Chapter 5: PK?

At the harmonious dinner table, the family sat around a warm meal and continued eating.

However, there was a lonely chair and cold, leftover rice in one remaining spot.

“What is your Older Brother doing?”

“Still gaming.”

“What is a grown adult still doing playing games? Tell them to come eat.”

I agree.

“They said I need to bring it because they have to do a raid?”

“Oh dear, I can’t stand it. You say something!”

Mrs. Kim pounded her chest and complained to Mr. Lee next to her.

“Can’t we just leave him be? He just got home after a long time, he can play games for a bit.”

“No, he keeps playing games! He need to meet people!”

“Die, I said die!”

“…….”

Lee Haim looked at her older brother with a pathetic expression.

She wanted to say something too, but she owed them a debt for saving her life, so she held back.

She placed a food tray on the computer desk.

“Here’s rice and side dishes. Eat quickly.”

“Okay.”

Even though she said this, Older Brother continued gaming.

‘What should I do?’

“Why don’t you stop now? Mom is about to get angry.”

“Just a moment, just a moment! Alright! PK successful!”

I stretched with a pleased expression and shouted.

It’s finally over!

Persistent bi*ch.

I ate the rice next to me.

When playing games, stamina is important, so I had to eat.

“Hey, what did you say?”

At those words, Lee Haim’s fists clenched, but she once again displayed great patience and held back.

“I said Mom is about to get angry, why don’t you earn some money?”

“Money? Can’t I just do stocks?”

“Do it if you want to die.”

“Knowing Mom hates stocks.”

Is that so?

To be honest, I’m confident I could do well, but I shouldn’t lose my lifeline, so it seems better to give up on stocks.

“Don’t you get money from the association every month anyway?”

“Is that always the case?”

“It only comes in for one year.”

I didn’t know this.

To only give it for a year, they were really stingy.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’

“I am earning money?”

“Huh? How, without even going outside?”

I quickly turned on my smartphone and showed her the money that was transferred today.

“What? It’s real?”

“How did you earn it?”

“It’s simple, by farming gold.”

Smack!

Lee Haim hit my back.

No, is that something you do to your older brother who saved your life?!

“Mom means you should meet people!”

“I am meeting people!”

I pointed at the monitor screen with my finger.

Then Haim hit my back even harder.

“Agh, really asking for a beating!”

***

After Mom, Dad, and Haim left, I was the only one left in the house.

As usual, I enjoyed PK. (TN: PK means Player killing or basically PvP matches)

[fck, it’s this bi*ch again!!!]

[Go drink your mom’s milk and come back lololol]

[I died to that guy too lol]

Yes, this is the feeling.

Everyone is being slaughtered by my magic.

How much I missed this exhilaration!

[What is this bich really?]

[No, how did they know when I’m hidden?]

[Even when I try to find them, they’re always invisible]

Last Magic boasted high freedom, so PK was allowed everywhere except for the town square.

And if you were killed in PK, you would randomly drop one item from your inventory.

“I can already see through your actions with my fortune-telling!”

I checked the small marble next to me.

The location of the users I was going to hunt was visible in the marble.

“Kikiki, no matter how much you run away, you’re in the palm of my hand!”

I never knew the marble I used to play with my younger sister when I was little would be this useful.

“Better performance than a Yeouiju!”

Following the guidance of the marble, I slaughtered players mercilessly and ran away from the guys who were desperate to find me.

“You guys deserve it!

It’s easy because you’re a Tier 1 class, right?

Uh, it’s so inconvenient it’s killing me because of the casting speed!”

These guys don’t know.

The life of an outcast damage dealer.

They don’t know the life where 30% of the money earned always goes towards potions.

They don’t know the life where you only get refused even when sending party join requests.

This time, I killed a warrior famous as a Tier 1 class, specifically a Paladin.

Indeed, this is why I do PK.

***

“Aaaah, this is the 5th time!!!”

Rona, a streamer in her 5th year, despaired.

[So funny lololololol]

[Can’t even dodge that?]

[Mage casting speed is really slow lololol]

[How can you not catch that lololol]

[Quit the game lololol]

As she streamed with a laid-back, tomboyish concept, the over 10,000 viewers were busy teasing her rather than comforting her.

“No, this guy is weird!

It’s like they knew I was coming here and were casting beforehand?!”

[OO님 donated ₩1000!]

[That guy is also famous as a malicious PK user in-game]

“No, still, this is too much!

How do they know exactly what skill I’m going to use?!”

She was doing a content where she teaches a malicious PK user a lesson, based on viewer recommendations.

The stream title was even boldly ‘Teaching that malicious PK user a real lesson lololol’.

She wouldn’t have been this angry if she had died to a rogue, which is an overpowered PK class.

At first, she thought it would be easy.

Her opponent was a Mage, a trash-tier class in LaMa (Last Magic), and she was a Paladin, called an overpowered class.

But the results were disastrous.

Instead, she ended up being the one taught a real lesson.

And even the nickname, having put it like that with a friend’s name, it’s so vulgar it’s killing her.

[OO님 donated ₩1000!]

[Check what item disappeared]

“There probably won’t be much.”

To prepare for situations like this, she had put all her important items in storage.

She opened her inventory to check.

See, there were only junk items.

“Huh?

Why is the ring status like this?”

Defense +20%

Health +450

Normal Attack +20%

The status of the equipped ring was strange.

As a ranker, Rona had set her armor and accessories to the best-in-slot options: Critical Chance, Critical Damage, and Attack Power.

[Option status is weird?]

[?]

[No, they died in one hit even with defense and health options???]

[Mages do have strong damage lololol]

[?]

[It’s not impossible if they used a potion]

“No, that’s not what’s important!”

She quickly opened her storage to check if the ring was there.

She couldn’t find it no matter how much she looked.

“…I’ll end the stream.”

[???]

[No]

[way]

[No way, you took two consecutive days off yesterday and you’re ending the stream after only an hour?]

[way]

[No]

“Agh!

My ₩15,000,000 ring!”

Thump thump thump!!!

Rona pounded the floor from her chair, expressing her anger with her entire body.

[They’re throwing a tantrum again lol]

[Spent 15 million just to get that lololol]

[It’s a best-in-slot option, so of course lololol]

[Get on your knees and beg for it back lololol]

[There’s a streamer who lost a ring they spent 15 million on???]

End stream.

Rona pressed the end stream button and took off her VR headset.

Just as she was about to go to bed to cool down,

Ding!

An alarm sound rang on her smartphone.

When she checked the message, her expression naturally crumpled.

[Come to the beach. Monsters have invaded.]

Annoyingly, it was a message sent by her esteemed boss.

“I have an appointment, but I guess I can’t help it….”

Now it’s time to work as an S-rank hunter.

***

“Only got a few useful items.”

I checked the items dropped by the users.

There were only a few useful ones, but one of them was a jackpot.

Boss Attack Power +50

Critical Chance +20%

Critical Damage +18%

I don’t particularly believe in God, but it seems God hasn’t abandoned me.

The luck that was ruined by working on options and enhancing must have returned here.

“Then, shall I put it up?”

I debated how much to list it for, but I just went for a clean ₩10,000,000.

[Are you selling this?]

A message came as soon as I put it on the site.

[Yes ^^]

[Can’t you lower the price a bit?]

[Yeah~ Get lostㅗ]

I immediately pressed the block button for that ridiculous request.

Do they think this is a second-hand market?

‘Yeah~ There are plenty of people who will buy it other than you.’

But that was a big mistake.

The next person and the one after that all asked to lower the price.

I also put it on the in-game auction house, but the reactions were similar.

“No, is this really that expensive?”

Isn’t this price just right?

As it’s a best-in-slot option, this price is appropriate.

‘Right, let’s wait.’

‘Anyway, the people who will buy it, will buy it.’

This kind of thing requires patience.

***

In front of S University main gate.

“You’re here?”

“Haha, sorry for being late.”

Rona clasped her hands together and pleaded earnestly.

She was two hours late because of guild work.

“Haim, forgive me!”

“Sigh, You… If you’re late even one more time, there’ll be nothing left for you.”

“Got it! Instead, I’ll buy dinner.”

The two went to a braised chicken restaurant nearby and ordered the menu.

“Aren’t you going to take off your mask?”

“I’m sorry, but hunters are also jobs where your image is strictly consumed by the public. If I get photographed in a place like this, the Guild Master will scold me.”

Lee Haim frowned.

She really had a bad case of celebrity syndrome.

“Anyway, have you thought about appearing on my stream?”

“Not interested.”

“No, let’s just do it once. Huh? I’ve even planned the content.”

She was in a difficult situation with no new viewers these days, and it was clear that if a beautiful A-class Awakened One appeared on her stream, the influx of viewers would increase.

“I’m busy taking care of Older Brother right now.”

“Older Brother? Didn’t you say he went missing 8 years ago?”

“Found, no, he came back on his own.”

And right now, she was busy having to restore Older Brother’s room to its original state.

‘Where do I get comic books and figures?’

The staff brought the braised chicken, and the two ate it with chopsticks.

Munch munch.

“What was he doing until now?”

“He’s a returnee.”

“…What?”

Thud.

Hearing the word ‘returnee’, Kim Rona dropped the braised chicken she was holding.

“He says he worked as a fortune-teller, and he’s really spot-on.”

“…Mostly about what?”

“I saw my fortune in love recently, and he said I should refuse any confessions for a while.”

In reality, she had received confessions from popular seniors at university, but they all had only bad elements like gambling, crypto, and cheating.

“And you think that’s all? He even finds out the location of the snacks I hide.”

And he says that the leftover trash after eating it is mine to clean up.

It’s really annoying it’s killing me.

“Um, Haim, I have a favor to ask….”

“……?”

Rona hesitated.

‘What on earth is she doing?’

“What is it?”

“Um… I want to do a collaborative stream with your Older Brother, would that be possible?”