Morning came.
Hanbyeol let out a sigh as she stood before the capsule once more.
Normally, she logged in daily to maintain her ranking, but today she truly didn’t want to.
She could already picture what she’d see when she entered.
“...Hoo.”
After a brief moment of hesitation, she took a deep breath and connected to the game. She had to go in if she wanted to do anything at all.
Squeeeak...
The familiar, stifling sensation greeted her as soon as she logged in. Perhaps the ropes were chafing her skin because she felt a faint sting, even through the synchronization.
But at least... it wasn’t as unpleasant as she had expected, which was a small comfort.
She planned to take a break from streaming for a while; showing herself like this would just lead to endless ridicule.
Looking around the cave, she saw no sign of Yor. It was early morning, so he might still be asleep—or out hunting.
On the off-chance, she twisted her body, but of course, the ropes didn’t loosen.
She needed a new plan.
And the one that came to mind was, naturally, self-destruction.
For Otherworlders, death temporarily reconstituted their bodies at the Sanctuary of the Otherworld, respawning them in the nearest village.
In other words, dying here would set her free.
Of course, dying would mean a few days of setback.
So her interest shifted toward this option, and she had spent last night browsing the internet for information.
To think she’d end up researching methods of self-destruction just to die in-game... She let out a hollow laugh, convinced no one else had ever searched for this reason.
She had narrowed it down to three methods.
Biting her tongue, starving, and dehydration.
The first, biting her tongue, was ruled out immediately. Despite what movies might depict, biting one’s tongue was no guaranteed ticket. It was unbearably painful and unlikely to be fatal. Besides, there was no way Yor would stand by and let her do it.
He clearly intended to keep her until she spilled information, so he’d intervene. For the same reason, any other physical methods were off the table.
Next, she considered thirst and hunger.
Surprisingly, the game even simulated these details.
Without eating, her stamina would drop, her body would grow sluggish, and eventually, extreme hunger would make her mind hazy.
In other words, if she abstained from food and drink, there was a chance it might eventually work.
“...Ugh.”
But even that was a tough choice.
There weren’t any records of users dying from starvation. What kind of player would willingly endure such hunger?
Besides, it wasn’t appealing on a personal level.
The process would be excruciating, she knew.
Patience wasn’t her strongest trait, nor was she good at suppressing her appetite.
During her athletic days, she needed plenty of energy reserves to endure the intense training. That habit had stuck, and her appetite was stronger than most.
So no matter how she looked at it, none of the options appealed.
She let out a deep sigh.
“Haa...”
...There was actually one other way.
It was the simplest and easiest method: just give Yor what he wanted. Hand over the holy water and tell him where it came from.
‘Ugh, no way...’
But the thought lasted only a moment; she shook her head.
This was no better than the other options. She’d rather die. The problem was that even dying wasn’t going according to plan.
After mulling it over, she came to an uneasy realization.
In the end, she’d likely end up giving him the holy water.
“Time for food, Happy!”
Eventually, mealtime arrived.
Yor, as always, brought her a plate of food, even though she hadn’t touched a bite. Three times a day, without fail.
There was something almost unnerving about it. What was he getting out of this?
She couldn’t understand it.
The plate was placed in front of her, and she immediately spat on the food.
“Ptoo!”
“Ah, no! I put effort into that meal!”
Yor seemed genuinely flustered by her behavior, which made Hanbyeol chuckle inwardly.
This was her way of coping with being bound.
‘Might as well piss him off.’
At the very least, she could rebel.
Getting slapped as a consequence didn’t bother her. In fact, it was welcome.
Not that she enjoyed getting hit. Really, she didn’t.
It was just... that if he hit her hard enough, it might even kill her!
If that could set her free, it would be a win.
Again, she wasn’t doing this because she wanted to get hit. Really.
“...Looks like you need some punishment.”
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.
Sure enough, Yor seemed a bit annoyed, giving her a cold stare.
The contempt in his gaze sent a shiver down her spine.
‘Perfect.’
She smirked in satisfaction.
He might slap her like last time or even kick her this time. Whatever it was, she could handle it.
But the punishment that came... was a disappointment.
He flicked her forehead.
Flick!
“Ow...!”
Of course, even a flick was no joke; it snapped her head back momentarily. A sharp sting spread across her forehead.
She typically set her synchronization rate to at least 30%.
Sensitivity was critical to her combat style. When not in immediate danger, she often raised it even higher.
Perhaps that habit was why she had mastered sword energy so quickly.
Anyway, the point was, the pain was intense.
“Ahh...”
But this wasn’t enough. It didn’t seem likely she’d die from this.
‘Should I provoke him more...?’
The thought crossed her mind briefly, but she dismissed it.
She still had her fears, after all.
Though sometimes fear did bring a strange thrill... for now, she’d have to hold back. The pain was sharper than expected.
Besides, Yor didn’t seem inclined to continue.
“I’m off to hunt, so stay put, Happy.”
“It’s Shin Hanbyeol...!”
With that, Yor left the cave.
Time passed...
Nightfall arrived, marking her third day of captivity.
She refused to bury her face in a plate, so she continued to go without food.
Even though she logged out for each mealtime, returning to the game filled her with a peculiar emptiness.
What kind of technology was this...?
Fortunately, she’d been provided with water, so she didn’t suffer from thirst, but enduring the hunger was no easy task.
To make matters worse, she had to sleep in the game now.
With her fatigue potions depleted, she had no choice but to rest within the game to survive another day.
Why on earth would they design such a system? She cursed the game company as she drifted off to sleep.
The third day of her captivity arrived.
She had skipped breakfast and lunch again, her pride refusing to let her bury her face in a plate.
But the hunger gnawed at her even more.
As evening arrived, she turned her head away in defiance once more.
And then night fell.
“Ugh... So hungry...”
Unable to endure the hunger, she awoke from a shallow sleep.
Grrr...
Her stomach growled, demanding sustenance. Even with the synchronization rate low, it couldn’t erase her hunger.
There was a psychological aspect to it, too.
‘What a mess...’
Irritated, she got up.
She was here to level up, not to experience starvation.
As she muttered in frustration, something caught her eye.
Yor had left her dinner bowl beside her.
Although she hadn’t eaten, the plate hadn’t been removed.
Dinner plates were cleared the next morning.
Thus, she had slept with food within arm’s reach.
Normally, she wouldn’t have given it a glance... but three days of hunger had changed things.
...Gulp.
Her throat moved involuntarily.
Though the food had gone cold, it hadn’t lost its flavor.
The scent of savory meat wafted faintly to her nose.
Tonight’s dish was the same fried rice from before.
“...”
She glanced around silently.
The cave was dark. She sensed no presence around her.
It was late at night; Yor was surely asleep.
Several thoughts filled her mind.
‘Just one bite... I’ll just take a single bite.’
‘I could taste it, then spread the rice back out. He won’t notice.’
‘But seriously... how could I bury my face in the plate...’
Conflicted between hunger and pride, she stared deeply at the bowl.
“Hmm?”
Early morning.
As I came to swap Happy’s bowl as usual, something felt off.
I thought I’d imagined it, but no. The amount of fried rice had decreased—by nearly half.
And surprisingly, the rice looked evenly spread, as if hastily rearranged after an unexpected feast.
I stared wordlessly at Happy.
“...What are you looking at?”
Naturally, she glared back.
Yet, there was a subtle hint of guilt in her defiance.
“...Hmm, never mind.”
I considered confronting her, but held back.
A good fisherman knows to wait for a bigger catch.
To be honest, I’ve been... feeling a bit of arousal lately.
Not that I’d ever act on it—she had tried to kill me, after all.
But think about it.
A beautiful woman tied up in my home for three days. My attention was bound to stray.
Watching her struggle in the corner of the cave sparked a strange thrill.
So, I devised a plan.
To see her face buried in that plate with my own eyes.
It’s an absurd, stupid idea... which is why it’s worth it.
Of course, though she seemed to have eaten last night, it’s still not enough.
An empty plate isn’t the goal—I want to witness the act.
‘I will watch her eat with my own eyes.’
With that thought, I quietly withdrew.