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Chapter 57
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“Inquisitor Fera.”
Even if it weren’t for the current SasaFe incident,
She was already one of the renowned users of Akare.
Though it was limited to the gallery, which was treated as an underground community.
Ironically, the gallery was the largest community related to Akare.
And yet, for her to be plastered across not the gallery, but Inventory,
And in the infamous SasaFe section at that?
Discussions about Fera had already been romanticized in the past and turned into memes.
Rice-Coin Saint, Hacker, Crazy B***h, and so on…
These were nicknames created due to Fera’s unconventional behaviour.
And these nicknames culminated into the Aurora Alternate Character Theory.
Was there any decisive evidence? None. But there was plenty of circumstantial evidence.
As the baseless rumours gradually solidified,
More and more people began to believe in the Aurora Alternate Character Theory.
And amidst this, yet another controversy erupted—how could it not trigger dopamine?
Of course, the person involved would probably feel unjustly wronged and furious.
[Suzuka’s stream has started. – Akashic Records, 4 hours ago]
[Suzuka’s stream title: Waiting Room for Fera’s First Stream]
Currently, Suzuka was hunting alongside a large company party.
They were grinding to meet the entry-level requirement for the Twisted World Tree raid.
Almost every day, they spent more than half a day solely hunting.
But today, they had decided to cut the stream short and take a break.
The reason? None other than Fera’s first stream being confirmed.
Though it wasn’t entirely because of Fera’s stream,
Everyone had been grinding too hard since Akare’s release,
And all felt the need for a break.
Coincidentally, since Fera—someone they were friendly with—was doing her first stream,
It gave them a good excuse, and everyone was curious anyway.
Among the large company party, there was someone particularly interested in Fera.
Sweet, whom Fera had taught magic?
Suzuka, who had always kept an eye on her?
Neither.
“Suzuka, did you happen to check on that thing I asked about earlier…?”
“Ah, I forgot.”
“…Really? Well, that’s a shame.”
Suzuka gave an awkward laugh as she looked at Daehyeop Kim, whose disappointment was clear.
For days now, Daehyeop Kim had been asking Suzuka about Fera during their breaks.
Even during their hunts, he would watch “Fera PVP Highlights” and
Had gone so far as to request a PVP match with Suzuka.
This guy is serious.
That was the thought running through Suzuka’s head.
Now that they were like close siblings,
She couldn’t ignore Daehyeop Kim’s sullen reaction.
So Suzuka quickly opened her friend list and sent a whisper to Fera.
She asked if, after the explanation stream, Fera could spare some time to PVP with Daehyeop Kim.
Not long after, Fera replied.
“Oppa, I got permission.”
“Really?”
What is it about PVP that could brighten his voice so quickly?
“If you send a friend request, she’ll accept it.”
“Oh, really? I’ll send it right away.”
While crushing the skull of a Dark Elf Swordsman with one hand,
Daehyeop Kim used the other hand to manage his friend list.
The large company party was currently hunting in a place called “Twisted Whispers.”
Elderheim was divided into the outer region, the inner region, and the central region.
Twisted Whispers was located in the inner region and was primarily populated by Dark Elf-type monsters.
The recommended levels ranged from 70 to 75, making it the highest-level hunting ground in the current game.
“Shall we head out?”
Daehyeop Kim, who had been whispering with Fera, spoke up.
Was everyone exhausted? They responded with simple nods.
Well, everyone except Daehyeop Kim, that is.
In any case, the large company party disbanded,
And Suzuka and Sweet moved to a safe zone to wait.
“Are you planning to host her stream?”
“Yeah. I got her to agree, so I need to take responsibility.”
Hosting: connecting one’s own stream to another streamer’s stream.
Since Suzuka had coaxed Fera into streaming,
She intended to support her by hosting the stream.
Sweet, who had received help from Fera before, also wanted to return the Favor.
For those reasons, the two of them were on the same page.
[Fera11’s stream has started. – Akashic Records, 1 second ago]
The channel they had followed in advance began streaming.
[Suzuka is hosting Fera11’s stream.]
[Sweet is hosting Fera11’s stream.]
The outer region of Elderheim housed a dungeon known as “The Place Steeped in Malice.”
It was a dungeon associated with the Salvation Church.
The Place Steeped in Malice was considered a gatekeeper dungeon.
Blindness, poison, hallucination, burns…
Monsters affiliated with the Salvation Church cast these frustrating debuffs.
Players had no choice but to progress through the dungeon while burdened with multiple debuffs.
Aside from the sheer difficulty, the experience was incredibly exhausting.
Much like the lower-level hunting ground “Echoes of the Restless,” which was widely avoided,
The high difficulty and fatigue made “The Place Steeped in Malice” an unpopular dungeon.
So why am I talking about “The Place Steeped in Malice”?
The reason is simple.
Because I’m currently standing in front of its entrance.
“Haah…”
I let out a deep sigh and gathered my resolve.
My gaze shifted to the “Start Streaming” button.
It was a button I had never pressed before and had vowed never to press in the future.
But now, I closed my eyes and pressed it.
[Fera11’s stream has started. – Akashic Records, 1 second ago]
[Fera11’s stream title: Let Me Explain]
There’s no turning back now…!
[Suzuka is hosting Fera11’s stream.]
[Sweet is hosting Fera11’s stream.]
As if they had been waiting for this moment, Suzuka and Sweet immediately sent hosts.
My eyes instinctively moved to the real-time viewer count displayed on the stream.
[Total viewers: 59,941]
[Verified viewers: 44,555]
Around 60,000 viewers. A significant number.
―――
“We greet the gallery lord.”
“Hi, hi.”
“What is this stream? Why is it #1?”
“Who are you?”
“Nice to meet you.”
“I love you, Aurora.”
―――
The chat window felt… familiar.
I had done live streams as Aurora a few times before.
The situation back then and now wasn’t all that different.
Chats flew up the screen so fast they were hard to track with the naked eye.
Messages were as chaotic as a battlefield five minutes before disaster.
Streaming as the Director felt pretty similar, didn’t it?
It’s not that big of a deal, after all.
Maybe I’m just naturally suited for this kind of thing?
“Hello. I’m Fera, the Inquisitor and the centre of the hottest controversy these days.”
Bow
After giving a short greeting and introduction, I jumped straight to the main point.
“An explanation… Is there even a need for it…?”
Back when I recklessly massacred cultists, things didn’t turn out like this.
Sure, the fact that they worshipped me was a big problem.
But still, they were better than Golden Sun, who went so far as to fabricate a video to target me.
“I’ll just show you the unedited original footage from my perspective.”
I played the raw replay footage I had prepared in advance.
“This Fu**ing Bi**h…”
“You son of a…”
“D** b**h.”
The video included the conversations I had with Golden Sun,
As well as the insults he had edited out before posting his video.
Even this much was enough to clear things up.
Ding
Just then, a distinctive notification sound chimed, signaling a donation.
―――
[User ㅇㅇ has donated 1,000 won.]
- “Is it okay to beat someone to death just because they cursed at you?”
―――
“…”
Were they just too immersed in virtual reality?
Or were they just here to cause trouble?
Whether by coincidence or shared thought,
The chat window filled with messages like “Golden Sun’s here,” “Sun, aren’t you ashamed?” “Troublemakers, get lost,” and “God, these anonymous trolls…”
Ignoring provocations is the only way to deal with this.
I turned off the donation alerts and continued.
“Isn’t this enough explanation?”
Could this even be called an explanation?
It was over so quickly that I began to wonder,
But whatever.
I already knew it would turn out like this.
What really mattered wasn’t this predictable script of an explanation.
I had far grander goals in mind.
The chat window was already flooded with messages like, “So, what are you gonna do now?”
I ignored the questions asking if I was really Aurora and carried on.
“Suzuka told me it’d be lame if I just explained and ended the stream.”
I shifted my gaze from the chat window to the dungeon entrance ahead.
“I thought a lot about what to do… and this seemed like the best option.”
A solo dungeon run in the Cradle of Dark Magic,
The same dungeon that had sparked the hacking accusations against me.
If I could once again show them something “no one else could do,”
I thought it might garner a lot of attention.
And that’s why I decided to solo “The Place Steeped in Malice.”
―――
“No way.”
“For real?”
“Is a solo run of Malice even possible?”
“Even Aurora couldn’t do it.”
“Total bluff.”
―――
Doubters flooded the chat after I announced my plan to solo the dungeon.
Well, it didn’t bother me much.
I was used to skepticism.
Even before I made my name as a hero in another world, during my anonymous days,
And even after achieving numerous feats and becoming a hero,
There were always people who doubted me.
All I ever did was keep proving them wrong.
[You have entered the dungeon: The Place Steeped in Malice.]
“An intruder!”
I was immediately spotted by a Salvation Church believer patrolling the area.
It was one of those inevitable traps, so I didn’t panic and acted right away.
After casting Blessing, I used Radiant Light to blind the enemy.
Then, I leaped forward and swung my mace, taking them out in one blow.
“There they are!”
“How dare you enter here!”
[Salvation Church Cleric, Lv. 65]
[Salvation Church Evangelist, Lv. 66]
The cleric opened their scripture and began chanting a prayer.
Black flames, shadowy mirages, and dark energy.
All these harmful things swarmed toward me.
I quickly used Holy Barrier, but I couldn’t block everything.
[You have been afflicted with the status ailment: Blindness.]
―――
“Can’t see, huh?”
“Debuff hell, activated.”
“Blindness is so OP, damn.”
“Bet you 1 million won if she survives.”
“GG.”
―――
Debuffs.
Typically, debuffs could be removed with a priest’s Purification skill.
Alternatively, one could use Holy Water, a consumable item.
But Holy Water was expensive, and Purification had a long cooldown.
[You have been afflicted with the status ailment: Burns.]
Fighting while blind was a foolish choice.
In this state, I’d only take more hits and accumulate more debuffs.
So, was my only choice to use Holy Water or Purification?
No.
As a priest, I had another method of removing debuffs without either.
I took a ceremonial silver dagger from my pocket.
With it, I made a clean cut straight across my blinded eyes.
Splat—!
Blood spurted out.
And at the same time, the Blindness debuff disappeared.
Like how setting-controlled fires can stop a wildfire,
By destroying the part of the body affected by the debuff,
The debuff ceases to take effect.
This is what you’d call a “backfire strategy.”
Use fire to fight fire.
Destroy the body to counter debuffs.
“It doesn’t hurt.”
Of course, with Pain Resistance active, I only felt a dull ache.
My HP was likely below half due to the self-inflicted damage.
For any other class, it would’ve been a critical injury requiring priest support.
But I was an Inquisitor, part of the priest class line.
Heal
With my accumulated Realization Points, I had leveled my Heal to 3.
It was the highest level available in the current system.
Thanks to the effect of Level 3 Heal, my eyes regenerated quickly,
And I immediately used Divine Punishment to deal with the monsters ahead.
Without hesitation, I then sliced off the burned area of my arm with the ceremonial dagger.
Slice—!
Splat—!
Flesh and blood splattered everywhere.
It looked gruesome, but it didn’t bother me.
As before, I used Heal on the injured area,
Quickly regenerating my arm and moving it around to confirm its condition.
“Alright, no issues.”
Satisfied, I calmly stated:
“This is how you deal with debuffs.”
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