New Toy Discovered!

“Puhuh.” After hearing Sukmin’s thank-you, I immediately ended the stream. The fact that one little action of mine could make someone so happy or so sad was endlessly entertaining. Since the boss fight was over, I figured I’d take a break and watch some other streams. Most of the streamers on my follow list were people I only tuned into when I felt like playing Bless Raider, so today I decided to hunt for someone who mained the game.

The low hum of the PC cooler and the steady scroll of the mouse wheel filled the room. Just as the quiet started to grate on my nerves, one stream caught my eye.

“Oh.” A newbie? Couldn’t resist that. I clicked in right away.

[Kyaaaaah—!!]

“Whoa, shit.” A scream blasted through my headphones the second I joined, and the swear slipped out before I could stop it. Right, no swearing. I promised.

[Waaah, kyaaah! H-how am I supposed to dodge this?!]

[The circle what?! There’s nothing there!]

“Wow…” Even among the newbies I’d seen, this was impressively hopeless. I couldn’t help sighing. The red circle would appear, she’d just stand there smacking the boss, then panic-dodge way too late. Half the time she’d roll at the wrong moment or simply walk straight into the danger zone and eat the attack head-on.

While the teammates weren’t even flaming her in chat, she stopped to type a reply and immediately ate another pattern.

[Kyaaaaah—!]

Her character let out a pained scream and collapsed into dust.

“Hmm…”

The rest of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠party followed suit, standing still and eating the boss’s attacks until the run ended instantly.

Her once-bubbly voice had gone completely flat. “Haa… next run.”

“Hmm…”

This one had sniper potential. I queued straight for the same boss she had just been fighting.

A few seconds later the match popped. Snipe successful. Sure enough, the name “Kits” appeared on my team list.

“Good.”

I picked my blessings—every single one into movement speed. With my current gear the boss wouldn’t take long anyway, and zooming around was more fun. A yawn escaped me. I’d woken up at lunch and it was already evening; sleepiness was creeping in. Finish this run, grab a few beers, then bed.

*

[Kwoooar…]

This boss was a giant orc. Easy, aside from the rocks it chucked from afar. Perfect for newbies learning the red-circle dodge. …Though Kits clearly hadn’t learned it yet. I pushed the thought aside and sprinted straight at the boss.

[Flash Strike.]

Swish—! I carved across its side the moment its arm rose.

[Kwoooar—!!]

“Ugh, loud.”

[Draw.]

I sheathed the greatsword, then drew it again in a flurry of slashes that left glowing lines across the orc’s body. Its HP plummeted. I could’ve finished it with my ultimate, but instead I deliberately backed off.

I slipped into a safe spot and checked Kits’ stream on my phone. A few viewers recognized me; most didn’t. This chat was surprisingly clean.

“Hmm…”

“This is way more fun, though.”

I opened my equipment window and unequipped every piece of armor. My character stood there in nothing but underwear, greatsword still in hand.

“Hard mode on.”

With no armor the orc could one-shot me, so every dodge had to be perfect. That extra tension made it twice as satisfying. I smiled and swung the blade. Even basic attacks chunked huge portions of the boss’s health.

Phase two.

[Kwaaaaaah—!!!]

At the orc’s roar, smaller orcs and goblins poured in. Goblins with spears, bigger orcs with massive swords. I stood beside the priest, just watching.

“Puh.” I glanced at the stream chat. Unlike Kits, who had zero time to read, her viewers had clearly seen my message. I watched her in the distance, desperately hacking away at orcs and goblins one by one, and smiled. How long will this toy last?

*

“Kyaa!”

Kits rolled under a thrown spear, screamed, then rolled again to dodge a massive sword before nocking an arrow. Thwip—! The arrow pierced an orc’s throat.

“Agh, I thought it was a burst and got excited for nothing!!”

Still, Shin Soyun kept her stream voice energetic, layering in sound effects. Truthfully, when she played alone the game wasn’t this hard. The problem was trying to stream at the same time. Viewers had started teasing her for dying on purpose or overacting just to make content.

“Uwaaah—!”

She nearly got flattened by the orc’s greatsword again because she’d been thinking about chat. Two spear hits from the goblins had already left her with almost no HP.

“Priest!! Priest, heal me!!! Please!”

No voice chat, so the plea went unheard. She chugged a potion and kept fighting, whittling down the adds until only three goblins remained. She drew her bow—

[Flash Strike.]

The crazy high-level player who’d been watching from the back one-shot all three with a single skill.

Kits checked chat late. The cold message was still there.

“Wait, you want me to fight that thing alone…?”

“Guys, is that really the issue right now?!”

“Ah, uwaah!”

She shouted at chat and almost ate a rock the boss threw. Reflexively rolling saved her.

“Huh? Guys, I dodged it! Whoa!”

The joy lasted half a second before the orc’s greatsword came crashing down again.

“Eek, uwaah!”

She rolled once more and avoided it.

“…Huh?”

“I think… I think I’m getting it.”

After dodging a couple more attacks, something clicked. She could feel the timing now. Whether it was because she’d wiped to this boss over ten times or because she was actually adapting, it didn’t matter. It was progress.

“Uwaaah! Bring it on, you ugly bastard!!”

“Ah, no, I didn’t mean you guys! Uwaat!”

She kept weaving through attacks, landing damage. The priest’s heals and buffs finally started landing; her HP returned to full. Just as she was starting to feel confident—

Swish— A single clean cut. The boss’s head fell.

*

“Puhuh.”

Right as Kits was about to land the killing blow, I stole it. Not on purpose, of course. Her damage contribution had just crossed 25 %, so I finished it to keep the priest from getting penalized for low participation. Newbie retention was important in this game; protecting rare specimens ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was a veteran’s duty. Duty.

Anyway, I skipped the loot screen and grabbed the goblin hides and orc tusk at the bottom of the list.

I accepted their thanks and returned to the lobby. I was getting hungry, so I moved the mouse to close the game—

“Eh?”

I hadn’t planned on adding anyone, but… it had been a while since I found a fun toy. I accepted.

Immediately a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠message popped up.

Since she asked, I answered honestly.

“Oh.”

I hadn’t expected this kind of gratitude. Most people just said thanks and left. I typed my username, feeling oddly awkward.

I closed the chat and shut down the game.

“Hungry…”

I really couldn’t hold out any longer.