Chapter 46: “The way of thinking is completely different.”

“I went to check when I heard that the house next door had collapsed, but it turns out our house had collapsed. As soon as I saw it, I started crying.”

This is the exact situation I’m reminded of right now.

I had been lying down comfortably, just watching someone else’s house burn, thinking it was amusing.

But now, why is our house on fire?

[Why are you only here now, why are you only here now, why are you only here now…]

[Welcome back after 10 years ^^]

[Teacher… don’t leave us, teacher… don’t leave us, teacher… don’t leave us…]

[Is there a streamer who abandons their viewers?]

[This chaotic chat… definitely Mollu’s stream]

[Taking a week off is crossing the line lol]

I knew this was going to happen.

I knew our house would burn.

To be exact, it’s been burning for a while now.

The spark was something so trivial that it could have flared up at any moment.

After the competition, I hadn’t streamed once, so it was only natural to face the consequences.

From past experience, I knew that the key here was to act as shamelessly as possible.

I tried to speak casually, as if nothing had happened.

“Good afternoon… good lunch. Today’s stream will be fun and exciting~ Let’s go, fighting!”

But I guess I’m not the kind of person with thick skin.

I tried to speak like someone who streams every day, even streamed yesterday, but the words that came out of my mouth were completely different from what I had in mind.

The viewers, sensing weakness, pounced on me immediately.

I felt a little unfair while watching the chat scrolling by, trying to focus so I could read it with my peripheral vision.

It wasn’t like I had taken a break without saying anything; I had a reason.

“I left a notice… that I’d be taking a break for a few days.”

It wasn’t like I just disappeared without saying anything, I had informed them and then took a rest.

In terms of work, it could be seen as a kind of vacation.

It was a win-win situation for both me and the viewers.

Everyone has their own life and activities, right? It’s not like they can watch my stream all day, every day.

I thought the idea was good—using this time to focus on personal growth—but it seems the viewers thought differently.

[What?]

[Was that really the notice you wrote? ^^]

[Wasn’t that just a joke?]

[So when is the cafe opening?]

[They always tell us to leave the gallery]

[The Moltu need a new home]

[You said 2-3 days, why is it a week?]

[What happened for it to take a week?]

[What have you been doing for a week?]

[You probably went to a hotel with your boyfriend and rolled around, right?]

[Hey, don’t slander our teacher]

[You leave]

[If you keep doing this, I might start thinking badly…]

[It was only me who was serious, only me who was serious, only me who was serious…]

“No. I had to send my computer for repairs, what can I do? It just arrived a little while ago during the holiday.”

[Don’t care]

[Why would I care lol]

[You should’ve streamed from an internet cafe]

[You’ve lost your way]

[Why did you spill the water in the first place?]

[That’s because of a structural flaw in my body…]

[Flaw?]

[If it’s a flaw, then it’s a flaw, right?]

[Seems like many women would want to have that flaw.]

Though they say such things, it’s actually an expression of being glad to see me after a long time.

They’re really not honest people.

<MintChoco has donated 10,000 yen!>

-So, when will you play Dragon Road?

“I’ll get started right away~”

It was the perfect timing.

I had talked for about 10 minutes, so the viewers were probably satisfied.

Now that I had caught their attention, it was time to live up to their expectations.

Especially, it was an opportunity to correct my frustrating gameplay.

Countless streamers were playing Dragon Road live.

I immediately changed the stream title and joined them.

-Mollru is streaming!

Dragon Road) How to Eat Balak Like Kimchi

“Here, you just roll once to dodge.”

The warrior, holding a long sword with a thin blade in one hand and a small shield in the other, swiftly rolls across the ground.

This is a very common setup, often called a sword-and-shield warrior.

It’s the image you’d naturally think of when imagining medieval warriors.

A moment later, with a loud cracking sound, the ground beneath him collapses.

It’s Balak’s unique pattern, the ground splitting move.

[Why is he so relaxed? lol]

[So comfortable]

[He really does eat him like kimchi, lol]

[Is this really the mighty Balak? He looks like such a loser…]

[The world was stunned? America was shocked, China was angry, and Japan shed tears over Korea’s love for kimchi!]

[What if foreigners can’t eat kimchi? What do we do?]

[Whether they can eat kimchi or not, I don’t care]

“This part is easy, right? And if you take off just a little more health from here…”

The warrior circles around Balak, waiting for the right moment to strike, and thrusts the sword into Balak’s side.

After quickly retreating, Balak momentarily freezes and stands still in place.

Then, an ominous, dark aura begins to swirl around Balak.

[Phase 2 incoming, lol]

[He’s already seeing this pattern on the first try? He’s good.]

[Didn’t he practice for this?]

[Didn’t you see the playtime when he started? It was zero hours.]

[Is he going for a one-take-clear?]

[Mochirong (of course)]

Dragon Road, the path to the dragon.

The boy had dreamed of this since he was little.

Just like the hero in a fairytale, he wanted to travel the world, meet legendary beings, and help people.

As time passed, the boy grew into a young man.

He had buried his childhood dream and was living peacefully, blending in with the people in his village.

But then, the news of a dragon appearing reached him.

The young man felt his heart race as he recalled his hidden dream and set off for the continent.

Countless trials stood in his way, and this could be considered the first one.

The first hurdle may seem too massive, but what can you do?

That’s how life is.

But I had the ability to help the young man fulfill his dream.

I couldn’t afford to waste time on these small fry while journeying to meet the dragon.

While resting, I watched the gameplay of other streamers and already figured out the patterns.

If I could understand the patterns and had the physical ability to react,

it would be strange if I couldn’t break through.

“It’s a guard-break move. It’s a bit fast, but if you time the roll right, you can dodge.”

(Guard-break: an unblockable attack)

Balak, true to his name “Giant Soldier,” boasts a massive frame.

He charges at you with a speed that doesn’t seem to match his size.

It’s so fast, you can barely see anything except afterimages.

Other guides mention that with luck, you can dodge this pattern, or if not, just take the hit without worry.

But there was no reason to take the hit.

I’d aim for a perfect game if possible.

Immediately after dodging his charge, the next pattern begins.

This one is really vicious.

-If you can’t overcome this trial…

Balak takes a stance for a wide horizontal slash.

It’s slow and has a wide range.

But this one doesn’t need to be dodged; in fact, it’s a chance for a counterattack. “The motion is slow, so just parry comfortably.”

I could predict his every move.

Soon, with a sharp ringing sound, Balak’s attack is nullified.

However, unlike other units, Balak doesn’t lose his stance or falter.

True to his name “Giant Soldier,” he never succumbs to status effects.

He has almost unfairly overpowered abilities, but it doesn’t matter.

A few more slashes and his life would be over.

I quickly continued my assault, maneuvering the character.

“We’re almost there. I’ll finish this up now.”

I said that casually, signaling the end of the Balak hunt.

But in that instant, the screen turned red, and my character staggered with a ‘slap’ sound.

My HP bar was shallowly scratched, and at the same time, Balak groaned and collapsed.

-You… won. Young warrior.

“Oh, I got hit… sigh, such a shame.”

Even though I cleared it, there was an uneasy feeling.

Of course, clearing it in one go was impressive, but I had aimed to do it without taking a single hit, so that feeling lingered.

Balak was a boss that could theoretically be defeated without taking any hits.

But what could I do about the past?

I couldn’t go back and fight Balak again.

I looked at the chat with regret but then couldn’t continue speaking, stunned by the responses.

[LOL, you still got hit]

[Somehow… not as good as before?]

[Has-been]

[This isn’t the teacher I knew]

[Give us our teacher back! Give us our teacher back! Give us our teacher back! Give us our teacher back!]

[Why is this happening? Isn’t clearing it on the first try really good?] These guys

[Is this the usual atmosphere here? Did new viewers come in?]

[I don’t know either, LOL (I really don’t know)]

[It seems like the condition is off; if it were before, you could’ve done it with one hand]

I thought they’d praise me for clearing it on the first try, but instead,

it felt so unfair.

No one can be perfect all the time, right?

Isn’t this still good?

Has the bar for viewers gotten too high?

Is this my fault for showing too many amazing plays before?

Seeing people call me a “has-been” just because I took one hit,

I yelled with frustration,

“Why are the standards only so strict for me?”