Popular NPC in a Gender-Reversed Game – Chapter 20

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Wow, this is totally doable!”

A few hours after defeating the Mutated Roe Deer, Kim Mari’s party was continuing their adventure smoothly.

It wasn’t just because their party was well-balanced, the monsters they encountered weren’t that strong.

Even though they were mutated due to magic, most of the creatures blocking their path were weak herbivores like squirrels and rabbits.

And they didn’t even appear in hordes.

As if the monsters were avoiding this area, there was a scarcity of life.

Only the occasional swift and foolish herbivore could be seen.

Even ferocious beasts respected each other’s territories.

This was someone else’s domain.

Of course, Kim Mari’s party, oblivious to this fact, was busy praising themselves for how easy it was.

“Are we really going to reach the entrance to the deep layer at this rate?”

“This is easier than I expected…?”

“No, we don’t know yet. All we’ve encountered are herbivores. We can’t let our guard down, we don’t know what might appear next.”

Only the level-headed Mage cautioned the party.

But even the Mage was slightly excited.

As the party members said, the conquest was going smoothly.

Even the viewers watching the stream were enjoying the high-level combat.

However, their confidence was shattered when they encountered a new monster.

“Koo-hoo… koo-hoo…”

A massive monster appeared before them.

A creature with the head of an owl and the body of a bear.

Its forelegs were covered in sharp feathers, as sharp as blades.

It was a large monster called an Owlbear.

It looked dangerous at first glance.

Kim Mari immediately checked its level.

“…Oh, shit.”

She cursed.

It was a level they couldn’t handle, no matter what they did.

It was a monster that was over 10 levels higher than even the current world’s number one player.

A creature they might not even be able to defeat in a raid had suddenly appeared.

Losing her fighting spirit, she immediately ordered her party to retreat.

“Retreat!!”

Normally, they might have been able to escape.

Owlbears were relatively docile among monsters.

But unfortunately for them, they had already entered the Owlbear’s territory.

It showed no mercy to those who trespassed.

‘Hoo-koo!’

The enraged Owlbear charged towards Kim Mari’s party.

Despite its massive size, it was incredibly fast.

They might actually get caught.

Kim Mari cursed under her breath and gave her party orders.

‘Damn it! This is bad! We’ll inflict a wound on one of its legs and then run!’

Even that creature couldn’t continue pursuing them with an injured leg.

With that thought, Kim Mari gripped her axe tightly.

Her party members also stared at the Owlbear with determined expressions.

One leg.

They just had to injure one of its legs!

“Hoo-koo!”

The enraged Owlbear attacked.

Its forelegs, armed with sharp feathers, swung horizontally towards the frontline.

Kim Mari gritted her teeth and took a defensive stance.

However,

‘Ugh!’

Its strength was overwhelming.

She was sent flying by the sheer force of the blow.

Even though she blocked the attack, one of her arms was severely injured.

How could she be knocked back so easily, even though she was a Tank?

How monstrously strong was this creature?

What was even more terrifying was that the attack didn’t end there.

‘M-Mari!’

In that brief moment while she was incapacitated, the Owlbear continued its assault.

This time, its target was the agile Archer.

Taking advantage of the moment they were distracted by Mari, the Owlbear charged at the Archer.

Thud-!

That was the end.

The Archer, sent flying, crashed into a tree and died instantly.

It wasn’t an attack a frail Archer could withstand.

By then, the Mage’s spell was ready.

‘Saxum funda!’

Also known as Stone Bullet.

A spell that created a stone projectile and launched it at the target.

It was a hastily conjured spell, but it was still a powerful attack infused with mana.

However,

Crack!

The Owlbear wasn’t even scratched.

The spell hit its leg, but the stone projectile shattered and vanished.

The attack, infused with compressed mana, only served to enrage the creature further.

‘This can’t be…’

The Mage muttered in disbelief and those were her last words.

‘Hoo-koo!!!’

The enraged Owlbear lunged and bit into her body with its beak.

The Mage also turned into particles of light and vanished.

All that remained on the ground was her hat.

‘This is crazy…’

Kim Mari cursed as she witnessed the scene.

Half of her carefully assembled party had been wiped out in an instant.

The male Priest, who had been healing Mari, trembled and muttered,

‘N-No, we have to run…’

He was terrified.

Since it was a game that aimed for realism, the scene was incredibly gruesome.

Of course, dying just meant feeling a bit of pain, but there was still a psychological fear that came from the visuals.

‘Ugh…!’

Gritting her teeth, Kim Mari grabbed the Priest’s hand and started running.

She didn’t know if they could escape.

They probably couldn’t.

But they ran with all their might.

They didn’t want to die.

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I’m quite fond of meat.

But a person can’t live on meat alone, 365 days a year.

No matter how delicious and protein-rich it was, the fattiness could get overwhelming.

So sometimes, I craved something other than meat.

Today was one of those days.

For some reason, I craved vegetables.

So, for the first time in a while, I was gathering plants instead of hunting.

I diligently picked fruits and vegetables and stuffed them into the pouch at my waist.

I was planning to eat the fruits for dinner, and the vegetables would be a side dish for later.

Vegetables weren’t exactly appetizing on their own.

The path of a vegan was long and arduous.

‘Haa, this is peaceful.’

I wished it could always be like this.

Just as I finished gathering enough plants…

I suddenly heard screams coming from ahead.

‘Aaargh! Aaaargh!’

‘Help!’

The screams were getting closer.

‘What is that?’

I tilted my head and looked towards the source of the sound.

A man and a woman were running towards me.

Judging by their expressions, they were terrified, as if something was chasing them.

I looked behind them, and sure enough…

My next-door neighbor, Mr. Owlbear, was chasing them.

He seemed furious, his face contorted in a scowl.

It seemed they had trespassed on his territory.

As I assessed the situation, they noticed me.

‘Huh?’

They stopped running and stared at me with bewildered expressions.

And that was not a good reaction.

‘Ouch!’

The man, who looked like a Priest, tripped and fell while they were distracted.

He must have missed the tree root because of the forest’s complex terrain.

The Owlbear took advantage of the opening and closed in.

I activated ‘Player’s Eye’ before I could even think.

[Oh, it’s Yor lol]

[Damn, look at his outfit ㅗㅜㅑ]

[Wow, hello, I’m your fan]

[Now’s not the time to be fawning over Yor! We have to run!!!]

[Kyaaaak! Run away!]

As I expected, they were otherworlders.

And they were streamers.

Time continued to tick by as I processed the situation.

‘Hoo-koo!!’

My next-door neighbor lunged, swinging its foreleg.

The frail Priest was torn in half, turning into particles of light.

‘N-No! Jae-hoon!’

The woman screamed in despair.

Judging by the chat, her name seemed to be Kim Mari.

It was a name that reminded me of fried food from a snack bar.

It was a tragic scene, but our friendly neighbor, Mr. Owlbear, didn’t miss a beat.

He took advantage of the moment Kim Mari screamed and swung his sharp foreleg.

‘Ugh!’

Thud!

She was sent flying, coughing up blood.

She didn’t die, but she was severely injured.

Blood gushed from the wounds inflicted by his feathers, and she couldn’t move properly, probably because some bones were broken.

With the Priest gone, she would bleed to death if left alone.

Perhaps knowing that she was done for, she shouted at me,

‘Run! He’s a monster!’

I slapped my forehead and looked at the enraged Owlbear.

‘Mr. Owlbear, why are you so angry?’

Honestly, I felt a certain kinship with the Owlbear.

He was docile as long as you didn’t cross his territory, and he even served as a guardian, protecting my home.

He often took care of intruders before they reached my cave.

I was grateful for that, so I even threw Goblin corpses into his territory for him to eat.

Definitely not because I was lazy and wanted to get rid of the bodies.

Really.

So I didn’t want to fight him.

But a raging monster wouldn’t listen to reason.

He didn’t even recognize his neighbor and swung his claws at me.

Swoosh-!

A sharp sound cut through the air.

I dodged his attack and frowned.

‘Haa… should I just run?’

She was an otherworlder who could resurrect, so it wasn’t my problem if she died.

I hadn’t entered his territory, so running away until he calmed down was also an option.

And I was actually going to do that.

But the direction of his rampage was the problem.

If he continued on his current path, he would reach the area where I had hung my laundry.

“Gasp!”

I couldn’t help but panic.

Not my laundry!

I had vowed to die if my laundry didn’t dry today!

So, I had no choice but to block his path.

If our opinions were parallel lines, then it couldn’t be helped.

One of us had to bleed.

“Mr. Owlbear, this is a sad situation…”

I unsheathed the spear strapped to my back.

The familiar grip felt comforting.

I didn’t initiate the attack.

He was so enraged that he would attack first anyway.

“Koo-hoo!”

As expected, the Owlbear swung its forelegs again.

I could block it, but I could see the trajectory of the attack.

There was no need to waste energy blocking it.

So I easily dodged his attack.

He had used his turn, so now it was mine.

I seamlessly transitioned to offense and thrust my spear towards his foreleg.

Whoosh-!

“Hoo-hoo-hoo!”

A few of his steel-like feathers were cut, and blood seeped out.

I heard Kim Mari’s astonished voice in the distance.

“Wow…”

But I only frowned.

‘Ah, shit.’

The wound wasn’t deep enough.

He was an Owlbear after all.

His skin was incredibly tough, in addition to his strength.

It didn’t help that I was barehanded.

If I had enchanted my spear with blood, I could have ripped his arm off.

‘But I can’t use my blood in front of her…’

I glanced at Kim Mari and thought.

She would definitely find it suspicious if I manipulated my blood.

Especially since information about “Demon’s Blood” had just been revealed among the otherworlders.

I couldn’t use it openly in front of them.

‘Well, it can’t be helped.’

I quickly gave up.

It was more difficult to use, and slightly less efficient, but…

I had another trick up my sleeve.

Everything in the world contained mana.

Whether the amount was large or small, everything was born with the potential to be great.

And some of them honed their abilities and learned to control their own mana.

To enhance their bodies, compress mana, transform it into magic…

And I had survived in this place for over 10 years.

I had fought countless battles, danced with death dozens of times.

After going through all that, I had to be able to control mana.

Why?

Because I would have died otherwise.

Woooong-

I channeled mana into the tip of my spear.

I circulated mana through my body, invigorating it.

A bluish aura enveloped the spear.

I took a thrusting stance.

Crackle, crackle.

My muscles contracted, gathering power.

If I thrust now, my spear would shoot forward like a spring.

“Hoo-kook!”

Perhaps sensing the danger, the Owlbear took a defensive stance.

Its steel-like forelegs crossed, forming an X.

I could sense its determination to block any attack.

But it was useless.

If it wanted to block, it should have done so before I prepared my attack.

This was the consequence of its failure.

I gathered enough power and thrust the spear forward.

That was all it took.

Bang-!

The steel-like feathers scattered into the air, along with drops of blood.

A powerful shockwave emanated from the Owlbear’s body, spreading in all directions.

All that remained was the Owlbear’s corpse, with a large hole in its head and forelegs.

“!!”

Kim Mari’s voice was filled with shock.

I ignored her and silently mourned for him.

‘Rest in peace… my next-door neighbor.’

I even shed a single tear in my heart.

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[Nooooo neighbor died… cant lose the laundry tho so oh well ig]