Popular NPC in a Gender-Reversed Game

Chapter 75

It had been 17 months since the otherworlders appeared.

Naturally, during that time, their levels had steadily increased.

Although the growth rate had slowed down, they were still making progress.

However, the rank of number one was not firmly established; as their growth slowed, it often changed hands.

Thus, there was no clear number one ranking, only a pack of wolves vying for that position... or so I heard from the heavens.

Yet in their homeland, Korea, there was indeed a clear number one ranked player. Furthermore, they possessed the potential to claim the world’s number one spot as a valuable talent.

That person was none other than Shin Hanbyeol. She was so famous that even I, stuck in the forest, knew about her.

'Is it really her?'

And the person standing in front of me now seemed to be that Shin Hanbyeol.

After all, in the chat visible through my ‘Player’s Eye,’ she was being referred to as Hanbyeol.

Of course, it could be a coincidence of names, but I thought the probability was low.

The fact that she had come this far alone suggested she had some confidence in her abilities.

And that thought quickly solidified into certainty.

She charged at me.

Bam!

They say a master’s footwork is different. The speed at which she rushed at me was quite impressive.@@@@

Her balance was solid, and her sword stance was decent.

No, in truth, those were just secondary points. What truly surprised me was the blue aura shimmering on her sword.

In other words, it was a sword energy. She was the first among the otherworlders to draw forth such energy.

‘Oh?’

Because of that, my eyes naturally widened with interest. I was curious about her skill level.

Soon, her sword lunged toward me. I also infused my weapon with sword energy and parried her strike.

Clang-!

A clear sound resonated. I assessed in my mind.

‘The power is mediocre.’

Even considering the level difference, it was neither strong nor weak; it was an ordinary strike.

However, her attack didn’t stop there.

She quickly withdrew her scythe and aimed for my side with the sword in her opposite hand.

It was a fluid, natural follow-up attack.

Of course, I dodged again. It seemed her consecutive strikes could go on endlessly if left unchecked.

But she wasn’t just swinging wildly.

She continued her attacks with rotational momentum, always ready to retreat.

Her stance showed evidence of training, making her quite threatening.

As her long purple hair flowed in the air while she wielded two scythes, she looked almost like a dancer.

In fact, she was wearing tights-like clothing that accentuated her curves.

‘Hmm...’

I cleared my throat internally and thrust my spear toward her.

I had observed long enough. I couldn’t allow her to keep attacking indefinitely.

And to be honest, I felt it was about time I made a strike.

Thud-!

As my spear surged forward, sensing the threat, she quickly pulled back.

Her evasion wasn’t ordinary either.

She executed a backflip, distancing herself from me.

I had never seen someone do a backflip right in front of me like that.

I couldn’t help but chuckle as I continued to evaluate her.

'Her technique is top-notch.'

She certainly felt different from the otherworlders I had faced so far.

I wondered who she had trained with; her balance was exceptional, even in an unstable stance.

Honestly, her swordsmanship was on a level better than my five million gold bounty’s ordinary thugs.

But then again, I had never learned anything.

I turned my head briefly to check her chatroom.

[Wow, how did she dodge all that?] [What the hell, was that a backflip?] [Waaah! Unnie, you’re so cool!]

[Romantic Search donated 50,000 won!]

She really is a regular on the mad movie streams, huh?

[Nam Misae donated 30,000 won!]

Hanbyeol, you’re amazing! You’ve got enough content for today’s YouTube video. Can’t you just leave now? You already have plenty of money, why do you want to kill Yor?

It seemed like quite a commotion in the chatroom, indicating that such scenes weren’t very common.

I noticed several donations appearing as well.

But in the chat, I felt a sticky desire rising.

Faced with a response so different from my expectations, I had no choice but to withdraw my hand quickly.

Fortunately, the person in question seemed to understand my intentions perfectly.

She glared at me, growling in anger.

“Ha, you bastard...”

She spoke with a twisted smile, her face radiating malice.

“Ha, go ahead and hit me all you want. With the assimilation rate, it hardly hurts at all. In fact, it’d be quicker for me to die than to open my mouth.”

I furrowed my brow slightly. While I was grateful that she understood my intentions, her reaction wasn’t what I wanted.

I had thought that after a bit of interrogation, she would open up even just to avoid more pain.

Yet her eyes remained filled with defiance. Perhaps her pride was too strong; she looked as if she would rather die than divulge any information.

I clicked my tongue.

“... Tch.”

That wasn’t a good response.

What should I do?

For the otherworlders, I could easily kill them without hesitation, but this one was a bit different.

I needed at least the holy water she possessed.

And if possible, I wanted to learn how she managed to acquire holy water in this drought period.

But given her current level of cooperation, it was quite challenging...

‘Should I stab her a bit?’

As that thought crossed my mind, I quickly shook my head.

No, what if she ended up bleeding out and dying?

After all, with the 15% assimilation rate, she would probably only feel a burn, but that might be enough to kill her.

So what to do...

‘Ah ha.’

Just then, a decent idea struck me.

If she wasn’t going to cooperate during interrogation, I could simply confine her.

Fortunately, it was possible to bind an otherworlder.

Even if she logged out and her body disappeared, the bindings would remain intact.

In the past, I had avoided keeping someone in my home for fear of being discovered, but if it meant obtaining holy water, that would change.

With that in mind, I quickly set about tying her up.

I retrieved rope and stakes from the storage and drove the stakes into the ground.

Then, I tied her up with the rope, securing her to the stake.

‘She has quite a decent bust...’

While there was some body contact as I restrained her, I managed to bind her well.

With her hands and feet bound tightly, she certainly wouldn’t be able to free herself.

As I finished tying her up in her tights-like outfit, it created quite a lewd sight, but that was ultimately a secondary concern.

Thud! Thud!

“Gah! Let me go! Let me go...!!!”

Naturally, she thrashed about. While dying was one thing, being confined must have caught her off guard, as her resistance was incredibly fierce.

Seeing her struggling against the stake made me think of something.

“Hmm...”

Now that I think about it...

I had once wanted a pet back in the day.

That desire had been with me since my previous life.

While I wasn’t particularly fond of animals, I needed something to alleviate my loneliness in my solitary life.

But I couldn’t afford to keep one in my previous life due to financial constraints, and all the beasts in this forest were untrainable.

As a result, I could only let that desire remain just a desire.

However, now that I had brought someone into my home, perhaps I could consider this a dream come true?

Sure, she looked a bit fierce, but that was something I could manage with a little gentle training.

Indeed, the world is full of surprises.

So I approached her cautiously, as if I were approaching a ferocious dog.

I gently patted her head, making sure not to get bitten.

Her soft hair felt almost like fur.

I smiled warmly at her and said,

“From now on, your name is Happy.”

And so, I had acquired a pet.