Standing before my fallen character was none other than Senior Namikawa.
She held a sniper rifle even better than the one I was using earlier, aiming it right at me.
[“Hmm. In a survival game where the goal is to stay alive, killing others doesn’t really make sense, huh…”]
“Um, u-uh, Senior Namikawa…?”
[It’s certainly a valid point, but I don’t know. When Izumi-chan says it, it just makes me laugh… What do you think?]
“Haha…”
It was such a sound argument that I had nothing to say in response.
After all, just 30 minutes ago, I had put a bullet through Senior Namikawa’s head.
“Uh, maybe you could let this go… with this…?”
All I wanted now was to enjoy the Gray City peacefully. We’d killed each other once, so couldn’t we just call it even?
My question, filled with hopeful pleading.
[Hmm. I’ll think about it.]
Senior Namikawa responded with a smirk.
I didn’t even have to look to know.
That familiar expression from her streams—the shaded, cold face with only the corners of her mouth lifted in a slight smile.
Surely, that was the face she had now.
Bang!
With the sound of another gunshot, my character lost its life again.
“…Well, I guess it can’t be helped.”
It was indeed my fault for ignoring the advice of Senior Namikawa, who was completely unaware of what had happened earlier.
If I had realized from the start that my initial target was her and done nothing, none of this would’ve happened.
It was clearly my mistake for not gauging the distance between us properly.
All I could do now was accept it humbly.
If it had been Koga, he’d probably have killed me with a friendly smile, wouldn’t he?
“There really is no hope in this world…”
Realizing this truth, I quietly let out a sigh.
In Gray City’s multiplayer mode, if you save your location at a checkpoint, you’ll respawn there even after dying.
But if you, like me, haven’t set a save point, you’ll randomly respawn in a previously explored area that’s not
necessarily a checkpoint.
This time, I respawned near the Gray River, where I often set up a base when playing Gray City alone, as it has
various materials.
“Lucky…”
The area was rich in resources essential for building a base—plenty of wood, steel for fortifying walls or crafting
weapons, and oil needed for advancing to the next tech stage.
Spawning here meant the area was already mapped, and although I looked around, there was no sign of anyone.
Likely, people had come, explored, and left.
“Well then, I guess I’ll make my base here…”
While it was a great spot for gathering materials, it wasn’t exactly ideal for a permanent base.
With the river nearby, wild animals frequently attacked, and while it was convenient for getting through the early
stages, it wasn’t practical for the long run.
But since I had already fallen behind by dying twice, I needed a quick foundation to move to the next phase as fast as possible.
I could always relocate the base once I had more resources, and with my skills, I could handle wild animal attacks just fine.
[Growl…]
“I know.”
If it was just a wild dog, I could easily handle it with the basic weapon given at the start—a dagger.
Wild dogs aren’t the most dangerous animals in Gray City, after all.
Though this one seemed rather large, it wasn’t anything to worry about.
“Now, if I just move back a little like this…”
With a slicing sound, my dagger stabbed into the dog’s back. Seeing its HP visibly drop, I quickly moved to the side,
pulled out the dagger, and drove it into its jaw.
[Groan…]
With a disturbing whimper, the wild dog collapsed.
The items it dropped were leather, teeth, raw meat, and dog blood—three items in total.
Leather and teeth could be used for crafting utility items, raw meat served as food, and if I spread the dog’s blood
around, it could help ward off weaker wild animals.
I could always hunt wild animals whenever they appeared, since they dropped items, but…
“Ah, since I don’t have a house yet, I’ll just use the blood for now…”
The top priority was still getting a house. Having a main base completely changes the stability of the game.
“Hmm…”
Still, it was a bit boring.
This wasn’t exactly the playstyle I wanted, and on top of that, the sound felt too empty.
Playing Gray City normally doesn’t leave much to show, as it’s a survival game at its core.
I mean, given the nature of Gray City, it’s almost inevitable that there will be PK (Player Kill), but if I keep playing
without any conflict, the viewers might get bored.
That’s why I had aimed to offset that with some early PKs…
Of course, I have loyal Izutomos who would watch and support me no matter what I do, but it wouldn’t be good if the
stream started to feel boring.
・”Am I becoming a pro Vtuber, worrying about things like this?”
Well, I am making money, so I guess I am a pro.
Anyway, this means it’s time to pull out my secret weapon.
“Ahem, ahem… Ah, ah.”
“Everyone, I… I’ve prepared a secret pun…”
For some reason, the Izutomos weren’t reacting well.
But this was a pun I’d thought long and hard about for days. Even if they were saying they didn’t want it now, I was
sure they’d love it once they heard it.
“Do you know why my name is Izumi?”
“The answer is because Izumi is… Izumi! Heh, heh…”
…What? I was certain they’d enjoy it.
I’d planned to follow up with levels two and three of my ultimate puns after they heard this one…
Oh, maybe they didn’t understand my pun?
Right. It was a pun that even I struggled to come up with.
In that case, I should kindly explain it.
“So, if you translate ‘○○ is me’ into English, it’s ‘○○ is me,’ and the pronunciation sounds like ‘Izumi,’ see? Hehe…”
“So, my name being Izumi is actually a play on wor—”
Bang!
“…Huh?”
With a gunshot, my character, who had been chopping wood with an axe, fell.
“Wha—why…?”
[ …Sorry, Izumi. I thought we were done and could just play normally, but if I had to hear any more, I was afraid my ears would rot.]
Slowly approaching from behind was Senior Namikawa.
[Izumi-chan, let’s agree never to make puns again, okay?]
・Why?
Not only had she shot me, but now all of Izutomo was cheering for her, shutting down my treasured pun as well.
Even if she is my senior, isn’t this going too far?
[For now, I’ll heal you. And since I’m currently living with Rinze, why don’t you move your base closer to ours, Izumi-chan?]
“Se-Senior Namikawa…”
Right.
The senior, holding back their instincts as a reaper, had touched on me as I tried to live a normal life.
[Hmm?]
“It’s war.”
This was the point where, as someone suffering from social anxiety, no matter how much of a senior they were, I
couldn’t just let it slide.
I was a little scared, but…
[…01?]
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The adventure continues! If you loved this chapter, I Became An Elusive Peddler is a must-read. Click here to start!
Read : I Became An Elusive Peddler
Thanks for the chapter!! o7
Also just wanted to let you know that on novel updates it shows that chapter 92 was released.
Will fix it soon, it was by mistake
Thanks for your hard work!
o7