It had been 17 months since the otherworlders appeared.
Naturally, during that time, their levels had steadily increased.
Although the growth rate had slowed down, they were still making progress.
However, the rank of number one was not firmly established; as their growth slowed, it often changed hands.
Thus, there was no clear number one ranking, only a pack of wolves vying for that position... or so I heard from the heavens.
Yet in their homeland, Korea, there was indeed a clear number one ranked player. Furthermore, they possessed the potential to claim the world’s number one spot as a valuable talent.
That person was none other than Shin Hanbyeol. She was so famous that even I, stuck in the forest, knew about her.
'Is it really her?'
And the person standing in front of me now seemed to be that Shin Hanbyeol.
After all, in the chat visible through my ‘Player’s Eye,’ she was being referred to as Hanbyeol.
Of course, it could be a coincidence of names, but I thought the probability was low.
The fact that she had come this far alone suggested she had some confidence in her abilities.
And that thought quickly solidified into certainty.
She charged at me.
Bam!
They say a master’s footwork is different. The speed at which she rushed at me was quite impressive.
Her balance was solid, and her sword stance was decent.
No, in truth, those were just secondary points. What truly surprised me was the blue aura shimmering on her sword.
In other words, it was a sword energy. She was the first among the otherworlders to draw forth such energy.
‘Oh?’
Because of that, my eyes naturally widened with interest. I was curious about her skill level.
Soon, her sword lunged toward me. I also infused my weapon with sword energy and parried her strike.
Clang-!
A clear sound resonated. I assessed in my mind.
‘The power is mediocre.’
Even considering the level difference, it was neither strong nor weak; it was an ordinary strike.
However, her attack didn’t stop there.
She quickly withdrew her scythe and aimed for my side with the sword in her opposite hand.
It was a fluid, natural follow-up attack.
Of course, I dodged again. It seemed her consecutive strikes could go on endlessly if left unchecked.
But she wasn’t just swinging wildly.
She continued her attacks with rotational momentum, always ready to retreat.
Her stance showed evidence of training, making her quite threatening.
As her long purple hair flowed in the air while she wielded two scythes, she looked almost like a dancer.
In fact, she was wearing tights-like clothing that accentuated her curves.
‘Hmm...’
I cleared my throat internally and thrust my spear toward her.
I had observed long enough. I couldn’t allow her to keep attacking indefinitely.
And to be honest, I felt it was about time I made a strike.
Thud-!
As my spear surged forward, sensing the threat, she quickly pulled back.
Her evasion wasn’t ordinary either.
She executed a backflip, distancing herself from me.
I had never seen someone do a backflip right in front of me like that.
I couldn’t help but chuckle as I continued to evaluate her.
'Her technique is top-notch.'
She certainly felt different from the otherworlders I had faced so far.
I wondered who she had trained with; her balance was exceptional, even in an unstable stance.
Honestly, her swordsmanship was on a level better than my five million gold bounty’s ordinary thugs.
But then again, I had never learned anything.
I turned my head briefly to check her chatroom.
[Wow, how did she dodge all that?] [What the hell, was that a backflip?] [Waaah! Unnie, you’re so cool!]
[Romantic Search donated 50,000 won!]
[Nam Misae donated 30,000 won!]
It seemed like quite a commotion in the chatroom, indicating that such scenes weren’t very common.
I noticed several donations appearing as well.
Seeing that, I couldn’t help but feel puzzled for a moment. She didn’t look like someone in need of money, as the donations suggested.
The 5 million gold bounty on my head was undoubtedly a large sum, but at the same time, it was somewhat ambiguous.
Once you reached the S-rank level, money was something you could easily amass.
They understood the worth of their lives.
Follow curr𝒆nt nov𝒆ls on fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com.
Of course, she seemed far from being an S-rank adventurer.
But looking at her now, she probably earned a decent amount from streaming. After all, among the otherworlders, she was a considerable powerhouse.
So, what was going on? She surely didn’t come all this way just for 50 million won.
‘Did she really come here just to film a YouTube video?’
I had many questions, but honestly, they didn’t concern me.
In the end, all I needed was the holy water she had.
As I contemplated this, she made her move again.
“Phew, you’re indeed strong. With that level, I can afford to take on a slight handicap, right?”
She rummaged through her inventory and pulled out some holy water.
Two vials appeared, one she poured onto her scythe and the other she sprinkled over herself.
It would be difficult to hit her with a throw, so she opted to buff herself directly.
I licked my lips at the sight.
‘To waste such precious holy water like that...’
Well, that was one way to use it.
With the holy property buff, her scythe would inflict additional damage on me. Even my blood, my best weapon, would be temporarily blocked by her.
In many ways, it would be troublesome.
But as always, if I didn’t touch her, it wouldn’t matter.
The difference between us was still significant enough to allow for that.
So, I charged at her, infusing my spear with sword energy and lunging at her with full force. The tactical skirmish between us was over, so there was nothing to hold back.
True to her skillful nature, she managed to block my advance.
“Gah...!”
However, it seemed the weight of my strike caused her expression to twist in pain.
After that, several exchanges occurred.
It didn’t take long for me to subdue her.
Thud-!
With a heavy sound, she flew back and crashed into the wall.
Both scythes she had been holding fell from her grip as she blocked my kick.
I approached her, pressing a dagger against her neck. It was time for some enjoyable interrogation.
“Now, shall we have a little chat? Tell me, how many vials of holy water do you have? Where did you get them?”
[That’s terrifying, holding a dagger to her!] [In the end, she got wrecked ww] [Oh, Yor is so close up, wow..] [He really is handsome...] [Do we really have to catch him...?]
I could see the chat rising beside her.
She frowned and glared at me, saying, “Ha, do you think I’ll answer that? Quit stalling and just kill me already.”
“Hmm.”
Well, it was unlikely she would answer in one go.
I nodded and then abruptly slapped her hard across the face.
Smack-!
With a sharp sound, her head turned to the side. Her lips burst, and red blood spilled out.
She seemed taken aback by the fact that she had been struck like this, her eyes wide open in shock.
I looked down at her and said,
“Lately, these otherworlders really don’t listen.”
To be honest, I was developing a slight animosity toward the otherworlders recently.
While many showed goodwill toward me, there were still plenty who regarded me like a real NPC, like that last guy.
And judging by her behavior, her perception didn’t seem too different either.
So I decided to give her a little slap. Since she was a broadcaster, it might serve as a lesson.
With that, I grabbed her chin and delivered a few more slaps.
Smack-! Smack-!
“Ugh... Argh...!”
The sharp sounds echoed throughout the cave. With each hit, weak groans escaped her lips.
She came to take my life, so she had to endure this much.
... However, the reaction in the chatroom was a bit odd.
[Wow, what a prize you’re giving her!] [Can I also get slapped if I go? Shit, I want to get slapped too!] [Heh... oppa... heh... oppa....] [I’m not a masochist, but this situation is kind of thrilling. Hehe.] [Save... adding to the sticky folder....] [These perverted bastards are going crazy.] [No, unnie!] [Oh no, that’s so cruelㅠㅠ I’m definitely going to kill that demon Yor!]
I envisioned how they would tremble at my cruelty.
But in the chat, I felt a sticky desire rising.
Faced with a response so different from my expectations, I had no choice but to withdraw my hand quickly.
Fortunately, the person in question seemed to understand my intentions perfectly.
She glared at me, growling in anger.
“Ha, you bastard...”
She spoke with a twisted smile, her face radiating malice.
“Ha, go ahead and hit me all you want. With the assimilation rate, it hardly hurts at all. In fact, it’d be quicker for me to die than to open my mouth.”
I furrowed my brow slightly. While I was grateful that she understood my intentions, her reaction wasn’t what I wanted.
I had thought that after a bit of interrogation, she would open up even just to avoid more pain.
Yet her eyes remained filled with defiance. Perhaps her pride was too strong; she looked as if she would rather die than divulge any information.
I clicked my tongue.
“... Tch.”
That wasn’t a good response.
What should I do?
For the otherworlders, I could easily kill them without hesitation, but this one was a bit different.
I needed at least the holy water she possessed.
And if possible, I wanted to learn how she managed to acquire holy water in this drought period.
But given her current level of cooperation, it was quite challenging...
‘Should I stab her a bit?’
As that thought crossed my mind, I quickly shook my head.
No, what if she ended up bleeding out and dying?
After all, with the 15% assimilation rate, she would probably only feel a burn, but that might be enough to kill her.
So what to do...
‘Ah ha.’
Just then, a decent idea struck me.
If she wasn’t going to cooperate during interrogation, I could simply confine her.
Fortunately, it was possible to bind an otherworlder.
Even if she logged out and her body disappeared, the bindings would remain intact.
In the past, I had avoided keeping someone in my home for fear of being discovered, but if it meant obtaining holy water, that would change.
With that in mind, I quickly set about tying her up.
I retrieved rope and stakes from the storage and drove the stakes into the ground.
Then, I tied her up with the rope, securing her to the stake.
‘She has quite a decent bust...’
While there was some body contact as I restrained her, I managed to bind her well.
With her hands and feet bound tightly, she certainly wouldn’t be able to free herself.
As I finished tying her up in her tights-like outfit, it created quite a lewd sight, but that was ultimately a secondary concern.
Thud! Thud!
“Gah! Let me go! Let me go...!!!”
Naturally, she thrashed about. While dying was one thing, being confined must have caught her off guard, as her resistance was incredibly fierce.
Seeing her struggling against the stake made me think of something.
“Hmm...”
Now that I think about it...
I had once wanted a pet back in the day.
That desire had been with me since my previous life.
While I wasn’t particularly fond of animals, I needed something to alleviate my loneliness in my solitary life.
But I couldn’t afford to keep one in my previous life due to financial constraints, and all the beasts in this forest were untrainable.
As a result, I could only let that desire remain just a desire.
However, now that I had brought someone into my home, perhaps I could consider this a dream come true?
Sure, she looked a bit fierce, but that was something I could manage with a little gentle training.
Indeed, the world is full of surprises.
So I approached her cautiously, as if I were approaching a ferocious dog.
I gently patted her head, making sure not to get bitten.
Her soft hair felt almost like fur.
I smiled warmly at her and said,
“From now on, your name is Happy.”
And so, I had acquired a pet.