Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Kaliune's Tomb (1)
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At the knight's request to add him as a friend, Cheisi's tail went rigid.
"No way... You've been logged in and waiting this whole time...?"
"Of course. I will add you as a friend. To that end, I pulled an all-nighter with eyes wide open."
"...Are you sure you're okay right now?"
"Mm!"
The knight made his declaration, vanished for a moment, then reappeared.
"Now I'm good! I chugged the maximum dose of ultra-high-caffeine drink!"
It was a statement that made her seriously doubt if he was truly okay.
"Ahem. Well then."
Cheisi glanced at the friend request message from the knight.
"Sure."
Burnt Knight has been added as a friend.
Opening her settings, she saw the friends menu activated next to the warp menu.
Burnt Knight's nickname was listed there.
"At last... We are comrades."
The knight murmured in what seemed like deep emotion.
<<Friends List>>
Nickname: Burnt Knight
While checking the friends menu, Cheisi looked up at the knight as a sudden message popped up in front of her.
Burnt Knight has requested to form a party.
It was a party request.
"Following you around lets me run into satisfyingly strong foes. Would it be alright if I kept tagging along from now on?"
"Uh... No."
Cheisi rejected it immediately.
Party request declined.
"Wha—why...!"
The knight slumped in despair right in front of Cheisi's eyes.
"...Honestly, it feels like you'd only be useful as a meat shield."
Cheisi recalled everything the knight had done so far.
Died to bloodsuckers right after crossing the sea. Got one-shot by an elite monster in the fog.
Every single time they met, he died—a walking disaster.
Sure, his antics might spice up the stream for a bit, but a lump of baggage useless beyond serving as a meat shield would drag down both the stream and the fights.
"I... I see... Then the quest we shared will be our last farewell..."
From within the black helmet, white—no, silver eyes gleamed at Cheisi.
There seemed to be a hint of sorrow in that gaze.
"...Well, this is just another parting the Death Knight must endure. It was a pleasure, milady! Allow me to offer my respects!"
Cheisi watched the silver eyes curve narrowly, as if feigning relief.
"...I'll offer my respects too."
Cheisi played along with the knight's theatrics.
In response, the silver eyes bent into a joyful arc.
It was 8 a.m. Cheisi turned on her stream near the mine cart where the fog in the Fog Mines was thinnest.
Cheha
Stayed up all night watching Moby Dick and the stream popped on...
hey hey
"Hello, everyone!"
Cheisi flashed a bright smile at the incoming viewers.
Greeting them at the start and reading the chat as they poured in was starting to feel routine.
Did you see the official stream yesterday?
"The stream? Oh, yeah, I watched it."
Clicking the link in the email had taken her straight to the live channel. She ended up watching naturally.
Questions flooded in from viewers.
Saw the 100 billion won quest???
'Eternal Footsteps' name was badass af.
Unofficial guilds popping up to do the quests, which one you picking??
"Obviously Eternal Footsteps. Heck, I've already got two of the titles for it."
She already had a huge leg up on the 100-billion-won quest. There were plenty of reasons to pick Eternal Footsteps from the start.
"Alright, let's go hunt down Kaliune's Knight first."
Time to start the Ariant World stream.
Top priority: Kaliune's Knight, the elite monster in the Fog Mines.
"But I need a cooking buff first, so back to Megrana Pit."
To execute her planned strategy, the 'Living Wraith' buff from Megrana Pit's cuisine was essential.
"...At last, a duel with a worthy foe."
The knight, boarding the mine cart headed for Megrana Pit first, muttered excitedly.
Cheisi blankly stared at him inside the cart.
"Aren't you coming along, milady?"
"...I, uh, forgot. With the warp function, I don't need this nauseating ride."
"What...? Right, the warp function."
The knight started fiddling with the air as realization dawned.
"Huh...?"
Soon, a panicked voice came from him.
"Warp doesn't work while on the mine cart..."
Chiiiiiik—!
Steam blasted fiercely from the cart.
"W-Wait...!"
The knight scrambled to escape the departing cart, but it lurched forward first with a screech.
"Gaaah... Argh... Hea... Head... To... Megrana... Piiiiit..."
The knight's voice faded as the cart swallowed him into the underground tunnel toward Megrana Pit.
"...Let's get going too."
Cheisi stared vacantly at where he vanished, then opened her warp menu.
Megrana Pit's 'Megrana Pit Smelter' was registered there.
Warping there, she headed to the stone restaurant she'd visited before—the one with the needed cooking buffs.
"1000 coins..."
The Fog Wraith on the menu was still 1000 coins, same as before.
It felt just as steep, but with her mind made up, she didn't hesitate.
After paying and ordering, the server brought a plate with pale, misty wraith—and a stone?
"Spread it on and eat."
Wondering if she was supposed to eat the stone, Cheisi eyed it dubiously, but thankfully it was soft bread shaped like a rock.
Cheisi tore off strips of the Fog Wraith and slathered them on the bread.
It spread like white jam, giving off a musty scent.
She took a bite of the wraith-smeared bread.
"Mm. Tastes like cheese."
It was like bread with cheese spread on it. The texture on her tongue was soft, fluffy, and slightly slick.
cheese bagel???
lmao probably
Breakfast is bread today no choice.
Don't enjoy it!! I skipped it!!
Munching on the wraith bread while watching chat, the knight returned.
The knight, blankly looking around the restaurant interior.
"...Want some?"
"No, I hear food effects halve when shared. I'll pick my own."
The knight eyed the menu, pondered, then ordered the edible stone.
It cost a whopping 25 coins, and judging by his constant grimacing, it didn't taste great.
Mid-meal, the server brought a red carapace and handed it to Cheisi.
"A gift for the adventurer."
Lava-Glow Worm Shell
The shell of the worm worshipped by the mining city's folk.
People of Megrana Pit believe carrying this brings luck for the day.
Rank: Common
Type: Collection Item
Satiety +2
*A feeling that unknown luck will follow.
'Unknown luck?'
That was in the description.
Cheisi bowed her head in thanks and pocketed the shell. No harm in carrying it.
"Nothing for me?"
"No service for the 25-coin menu. Please understand."
"...How undignified."
The knight got nothing.
You have consumed Living Wraith.
For the next two battles, ambush attack damage amplification +250%.
Cheisi finished eating and checked the message window.
A dark glow shimmered around her hand. The buff was definitely active.
Now, just the fight left.
Cheisi opened her warp menu.
'...Crap.'
No warp back to the Fog Mines. Her tail drooped at the thought of the nauseating cart ride.
'......Ughhh.'
Cheisi barely regained her senses from the cart's motion sickness when she spotted the viewer count.
[Live Streaming]
Viewers: 33,000
In less than an hour, the numbers had exploded.
She'd probably be at the top of the Abyss streamer rankings. Typical top Korean Abyss streamers hovered around 20,000 viewers.
Cheisi could easily guess what they were hyped for.
Kaliune's Tomb—an unknown area no one had explored yet.
She'd peeked online briefly yesterday and seen game news sites buzzing about it.
Even big outlets like Daily Games and GameMain had articles on Kaliune's Tomb and Megrana Pit strategies and info.
Out of curiosity, she'd clicked some, but found nothing new—just rehashes of what she'd streamed herself.
Still, the articles were hugely popular. Kaliune's Tomb was a massive internet topic, beyond just game sites.
It showed how wildly popular VR games were, and that hype naturally boosted her stream prepping the Kaliune Knight hunt.
'Everything's ready.'
Preparations were perfect.
Level 13—she'd leveled as much as possible.
Cooking buff secured, and she'd stocked over ten Canaryium Necklaces to block fog damage, just in case.
She'd exclude the knight entirely from the fight—no risk of triggering ambushes prematurely, no distractions.
Everything for hunting the Fog Mines' wraith knight was set.
Entering the Fog Mines, Cheisi placed a map pin where she'd seen Kaliune's Knight.
With ears folded, warily advancing, she reached the marked spot.
Shiiik—.
A faint slicing of air, and the wraith knight burst from the hazy fog, lunging in ambush.
"...Hya!"
Cheisi reacted.
The instant she registered the charge, she triggered her own ambush, blinking behind the knight to strike.
Her dagger tore through the fog comprising its body. It reformed quickly, but she'd clearly chunked its health.
About 10%.
"No ambush proc on it, at least."
Thankfully, her timing was perfect—no defense buff on the foe.
Cheisi recalled the ambush cooldown.
'At least 10 minutes.'
Only ambush hits would deal real damage during cooldown, so the hunt would take at least 10 minutes.
Until she could use ambush ten times, she'd track the knight as it hid in the fog, dodge normal attacks relying on reaction speed, and prevent its ambushes.
Cheisi plunged into the fog.
Dooo!
As distance grew, the lens monster hurried after her into the mist.
In GameMain's office, two reporters were glued to the stream screen.
Sang-chul Oh and Team Leader Eom Jung-baek.
"What do you think, boss? If she wins, that's more article fodder, right?"
"Obviously. Articles on Azelchen and Megrana Pit blew up."
Jung-baek replied to Sang-chul's question almost humming.
"True, VR's never been this hot. Gotta milk the Ariant World boom."
As Sang-chul spoke, the team leader clasped his hands toward the screen in prayer.
"Please win. I wanna squeeze out one more article on Kaliune's Tomb."
He looked genuinely desperate.
Sang-chul got it.
'That article apparently racked up as many views in a day as a week's worth from others combined.'
After it dropped, the related staff were all smiles.
Massive success, no doubt.
Sang-chul turned to the screen.
The cat girl seemed to dominate the wraith knight fight without much danger.
"Going smooth."
"Pray it stays smooth. That's our story material."
Watching, Sang-chul had a sudden question.
"Isn't this her first try?"
"Probably."
"Then you'd think nerves might make her slip, but she's dodging attacks that look impossible to react to with the naked eye and countering perfectly."
Jung-baek answered like it was obvious.
"Us mortals can't chase geniuses."
"Heh, fair enough."
"Just pray that streamer wins so we can write the banger article."
"Got i—"
The two reporters froze, staring at the screen.
"...Looks dangerous."
"Y-Yeah. Oh no..."
Jung-baek clasped his hands again in prayer, and Sang-chul joined in.
'Please win! If the article hits big, year-end bonus incoming!'