Chapter 131
[Demon's Saga] truly has a wealth of content.
With its infinitely high degree of freedom, including Cooking, 19+ Mode, combat, exploration, Weapon Crafting, and so on, the game offers tens of thousands of ways to enjoy it.
There are Bakers who use their real-world professions to create cutting-edge bread, and Gamers who learn Blacksmithing to craft weapons and earn a living.
Of course, the most popular profession among Users is Adventurer, which is related to combat..., but not everyone chooses it.
Even if combat is fun, many people fear it. Or simply, many find the fatigue of combat burdensome.
Minji Jang, a Spectator Streamer specializing in the Arena, was no different. She had always preferred Spectating Fights to fighting herself. Coincidentally, with her decent Verbal Fluency and Vocalization, she leveraged those talents to briefly work as a Sports Commentator. She was quickly pushed out by the formidable and popular Commentary Team. Still, people inherently make a living from what they've learned.
Since this was all she had learned, she chose to make a living by hosting various battles in the Arena.
Fortunately, she was quite popular. As Spectating Fights is inherently the most entertaining, many shared her hobby. Moreover, since the Arena had a Spectator Room, broadcasting was unrestricted, so there was nothing to hold her back.
However, since events weren't always happening, her broadcasts have been struggling a bit lately.
I hope there's a good match today...
First of all, luck was on her side from the start today. When she entered the Arena around noon, she spotted Hanbyeol Shin sitting in the nearby Audience Seating.
Upon seeing her, Minji immediately headed over and greeted her. Oh, what? It's Minji. Hello. Looks like you're here to spectate again today." "Yes, yes, Ms. Hanbyeol, what brings you to the Audience Seating?"
Surprisingly, the two were quite acquainted. As Minji, an Arena Regular, often encountered Hanbyeol, it went without saying for Hanbyeol Shin, who was Rank 1.
As they broadcast, their interactions grew, and now they are at a point where they can greet each other like this.
[What the heck, why is Hanbyeol here?]
[I always see her inside the Arena, but it's nice to see her here too lol]
[Look at her height and face, I'm so jealous...]
The viewers who spotted her casually acknowledged her. Hanbyeol Shin lightly answered Minji's question.
“Ah, a NPC I know wanted to try it out today, so I came to watch.”
Hanbyeol's face held a strange amusement as she said that.
*An NPC she knows?*
At that answer, Minji tilted her head and looked back at the Arena. And she couldn't help but be surprised. That NPC was someone she knew as well.
No, he was a person that most Korean Players playing [Demon's Saga] couldn't help but know. Yor, an NPC who stayed only in the Forest, came out for some reason.
The viewers who saw him began to greet him warmly. Minji Jang quickly made a judgment internally.
This is an opportunity.
From ancient times, broadcasts featuring him often achieved at least moderate success. Sometimes, they even hit it big.
After all, the appearance of a 'Man' was in considerable demand in the Internet world. Not only that, but he also possessed a laid-back personality and outstanding skill. It was inevitable that he would get views.
Thanks to him, Chaerin Yu, who was a Small-scale Streamer, even grew into a Large-scale Streamer.
Because of this, Minji Jang quickly focused on the battle. Though not as much as Chaerin Yu, she also wanted to rack up some views. As the battle began, Hanbyeol, who was beside her, also naturally started to focus on the fight.
Standing in the arena, Yor and an unknown opponent approached each other.
[Looks like the event is Hand-to-hand Combat.]
[Their stances are super awkward lol]
[Who's that opponent? Even though he's a man, he's throwing punches mercilessly tsk tsk. No manners?]
[lol So you're saying if you came for a duel, you should just stand there and take the hits?]
[Tsk... But he's not fighting as well as I heard?]
[Looks like he used Stat Adjustment. Yeah, he's trying to go easy.]
[If you want to see a real fight, go watch Dantalion's duel on YouTube... That one is seriously *brutal*;;]
Contrary to expectations, the battle itself was rather ordinary. Unlike what she had hoped for, there were no overwhelming scenes from the NPC. The combat was more straightforward and crude than flashy.
Still, he showed good Combat Instinct, dodging and blocking well, but a sense of disappointment was unavoidable. Of course, that's easy to say from a Spectator's perspective. The Viewers, who showed lukewarm reactions, also felt such a disappointment.
However, such a chaotic slugfest didn't last very long. Soon enough, the female opponent charged, turning it into a grappling match.
[Huh?]
[Ooooh?]
[What the f***?]
The Opponent and Yor's bodies tangled together. They pressed close, and body contact continued endlessly. The Viewers let out various shouts upon seeing it.
That envious bastard right there! Isn't that guy aiming for something right now? One hundred percent he's aiming for it, f***! I wanna join, I wanna join, I wanna join! I'm reporting him for sexual harassment! Taste 2D Human Rights! I'm so pissed right now! Which Arena is this? Hold on, I'll find the Participation Code.
In the middle of it, some Viewers even came directly to the Spectator Room, saying they wanted to watch live. It was understandable. Even Minji Jang herself momentarily forgot her reactions and focused on the battle, though it was in a slightly different sense.
“Wow, no, I should have gone out there too...”
A strange murmur could be heard from Hanbyeol in the middle. Fortunately, the sound was so faint that no one properly heard it.
“Gurgle...”
Thus, after a long struggle, the battle ended with Yor's victory. Compared to what was expected, it lacked flashiness or intensity. He hadn't shown any special techniques either. Honestly, Minji, who had even been part of a Sports Commentator team, felt like she could make dozens of tackles.
But what did that matter? This match contained something more than just a simple fight.
“Ahem, ahem... Should I go next?”
“I needed to warm up anyway. Going out after a long time might not be bad...”
Players could be seen tapping the Void in various places. Having checked the Participation Code in the Arena, they were sending Duel Requests there immediately. Watching this, Minji clicked her tongue in disapproval, yet also wondered if she should send a request herself... She pondered for a moment.
*
A Duel Request Form has arrived for you! Do you wish to accept?
After a brief moment of embarrassment over the rather sordid victory, countless Challenge Requests began to fly in my direction.
Message Windows in the shape of Leather Gloves were clamoring, saying they wanted to spar with me. What's more, most of the request forms that came in specified Hand-to-hand Combat. My embarrassment was short-lived; seeing that, I slowly began to understand the situation.
*Surely these bastards...
Are they sending requests like this because of that Jiu-Jitsu Fight just now? After watching that somewhat embarrassing fight, I, for once, couldn't help but feel disgusted by the 'Women' in this Reversed World—these Monsters, dominated by Lewd Desire!
But that was only for a moment; I soon decided to be a bit more magnanimous.
*No, no...*
I wondered if I was thinking this way because my self-love was too strong. Honestly, my thoughts seem to be heading only in this direction lately. It's not like I have some kind of inflated ego. I need to broaden my perspective.
Who knows. Maybe they're applying because they think they can win, given my pathetic skill. The fight just now was so amateur-like that such a thought crossed my mind.
Indeed, with my Physical Ability reduced, the Technical Problem became clearly apparent. Until now, I have relied too much on my physique and Intuition.
I smiled bitterly. Fortunately, I didn't feel too bad. I had moved my body after a long time, and I quite liked this Arena where I could fight proudly while taking risks.
This is why Otherworlders' Skill increases exponentially.
From ancient times, it was said that the greatest teacher is experience. Through direct engagement, one lesson learned is greater than hearing hundreds of theories.
While I was at it, I decided to enjoy the Arena for a while. I figured I might gain something by wearing Sandbags and clashing here and there.
“Ah, I'll decline all of these,”
With that decision, I declined all the Duel Request Windows that popped up before me.
*No matter how I thought about it, this felt like a Lewd Desire.*
Click, click. Every time I pressed decline, cries of “Nooo!” or “Nooooo!” erupted from various parts of the Audience Seating. I definitely made the right choice to decline.
After that, I returned to the Waiting Room and started matching again. Stats were at 60% like before. Everything else was All Random. *After all, isn't it more fun when you don't know what's going to pop up?* *I plan to stick with this for a while.*
“Got it!”
“It's my turn this time!”
“No, why isn't it Hand-to-hand Combat?!”
That day, I played about six more matches. Fortunately, I hadn't lost yet.