That Day (2)

Once I logged into the game, the world around me felt wide open.

A crisp breeze I could never get in my tiny one-room apartment. Just having something different to look at improved my mood a little.

Not that my period cramps had gone anywhere.

That unpleasant sensation in my lower abdomen. Like a heavy rock pressing down, or a scalding hot water bottle sitting on top of me. And that sticky, clammy feeling that wouldn't go away… my mood stayed firmly in the dumps.

Right. I'd been planning to sell that item off.

Originally I'd meant to mess with them a little before handing it over at a reasonable price. But now… I didn't know. If I met them in this state, I might just flip the whole deal on its head.

…I barely stopped myself from closing the message.

No. That wouldn't do. Letting my emotions wreck something I actually needed to handle wasn't professional.

I thought it over for a moment, then reached a decision.

Thinking about it coldly, SSA's terms weren't that bad. Probably the best their guild could put on the table. Rather than cheap out and miss the chance entirely, they'd gone all-in with a generous offer.

Unique items weren't something you could just buy with money. The Eye of the Magic Dragon required an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠enormous amount of quest work. Items like that were usually produced for self-sufficiency — trading opportunities were rare by nature.

What I'd get out of this: materials for my next high-end gear, plus about two weeks' worth of income. Enough to let me breathe. I wouldn't need to dip into my savings — I might even pad them a little more.

When I walked up to the temple, a few SSA guild members were already waiting. The first one I spotted was DongjakStationAgent. Next to him, AnnihilationTorch was stuck to his side in full crouch mode. The ones up front looked like officers — first time seeing them in person, I think.

"You acted like you were going to mess with us a few times first. Accepted surprisingly fast, huh?"

"We both know the score. Didn't look like haggling would get me anything more. Gotta have something worth milking before you can milk it."

"You could always sell it to another guild…"

"You really want that?"

Ah. I'd meant it as a joke, but my voice came out lower than intended. My mood was just that bad. Truth was, I didn't actually dislike these guys that much.

Guild SSA. The name came from Social Service Agent — public service workers, basically. Word was they'd scraped together the most hardcore shut-ins from other games.

Society didn't look kindly on people who lived only for games. The market had grown enough that some of them made enough to strut in front of their families now, but plenty of people still looked down on gamers. Especially the losers like SSA, who had nothing but the game — easy targets. Getting cursed out and torn down for no reason was routine for them.

I hated that. It pissed me off, honestly. Having been obsessed with something — that was a beautiful experience. Whatever you ended up with at the finish line, sometimes the process itself was enough. At least, that was what I believed.

So as long as I wasn't taking a loss, cutting these losers a little slack was fine.

God, I was losing it. Was it because of my body? I felt weirdly sentimental. My thoughts weren't any different from usual, but my mood kept swinging.

"That's… no. Something wrong with you today?"

"Nothing. Just start the trade. I'm busy."

"Got another job? You sure live a hectic life. What are you even spending all that on? With your skills, you'd be better off—"

"That's enough. If you want to keep joking around and splitting work next time."

"Right, sorry. I overstepped."

…

The Eye of the Magic Dragon left my inventory, and a massive pile of currency took its place. Just looking at the amount was reassuring. Stashing it in storage improved my mood a little more.

Heogong, SSA's guildmaster, bowed his head to me.

"Thank you. The losses we took this time were so bad I didn't know how we'd recover… we owe you a great deal."

"Just think of it as a bribe from a freelancer. Share the good stuff with me next time something comes up."

"Yes. Of course."

Well, it wasn't like I'd accepted the trade just to be nice to SSA. The Eye of the Magic Dragon was an item you could lose on death. Holding onto it long-term was pure risk with no upside. I needed someone to take this burden off my hands right now. Even I found it stressful trying to enjoy field fights while carrying something like that.

Just thinking about it snapped me back to clarity.

But now it was really time. Time to go work off this sticky, foul mood.

This. This was it.

I played this game for moments like this.

A feeling like blood boiling. Sweetness mixed into every breath I exhaled. I swatted aside a projectile that came flying in hard. Every time I drove my accelerated legs forward, something like a faint electric current seemed to run across my skin.

I'd killed the grappler who came charging out of nowhere, and the spirit mage who'd been the biggest nuisance. The rest were mostly gnats. They didn't even have the fundamentals down — like they'd never done PvP at all.

So now only one streamer was left.

A few fire-element spells came flying, but I wasn't about to eat something that obvious. A mage without close-range protection was nothing but prey for an assassin.

I was about to take the mage's life too — then a certain sight made me lower my dagger for a moment.

My eyes went to the streamer Elderin's chat window.

Looked like she was drowning in love. Sulbbang and KimchiNinja's viewers ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had already shifted into entertainment mode by now.

Heh. What was I supposed to do with all this envy? I was jealous.

Elderin was a female streamer who claimed to focus on skill-based content. That was her story, anyway. In reality, banter with viewers and cosmetic content were the main draws. Ranked games and field PVP were just side dishes. Normally I never had a reason to touch her.

But today the timing must have been off. After killing a few familiar faces, I couldn't find a next target. The pro gamers were quiet too — preseason, so streams were sparse.

I'd almost decided to call it a day… but that sticky, clammy unpleasantness just wouldn't scrub off. No — it only kept getting thicker. And then I saw someone being loved like that.

I couldn't hold back.

"Hhh, ha…"

My body really wasn't right. My breathing was rough and irregular. There was a faint dizziness, too. But looking at that defenseless mage stirred up a pointless sadism.

Time to switch weapons. A dagger would kill her too fast. The Chain-Sickle would be better this time.

I shattered the layered barriers and interrupted her cast. A mage with a broken spell was the most useless thing in this game. Getting behind her was trivial, of course.

I looped the chain around her neck and yanked hard. A body roughly my own height slammed back against my chest. I tightened both hands and crushed the mage's windpipe.

"Eup, eugh…?"

Funny thing, really. It probably didn't hurt much in real life. But when your neck got choked, you still panicked and tried to pry the hands off. The real Elderin would have no trouble breathing at all. And yet the way her feet kicked and flailed was pretty hilarious. The expression I caught when I glanced sideways was entertaining too.

Chat was going wild right now.

I… I wanted that too. To talk about games with people. To laugh and get mad over little jokes. To receive all that attention and love, just like her.

What was different about her? Why did she get so much love when I didn't?

I didn't know. Suddenly my mind bleached white, and I felt good.

"Huu… heh. Aha… hahahat."

I wanted to savor this feeling alone. I released the chain from her throat, grabbed her from behind like an embrace, and snapped her neck.

That sticky, clinging sense of relief lingered for a long, long time.