Chapter 5

From Rinne's perspective.

Five wolves are attacking a single girl.

Two wolves from the front aim for her arms, leaping to bite.

Meanwhile, one wolf circles behind to prepare for a failed attack, while the remaining two wolves keep watch, ready to pounce.

At first glance, the formation seemed flawless, but it failed to capture the girl.

The girl took a large step to the right and struck the spine of the wolf that was defenseless in mid-air with her right club.

With a crunch, the wolf's back bent and it fell to the ground. Ignoring it, she threw her club, now held in reverse, at the wolf trying to create distance.

The club, flying straight, hit the fleeing wolf's leg, and the wolf, stopped by the pain, was immediately trampled by the girl who had already approached from behind.

The poor wolf was reduced to polygons by the club that was picked up again.

There was no way to stop the violence that unfolded in just a few seconds against the three wolves that were supposed to cover the other two.

While still in shock, a stone hit the wolf that was trying to circle behind.

The moment it flinched, the girl was already standing in front of it, and the club, swung with both hands, struck the wolf's head.

One wolf was dead, two were near death.

The remaining two wolves, who were supposed to be hunting, quickly switched to being hunted and charged at the girl, abandoning their confusion.

A time-delayed charge aimed at the torso.

A desperate attack that would strike even if it missed, but the first wolf was reduced to dust by the sheer violence of being knocked down.

The last wolf, unable to stop, leaped and had its jaw snapped, then was crushed and scattered into polygons.

“Why didn’t you all attack together from the start…?”

The girl, who had butchered the three near-dead wolves with a series of crunching sounds amidst the scattering red polygons, sighed regretfully.

“Still, you’re way too inhuman…”

I, Rinne, watched my best friend, who had just shown such a brutal slaughter, with a smile tinged with resignation.

☆

Player name, Rinne.

That’s my name in this game.

My effort to finish the initial setup as quickly as possible to secure this name was well rewarded.

Today is the day I play the game with Nana after seven years.

Despite being too excited to sleep, the smell of Nana on the bed made it even harder, but thanks to the forced sleep, my head feels light.

I want to play this game with Nana.

No, I want to let Nana play this game.

When I couldn’t contain my desire and called her, I never expected that she was unemployed at the time.

Grateful for the god-like luck, I quickly did the groundwork.

Thanks to the prior conversations, I got Nana’s agreement, and I finally secured the time to enjoy the game with her.

To be honest, the talk about making her a pro gamer didn’t matter much to me.

I was already determined to support her for life the moment she said she would play with me.

However, it’s not good for a regular person to become too close with a pro gamer in official streams.

So, I thought it would be nice to pull Nana into the VR department to cover it up.

But, I didn’t bring Nana into the VR department just for that reason.

Nana is, in a sense, the embodiment of a “real-life cheat.”

Her physical abilities are not human.

Even if she slacks off in physical tests, she still gets the highest rank with ease.

When it comes to sports, she can do anything with just a glance, and she can execute anything she wants to do with her body.

Her vision is like a telescope, and her dynamic vision is exceptional. Seriously, her abilities make you wonder if she’s human.

Moreover, her stamina is abnormal.

No one can work seven days a week, for over ten hours a day, for years.

Especially since most of her work involves customer service or physical labor, the fatigue is incomparable to desk work.

Yet, she handles it effortlessly, never showing any signs of tiredness, always smiling.

I might be the only one who knows the reality, but anyone who knew would find it unbelievable.

To get back on track, Nana is exceptionally good at games, not just in strategy but in physical ability.

And the physical ability required for full-dive VR games is inhuman.

I know.

I know that Nana constantly suppresses her overly high physical abilities and feels stressed by it.

Ultimately, the reason she works like a madwoman is because she has too much energy to handle.

Knowing this, and not finding a way to release it in daily life, I turned a blind eye to her part-time job.

Nana said with a sad look that she doesn’t do sports because her extraordinary abilities feel unfair.

But. In this game, Nana can live freely.

The physical abilities defined by numbers create equality.

With an equal foundation, the rest can be attributed to “player skill.”

A world where Nana can live as she pleases.

I was convinced that WorldLive-ONLINE was such a world.

“Let’s start today’s stream. As promised, I’ll be playing with my real-life friend and, from today, my colleague, Nana.”

‘I’ve been waiting.’

‘Finally, this moment has come.’

‘I’m so happy, so happy.’

‘You’re so good!’

‘Regular stream, not a video.’

The number of simultaneous connections exceeded 10,000 before the broadcast started, and now it’s nearly 50,000.

Usually, around 30,000 people watch, but today’s topic is different.

Today is the long-awaited day to play with Nana, not just a game session.

It’s also an introduction, and I promised to show her around the starting city, so it’s supposed to be a serious stream.

Feeling a bit happy seeing the enthusiastic comments, I decided to set some expectations.

“My friend, who was previously unknown, might have a lot to say, but I’ll vouch for her skills. Please judge for yourself during today’s stream.”

‘Wow!’

‘Let’s see what you can do.’

‘Power leveling?’

‘Respect, ma’am.’

‘I hope there’s no bias.’

‘Is Nana a girl?’

“I won’t do power leveling. There’s no need. As for Nana’s gender… I got a message. She’s already in the square.”

‘Did you finish the initial setup already?’

‘That’s fast.’

‘If she’s Rinne’s friend, she probably decided the initial build quickly.’

‘But creating an avatar in this game takes a while.’

‘Maybe she didn’t customize it.’

‘Rinne finished the initial setup quickly to secure the name.’

I chose some interesting comments from the stream of comments.

The comment board, visible only to me, flows rapidly.

Players with live streaming permissions have this feature, and a floating gem indicates that they are being recorded.

The focus is within a few meters of the player, and beyond that, only the player’s face is recognizable.

So, players who don’t want to be seen can stay a bit away from the floating gems.

There’s also a complete privacy setting, so in the worst case, they can be permanently pixelated, but their privacy is protected.

However, it’s been less than 10 minutes since the second wave of service started.

Some players from the second wave have finished their initial setup and transferred, but it’s still early.

Walking around the fountain square in the starting city, I found a black-haired ogre sitting on the fountain.

It’s definitely Nana. Because the avatar is exactly like her in real life…

As a streamer, I didn’t customize my avatar, but the etiquette lesson I gave Nana didn’t seem to stick.

“That black-haired ogre is Nana. Nana!”

“Rinne! Wow, impressive equipment!”

“Well, two weeks is enough to get this far. Nana, what’s your PN?”

“Sukuna. It’s an important name Rinne gave me.”

“Ah… yeah. I’m still Rinne in this game, so you can call me the same.”

‘Cute.’

‘Cute.’

‘So cute.’

‘Hi, Rinne!’

‘Rinne is Rinne… hahaha.’

‘Sukuna is so cute.’

‘Rinne and Sukuna are precious…’

‘RinSuku, maybe?’

‘Important name… got it.’

“I’ll ban anyone who laughs.”

‘Eek!’

‘Eek!’

‘Eek!’

‘Eek!’

“So, this is Nana, or rather, Sukuna.”

“Um, is this round thing the camera? I’m Sukuna, a new player, nice to meet you.”

“You have streaming permissions, so you’ll probably stream alone tomorrow.”

‘Nice to meet you.’

‘Nice to meet you.’

‘Nice to meet you!’

‘Nice to meet you.’

‘Compared to Rinne, you’re small in many ways.’

‘Politeness is appreciated.’

‘Black-haired ogre… so good…’

‘Is it true that a cute girl’s initial equipment is a club?’

‘Haha, really.’

‘Club for an ogre.’

‘It’s a gold club.’

The introduction went well.

Surprisingly, she really chose a club.

Before starting, she said she might choose a club because it seemed easy to use.

Clubs are durable and have good attack power, but they look bad.

Many people think clubs don’t fit in a fantasy world, and they are unpopular.

Actually, the beginner’s sword has the same performance, just different attributes.

“Let’s go hunting. It will be harder to find monsters when it gets crowded.”

“Got it.”

“I’ll explain the starting city while we walk.”

‘It’s so heartwarming.’

‘Like sisters.’

‘More like a teacher and student.’

‘The equipment difference is huge.’

‘Rinne, the south gate is that way.’

‘Isn’t the south gate level 6?’

‘Wolves are too strong.’

I said I wouldn’t do power leveling.

Actually, it wouldn’t be fun to weaken myself and let Sukuna finish the job.

But, I judged that the south is the best place to show Sukuna’s skills to the audience.

The starting city has gates to the east, west, south, and north, each leading to different ecosystems.

For example, the north is easy, with mainly non-active mobs called Boars in a peaceful grassland, and the west has slightly dangerous grasslands with Horn Rabbits.

The path to the next city is through the northern grassland, where you’ll find dungeons.

The south leads to a dead end, with only a large dungeon called the “Endless Forest” beyond the grassland.

However, the mobs there are much stronger.

Specifically, the Wolves are strong. They are not only strong but also travel in packs.

“So, we’re going to start hunting. I won’t interfere. You can fight freely, Sukuna.”

“Got it. Rinne, can I use the stones I find around here for the throwing skill?”

“They don’t have much attack power, but sure.”

“I’ll pick up a few.”

‘Picking up stones.’

‘Does she have the throwing skill?’

‘Blunt weapon and throwing.’

‘Not common, but practical. Blunt weapons are just not visually appealing.’

‘The flail is the real deal after the transformation.’

‘Seriously, hunting in the south on the first day?’

‘Rinne went crazy here on the first day.’

‘Crazy (unexpressive, continuous magic).’

‘That was traumatic.’

As I watched Sukuna pick up stones from the ground, I saw enemy shadows in the distance.

The strongest mob in the grassland, Wolves.

“Sukuna, I see them…”

“Yeah, I see them too.”

Impressive.

Sukuna, who spotted the enemies much faster than I did, stepped forward to protect me.

The Wolf’s level is random between 3 and 5. The one in front of us is level 4, which is average.

Wolves are known for their speed and attack power.

They are weak to hits but specialize in attacks, making them a challenge for beginners who are not used to fast-moving animals.

Without hesitation, Sukuna took a throwing stance as the Wolf charged straight at her.

She cocked back the stone in her hand and activated the skill with ease.

“Shoot”

The stone, wrapped in the skill’s light, hit the Wolf’s forehead precisely, dealing a small amount of damage.

However, the fatal part was not the damage but the hesitation that slowed the Wolf’s movement.

Sukuna, who had already closed the distance, swung her club, which she had drawn, as they passed each other.

The impact of the club, combined with the Wolf’s still considerable speed, sent it flying like in a car accident.

By the time it tried to get up after rolling on the ground, the follow-up attack had already landed.

A blow to the head, and then another precise hit to the same spot.

“Smash”

After hitting the head three times, a two-handed swing using a skill hit the Wolf, killing it and turning it into polygons.

“Phew… Oh, I leveled up.”

Sukuna’s happy smile almost distracted me, but the comment board’s atmosphere was icy.

‘Eek!’

‘No way.’

‘Too much aggression.’

‘Face punch followed by five head hits…’

‘Hitting the thrown stone is impressive. That’s completely PS-dependent.’

‘She’s a demon.’

‘She’s an ogre, so she’s actually a demon.’

‘Not level 1 behavior.’

It was brutal.

It was a fight to kill the wolf, not just to defeat the monster.

She didn’t seem scared; she looked like she was enjoying it.

“Rinne, I leveled up.”

“Y-Yeah. Congratulations. Did you decide on the stat allocation?”

“Half to strength and dexterity, the rest remains the same.”

“Is it still hard to move?”

“Not really. I think I’ll get back to my rhythm faster than I thought.”

With a low-level avatar, the difference between Sukuna’s real-life abilities and the game is significant.

She’s probably raising her dexterity to bridge that gap.

Dexterity is incredibly important in this game.

“How about it, everyone? This is Nana. You can see why I’m excited, right?”

‘She moved like an animal.’

‘But it’s just one Wolf.’

‘I like the club-wielding ogre.’

‘There are a few like this, but I can see the potential.’

Despite some negative comments, when Nana cleared a pack of five Wolves that attacked afterward, everyone changed their tune.