Chapter 17 : The Saint is worried (3)

Back home, I checked my email first.

-Inbox 999+

‘What is this?’

I had cleared my inbox a few days ago.

“…Don’t tell me these are all editor applications.”

-Why aren’t you streaming?

-Could you send me a picture?

-Weren’t you going to stream?

-I’m streamer Flowxxx on Twitch. Would you like to join my stream sometime…?

-What’s your cup size?

-Editor application. I figured you’d be looking for one once you start streaming…

Hmm.

There were a lot of strange and disturbing emails. It was a mountain of garbage.

Sifting through the trash, I found some editors with decent skills.

<< < 1 2 3 4 5 > >>

‘How many pages are there…?’

After checking an entire page, I rubbed my face and clicked the mouse.

The second page was similar.

-My dck is huge, noona. Do you like big dcks?

-Noona, your voice is so pretty. Can we talk on the phone sometime?

-Noona, you’re E-cup, right? Type “O” if you are.

-xxx Casino…

-Editor application! Here are some of my videos…

Just looking at them drained my energy.

I selected all on the second page and clicked “Delete.”

My relief was short-lived.

999+
Unread

Hmm.

I had definitely deleted them.

There were a few serious-looking emails, but to find them, I would have to torture my eyes.

‘It’s like finding a needle in a haystack.’

This was the importance of connections, I guess.

After seeing Seoyeon’s video and passion, nothing else caught my eye.

I liked Seoyeon’s video the most. Of course, there might be good applications in the unread emails. There must be. Probably.

‘Well… I can always hire someone later, whether it’s one or two editors.’

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to check my emails.

Really.

After a quick shower, I lay down on the capsule.

[Welcome!]

As I entered VR, a cheerful chime greeted me.

It was different from before.

A king-sized bed similar to the one at home, a canopy, various houseplants and furniture, and even fluffy stuffed animals.

A luxurious room with a girly touch, and a botanical garden feel.

It was like… the glass garden of the princess in that other world, the one I had visited once, with a bedroom attached.

‘What is this?’

Perhaps it was a way to balance out my rather austere real-life apartment.

Well, when you could conjure anything with a touch, it was inevitable.

I lay on the sofa and picked up a vase from the table.

“Hmm.”

The scent was wonderful, like freshly bloomed flowers.

The only downside was that it cost a fortune.

It seemed I had another reason to start streaming.

[Last Ragnarok]

[Do you want to start the game?]

“Yes.”

The screen went black.

Then, a modern cityscape appeared.

A strikingly advanced city, almost cyberpunk-esque.

However…

KABOOM!

A flash of light, and everything crumbled.

As if by God’s wrath.

It was quite the dramatic presentation.

-Humanity foolishly repeated its conflicts.

Some kind of story began.

Basically, humanity, caught in the cycle of war, faced divine judgment.

Something like that.

“Skip.”

Like a ruined world, the city, littered with debris, rapidly transformed.

Plains.

Desert.

Then, a forest.

It felt like thousands of years were fast-forwarding.

Soon, a city rose again.

A blend of modern and fantasy elements.

An incredibly advanced and beautiful city.

In short, the destroyed world had been revived. Something like that, I guess.

And then, darkness.

“Traveler. Traveler.”

A pleasant female voice called out.

My vision returned.

Sapphire blue eyes, long white hair parted in the middle, a beautiful woman in a black dress.

“Ah. Hmm.”

As if dismissing the repeated calls, she cleared her throat and stepped back.

Then, as if reciting lines from a script, she began.

“Welcome to Eden, Traveler. To you…”

But a “Skippable” indicator appeared.

“Skip.”

“…sh.”

The woman’s words abruptly stopped.

As if her mouth had been forcibly covered.

She puffed out her cheeks and sighed deeply.

“Then, please choose your race.”

Oh.

Following her words, a faint screen appeared. More race options than I expected.

First, the basic Human. My current state. No changes. Exactly my real-world appearance.

Customization was possible, but I decided to leave it.

“For your information, you can’t change the overall balance of your body. Height adjustments are possible, but excessive changes can affect reality. Lengthening your arms or enlarging your chest…”

She paused, glanced at me, then nodded.

“Well, you don’t seem to need that.”

Her voice held a hint of admiration.

The Elves just looked like humans with pointy ears.

The Beastkin had a wide variety.

Cat Beastkin, Fox Beastkin, and others. They just gained ears and a tail.

The Fox Beastkin, in particular, had fluffy ears that looked very soft.

I touched the ears that had sprouted on my head.

A ticklish sensation made me shiver.

She continued her explanation.

“Beastkin generally have higher physical abilities. Among them, the Cat Beastkin are known for their speed…”

Higher physical abilities, huh…

‘Still, Beastkin are a bit…’

In that other world, Beastkin were essentially slaves. That memory made me hesitant.

I didn’t dislike Beastkin, but imagining myself as one…

“But they have weaknesses. For example, if you grab a Fox Beastkin’s tail firmly…”

“Haah?!”

I let out a pathetic moan and collapsed.

I didn’t expect an NPC to do that.

“Oh. You’re quite sensitive.”

A smug grin, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

‘This girl…’

This NPC would probably be quite popular.

I quickly pulled my tail forward and hugged it.

So fluffy.

Still, I’ll pass on Beastkin.

No matter how strong they were, that fatal weakness was a deal breaker.

There were other options like Giants, who were much larger, Dwarves, and other unique races, but…

‘Basic is best.’

I chose Human without hesitation.

“Tch. Human. Missing out on the fluff is a loss for…”
“Skip.”

“Hand…”

What?

What can you do just by staring?

After several skips, the class selection screen appeared.

“Each class comes with basic equipment. It’s not very strong, but it’s indestructible, so…”

Her speech sped up. She must have thought I was going to skip again. As our eyes met, she spoke even faster.

I was tempted to say “Skip” again, just to see her reaction, but I decided to listen.

“So… please… choose.”

She panted, as if she had just run a marathon. It was quite the performance.

She was just like a real person.

This was the quality of a #1 game, I guess.

Unlike some games that just threw you into a campsite without any explanation…

The class selection window appeared.

[Priest]

‘It’s been a while.’

As soon as I selected it, a soft sensation enveloped me.

The traditional priestess outfit, common in fantasy worlds.

“Wow…”

“Why?”
“You really look like a Saint.”

I frowned at her comment, and she circled me, nodding.

“Isn’t a Priest similar to a Saint?”

I said nonchalantly, feeling a pang of familiarity.

“I suppose so.”

I tried Warrior, Archer, Mage, and a few other classes, but nothing felt as right as Priest. Or rather, the outfit.

‘Priest.’

I changed the robe color to black and clicked “Confirm.”

“You chose Priest after all!”
“Yeah.”

She clapped and nodded.

“Then, it’s time for the tutorial. One of the great things about Last Ragnarok is its diverse content and user-friendliness. Even in combat, you can choose between manual and auto…”

“Skip.”
“Mo…”

“Ment.”
“Skip.”

“Only.”

The NPC stumbled.

After countless skips…

It seemed I could skip the weapon selection too.

“Please.”

She reached out, as if trying to grab me.

I stepped back.

“Skip.”

Finally, it was over.

What kind of tutorial was this long?

Even just skipping took a considerable amount of time.

And…

“Gasp… gasp…”

The NPC was lying on the floor, clinging to my leg as if trying to stop me, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

I wondered what was going on, but hearing her increasingly desperate breathing every time I said “Skip,” I had a hunch.

“Let… let me rest…”

Her broken words confirmed my suspicions.

She had seemed strange, her cheeks flushed as if she had a cold, her breath hot.

Imagine a woman like that reaching out to you.

Especially after she had grabbed my tail earlier.

It was all her fault.

‘I don’t think there’s anything else to skip.’

I looked around.

A clear blue sky.

A marble floor gleaming in the sunlight. Flowers and trees filling the air with a forest scent.

‘It’s quite spacious.’

A sky garden, floating in the air.

I walked to the edge of the railing and looked down. A tiny city, surrounded by walls, a typical fantasy city. Beyond it was a vast expanse of green.

Among them, a particularly large tree, a beanstalk, or rather, a World Tree, radiated light. The view from this height was breathtaking.

“Beautiful.”

As I enjoyed the scenery, a voice broke the silence.

“Hehehe… you really… did a number on me… you damn Traveler… How many times… did I tell you to stop…”

She mumbled repeatedly, like a broken doll, giving me a clearer picture of the situation.

Skipping didn’t erase the content.

Explanations remained explanations, tutorials remained tutorials.

She was supposed to demonstrate various actions and skills, like a live tutorial.

‘Really…?’

It seemed to be a very thorough, beginner-friendly system.

The tutorials I knew were just “Shoot this target” or “Swing at this scarecrow.”

So, the woman in front of me had basically fast-forwarded through all those actions.

‘How many times did I skip?’

One skip wasn’t much, but dozens of skips…

It seemed this was the result. An enraged NPC.

“He… hehehe… hehehehe. Traveler. You don’t need assists. Manual mode. Is that right?”

She hung her head and swayed, like a ghost from a horror movie.

“So?”
“Well, if you need ‘assists,’ you can turn them on in the settings.”

She snapped her head up, her hair, once neat, now disheveled.

“Thanks for the explanation.”
“Hehehe. Then go.”

She waved her hand, and a bright sphere of light enveloped me.

I felt a floating sensation and descended, as if passing through the floor.

‘An elevator?’

As I descended, fluffy clouds came into view. I reached out to touch them, but…

The sphere of light disappeared.

“Huh?”

A sudden sense of weightlessness.

“Don’t worry. You won’t die. But even if you do, I’ll revive you.”

With that giggling voice, a cold wind stung my skin.

I was…

Falling rapidly.

F*ck.