Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Since I've Shed Blood, I Must See Blood
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Even as a stabbing pain like being repeatedly thrust with a knife dominated her lower abdomen, the reality that she had to leave the house was truly miserable.
If there had only been a computer at home, she could have buried herself under the blankets, slapped a hot pack on her lower belly, and toughed it out quietly until she fell asleep.
But the dirt-poor life without even a single personal PC meant trudging out into the world and walking the path of hardship even in the midst of menstrual cramps.
Facing that cold reality didn't fill her head with resignation or sorrow.
'Damn it... I'm definitely making it to the finals...!'
No, it was simply a blazing fury-fueled passion.
Once she made it to the finals, she'd get a computer, so she'd never again have to crawl to a PC bang in the middle of her period looking this pathetic.
A truly positive—and at the same time, desperately urgent—way of thinking.
Of course, just because her thoughts were positive—
didn't mean her actions could be all bright and cheery too.
["Ah, but the prelims are shorter than I thought."]
["Yeah, since the finals are the main event, it's unavoidable. Oh, by the way—"]
The team's casual chatter flowed on as usual, but nothing came out of her mouth.
"Ugh..."
Her lower abdomen was still wracked with awl-like agony, and while suppressing it, she had to pretend like nothing was wrong on the surface.
It was unbearable pain even in comfortable surroundings, let alone toughing it out at a PC bang instead of home.
["Is something wrong?"]
In the end, despite her efforts to hide it, she got found out in no time.
Being an internet broadcaster was a job where sharp instincts were key to survival, and Suha Yam and Eder were veterans who'd lasted in this scene for ages.
There had never been any chance of her fooling the two of them in the first place.
"Hng... I wasn't gonna say... You're too much..."
At least the timing was perfect for teasing Eder bro, which was her one small comfort.
["Ugh... I'm really sorry..."]
Ha, now she could breathe a little.
["Then we should just skip the stream today. It's not like we absolutely have to broadcast, right?"]
["Yeah, rest up today."]
As they kept talking, both of them insisted she take the day off from streaming.
Since they only needed to compete in the tournament anyway, there was no need to push herself and turn on the broadcast.
If she just explained the situation, viewers would understand, so they wanted her to prioritize her health.
"No need to... Ugh... Fuck... Yeah, I'll do that..."
She wasn't one to shy away from pain, but it was still too much to bear, so she decided to go along with them.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ No stream today... Thanks to that, she became an unethical streamer who abruptly canceled her stream an hour before it was supposed to start—
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Even if you're a total asshole, you won't turn on stream out of shame...
ㅋㅂ canceling this?;
Not queuing this up??
Because the viewers misunderstood the reason for the cancellation on their own, she could skip explaining her menstrual cramps altogether.
Well... Saying she was too embarrassed about yesterday's fluke win to stream was better than admitting it was because of her period...
Neither choice was great, but if she had to pick, the latter was less humiliating.
Though she did wonder if it was really shameful when it was just an unavoidable part of having a female body.
Anyway.
["Oh, by the way, Saintess Nice isn't feeling well today so she won't be streaming. No complaints if the mic's off~"]
["Everyone, she's not feeling well, so no juice jokes or anything."]
A bit later, Eder bro and Suha turned on their streams first.
Juice...? Eder bro, that's revenge for earlier, right? Right?
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Juice confirmed ㅋㅋ
-Straight savage
-Eder, you'll get wrecked again
She peeked at Eder bro's stream on her phone and caught him grinning slyly on screen.
Just you wait till I'm better—blood will be spilled as revenge... That thought hit her when suddenly—
Wait, wasn't I the one who started picking on him first just now?
...Hmm, table that for now.
["Hello, Nice Squad members. I'm GM Leo, handling the proceedings."]
Time passed, and right on schedule for the second prelims, they switched Discord channels where the same moderator from before greeted them.
["Oh, it's the same person as last time. Hello."]
["Yes, nice to meet you."]
His speech was still polite and clear, but his voice was half-hoarse with unmistakable exhaustion.
Anyone could tell just by listening: 'This guy's clearly pulled an all-nighter.'
In fact, the staff had been working nonstop handling the objections from the first prelims day and night, so Lee Min-ji's guess wasn't wrong.
["The format is the same as the first round. Team leaders, please come forward for rock-paper-scissors to determine map pick order."]
The first round had taken time explaining every rule in detail, but the second went much faster since it followed the exact same procedure.
Thanks to that, a hint of relief colored the moderator's voice—like someone finally catching a breather.
["Team 'Heavenly Demon Cult' wins. Team leader Cheoncheonmama, please select your desired map. You have 30 seconds."]
Man, Eder bro really sucks at rock-paper-scissors.
That's two losses in a row already.
["Cheoncheonmama has selected the 'Sky Block' map. Both teams, please prepare."]
And so, amid the stabbing pain in her lower abdomen, the ICK second prelims began.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ [Nice Squad] VS [Heavenly Demon Cult]
ㅡㅡㅡㅡ
Sky Block.
The name alone suggested she'd have to mine wood, open chests right away, and use lava and water to build an infinite cobble generator.
It was one of the maps with the most variables in annihilation mode.
The reason? Like the circular arena, it had its own unique 'fall damage' system.
One misstep of the foot could flip the entire match, regardless of HP difference or skills.
That's why everyone avoided this map—and the fact that they picked it anyway meant—
["Ugh, this map's a pain..."]
They lacked the confidence to beat her team head-on, so they were gambling on chaos.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Please select your weapon and skills. Loading complete, her character stood atop a single block floating in the air.
Nothing visible below her feet—a truly vertigo-inducing aerial perch.
Looking around, similar blocks dotted the space, as if daring her to jump across.
The problem? They weren't exactly close.
One mistake and she'd plummet.
["We sticking to the plan?"]
["Yeah."]
The usual plan here meant using the strategy they'd rehearsed for anti-ganks.
Viewers weren't dumb enough to miss that implication.
...Of course, since her stream was off, it didn't matter to her.
"Ah, fuck..."
Just stop hurting already...
⚔ STATUS ⚔ ⚡ Saintess Nice: Saintess / One-Handed Sword She'd picked Saintess as her class—nothing else she could really handle properly—
and the most familiar, reliable One-Handed Sword as her weapon.
There was a reason she skipped the instrument.
Instruments required reading every tiny attack frame from the enemy and herself.
She had no confidence in her current condition to react that fast.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ 3... 2... 1... The match has begun. The countdown ended, and the faint barrier around the platform vanished.
Now they could move between platforms.
But no one made a hasty move.
Of course not.
Remaining Void Rope uses: 3 (Recharge: 59s) This nasty map limited how many times you could traverse between blocks.
Waste that precious chance rashly, and you couldn't use it when it mattered.
["I'll take center. Nice, cover top-left. Suha, you take bottom-right."]
["Got it."]
Sky Block was a 6x6 grid of modest square platforms—not too vast.
Get caught 2v1 anywhere and you're screwed, so the standard play was one in center, one top-left, one bottom-right, holding the map diagonally.
The center 'center' position—flanked by allies and enemies alike—saw fights first.
Usually the team's ace took it, and originally, that was her spot...
But Eder bro volunteered, probably out of consideration for her condition.
Ching!
[Ally: Saintess Nice shouts "Danger"!] She appreciated it, but no thanks.
["..Huh?"]
Ding!
[Ally: Saintess Nice says "I'm going"!] ["Oh, you wanna take it? You sure?"]
Eum!
They'd agreed beforehand not to use mics, so she communicated solely via emotes and pings.
Nothing complex, so no issues.
["You okay? Don't push yourself, Nice."]
Eum!
["I'm really worried..."]
Eum!
Suha was fretting over Min-ji's health, not the game outcome,
but Min-ji—taking it however—just spammed mascot thumbs-up emotes.
Stubborn as a mule, she ignored advice, but never caused trouble for others with it.
If she was that confident, dissuading her might hurt team morale.
["Alright..."]
["Then I'll head top-left."]
In the end, Suha and Eder relented like they were conceding.
There had to be a good reason if Nice insisted that hard.
Eum!
As if thanking them for trusting her and granting the unreasonable request,
Saintess Nice thumbs-upped again and moved toward the center block.
Whip—snap!
[Used Void Rope / Remaining uses: 2 (Recharge: 50s)] True to its name, tossing the Void Rope into empty air hooked onto something, letting her reach the next platform.
She wondered how a rope latched onto nothing, but didn't care to dive into game lore—just accepted it.
Probably some dwarf or elf gadget or whatever.
Whip—snap!
Whip—snap!
[Used Void Rope / Remaining uses: 1 (Recharge: 45s)] [Used Void Rope / Remaining uses: 0 (Recharge: 40s)] Chaining Void Ropes got her to the map's center in no time.
The presumed enemy center did the same, arriving at the same timing.
Now they were one block apart.
Remaining Void Rope uses: 0 (Recharge: 34s) Both their ropes were still on cooldown, so neither could close the gap.
Actually, not just them—most players had burned ropes claiming territory,
so for the next 30 seconds or so, they'd just have to twiddle their thumbs.
This was Sky Block's true prep phase.
Remaining Void Rope uses: 0 (Recharge: 10s) Lemme see... Enemy's... Huh, a wizard.
With movement restrictions, Sky Block favored ranged classes like wizards or gunners who didn't need to close distance easily.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ ⚡ Eder: Gunner / Rifle 💨 Suha Yam: Saintess / Holy Book Indeed, her whole team except her went pure ranged weapons.
She... just stuck with what she knew.
Closing distance wasn't impossible... and close range had its advantages over ranged sometimes.
Remaining Void Rope uses: 1 (Recharge: 58s) Whip—snap!
The rope recharged, and she lunged straight to the wizard's block.
He clearly hadn't expected the reckless dive, jolting back in surprise.
Normally, she'd play it slow and steady.
But lately...
Grind...
Too much bullshit had pissed her off.
Stupid cramps wrecked her gut, her head was all fucked up.
She'd impulsively screw up, then bawl her eyes out...
And she couldn't even vent on anyone—deep down, it was all her own damn faults.
So her conclusion was simple:
"You're dead."
Pure stress relief.
Humans are creatures who must refill what leaves their bodies.
Blood had been shed, so now it was time to see blood.