Popular NPC in a Gender-Reversed Game – Chapter 3

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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There was a term called “map exploration.”

It referred to the act of traveling through the game world, admiring scenic views, and discovering hidden elements.

Among them, there were those called “map explorers” who didn’t properly enjoy the game and only explored the map, and [Demon’s Saga] was no exception.

In fact, there were even more of them because it was a virtual reality game.

The stunning graphics and vast world were entertaining to simply observe.

Despite the penalty of experience point loss, partial item loss, and temporary ban upon death, numerous players ventured into high-level zones just to see the sights.

The forest next to the Empire, designated as the “Forbidden Forest” in the game, was one of them.

It was a considerably high-level zone, but there were quite a few who enjoyed the thrill of the forest and its monsters.

While map exploring as usual, one user uploaded a post claiming to have found something strange.

And because of that post, the forum was in the midst of a heated discussion on the topic.

[Maybe it’s a hidden NPC?]

This game had a lot of hidden elements

Maybe that was actually an NPC secretly placed there by the developers or something?

Like a native inhabitant of the forest…

[Does that even make sense?? Why would the developers randomly hide an NPC there? I don’t get it]

[L Right? The monster level there must be insanely high, how could a person live there? The paths are so complicated, it looks insanely difficult to survive]

[L This game is super strict about plausibility. To live in a forest like that, there needs to be a good reason. Like, being strong enough to survive in the forest or having some kind of purpose. And from the silhouette, it looked like a man, would a man have any reason to live in a harsh environment like that?]

[L Right? If I were a man, I’d just live in the city, sucking the blood out of women lol]

[L For real lol]

[It’s probably just a glitch or photoshopped]

Whatever it is, the OP sure knows how to grab attention;

[Right lol]

[100% photoshopped, that bastard fabricated it for attention]

[Maybe it’s just a misunderstanding? It’s actually some other object that coincidentally looks like a person in the photo]

[L But it looks too much like a human silhouette?]

[L You’re right…]

[L Actually, it’s a ghost lol The ghost of a man who died in the forest appeared in the photo because of his grudge lol]

[L Gulp]

[L So it was a ghost story all along hahaha]

All kinds of speculations surfaced.

NPC, photoshop, or just a ghost story, and so on.

The mysterious photo taken in the forest was enough to pique people’s curiosity.

The best way to confirm it was to go and see for themselves, but unfortunately, no one had yet reached a high enough level to even attempt the “Forbidden Forest.”

As was often the case with topics on the internet, the issue was half-concluded as either photoshop or a ghost story and quickly began to fade away…

[But how weak is that player to die to a mere boar?]

What’s their level lol

[Maybe around level 15?]

[L 15 lol]

[L What a noob lol]

[L This is why map explorers are trash]

[L They probably lowered the synchronization rate to the bare minimum like the losers they are wwww]

[Hey, do I look like a joke to you, you bastards?]

In the end, only the original poster ended up being roasted.

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I secured the boar.

It didn’t even require much effort.

Against a non-mutated one, all I had to do was charge at it and swing my spear once to finish it off.

“Thanks to this, I can head back soon.”

It was unfortunate that the woman had died, but thanks to her, I had secured food.

All I had to do now was transport the hunted game back to my shelter…

“…Huh?”

It was then, as I was lost in thought.

A sudden change occurred in the woman’s corpse.

A luminous aura gradually brightened from the seemingly lifeless body, slowly dissolving her form.

The light particles that soared into the sky were almost beautiful to behold.

All that remained was a piece of the woman’s clothing, seemingly insignificant.

Of course, I, who witnessed it firsthand, was only bewildered.

“…What was that?”

What the hell was that?

Did people turn into particles of light and ascend to heaven when they died?

No way.

I hadn’t seen many human corpses, but other corpses remained as they were.

So what I just witnessed was clearly an anomaly.

“What was that really…?”

I couldn’t help but stand there dumbfounded for a while.

Two months had already passed since then.

I had salted the boar meat and was finally able to figure out the anomaly from a few months ago.

It was because I had visited the city once during that time.

Perhaps it was information that had spread quite widely, but the trader in the back alley didn’t even charge me for it.

“Look at this guy, still clueless about that? Have you been living under a rock in the depths of the forest?”

“Hahaha…”

“Seriously though, how can you be so behind on information…”

“How much for the information?”

“Forget it. It’s common knowledge now, no point in charging for it.”

“That’s unexpected. I thought you guys would do anything for money in this town.”

“You bought a lot of goods. With that much, I can afford to be generous. Well, if you’re really grateful, how about you offer me your body once? Hahaha…”

In the end, I flipped the information broker off, but that was a minor matter.

Anyway, the information I obtained was quite shocking.

People from another world had appeared.

They came from a different world than ours, their bodies disappeared when they died, and they even resurrected a few days later.

And it wasn’t just a few of them, but thousands, tens of thousands who appeared all at once.

It was such a huge deal that even in this remote countryside, everyone knew about it.

I was the only one who had been oblivious, living in such isolation.

As a result, the world was in chaos, but now that some time had passed, it seemed like everyone had adjusted to some extent.

The swift response from the nations played a significant role, as did the fact that most of the otherworlders were seemingly peaceful individuals.

Of course, the nations still had a mountain of issues to deal with, but that was none of my business.

After hearing the whole story, I slapped my forehead.

‘So that’s what it was, an otherworlder.’

The puzzle pieces finally fit.

No wonder she was so reckless with her life.

It was because she could resurrect.

Resurrection, talk about a broken ability.

“Ah, so I should have used the skill then…”

After finishing the trade and heading back to the forest, I thought to myself.

I think I figured out how to use the ‘Player’s Eye’ I acquired earlier.

It seemed it had to be used when an otherworlder was nearby, not when I was alone.

Because it was seeing through the eyes of a player, not my own.

This raised another question.

What exactly was an otherworlder?

Who were they, and how did they get here?

And where did they come from?

Thinking about it carefully, I was also an otherworlder.

I wasn’t originally from this world, I died and was reborn here.

If they were something similar…

‘Should I try meeting them…?’

A tempting thought crossed my mind for a moment, but I quickly shook my head.

No, I shouldn’t.

It was best to leave curiosity as curiosity.

There was no way I could comfortably meet someone I knew nothing about, someone who was interacting with the nations.

If they found out about the ‘Demon’s Blood’ and turned hostile towards me, things could get messy.

Remember, I was a sinner eternally exiled from society and the shackles binding me were none other than the blood flowing through my veins.

So stop acting up and continue living quietly.

“Sigh… Ah.”

As I exhaled those thoughts, a puff of white escaped my lips.

A testament to the increasingly chilly weather.

It was getting cold.

Winter was approaching.

Demon’s Blood may have enhanced my vitality, but it didn’t make me a superhuman immune to the cold.

“I should start gathering firewood soon…”

And maybe stock up on some more food, just in case.

Organizing the various thoughts swirling in my head, I returned to my cave.

As always, the cave was dark and lonely.

…And another two months passed.

“Greetings! Welcome, everyone!”

Just as one can enjoy playing games, one can also enjoy watching others play.

Especially in a game like Demon’s Saga, with its high degree of freedom, it was possible to create various content by showcasing different playstyles.

Monster strategies, raids, user PvP, NPC interactions, map exploration, and more.

Yoo Chae-rin, a streamer from BBLeLi, was one of those who focused on Demon’s Saga as their main content.

The moment she started her stream, the chat window was flooded with messages.

[Hello hello]

[You seem extra hyped today lol]

[What are we doing on stream today?]

[Please tell me it’s not another hunting grind today? Please tell me it’s not another hunting grind today??]

[Let’s take a break from grinding, streamer. Play with others like other streamers do…]

[Our streamer is too much of an introvert for that~]

“Ah, don’t worry, everyone! I’m not hunting today.”

[Oh]

[Really?]

[Then what are we doing today?]

“Don’t be surprised, everyone. I’ve been leveling up like crazy, you know?”

She said with a bright smile and revealed a skill.

One of the new skills she learned after recently reaching level 66.

[Stealth]

You, who have faced countless opponents, know how to avoid their gaze.

When you cast the skill, your body blends with the surroundings.

[Oh lol]

[Peeping Tom skill lol]

[I heard that skill costs a lot of skill points, did you really hunt all this time just to get that?]

[I knew you were shady, streamer, but I didn’t know it was to this extent..]

[Disappointed.. Chae-rin]

“No! I didn’t learn it for that reason, I learned it for new content!”

Yoo Chae-rin, whose image was being tarnished by the chat, hurriedly started to explain.

“You guys have been asking me to do map exploration content.”

She continued.

“But most places have already been explored by others, right? So I wanted to go somewhere that people can’t easily access.”

“So where are we going today?”

She unfolded a map and pointed to a large, vast forest next to the Empire.

“Today, we’re entering the Forbidden Forest.”

A place never properly explored.

Or rather, a place where most died before even reaching the middle layer.

One of the high-level exclusive maps.

“As deep as we can go.”

Exploring the Forbidden Forest.

That was her main content for today.

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[me plot senses be tingling]