The First Boss, Watcher Rowen
My brief panic over the unexpected bloodbath was finally over. With the help of my viewers, I, Choi Riu, had managed to turn on the gore filter... Gosh, that was embarrassing. I can't believe I reacted like a real, fragile teenage girl. But honestly, anyone would freak out if a fountain of crimson blood suddenly sprayed all over them! It even smelled like actual blood. When a game is this obsessively realistic, your senses are bound to be fooled. Besides, I am technically a girl right now. It makes perfect sense that I'd be startled.
"Whoa. Seriously, wow. Thank you, my Bangsaengis! You guys saved me. No, really, I was so shocked when all that blood suddenly gushed out."
"I can't get banned! It hasn't even been a week since my debut! Aaaah!"
Since I hadn't enabled the 19+ age restriction beforehand, I really might have been banned if that bloody fountain had kept streaming. Thank goodness my manager, who was watching the stream, quickly stepped in and helped me adjust the settings.
"Alright, now that the gore filter is on, let's get back to it."
From now on, instead of warm, realistic blood, it would just be a shower of harmless polygons. No matter how virtual this world was, my mental fortitude was still too weak to handle seeing and touching actual blood.
"Oh, by the way, guys. Since we're taking a quick break to set things up, is there anything crucial I should know beforehand? No story spoilers or excessive backseating, please. Just the absolute essentials."
"Forward rolls? The ground is covered in mud, so... I don't know about that."
These guys were having the time of their lives. Honestly, I knew exactly why they were telling me to roll. It's because of the invincibility frames on the forward roll. This game preserved the mechanics from its PC days, meaning rolling gave you temporary invincibility. That's why many newbies starting the game spent hours practicing their rolls first. It was practically a basic survival skill.
But there's no need to do it right now. I didn't want to get my armor dirty already. This game had a bizarrely obsessive level of detail—if you got mud or dust on yourself, it stayed on you unless you manually brushed it off or washed it.
"Okay! Got it. Let's get back on track, then."
As I unpaused, the frozen world sprang back to life. "Hup!" I grunted, pulling my straight sword out of the dead beggar. A shower of pink polygons spilled from the wound. It wasn't gross at all now. In fact, seeing those tiny, square blocks tumble out was almost cute.
"If it's like this, I can kill as many as you want! Yah!" I charged at the approaching beggars, swinging my straight sword. I had only been scared of the blood, not the beggars themselves. This was a piece of cake. "Die!" I lunged forward, slashing their throats. The beggars collapsed, gurgling. But as they died, the pitch-black shadows clinging to their bodies were absorbed into me. At the same time, a number popped up in the corner of my vision.
Dream: 210
This was probably the currency used in From the Nightmare. Since I had just killed seven beggars, they gave 30 Dream each. "Well, that was nothing! This is totally doable. Everyone said it was hard, but it's way easier than I thought?"
It was about time for something to show up. That's why I was intentionally setting up death flags. It's always funnier to boast and then get absolutely obliterated. A good VTuber has to know how to play the clown. Besides, I never expected to clear the first boss on my first try anyway. It was notoriously difficult—apparently the number one reason people refunded the game. "Alright, I can see the end of the graveyard now. If I open that door over there, the first boss will probably appear. Right?"
"You guys are so strict. As expected of my Bangsaengis. Quick on the uptake." Bantering with my viewers, I stood before a massive stone door. It was engraved with dense, mysterious runes from some unknown language. Once I pushed this stone door open, the highly anticipated first boss, Watcher Rowen, would await me. "Alright! Let's go!" I reached out toward the stone door.
Memories fading, weathered by time. A body slowly melting away. I must prevent anyone from entering the Holy City of Belag. Such was the duty Watcher Rowen bore. For his body belonged to the Saintess who protected Belag. The final command she had left him was absolute. Thus, Watcher Rowen waited for the being who would soon open the door and enter.
A new cycle of the nightmare had begun. A horrific curse repeating for eternity. When the protagonist of a new nightmare appeared, the dead would all resurrect, destined to be sacrificed once more to serve that protagonist's narrative. How many more would suffer in this unbroken, eternal wheel of fate? Watcher Rowen thought to himself. "I must bring an end to this tale." An end to this cruel cycle. The termination of all nightmares. Only then could peace be restored to this world.
Soon, from the shimmering darkness, Rowen drew a weapon too heavy and massive to be called a sword—it was closer to a colossal iron mace. Thud. The watcher's outpost trembled. The presence outside the door must have felt it too. The worlds of dreams were connected. In countless dream worlds, countless Rowens had fought as many diverse protagonists. Therefore, he would not fall. "Turn back. There is nothing you desire ahead." Rowen rose to his feet.
Though half of his face had melted away, leaving only his right eye, that eye still shone with a fierce light, his gaze piercingly cold. As his tattered, rag-covered body began to pulse, the nightmare burrowed deep within Watcher Rowen began to run wild. An abnormally bloated upper body. A massive right fist capable of easily crushing a man. Two left arms to wield his colossal greatsword. And where his heart should have been, a dark red crystal core pulsed—the condensation of the nightmare itself.
"You open the door regardless." He had warned them, but they did not listen. Soon, the heavy stone door swung open, and someone stepped into the watcher's outpost. Rowen squinted slightly at the sunlight filtering into the outpost for the first time in ages. Who could it be? What kind of entity was the protagonist of this nightmare? Who was this false savior destined to drag this world into ruin once more? A towering warrior? A cowardly thief? Perhaps a naive mage who knew nothing of the world? Or maybe a priest seeking salvation with a sincere heart? Soon, Rowen's eyes adjusted to the light, taking in the invader who had entered his outpost.
"A girl?" A slender frame. Deep blue hair. And iron armor and weapons that looked incredibly awkward and ill-fitting on her. She seemed far too fragile to wield a sword, far too weak to step into a place like this. She gave off the impression of a lost child rather than an enemy.
"Whoa. He looks super intimidating, doesn't he?" The nameless woman muttered to the empty air the moment she entered the outpost. There was no one there, yet she spoke as if someone were standing right beside her. Rowen thought to himself, Her mind is fractured. Has she already been completely consumed by the nightmare? Rowen concluded that the woman before him was already corrupted. Of course, there were no visible signs of nightmare corruption on her, but no sane person would hold a conversation with empty air.
"Oh! Thank you so much for the challenge! One hundred thousand won if I beat him within ten tries! Wow, I'm getting pumped! Wait, what? The bounty keeps going up! Whoa, whoa! One million won?!" Rowen frowned as he watched the woman continue to babble to herself. Yes, she was undoubtedly consumed by the nightmare. This cycle was twisted from the very start. For the protagonist of the nightmare to already be the nightmare itself... She had to be eliminated. Before she grew stronger. Before she acquired better weapons. Before this madwoman's blade could ever reach the Saintess. He had to break her, crush her will, and banish her so she could never set foot in this world again.
"W-wait a minute, guys. You're throwing money at this challenge like it's a guaranteed win for you, but you're going to regret this! Whoa, whoa, whoa! What?! If I succeed within ten tries... three million won?! No way! What is wrong with you, Bangsaengis! You guys... you don't believe in me at all, do you? Fine. I'll show you. Just so you know, there are no refunds." While Rowen was steeling his resolve, Riu was panicking over the rapidly climbing challenge bounty. Her Bangsaengis had eagerly chipped in on the challenge: "Defeat Watcher Rowen within 10 attempts." As a result, a massive sum of over three million won had already accumulated. The sheer size of the bounty made Riu's lips twitch before stretching into a wide grin. A fire was lit inside her. Riu, now in serious mode, drew her straight sword. Rowen, too, gripped the colossal greatsword planted beside him. No matter how fragile and weak she appeared, there was no telling how strong she might be if she was already consumed by the nightmare. Thus, Rowen had only one goal from the very start: to crush the girl before him with everything he had.
"Come, invader," Rowen spoke, his voice heavy with fighting spirit.
"Get ready to hand over that cash, big guy," Riu replied, her greed completely overpowering Rowen's intimidating aura. Her eyes were already filled with something that could be called either courage or pure madness.