BTOG 296 – Arrival at Zeronoa

The city of Zeronoa… its outer walls.

Just a bit off from the main gate, there’s a checkpoint.

Since you need something like an entry permit to get into the city, it seems you have to go through this checkpoint the first time you enter.

I, who had practically non-stop sprinted here from Griffith, stopped near the checkpoint.

“Okay, time stop near the main gate of Zeronoa. The record is 49 minutes and 42 seconds.”

<She seriously sprinted the whole way>

<That’s too fast>

<The agility bonus ✕ SP consumption reduction is just outrageous>

<Work hasn’t even started yet>

<It was a sight to behold when she landed that instant death combo on the boss…>

<She’s practically a car>

<The way she ran through the cave while looking at the map was truly absurd>

<Please stop using the monsters you pass by as SP drain spots… please stop…> {she using them as SP potion lol}

<Everyone you passed by was looking at you with weird eyes>

<please say something about your impressions after finishing this run>

“My impressions after finishing? It was a good workout for the morning.”

<Workout (massacre)>

<I can hear the monsters’ grudges, for real>

<I cried when I saw a Death Rabbit get killed with a soccer ball kick>

<The knife mode was really handy for hunting small fry :O>

“Right! Knives are definitely handy for slicing through vital spots.”

Although I had it made as a throwing weapon, it was also quite convenient as a secondary weapon.

The effect is different when you crush a weak spot with a blunt weapon versus slicing it with a slashing weapon.

Take, for example, using blunt force – it might induce paralysis (stun) or a straightforward power boost. On the other hand, employing slashing techniques has a high chance of causing a bleeding condition. Monsters in a bleeding state share similarities with those affected by poison; if left undisturbed, their HP gradually dwindles until they meet their demise, sparing you the need to deliver the final blow.

Consequently, all the monsters I couldn’t swiftly dispatch on my journey here were left with a fatal wound and entered a bleeding state. Of course, this was made feasible by the morning calm and the sparse presence of people. In a bustling environment, it could easily lead to a procession of monsters.

Well, I could do this because it was morning and there weren’t many people around. If it were crowded, I could accidentally make a monster train.

The only regret is that I finished the fights just with the short spear and knife, so I hardly had a chance to use the staff and iron balls.

“Well then, I guess some of you have work or school, so I’m gonna stop streaming for now. I’ll pick it back up around 6 AM with Rin-chan when we enter the city! Thanks for joining me this morning~”

<Good work~>

<That cheered me up!>

<I don’t wanna go to work…>

<Bye~!>

<Thank you for your hard work!>

<I’m off!>

I hadn’t planned on streaming for long, so I wrapped it up unusually quickly.

About half of the listeners are probably off to work or school now. It’s tough, but I hope they do their best.

“Now then! From this spot, I can only enclose a corner of the city, but that’s fine for now.”

I didn’t log out immediately; instead, I touched the outer wall encircling Zeronoa, ignoring the NPCs and players lined up at the checkpoint and standing a bit away.

I had saved the juicy part of entering the city through the checkpoint for the evening stream, but I wanted to gather some information on the anomalies happening now.

I closed my eyes, shutting off taste, sight, and smell, which would only be noise now.

For now, I set the range to a radius of 1 kilometer and gradually released my hearing and touch.

“Hmm, I see.”

The anomalies occurring in Zeronoa.

There are certainly countless footsteps with the same ‘texture’.

It’s also true that words with the same voice quality are coming from different locations.

And I can sense various players trying to figure out how to gather information.

“Find the ‘real thing,’ huh? There was definitely that kind of information too. Hmm, this feels like it’s going to require a war of attrition… I hope things will have progressed nicely by the time I stream tonight.”

I returned my senses to normal, recalling the messages I had heard repeatedly.

Well, it’s pretty straightforward, ‘typical’ even. When clones or fakes appear in large numbers, it’s a reasonable method to resolve them.

(What caught my attention is that almost none of the entities respond when spoken to, just wandering off somewhere. It seems there are very few entities you can actually talk to.)

I gathered information around 7 AM. Since the anomalies started around the change of the date, there’s only about a maximum of 7 hours’ worth of information quality.

Considering the proportion of players who have reached Zeronoa, the small number of players from late night to dawn, those players who deliberately engage with this anomaly, and the fact that most of the clones don’t talk (or choose not to talk)…

Even something that seems as straightforward as this has only gathered vague information, which might just be unavoidable.

“And it seems like the content of the conversations varies too.”

The mysterious NPCs sometimes say “Find the real thing,” and sometimes they don’t, making evasive statements or running away as if to escape.

This would be a terribly troublesome event to tackle manually.

There might be a strategy to overcome it, but who knows when that will be found.

“Hmm… Alright, I’ll eat plenty and get some sleep to prepare for when I start streaming again.”

In about 9 hours, when the stream ends, it’ll be good if things have been figured out.

If not, I need to store up extra energy so I can persevere.

“Okay, then…”

“Excuse me…”

“Huh?”

I was about to log out and had taken out my menu card when I was unexpectedly approached by an unfamiliar player.

It looks like a party of four. They seem to have stepped out of the line at the checkpoint, so they’re probably here in Zeronoa for the first time.

Playing at this time on a weekday means they’re all adults, or at least college students, I guess.

“You’re Nana-san, right?”

“Hey idiot, ever heard of manners? Sorry about that. You’re Sukuna-san, right? From HEROES?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

The girl who first approached me used my real name… well, it’s not exactly my real name, but my stage name… hmm, what do you call that?

Anyway, one of her male companions corrected her for not using my player name.

“Do you need something?”

“We noticed you weren’t streaming… and we know it’s presumptuous, but we were hoping to get your autograph…”

“Oh, I see.”

It’s not like I’ve ever refused, but now that I think about it, it’s been a while since people have approached me during a stream.

It’s probably come full circle.

My suddenly inflated fame might have induced a psychological need for a buffer before direct interaction.

Plus, approaching someone during a stream means exposing oneself to many viewers’ gazes.

Anyway, it’s been a while since someone has approached me like this.

Actually, it’s been quite some time since I’ve stayed in this world without streaming.

“Sure, I can do that, but I don’t have anything to write with. And I haven’t really prepared any autograph or anything…”

“Oh, don’t worry, we’ve got that covered! You can just write the autograph that’s on the official page…”

“Ah… Rin-chan had prepared that autographs for this? Ok, Just give me a moment, please.”

They handed me four shikishi boards, one for each member of their party.

I can only write my name in block letters, but it seems that the HEROES official introduction page has a special autograph for me that I don’t recall ever writing.

While thinking about how well-prepared Rin-chan is, I traced the autograph in my mind and transferred it onto the boards.

“Do you want me to add your player names as well?”

“Yes, please, that would be great!”

“Here you go, all four. Feel free to use them however you like.”

“Thank you so much! Hey everyone, look at this!”

The girl who first spoke to me took all four autographs with a look of sheer joy and distributed them to each person as per their names.

(It feels a bit awkward. Rin-chan always does things like this, huh?)

Rin-chan is regularly invited to various events, not just in games, and sometimes she ends up signing autographs for hundreds of people.

It’s true that overall she doesn’t have a lot of stamina, but she’s surprisingly tough in situations like this. You could say she pushes herself to the limit.

“Well, I’m going to log out now. You can post it on social media if you like, but please add that I won’t respond unless it’s outside of streaming.”

“Of course! Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule!”

The girl had taken the initiative, yet each of them expressed gratitude individually. They were very courteous. It marked a somewhat uncommon but likely soon-to-be regular interaction with fans from now.

(I thought it felt like looking at a wild animal in a cage.)

At least, that’s the vibe I got when I went solo on Aria. The reactions from the listeners were pretty much alike. Although, I value the ones who challenged me for their thoughtful responses. Experiencing such genuine kindness made me feel a bit bashful.

“Not everyone is like that, though.”

There are upsides and downsides, but I was happy that the people interacting with me were friendly. With these thoughts, I got ready to log out of WLO and prepare for the night.

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1 Response

  1. Starlet says:

    it seems chapter 293 to 296 are missing in novelupdates

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