Chapter 107
-Adela, you blockheaded idiot, please!!!
-At least we got past that pattern
-P-p-p-please
-I’ve got a good feeling about this run
-Let’s show them the kitty punches!
A frantic battle unfolded. A desperate, dog-eat-dog brawl continued as each side tried to inflict a fatal wound on the other.
Kkiing-!
“You little rat-tailed runt!”
“Could you keep your mouth shut while we’re fighting? You stink.”
Sword crossed sword, and a sharp sound rang through the study.
Valum’s massive greatsword pressed Adela down mercilessly. Her legs trembled violently. Unable to withstand its weight, Adela had no choice but to pull her body backward.
“Slurp.”
When she glanced sidelong at NoName, who was casting a spell, NoName gave her a thumbs-up. Tuna flavor again.
NoName had synchronized Adela’s tongue and Aura Heart with her own.
She used Adela’s Aura Heart to cast magic remotely while alternating between sending Churu and carrot flavors to her tongue, constantly giving her feedback on the battle.
‘This makes no sense, but it works...!’
The rumor that Arseria’s Forest Keepers were brilliant was evidently true, because NoName’s ability to perform several tasks at once was simply astonishing.
Not only did she cast appropriate spells to keep Valum Venaons from approaching Adela recklessly, but whenever Adela began to struggle, she even came running over with a mace to attack alongside her.
On top of that, she was naturally gifted with battle sense and kept telling Adela where she needed to be.
Thanks to the Laurel, Adela no longer had to worry about her form, which allowed her to empty her mind and view the situation objectively.
“I’ll stuff you in the study too!”
Though he appeared to be charging forward mindlessly at first glance, Valum was more flexible than expected.
Sensing that this was not the time to dodge but to fight back, Adela gripped her dagger tightly and swallowed a groan.
She bent her knees to lower her stance and opened her eyes wide.
From the moment her keen eyes caught Valum’s left shoulder turning backward, every movement proceeded as smoothly as flowing water.
Adela’s silhouette disappeared from right in front of his eyes in an instant.
Confused, Valum slowed down and checked his blind spots first, but the quick-footed cat was nowhere to be seen.
“I’m over here, you pig!”
When he raised the arm below him, a blind spot was inevitably created for that instant.
Using that brief opening, Adela dropped from the ceiling and drove her dagger toward the back of his neck.
The moment she felt certain of victory, she felt a chill of fear.
‘Carrot...?’
Feeling the thick taste of carrot in her mouth, Adela immediately tried to stop her attack and withdraw her blade.
Why? It had been the perfect chance to bring him down.
Adela wasn’t the only one who thought so; the viewers added their firepower too.
-Why are you pulling your sword back when you had a kill opening?
-This game is so damn frustrating;;
-She’s just going wild with the foreplay lol
-Ooh-la-la
-So if you do that with Adela, is it bestiality?
-(This chat has been blocked)
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-You crazy bastard you crazy bastard you crazy bastard
[‘SaveTheGradStudent’ donated 1,000 won!]
-If she’d attacked just now, she would’ve gotten hit by a counter and died instead
Daesal had barely finished explaining the situation when Valum’s body lurched violently. It was the recovery lag that appeared after failing a parry. His stance had completely broken down.
The moment she saw the opening, Adela understood NoName’s intention and kicked off the ground.
Her weight settled onto her planted foot, and a terrifying force filled her dagger.
With the distance closed, Valum belatedly crossed both arms to protect his body.
Thunk-
Adela’s dagger, which she must have swung with all her strength, was stopped by his defense far too easily. It had failed to pierce his thick hide. Valum’s eyebrows and the corners of his mouth rose at once.
“That’s all—”
“This isn’t over!”
Adela’s speed still didn’t slow. Instead, she used her momentum to quickly spin her body around her right foot as a pivot.
The moment her cape fluttered and her smooth, pale back and shoulder blades came fully into Valum’s view, the hand gripping the dagger in reverse stabbed toward the giant’s carotid artery from behind.
Shnk-
“Kheuk...!”
“Die, damn you! Just die!”
After spinning around once and facing him again, Adela climbed onto his neck and plunged the dagger deep into it with both hands.
“Die! Die!”
Without even realizing that her eyes had become bloodshot, Adela repeatedly screamed out her death cries.
Slash-
The moment she felt there was nowhere left for the blade to go, Adela pulled it out without the slightest hesitation.
Red blood shot all the way up to the ceiling.
When the magic NoName had cast was dispelled and moonlight poured down, Adela finally exhaled the breath she had been holding in the now even more eerie study.
“Haa... haa...”
The prolonged concentration had left her brain utterly drained. Fatigue that arrived late crashed over her like a wave.
She staggered for a moment before the strength drained from her legs, and just as she was about to collapse onto the cold marble floor, NoName caught her.
“I’m covered in blood... I’m dirty...”
Seeing Adela worry about someone else’s safety before her own, NoName smiled.
“You were more impressive than anyone I’ve ever met.”
“Even you thought I looked cool, right, Forest Keeper? Hah!”
* * *
Parrying wasn’t something only players could do.
Adela had to suffer the same tragedy no fewer than three times because of Valum’s parry pattern.
Since it would all be for nothing if Adela died, each time I set aside even the magic circle blocking the ceiling and joined the fight late to save her. But as long as Valum Venaons had the skill ‘Wolcheonjiche,’ there was no chance of victory for us.
I left Adela in her groggy state and desperately swung my mace, but without the Laurel’s help, it was all useless.
Amid a cycle of pain and endurance repeated over and over, Adela finally succeeded.
-Adela!Adela!Adela!Adela!Adela!Adela!Adela!
-Adela is a god! Adela is a god! Adela is a god! Adela is a god!
-Damn, she stayed calm right to the end
-Is this really the same pathetic Adela I knew? The real Adela is a legend
-She actually cleared this all by herself lol
-ㄴYou’re not even considering that NoName used a smoke-screen skill for her?
-ㄴShe just casts insanely fast lol
Though she didn’t retain any memories when she reincarnated, I could vaguely sense that her reaction speed and judgment in battle were gradually improving.
A fighter’s ‘sixth sense’ is more important than anything else.
Sixth sense isn’t some kind of superpower. In the end, it’s closer to the process of predicting the opponent’s next pattern by watching where their gaze is directed, where their lead foot is positioned, and how each muscle contracts, all learned through long experience.
While pondering how to instill that combat sense in Adela, I came up with the ‘carrots and Churu’ strategy.
As I watched her fight, I sent Churu flavor to her synchronized taste buds whenever she made the right decision, and carrot flavor whenever her judgment left something to be desired, allowing her to learn the sensations firsthand.
Personally, I preferred carrots to Churu’s bland tuna-oil flavor, but it was something I had to endure for Adela’s sake.
“I did it. I really did it—ooooooh yeeeaaahnyaaaang!”
Her flailing limbs as she squirmed in my arms were nothing short of comical.
[Cleared Valum Venaons within 5 tries / Prize: 100,000 won]
[Mission success!]
I whipped my head around when a window I hadn’t seen before suddenly appeared.
I was sure I had turned off everything in the settings window except the chat and donation windows.
‘A mission window?’
When did this even appear?
-(Manager 2): Boss, missions are a type of donation too, so I turned it on!
When I looked through the list after the manager explained, I found a whole mountain of missions that had accumulated by now.
Did money come in when I pressed the button?
[Mission success!]
[Mission success!]
[Mission success!] [Mission success!]
[Mission success!] [Mission success!] [Mission success!] [Mission success!] [Mission success!]
-(Manager 2): W-wait a m-minute!!!!!!!
-(Manager 2): You’re not supposed to press those randomly!
I tried to clear out the mission window at full speed like I was emptying a spam folder, but the manager hurriedly stopped me.
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Money is multiplying!
-You beat Valum, so let’s be generous and give out this much~
-Yeees~ Mission success~!
-This is sweet~
-For real lol
-Who the hell came up with Zero Two lol
-Gasp...ㅋㅋ
“Huh? Ah... I have to clear the missions to receive the money?”
When I clicked the mission window again, detailed explanations appeared just like before.
[Look at the camera and make a V sign / Prize: 10,000 won]
[Wink / Prize: 20,000 won]
[Pat Adela’s head / Prize: 3,000 won]
[Pinch Adela’s cheek / Prize: 25,000 won]
[Perform a grand jeol / Prize: 40,000 won]
[Do the Zero Two dance / Prize: 360,000 won]
-There are so damn many lol
-No, the amount is fucking lol. How many people with ulterior motives are there?
-I guess they spammed missions mindlessly because the boss never accepted a single one before
-Wow, pocket 500,000 won!
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-(Manager): Refunds will be difficult, so wouldn’t it be better to do the missions you’ve accepted now?
The conclusion was that since I had received the money upfront, I had to fulfill the missions no matter what.
Hmm...
When I looked at the camera floating in the air, its normally transparent form revealed itself.
The blinking red light meant that the broadcast was being transmitted normally.
[Viewer count – 18283]
Even though most of them had come in through hosting, there were still many people remaining in the stream.
Through the lens devoid of any emotion, I felt the eerie sensation of tens of thousands of people’s wishes being conveyed to me.
Still, the V sign was easy.
I extended my index and middle fingers and held them up in front of the camera.
-Wakyaaa
-She’s doing it for usㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-We’re starting a chatting stream at my place from now on!
-Unnie, your fingers are so pretty!!!
Everyone was making far too much of a fuss over a single hand gesture.
“Unnie? I must be much younger than all of you.”
-If you’re good at games, you’re everyone’s bro or sis
-That’s the universal rule
-It’s a fact even depicted in Goguryeo’s Subakdo. You didn’t know that either?
-But NoName talks like a hardcore boomer while their tone is way too much like a brat lol
-A boomer-brat through and through
-Not trans, so what the hell is a boomer-brat anyway lol
Winking was nothing more than closing one eye and opening it again. So far, this was within the realm of what I could accept.
I pulled the camera closer with my hand.
Blink-
-?
-?
-?
-Is that a wink?
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Is this a bit?
I gently closed and opened one eye.
Blink blink
-Who winks like that?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-We have decided to call this closing one’s eyes
-What if she closes both eyes at the same time?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
You people really do want a lot.
“I can’t close one eye very well.”
-At least try before saying that, sir
-For real lol
-She is cute, though~
-Please tell us where you got that character customization!
-She probably just made it herself, so stop spamming;;
“I think asking young children to wink is inconsiderate, since their facial and oculomotor nerves aren’t fully developed and it’s difficult for them to distinguish between the two.”
-Bullshit mode ON
-The self-proclaimed seven-year-old NoName’s facial and oculomotor nerves are underdeveloped
-Even my five-year-old niece can wink!
-NEVER ENGAGE WITH THEM
-Boss, wink properly!
“Next is... Adela, could you come here?”
It wasn’t even a difficult mission, so I should just finish it quickly and prepare to move on to the next stage.
“Eeeh?”
Swoosh swoosh-
“Don’t! I’m not in the mood for that right now!”
Despite saying that, her tail rose high into the air, its tip curling slightly.
“I tend to dislike people who lie.”
“Eeeek-”
While she had her eyes closed and was letting her guard down, I stretched her cheeks out long.
Apparently, some people’s cheeks stretched easily like mochi, and Adela seemed to be one of them.
Arin was like that too, and so was Yuna. Haru’s cheeks had been well cared for, so they were more plump and springy than stretchable.
-Wow... waaah...
-How long did we have to endure for thisㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-Clip it right now!
-I can die without regretsㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-NyangsterCall-sensei... Are you happy there?
-ㄴHe kills him immediately lol
-Adela, you’re the best!
The final missions were a little troublesome. I had to think about the ‘grand jeol,’ which involved standing on one’s head, and the ‘Zero Two,’ which involved raising both arms and swaying one’s hips from side to side.
-Don’t scam us!
-Hurry!
-(Manager 1): Hurry!
-The moment she does the Zero Two, the forum is definitely going to explodeㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-ㄴI’m ready to post about NoName surrendering to capitalismㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-It was already over the moment she accepted the mission
In the end, I had no choice but to lure Adela in, though I felt a little sorry about it.
“Before we go fight, let’s do some simple stretching.”
“Stretching? We cat beastkin are flexible, so we don’t need that.”
“Flexible? You don’t look it.”
“I’m telling you it’s true. You don’t believe me, nya?”
“Then how about trying a handstand?”
“Hmph, that’s way too easy!”
Before she had even finished speaking, Adela performed an acrobatic half-turn in midair and landed on both hands.
As befitted someone who used twin swords, even her slender-looking arms had small muscles bulging from them.
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-You’re making Adela do thisㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-ㅋㅋㅋWhy is she so innocent?
“Why are you surprised already? I can do it with one hand too.”
She spread both legs at ninety degrees and stretched her other hand straight into the air, just as she had said.
“...!”
Fearing that her skirt might fall down, I moved to a position between the camera and Adela.
-Move out of the way!
-Her skirt came down just now, right? It definitely came down, right?
-NoName, even you won’t get a pass for this one
-Kraaahhhhhhh!
Even if she was an NPC, there were lines that had to be respected.
[Walk two steps to the right / Prize: 150,000 won]
[Mission failed!]
-Look at him blackmailing her with moneyㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-The boss is a woman too, so do you really think money will work?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-If money can’t solve it, maybe you should consider that you don’t have enough money
-For real lol
[Main Story: Proceed to the Admissions Administration Headquarters.]
I seemed to have wasted too much time.
I brushed the dirt off Adela’s twin swords, which had fallen limply to the ground, and threw them one after the other toward her left and right hip bones.
“Here.”
“Hyaaaaaaak!”
Adela, who had just gotten both feet under her after the handstand, dodged the swords I threw this way and that.
“Giving me weapons like that is dangerous!”
“But your Zero Two was amazing.”
“What?”
“Isn’t that what people say at times like this?”
I was sure Haru had told me it was a popular phrase among kids these days.
The TikTakbal meme was still difficult to use.