LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 5
Chapter 5 – Rookie, Day 1, Secondhand Streamer (4)
—–CROW—–
“Ah, shit…”
– Lol.
– Shit, lol.
– Is this even possible?
– Can’t even get past Phase 1 right now.
– It’s hilarious how she has to start over because she can’t use the save point, lol.
[‘KingSafeAsset’ donated 1,000 won!]
– 10,000 won if you get past Phase 1 this time.
“Wow, thank you, KingSafeAsset-nim, for the 1,000 won donation. But I don’t think I can clear this mission.”
– ???: I think I’m starting to see the possibilities now.
– Lol.
– You never know.
– It’s already the 16th try, there’s no hope.
[‘FamousLastWords’ donated 1,000 won!]
– (Switch clip)
“I think I’m starting to see the possibilities now.”
“Surprisingly, with the second boss, the lack of magic power isn’t a big deal because of the unparryable attacks.”
“If things go well, I might have fewer tries than the first one?”
“Man, what bullshit!”
It was absurd watching myself spout nonsense when I knew nothing.
The second boss felt much harder than the first.
– Lol.
– Battling herself, lol.
– Now she’s talking to clips.
– When did they even clip that, lol?
– Fewer tries than the first one, lol.
“Sigh… Thank you for the 1,000 won donation.”
I couldn’t see any way to clear this.
At first, I thought I’d save magic power because of the unparryable attacks, even though the patterns were difficult.
But I needed to enhance my movements to dodge, so I ended up needing even *more* magic power.
“I’m just slightly short on magic power, no matter how I think about it.”
– Does she have to do *that*?
– What’s *that*?
– You know, *that*.
– So what is *that*?
– I can’t remember!
“Can I dodge the patterns differently?”
Even after secretly reviewing the footage and calculating, I was just barely short on magic power. If I just had enough for one more use, I thought it would work.
“Hmm…”
[‘IRemembered’ donated 1,000 won!]
– (Switch clip)
“Hey, do you guys know about this?”
“When you use magic, the lost magic power scatters into the atmosphere.”
“If you draw it back in with magic, you can recover magic power.”
“It’s a small amount, but it adds up, making a difference of one attack.”
This video donation seemed like a lecture on how to improve magic efficiency.
Use a magic absorption spell immediately after using magic, right?
– Professor Poka, the pace is too fast.
– When I tried that, it actually decreased my magic power.
– But it might work for WhiteStar-nim.
– Her magic control is pretty decent, so there’s a good chance.
“Oh, thank you! A magic absorption spell… Wait a minute?”
I tried absorbing magic power as a test, and it actually *decreased*. But what if I used it again while the spell was still active?
“Oh, the recovery amount increased!”
However, it seemed my concentration wasn’t good enough yet, as it didn’t increase my magic power beyond what I’d already had.
Still, it was true that the absorption amount increased if I used it right after casting a spell.
“Thank you so much for the clip. I see a possibility.”
– Famous last words.
– Is this another karma moment?
– Now she’s even managing magic efficiency.
– Starting training before even departing, lol.
“Wow, I have to use magic twice as much. This is too hard.”
Every time I used magic, I had to use another spell to absorb magic power, which was essentially like using magic twice as much.
– Most people who can do that are Diamond rank or higher in Eternal War.
– It’s essential from Grand Master rank onwards.
– But it’s hard to master.
– SnowFlower still can’t do it.
– Trash gamer, sigh.
– I told you, I’m a good gamer!
– A trash gamer who’s good at games?
“Pfft, I’m sorry.”
I was reading the chat absentmindedly when I burst out laughing at a viewer teasing SnowFlowerMoonFlower-nim.
– Lol.
– Honestly, that was a bit funny.
– Trash gamer who’s good at games, lol.
– She really *is* a good trash gamer.
I kept practicing magic while glancing at the chat. I could now absorb magic power, but since I had to use twice as much magic, keeping up with the patterns became a problem.
“Ah, wait, ack!”
– ?
– ????
– Why did she die there?
– It’s been a while since she died to the first boss.
– Lol.
“Ah, I missed the timing while practicing magic absorption.”
Still, it definitely felt like I got the hang of it faster by using it in actual combat. I was starting to see the benefits of improved magic efficiency.
“Unfortunately, I failed the ‘get past Phase 1’ mission. But looking at my magic power now, I think I can actually clear Phase 1 once I get used to this.”
Once I got the hang of it, the first boss wasn’t difficult.
However, absorbing magic power against the second boss was a completely different story.
“Whoa, I almost died just now!”
– How did she survive?
– She lived!
– I thought she was dead.
– Look at the Soosus’ personalities, lol.
I barely survived. I’d almost been hit by the attack because my dodge was slightly late.
And this time, I’d reached the same point as before, without absorbing magic power.
Naturally, unlike before, I had enough magic power left for about one more attack.
“Haaaah!”
– Reached Phase 2 on the second boss after 17 tries.
– Lol, wow, a true human victory.
– This is basically the end.
– Even Poka couldn’t clear Phase 2 with this.
I’d cleared Phase 1, but now that I had no magic power left, it seemed impossible to clear Phase 2.
“What’s Phase 2 like here?”
– Stabs herself in the heart and becomes stronger.
– It’s a cutscene, so you can’t cancel it.
– It’s the second boss, but it looks like the final boss.
– Blood Emperor really makes good use of common designs.
I quickly understood what a “cutscene” meant.
My view naturally shifted to third-person, and I was pulled away from the character, observing the situation from afar.
“Is there still one who hasn’t been stained with blood?”
– ?
– Huh??
– Is this a donation? No, it’s not.
– What? There’s no dialogue here.
– ?????
“You must be the young one who arrived recently. You’ve already grown this much.”
“Who are you?”
“My name isn’t important. After all, aren’t all those here those who have lost their names?”
“…”
“I failed. But you might be different.”
“I don’t understand. I only wanted to leave this place.”
“Yes, and that would have been easier if you had killed someone. But you didn’t.”
“Everyone here is a victim. They shouldn’t be killed.”
“You are a righteous person, unlike me. You might be able to carry on our master’s will.”
“This book…?”
“Take it quickly, I don’t have much time. I’m glad I was able to give this to someone before I die.”
[Accept/Decline]
“What is this?”
I could only move again after the choices appeared. It seemed the cutscene was finally over.
– What? Is this a hidden route?
– There’s a hidden route in Blood Emperor?
– No way, lol.
– Wow, this is a hidden route.
– ??????
The chat exploded. Judging by their reactions, it seemed I was the first to discover this route.
If I really was the first to discover this, it was a jackpot.
As a streamer, the impact of something like this was enormous.
“A hidden route?”
– Seems like it.
– I can’t find any information about this route.
– She’s the first to discover it.
– Watching this live.
– Exporting the clip.
[‘SnowFlowerMoonFlower’ donated 50,000 won!]
– Is this for real?
“Thank you, SnowFlowerMoonFlower-nim, for the mission clear donation! I’ll choose ‘Accept.’”
My mind raced as I looked at the chaotic chat, buzzing with excitement over the newly discovered route.
I was always just copying others, just going with the flow, so this situation felt very unfamiliar.
“I’ll trust you. One last piece of advice: Abandon blood.”
[Acquired ‘Nameless Martial Art’.]
[Magic power greatly increased. From now on, you will also gain magic power and materials when subduing enemies.
However, you will lose ‘Nameless Martial Art’ if you kill an enemy.]
– Wow! Martial art!
– You don’t normally get martial arts.
– The second boss was actually a lucky encounter.
– I’m breaking out in a cold sweat right now.
– That’s a disease, go to the hospital.
“What happens to the story now?”
– Normally, you kill everyone and get a warm welcome from the Blood Cult, and that’s the end.
– They call the protagonist “Solitude” there.
– Will the story unfold differently if she leaves now?
– Is this a route where you destroy the Blood Cult instead?
“The ending might be different? Oh, I can save now.”
Although there was no explanation, the save function, which I hadn’t been able to use before, was now activated. Now I didn’t have to start over every time I died.
– It’ll probably be pretty similar from now on.
– Since she’s gotten this far, it should be smooth sailing.
– With more magic power and the ability to save, there’s no difference from the normal route.
– No, she has to clear it with a pacifist run.
– Ah, right, lol.
– She’ll lose the route if she kills anyone, lol.
“I have to maintain the pacifist run until the very end.”
The gameplay after that was quite stable. I still couldn’t kill anyone, but with sufficient magic power, the difficulty dropped significantly.
Moreover, materials started appearing, so I could strengthen my weapons.
“Now I suddenly feel like I’m good at this game.”
– You *are* pretty good.
– Definitely better than SnowFlower-nim.
– Shut up.
– Viewership is steadily increasing.
– Someone must have exported the clip.
“Welcome, everyone. This is WhiteStar.”
– Now she has enough leeway to talk while fighting.
– It’s definitely easier than fighting with trash magic power.
– The patterns are difficult, but she’s overpowering them with magic.
– This is what a good gamer looks like.
That didn’t mean it was completely smooth sailing. Blood Emperor had a lot of patterns that led to sudden, unexpected deaths, and there was nothing I could do if I encountered them for the first time.
– The final boss of final bosses.
– I haven’t felt much excitement until now.
– But the final boss should be pretty difficult.
– Come to think of it, the final boss doesn’t use weapons.
– How do you disarm it?
– Yeah.
“It doesn’t have weapons?”
It was true. The final boss was humanoid, but it was a monster made of half-flesh and half-blood clots.
Even the tentacles, which looked like weapons, just regenerated after being cut, only decreasing its HP.
Until now, all the enemies had been humans wielding weapons, so the conditions for disarming them were easy to understand, but not this time.
“What’s the condition for disarming it?”
After a few tries, I got the hang of the patterns.
However, the problem was that I couldn’t kill it, even after reaching the final phase.
“I could probably clear it by just killing it, but…”
– But then she’ll miss the hidden ending.
– Other streamers are already trying the pacifist run.
– She has to clear it quickly to claim the “first” title.
– But there’s probably some kind of condition.
“Strange… There must be something I’m missing…”
There had to be a strategy intended by the developers. The problem was figuring it out.
[‘DemonKing?’ donated 1,000 won!]
– (Switch clip)
“I’ll trust you. One last piece of advice: Abandon blood.”
“I’m doing this because you guys told me to, but isn’t this a bit much? No, I mean, I’m not complaining, guys!”
“Was that Poka-nim?”
– PokaButterchip, yeah.
– A viewer bet 500,000 won on a no-death hidden route clear.
– No death?!
– But Poka would totally do it.
– This is clearly targeted at her.
– A 500,000 won snipe?
Everyone was talking about the snipe, but I was preoccupied with something else.
“‘Abandon blood’?”
The words of the second boss, which I’d heard again thanks to the clip, bothered me.
“Everyone, look at the weapon upgrade materials. They’re all blood, right?”
– Right?
– That’s why they didn’t drop before getting the martial art.
– After getting the martial art, you extract blood directly from the mobs.
“Wait a minute?”
In Blood Emperor, you strengthened equipment by adding abilities using materials. So, most of the buttons were for enhancing.
But there was one button that was different.
The “Reset” button, which removed all enhancements from the equipment.
“I wondered why it was there at first, but…”
Now I thought I understood why it was there.
“I’ve got it.”
– Really?
– That was random.
– I thought the sound was missing for a moment, lol.
– She was thinking about the strategy.
– So what is it?
I opened the weapon enhancement screen and immediately reset all the enhancements.
The chat went wild at my bold move.
– ??????
– Hey, what are you doing?
– Why did you reset it?
– Lowering her stats?
“This is the key to the strategy I have in mind.”
I said that with a confident voice.
—–CROW—–
#Only READ at DarkstarTranslations