Chapter 30: The Saint Who Breaks the World and the Tsundere Male Lead

Max Demian said to Emil Sinclair.

At the same time, Hermann Hesse spoke to all readers of his book.

The bird struggles to emerge from the egg.

Whoever wishes to be born must destroy a world.

The egg is a world.

The saint is compassionate.

Her heart overflows with so much compassion that it even influences the size of her chest, extending endlessly.

Her compassion is as towering as the highest mountain and can fill the depths of the deepest ocean—enough to break the world for a bird that cannot escape its egg.

The saint has just broken one such world.

The world where a bird could exist as a man.

Thwack!

The sound of a crushing impact echoed through the speakers, filling the room.

What followed was a squelch, the noise of something being smashed beyond recognition.

“Whoa, holy sh*t!”

“No, this is just…”

“Ugh, damn, that’s brutal.”

“Why does it hurt me just watching this?”

“Oh my god, that has to hurt so bad.”

“That’s definitely shattered.”

“Why the hell does this game even simulate balls?”

“Why did they let them get so close only to smash them with a knee?!”

“This merciless b*h.”**

“It’s self-defense.”

“Self-defense in a match that decides victory? Come on.”

“So if someone holds a knife to your throat, you’re just supposed to sit there instead of kneeing them?”

“Fight fair, not dirty!”

“A warrior challenges a priest to a duel, and you’re talking about fairness? Seriously?”

“That’s just…”

“Once the balls are gone, even armor won’t help, huh?”

“This game is unnecessarily realistic, I swear.”

“Realistic, my ass. If it’s so realistic, why can’t you take off underwear in the game?”

“?”

“Do you want the Game Rating Committee to swarm in or something?”

“It’s a battle MOBA. Who complains about not being able to strip characters?”

“You should be putting on more armor, not taking it off!”

“Saint’s bouncing boobs, saint’s bouncing boobs, saint’s bouncing boobs, saint’s bouncing boobs.”

“Honestly, getting your balls smashed might be a reward in itself.”

“Looks like your brain’s already shattered.”

“I want my balls crushed by her plump, soft thighs, ahhh.”

“But don’t you think the saint’s body proportions are really weird?”

“What’s the problem now?”

“She’s slender, with long, sleek limbs, but her thighs, chest, and hips are absurdly big.”

“Looks like she stepped right out of an erotic manga.”

“Nonsense. Her custom design is hotter than any manga character.”

“When proportions are too exaggerated, it’s grotesque. Why is the saint so attractive then?”

[It feels like it’s just barely skirting the line of grotesqueness, doesn’t it? lol.]

[Haha, it’s the masterpiece of a character customization artist’s life. How could it not be arousing? lol.]

[The thought of the room admin secretly fiddling with the character’s chest sliders in a dark, shady corner… kind of hot.]

[Ooh yeah.]

[Just type “lol” and be done.]

[The opposing warrior is so pitiful. Poor guy did well, but his team couldn’t back him up. Crying emoji.]

[It was his last chance, and since he blew it, of course, he’d lose his balls and die.]

[A priest who doesn’t need team support… that’s rare.]

[This works now because the rank is low, but who knows if it’ll hold up later?]

[That’s a problem for another time. For now, this is over.]

[There’s the surrender. GG.]

[Amazing priest play. Seriously, I’m just in awe.]

[Do you need to be this good to win MVP? Feeling a bit existential here.]

[Haha, even healers have ranks, you know.]

[What’s your score now? Isn’t it about time for a rank-up?]

[Why isn’t my score climbing? Crying emoji.]

[Probably because my MMR got wrecked from that losing streak the other day.]

[Well, at least you got the win streak bonus, so rank-up might still happen.]

The game concluded with the agonizing cries of the armored warrior, whose balls had been crushed.

“Good game, everyone.”

I spoke into the mic, words that wouldn’t reach the other players in the match.

Facing the rank badge that had turned a slightly deeper shade of yellow, I read the message displayed prominently in the results window:

『You have ranked up to Yellow Tier 3 in solo/duo rank games.』

For anyone playing Rainbow Tales, this would be a moment of celebration, but I calmly pressed the confirm button and queued for the next match.

The reason was simple: not long ago, I had been stuck at Yellow Tier 1. Until I recovered my points, neither Tier 3 nor Tier 4 would satisfy me.

My stream, which had begun when the sun started to tilt downward from its zenith, was still ongoing under the reddish glow of the setting sun.

Considering each match could last anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes, or even up to an hour for longer games, it was only natural that time had flown by as I played seven matches in a row.

Viewers of my stream were either cheering for my unwavering focus or astonished at how I maintained it through such a prolonged session.

The turning point had been the tournament.

Specifically, it was during the preparation for the tournament when I had cut down on sleep to practice relentlessly.

That was when I gained full control over my fingers, which had once flailed around like a wriggling fish, defying my will.

Although the finals turned out to be meaningless due to an incident, the process of adapting to this body and confidently taking the role of shot-caller in chat orders for the team showed how far I had come.

In many ways, I owed a lot to this remarkably talented body.

Looking back, the “Saint’s” physical abilities were almost excessively perfect.

The most outstanding feature, of course, was her reaction speed, which felt beyond human capability.

But her unshakable focus, which never wavered for even a second throughout the entirety of a match, also played a significant role in securing victories.

On top of that, her overheated brain could return to its optimal state with just a brief pause, even during the short downtime between bans and picks in matchmaking.

In summary, considering everything, my assessment is:

This body was simply made for gaming.

And so, I was absolutely thrilled.

At this rate, recovering my lost points was a given, and I couldn’t help but imagine the possibility of surpassing Orange and Red tiers to finally reach Rainbow.

Before long, the matchmaking was complete, and the prompt to accept or decline entry into the ranked game appeared.

Without hesitation, I pressed the accept button.

Pressed.

Pressed.

Pressed the… button…

Suddenly, the world spun.

The floor and ceiling swapped places in an instant.

No, it wasn’t the room that shifted—it was my body.

The body that had been neatly seated in the chair suddenly tilted and, like a marionette with its strings cut, collapsed limply to the floor.

Thud. The sound of the chair toppling over echoed in my ears like a reverberation.

That’s as far as I managed to comprehend before my vision went dark.

“…I’m hungry.”

What woke me up was the alarm of my stomach clock.

Growl. My body groaned as if squeezing every ounce of strength out of my stomach, protesting loudly to its owner.

And just from that, I could tell why I had fainted so suddenly.

No wonder I had been feeling a bit weak.

I could guarantee it wasn’t something as dramatic as a stroke causing me to collapse out of nowhere.

What a lunatic.

How many people in the world game themselves to the point of fainting from hunger?

Standing up abruptly, I glanced at the computer.

Yes, even in this situation, my first instinct was to check the computer.

I couldn’t help but feel a bit pathetic about myself, but regardless, upon checking, I saw that the chatroom on my stream was blazing with activity in my absence.

Now fully aware of what had happened, I could feel just how drained of energy my body was.

Even speaking felt like an effort.

Instead of forcing my exhausted body any further, I opted to leave a simple chat message saying, “That’s it for today,” and ended the stream right then and there.

My stomach continued its relentless protests, but I had nothing to appease it.

Money? All gone. Not even a spare 100-won coin lying around.

You might wonder where all the streaming donations went, considering they piled up like a mountain, but there was still a little time left before the platform’s payout period.

The prize money from the recently concluded tournament would also be distributed around the same time.

Food?

The last thing I ate was dog food.

Not bad, actually. It wasn’t terrible.

Wait, what am I even saying?

Anyway, with that last bit gone, I truly had nothing left to eat even if I wanted to eat and die.

At this rate, I might end up having to catch and eat one of those tiny spiders building a little home in the corner of my room.

…Of course, that wasn’t an option I would ever choose.

The problem I’d been putting off for so long finally erupted.

I was trying to hold out just a little longer.

But I guess I can’t anymore.

My body had held up better than I’d thought, which made me ignore the issue until it spiraled into this mess.

At this rate, there was a high likelihood I’d become a corpse before I even got to use that money.

I didn’t want to end the life I’d barely resolved to keep alive with something as pathetic as starving to death.

The greatest crisis of my life being a battle against hunger?

It was a bit absurd, but the problem was more serious than I thought.

Maybe I really should head to the park and pick up bird feed.

Or digging through a food waste bin could be another option.

I’d even tried that once before.

Of course, I immediately remembered how I nearly died from self-inflicted food poisoning, so that was something I wanted to push off until the very last resort.

Actually,

maybe I wouldn’t need to resort to such miserable methods.

I had no peculiar hobbies like eating strange things, so why choose a painful path unnecessarily?

I could always try something like what I’d done before, like scolding a few male students near a convenience store and extorting them under the pretext of giving them advice…

Or I could grab a random passerby—man or woman—and beg them. Surely no one could resist my forlorn appearance and would at least buy me a meal…

“Oh.”

Now that I thought about it, there was someone.

Even someone like me, who spent all day holed up in their room, had someone I could consider a connection.

Although I’d ended the stream, my computer was still showing the Rainbow Tales screen.

I opened the in-game chat.

A one-on-one chat room between players.

[Saint: .]

I didn’t know how to start, so I just sent a single dot.

To my surprise, the reply came almost immediately.

[SekaiichiBan: What?]

[Saint: Why is your reply so fast?]

[SekaiichiBan: If this is about nonsense, I’m blocking you. I’m in-game.]

[Saint: ㅠㅠ]

[SekaiichiBan: I’m in a team fight.]

[Saint: Then I’ll contact you later.]

[SekaiichiBan: The fight’s over.]

[Saint: Already?]

[SekaiichiBan: I left because I didn’t feel like it.]

[Saint: Didn’t you promise not to troll?]

[SekaiichiBan: Only when I’m playing with you.]

[SekaiichiBan: So, what do you want?]

[Saint: It’s nothing big.]

[SekaiichiBan: …?]

[Saint: Could you send me a gift card?]

[Saint: hehe.]

[SekaiichiBan: Did I leave something with you?]

[Saint: Not reallyㅠㅠ I’m just hungry.]

[SekaiichiBan: Then die.]

[Saint: That’s so mean.]

[SekaiichiBan: What gift card do you expect from someone who doesn’t even have your phone number?]

[Saint: ㅠ]

[SekaiichiBan: Wait.]

[SekaiichiBan: I left an image link on Discord.]

[Saint: Yay!]

[SekaiichiBan: Looks like you’re on the verge of starving to death.]

[Saint: …]

[SekaiichiBan: If you’re hungry, contact me ahead of time.]

[SekaiichiBan: Don’t let your nonexistent pride drag you down the drain.]

[SekaiichiBan: Don’t exhaust all your options and only reach out when you’re completely cornered.]

[Saint: Are you worried about me?]

[SekaiichiBan: Sure.]

The chat ended with his flipping me the bird.

A message popped up saying that the conversation partner was no longer available.

There’s no way someone as much of a gaming addict as me would suddenly log out of a game, so it was probably just his way of saying there was nothing more to talk about and switching his status to offline.

That tsundere jerk.

A male tsundere? Just imagining it feels gross, but there’s no denying that “tsundere” is the most fitting word to describe him.

Anyway,

I downloaded the image file onto my numberless phone and happily headed out to the convenience store.