Chapter 86
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Growth
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Lately, I've been sleeping a lot more than usual.
Is it because the streams are doing well, so I've been cutting back on sleep to extend the broadcast time?
The drowsiness hit me out of nowhere every day, and the number of coffee cups I downed just kept increasing.
I slapped my cheeks—smack smack—until they stung to chase away the sleep, then checked the characters' statuses before turning on the stream.
The righteous and upright Saint Rie.
The wicked villainess Liel, played by picking only the selfish choices.
And the beggar Ellie, whom I'd abandoned long ago.
The first two were progressing exactly as I wanted.
A game is only fun when it flows the way I want it to—and in that sense, Ellie, the first character I ever made, was a failure.
Playing her was just no fun; it felt frustrating and stagnant.
The viewers kept nagging me to take care of her, saying she was pitiful, so I tossed her a few items, but after that, I hadn't paid her any attention.
And yet.
While I was ignoring her, she up and wandered into some place called the Demon Realm all on her own.
As far as I knew, the Demon Realm was still in update preparation, so entry shouldn't even be possible.
The character selection screen showed her location as [Location: Heron Kingdom Demon Realm].
I was shocked when I saw it and tried to log in to the character right away, but it just said [This is a service-under-preparation area.] and wouldn't let me connect.
In the end, I screenshotted the game screen and posted it on the community forums to ask around, but no one else seemed to be experiencing the same thing.
I wondered if it was just a simple bug, but a bug that prevented login entirely seemed serious, so I submitted a ticket to customer support—only to get a reply saying "No issues detected."
I was annoyed by the half-assed response, but at the same time, curiosity bubbled up.
A character I'd abandoned had somehow entered an inaccessible region.
If a character dies in any way, the game wraps up their life story as an ending biography.
Which means since Ellie's ending hadn't triggered, she was still alive.
Maybe she'd emerge from the Demon Realm unscathed, carrying items unavailable in the current game version. The thought sparked some excitement.
"I may have abandoned her, but I put a ton of effort into making her look super cute, right...?"
I'd invested way more care into her appearance than Rie or Liel.
That customization was my lifelong masterpiece, no doubt. It'd be fine if she brought back a little something in exchange for her looks.
She was just a game character anyway, so no need to feel guilty—but the viewers' constant badgering made me hesitant to interact with her.
"...Oh."
Right on cue—or maybe about damn time.
After holing up in the Demon Realm for a full ten days, Ellie finally emerged.
She seemed headed somewhere right away, but that wasn't important; checking her status came first.
Turning on the stream immediately would be amateur hour.
I had to check the status beforehand, prepare reactions accordingly, and then act surprised and immersed when going live.
Now that my viewer count was decent, this was basic streamer knowledge.
So, Ellie's status upon logging in was...
Utterly disappointing.
Nothing had changed from before she entered the Demon Realm.
Rie and Liel showed some kind of growth every week.
This one crawled into an inaccessible zone and came back with zilch.
"...What's with all the Cs."
In this game, a character's combat prowess was gauged by their martial skill grades.
Mages had magic, priests had miracles, but generally, martial skills indicated strength.
And hers were all C-grade.
If you asked how good that was, it was just a cut above average for her level.
No need to compare to Villainess Liel—even Saint Rie's status was worlds apart.
Sure, part of it was because I'd abandoned her, but she'd gone into the Demon Realm, so I expected something noteworthy.
Apparently not.
I'd gotten my hopes up on my own and was disappointed on my own.
"She's a runt, but what can you do."
Not even worth a reaction on stream.
Maybe she'd picked up new items from the Demon Realm? Nope.
She had bundles of material items—expensive, sure, but stuff I could buy anywhere accessible right now.
Saint Rie and Villainess Liel both had plenty of cash, so it wasn't anything special.
"...Yeah, what was I expecting from her?"
I didn't like it, but I'd just treat it as sprucing up one line in the character select screen and forget about her again.
Judging by the status, surviving this long was a miracle in itself.
This game was brutally hardcore; unless you were silver-rank adventurer or knight-level, one slip meant death.
That's why everyone started with combat-friendly talents as the meta, but hers screamed "short-lived."
Seeing her take on a totally ordinary caravan escort quest in the city killed my curiosity. With a sigh, I exited back to character select.
Saint playthrough was fun and all, but viewers preferred the Villainess one.
Today's play was Villainess Liel.
Eyes bleary from drowsiness, I started the stream, and viewers poured in fast.
Hey?
Hey.
Hey?
Hey!
Hey¿
"Lee-ha-lee-ha... Let's pick up where we left off today!"
I glanced down to check the viewer count...
6.
"...Huh?"
I blinked a few times.
My bleary vision must've played tricks; the real number appeared.
6,136.
"...Oh, must've misread it."
Yeah, I really was sleep-deprived lately.
The next morning.
For some reason, the hostility directed at me had softened into sympathetic gazes.
That's when monsters targeting the caravan appeared.
Monsters bold enough to hit a group of dozens usually lacked intelligence—and sure enough, it was orcs.
They had enough smarts to use weapons, but they were dumber than goblins, their hot-blooded rage devouring what little brains they had.
I drew my sword.
Numbers were even.
Roughly thirty of them.
Those who couldn't fight huddled inside the wagons.
The drivers struggled to calm the excited, rearing horses. Luckily, this was right after breakfast and before departure, so the wagon formation held steady.
The fighters stepped out, forming ranks to protect the wagons.
We had 21, including me.
"...Even with bad public safety, I didn't expect a sudden orc ambush on a group this size."
"Damn nobles in charge of security around here colluded with bandits on some fool errand... Got caught, had to cough up a fortune to cover it up, and now their private guards are short-staffed. That's the mess we're in."
"Thanks for the rundown."
I nodded gratefully to the bushy-bearded man beside me.
Maybe my reaction surprised him. He bit his lip, eyes fixed ahead, and muttered,
"...Aren't you scared?"
"Not at all."
Thirty orcs.
Dangerous, sure, but compared to the Demon Realm threats, it was manageable.
No special variants in sight either, so I could handle about ten alone.
The rest—twenty or so—the others could mop up.
I focused my mind on my sword grip.
Crackle—lightning sparked.
Orcs had no patience to speak of.
As I took one step forward, they charged like it was the signal.
"Hold your positions!"
Someone yelled at me, but I ignored it.
I twisted my waist. A grinding sound came from my sword hand.
Concentrating, the crackling lightning along the blade writhed like a savage white serpent.
Charging orcs. Crude stone axes aimed to split me.
Foul stench and finger necklaces dangling from orc throats.
When it all closed in too near,
I swung.
The horizontal slash unleashed lightning with a boom!, roasting three orcs whole amid the smell of burning flesh.
The heavy strike left me dizzy, but I wasn't about to show weakness.
I raised my sword, pointing at the orcs.
Seeing three comrades incinerated amid thunderclaps, the orcs hesitated between bloodlust and primal fear.
"I can take ten."
No reply from the wagon defenders.
But I felt they'd heard me loud and clear.
"The rest are yours."
The Demon Realm hadn't changed my status, but I was certain I'd grown in many ways.
Crackle—lightning coiled around the blade again.
Facing this situation drove home how much stronger I'd become.
I could use that lightning three times.
After that, exhaustion.
So two blasts, then cut the rest down by hand.
As I charged the blade once more, the orcs broke, fleeing in terror.
Even with their battle frenzy, they weren't keen on dog death.
I sighed at the absurdity, feeling envious gazes from behind.
The source: the youngest young master, peeking from a wagon.
Scratching my cheek, I approached him.
No matter how barbaric this era, that scene wasn't kid-friendly.
"Must've been too brutal for a child."
"...Aren't you younger than me?"
"Strength makes you the big brother—or sister."
"That's stretching it..."
"If it happens again, I'll protect you—so just let me be your big sis."
He gave an awkward smile at my shameless reply.
His cheeks looked a bit flushed.