Popular NPC in a Gender-Reversed Game

"What the hell?"

That was Chae-rin's immediate thought after hearing Yor's question. Did she hear him correctly?

To ask about something like "relationships" so suddenly... What exactly did he mean by "relationship"?

The word "relationship" could mean so many different things. Maybe he was asking about making friends, or maybe he was asking more broadly about how people bond with each other.

It wasn’t easy for otherworlders and NPCs to form friendships in this world, after all.

Her rotting brain was just hoping he wasn’t asking about that kind of relationship. The chances of that seemed slim.

To clarify, Chae-rin asked him again.

"W-what exactly do you mean by 'relationship'...?"

"Oh, sorry, did I put it too vaguely? I mean, of course, se—"

"Stop! Stop right there!!!"

Of course, Chae-rin's guess was accurate, but she cut him off before he could finish.

If he said that out loud on her stream, which was intended for all ages, she’d definitely get banned.

But the first word had already slipped out, and the chat was already descending into chaos.

["Ah... that?"] ["Our boy's got some curiosity in that department, huh? lol"] ["If you're curious, I could show you personally... hehe"] ["I'll teach you 'sex'."] ["Kicked by the manager."] ["This just got wild, haha."]

Chae-rin was flustered.

Honestly, it was such a random question. Completely out of context. They had been chatting casually, and now the topic had veered into this?

She wanted to know what had prompted this question in the first place.

"But why are you suddenly asking about that?"

"You know... the incident from before."

"The incident" referred to when a malicious player had tried to assault Yor in the forest. It was an uncomfortable topic for both of them, so they usually referred to it obliquely.

Anyway, according to Yor, it had only now struck him as odd. That player had been an otherworlder, and he was a human from this world. How was that even possible?

From Yor's perspective, this world was just a game for the otherworlders, a game that was suitable for all ages. But "relationships"? Could that even happen in a game?

It was a reasonable question for Yor to have. In his previous life, as a modern person, he was familiar with the limitations of video games.

But for Chae-rin, the answer was too obvious. Of course, it was possible... because the game had a 19+ mode.

‘...Ah!’

Chae-rin suddenly realized something.

She’d never explained the existence of the "19+ mode" to Yor!

Even though she was his main source of information, there was no need to go into such... delicate details. Plus, they were of the opposite gender, and she had absolutely zero experience with relationships herself.

So, it wasn’t a topic she wanted to bring up. As his informant, sure, but still...

But now that he had asked so directly, there was no avoiding it.

Chae-rin, blushing furiously, had no choice but to explain.

"Um... well, there's actually a system called the '19+ mode'..."

Her face flushed even more as she continued. The more she explained, the hotter her face felt.

["Feels like she's explaining this to a kid."] ["Oh, so he really didn’t know, haha."] ["Her face is about to explode..."] ["Does that explanation even make sense?"] ["Lol, practice is better than theory, right? I'll go teach him myself."] ["Kicked by the manager."]

Meanwhile, the viewers were having a field day. For them, this was pure entertainment, like a dopamine hit they couldn’t get enough of.

Even with the manager working hard to moderate the chat, a few crude comments still slipped through.

"Anyway, there’s not much difference when it comes to... relationships with people here."

After finishing her explanation, Yor clapped his hands together as if he’d finally understood. Then, he said:

"Ah, so otherworlders can have sex here without any restrictions, huh?"

"Don’t say it so openly!"

Chae-rin let out a deep sigh. Yor continued to marvel at the idea, saying, “Wow, your world sure is convenient,” but she chose to ignore him. For now, she just needed to calm her burning face.

What kind of man

Flustered, Chae-rin decided to quickly change the subject.

"Alright, let’s stop this and get going!"

The real reason she had teamed up with Yor today was to prepare for a special stream.

It had been over nine months since the game [Demons Saga] launched.

Over that time, she had been grinding without a break, and her level had now surpassed 80. Of course, with everyone’s levels rising, level 80 wasn’t exactly top-tier anymore, but it was still quite high.

So today, to celebrate reaching level 80, she planned to take down a monster in the "Forbidden Forest." Specifically, she was seeking revenge against a mutated wolf that had killed her a few months ago.

"Make sure you’re watching closely, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it."

Yor’s job today was to act as her bodyguard.

As with most action games, [Demons Saga] required a decent level of skill.

Actually, the difference in skill between players was more extreme than in most games.

Since it was a VR game, you had to move your body and fight monsters yourself. The game demanded courage, quick reactions, and physical coordination.

And if you were skilled enough, you could take down opponents several levels higher than yourself. Of course, the opposite was also true.

This was why Chae-rin had prepared today’s content. Strictly speaking, she wasn’t at the right level to take on the forest’s monsters. The owlbear she had encountered before, and most of the creatures in the deeper areas, started at level 80 at the minimum.

But that didn’t mean she was going to avoid them. As long as her control was good, she could take down even stronger monsters.

Plus, taking down higher-level monsters gave far more experience than farming lower-level ones.

The only problem was that this strategy came with a high risk of death...

'Well, that’s why I asked Yor to help.’

All it had cost to secure his protection was three loaves of bread from the city. A ridiculously cheap price considering his skills. She still didn’t understand why he was so obsessed with those pastries, but whatever.

It worked out in her favor, so she didn’t question it.

And so, Chae-rin started her stream once again, far from Yor’s cave.

[Yo!] [I've gotten used to waiting...] [I hate the darkness, I hate the darkness.]@@novelbin@@

As soon as the stream went live, viewers started flooding in. The room filled up quickly, as they’d all been waiting in the lobby.

Once she saw that enough viewers had joined, Chae-rin set out to find a monster, carefully respecting the territories of nearby creatures. She was looking for something only a level or two higher than herself.

She wasn’t after a beast like the owlbear, after all.

After walking for quite some time, she finally encountered a monster.

It was the very mutated wolf she had been seeking revenge against.

Except... its level was a bit more than she had hoped for.

“Grrr...”

[Mutated Wolf Lv. 91]

Level 91. A full nine levels higher than the one she had fought last time.

“Huh?”

She tilted her head in confusion. Sure, monster levels varied, but this much? And this one looked about one and a half times larger than the one from before.

The wolf bared its teeth at her, clearly considering her as prey. The memory of her previous encounter flashed through her mind, and her face went pale.

“Oh, this isn’t going to work.”

Just then, Yor, who had been snacking on bread behind her, stepped forward.

Seeing the wolf, he quickly assessed that it wasn’t at the right level for Chae-rin.

He grabbed his spear and hurled it at the creature.

A clean and powerful throw.

Thwack!

The spear pierced the wolf's forehead. The massive beast, once so ferocious, collapsed in less than ten seconds.

“Wow... seriously?”

Chae-rin was dumbfounded.

Sure, she knew Yor was strong, but to take down a monster that had killed her countless times with such ease? She felt a bit hollow inside, as though her pride as a “woman” had taken a hit.

How long would it take for her to become that strong?

As she stood there in a daze, Yor spoke up again.

"Let’s go. We need to find something more suitable."

"Y-yeah..."

She nodded. She hadn’t even started hunting yet, but she already felt a bit deflated.