Chapter 11

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 11

Chapter Title: Runein (8)

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After going back and forth several times, the scenery of Runein Village now felt familiar.

"This is my first time checking this place out."

The spot Cheisi headed to was the clothing shop in Runein Village.

Since it was so early in the open beta, there were no other users around, allowing Cheisi to freely wander the shop's interior.

There was a lot of casual clothing. And then there was one standout set that was anything but casual.

"This is it, right?"

Cheisi stopped in front of a pitch-black full-body armor.

The armor worn by the Knight she'd seen at the blacksmith.

Cheisi checked the info on the two items.

A total of 5 coins.

Once she heard the price, it didn't look cool at all anymore.

"This... it's plastic..."

Confirming the material only made it worse.

"...It suddenly looks so cheap."

"It's not cheap."

"Eek!"

Cheisi jumped in surprise at the sudden voice from behind.

At some point, the black-armored Knight she'd seen once before had snuck up behind her.

"My armor... is precious..."

The Knight muttered in a somewhat lonely voice. With the modulated tone, he sounded like a jilted lover, making the whole thing look incredibly weird.

"It's 5 coins."

"I wore it, so it's noble."

With that, the Knight slightly bowed his helmet toward Cheisi.

"We meet again. Cheisi, was it?"

"Yeah. We do."

Though she said that, Cheisi wasn't particularly glad to see him.

The glow from inside the Knight's helmet scanned Cheisi once, as if assessing the situation.

"You're in rags. What happened?"

"...I got hit by a pretty strong monster."

"A strong monster...?"

"A Forest Giant. It had a pattern I didn't expect, and I took a hit."

"...So that's why you're picking out clothes now."

"Pretty much."

Cheisi picked up some clothes.

"I've decided."

Deep purple pants. And a thick brown robe.

Cheisi grabbed them.

Moving to the changing area in the clothing shop, Cheisi turned off the stream for a bit, changed, and came back out.

"This is fashion, right?"

Cheisi was satisfied with her look.

But it was an outfit that would horrify even a passing beggar with its terrible fashion sense.

The Knight who'd seen Cheisi's appearance let out a light laugh.

"Deep purple shorts. Tight brown robe. Haha. Were you aiming to look like a grape?"

"...No."

"......You seriously picked that?"

At the Knight's shocked expression, Cheisi asked the viewers for their opinions.

"It looks okay, right?"

Not a shred of positivity.

Even more importantly, despite failing spectacularly with multiple people, it still looked fine to Cheisi.

A truly cursed sense of fashion. Realizing this, Cheisi despaired.

"I'll help you."

The Knight stepped up.

Cheisi eyed the Knight suspiciously, wrapped in his 5-coin plastic armor.

"...It's gonna be the same."

She figured it couldn't be any different.

But the Knight was confident.

"Trust me."

Nothing to lose.

"...Give it a shot, then."

With Cheisi's permission, the Knight immediately began scanning the clothing shop.

"Hmm."

After pondering here and there, he soon combined a top and bottom into a full outfit.

"How's this?"

The moment Cheisi took the clothes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Knight had picked, she instinctively knew she loved them.

"......"

It was casual adventurer-style attire.

It exposed quite a bit of thigh, but the fabric felt comfortable against her skin and was lightweight.

She liked how thin and cool it felt, and from a practicality standpoint, it was satisfying.

Light and comfy, so it wouldn't hinder combat at all. And it even had a dagger sheath for clipping on a dagger.

'...Was there an outfit like this?'

Cheisi hit a wall.

She hadn't been able to catch both practicality and design in one trap.

But the Knight had. And with just a lap or two around the shop.

'Ugh...'

This was an insurmountable wall called 'fashion sense.'

Mentally wounded, Cheisi groaned.

They'd hated her choice so much that the viewers were already in full festival mode.

"I... I like it."

In the end, Cheisi paid 10 coins and accepted that her fashion sense belonged in the trash.

"I'll go change..."

Cheisi mumbled in a glum voice as she turned off the stream screen for a moment.

To the viewers, the screen went completely black.

Nothing visible, just the occasional rustle of fabric against skin.

The chat scrolled slowly.

The viewers patiently waited for the stream to come back on.

A moment later, the screen brightened.

And a petite adventurer girl appeared.

Her long red hair cascaded to her shoulders, cat ears perked up on her head—a stark contrast to the Cheisi they'd seen before.

The casual outfit exposing her thighs created a natural allure. Her snow-white skin and figure exuded a beautiful, elegant vibe.

Irresistible enough to catch anyone's eye passing by.

And this was Cheisi, who'd hidden her full-body robe and long pants at the game start.

With the rags gone and proper clothes on, even without intending it, she pulled off a perfect glow-up, making her even more captivating.

"Does it look okay...?"

Thus spoke the petite adventurer girl, her golden eyes sparkling, voice a bit awkward.

The sluggish chat exploded.

Cheisi's viewer count had ticked up from 50 to around 60. Hard to believe this was a small stream's chat—it was going wild.

"Why the fuss...?"

The very source of the commotion couldn't relate to the chat's vibe at all.

After a week getting used to her looks, Cheisi had lost the thrill. She thought she was pretty, sure, but nothing to go nuts over.

There was one other unfazed by it all.

"Clothes do suit you—you look pretty. But personally, I prefer the Death Knight look like mine right now."

"Not curious."

"Take note."

"Don't wanna."

"Don't wanna...?"

At her firm rejection, the Knight looked glum.

"...Can I get your nickname?"

"Of course. Burnt Knight."

"I'll just call you Knight."

Cheisi gave a slight bow of thanks.

"I'll say thanks. The viewers love it."

Cheisi treasured every single viewer. It wasn't because there were few.

The fact they were watching her stream was precious and grateful.

Even if viewers hit thousands or tens of thousands, Cheisi would still value each one.

And now there was an event her viewers would love. She wanted to properly thank the Knight who'd made it possible.

They seemed a bit too happy.

"I accept your thanks... Then, if it's not too much."

The Knight knelt on one knee before Cheisi.

"Can you share info on that Forest Giant monster?"

The Adventurer's Guild had only NPCs, no users.

After claiming an empty table, Cheisi shared the map with the Knight.

"The Forest Giant is here."

Cheisi pointed to the center of Runein Forest.

"Deep in."

"Pretty far in. That giant tree in the cave there—that's the Forest Giant."

"...Is the Forest Giant monster tough? No, you cleared the tutorial without dying and still struggled, so it must be. How tough?"

"Not that tough. But it has tricky patterns."

Cheisi began recalling.

"Basically, the Forest Giant hits hard but is super slow. It summons a bunch of goblins too, but they're not much of a threat."

At least by Cheisi's standards.

"The problem is the pattern at 50% HP. A purple flower blooms on its head, petals fall and scatter purple poison everywhere, splashing all lifeforms in the cave. Even its summoned goblins get hit and turn to light particles soon after."

Cheisi held up seven fingers.

"Poison effect: 70% movement speed reduction. Or 70% slow. HP drain aside, it's fatal for me. My style relies on daggers, so defense is weak—I depend on speed. With the slow debuff, even one goblin is a fight for survival."

The summon pattern wasn't dangerous. Attacks were slow. But the debuff countered Cheisi's reaction-and-dodge style head-on, making the Forest Giant tricky for her.

The Knight who'd listened asked.

"Any counter?"

"Not sure yet. They say it's barely effective on level 5+, but to hit level 5, you need the Forest Giant quest mandatory."

"...I see. New info. Thanks."

"You'll learn it at level 4 anyway."

Suddenly, something nagged at Cheisi.

'It sprays poison, so shouldn't all goblins die?'

But she distinctly remembered one goblin chasing and nearly killing her.

"That's weird."

"...Something come to mind?"

"No, not that. Just doesn't add up."

There was something to clarify.

"Gonna do a quick battle autopsy."

Cheisi fiddled with stream settings as she spoke.

Abyss live streams supported replays.

Meaning you could review past fights anytime. Called 'autopsies' in Abyss.

Cheisi glanced at the Knight.

"Curious? Log into Abyss."

The Knight's hands suddenly got busy.