Chapter 13
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Leaving Runein (1)
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｢Alert｣
Acquired title.
『First Logging』
Acquisition Condition: First user to successfully defeat a Forest Giant.
Another title acquired.
This made two titles with "first" in them.
Once the title was received, the settlement finally completed.
"...Titles are titles, but first, let's keep hunting."
Level 5 was right in front of her.
Hunting the Forest Giant had netted her a whopping 2,500 experience points. But she was still just a bit short of reaching level 5.
Cheisi exited the cave and swiftly hunted down the goblins in sight.
And just like that, level 5 was finally achieved.
-LFG LFG LFG!!!
-LEVEL 5!!!
-Ranking 1 right now?
-Ultra speedrun this is
-Her movement is on another level
The chat from the eagerly waiting viewers exploded onto the screen.
"Woo-hoo!"
Cheisi cheered too.
Level 5.
She had finally reached level 5.
Now she could accept the quest that had been blocked by the level restriction. But what truly thrilled Cheisi was something else.
"Inventory open!"
Cheisi shouted the words gleefully.
From the inventory that appeared before her, Cheisi pulled out the fish.
The fish she hadn't been able to eat until now, blocked by the level 5 wall.
But now the wall had crumbled. Cheisi had torn it down herself.
"Finally..."
Cheisi gazed at the fish with affectionate eyes before taking a big bite.
The moment she bit into it, the flavor exceeded her expectations, leaving Cheisi with no choice but to beam happily.
"...It's so light and fresh."
Thanks to virtual reality, no blood came gushing out. Aside from the slightly paler color, eating it raw looked no different from eating it cooked.
But Cheisi, tasting it herself, could feel it.
Through all five senses.
The fishy aroma that made her mouth water. The delightful texture as she bit into the smooth, glossy fish. The light, subtly sweet taste of the flesh on her tongue.
And on top of that, it was food eaten after a grueling battle.
"It's delicious. Sniff..."
It was so good tears welled up.
-She's eating like it's the best thing ever
-Just watching is filling me up...
The viewers felt healed watching her earnestly savor the food with such joy, smiling contentedly themselves.
It was the ideal mukbang that satisfied everyone.
Once she finished eating, a message appeared.
Defense +5 for 10 minutes.
"Right... this is a buff item."
Only after devouring it did Cheisi realize her mistake.
But with the fish licked clean, bones only remaining, it wasn't coming back.
Cheisi walked through the field where slimes bounced around.
Having hit level 5 and eaten the fish, she was now heading back to the village to pick up the quest she'd been curious about.
-So what's the title effect?
A viewer's chat suddenly reminded Cheisi that she hadn't checked the new title's effect yet.
Cheisi paused for a moment.
Checking the title effect, Cheisi felt a pang of disappointment.
"...Doesn't look that great."
A mere 5% damage bonus. And limited to tree-type monsters at that.
It wasn't useless, but the applications were too narrow.
Like something you swear you'll use but shove in a drawer for a year.
Still, it was better than her previous title, which had zero effect, so Cheisi equipped the new one.
Plop plop.
While she stood still equipping the title, slimes gathered around Cheisi.
Slimes curiously probing her with their bouncy movements.
Red, blue, brown. A variety of colors.
Cheisi tried to shoo away the gathered slimes by poking one with her dagger.
In an instant, the slime's health plummeted.
Kyuuu!!!
The near-death slime turned pale white and fled from Cheisi.
-Holy crap
-Almost killed it
-So cute, don't kill...
The chat's mood plummeted rapidly.
"Ah, no... I didn't mean to, I didn't know I'd be this strong...!"
Cheisi tried to explain to the viewers but accidentally poked another slime.
Kyu...
This one didn't even have a chance to flee before dissolving into particles of light.
Acquired 0 experience points.
An unexpected situation.
Seeing the experience message, Cheisi's pupils trembled.
Cheisi picked up the loot the slime left behind.
｢Brown Slime Droplet｣
A water droplet left by a tree slime.
'Of all things, a tree-type?!'
Seeing the loot, Cheisi paled.
The title's effect slightly boosted damage against tree-type monsters.
That's why the slime, which should have survived on the brink and fled, had died.
"...W-Wait! This really was an accident!"
Cheisi desperately tried to apologize to the viewers.
-...
-Sorry, can't defend that...
-This ain't it.
-Sorry, no caping for this one...
But the mood had already hit rock bottom.
-Apology accepted in meows only
-Fr fr lol
-When donation?
Ignoring the weird demands from viewers, Cheisi started walking again.
"......"
But with no sign of recovery in the chat, eventually.
"Nya... Nyang..."
-Kya
-Kyaa
-Now that's the good stuff
Cheisi surrendered.
Cheisi returned to the docks.
"Hey!"
Adin, who had been fishing at the dockside, spotted Cheisi and waved happily, approaching to speak right away.
"Feels like you and I are after the same thing, huh?"
"...What do you mean?"
"Feeling like the village is too cramped."
It was a quest.
Ferry Repair
📍 Restriction: Level 5+ users
⏰ Objective: Faithfully carry out Boatman Adin's requests
🎁 Reward: Special Ferry Ticket
A quest window appeared before Cheisi's eyes.
The identity of the quest she couldn't accept on her first visit to the docks.
"Ferry repair...?"
Repairing the ferry apparently let her ride it.
But no info on what riding it led to.
She had no clue yet, but she'd find out upon completion anyway.
Cheisi accepted the quest.
"Got any decent wood? Bigger and sturdier the better."
That was Adin's first request.
"Ah."
Something flashed in Cheisi's mind.
"Will this do?"
The massive branches from the Forest Giant.
Cheisi pulled a branch from her inventory and showed it to Adin.
Adin touched the branch and looked genuinely surprised.
"This quality is top-notch. This'll do just fine."
Adin's next request was this.
"Sometimes you'll spot white slimes in the fields. I need their white slime droplets for sail material. Might take about two weeks."
"Two weeks...?"
Way too long.
As Cheisi groaned at the tough request, Adin offered another option.
"Or that's fine too. Purple flower petals. Processed right, they're plenty sturdy."
"...Like this?"
Another spoil from the Forest Giant.
Cheisi pulled out the purple flower petal from her inventory.
"...You got everything just by asking. Impressive."
Adin muttered in admiration as he took the petal.
"Alright, one more now."
Stretching, Adin pointed somewhere.
"Help me move those."
Piles of wooden crates like mountains.
Seeing them, a thought crossed Cheisi's mind.
'Loading and unloading...?'
-Loading docks?
-Making you do manual labor in a game lololol
-Grind hell
The viewers shared the sentiment.
"I-I'll give it a shot."
Fired up for quest completion, Cheisi rolled up her sleeves boldly.
"Hngh...!"
Minutes later, she was exhausted. The crates were way heavier than expected.
-Lowering pain sensitivity might help.
Following the viewer's advice, Cheisi adjusted her pain settings and tried moving a crate.
"S-Still the same..."
No effect. Seemed useless for this.
Cheisi panted as she diligently hauled the crates.
"Any quests here?"
Some players approached her.
"Miss, need any help?"
"...Could you move those crates over there?"
"Oh, a player. Never mind!"
Players who mistook her for an NPC fled upon realizing she was one too.
"Village is getting lively, which is nice..."
Cheisi glanced at Runein Village while hauling crates.
The once-deserted quiet village was now bustling with players, full of energy.
"...Everyone's rushing around busily."
Unlike Cheisi, laboring on her quest, the players roamed aimlessly, poking into everything.
-All hunting for hidden stuff.
Cheisi agreed with the viewer.
Some rummaged trash bins, others tried climbing buildings only to get stopped by villagers.
No major disturbances, but everyone acted oddly.
A VR game announced to have hidden elements naturally drew hunters.
"Hidden stuff in the starting village?"
-Who knows
-Day 1 launch, no way to tell
-Planning to hunt some?
"Nah."
Cheisi answered sharply.
"Hunting hiddens means giving up first-clear titles."
She already had two first titles. Wasting time on hiddens might mean no more.
"Hiddens have no guarantee, but titles do. I'm ahead right now, so..."
No level 5 players in the village yet.
Maybe Cheisi was the only one.
-Fr, first titles are tasty
-Starting village prob empty anyway
"That's why I'm focusing on growth. Lets me grab level-restricted quests first too."
First titles were unique rewards. Cheisi wanted to prioritize growth for them.
A bit later, Cheisi successfully moved all the crates as requested.
"Good. That's it. Rest is on me."
As Cheisi set down the last crate, hoping to rest, Adin approached and handed her a wooden plaque.
"Your reward for helping. Come back when the ferry's done. We'll depart when you arrive."
Cheisi received the wooden plaque engraved with a serpent-like creature.
Ferry Repair quest completed.
The grueling labor was finally over.
Cheisi stored the wooden plaque—her Ferry Ticket—in her inventory with trembling hands.
"Me..."
Panting, she spoke to the viewers.
One sentence left her breathless.
"So tough... Hngh... So... I'm gonna... log off for a bit... and rest... Can't go on... Hngh..."
Game grind had worn her body and mind.
She desperately wanted to log out and rest.
-Take care
-Good work
-Logout greeting?
"Thanks for watching... today... Ugh... Ticket next... stream..."
-See ya
-Bye
Cheisi hit the stream end button.
Her view shifted instantly from the docks to her gray-ceilinged apartment.
From Cheisi back to real-life Yoo Seo-hwa.
The moment she logged out, Seo-hwa felt total-body exhaustion wash over her.
The physical fatigue vanished in reality, but her weary mind lingered.
Her arms and hands trembled from all the hauling.
Seo-hwa lay still in the capsule, resting a moment.
Suddenly, she realized.
'...Just finished my first stream.'
More precisely, her first with viewers.
Hand on her chest, she felt it swell with a vivid pounding heartbeat.
She couldn't quite name the feeling.
But one thing was clear.
Streaming was fun.
'Wonder what happens when I complete tomorrow's quest.'
She could hardly wait.