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As I mentioned before, [Demon’s Saga] is a skill-based game.

How well I can move my body and how good my judgment is can change combat abilities even at the same level.

Since it requires physical movement, there’s bound to be some difference in talent.

Because of that, it was relatively easy to infer the types of occupations that would excel at [Demon’s Saga].

Military personnel, martial artists, or former athletes, etc…

It’s not a guarantee, but those who primarily use their bodies tend to be good at the game.

Shin Hanbyeol was no exception.

In fact, no one had blossomed with as much talent in this game as she had.

Having been a promising candidate in gymnastics, she learned how to use her body from a young age.

She truly had immense talent. She was even mentioned as a potential national team member for a brief time.

When she performed gymnastics, praise would come pouring in, leading her to enjoy it.

Her family supported her, even going into debt, believing in her talent.

It was probably during this time that her unique arrogant self-esteem was born.

Sometimes she felt burdened by the cheers of others, but she gritted her teeth and worked hard.

When she soared on the pommel horse and parallel bars, she could even feel a sense of freedom.

When she finally succeeded in a move that had been failing, the ecstatic thrill would be overwhelming.

…But the world seems to be harsh.

Despite her relentless effort, the dream of becoming a national representative drifted further away.

It wasn’t that Hanbyeol lacked talent. Her learning speed was still fast.

However, her height and larger chest became a problem.

Gymnasts particularly benefit from being petite and small.

This way, they can jump longer and land more balanced.

While she could cover to a certain extent with hard work, it was impossible to compete with the monsters in the world-class league.

Amidst all this, she suffered an ankle injury.

As a result, she had to get down from the mat.

With her inflated self-esteem and only resentment remaining.

‘What am I supposed to eat now…’

Even after stepping down from the mat, the world was unbearably cold.

For someone who had devoted her whole life to gymnastics, society was full of things she didn’t know. She hadn’t learned anything, and while her pride was high, she lacked social experience.

She got rejected while working part-time, and her temper caused her to argue with customers.

While she was hurt many times, she couldn’t rest because the family had so much debt.

As she was unknowingly getting worn out, one day, [Demon’s Saga] found her.

‘Should I give it a try…?’

Having been on the lookout for something to immerse herself in, Hanbyeol quickly got into the game.

The capsule price was a bit high, but manageable with a 12-month interest-free installment.

And so her talent blossomed.

It was as if everything she had built up until now burst forth; [Demon’s Saga] suited her perfectly.

Her height, which had been a drawback, transformed into a long reach, and the stamina and technique she trained in gymnastics remained intact.

Her brilliant intellectual ability helped her adapt to combat swiftly.

Around this time, she also started streaming.

Fortunately, many remembered her from her athletic days.

Thanks to her dazzling combat scenes and her unique beauty, it wasn’t long before she became a popular and skilled streamer.

As a result, she paid off almost all her debts.

That wasn’t all.

Her true advantage lay in being accustomed to failure.

She had already tasted painful failure due to her physical limitations.

To her, defeat was a familiar occurrence. Being killed in battle, dying from mistakes, losing fights against knights—she didn’t let it faze her.

After all, pain was nothing new to her from her gymnastics days. In fact, there was a strange pleasure in it.

She could see a path for further growth.

Continuously forging ahead, she eventually reached the number one ranking in the country.

Considering that the rank above could only be reached by pouring in money and time, it was remarkable talent indeed.

Her recent visit to Yor was no different.

Honestly, she didn’t expect to win.

Though she prepared her best, the opponent possessed the kind of skill that could overwhelm even a demon.

She thought it would be lucky if she could at least gain battle experience against a strong opponent.

‘Never thought I’d be this outmatched, though…’

It couldn’t be helped.

To be honest, she was feeling a bit cocky after unleashing her sword energy.

…But still, tying her up was going too far.

While she anticipated dying from defeat, she never imagined getting slapped and bound with ropes.

Crack! Crack-!

The sound of rope friction echoed.

Even after being tied for quite some time, she refused to give up and continued to struggle.

However, as the ropes remained unmoving, her frustration was rising…

“Haah, haah… Damn it…!”

[This girl is getting a bit feisty.]

[Don’t get mad, noona~ㅠㅠ I’m scared.]

[How can a person’s name be Happy lol.]

[Wow, Hanbyeol, so envious! Yor’s pet, huh? haha.]

[If I’m a pet of a handsome guy, isn’t that somewhat successful…?]

Of course, whether she was angry or not, the viewers only seemed to enjoy it.

This rare and unique scene was quite uncommon in her skilled broadcasts.

And to be honest, there was a part of her that found it somewhat satisfying.

There were those among the viewers who looked down on her because of her unusually strong personality.

Moreover, the fact that she was popular with male viewers was a problem… The main subject seemed unfazed, though.

“Struggling is useless. That rope was specially crafted for capturing monsters. It’s tougher than most chains.”

While she was struggling, Yor approached her.

Perhaps he’d just showered, as his skin looked soft and clean.

The viewers reacted diversely to this sight, but Hanbyeol merely glared at him.

“…Just let me go already.”

“I told you. If you drop all the holy water you have and tell me its source, I’ll let you go.”

Hanbyeol snorted.

She didn’t understand why he was so obsessed with the holy water, but for the sake of her pride, she wouldn’t comply with Yor’s request.

“Stop talking nonsense. After being put in this situation, do you think I would tell you?”

“Oh really? Then there’s nothing I can do.”

Yor rose from his seat and began to move one hand busily.

“…!”

In an instant, Hanbyeol shut her eyes tightly.

She thought he might slap her again like before.

After all, he was the kind of guy who would even stab a knife under the guise of interrogation. It wouldn’t be strange for him to use violence right away.

“…”

But no matter how long she waited, no hand came flying her way.

Carefully, Hanbyeol opened her eyes.

Before her was a plate. A delicious-looking fried rice made of finely chopped meat and rice.

Hanbyeol tilted her head.

“…What is this?”

“Eat. You must have been starving until now.”

“Did you poison it or something?”

“Ha, if you think that way, then don’t eat it.”

“…”

Hanbyeol stared at the plate for a moment.

She had indeed been starved for a long time while tied up. In fact, her stomach was slightly growling.

She suspected whether there was something weird mixed in the food, but if it was indeed food, she welcomed it.

However, there was a significant issue. Right now, her hands were tied behind her back.

And moreover, there were no utensils to eat the food.

Thus, Hanbyeol asked with doubt.

“There are no spoons or forks. How am I supposed to eat…?”

At her question, Yor grinned mischievously. It was the kind of smile that one would expect from a mischievous troublemaker.

“Of course, you have to eat with your mouth. Why would a pet need utensils? Happy.”

“Ugh…!”

At those words, Hanbyeol grimaced. Just as she thought, it was all a trap to mock her.

“My name is not Happy! It’s Shin Hanbyeol, Shin Hanbyeol!”

“Oh dear, training a pet is quite a challenge, huh?”

[Happy lol.]

[Happy, what’s wrong? Not liking the food~?]

[Seriously treating her like a pet, this crazy guy lol.]

[Help… Big bro, treat me like a dog too, please…!]

[I’m training a gentle Pomeranian named Happy, but this one seems a bit feral~]

With his absurd remarks, the chatroom began to eagerly tease her. What did they say? Other people’s pain is my happiness. The viewers were simply enjoying the situation.

While Hanbyeol trembled with frustration, Yor opened his mouth.

“You can’t leave here until you tell me. So, it’d be better for you to cooperate rather than hold out.”

And with that, Yor disappeared deeper into the cave.

All that remained was the warm plate of fried rice before her.

Phew… Hanbyeol let out a deep sigh. Then she turned to her viewers and said.

“…Well, that’ll be all for today’s broadcast. See you all next time.”

For a moment, the viewers’ discontent echoed in the chatroom, but she neatly ignored it.

For her proud self, this situation was honestly quite embarrassing.

And today, in many ways, her mental strength had been drained too.

As silence ensued, she began to contemplate inwardly.

‘This is a serious problem…’

Although she pretended to be unaffected, the situation was honestly quite severe.

Maintaining the number one ranking was never an easy task. Even at this moment, the rankers below her were surely striving to climb up.

And it was generally bad for her broadcasts, too.

Her viewers came to see her fight in a dazzling way.

They certainly weren’t here to watch her being caught like this.

And naturally, this would lead to a decrease in viewers.

She still hadn’t completely paid off the family debts… That would be truly agonizing.

In a way, it could be said that Yor had made the best move.

Being humiliated and insulted was less effective for her than being trapped like this.

The longer she remained tied up, the more she would suffer losses.

‘I need to find some way out.’

Hanbyeol thought of various plans in her mind.

But there seemed to be no solution that pleased her, and only time flowed.

“Eat. Happy.”

As night fell, Yor replaced the plate. The rice he had given her for lunch had cooled completely, so he brought a new meal.

But again, there was just a single plate, so Hanbyeol wouldn’t eat.

Yor could only retreat, smacking his lips.

He even installed a night light near the wall so it wouldn’t be too dark.

…It was quite a mild treatment for confining her. It made her feel bad, as it felt a bit like he was caring for a real pet.

“Phew…”

Finally, as the night drew late and no solution emerged, she had no choice but to log out.

At least she had brought along a fatigue potion. It was a cheap potion sold at the shop for 100 gold.

However, her inventory wasn’t very spacious, so she only had one potion.

‘If I’d known, I should have brought more…’

As she regretted that, she opened her inventory.

With her arms tied behind her back, she obviously had to pull it out with her mouth.

She also had to open the cap with her mouth, making for a truly pathetic sight, but thankfully no one was watching.

After logging out, she immediately dived into the online community.

Since many viewers had watched today, there would surely be chatter about her incident in the community.

Sure enough, the community was buzzing only about today’s broadcast.

[So, is Shin Hanbyeol still in that cave?]

Just the two of them, Yor and her?

Ooh… I might be a bit jealous…

[What can she do? She can’t even move, lol.]

[So, she can’t hunt or level up for a while?]

[Nah, indeed.]

[This is my chance; while she’s sitting still, I’m gonna run like a cheetah!]

[Ah, big dreams you have.]

“Hah…”

After browsing the internet, Hanbyeol let out a long sigh.

Just as expected, the vultures were already starting to circle her position.

Thinking about what to do moving forward made her head pound already.

“Hmm…?”

In the midst of all this, a new post suddenly caught Hanbyeol’s eye.

With a somewhat tense expression, she clicked on that post.

[Today, I cut the scene where Yor slapped Hanbyeol.]

(mp4)

He really slapped her hard. Oh my god.

From now on, anyone who posts trash should be treated this way.

[So, can I get slapped for posting crap? lol.]

[Ah, please no.]

[Ah, why are you doing this to me?]

[The sound alone is different; just thinking of being slapped by that guy freaks me out.]

[But doesn’t it feel a bit satisfying…? The angle and that condescending look; I feel like I could whack a few people with that.]

[In our industry, that’s considered a reward.]

[You all should die; this shared air is a waste.]

[Why are you all going wild today?]

After checking out the post, she was about to frown.

There was no one who would enjoy seeing a scene of her being slapped.

“………”

But for some reason, she didn’t feel that bad.

No, certainly thinking back to that moment made her frown…

But at the same time, there was a heat rising somewhere deep within.

‘…What is this?’

Hanbyeol felt confused by feelings that even she struggled to judge.

While sensing this discomfort, she soon came up with a plausible excuse.

‘Maybe it’s because I’m not in the video.’

True to her guess, the video was in first-person perspective.

Thus, her own figure wouldn’t appear, only that of Yor slapping her for a brief moment.

That was probably the reason for her lessened sense of rejection.

“…Hmm.”

With that reasoning, she replayed the video.

She went through that act several times over again.