A True Warrior 4

It seemed the underground clearings on the 40th floor came in three varieties, not two.

The first was a trap clearing that used a handful of black ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Naga as bait, collapsing the ceiling the moment you stepped down to the second basement level in an attempt to bury you alive. The second was a production clearing that manufactured black Naga warriors and giant-type Naga.

And the third was an underground clearing that housed a boss we still hadn't managed to find.

"Another dead end?"

"Just giant-type Naga again this time."

Thanks to all of this, the party was getting thoroughly used to hunting giant monsters through teamwork — but the fact remained that we still hadn't encountered the boss.

On the 10th, 20th, and 30th floors, the bosses had come charging out the moment you so much as approached a certain area. This time, though, the concept was a secret production base, so apparently they'd tucked the thing away nice and tight. Even Han Se-ah's quest creation just muttered something about needing to find it… and offered zero hints.

Still, the stream was packed with things to watch, so viewer reactions weren't bad. After all, the sight of beautiful women trading blows with giant-type monsters that most players would never even get to see was pure eye candy.

On top of that, Manash — who had somehow gone from befriending Temple knights to getting cozy with priests and nuns as well — had become a full-blown stream mascot. Mid-exploration he'd rope Temple knights into conversations about muscle training, then pivot into faith-related discussions with the priests and nuns and hold what basically amounted to a religious testimony debate club.

Maybe it was because the otherworldly Naga people, Manash included, were a religious tribe that believed in reincarnation and the sanctity of life — so rather than simple warriors, they came off more like folk-faith holy knights? The Naga down in the kingdom's south were vicious monsters that hunted adventurers right back.

"Still, the Mana Stones sell for a ridiculous price, so our wallets are getting nice and fat."

"It's helping us improve, too. The Upper-grade realm… I think it's something we can actually aim for."

"Come on, Katie? Over here. I'll loosen up those muscles with Holy Power."

Grace, who quietly hated the idea of dipping into the party's shared funds and coming to me with her hand out, pocketed a thick Mana Stone. Katie wiped her sword down with a dry cloth, then swung it through the air a few times with her eyes closed, as if gauging something. And Irene was checking Manash, Katie, and me — the ones who'd been taking hits on our shields — for any injuries. With beauties this varied and this solidly characterized, even the sluggish progress couldn't keep the corners of Han Se-ah's mouth from twitching upward.

The capable big-sis type, the compassionate Mamang, and the one who looked ice-cold but acted adorable — the half-joking "Noona Squad" and "Mamang Squad" types had been clipping moments and leaking them onto internet communities so consistently that the viewer count just kept climbing.

…Though the fact that some of those new viewers — male viewers, no less — had come in after seeing my face was a little creepy. The number of degenerate gay-gay types in the so-called Roland Bat Squad, going on about Roland's Fire Bat and Roland's Iron Club, had grown considerably too.

"Huh? Why am I smiling? Come on now — my comrades just crushed the forces of evil without a single scratch. You think I'd be crying? I absolutely did not smile because I checked this month's donation log."

And those swelling viewer numbers converted into figures in Han Se-ah's bank account, giving her every reason not to quit the game or the stream. Could you call that my lifeline?

Toxic viewers helping my life along… what a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠weird feeling.

"Giant-type Naga at the end again. No path down anywhere in sight."

"Being the source of the corruption and all, it's really tucked itself away."

After chatting with her viewers and circling the clearing along the walls, Han Se-ah delivered the same verdict as always — no boss monster — and the party members each tossed out a line of disappointment.

She had the minimap and quest window open, and drawing on her 30th-floor experience she'd walked the entire perimeter dragging a mana-charged hand along the walls, so if it wasn't there, it wasn't there. At this point, there was no way a secret passage existed that didn't react to mana, didn't show up on the minimap, and didn't update the quest window.

If the game worked like that, we'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠still be wandering around the 30th floor.

With the 40th-floor clear stalled, our time spent on the 35th floor stretched longer. A few viewers complained of boredom, but most of them found their entertainment in the changing scenery of the 35th floor itself.

After all, the bulk of Han Se-ah's audience was young men interested in VR games, and every last one of them had experienced Heroes Chronicle in one way or another.

The ones confident in their skills or blessed with good party luck had mostly made it to the 20th floor, cleared the orcs, and crossed into the caves. Even the ones playing at a casual, leisurely pace had at least faced the Full Moon Wolf on the 10th floor.

And because the real-world-to-game time ratio was 1:1, they all knew firsthand just how agonizingly slow game progress could be.

You could tell just by looking at the Heroes Chronicle Gallery, where opinions raw enough to get you sued under an anonymous handle — no, raw enough to get you sued and then some — got posted daily.

It started with complaints about handing over Full Moon Wolf byproducts and still not getting a gate built right away, then branched into posts about mercenary companies taking two whole months just to travel for an expedition, or people who'd started as peddlers and spent half a year just climbing mountains — and there was no shortage of them.

Even just traveling around inside the kingdom, you had to budget a full month as a baseline. This was a medieval world. Magical tools existed and modern conveniences had been quietly implemented here and there, but it wasn't like there was a high-speed rail network.

A medieval fantasy world that was the polar opposite of Korea's hurry-hurry culture. A world where you crossed mountains and rivers on your own two feet, so people were a little more generous with their sense of time. Unless it was a merchant contract with a clearly defined deadline, wandering around at a leisurely, good-enough pace was the average way of life.

Back when we took the commission to find Lily Depp's companions, hadn't the small villages just shrugged it off when the merchants who were supposed to stop by ran late? If they're late, they're late. If they're even later, well, maybe they're dead.

"Sir Roland! Would you care to join us?"

"No, I'm fine."

Thinking along those lines as I walked the streets of the 35th floor, a Temple knight suddenly called out to me. He'd stripped off even his pure white armor, bare and burly, and beside him was Manash, black-scaled muscles rippling.

…Was this guy actually some kind of capybara?

I'd expected him to be glued to the 40th floor, but the black Naga warrior had joined the 35th floor as naturally as those ash-gray tentacle vines crossing through a gate. The way he got along with the Temple people had softened everyone's wariness.

"Haha, Sir Roland must have business of his own. Still, I'm curious about the secret to maintaining that magnificent physique of yours — next time, I'd love to work out together."

"Yes, if the opportunity arises."

Even if he was a black-stained, threatening Naga warrior, when he was occupying a clearing chatting about bodyweight training alongside a smiling, bear-faced musclebound Temple knight, was there really any reason to be afraid?

To the ordinary citizens who'd come up for construction work, the Temple's name made him a proven quantity more trustworthy than some rootless band of adventurers. A few adventurers watched with open curiosity at the physical training methods of a Temple knight and an Upper-grade warrior.

Of course, I had no intention of inserting myself into any of that. The only effort I'd put into building this body was running macros out of pure resentment toward male characters.

"Roland, you're back?"

"Tonight's dinner is going to be those skewers they sell on the market street. …One beforehand should be fine, right?"

And honestly, between sweating it out with a pitch-black snake-scaled man and a muscle pig, or spending time with beautiful women who actually liked me — which one would any person choose?

Having turned down the Temple knight and Manash's muscle-discussion invitation, I returned to the tent village street. There, Grace and Katie in light clothes were waiting for me with hot skewers and cold beer already prepared.

Han Se-ah had turned off the stream and headed to the Mage Tower for a bit, and Irene had Temple business that kept her from joining us for dinner. But one thing was certain.

Given that a camera was floating over the kids' heads, Han Se-ah probably wasn't at the Mage Tower at all — she was almost certainly hiding in a rented one-person tent right here in the tent village.