Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Wow! Bloodflame Witch!
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There's a four-character idiom called the state of no-self.
It refers to a mental state where your mind is so focused on one thing that you forget even yourself,
representing utter concentration—a condition where you've lost sight of your own existence and become completely immersed in an act.
Paaat!
Puk! Puk!
Lee Min-ji was in exactly that state right now.
The fact that the tournament qualifiers were ongoing,
that even if it wasn't her, someone was streaming,
that the curse magic from the enemy was stabbing into her lower abdomen like a needle—
She had forgotten it all,
plunged into a no-self trance, utterly devoted to slicing down the foe before her eyes.
Min-ji hadn't intentionally entered this state.
Her body just hurt like hell, and the fatigue had piled up.
She simply wanted to forget this condition even for a moment by focusing solely on the match ahead.
Before she knew it, she'd slipped into an awakened state,
and this current disaster unfolding was absolutely not something she'd planned.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Anonymous has donated 1,000 won!] [Shouldn't you mention that thing?] "...Yeah, you're right."
It was absolutely,
not—
intentional.
— Creepy Laughter "Heehee... Heeheeheet..!" Unaware that her mic was even on, Min-ji kept letting out eerie laughter.
The silver lining was that she possessed a blessed, beautiful voice.
So even that creepy 'heehee' giggling,
if you only heard the sound,
could pass for the silly tittering of some loose woman laughing flirtatiously.
...Yeah,
Shwaaak!
[Kuaaack!] if you only heard the sound.
— Viewer Chat -Holy shit she's scary af -Uh... shouldn't someone tell her? -Crazy bitch... crazy bitch... crazy bitch.. -She actually lost it -Was the break not cuz she was sick but cuz Suha and Eder had to hold her back? Already bucking like a colt with its tail on fire,
and now topped with that eerie laugh—it looked to anyone like she was a complete raging maniac.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Suha Yam: N-Nice, you know your mic is on, right..?] ["Heeheet.."] [Suha Yam: Yeah.. okay.. uh, Nice. Good job.] Even after Suha and Eder repeatedly told her her mic was on, Min-ji ignored them and kept rampaging.
It was the no-self state in the truest sense.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [System: Saintess Nice has defeated Cheon Mujin!] — Viewer Chat -Kkkkkkkkkkk -She wrecked -No mercy -It's over -GG The one consolation was that, even though she was rampaging solo, the viewers' reactions weren't all that bad.
Normally, selfish plays split the crowd, but since she was securing victory, everyone let it slide.
With the enemy team's martial artist down too, it was a overwhelming 3-to-1 advantage.
They could just stall until the outer platforms dropped, but Min-ji wasn't the patient type.
"Nice, just one left now, so take it slow—"
Whiric—thwack!
"—Yeah, Nice, fighting. Yeah."
Whiric—thwack!
Whether she'd drawn the rope card or was flying around like some character from a giant-in-anime show, Min-ji soared.
— Viewer Chat -Lmaooooooo -She's basically a neutral mob at this point -Just brute forcing the crush -Hey where's she going ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Rope card selected!] [System: Rope card used. Rope uses increased by 3 (remaining: 4)] Suha, unable to let Min-ji go alone, also picked the rope card and followed.
As for the warrior facing off against Eder—
[Kuaaack!] "Cowardly bastards! 3 on 1! And you call yourselves righteous—"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [System: Saintess Nice has defeated Choe Mu-seong!] Predictable as ever.
The Heavenly Demon Cult, crushed mercilessly on their home map,
was helpless before Nice's blade in the second round too.
After that day, the Heavenly Demon Cult started calling her the Blood Cult Witch internally,
but since Nice only found out later, it didn't matter much.
With this, Nice Squad's second qualifier ended in perfect victory.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 📰 Ias Official Channel Ias: Immortal Battlefield Preliminary Round 1 Highlights Clip [Likes / Dislikes] [Subscribe] 💬 Comments — Viewer PvP actually looks fun like this — Viewer 03:11 White Dragon Pavilion went nuts — Viewer -He won tho — Viewer White Dragon Pavilion's kinda ugly, didn't he say after last win he'd quit tourneys??? Why's he back -Yeah true -Nah screw that why'd he even show 100% troll — Viewer 06:20 Gong girl crazy lololol -Burst out laughing the second I saw -Me too, imma bring gongs next ghost ship — Viewer Watching Nice Squad makes ghost ship look fun, that map's usually total snoozefest -It is snoozefest, they're the weird ones — Viewer Gonna download Ias lmao -Me too — Viewer Stream the main tourney right? -Yeah -Hurry up and start mains already these prelims suck -Gold farmers good at this huh Instead of this dev the game ffs -Oof -True... ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Is there anything in this world as treacherous as the human heart?
Outwardly one thing, inwardly another—something you want to trust but can't. That's the human heart.
As if to prove it,
there are countless idioms and proverbs about the deceitfulness of people's hearts since ancient times.
Two-faced (表裏不同).
Meaning outward and inward don't match, used for untrustworthy people.
Mutton dressed as lamb (羊頭狗肉).
Hanging a sheep's head but selling dog meat—signifying deception.
Honeyed words, sword in belly (口蜜腹劍).
Sweet as honey from the mouth, but hiding a blade in the gut—describing those who wait for a chance to betray.
Beyond these, there are endless warnings like sweet talk and inducements (甘言利說), empty bravado (虛張聲勢), outward compliance inward defiance (面從腹背), and more.
At this point, it's fair to see such deceit as a basic trait of humanity.
That's why,
honest saints are praised, and customs honoring virtuous sages who practice benevolence and righteousness have endured for ages.
Since most humans can't live that way, they cherish and acclaim those who do even more.
At least feeling shame, hiding their own treachery, and elevating the virtuous.
That may be the last shred of conscience allowing humans to call themselves 'human' rather than monkeys.
And it also means those who can't even manage that are no different from monkeys.
"Whoa... this is just ridiculous..."
In that sense, Min-ji stared at the monkey den (the community) in utter bewilderment.
Just like during her first period experience, after the first day passed and the second and third rolled by, the pain gradually subsided.
From talking with Suha, it seemed she had an unusually bad constitution for menstrual cramps.
Knowing didn't offer any sharp fixes.
In the end, repeating 'time will heal it' to herself,
all she could do was place a hot pack wrapped in a towel on her lower belly and rub it gently.
Once the pain eased, she cautiously peeked back at the community she'd avoided to dodge stress—and holy crap.
Seeing opinions on her flip-flop in just three days left her speechless in disbelief.
A rough summary:
Three days ago, the day of the second qualifier and her first day of period.
Opinions on Nice were still 'lame White Dragon simp' (not quite that mild),
and 'crying bitch who failed enhancements a few times' (not a few).
Two days ago, the day after the second qualifier, when the Ias prelim round 1 highlights hit the YouTube channel.
Opinions shifted to 'kinda smart chick'.
Most thought she'd grabbed the gong just for attention,
but learning it was strategic left people impressed.
— Community Post [Damn you're our hero!] [Ias gallery's best output fr] [But she really is good] It reminded her of a certain ninja village from some anime.
And the day before yesterday—yesterday, really—with no special events.
The community was already ablaze with Nice-related bait, when someone tossed new fuel.
The gist: Members of the Heavenly Demon Cult—a guild infamous for roleplaying (Nice didn't know)—were calling her weird nicknames like Blood Cult Witch and maniac.
When the bait dropped, most thought 'just salty losers', but there was one issue—
The clip of Nice cackling eerily while smashing the enemy team got rediscovered late.
Suha and Eder's efforts to bury it went to waste.
So day by day, evaluations of her flipped: crybaby → insane pro → crazy bitch.
Naturally, Min-ji was pretty flustered.
"Eh, it'll blow over."
Of course, regaining her composure didn't take long.
It was just a passing 'what's with these guys?',
since Min-ji knew the community's pulse better than anyone (as an addict).
One new bait and it'd quiet down,
so ignoring it was the smartest move.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 💬 Nice LIVE ON ⚙ STREAM TITLE ⚙ Say the blood's drained and you're banned / Blood cult jokes = death fr ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Focused on resting, her first stream in three days was a disaster.
Not in terms of popularity,
but because—
— Viewer Chat -Eww everyone's heads getting sliced off -[Banned viewer] -[Banned viewer] -[Banned viewer] -(Grape Candy) Why so much work ㅠㅠ -[Banned viewer] -(Moon Eyes) Fml so tiring ㅠㅠ the aggro poured in like crazy.
Hence, a disaster.
"Sorry everyone, the managers are working hard, so bear with it a bit."
I know as a fellow troll.
If you keep bottling that urge, it explodes eventually.
So you gotta vent somehow, but why—
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Anonymous has donated 1,000 won!] [Wow! Bloodflame Witch!] vent on me, you clowns?
— Viewer Chat -[Banned viewer] -Bye bye -Paid ban pog -Lol Min-ji clutched her increasingly dizzy little head and pondered.
Maybe it'd have been better to just stay the ugly crybaby.
After the second qualifier, the Heavenly Demon Cult started calling Min-ji a weird nickname.
The problem was it leaked into the community at peak interest in her.
Thus, a nickname meant for their roleplay circle became her official moniker in a catastrophe.
"Ugh... I put it right in the title not to call me that, but they won't listen..."
Well... if it were a cool-sounding one, Min-ji might've let it slide.
As someone who looked female but used to be male, she'd be satisfied with a thrilling, badass title.
Bloodflame Witch (焚血魔女),
Literally 'witch who burns blood'—perfect for some blood cult zealot in a wuxia tale.
They said they coined it on the spot seeing her swing her sword wild in the second qualifier.
Anyone seeing it might ask why she hated a seemingly cool nickname (minus 'witch')—
but it didn't have a good meaning.
Min-ji glanced down at her lower abdomen,
then back at the live viewer list getting banned in real time.
That 'blood'...
isn't enemy blood—it's mine.
Fuck... that's sexual harassment.
If you're gonna do it, pay 100k first.
"Haa..."
I dunno anymore.
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