What's That Now?
What's That Now?
"The fuck are you?"
...Yoo Chae-rin was thinking.
How had the situation come to this?
To understand that, she had to go back a few dozen minutes.
At that time, she was being extremely cautious.
Because this really was a high-level zone—even just reaching the middle area, the monsters' levels were beyond anything she'd imagined.
Most of them were tough just to face one-on-one, so she had no choice but to keep Stealth toggled on at all times.
And while she was exploring the Forbidden Forest like that, she came across a suspiciously deep cave.
"Oh, what's that?"
Her first feeling was, naturally, curiosity. As someone doing Map Exploration, a cave like that couldn't help but grab her attention.
And as it happened, her viewers were just as curious.
[Oh that's a thing too]
[What's that?]
[Could it be a hidden boss room or a rare mob lair?]
[Or maybe there's a special item or something?]
All sorts of speculation flew back and forth about the cave. In that situation, the conclusion she'd reach was obvious.
"Shall we go in?"
[Yeah]
[Go go go go go]
[Gooooooo]
Without hesitation, Chae-rin entered the cave. The distinct, silent, eerie atmosphere of the cave welcomed her.
"Whoa, this is pretty deep..."
She and her viewers guessed at many things as they went inside. A monster nest, a Hidden Piece, a hidden treasure room, even the forest's boss monster. But a 'person' was not among her expectations.
After all, this was a high-level zone where it was hard for people to live.
That's why, when a human silhouette suddenly appeared deeper in the cave, everyone could only be startled.
[?????]
[What's that??]
[Is that a person? What are they doing here??]
[Is it an NPC or a Player?]
She could see it. Far ahead, a single figure in fur clothing was sitting there.
Maybe they were doing something, because a chilling shhk-shhk sound kept echoing.
It was a pretty terrifying atmosphere, but it was no match for the group's curiosity.
[Let's get closer]
[Hurry up and go, for fuck's sake]
[Let's try talking to them]
"Ah, damn, hold on, everyone..."
She opened the Chat Window and continued.
[Chaerin: If I talk, they might notice me, so I'll use chat from now on, okay?]
[No just go talk to them]
[Our streamer's a wuss, so that won't work~]
And so she had crept toward the other person.
The closer she got, the clearer the other party's appearance became.
Someone in a thick fur coat made of bear hide, sharpening a blade.
The space around them was filled with tools caked in blood, making the already grim atmosphere even more menacing.
'What's all that? Why are there so many blades?'
'Just what had they been chopping up to leave that much dried blood on the knives?'
[...Dude, can we really talk to them?]
[If we talk, we're dead...]
[Isn't that a humanoid monster and not a person?]
[No, if you look at them sharpening a blade, they're definitely human]
[Wtf wtf wtf...]
Yoo Chae-rin had approached halfway, then stopped at a distance of about fifteen meters.
Because, exactly as the chat said, she was too scared.
The cave's unique atmosphere, the blood-soaked tools, the spine-chilling sound of a blade being sharpened.
People feel fear toward the unknown.
Because unknown things are filled with potential danger. In her head, all kinds of ominous thoughts were surfacing.
What would happen if she got caught?
Even if she'd lowered her Assimilation Rate, she could definitely still feel pain. Pretty acutely, at that.
She really didn't want to get stabbed.
[Is that a woman? Or a man?]
[Can't tell, the fur is too thick]
[You little shit Streamer, get a bit closer, we can't tell]
There was a clamor telling her to move closer, but she had her own defense.
[Chaerin: No, you guys come here yourselves; the vibe is hella scary;;]
[Yeah, I get that, but still, let's go closer]
[Looking at the build, maybe it's a guy...]
[Isn't it just that the fur's thick?]
[Or could it really be that urban legend?]
[Whoa, for real maybe;;]
[Tibetan Fox has donated 100,000 won!]
-please move forward a bit more
In the end, it was only after getting smacked with money that she started moving forward.
When you get hit by money, you've got no choice. If you ignore a hefty sum like this, viewer sentiment can plummet straight into the abyss.
She sighed inwardly.
'Haaah...'
[Chaerin: Tibetan Fox.. thank you so much for the 100,000 won donation...]
[lololololol]
[Well of course you've gotta be grateful lololol]
[Is that even a real thanks lolol]
[Haha look at this money-hungry bitch loool so that's what you wanted lol]
She approached the figure again. From behind them, around to their side.
In the middle of it, she kicked a pebble on the ground, even drawing the other's attention for a moment.
"...?"
The figure glanced around briefly, then lowered their head and went back to their task.
She breathed a sigh of relief in her mind.
'Phew...'
[Wtf, is this a horror game or something]
The distance to the figure she'd closed to was now about seven meters.
But she couldn't get any closer than that.
Shukak—!
The moment she took one more step, a dagger came flying at her.
It was a bit dulled from being caked in blood, but still looked like it could easily kill a person.
It was only natural for her to scream.
"Kyaaaak?!"
And right after that, the other party's sharp spear followed.
Fortunately, neither weapon actually stabbed Chae-rin, but it was more than enough to make her freeze.
...Well, actually, there was another reason she'd frozen up.
When the other party thrust the spear tip forward, the face that had been hidden inside the fur hood was finally revealed.
The other party was a man. Black hair that looked like it had been lacquered, and amber eyes tinged with a faint murk.
A handsome man with a sharp, decadent impression and overall distinct features.
With an outstanding appearance completely at odds with the murderous atmosphere up until now, the chat room went wild.
Actually, since there was nothing but horny degenerates in the first place, it going wild was only natural the moment a 'man' appeared.
[Whoaaaa]
[He's hot as fuckk]
[It's a man!!! It's a man!!! It's a man!!! It's a man!!! It's a man!!! It's a man!!! It's a man!!! It's a man!!! It's a man!!! It's a man!!! It's a man!!! It's a man!!! It's a man!!! It's a man!!! It's a man!!!]
[Look at him cussing... so sexy... babe...]
[Why is there a man here??]
Normally, she might have been staring in a daze, filled with admiration.
"Hey, I asked what you are. You mute? Don't know how to talk? Want me to poke a hole through your throat with this?"
...But not when her life was being threatened in real time.
*
I pulled the spear tip that had been lodged in the wall back out and aimed it at the woman's neck.
I was flustered by this unexpected figure, but in the end, what came to mind was this.
'Should I kill her?'
If she'd been a monster from the start, I'd planned to kill her anyway.
The fact that she'd intruded on my home didn't change just because that creature turned out to be a person.
But since she was the same kind, I couldn't help hesitating.
'Ah, shit... killing people gives you bad dreams.'
No point hiding it. I had killed people before.
There were far too many people hostile to me, and some of them used to come all the way into this deep forest, calling themselves bounty hunters.
Some of them went so far as to try to kill me and force themselves on me.
After all, this is a remote forest with no social eyes and no laws.
Those sorts of bastards, I can kill as many as I want.
"Eek! N-No, I'm sorry! I saw a cave and got curious and came inside, and that's how...!"
But this case was a little different.
The other party didn't seem hostile toward me. It looked like she'd truly stumbled in and found me by accident.
Trespassing was true, but it didn't even look like she'd meant to.
So what should I do, let her live...?
But even so, there was one thing that still worried me. Namely, the danger of my very existence.
What if she went back to the city and spread rumors that some man was living in the forest?
If I wasn't careful, pursuers could swarm in, just like back then.
Then what the hell was I supposed to do...?
"Ah."
As I kept worrying, a thought suddenly flashed through my head.
What if the other party was an Otherworlder? Even if I killed her, she'd just resurrect after three days like Jesus anyway.
In that case, killing her would be meaningless.
So I activated the Player's Eye, both to check if she was an Otherworlder and to test the skill out.
It looked like the other party really was an Otherworlder.
All kinds of system windows popped up before my eyes.
[A Nameless NPC is hostile toward you!]
One weird message that seemed to be referring to me, and...
[Chae-rin your social-outcast instincts are coming out lolol]
[Reminds me of my school days...]
[His speech is surprisingly thick huh? damn]
[It's okay, he's handsome, anything's forgiven with that yup]
[s]
[Actually now I'm pissed, how dare a man threaten a woman with a blade?]
[Fr lol Chae-rin let's teach him a lesson, show your female superiority]
[Overpower him and! Eat him up!!]
[↳ Kicked by a manager.]
[Forget teaching him a lesson, looks like she's the one about to get taught...?]
[You morons, didn't you see the speed of that spear swing? Our streamer's pretty high-level too and she couldn't even react]
[s]
[Isn't that just because the streamer has weak physicals and took all her gear off?]
[The knife he threw casually stuck into a stone wall, though...? Could you do that?]
[Idk about that but get him to take off that fur coat, too much covered you can't even calculate your moves properly...]
[↳ Kicked by a manager.]
[s]
.
.
.
.
A chat window rising without pause. Having read that far, I couldn't help but be bewildered.
"...Huhh?"
What the hell is that now??