Chapter 47
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Underwater Garden Melrip (4)
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After warping to Runein Village, Cheisi set off on foot.
'Never thought I'd end up back here.'
Runein Forest.
A place she'd constantly gone in and out of, hunting goblins back when her level was in the low single digits.
She'd come here to snag a small creature she could shove into the crack for a surprise attack.
A round, black worm.
Cute, for a bug.
Level:0
Rank:Common
Experience:0
The same info window as always.
Cheisi picked up the Forest Worm and sized it up.
"This should fit just fine, right?"
It was even smaller than the lava worm. Even eyeballing it, she could tell it was the perfect size to slip into the crack.
And no hard shell or anything.
"Alright, this one's coming with me."
Cheisi pulled the Hook Dagger Crafting Parchment from her inventory.
"Gotta get an Ancient Branch from the Forest Giant, too."
One of the materials for the dagger was an Ancient Branch—an item dropped by Forest Giants.
She opened her map and followed the familiar path to the cave where the Forest Giant lurked, only to find players already attempting to hunt it.
She watched quietly for a bit, but it looked like it was going to take a while.
-Forest Giants are plentiful all throughout the forest.
"Oh yeah?"
Cheisi spotted that chat message and wandered around Runein Forest, checking out a few caves rumored to have giants—but every single one already had players hunting inside.
Competition had definitely ramped up compared to the first day, when hardly anyone was around. The devs must've been doing a decent job managing things, at least—thankfully, there were no lines or anything.
"...Hmm. Should I check out the first cave again?"
As she muttered to herself, Cheisi heard flustered voices erupting from the players hunting inside the cave.
The formation of the group fighting the Forest Giant started to crumble. Then the big, tanky-looking player took a direct hit from the giant's branch-like arm and vanished in a burst of light particles in an instant.
The rest of the players fell one by one to the Forest Giant, turning into light particles until only one dagger-wielding user remained.
"Mind if I lend a hand?"
In a situation like this, jumping in to help shouldn't be a problem.
Cheisi cautiously entered the cave.
The lone remaining player spotted her and stared in surprise.
She asked if it was okay to hunt the Forest Giant, and he nodded vigorously.
With permission secured, she went to draw her dagger—only to find her sheath empty. Come to think of it, she hadn't restocked since making the lotus leaf key.
"Hmm. Gear..."
Just like how she'd borrowed the cross from the yokai dragon, if she didn't have equipment, she could always procure some on-site.
"Could I borrow your dagger?"
"H-Here you go."
The player immediately and politely handed over his dagger at Cheisi's request.
Cheisi checked the dagger's info and felt a wave of nostalgia.
"Hah, it's been a while. This thing."
No inscription, unrepaired by Dante. Same stats as the one from the tutorial.
Looked like this player wasn't a fan of Dante's custom weapons and was still using it as-is.
Gripping the nostalgic dagger, Cheisi opened her title menu as well.
With the title equipped—providing bonus damage against tree-based monsters—her battle prep was complete.
'Oh yeah, this guy has that annoying pattern.'
Cheisi recalled her first encounter with a Forest Giant.
The moment she'd been put in peril by the purple poison spray and slow debuff. She'd used the knight as a meat shield to counter it back then.
She considered using the remaining player as a meat shield, but after a moment's thought, another idea popped up.
"Let's try something fun."
-?
-What is it?
-What now?
"You'll see."
Cheisi flashed a light smile and initiated combat with the Forest Giant.
"Hunting this after so long is kinda fun."
The player gaped slack-jawed as Cheisi casually picked up the spoils.
'What... what did I just witness?'
Up until she'd borrowed his dagger and gone up against the Forest Giant, he'd been floored by her absurd reaction speed. But then he started doubting his own eyes.
"Think this might work?"
When the Forest Giant's poison-spray pattern kicked in, the cat-eared girl player said that and rolled right between its legs.
A super dangerous spot overlapping goblin and giant attack ranges. What was she planning?
The girl mumbled something, and suddenly her body teleported above the Forest Giant's head.
"Tried it from between Ollian's legs since it sends you to the head, and it actually worked."
She effortlessly dodged the unfamiliar overhead poison spray, then casually sat atop the giant's head.
Her gaze shifted to the petals. After poking at them a few times, she yanked them off with her hands.
The moment the petals tore free, the Forest Giant collapsed and dissolved into light particles.
"Huh, ripping these off insta-kills it...?"
The player stared at Cheisi, mouth agape at this unheard-of strategy.
'Wh-What kind of strategy is that...'
Cheisi snagged a few of the Ancient Branches from the drops.
The player tensed up involuntarily as she approached with the rest of the loot, swallowing hard.
"I'll just take the branches. Need 'em. You can have the rest."
"Th-Thank you!"
"Sorry for butting in~."
She handed back the dagger, gave a small smile, and left the cave. The lens monster trailed after her.
The player stared blankly at her retreating figure for a long moment before contacting someone.
"Team Leader."
"...What? What's up all of a sudden?"
"Seeing her in person is a whole different level."
"Her who?"
The player Aildin. Game editor Oh Sang-chul.
He thought of the cat-eared girl briskly leaving the cave and said,
"...Cheisi."
"Cheisi? The streamer Cheisi? No way you ran into her?"
"Yeah. She showed up to help with the Forest Giant hunt, took it down with some method I'd never seen before, and just left."
Oh Sang-chul spoke with evident admiration, but the team leader snapped back.
"You idiot! That's not the point! Why didn't you at least ask for an interview! You just watched?!"
"B-But she was streaming. Interrupting a stream just paints you as a hater, doesn't it...?"
"Still, what a missed opportunity..."
The team leader trailed off regretfully.
"So, what was she like in person? Now you've got me curious."
"Gonna write a column."
"A column? Out of nowhere?"
In response to the team leader's puzzled tone, Aildin closed his eyes and relived the moment.
"...About the destructive power of a cat-eared beauty's smile."
"Have you lost your mind?"
"Heh heh. Got some merch, too. The dagger she just held? I'm keeping it forever. No using it."
"...You're totally gone."
"Finally hit level 10!"
Another blacksmith had been born in Megrana Pit.
The player who'd reached level 10 and job-changed to blacksmith at his guild whistled cheerfully toward the smeltery—only to spot the other blacksmith players all gathered in one spot.
"...What's going on here?"
He quickly realized what they were looking at and stopped in his tracks.
"Something's definitely special about it."
"For starters, it's ore in lump form. Everything so far has been powder."
"My gut says it's no ordinary ore."
"Heard on stream it's probably called 'Red Kallium Ore' or something."
"First time hearing the name, but it doesn't sound ordinary."
The blacksmith players had realized there was a crack in the smeltery after hearing Cheisi mention it.
They were debating what the ore inside might be.
"Any way to dig this out?"
"Dunno."
"Feels like we've tried everything feasible."
Just as the blacksmiths were racking their brains—coveting the red ore but unable to find a way inside—a golden-eyed cat girl appeared before them.
"Found another way~."
Their faces clouded with unease at her laid-back but confident tone.
They'd already gotten anxious once before when she'd talked about blowing up the smeltery. Now they were worried what she had in mind this time.
"You didn't find another way to wreck the smeltery, did you...?"
Player Earthworm asked cautiously.
Cheisi showed them the small worm she'd brought from Runein Forest.
"...?"
"A bug...?"
"...That worm crawling around Runein Forest?"
The blacksmiths eyed Cheisi suspiciously. No matter what they'd tried, entering the crack's space had been impossible. And now she shows up with a bug and claims it'll work?
"Wh-What are you planning to do with that?"
"I'll show you."
Cheisi shoved the worm into the crack.
The plump little thing wriggled in resistance.
But it couldn't overpower a human's strength.
Cheisi successfully tucked the worm right through the crack.
The Forest Worm landed precisely atop the red ore.
It froze in place, looking around in bewilderment.
Cheisi targeted that Forest Worm and activated Ambush.
"Wh-What?!"
"She vanished?!"
The blacksmiths panicked as the cat girl disappeared from sight in an instant.
And then they were stunned, eyes nearly popping out.
"...This actually works?"
A familiar voice echoed from the tiny crack in the smeltery floor.