Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Runein Village (9)
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Autopsy. Or as it's otherwise known, the review stream had begun.
Cheisi switched the broadcast feed to the streaming recording.
She then skipped ahead in the timeline before slowly rewinding the footage.
The screen reverted to the scene of Cheisi's desperate struggle against the goblin.
Holy shit!!!
Was legit so scary watching that live.
For real...
"It's okay. You didn't go into shock, right?"
Cheisi spoke in a light tone and paused the footage.
It was right before the battered Cheisi delivered the finishing blow to the goblin.
"This goblin... it's a bit weird."
"...You're right."
The Knight nodded as if realizing something.
"Every goblin I've seen so far has been green, but this one's purple."
"...That's not it."
Cheisi rewound the broadcast footage a bit more.
"The origin of this goblin. That's what I'm curious about."
The scene showed the battered girl staggering out of the cave.
And then a single goblin chasing after her from inside the cave.
Came out of the cave?
How'd it get out there?
And it wasn't slowed down?
A few viewers were starting to notice the oddity along with Cheisi.
What?? Why do you guys get it and not me?
No, it wasn't affected by the poison.
Yeah check it out.
What are you talking about?
But plenty of viewers were still confused.
"Look."
Cheisi rewound the video further.
The Forest Giant let out a gloomy howl as purple poison splashed into the cave, and the goblins writhed in agony before turning into balls of light.
"All the goblins should have died here."
Goblins hit by goblin poison slow down and turn into balls of light on their own.
There were no rocks or terrain in the cave to hide from the poison.
Cheisi had confirmed this the moment she first entered the cave.
Yet there was a goblin that survived even after the poison was scattered.
That was Cheisi's point of doubt.
Oh yeah?
How is it still alive???
They all should've died?
The poison covered the whole cave—how'd it avoid it?
At least every goblin on screen was moving sluggishly after getting hit by the poison.
Cheisi rewound the footage a little more.
After the poison pattern ended, amid the goblins slowly turning into balls of light, one goblin suddenly appeared.
She hadn't noticed it during the fight, but in review, the one goblin moving perfectly fine stood out.
It was completely unharmed. Not a trace of poison on it.
How on earth?
Aha
LMAOOOOO
I get it now.
It got buried lol
Yep, totally buried.
"Ah..."
Cheisi realized the answer and let out a sigh.
It was simple.
"Yeah, it was buried."
In the chaos of the cave as countless goblins spawned, trampling and tangling with each other.
One goblin had been completely crushed and buried under the others, out of sight.
Cheisi rewound the time a bit further.
The giant spewed purple poison. It poured from above down into the cave.
"...Yeah, it didn't get hit."
The poison didn't reach the buried goblin. The other goblins had acted as shields.
It was a straightforward counter. Cheisi felt a bit deflated.
"Totally easy, huh."
I mean, what kind of complex counter would a first-day monster need?
If it required dying multiple times to figure out, that'd be the real balance issue.
Just prepare a shield, and it makes sense in a way.
But the Knight was aghast.
"...Calling this easy is what, exactly?!"
"Why? The attacks are slow enough to dodge easily, the goblins aren't much of a threat, and the poison pattern just needs a shield."
"Easy to say!"
The Knight looked genuinely baffled.
"Slow attacks?! It's moving faster than me, and you're barely dodging?!"
"...The animations have leeway. I'm dodging late to time the punish."
"I don't see any of that?!"
"You'll see it if you go yourself."
The Knight asked Cheisi to rewind the footage a bit more.
"And how the hell did you dodge this attack? It came out of nowhere! Did you predict it?!"
"...I reacted to it."
"Huh?"
The Knight sighed in disbelief.
"You reacted to that and dodged? Are you even human?"
It was a somewhat ambiguous question for Cheisi.
"...Probably?"
"Can't wrap my head around it. But damn, no hacks in a VR game. Guess I have to accept it."
LMAOOOO
I know that feeling all too well
She's been like this since the tutorial
The viewers empathized with the Knight's frustration.
They'd felt the same watching her react to goblin poison needles in the tutorial fights.
Cheisi stared at the flower vase on the Adventurer's Guild table, lost in thought.
"So, where do I get a shield big enough to fully hide behind...?"
If she could just rip off a table from the Adventurer's Guild and use it as a parasol, but sadly, the map message said otherwise.
"Goblin Flower Cave"
A cave where a giant tree called the Giant grows.
*During combat, items cannot be carried outside inventory except for equipment, consumables, and exceptional items.
A blatant restriction preventing her from bringing parasol-worthy items.
Cheisi was convinced this was the counter, but it plunged her deeper into thought.
"A shield big enough to completely hide me..."
"Hmm... Tricky."
Her gaze suddenly landed on the Knight.
His armor had been overwhelmingly massive even back at the blacksmith.
The Knight was several times her size.
And armor counted as a cosmetic item.
Like her torn robe, cosmetics seemed allowed inside the cave.
"...W-Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Hey, wanna be my meat shield?"
Soon, Cheisi realized the Knight was the solution to this fight.
"Meat shield...? You mean you're including me in your strategy?"
"Yes."
The Knight was silent for a moment before nodding firmly toward her, as if resolved.
"Fine. Can't avoid fighting strong foes forever."
His eyes gleamed with determination.
You have entered the Goblin Flower Cave.
The Forest Giant they met for the second time.
This time, she wasn't alone.
"Groooaaaarrr!!"
Cheisi drew her dagger as the Forest Giant awoke.
"I'll handle DPS, so stay back!"
She charged forward, closing the distance, and began dealing damage.
Cheisi's role was main DPS. She could easily dodge the Forest Giant's attacks and extend her damage windows, so she handled all the damage output.
"Magic circle incoming!"
"I see it!"
And when the Giant's HP hit 80% and it summoned goblins.
"I'll clear the ones nearby!"
"Got it!"
Protecting the level 3 Knight—who still struggled in 1v1s against goblins.
Slash. Slash.
Cheisi's dagger carved through the goblins.
With 40 attack power and fast attack speed unlike other weapons, the dagger was perfect for sweeping goblins.
And finally, HP at 50%.
The Giant let out a gloomy wail and swung its branches everywhere.
Knowing what came next, Cheisi ran toward the Knight.
"Get ready!"
"Already am!"
The Knight stepped forward.
Cheisi ducked behind his back.
Purple poison slammed into the Knight's armor. Violet liquid dripped down both sides of Cheisi's vision before rapidly soaking into the ground and vanishing.
"Th...a...a...gh..."
The epitome of a perfect meat shield. The Knight fulfilled his role admirably.
"Great meat shield performance."
Cheisi hid behind him until the pattern ended. Soon, the purple poison rain stopped.
"Okay, pattern over!"
"Lemme drink a potion... no, make it two..."
Back to Cheisi's DPS time.
Without the poison pattern, the Forest Giant was no threat to Cheisi.
She deftly dodged its swinging, slamming, and thrusting branches, unilaterally whittling down its HP.
HP at 40%. Magic circles appeared on the cave floor, summoning more goblins.
After clearing goblins approaching the Knight, Cheisi even tossed in a casual joke.
"Pretty sturdy, huh?"
"...Just go do your DPS."
"I am. Don't worry."
Dodging attacks from goblins swarming her, Cheisi damaged the Giant.
Occasionally, the Giant's branches and goblin attacks overlapped, grazing her clothes in tense moments.
That was close af
Thought she ate a hit.
It made viewers clutch their chests, but Cheisi dodged every time.
The clear progressed smoothly, reaching the 25% HP phase.
Another petal fell from the Giant's head flower, and it began shaking with a gloomy wail.
"Here it comes again!"
"Got it!"
Cheisi hid behind the Knight's armor again.
It felt solid against her back.
"Back-to-back like this, feels like we're really relying on each other, doesn't it?"
"I'm the one doing all the sacrificing... Graaaahhh!!!"
The Knight's armor was drenched purple as a scream erupted.
"Heading out again!"
"Grah... O-One potion left. Finish it quick..."
This was the last one.
Cheisi was certain.
No more goblin summons from here.
Even at 20% HP. Even at 10%. No poison pattern.
Down to 5%, then 1%.
0.5%.
And...
"...Done."
Cheisi's final strike slashed past the Giant.
"Groooaaaarrghhh..."
A purple petal drifted weakly from the Giant's head, and it collapsed with a thud.
White light rippled from the tips of its branches, gradually dissolving the Giant's form.
It was over.
They'd succeeded in the hunt.
Cheisi panted heavily. Even she wasn't unscathed. Handling all DPS solo dragged the fight out.
Even easy-to-dodge attacks carried the pressure of zero mistakes, wearing her mentally.
But she hadn't hit her physical or mental limits.
In other words...
"We got it!"
She had the energy to cheer.
Cheisi whooped freely, admiring the Giant turning to light.
*claps* *claps*
*claps* *claps*
Cheisi the Great
One hit and it's over—super tense
For real, I'm drained just watching
The viewers shared the moment's joy with Cheisi.
Glancing at chat, she turned at a weak voice from beside her.
"W-We got it."
The Knight was still moving.
"You're alive?"
"...Not for long. Add me as a friend later, please..."
The Knight dissolved into light mid-sentence.
The poison effect must've lingered.
"Gotta accept his friend request after this."
LOL for real
How serious is he about that friend add lol
Resolved to accept if he came back, Cheisi checked the Forest Giant's loot.
Ancient Branch
Goblin Flower Petal
"No idea what they're for, but..."
She stowed the unknown items in her inventory for now.
Obtained 2500 EXP.
Cheisi confirmed the massive 2500 EXP gain.
She thought settlement was done, but no.
Ding!
A cheerful chime rang in Cheisi's ears.
Acquired a Title.