Chapter 21
Of course, naturally.
The stream was still running when Yor faced off against the Owlbear.
Though she was dying in real-time from her injuries, that wasn't reason enough to end the stream.
Thanks to that, she and her viewers were able to watch Yor's fight from start to finish.
When Yor first confronted the Owlbear, the viewers were understandably worried.
Though they had a rough idea he was strong, his opponent was a level 107 monster after all.
It was a monster that even dozens of high-level users couldn't handle.
It was natural to worry about this charming NPC they'd just discovered.
[wtf is he doing wowow]
[no run away!]
[No! You can't die!]
Because of this, the early chat was filled mostly with worried messages.
Unlike players who revive after death, NPCs were gone for good when they died.
[But doesn't he seem way too relaxed...?]
However, those worries gradually diminished as the fight progressed.
The first gasp of amazement came when Yor dodged the Owlbear's claws.
He dodged the Owlbear's nearly invisible attack with what could only be described as complete composure.
[oh]
[wow how did he dodge that?]
[he dodged that so smoothly wowow]
That was something even the archer, the fastest member of Kim Ma-ri's party, couldn't do.
The second came when Yor's spear tore into the Owlbear's flesh.
His spear, which looked like a toy compared to the beast's size, cut through its tough hide.
[lol wtf]
[holy shit look at that counter it's so natural]
[did those feathers just get cut??]
[oppa what even are you]
Something even their party's strongest attacker, the mage, failed to do.
The third gasp came when Yor prepared his thrust.
No, could that even be called a gasp? It was closer to sheer astonishment.
The first two incidents were at least within the realm of comprehension.
An NPC they knew was strong avoiding and hitting a powerful monster.
These were scenes the viewers had vaguely expected and even hoped for.
But that final thrust was different.
From the initial stance, it was something that transcended viewer expectations.
Wooong-
As he took his thrusting stance, an ominous current began flowing around him.
Mana rippled in the surroundings, injecting vitality into his body.
Muscles bulged as he radiated refined killing intent.
The spear's blade even became enveloped in blue.
By this point, Kim Ma-ri's eyes were wide open.
Then came the thrust.
Bang-!
The spear shot forward and literally tore through the Owlbear's body.
Not just piercing - the spear ground up everything in its path.
Though the spear was smaller than a fist, the hole it left was roughly the size of a soccer ball, to exaggerate a bit.
It was a level of power current users couldn't even imagine.
Naturally, the stream viewers went wild.
[???]
[?????]
[????? wtf did I just watch]
[lol fr how is this even possible????]
Horror, questions, amazement - countless emotions flooded the chat.
The chat speed became incredibly rapid. Messages filled with question marks sprouted like bamboo shoots.
Normally she might have enabled chat restrictions to control the burning chat.
But right now, even she was too stunned by that single strike.
Just what was that?
Defeating the Owlbear, sure, that much she could understand.
No, actually she'd roughly expected that much.
She wasn't foolish enough to underestimate an NPC living in a high-level zone.
There had to be a reason he survived here, she'd thought.
But one-shotting it?
Beating an Owlbear and one-shotting an Owlbear were rather different matters.
It required an overwhelming difference in ability.
He literally ground up that tough hide.
There was one more surprising point too.
That blue energy surrounding Yor's spear.
Though most viewers seemed to have missed it, she was knowledgeable enough about combat to recognize it.
She muttered to herself.
'That was... Sword Energy, wasn't it?'
Sword Energy.
The privilege of the strong, the line dividing the ordinary from the talented.
A technique that knights needed years on the battlefield just to barely use.
It was that high-level of a technique, and currently no users could manifest Sword Energy.
Yet now, suddenly the NPC before her had used it.
Because of this, Kim Ma-ri's mind was filled with confusion.
'Just who is this person...?'
Was he someone who retired after fighting on some battlefield?
No, he looked even younger than her.
Then could everyone living in this forest use Sword Energy? She had no idea.
Various thoughts rose and fell in her mind.
As she stood there dumbfounded, Yor began approaching her.
Looking completely casual, as if that impressive display was nothing.
His thin short sleeves and shorts didn't even register anymore after that overwhelming scene earlier.
Finally, he crouched down gangster-style in front of Kim Ma-ri and spoke:
"My neighbor died because of you."
"...Huh? What?"
Ma-ri could only tilt her head, naturally having no idea what he meant.
Of course, Yor didn't bother explaining that the Owlbear was his neighbor, since that would obviously make him sound insane.
After a brief silence, Ma-ri spoke up.
"I don't know why, but... I'm sorry first of all. And thank you. I almost died to that Owlbear."
"...Whatever."
Yor just nodded vaguely.
Truth be told, he'd already shed his tear of remembrance for Mr. Owlbear, so an apology wasn't really necessary.
Looking at her condition, Yor commented:
"You're badly hurt."
"...Yes."
Her body was currently a complete mess.
She was dying in real-time from excessive blood loss.
Though she'd lowered her synchronization rate so the pain was just a burning sensation, her consciousness was starting to get hazy.
A sign she would soon die and log out.
"No potions?"
"No, since we had a priest in the party."
Ma-ri's tone had become extremely polite by now.
Though she looked older than him honestly.
It was hard to be casual with someone that powerful.
She clicked her tongue internally.
Damn, if she'd known she should have brought at least one potion. Then she could have prolonged her life at least.
"Hmm..."
And that's when it happened.
Yor, who had been watching her this whole time, handed her something.
"Try eating this."
It was a bright red fruit.
Different from an apple, but also different from other fruits - a unique fruit.
It seemed like a specialty item only found in the game.
Maybe...
She asked him with faint hope.
"Could this be a healing potion?"
"No? I just gave it to you because it's tasty."
He added that dying after eating something would look a bit more dignified.
Hearing that, she was dumbfounded. Just what kind of nonsense was this.
The chat seemed equally dumbfounded.
[excuse me but are you crazy?]
[hey don't call Yor crazy!]
[Ah! So you give tasty things to dying people?]
Various reactions filled the chat.
Still, since he offered it, she awkwardly accepted and ate it.
"Ah... thank you."
"No need for thanks."
Yor thought with a grin.
He'd be looting all her dropped items when she died anyway.
He could spare one fruit.
So she bit into the fruit.
Crunch-
With her synchronization rate at minimum, she couldn't really taste anything.
With that flavorless bite of fruit, her life came to an end.
Using her fading vision, she checked her viewer count one last time.
The final count was 15,000 viewers.
The stream had been a huge success.
*
Kim Ma-ri's stream concluded successfully.
Though her entire party was wiped out and she lost a significant amount of equipment.
At minimum, she showed users they were nowhere near ready to tackle the Forbidden Forest yet.
Just the regular field mobs had levels over 100.
Considering most users haven't even reached level 60, that's an overwhelming level difference.
Additionally, they got to witness Yor's abilities that the community had been so curious about.
That information spread like wildfire among users instantly.
+
[This just doesn't make sense]
What level do you need to be to one-shot an Owlbear?
My noob self can't even imagine;
+
[lol his expression was so casual when you rewatch it]
[all you haters better bow down now]
[ㄴ I'm sorry I doubted...]
[ㄴ I'll never act up again..]
+
[Today we Otherworlders are weak af again]
What can we even beat? lolol
Getting slaughtered by knights, getting our necks snapped by monsters, barely beating low-rank mercenaries with our lives on the line
At this rate we'll lose to neighborhood dogs too lmao
+
[we're the weakest in the lore wwww]
[even top rankers are just barely knocking on A-rank mercenary's door..]
[dw~ we'll catch up eventually~]
+
[btw what did he mutter in the video?]
I keep rewatching the fight scene
But Kim Mari is too far away to hear what Yor's saying;
Anyone here good at lip reading?
What's he saying?
+
[oh fr there's mouth movement]
[ㄴ how many times did you rewatch to notice that;]
[ㄴ so what did he say;-;]
["Mr. Owlbear, I'm truly sorry it has come to this..."]
[ㄴ fr???]
[ㄴ this crazy bastard was talking to the monster lololol]
[ㄴ our oppa... is a bit crazy...]
[ㄴ it's ok he's hot lol]
The community was incredibly noisy.
Though it was just a commotion in the small pond called 'Evil Gallery'.
Within that pond, it was practically a typhoon-level disturbance.
That's how shocking Yor's display had been.
Of course.
"Wow, unbelievable..."
Among those watching those posts was Chae-rin.