.
When thinking gets complicated, it’s necessary to move your body.
Adella smiled, stretching widely to the point her heels lifted off the ground.
“Sounds good. You should also use your aura more. That’s why your muscles aren’t building.”
“You never wait for me though, do you?”
“…”
“Adella? Hey, let’s go together!”
“A meaty monster is chasing us! Domehuncha!”
A meaty monster?
Is she talking about my twin tails right now?
One thing is certain: whenever, it’s always Adella who ends up throwing the first punch.
Which is why I keep failing at my natural exercise routine.
*
“Huff… huff… my legs feel weak… ugh, cramp again!”
“Can’t you use your aura properly yet? Like this, like this.”
“No, I mean you need to tell me what this ‘like this’ means so I can understand!”
“Like this, like this.”
“Agh! You little…!”
Adella was struggling with handling her aura.
She had enough talent handed down from her past life, so she should have more than enough potential.
It’s just that she lacked a bit of savvy.
And I’m not very good at verbal education either.
I tend to lean more towards the Spartan or eagle-like approach of throwing chicks out of the nest.
“Hmm, looks like it might rain. Even though the temperature is low, the humidity makes it hard for the sweat to dry.”
“Go ahead and shower first. I’ll do it later.”
“Come on sis, let’s do it together to save on water, okay?”
“Please don’t say strange things.”
Adella and I were bickering over trivial things as we headed back home.
“I’m always serious… huh?”
[I can’t live without love… really… can’t live…]
A staggering person walked toward us, humming a cheerful tune from the opposite sidewalk.
It wasn’t a wide street that allowed three people to walk side by side, so Adella and I hugged the left side to let them pass.
But then that person moved toward us.
As they turned right, they moved right in sync again and blocked our path.
“Hey, sis, I think that uncle is drunk. Let’s quietly pass by.”
“Okay.”
A strong smell of alcohol pierced my nose.
“What’s this? Two little girls walking around carelessly at this late hour?”
A shabby-dressed man sipped from an empty soju bottle, gazing at us with glassy eyes.
“Should I escort you home? Where do you live? Huh? Uncle will kindly escort you.”
As the man reached for Adella’s hand, she jerked back in horror.
“No thanks, we live around here so we’ll be going.”
“Oh yeah, look at this brat?”
“Sis, it’s dangerous so let’s hurry!”
“Why is my word funny?”
Crash-!
The soju bottle smashed against the wall, shattering.
“What? It broke? Haha, my bad, my bad. Were you scared, little girl? Burp!”
Now I noticed his face was completely flushed.
He wasn’t just blocking our way; he had decided not to let us through by stretching his arms wide.
“Please, just let us pass? Please?”
As Adella stepped forward to push his arm away, he shouted and wildly swung the soju bottle.
“Aaaah! What’s wrong with that jerk?!”
“You jerk? Hey! Do you want to die? I’m asking if you want to die!”
This was no simple threat.
The man intended to slam the sharp soju bottle down on Adella’s head.
I pulled Adella’s wrist, tumbling her backward, and wrapped my aura around my entire right arm.
“Who the hell are you?!”
“First, I’m a person.”
“What…!”
Crash-!
The soju bottle shattered against my arm.
Movements are limited in narrow spaces.
So, with my legs close together, I pushed my weight forward in one swift motion.
With added elasticity, I punched straight into the man’s abdomen.
“Aaaaaaaaaah!”
Boom-!
The man folded in half, flying off into the darkness where the streetlight’s glow couldn’t reach.
Thud-
With the sound of something colliding, quietness returned.
Adella, brushing off her backside, frowned and said, “I told you… sis, it was dangerous.”
“What?”
“Ah, it’s nothing! I should’ve just taken the long way instead of cutting through here, hehe…”
