Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: The Purple Horror
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My throat hurt.
Because I'd screamed way too much.
"Uwaaah!!! Gyaaah!! You scared me!! Hold on just a sec!!"
"Sto!! Stop!! I said stop!! I definitely said it!! Kyaaah!!"
"What the hell!! Not even a kick!! Hoof one-two punch!! Agh!! What's that thing hanging there!! DoT damage what!!"
"One hit! One hit! O!! Uwaah stamina!!"
"Jump pattern!! Roll one! Roll two!! Rol... Huh? Why... off-beat?! Off-beat in the tutorial?!"
"Die!!... Huh? Dodge? Why's this bastard backpedaling?!"
A few hours passed, and with my KDA at 0/100/0, I finally snapped out of it. My fingers throbbed with pain, and my eyes felt dry and gritty.
Truth be told, my condition wasn't that important. What mattered more was that the viewers' reactions were starting to cool off.
At first, the audience had been flooding the chat excitedly at the sight of the streamer suffering. But now, they were getting bored, and the chat speed had noticeably slowed.
I hadn't expected it to drag on this long. As a total noob, I'd basically reserved last place for myself, but the other two were what you'd call pros.
I'd figured they'd clear it first, leaving me as the inevitable loser to wrap things up... but there was still no word from them.
"Block! Roll! You're gonna hit once more, you bastard!!"
"Agh...!! You actually do hit, you punk!!"
"You guys try hitting a person!! Try saying hit hit!! Does it actually hit?!"
"It has six legs!! Suddenly goes bipedal and throws punches!! Hooks on the hooves causing bleed damage aaagh...!! Where the hell does it say that!!"
Man, seriously.
This boss had zero conscience. Way zero.
"Roll! Dodge! It can't!! Agh! Why hit!! Still on the ground and you stomp!! Stop stomping!! I'm already dead, you evil thing!!!"
"Roll! Thrust! Waited roll!! I got it!! I really got it, right!?"
"Nope, goddammit!!"
"..."
"...Shall we, all together, try a bit harder?"
"O-one more time!! Give me one more chance!!"
"...Roll!! Thrust!! Rol! Can't roll and get hit!!"
"Eek... b-but... you've all been watching the same thing for 6 hours straight... if the audio dries up too, hiiing...."
"Siii... why's it so haaard... huiiing... my fingers hurt..."
"It's right there blocking the way!! Standing there so you can't pass!!"
"You guys are the ones threatening with money!!"
"Aaaah!! My million won!!"
"That's not praise aaagh...!!! Shut up!! Shut up!!"
"Snii... I... hng... admit defeat...!! Hic. Showing the crown!!"
I manipulated the avatar on screen, tilting the angle upward.
Positioning the character like it was lying diagonally, the viewers started bantering among themselves.
Watching that, Hanami secretly let out a sigh of relief. At least they didn't seem to mind skipping the mission.
In truth, the viewers had only threatened verbally about keeping promises; they were probably thrilled that the boring boss run was over.
Look, proof: the chat was speeding up again.
"...Anyone cleared it?"
"I wasn't the only one who couldn't clear it!!"
"Yeah. Cuckoo heading out."
To break the flow for now, I said I was going to the bathroom and muted the mic.
I stood up and stretched. Rolled my neck, loosened my shoulders. A habit from long streams.
Rubbing my fingers, the tip of my thumb ached sharply.
After four solid hours of tries, I was convinced. I wouldn't clear this today.
That was within expectations, but I hadn't thought even Leo-re Diamond Boss would struggle. Plan was for her to clear early and come tease me on voice chat.
With the plan derailed, I'd twisted myself into knots alone, making the stream drag. For me, that hurt worse than my thumb.
Back from the bathroom, the situation had sorted itself.
"Rainbow...?"
"Oh? Then should I call some high-rank sweat?"
"...Even a newbie's better than soloing."
Rainbow flickers dotted the area near the boss map.
Moving the character closer, the shimmering rainbow haze brought up a system message.
I hit yes without hesitation. A signal sent message popped up, and soon after, a human shadow flashed through the enlarged haze.
...Wait a sec.
That was a person?
"Kids? Did you see that just now?"
"Right? I didn't imagine it?"
...That wasn't a monster?
That karma was a real player? That twisted abomination?
Seeing the message, it wasn't a monster after all...
While Hanami bantered with viewers, the world switched to multi.
Looking around for the new user, there it was with its frame rate tanking. Multi optimization still had a long way to go.
"...Why's the nickname like that."
Backside. Didn't sound like a proper player.
Hanami pushed down her unease and kept talking. Professional streamer shine: can't leave audio empty.
Chatting idly with viewers, something caught her eye.
-tick tock tick tock tick
It was holding a broken straight sword in both hands.
Squatting and standing at ultra speed, charging fast.
A purple monster.
-tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock
"Uwaaaah!!!"
A bloodcurdling scream ripped through the line, slamming 5,000 viewers' eardrums.
This wasn't intentional for sound. A primal scream from deep in the gut.
The chat exploded, voicing her stunned thoughts.
Meanwhile, the tick-tocking motion runner—how does it even run?—unknown character stopped right in front of her.
"P-p-person?"
Up close, it was even worse.
Protruding clown nose. Horn-like brow ridge. Wrinkled skin twisted in a grin, wide jaw forming a trapezoid.
In panties, wielding one broken sword, glossy purple skin gleamed nearly naked.
More monster than character, it glanced around, then walked right to her nose and spread arms high to the sky.
"Uh... uhh... a viewer maybe?"
No real reaction on the stream mic either.
What? Not a viewer?
Just a regular Odin's Son player?
This thing?
"Odin's Son players... all like this?"
"Something's wrong."
"...No noob insurance, right?"
The monster... no, player just stood staring at her.
No chat noise either. Just watching her.
Chat mentioned afterimages, straight sword dashes, but none rang a bell.
Thinking back, that bizarre sprint earlier seemed faster than her own run.
'What the hell is this really?'
Hanami didn't hide her bewilderment. The visuals were too shocking for pretense.
Half-doubting, but no other users came, so with "let's try it" vibes, she headed to the field boss.
"???"
And so Hanami witnessed it.
The purple freak kicking off all the hooves while dancing the Cossack.