The Heavenly Demon Plunders (2)
"Wow... It's only been thirty minutes since we started the game, but why do we have so many resources?"
When I showed Enry everything I'd gathered so far, her eyes widened. To her, it probably looked like a pile of random junk, but someone who'd played this game for a long time saw it differently. Her genuine admiration made collecting all those resources feel worthwhile.
Does Enry know these are blood-soaked resources?
The law of the jungle. Thread.
How many people have I already made enemies of?
"It's nothing special. Plenty of people donated to me before they left."
More accurately, they'd been forced to donate, but what did it matter? As long as what they'd gathered could make several people happy, that was enough.
"Heh. So even this isn't enough—they want to give me more?"
What generous people. If it were me, I'd be trembling with rage and never want to see their faces again. Yet despite being robbed, instead of seeking revenge, they're offering even more. Truly the mindset of saints.
The one I'd taken down earlier had been carrying quite a lot in his bag—enough to fill my own to the brim and then some. Only after handing a portion over to Enry could I carry everything.
"This is so sweet! Let's bring it to Pipi right away! She'll definitely love it!"
"Is this Pipi person someone who's been playing this game for a long time?"
"Yes! She's a Thread veteran!"
From what I heard, she was someone who'd poured over five thousand hours into Thread simply because she loved it, despite all the harsh conditions. Even recently, she was treated as untouchable by the game's crafting community. She had something in common with my past self. She must be quite skilled.
"She agreed to handle the most difficult parts for us!"
"You managed to recruit someone that talented."
"We've had a connection for a while, and she's also a fan of Hwaryeong."
Is that so? My stream seems to have spread further than I thought. Even when I visited the QZ Gaming dorm last time, several people mentioned they watched regularly. As we chatted and walked, the coastline gradually came into view. The seawater here was quite clear. It was beautiful enough to be turned into a tourist spot all on its own.
Come to think of it, I'd never gone to the sea with Baru. That mountain-bound creature—had she ever even seen a coastline? I should ask her later. Her reaction would probably be entertaining.
"Over there!"
Following Enry's pointing finger, I spotted a building rising from the outer edges. I didn't know much about architecture, but ordinary houses weren't built like that. Was this some kind of game allowance?
"Pipi!"
When we reached the building and Enry waved, a woman peeked over the half-built wall. Seeing our faces, she climbed down. Her face was covered in dirt. She paused at the entrance when she saw us, then rushed over in a hurry.
"You've already gotten this much done? As expected of Pipi..."
"Hello! Hwaryeong! Nice to meet you! I'm Pipi! I've been watching your streams religiously ever since Sky's End!"
"So you've been watching since I first started streaming. Thank you."
"No, it's nothing!"
The one who called herself Pipi ignored Enry's outstretched hand and beamed at me, launching into a stream of stories. Most of them were about how much of my stream she'd watched. From what I could gather, she didn't know much about martial arts, so why watch my stream? Just because I looked cool? Heh. How amusing.
"The most recent one I enjoyed was definitely the maid café! The moment Hwaryeong-nyang went from all dignified to cute was really something."
"That's enough."
This girl. I let her go on and on, and now she's running her mouth this far. She needs to learn when to stop. I put a bit of weight into my words, and Pipi quickly bowed her head. Good. If she's realized her mistake now, that's sufficient. So from now on, no more talk about that.
Watching that video again before uploading it to my MyTube channel had been torture enough.
"You lot are the same. Do you want your heads cut off?"
They seemed to have forgotten for a moment that I held the knife. Shall I show them a taste of tyranny? After that warning, the chat kept talking about prostrating themselves while still bringing up Hwaryeong-nyang. Haah. Damn brats. If they want to get banned, let them try. Their determination to burn down my stream if anything unfair happened was obvious. Through that, their intent to force something similar to Hwaryeong-nyang onto me was clear as day.
Right. I'll just ignore them. No matter how much they stir things up, if I don't look, that's the end of it.
"You brought back so much! With this much, we won't need to farm for a while!"
When I showed her what we'd collected, Pipi clapped her hands and exclaimed in admiration. I wondered if she was exaggerating because I was standing right there, but that wasn't it. Every time I pulled another resource from my bag, her eyes sharpened. Just moments ago, when she'd been fussing over me, she'd seemed careless, but now she was different. She truly felt like a professional.
"This much right at the start... You're really amazing! Please keep plundering everyone you see from now on. That's what Thread is all about!"
"Don't worry. I'll do it even if you don't tell me to."
"With this much, we won't have any shortages for finishing the house right away. Maintenance costs aren't a big issue either. So..."
After thinking for a while while looking at the resources piled in the boxes, Pipi snapped out of it and turned to us.
"Ah. I'm sorry. Thank you for going through the trouble of gathering resources."
"Is there anything else we need to do?"
"Not for now. We have enough basic resources with this. Since Hwaryeong is new to Thread, how about Enry shows her around?"
"Oh! That sounds good!"
Perhaps because she often got scolded by Ara, Enry seemed to enjoy teaching Ara things—especially when it came to games. This situation was no different. Ara didn't know anything about this game, but Enry was someone who'd played Thread so diligently that viewers had started complaining a year ago. Ara listened quietly as Enry puffed up with pride and explained what they were going to do next.
"The place we're heading to now is the Labyrinth!"
The Labyrinth. A farming location beneath the island that served as Thread's setting. It was a place players had to visit to create higher-tier equipment and magic, and it was also a graveyard for countless users. A complex maze that robbed people of their sense of direction, filled with countless traps and monsters. And other users who had come to farm just like them. All of these combined made the Labyrinth one of the most popular locations in Thread. It was a place where you could wander around feeling like you were playing a battle royale fantasy game.
"It looks quite fun."
"It really is fun! Though of course, dying makes you angry."
Conversely, if you could eliminate everyone inside and come out with your bag full, there was no happier place. As Enry smiled and told me this, Ara suddenly pulled out a bow from her waist and drew the string several times. The arrows that left the string changed direction on their own, flying toward someone beyond the bushes. Not long after, a scream echoed from afar before being cut off.
"...How did you even notice?"
"I heard breathing."
Breathing. Enry was about to think that didn't make sense when she remembered who was standing next to her and understood. Ara was someone who couldn't be understood with common sense. If she said it was possible, then it was possible.
"Tsk. What is this? Empty-handed, aren't you?"
Ara, who had already grown accustomed to the game Thread, clicked her tongue as she pulled the arrow from the corpse. Enry shuddered at that attitude that viewed people as nothing more than prey. I'm so glad I'm on the same team as Ara! If our eyes met—or even if she just spotted me while passing by—I'd get an arrow through the head and die. And all the items I'd collected so far would be stolen. It was too horrifying to even imagine. Really.
After several one-sided hunts like that, by the time they reached the entrance to the Labyrinth, Ara's bag was already half full.
"Hmm. There really are a lot of empty-handed people, probably because it's the early game."
"We can just fill up the rest inside the Labyrinth!"
"I suppose that's true."
"Let's go!"
As Enry stepped into the Labyrinth's entrance, she couldn't hide her excitement. It had been so long since she'd farmed the Labyrinth. In the past, she'd been so happy about it that even repeating the cycle of gearing up and losing everything in the Labyrinth for days on end had felt enjoyable.
"Normally, this would be impossible."
The Labyrinth was a great farming spot, which meant it had high difficulty. Normally, you'd need at least iron armor, a proper weapon, and a few healing potions to even think about entering. However, this time was different. There was no problem at all.
"But right now, we have Hwaryeong!"
Why would she worry when Ara was a cheat key when it came to combat content? When a monster capable of slaying a world-destroying dragon with her bare hands, defeating a vampire lord who'd lived for thousands of years, and blowing away mountains was right beside her, what was there to fear? Rather, if a threatening monster appeared, she should welcome it. That would mean more things to farm!
With that thought, Enry arrived at the Labyrinth's starting point and stepped inside without hesitation, leading Ara with her.