The Naked Demon Hunter’s Dilemma

There was nothing remarkable about the night. It was certainly convenient that they didn’t speak to me, but their constant vigilance was starting to grate on my nerves.

Still, they were merely NPCs. It was likely they had nothing to say beyond their predetermined behavioral patterns. Even in a meticulously crafted game, how much effort could possibly be invested into such minor, inconsequential quests?

This must be why such quests hadn’t existed before. If they were this tedious and uninteresting, only a select few, those deeply enamored with the characters themselves, would ever bother touching them.

When I considered it from that angle, it made perfect sense.

The moment I awoke, I pulled out a generous supply of food imbued with movement speed buffs. To my astonishment, they decided to share a single item amongst themselves. When I urged them to eat more, they claimed it was “too much.”

How could they possibly conceive of sharing a single consumable item? It wasn’t just any item; it was clearly one serving per piece! This meant the buff wouldn’t even apply correctly!

Nevertheless, our pace was undeniably swifter than it had been the day before.

“Sir Haut, we’ll be arriving at the village soon.”

“I can see that. Why are you telling me?”

I had expected our arrival no earlier than tonight, yet we spotted the village before noon. What was the name of this place? I’d committed nothing to memory save for the major cities.

Truly, a map function was sorely needed.

But why had he suddenly chosen to speak now, after remaining silent for so long? As I regarded Faust with a puzzled expression, he shifted uncomfortably, his eyes darting about before he hesitantly began to speak.

“Uhm, I was thinking you might, perhaps, need some proper attire…”

“I already told you I don’t need them. The clothes you offer are poorly designed and come with no useful options.”

When we first met, they had indeed offered me something to wear. It was a simple shirt and a pair of pants, but they were nothing more than undergarments—the kind worn beneath armor.

To be frank, had the design been even remotely appealing, I would have accepted it, if only to add to my collection. But it was merely ordinary underwear.

Consider this: my character is exceptionally handsome. I poured immense effort into his appearance, meticulously crafting his features. Initially, when I first created him, I hadn’t intended to focus on combat. My ambition was to pursue a path as a king, or perhaps something even grander.

I even believed that with a bit of luck, I could ascend to the emperor’s throne.

However, that particular path proved to be far more tedious than I could have ever imagined, and I quickly grew bored, relegating myself to endless boss raids instead. For a casual player like me, who enjoys the game in moderation and takes frequent breaks, the emperor ending simply seemed too much of a hassle.

It demanded meticulous time management, which was hardly my style.

Regardless, no matter how handsome one’s face might be, it would appear utterly grotesque for a fully grown adult to parade around in the type of padded undergarments typically reserved for infants.

At my words, Faust’s face contorted into an utterly indescribable expression. It was, for lack of a better term, a look that screamed, ‘What in the hell is this nonsense?’ I couldn’t even begin to explain it.

I had always assumed he was a stoic, cold beauty, but it seemed he possessed a surprisingly rich array of facial expressions.

This time, another figure stepped forward. It was Jack, the very man who had been incessantly barking at me yesterday. Why was he looking at me with that expression?

“Excuse me, but why are you walking around in just your underwear?”

He was asking that now? Was this some kind of hidden event?

It was true that wandering the streets in only my underwear tended to increase my favorability with the local chickens. They would follow me everywhere, as if I were some kind of Pied Piper.

They never attacked, and aside from their persistent presence, there were no other real inconveniences.

Occasionally, there were places I couldn’t enter without a certain level of attire, but those weren’t necessary for hunting demons, so I had no reason to visit them anyway.

More importantly, a generic NPC was concerned about this? And only now?

“Why are you asking that now?”

“Didn’t I tell you to put on clothes from the very beginning?”

“No, that’s not the point… Didn’t you say you were hunting demons? This is simply how it’s done!”

Of course, I wasn’t some ancient, “rotten water” veteran of the game. I was merely an ordinary, good-natured player who enjoyed it casually.

If I were truly that jaded and entrenched, I would have designed my character with purple skin and a bald head, not with such striking good looks.

Wielding a fork was an absolute necessity. Bare-handed attacks, after all, dealt significantly more damage than a mere fork. My desire was to savor every single second of combat, extending each encounter as long as possible.

I once made the mistake of attacking a demon bare-handed instead of with my fork, defeating it far too swiftly. The regret was so profound that I lost sleep over it.

While a fork could certainly be held and utilized, it was categorized as a general item, not an actual weapon. Understandably so, given it was, well, a fork.

Consequently, it remained unaffected by skills or other proficiencies, and its damage was fixed at a paltry 1, no matter what actions I took. Furthermore, as it wasn’t technically a weapon, its durability was infinite.

Given that a character’s bare fist, immediately after creation and with no equipment, dealt 5 damage, wouldn’t anyone in their right mind opt for a fork that dealt a mere 1 damage?

I had deliberately chosen the weakest possible fork to prolong the enjoyment of combat, even if only by a fraction. This allowed me to experience a far greater variety of thrilling combat patterns!

“Being completely naked with just a fork in hand is fundamental to demon hunting.”

I couldn’t fathom why his face was contorting into such a disgusted grimace.

Upon entering the village, we found ourselves taking refuge in a small shrine. The local inn was simply too tiny, even for a rural establishment, boasting a mere three rooms.

It struck me as realistic in the most utterly unhelpful ways. Of course, players typically traveled alone or with a single partner, so perhaps it was deemed sufficient.

In this world teeming with thousands of deities, it was natural for shrines dedicated to various gods to exist wherever people resided. Failing that, one would at least find a small sanctuary housing hundreds of palm-sized statues.

Fortunately, this particular location boasted a proper, substantial building.

The village’s name was Bishya. Initially, I found this odd. I rarely committed any place names to memory beyond the major metropolises, yet this village felt uniquely familiar.

Then it clicked. No, it had to click. This place was…

It was the very first village where demons had emerged. Its utter devastation marked the beginning of a worldwide demonic plague.

Naturally, this was all mere lore. Encountering demons during gameplay was surprisingly uncommon. That is, unless one actively sought them out or exclusively traveled on foot without the aid of teleportation.

Even the demons one did stumble upon were typically nameless, minor entities. The truly formidable ones were entrenched within their designated boss rooms, often referred to as ‘nests.’

Occasionally, they would manifest as spontaneous events in populated areas, but even if left untouched, the local guards would swiftly intervene and dispatch them.

In smaller villages, the death of a few NPCs could sometimes disrupt trade or quests, but these spontaneous demons were invariably weak and nameless. It was merely a game, after all.

Given enough time, they would simply respawn with different names, seamlessly resuming their positions.

While the main questline hinted at hordes of demons emerging to devour the world, if one simply chose not to advance it, the world remained perfectly peaceful, regardless of whether demons had appeared a century or a millennium prior.

They were merely an additional type of scattered monster, and even then, field demons were weaker than trolls.

“Huh? This is strange.”

But the village was perfectly intact now, wasn’t it? Had the respawn mod revived all quests, even those from immediately after character creation? Then why couldn’t people reach this point…? Ah, I understood.

“The game begins near the Imperial Capital, so even if you sprint directly here, it would still take three months.”

Teleportation, while reducing the player’s perceived travel time, didn’t actually accelerate the journey itself. It was simply a convenience for those disinclined to walk.

Even on horseback, given the mountainous terrain characteristic of this fantasy world, the journey would likely span around two months.

Even by exploiting glitches to traverse the map, the open-world’s seamless design meant little to no significant time reduction. Furthermore, even if a player somehow managed to rush here immediately after character creation, they wouldn’t bother with such a small village.

A major city lay just beyond, and canonically, this village was a ruin, meaning it wasn’t even a valid teleportation destination.

Medusa of the Funeral was, to begin with, not a popular boss. While she possessed a passable beauty, the far more stunning ‘Ariela of Lust’ existed.

Moreover, Medusa’s Crystal, a rare drop with an abysmal probability, was utterly useless unless one belonged to the necromancer class.

Any player skilled enough to reach this point would undoubtedly already possess far superior equipment. Why, then, would they travel all this way to face Medusa, a boss offering neither enjoyment nor worthwhile rewards?

Medusa was, in essence, a boss one might casually dispatch as a warm-up, perhaps after dealing with a nearby, more immediate demon.

Someone dedicated enough to combat to utilize the respawn mod to resurrect demons would undoubtedly have already completed all existing quests. Even if they had stumbled upon the village in its restored state, they might have simply passed it by.

It wasn’t, after all, a village that outwardly promised anything of significance.

“Wait a minute. Does this mean I’m the first one to discover this?”

I had always understood Bishya to be a matter of mere lore. The last time I visited, it was undeniably a ruin. But now, it was fully implemented, wasn’t it?

The respawn mod merely served to temporarily revert things; it didn’t create something entirely new or alter existing elements.

The implication that no one knew what might appear next meant… this was the perfect timing to raise Faust’s favorability! Affinity work became incredibly difficult once the Holy War began!

Since we would be traveling together at least until the Hamman Holy War, there would be ample time. During the Holy War, opportunities to meet were limited, and he didn’t speak much either.

No one had ever successfully romanced Faust before, so surely, raising his favorability would yield even better rewards, wouldn’t it? Or perhaps a rare cosmetic item?

I wouldn’t want a cheap magic ring, but Faust was one of the top-tier characters in this world, so he’d definitely give something useful, right?

The other priests had already retired for the night, leaving no one else around. Faust, lost in thought, sat alone by the central fountain in the shrine. This, too, felt like an event timed specifically for me to approach him, didn’t it?

I scurried over and sat down beside him.

“Sir Faust. Do you have a moment?”

“Ah, ah, yes… I do have time, but…”

I had sat closely beside him, attempting to appear friendly, but he recoiled, shifting away with an expression of profound discomfort. Oh, so he could express himself like this now. Before, sitting on the laps of seated NPCs elicited no reaction whatsoever!

“Is there anything you like? Like delicious food, or shiny objects, or something like that?”

“Pardon? Why are you asking that, so suddenly?”

He stared at me with a puzzled face. Did each NPC have different reactions now? Usually, they’d answer readily unless it was crucial to the story. I secretly sighed. It might be better for immersion, but it had become a hassle.

I just wanted to clear the game quickly. As expected of the most popular character, his capture difficulty must have been set to be high.

“Because I want to get close to you.”

“To me, you say?”

“Why do you keep stuttering so strangely? Is that part of your original setting?”

“Ah, no. I’m just a little flustered. I don’t, have, a habit of stuttering…”

“Ah, so conversation progresses slowly if favorability is low. How troublesome.”

“Favorability, you say… Is my favor necessary for something?”

Why was he asking so many questions? The disabled skip function was truly inconvenient. Normally, I’d just rattle off the necessary answers for story progression, but now I had to go through all the intermediate steps.

“What do I need to do to make you like me?”

As I leaned my face closer, he instinctively recoiled further. Despite his stoic appearance, it seemed he had a surprisingly naive side. Ah, his eyelashes were truly long. Up close, he looked even more handsome.

There was definitely a reason for his popularity. Should I touch him? As I raised my hand to touch his face, he abruptly grasped my wrist.

“Oh? Was there a motion like this?”

“W-what are you doing?!”

“I was going to touch your face. You’re handsome.”

“No! What is this! Even if, Sir Haut, you are the brave hero who slays demons, such actions are…!”

“It’s not allowed?”

Enhanced AI wasn’t entirely a good thing. Before, it wouldn’t register anything unless I was sexually harassing them, like grabbing their butt or chest, but now it seemed to react even if I just got close.

Damn it, they should implement things like this in romance games for immersion! Why was this needed in a fantasy world of blood and gore?!

“F-first of all! Please refrain from such contact!”

“Hmm, isn’t touching your face fine? Ah, do I need to do something in return? Want to touch my chest?”

“Why would I touch the Hero’s chest!!”

This was a landmine too, it seemed. I thought it would be fine since he wasn’t a female character, but apparently not. I grumbled, scooting a little further away from him. He flinched, looking wary, so I pulled my hand free and even clasped them behind my back.

“You’re picky about strange things. And?”

“And, um… I would appreciate it if you would wear some clothes…”

“You’re obsessing over clothes way too much. Don’t you like my underwear?”