Chapter 4: Chapter 4

A refreshing breeze swept past me.

As I moved, leaping between the trees, the flow of the wind slipped through my clothes. The sound of my black robes fluttering, the coolness pleasantly brushing my skin—this was a sensation other players couldn’t fully enjoy.

That’s because I was likely the only one playing this game at a 70% sensory synchronization rate. So, the omnipotence I felt in this moment was mine alone to savor. I reveled in the freedom, like a bird soaring through the sky.

At the end of that freedom was my first target. This should do it. I soared from a tall tree in the Great Forest, launching myself into the air like a spring. The sky, hidden behind leaves, passed out of view as I gripped my beloved sword and plummeted headfirst.

On the forest floor below, an unsuspecting warrior was fighting off wolves. The last streamer I had killed—Soolbbang.

“Did you say there was a white dot on the minimap earlier? Ugh, seriously, stop already. I swear I’ve heard that thirty times today. I’m sure I banned—”@@novelbin@@

Sshhlick! As my vision flipped, my blade sliced cleanly through his shoulder. It was a perfect lethal strike, but still, it wasn’t quite enough.

With a top-tier player’s stats, he wouldn’t die from this alone. Even though I had an aggressive build, I couldn’t kill a heavily armored warrior with a single blow. So, a second and third strike would be necessary.

I took a deep breath, imprinting the warrior’s state into my mind. The surprise attack had left him with several openings.

Good. His stance was broken, which meant the initiative was mine. I had about two seconds where I could control the situation. First, I had to ensure he couldn’t counterattack—by severing the wrist that held his sword.

Soolbbang cried out in frustration.

“Why… why is it me again?” “Because you were close by. I just came back from killing you and going to sleep. You should’ve stayed farther away.”

It wasn’t a lie. I would have come after him no matter how far he went, but at least my words held some truth.

He wasn’t an idiot, though. His other hand was already reaching for his secondary weapon. Switching my sword to a reverse grip, I thrust the blade into the gap between his armor's joints. A long slash ran from his elbow along the artery.

'Should I target his back next? Or make sure his arm is entirely useless?'

The warrior’s stance shrank defensively. In that case, his back was the better target. With a swift depletion of magic, I shifted positions. Now Soolbbang’s back was wide open in front of me.

I started with a polite greeting, slashing his thigh. Then, both Achilles tendons. After stripping him of his mobility, I severed the tendons in his knees, forcing him to kneel. Just in case, I marked his shoulder with another cut, successfully preventing any last-ditch resistance.

The blade pressed against his neck was a signal—a brief moment to spare him.

This was the part I loved the most. The streamer's posture revealed layers of emotions, and the chat from Soolbbang’s stream, which I had pinned in the corner of my vision, exploded. I held back my excited breath.

– So who’s getting banned now? – G a w o l – 3 seconds, down for the count! – Stream killed because of that guy again; – How does Soolbbang melt like that?

Even with a quick glance, the chat was wild. Some people cursed me, but others clearly enjoyed the spectacle.

A strange heat rose from my chest to my lower abdomen. It was an odd sense of pleasure. In that moment, the rush of dopamine flooded my brain, and it felt like my stalled heart came back to life, my blood surging fast.

“Chat’s lively. You’ve got more karma than I thought. Some channels are just filled with hate for me, but it looks like opinions are split for you.” “So what? If you’re going to kill me, just do it already. You’re unusually chatty today.” “Don’t give up. If your viewers beg me to spare you, maybe I will. You wouldn’t want to disappoint them, right? The stream is important, after all.”

When I killed a streamer, it felt like I was taking over their broadcast. When I killed a pro gamer, it was as if I were destroying their honor, crushing the weight of the title they carried. The things I could never have.

I knew. Better than anyone, I knew this wasn’t a healthy thrill. But what could I do? It was fun.

After all, you guys shine. You live, wrapped in the light I’ll never have. I’ve been cast into hell, just because my left foot is useless. So is it so wrong for me to take your spotlight for a little while? It’s not like I’m really killing anyone. I’m just having fun and moving on.

A sticky, sweet sense of euphoria spread throughout my body. My blood boiled so much that I barely suppressed a moan. This is bad. Lately, it’s been getting harder to hold back.

「FightingKingSpanking has donated 100,000 won」 「Please send our Soolbbang off with a smile, even if it’s on his way out.」 「(Attached video)」

Just in time, a good donation came through. The video showed a man being choked between a woman’s thighs. It seemed pretty niche, with the camera focusing on her legs.

Not exactly my taste, but… alright. I liked it. I figured if I killed him this way, he’d remember it for a long time. Plus, I was in a pretty good mood.

“Well, that’s what the donor asked for. 100,000 won is a lot of money, right? I should fulfill their request.” “Who… the hell is that basta—ugh, ughh!”

“Oh? Am I a natural at this? I think I’m pretty talented.”

I mounted Soolbbang’s shoulders, wrapping my right leg around his neck. Pulling my ankle with my hands, I tightened the hold until I could feel him choking. In reality, he was breathing just fine, but his character turned pale as if truly suffocating.

His desperate attempts to free himself were amusing. He thrashed, trying to break free, his movements exaggerated. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Aha. Aha-ha-hah…” “Ugh, you… bastar… Aghhh!”

The warrior's hands clutched at my thigh, and he tried to flip his body, using the size difference to his advantage. But this was a game. I wasn’t just some fragile girl here. Even with the difference in strength, it wasn’t enough to free him.

His desperate struggle amounted to nothing. It only imprinted his pathetic, ridiculous movements in my mind. Finally, Soolbbang’s body went limp, and a reward-like system message appeared in my vision.

[You have forcibly killed the adventurer, Soolbbang.] [Warning: Due to Field PK, your infamy has increased by 200,000.] [Warning: Your infamy is at maximum. You will be pursued by guards if you enter towns or cities, and may be attacked by other adventurers.]

“Aha… Oh man, that was too funny. So you can die like this too, huh?”

The chat in Soolbbang’s stream exploded. Some viewers laughed at his comical death, while others were now paying more attention to me.

Apparently, they had caught a glimpse of my chest while I was pinning him down. For an ordinary female streamer, it might have been a concerning reaction. But I didn’t care. I wasn’t a streamer, and I still identified more as a man.

What I despise is when people pity me, seeing me as some poor, helpless woman. Just staring at my chest doesn’t bother me at all.

What’s the big deal if they catch a glimpse of some flesh? When I was an athlete, I often walked around shirtless—why should a woman’s breasts be any more special? I’m the same person I was before. Just because my body’s changed doesn’t mean I suddenly see my chest as something valuable.

Maybe it’s only because I keep myself wrapped up all the time that it feels more provocative. If so… tch, I’m thinking all sorts of weird things because I’m in a good mood.

Anyway, I have to admit, this game is well-made. It seems that suffocating someone for a prolonged period really can kill their character. If it hadn’t worked, I was planning to stab him in the head with a dagger.

Thanks to this, I’ve learned something useful. If this kind of tactic works, there’s plenty of other fun things I can try. For the first time in a while, my mind was buzzing with ideas.

Who should I try it on next?

[Post by: Anonymous (324.28)] [Title: Did you guys know you can kill someone with a chokehold?]

Gawol just choked Soolbbang to death. Did anyone know that was possible?

[Comments] – ? – What the heck is this?

[Post by: FightingKingSpanking] [Title: Today’s clip of Soolbbang getting choked to death by Gawol.gif]

(Attached video)

Soolbbang got wrecked by Gawol again today. It looked like Gawol was playing around before the kill, so I donated, asking for a chokehold death, and they actually did it.

But towards the end of the video (timestamp 02:53), I think I heard Gawol laughing. That’s not the default assassin female character voice, right? Was that Gawol’s real voice?

What the hell. I’m so jealous. Goddamn it, Soolbbang, why not me? Do me next! Why won’t they do that to me?

[Comments] – You should’ve donated to Gawol, not Soolbbang, lol. └ How would you even do that? └ I don’t know, either. – That was definitely Gawol’s real voice, right? Sometimes they forget to use a voice changer when they’re excited. └ Yeah, it happened last time with Traveler, too. Seems like when they get hyped, it slips out. └ Isn’t that how everyone found out Gawol was female in the first place? – That grab had a lot of chest showing. Hits differently, huh?

[Post by: LonelyFistFromDongtan] [Title: Just when things quieted down, Gawol starts another rampage.]

I was just hunting and got wiped out. I saw the chaos mark on the minimap, so I was on guard, but I got insta-killed. I could’ve sworn I heard them laughing when I died—did I just get teabagged?

[Comments] – Yeah, you got teabagged. – I just died, too. That voice was kind of hot.