The Peculiarities of a Demon Hunter

Faust flinched, startled by my words. Was it because I was only wearing plain white underwear, and he found it too simple? When I pulled out countless other pairs from my inventory to show him, he shrieked as if in agony.

“Doesn’t it look strange, no matter how you see it?”

“What’s so strange about it? Clothes just get in the way when you’re hunting demons. And they’re a pain to wash.”

Faust’s expression twisted into another peculiar grimace. Yet, I was simply stating a fact.

While hygiene isn’t a feature implemented in the game, demon blood is a notable exception. If you don’t clean it off your clothes or armor promptly, their durability will be compromised.

Failing to do so can also lead to strange status effects being affixed to your gear, lower your reputation with NPCs, or even add utterly baffling descriptions that make no sense. Penalties, in various forms, are always incurred.

“Just so you know, if you don’t clean demon-blood-stained clothes or armor in time, they’ll get cursed. Some even suffer a drastic drop in durability.”

“Then… isn’t that dangerous? If a person were to get covered in it, it would be even more perilous.”

“You can just wash your body, but it’s a waste to discard items every time. Especially when there are some you want to keep.”

While it’s not bad for completing collections, otherwise you’d have to wash everything with holy water every single time, which is incredibly bothersome.

From the outset, I stripped down to give myself a handicap, so why would I need clothes? Cloth garments offer no defense, serving only as collectibles.

Even low-tier armor has a defense rating of at least three, which would simply make things boring. Their designs are also ugly, and I loathe having to wash them with expensive holy water.

Even though it’s just a game, I can’t strip bandits every single time. It’s a matter of principle. Rather than wasting my time hunting weak, uninteresting bandits, I’d much rather execute a full combo on three demons.

“Still, there are no demons here at the moment.”

“That’s true, but you never know when they might show up, do you?”

“Demons don’t just appear that easily.”

“Well, they are rare to see normally. But I hunt them every single day. Frankly, the only reason I even followed you was because I’d forgotten where all the demon nests were.”

“Why… why do you go to such lengths to fight demons?”

Why, you ask? Because that’s how the game is designed. In ‘The Garden,’ even after defeating the boss-level ‘Great Demon God Meravis,’ the world persists.

Sure, you get the ending credits and special rewards, but nothing truly concludes. It’s fundamentally a fantasy role-playing game—a virtual reality experience, after all.

The world continues to turn, whether demons are vanquished or left untouched.

Faust is right. There’s no real need to hunt demons. There are more than enough things to enjoy in this world, even if I don’t. Yet, if you ask why I still do…

“Perhaps… because I’m tired of it?”

“Tired of what, exactly?”

“People.”

The narratives of this world’s NPCs, its human inhabitants, are remarkably cruel.

In the early days, I tried various things just to experience different stories. I became the leader of assassins, the king of thieves, and even a sage in the wizards’ tower.

Beyond those, I did countless other things. While I eventually abandoned the path to becoming an emperor because it was too bothersome, I certainly knew how to achieve it.

But as I continued, a thought began to gnaw at me. Even considering they were just NPCs and quests, it all felt excessively cruel.

It’s a world where you must injure or kill others for your goals, betray them, and constantly deceive. The more honest and diligent you are, the kinder you are, the more you stand to lose.

That’s just how the game’s progression works. Committing vile acts often yields greater rewards.

Such things are only amusing at first, but if you keep doing them, you inevitably grow weary. I started to despise it. Even in a game, continually tormenting someone for personal gain eventually leaves a foul taste in my own mouth.

Demon hunting, on the other hand, seems preferable. It’s nothing but combat. There’s no need to bother with complicated schemes, no need to constantly overthink things, and no need for that lingering unpleasant feeling in the back of my mind.

Most importantly, it’s tiresome to repeat the same quests when I already know all the content. Touching stories or those that leave a lasting impression are only compelling once or twice.

Hunting demons is, by far, several times more entertaining.

“Humans are so gloomy. Though, I suppose it’s unavoidable in times like these.”

‘You’re just an NPC, after all. You wouldn’t understand anything I say anyway.’

“In that case, wouldn’t it be more convenient not to eliminate demons?”

“Even so, there must be hope in the world.”

When demons are eliminated, the happiness of nearby NPCs rises, albeit temporarily. You might ask if I could just avoid using the respawn mod?

No, that’s not it. I told you this world continues to spin even after the ending. Even if the demon lords are vanquished, the minor, pesky demons still persist.

In fact, they appear even more frequently than before the ending. Boss-level demons disappear, but named demons—those with actual titles—emerge more often and in greater numbers. Sometimes, they even infiltrate villages.

That’s just how the system works. It’s probably a measure to ensure players have things to enjoy even after the ending, but regardless, the world never truly becomes perfectly peaceful.

Because of this, many players actually complain about the respawn mod.

I’m serious about combat, but I also enjoy seeing the NPCs happy, even if only for a brief moment.

“Alright! Now, pick one. Which style do you prefer?”

“Why are you so fixated on underwear?! Weren’t we just having a profound discussion?”

“Well, because this is the fundamental posture of a proper demon hunter, of course.”

“Put on some clothes! Clothes!”

He didn’t like it? In the end, I donned a dazzling pair of underwear that shimmered with rainbow transformations, glowing and sparkling effects.

It did cause a minor commotion the next day, as even other characters were utterly flabbergasted.

‘I don’t know why they react that way. This is a genuinely rare item.’

‘I am absolutely not stagnant or corrupted. I mean it.’

I consider myself a very casual gamer. Even for someone like me, rainbow-transforming, glowing, glittering underwear is something I only wear when I’m in a particular mood.

For a true standard, isn’t it obvious that plain white underwear is the only way to go?

This is the mark of a veteran, after all. Rainbow underwear is for rookies.

“But today, I want to feel like a rookie.”

“Please… I beg of you. Couldn’t you just wear white underwear instead?”

The crafting method isn’t particularly difficult. If you defeat ‘Ariella of Lust,’ there’s a certain chance you’ll obtain a ‘Horn of Lust.’ Why that horn specifically earned the name ‘Horn of Lust,’ I’m not entirely sure.

Grind it down and mix it with ‘Fairy Wing Powder,’ and you’ll get the added effects of rainbow transformation, glowing, and sparkling.

Surprisingly, the truly difficult part is obtaining ‘Fairy Wing Powder.’ Ariella is merely a boss in a fixed stage, easily defeated, but fairies spawn randomly, requiring you to scour the entire map.

“What? You think defeating Ariella is hard? That’s only because you haven’t tried hard enough.”

I recall laughing at a post once, where someone cried about taking fifty tries to defeat her. Ariella is easy.

Let’s all embrace Ariella and die happy. Though, please, don’t actually die.

If it’s truly too difficult, call for assistance. Our game has no new players, so if you declare you’re joining, people will practically foam at the mouth to rush over and help you.

Our game allows up to four players to connect and support another person’s world.

‘You stagnant, corrupted bastards, don’t monopolize all the newbies! Leave some room for me to ‘stuff their pockets’ too! Are you the only ones who get to dump everything on them? You utterly unethical brats!

Even light users like me, who are just old, have diligently gathered many acorns, like squirrels! We know how to ‘stuff pockets’ too! The more I think about it, the angrier I get!’

Just as my insides were about to boil over, someone called out to me from beside me.

“It’s far too conspicuous, and it’s truly distressing. Please…”

“You don’t like it? It’s splendid, isn’t it?”

“No, not in the slightest. It’s grotesque.”

His tone was absolute. Faust spoke with an unparalleled seriousness that abruptly severed my meandering train of thought.

I couldn’t fathom why everyone was staring at this. They tried to avert their gaze, yet their eyes kept drifting back, staring at me with expressions of sheer agony.

I attempted to endure it, but it was futile. Being constantly bothered was simply too annoying.

I retrieved the plain white underwear, neatly stored in my inventory. Only then did Faust’s expression soften slightly. I performed the transformation gesture, but to my surprise, it didn’t change.

“That’s odd. It worked just yesterday.”

I shook the underwear in the air a few more times, but nothing happened. Was this broken too? Normally, clothes are meant to be changed manually. This prevents players from exploiting quick changes during combat or specific quests to stall for time or gain certain effects.

However, underwear is an exception; it can be changed with just a transformation gesture. After all, this game is for adults, but it’s not an explicit one.

I’d heard some people install explicit mods to play, but I’ve never installed anything like that here. No, really.

There are far more entertaining explicit games out there; why would I do something like that in a place where sensory implementation isn’t even properly realized?

Not just Faust, but everyone around me was now staring with peculiar expressions. ‘Hmm. If it won’t work, then I suppose there’s no choice. I’ll have to change manually.’

I reached for the rainbow underwear. The moment I made to remove it, Faust gasped in horror and seized my arm.

“H-here? You intend to change right here?”

“You asked me to change.”

“Go somewhere private and change! Please… Why are you acting this way… Don’t do this…”

Anyone would think I was harassing him. His face was flushed crimson, and he looked as though he might burst into tears. His reaction was strangely realistic.

Such minute details weren’t necessary, yet even when I tried to ignore it, it kept grating on my nerves.

“Ugh—seriously. What a nuisance. I mean, what’s the big deal if someone sees a little bit?”

“We’re embarrassed! Please, have some human decency!”

“You’re fine with human bones and flesh flying, and guts spilling out, but a mere lower half is somehow a problem? I don’t get it.”

I shook off Faust’s hand and simply changed my underwear right there. A chorus of screams erupted around us.

Faust, flustered and at a loss, squeezed his eyes shut. I tossed the rainbow underwear back into my inventory and mimed dusting my hands.

“Done?”

“You are utterly…!”

“What? Everything’s resolved, isn’t it? Is there a problem?”

I couldn’t understand why he was angry when I’d done exactly as he asked. Honestly, I had no idea how massive this update was to have caused such a complete mess. If things were going to get tangled, they should have at least provided an emergency escape or given proper advance notice.

Still, they’d probably push an emergency patch in about a day of real-world time, right? So, that would mean waiting about four in-game months?

I wasn’t sure. It might take longer with the weekend. If it wasn’t fixed in over three days, I’d be forcibly disconnected, so waiting for that seemed like an option. Surely nothing serious would happen?

At first, I was terrified, caught in the game, and immensely worried. But upon calm reflection, I realized there were safety measures in place, and things would probably be fine.

It was my day off anyway, and I had nowhere to go. Since there was an online connection, someone would surely take action.

“Yes, no matter how I think about it, it’s strange. Being summoned to another world while playing a game—a system error makes far more sense. Nowadays, if you use that cliché, you’ll just get told, ‘Grandpa, go take your meds.'”

“Um, Sir Haut?”

“No, don’t worry about it. Let’s just go.”

Since we rested today, we should be leaving now, right? Even though I stared at him with an expectant gaze, Faust simply stood there awkwardly, hesitating. When I pressed him further, he finally spoke.

“Well, it seems we’ll have to stay a few more days.”

“Why? Didn’t you say we had to leave quickly?”

“The bridge in the canyon reportedly broke due to the rain the day before yesterday. To proceed, we’ll have to cross the lower reaches of the river once the water level drops.”

How peculiar. Just when I needed to leave, a reason to be unable to emerged.

“Usually, something happens in cases like this…”

“Something? I don’t understand what you mean.”

“No, it’s true, isn’t it? A secluded village, the timely arrival of the Holy Knights, and this village even had two demon nests nearby…”

Faust tilted his head in confusion. Ignoring him, I opened my inventory and began choosing which sword to use. In such situations, an Assault or a similar calamity quest usually pops up…

Before I could even finish my sentence, a loud crash, as if something was collapsing, echoed through the air. Then, the old wooden door of the temple burst open, reverberating loudly. The woman who entered was a priestess of Hamman. Gasping for breath, she leaned against the door and choked out.

“Outside, d-demons! Demons are swarming! Their numbers are immense!”

See? It’s always the same predictable event.