Chapter 19: Chapter 19

As I logged back into the game, a sense of openness washed over me. It was a refreshing breeze, one I could never experience in my cramped room. Just the change of scenery seemed to lift my spirits a little.

That didn’t mean my cramps disappeared, though.

The unpleasant sensation lingered in my lower abdomen. It felt like a heavy stone was pressing down on me, or maybe like I had a hot water bottle weighing on my stomach. On top of that, the overall discomfort persisted, keeping my mood gloomy.

[Message from NorthernBoar]

Hello, I’m the vice-guildmaster of SSA…

I’m sending you the terms for purchasing the Tear of the Black Dragon.

As you’ll see, it’s not a bad offer at all.

Please respond after reading the message.

(Long item list attached)

Oh, right. I had been planning to sell the item. Originally, I was going to tease them a bit before handing it over at a fair price. But now? I don’t know. If I met them now, I might just flip everything over.

…I barely stopped myself from closing the message.

No, this wouldn’t do. Letting my emotions interfere with business wasn’t professional. After a moment of deliberation, I made up my mind.

Meet at the Temple of Discipline by 2:00 sharp.

In all honesty, SSA’s offer wasn’t bad. They were probably giving me the best deal they could muster. Instead of trying to save a few bucks and missing out on the opportunity, it looked like they’d laid down some pretty generous terms.

Unique items like the Tear of the Black Dragon couldn’t just be bought with money.

The tear required an immense amount of effort in quests to obtain. Items like that are typically produced with the goal of self-sufficiency, so opportunities to trade them were rare.

What I would get was enough materials for my next high-end gear and enough currency to cover two weeks’ worth of income. It was a good deal. No need to dip into my savings—maybe I’d even walk away with a little more stashed away.

[You have entered the Temple of Discipline.]

[All forms of PVP are prohibited in the temple.]

[Hostile actions against other adventurers will result in severe penalties.]

As I walked up to the temple, a few SSA guild members were already waiting.

The first person I noticed was DongjakStationAgent, standing next to TorchBearer, who looked like he was in full cowering mode. A few other guild officers were coming over as well—this was my first time seeing them in person.

“So, you acted like you were going to mess around, but you accepted pretty quickly, huh?”

“We both know what’s what. There’s nothing more to squeeze out by bargaining. You can’t milk a dry cow, after all.”

“You could’ve sold it to another guild...”

“Is that what you wanted?”

I said it as a joke, but my tone came out colder than intended. I guess my foul mood was showing more than I realized.

To be honest, I didn’t dislike these guys that much. The SSA guild—short for Social Service Agent—was mostly made up of hardcore gamers, the kind society often looked down on.

Gaming didn’t have the best reputation in the real world. Sure, the industry had grown enough that some people could make a living from it and even earn bragging rights among their families. But there were still parts of society that viewed gamers with disdain.

Especially gamers like the SSA members, who had little else going on outside of games. They were often easy targets, subjected to insults and ridicule for no reason. It annoyed me—enough to really piss me off.

Being passionate about something is a beautiful experience. Whatever remains at the end doesn’t matter if the journey itself was enjoyable. At least, that’s what I believed.

So, as long as I didn’t lose out, it wouldn’t hurt to show a little kindness to these underdogs.

God, maybe it’s my body messing with me. I’m feeling sentimental for no reason. My thoughts weren’t any different than usual, but my emotions were all over the place.

“That’s not… right. Did something happen to you?”

“Nothing happened. Just hurry up with the trade. I’m busy.”

“Got another job? You live a busy life. What are you saving all that money for? With your skills, you could just…”

“Enough. If you still want to joke around and keep working together in the future, drop it.”

“Right, sorry. I was sticking my nose where it didn’t belong.”

[Adventurer OneEyedVillageChief has requested a trade. Y/N]

…

[Do you accept the trade? Y/N]

[Trade complete.]

The Tear of the Black Dragon left my inventory, replaced by a hefty sum of currency and materials. Just looking at the amount made me feel more secure. After storing it in my vault, my mood lightened a little more. The SSA guildmaster, Hukong, bowed his head to me.

“Thank you. We were really worried about how to recover from our losses… You’ve done us a huge favor.”

“Consider it a bribe to a freelancer. Make sure to share some good opportunities if they come up.”

“Yes, I’ll be sure to do that.”

I didn’t accept the deal just to be nice to SSA. The Tear of the Black Dragon was the kind of item you could lose upon death. Holding onto it for too long was dangerous—it wasn’t worth the risk.

I needed someone to take this burden off my hands. Even I couldn’t enjoy field fights while carrying something like that. The more I thought about it, the clearer my decision became.

But now, it was time. Time to deal with this lingering frustration.

[Author: ㅇㅇ (259.28)]

[Title: Hey, don’t you think Gawol’s been quiet lately?]

I haven’t seen her around. What’s she up to?

[Comments]

Saw her on DongmiCham’s stream recently.

└ Is she going after smaller streamers now? I thought she usually targeted bigger names.

└ Don’t know, but Gawol got hit first that time.

Glad she’s not around, honestly.

└ Yeah, it’s annoying when the stream gets interrupted because of her.

└ Same, but I changed my mind after watching KimchiNinja’s video.

[Author: LabReportThief]

[Title: Who said Gawol was being quiet?

]

I was locked in the lab for three days. As soon as I logged in, Gawol killed me in less than two hours.

I’ve got to sleep and go to work tomorrow. Why does she keep targeting me? I died to her last time too.

I hate the world.

[Comments]

LOL

Grad students don’t have time for games. Get back to work.

Look at this lab slave using the internet!

[Author: DongtanMiChamEducation]

[Title: Gawol sighting reports]

I heard Gawol’s active right now. Send reports in-game at DongtanMiChamEducation.

[Comments]

Are you even going to win if you go after her?

Are you bringing a team? She usually switches to her sword class if there are too many people.

└ Nah, I’m going alone.

└ ??? Then why are you going?

[Author: ㅇㅇ (341.223)]

[Title: Gawol’s showing up everywhere I go]

How many people has she killed? She’s taken down SulBbang, Ilruwang, and KimchiNinja, one after the other.

Anyone else get killed?

[Comments]

At this rate, are you a spy or something?

└ Huh?

DongmiCham just died on Eldorin’s stream.

Oh... and now Eldorin’s dead too.

This is it.

[You have forcefully killed Adventurer DongtanMiChamEducation.]

[Warning: Field PK penalty. Notoriety increased by 200,000.]

[Warning: Notoriety at maximum. You will be pursued by guards upon entering large cities and may be attacked by other adventurers.]

This was why I played the game. For moments like this.

[You have forcefully killed Adventurer KimLeaf.]

[Warning: Field PK penalty…]

The rush of blood boiling in my veins, the metallic taste in my breath, deflecting projectiles thrown my way. Every step I took as I sped up felt like an electric current was running across my skin.

I’d already taken out a grappler who charged at me out of nowhere and eliminated the most annoying spirit master. The rest were hardly worth mentioning—they had no fundamentals when it came to PVP.

Now, only the streamer remained. A few fire spells came my way, but I could see them coming a mile away. Without proper protection, a mage is nothing more than prey for an assassin.

Just as I was about to finish off the mage, something caught my eye, and I paused, holding my dagger back. My gaze shifted to the chat on streamer Eldorin’s screen.

Losing the spirit master is going to hurt.

Eldorin’s going to die.

Why doesn’t she just go after pro gamers instead?

Oh no…

This is so frustrating.

「OptimalSupporter has donated 50,000 won」

「Eldorin, you did great hunting today! Get some rest and let’s see you again soon.」

Looks like she’s getting plenty of love. SulBbang’s and KimchiNinja’s viewers were starting to have fun with it, though. Hah, I can’t help but feel a little envious. It makes me jealous.

Eldorin was a female streamer known for her "skill-based" streams—or so she claimed. In reality, most of her content involved chatting with viewers and doing makeup streams. Ranked games and field PVP were just side content.

I normally wouldn’t have bothered with her.

But today, I couldn’t find another target after taking down a few familiar names. The pro gamers weren’t streaming much since it was the preseason. I had been considering logging out early… but the sticky, unpleasant feeling wouldn’t go away.

No, it wasn’t just not going away—it was growing stronger. And seeing someone being showered with affection only made it worse. I couldn’t stand it.

“Haaa…”

I must’ve been in worse shape than I thought. My breathing was heavy and erratic. I felt a bit dizzy. But looking at the defenseless mage sparked a sadistic urge in me.

Time to switch weapons. Killing her with a dagger would be too quick. A chain scythe would be better.@@novelbin@@

I broke through the layers of protective barriers and interrupted her spellcasting. A mage without spells is useless in this game. Naturally, it wasn’t hard to get behind her.

Wrapping the chain around her neck, I pulled her toward me until her body, about the same size as mine, pressed against my chest. I tightened my grip, strangling the mage.

“Mmph… Mmmph?”

It’s fascinating, isn’t it? It’s not like she’s actually in any pain, but when people feel like they’re choking, they panic and try to pull the chain away.

Of course, Eldorin in real life was breathing just fine. But her character’s desperate, flailing limbs were amusing to watch. Her face, visible on stream, was hilarious, too.

The chat was going wild. And me? I wanted something like that too. I wanted to talk about games with people, laugh and argue over silly jokes. I wanted attention and love, just like she was getting.

What made her so different from me that she received so much love? I didn’t know. My mind went blank, and suddenly, I felt good again.

“Haaa… haha... haahaa…”

I wanted to savor this moment alone.

I released the chain around her neck, then grabbed her from behind, snapping her neck.

[You have forcefully killed Adventurer Eldorin.]

[Warning: Field PK penalty. Notoriety increased by 200,000.]

[Warning: Notoriety at maximum. You will be pursued by guards upon entering large cities and may be attacked by other adventurers.]

The sticky sense of satisfaction clung to me for a long time.