It has already been 13 months since Demon's Saga opened.
In that time, the levels of the users had increased significantly. I could feel it myself.
The number of people entering this forest had certainly increased.
Of course, most of them died, but at the very least, they entered with the belief that it was worth a challenge.
This was proof that levels had risen that much.
Well, considering that they kept coming back to life, I expected their skills would improve rapidly.
But who would have thought...
‘That she would hit level 100 already.’
It wasn’t that I was dismissing her outright.
After all, Yoo Chae-rin seemed to have quite a bit of talent, in my opinion.
This content is taken from freёwebnovel.com.
Her boldness during fights and her judgment made her impressive at times.
It was just surprising that someone close to me had already reached level 100.
After all, when she caught the mutated rabbit last time, her level had already been over 80.
It had been more than four months since then, so reaching level 100 was certainly possible.
In fact, seeing it this way, it even seemed a little slow.
‘But what does level 100 even mean?’
Curious about that, I asked her.
“Hmm, around the upper tier of B-rank adventurers.”
I received this answer. B-rank adventurers.
Though it was a step below A-rank, it was not a rank to be underestimated.
These were among the top tier among those who made fighting their profession.
Now, otherworlders had reached a position of strength by this world’s standards.
Of course, they wouldn’t stand a chance against S-rank adventurers or commanders...
Still, it was impressive, to say the least.
As I was pondering such things, another question suddenly came to mind.
“By the way, who is currently ranked first among the otherworlders?”
“Oh, the number one ranking? Let’s see... I think it’s around 118 right now. They’ve been A-rank for quite some time.”
“...Hmm.”
I let out a contemplative hum.
That was certainly high.
To reach A-rank within a year since otherworlders started appearing was remarkably fast.
But somehow, it felt like there was a bit of a brake being applied.
Just four months ago, I had heard that the number one ranked individual was level 103.
Yet now, over four months later, they had only managed to increase by 15 levels.
Had they been slacking off in the game? That didn’t seem likely.
If they reached the number one rank, they must have poured money and time into it, yet they had only gained that little.
Had she picked up on my doubts? Before I could even ask, she answered.
“Apparently, growth becomes noticeably slower after around level 95. I took a long time to get past that point myself.”
That made sense.
In games, it was common knowledge that as levels increased, leveling up became more difficult.
But it wasn’t like they could endlessly farm monsters like in some other games.
Since it required user movement rather than just clicking,
if an individual’s skills didn’t keep up, they wouldn’t be able to match the physicality of the rampaging monsters.
That would lead to falling behind.
Thus, a wall naturally formed.
It was inevitable. From here on out, one would need either talent or effort to break through.
Especially since there still wasn’t a single otherworlder who used 'sword energy.'
It seemed that just having skill points didn’t mean you could learn skills at will.
“Phew, what a relief.”
Upon hearing that, I let out a quiet sigh of relief.
I had worried that otherworlders might rapidly grow to the point of beheading me.
Fortunately, it seemed it would still take some time for that to happen.
I had recently started to suspect, ‘Am I really just a low-tier player...?’
Of course, I recognized that I was strong. However, having encountered demons consecutively lately,
I couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious.
Anyway, after hearing all that, I offered her a small congratulation.
“Anyway, congratulations on reaching level 100. Honestly, I’m not that familiar with otherworlders’ levels, but... that must be high, right?”
So, she had come to brag to me.
She probably wanted some praise, and that was why she had come all the way here.
She often came for such trivial reasons.
After some casual chatting and compliments, she would likely be on her way again.
That’s what I thought.
However, it seemed there was another reason for her visit today.
She was looking at me, hesitating a bit.
It seemed she had more to say.
I tilted my head and asked.
“Why?”
“Well, um, there’s something I’d like to ask...”
[Yoo-ha]
[Yohan~]
[Are you two together again today? www]
[Chae-rin, I hate you. When I see you, my world crumbles.]
The chat window in front of me scrolled rapidly.
A bright red recording light was blinking before my eyes.
Yor thought it felt like a long time since he had appeared on her stream.
[Yor, did you know? The owner was out with another guy, leaving us.]
[I]
[His name was Yohan, and he had a nice voice, lol]
[Lak]
[How dare she take a break and go out with a guy?]
[No way! It was all recorded on Kim Mari’s broadcast~]
[I]
[Ugh, I need to tell my brother about this... ]
[Lak]
As soon as she turned on the broadcast, her viewers were already ready to burn her alive.
Though I could see them all, I ignored them like usual.
Fortunately, it seemed like my previous mischief had not been revealed.
[But honestly, I’d kind of want to see it, lol.]
...I tried hard to erase those comments from my mind.
“Alright, everyone, be quiet. Do you want to get banned?”
Fortunately, with Chae-rin stepping in somewhat forcefully, the sudden flame was extinguished.
Generally, being this forceful in regulating chat during a broadcast doesn’t bode well for public sentiment.
However, Chae-rin didn’t worry too much.
She knew that the content she was about to present would quell the viewers' sentiments.
Currently, they were standing in a spacious clearing in the forest.
The positioning looked as if they were about to fight each other.
In fact, both of them were holding their respective daggers.
Yor twirled the dagger in his hand and asked her.
“So, you want to spar with me...?”
[Wow]
[She’s saying she wants to commit suicide in a roundabout way.]
When I first heard that, I wondered what she meant. What kind of cute remark was that?
Even if she had reached level 100, the gap in skill was still clear.
Of course, she wasn’t genuinely seeking to win against me.
It was more like she wanted to learn from me.
She hesitated and then opened her mouth.
“Yeah, to be honest, I’ve been feeling a bit of a wall lately.”
Of course, her level was still rising.
But to be honest, it wasn’t a level she had legitimately earned.
She had been hunting weaker monsters rather than monsters of similar levels.
Just how big was the difference between 80-90 level monsters and 100 level monsters...?
Even though she had talent, it was becoming increasingly difficult to face monsters of the same level.
In a game like Demon's Saga, which relied heavily on skill, this was a huge problem.
It meant she could hit a limit at any time.
This had already been proven by the earlier top-ranked players.
Those who charged ahead quickly by farming monsters had eventually fallen behind over time.
Chae-rin perhaps thought her future might not be that different from theirs.
That’s why she had requested a spar with Yor.
At least among those she knew, there were no fighters of his caliber.
Though her main weapon was a spear, she could also use a dagger, which helped.
She figured he would certainly provide her with concrete strategies.
Of course, she decided that she would pay for this later. About three pizza breads’ worth.
“Then, let’s begin...?”
After giving the viewers a brief explanation of the content, Chae-rin gripped her dagger in reverse.
From a distance, she could see Yor nodding calmly.
She charged toward him without hesitation.
...
And to get straight to the conclusion,
She was utterly defeated.
She didn’t even manage to land a single effective hit.
The only time she attacked was when he graciously let her, and she was retired with that single attack.
The gap in skill was overwhelming.
Was this even fair...? No, was this even a human?
Well, it felt a bit ambiguous to call a being with ‘demon’s blood’ a human.
“Haa, haa, how was it...? Did you see anything I could improve...?”
Chae-rin asked while catching her breath.
The response she received was shocking.
“...Well.”
“?”
“I don’t know. How would I know after just one look?”
After all, he had never properly trained in combat.
Had he learned from a knight or received knowledge from a nearby adventurer?
He had just been swinging randomly, and that’s how it had turned out.
...But even so, though he hadn’t formally trained,
He knew at least the fastest way to improve one’s skills.
That was through real combat.
If she kept clashing, she would eventually learn. That’s how he had survived.
“Stop resting and try again. No, this time, should I attack?”
“...Y-yes?”
Chae-rin asked back with a bewildered expression.
And thus, her hell began.