Ignoring the chat, I restarted the game, and my character appeared at the dungeon entrance once again.
This time, I wasted no time. I rushed through the first corridor and reached the chamber where the two masked guards from earlier were waiting.
"All right."
I positioned my fingers over the keyboard.
"I know what you’re going to do this time."
Both guards noticed me and charged. I activated Mana Barrier before using Ice Spear.
Once again, the spell passed between them and struck the wall.
"How did it miss ag—"
The first sword strike shattered my barrier, while the second stunned my character. As I tried to fix the camera, I accidentally opened the menu, covering half the screen with the inventory window.
"No, no! Close!"
By the time I managed to close the menu, my health bar had already reached zero.
[YOU DIED]
I stared at the screen for a second.
"Shit!"
I slammed my hand against the desk. My avatar brought its tiny fist down on an imaginary desk as well, causing a red anger symbol to appear above its head.
The chat immediately pounced on me.
[MoonBun: THIS MIGHT BE A RECORD.]
[StarCandy: IT DIDN’T EVEN LAST TEN SECONDS!]
[VoidTea: Is the warm-up over now?]
[MimiMew: The wall is still her greatest enemy.]
[BlueComet: Throwing the first Ice Spear at the wall has become a tradition.]
"Shut up."
I pressed the restart button, and my character appeared at the entrance again.
This time, I approached the two guards carefully. Before entering their range, I fixed the camera and turned on target lock.
"So that’s what I was missing."
Once I locked onto the first guard, Ice Spear struck it directly in the chest. I followed it with Star Arrow while moving backward.
As one of the guards approached, I used Moonlight Step and teleported behind it. This time, I didn’t crash into a wall.
"Ahaha!"
The first guard collapsed after I hit it with another spell.
The second managed to break my Mana Barrier, but I kept my distance and avoided its attacks. When my final Star Arrow pierced its mask, the guard dissolved into particles of sand.
"That’s it!"
I raised both arms in victory.
"See? I just forgot to turn on target lock."
[StarCandy: Just?]
[MoonBun: She made it past the first room on her third try!]
[VoidTea: I’m so proud. There are tears in my eyes.]
"I can feel your jealousy through the screen."
I continued forward without wasting any time. When I reached the large chamber containing the second wave, I tensed my fingers over the keys.
The half-spider Venom Priestesses waited on the walls, while two Rabid Desert Beasts paced across the floor below.
"Time for revenge."
I activated Mana Barrier and entered the room. This time, I knew the hyenas would leap at me.
The moment the first one jumped, I used Moonlight Step. My character teleported to the side in a flash of blue light, and the hyena crashed into the empty floor.
"Got you!"
Star Arrow took away a third of its health. Just as I was about to cast a second spell, the other hyena leaped onto me from behind and knocked my character to the ground.
Both Venom Priestesses fired their webs at the same time.
[You have been stunned.]
[You have been poisoned.]
"Again!?"
The moment I got back up, I activated Mana Barrier, but the poison continued eating away at my health.
I managed to kill one hyena and reduce the other’s health below half, but then the second wave of poison from the spider creatures struck my character.
My health bar reached zero.
[YOU DIED]
I buried both hands in my hair.
"Shit, shit, shit!"
My avatar pulled at its blue hair as well.
"They won’t let me move!"
Laughter and mocking messages began flooding the chat.
[MimiMew: You need to kill the priestesses first.]
[MoonBun: No, let her figure it out herself. This is too funny.]
[StarCandy: Why don’t you buy a normal healing potion?]
[VoidTea: Equip some poison resistance.]
I turned toward the chat window in frustration.
"Shut up and give me a useful tip! If you’re going to talk this much, at least make yourselves useful!"
The messages slowed for a moment before new ones appeared.
[RedLotus: Why are you yelling at us?]
[SilverPaw: If you want help, ask properly.]
[MoonBun: Ahahahaha, she’s giving us orders.]
[KuroKuro left the stream.]
[RedLotus left the stream.]
The viewer count dropped by a few people.
"Tch."
I didn’t care. At least, that was what I pretended.
Then a username I hadn’t seen before appeared in the chat.
[Caramel: Activate your barrier at the doorway, not after entering the room.]
A second message appeared directly beneath it.
[Caramel: The Rabid Beast on the right jumps first. Dodge to the left with Moonlight Step, and the two will crash into each other. The priestesses need three seconds to cast their webs. Kill the one on the right with Star Arrow before then.]
I read the message twice.
"Now that’s what I call a useful tip."
[Caramel: I didn’t say you’re welcome. Let’s see if you can actually do it first.]
I frowned.
"You’ll see."
I restarted and made it past the first two masked guards without taking much damage this time. When I reached the second chamber, I remembered Caramel’s advice and activated Mana Barrier outside the doorway.
The moment I stepped inside, the hyena on the right leaped at me.
I used Moonlight Step and teleported to the left.
The second hyena crashed into its companion, sending both of them to the floor for several seconds.
"It worked!"
I changed my target to the Venom Priestess on the right. After Star Arrow and Ice Spear, I fired another Star Arrow.
The priestess died before it could finish casting its web.
I immediately turned toward the other one, but I got too close in my excitement, allowing the second priestess’s web to strike my character.
The hyenas got back up and attacked from both sides. I frantically pressed the keys, managing to kill one while reducing the other’s health to almost zero.
The final priestess had only a sliver of health remaining as well, but the poison icon flashed above my character’s head, and my last health point disappeared.
[YOU DIED]
I had been expecting the victory screen, only to be greeted by those red letters again. I pulled my hands away from the keyboard and sat there without moving for several seconds.
"God... My head hurts."
The headache medicine hadn’t worked. The system’s punishment continued throbbing stubbornly inside my skull.
I pushed the chair back and stood up.
"Hey, chat. I’ll be gone for a few minutes. I’m going to make some coffee."
Without waiting for their reactions, I removed the headset. Messages continued flowing across the screen as I turned away.
[StarCandy: Seriously?]
[MoonBun: NOW!?]
[MimiMew: Make one for me too.]
[VoidTea: Hey! Don’t abandon the game!]
[Caramel: ...]
Without reading any of them, I went to the kitchen and opened a cabinet. When I found some single-use coffee packets inside, I emptied one into a mug and added hot water.
As I stirred it, the smell of coffee spread through the kitchen. Once it was ready, I brought the mug to my lips and took a large sip.
"Hot!"
The coffee burned my tongue, and I quickly put the mug on the counter. After breathing through my mouth for a while, I grimaced.
"And bitter..."
Did Noctis really drink coffee like this? It tasted terrible.
"Don’t I have anything sweet?"
I searched the cabinets but found neither cookies nor chocolate. When I opened the refrigerator, however, I spotted a small plate on the bottom shelf with a half-eaten slice of strawberry cake on it.
My eyes lit up.
"Bingo."
I decided not to think about how long it had been sitting there. Taking the plate and the coffee, I headed back toward the room.
"Hey, chat! I’m coming back!"
Even though I couldn’t see the messages, I knew the microphone would pick up my voice. I put the headset back on and sat down.
I placed the cake and coffee on the desk at a safe distance from the keyboard. Then I used the fork to cut off a large piece of cake, put it in my mouth, and began reading the chat.
[Caramel: What are you eating?]
[MoonBun: She abandoned us to go have a feast.]
[MimiMew: Show us your coffee!]
[StarCandy: The game is waiting.]
I swallowed the bite in my mouth.
"Half-eaten strawberry cake."
The chat sped up again.
[VoidTea: Why did you specify that it was half-eaten?]
[MoonBun: How many days old is that?]
[MimiMew: She’s eating something random she found in the fridge.]
[Caramel: Did you smell it first?]
I ignored the question and took another bite.
The viewer count had reached eighty-one.
[81 Viewers]
[StarCandy: Start playing already!]
[BlueComet: Apophion is going to die of old age.]
[SandKnight: I came for a boss fight and got an eating stream instead.]
"God... What’s wrong with all of you?"
I raised the coffee mug.
"Can’t you see I’m drinking coffee? Wait a little."
[MoonBun: No.]
[VoidTea: We’re not waiting.]
[MimiMew: Drink, drink, drink!]
I let out a deep sigh.
The coffee was still hot, but this time I carefully took several large sips. The bitterness made me grimace.
After placing the mug back on the desk, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.
[Caramel: Use a napkin!]
[StarCandy: There’s still cream on the corner of your mouth.]
[MoonBun: Were you raised in the wild?]
"What?"
I wiped my mouth again with the back of my hand.
"Getting up to find a napkin would’ve wasted even more time."
[Caramel: What a noble explanation.]
"Shut up."
I restarted the game.