On Repeat
On Repeat
As I said last time, [Demon's Saga] was a skill-based game.
How well you could move your body, how good your judgement was—even at the same level, combat ability varied depending on those things.
In the first place, since it used your body, a certain degree of talent gap was unavoidable.
Accordingly, the sort of profession that was good at [Demon's Saga] was fairly easy to guess.
Career soldiers, martial artists, professional athletes, and so on...
It wasn't absolute, but people with physically active jobs tended to be good at the game.
Shin Han-byeol was no exception.
No—there was likely no one who had bloomed such great talent in this game as she had.
A former artistic gymnastics prospect, she had been learning how to use her body since childhood.
Her talent had truly been overflowing. Enough that she was even mentioned as a national team candidate, if only briefly.
Because praise flew at her whenever she did gymnastics, she had loved the sport.
Her family, believing in Han-byeol's talent, had even gone into debt to support her.
Surely the uniquely arrogant self-esteem she possessed had been born around this time, too.
There were times when others' cheers had felt burdensome, but she had gritted her teeth and persevered.
Because when she flew across the vaulting table and uneven bars—the pinnacle of splendour—she could feel a little freedom.
When a move that hadn't been working suddenly succeeded, she even felt an electrifying thrill.
...But it seemed the world was cold.
Unlike her ceaseless efforts, her dream of becoming a national representative only grew more distant.
It wasn't that Han-byeol lacked innate talent. She still learned fast.
But her height and chest, larger than others', were the problem.
Artistic gymnasts in particular benefited from smaller stature and smaller frames.
That way, you could fly longer when jumping and land with better balance.
She could cover for it to some extent with ceaseless effort.
But competing with the monsters who played at the world-class level was beyond her.
And on top of that, an ankle injury flared up.
Because of that, she had no choice but to step down from the mat.
With only her inflated self-esteem and her venom remaining.
'Now what am I supposed to do to make a living...?'
Even after stepping off the mat, the world was endlessly cold.
To her, who had looked only at gymnastics her whole life, society was a mass of unknowns. She had no education, and while her pride was enormous, she lacked social experience.
She got chewed out doing part-time work, and she couldn't kill her personality and ended up arguing with customers.
She was inwardly wounded quite a lot, but she couldn't rest because her family had heavy debts.
Then one day, when she was wearing down without even realizing it, [Demon's Saga] came to her.
'Should I give it a try...?'
Han-byeol, who had been looking for something to immerse herself in, quickly picked up the game.
The capsule was a bit pricey, but it was manageable with twelve-month interest-free instalments.
And so her talent bloomed.
As if everything she had built up until then was finally erupting, [Demon's Saga] suited her perfectly.
Her tall height, which had been a weakness, was sublimated into long reach, and the stamina and technique trained through artistic gymnastics hadn't gone anywhere.
Her outstanding innate talent also helped her adapt to combat quickly.
She had started streaming around this time, too.
Fortunately, many people remembered her from her athlete days.
Thanks to her flashy combat scenes and her distinctive delicate beauty, it didn't take long for her to become a popular, skill-based streamer.
Thanks to that, she'd paid off almost all the debt.
That wasn't all.
Her true strength lay in being accustomed to failure.
She had already tasted bitter failure due to her physical limits.
To Han-byeol, defeat was familiar. Killed in combat, dying from a mistake, defeated fighting knights—even so, she didn't care.
After all, to her, who had done artistic gymnastics, pain was familiar. There was even a strange pleasure in it.
Because she could see a path to grow further.
Racing forward endlessly like that, before she knew it she had reached rank 1 in the domestic rankings.
Considering that anything beyond that could only be reached by burning money and time, it was a truly monstrous talent.
Her visit to Yor this time was the same.
Honestly, even she hadn't really thought she would win.
She had prepared to the absolute best of her ability, but her opponent possessed skill that could even overwhelm a demon.
She'd only thought that if she could at least stack up experience fighting a strong opponent, she'd be grateful.
'Though I didn't expect to be so utterly outmatched...'
It couldn't be helped.
Honestly, she'd been a little full of herself after manifesting the Sword Aura.
...But still, tying her up was going too far, wasn't it?
She had expected to be defeated and killed, but she had never even imagined she'd be slapped and trussed up tightly with rope.
Tight! Creak—!
The sound of rope chafing this way and that echoed out.
Even long after being tied up, she struggled without giving up.
But when the rope still didn't budge, her temper began to steadily rise.
"Hah, hah... fuck...!"
[This bitch is starting to lose it lol]
[Don't be mad T_T scary]
[How is someone named Happy lmaooo]
[Damn Han-byeol so jealous, Yor's pet kek]
[If you're the pet of a handsome guy, isn't that kinda a success...?]
Of course, whether she was angry or not, the viewers only delighted in it.
For a fairly skill-oriented streamer like her, this was a rare and precious sight.
And to be honest, there was also a bit of a 'serves you right' sentiment among them.
Because of her uniquely strong personality, some viewers didn't look on her favourably.
The fact that she was popular with male viewers on top of that was also an issue... though the person in question didn't seem to have any idea about it.
"Struggling's useless. That rope was made for capturing magical beasts, you know. It's tougher than most chains."
As she was thrashing about furiously, Yor approached her.
Maybe he'd taken a shower in the meantime; his skin was fresh and dry.
The viewers showed various reactions at the sight, but Han-byeol only glared.
"...Hurry up and untie this."
"I told you earlier. Put down all the Holy Water you've got, and tell me where you got it—then I'll untie you."
Han-byeol snorted.
She had no idea why he was so fixated on Holy Water, but even for the sake of her pride alone, she had no intention of granting Yor's request.
"You're talking nonsense. You think I'm going to tell you after being put through this humiliation?"
"Yeah? Then I've got no choice."
Yor rose from his spot. Then he began to move one hand busily.
"...!"
In that instant, Han-byeol squeezed her eyes shut.
Because she thought he was about to slap her again, like earlier.
This was someone who had even been willing to stab with a knife, calling it interrogation. It wouldn't have been strange if he used violence right then.
"..."
But no matter how long she waited, a hand never flew at her.
Han-byeol cautiously opened her eyes.
A single plate sat before her eyes. Fried rice that looked delicious, a mix of finely minced meat and rice.
Han-byeol tilted her head.
"...What is this?"
"Eat. You must've been starving until now."
"Did you put poison in it?"
"Hah, if you think that, then don't eat it."
"..."
Han-byeol gazed at the plate for a moment.
She certainly had starved for a long time while tied up. Her stomach was, in fact, a little hungry too.
She was slightly suspicious that something might have been added to the food, but if it was edible, it was welcome.
But there was a big problem. Specifically, the fact that her hands were currently tied behind her back.
And while the food was right there, there was not a single utensil with which to eat it.
So Han-byeol asked, with doubt in her voice.
"There's no spoon or fork—how exactly do you expect me to eat...?"
At that question, Yor wore a mischievous smile. A grin like a prankster who loved to tease.
"Obviously, eat with your mouth. Why would a pet need utensils? Happy."
"You little—!"
At those words, Han-byeol's face crumpled sharply. As expected, he was trying to toy with her.
"My name is not Happy! It's Shin Han-byeol, Shin Han-byeol!"
"Dear me, taming a pet really is quite difficult after all."
[Happpyyyyy lmaoooo]
[Happy, what's wrong? You don't like the food~?]
[He's seriously handling her like a dog this crazy bastard lmaooo]
[Whimper... handle me like a dog too whimper...]
[The Happy I tame is a gentle Pomeranian, but this Happy here is a little fierce~]
At his insane remarks, the chat window eagerly began mocking her. Didn't they say that others' pain is my happiness? The viewers were simply enjoying this situation.
Looking at Han-byeol, who was trembling with fury, Yor spoke.
"You can't leave here until you tell me anyway. So you'd better stop being stubborn and cooperate quickly."
With those parting words, Yor vanished back into the interior of the cave.
And so, all that remained was a single plate of steaming fried rice placed before her.
Hoooh... Han-byeol let out a deep sigh. Then she looked at her viewers and said,
"...I'll end today's stream here for now. See you all next time."
For a moment, the viewers' complaints echoed in the chat window, but she ignored them cleanly.
Because to her, with her strong pride, this current state of affairs was honestly extremely embarrassing.
And also because she had expended a great deal of mental power today in various ways.
Once silence settled in, she began to agonise inwardly.
'This is serious...'
She had pretended it was nothing, but honestly, the situation was quite grave.
Maintaining rank 1 was absolutely not easy. Even at this very moment, the rankers below her were certain to be clawing their way up with everything they had.
And in terms of streaming, it wasn't very good either.
Her viewers came to watch her fight flashily.
They didn't come to watch her being detained pointlessly like this.
And it was clear that would naturally lead to a drop in viewers.
She still hadn't paid off her family's debt... that would be a truly agonising blow.
In a way, you could say Yor had made the absolute best move.
Being confined like this, rather than getting hit and insulted, was more effective on her.
Because the longer she was tied up like this, the more she simply lost out.
'I need to find a way.'
Han-byeol formulated various plans in her head.
But there was no plan that she particularly liked, and time only slipped by.
"Eat your food. Happy."
When night came, Yor swapped her plate. Since the food he'd given her at lunch had gone completely cold, he had brought her a new meal.
But this time, too, it was just a lone plate, so Han-byeol didn't eat it.
Yor had no choice but to withdraw,
Clicking his tongue—though he did at least attach a night-light near the wall so the night wouldn't be too dark.
...Considering he'd imprisoned her, it was fairly temperate treatment. Though it rankled a little because it really did feel like handling an actual pet.
"Hoooh..."
In the end, when no way out emerged even by nightfall, she had no choice but to sigh and log out.
At least she was fortunate to have brought a Fatigue Potion along. A cheap potion that shops sold for 100 gold.
But since her inventory window wasn't very spacious, she had exactly one potion at most.
'If I'd known it would turn out like this, I should have brought a few more...'
Even as she felt that regret, she opened her inventory.
Since both her arms were tied behind her, naturally she had no choice but to retrieve it with her mouth.
The stopper too, naturally, was opened while she struggled and strained with her mouth.
It was a truly pitiful sight, but fortunately there was no one to see it.
After logging out like that, she immediately went onto an internet community.
A great many viewers had watched today, so people were certain to be chattering about this incident in the community as well.
And sure enough, the community was absolutely filled with nothing but talk of today's stream.
+
[So does that mean that Han-byeol girl is still in that cave?]
Alone with Yor?
Oh.. might be a tiny bit jealous actually...
+
[What good's that when she can't even move lol]
[So does that mean she can't hunt or level up for a while?]
[↳ Yeah]
[This is my chance, while she's staying still I'm gonna sprint on up with Cheetah]
[↳ Dream big]
"Haaah..."
After looking over the internet like that, she let out a long sigh.
As expected, the jackals eyeing her spot were already starting to appear.
Just thinking about what she ought to do from now on was already giving her a headache.
"Hm...?"
It was in the midst of that. A new post suddenly caught Han-byeol's eye.
With an expression tinged with some tension, she clicked the post.
+
[Came by after editing out the scene where Yor slapped her today]
(mp4)
He really slaps fiercely 😨
From now on, the bastards who post shitty memes ought to get hit like this too
+
[Does that mean if I post shit memes I can get hit too? K]
[↳ Ah, please just don't]
[↳ Ah, why are you like this, seriously]
[The sound itself is on a whole different level; thinking about being hit by a guy like that makes me seriously feel like I'm gonna piss myself;]
[↳ But isn't it a little hot..? The composition, those eyes looking down, all of it—I think I could get off a few times to this..]
[↳ In our industry we call that a reward]
[↳ Please all of you just die, the air I share with you people is a waste]
[↳ The masochist chicks are running wild today;]
After confirming the post like that, she immediately tried to furrow her brow.
There was no one who could view a scene of themselves being hit with pleasant feelings, after all.
"..."
But why? In practice, her mood wasn't actually so bad.
No, she certainly did frown when she thought back to that moment...
At the same time, she also felt as if somewhere deep inside was growing warm.
'...What is this?'
Faced with an emotion that even Han-byeol herself had trouble identifying, she felt confused.
As she felt that sense of incongruity, she was soon able to think up a plausible excuse.
'I guess it's because I don't appear in the video.'
True to those words, the video was from a first-person perspective.
So the sight of her being hit didn't appear; only the sight of him delivering the slap appeared for a brief moment.
That was probably why it felt less repellent.
"...Hmm."
Making that excuse, she played the video once more.
And that act was repeated a few more times.