Chapter 8

[I wish they would stop talking about the Gravekeeper or whatever it is.]

How long are they going to keep bringing up a poorly designed boss?

This character is just a self-insert for Demoninus.

I don’t understand what’s so good about it that people are praising it.

[Comments]

—If only they focused on that…

┗ Seriously, just stop already.

—If you’re unhappy, then create a more interesting plot yourself.

┗ Is this even fun?

┗ Ignoring the existing combat system entirely, calling it a pattern?

┗ It’s super fun though!

—Journals belong in journals.

Even though the excitement has cooled down quite a bit, there are still sporadic mentions.

Are they angry because someone disagreed with their opinion, or do they just find joy in setting the world ablaze, or do they feel a sense of mission to implement justice?

Groups with torches in their left hands and pitchforks in their right roam the community, igniting posts related to the Gravekeeper.

— “Our target is over there!”

— “Burn everything! Leave not a single ash behind!”

They avoid things out of fear or out of disgust.

People, tired of the arsonists digging around, began to steer clear of them.

As those fighting against the flames felt exhaustion and retreated, the remaining group reveled in their sense of victory, cheering loudly.

— “Let’s ride this momentum and uproot it entirely!”

— “Let’s do that!”

Drunk on the sweet taste of victory, they pressed forward with the intention of exterminating all the ignorant ones opposing them.

A reckless charge with no thoughts of retreat.

No one stood to block their charge, and it seemed like their goals would be achieved.

That is, until a massive obstacle suddenly appeared before them.

***

[Real-time Gravekeeper Easter Egg Discovered]

(Cutting off the head of a Cockatrice, the Gravekeeper appeared.jpg)

(Pointing a sword at Joanie.jpg)

(Gravekeeper walking away with their back turned.jpg)

[Comments]

—Why did they let her go?

—???? Is this real?

—It always attacks first, how did she manage that?

—Is it really them?

┗ No, that’s a screenshot from Joanie’s stream.

┗ Isn’t she the one who travels? Did she go to raid?

┗ She’s not going to raid; she said she’s curious and just went to see.

A new discovery that could be a clue to the strategy.

The fire starters, unable to contain their momentum, crashed into the sudden obstacle without evasion.

Perhaps it wasn’t that they couldn’t dodge, but rather they thought their heads were harder than the obstacle itself.

***

[So what? Does that change the fact that it’s a poorly designed boss?]

[There are so many dumb kids out there. If we complain now, they won’t create another sh*tty boss again.]

[It’s disgusting that even noobs are flocking to this so-called great game. Why don’t you go back to the games you used to play?;]

But no matter how bright the lights, they mean nothing before the shining sun.

People became so engrossed in the sudden large bait that they paid no attention to the voices of the fire starters.

For the attention-seekers, the best antidote is not attention but indifference.

Even if they wanted to set fire, without any fuel to burn, the torches they held began to lose power and flicker out.

“We can’t collapse like this!”

In the end, they tried one last desperate attempt as if they were ready to sacrifice their own lives.

[Blocked by the Administrator.]

It was thwarted by the colossal hand that controls the world, leaving only the abandoned pitchfork to grow cold.

***

[Current Summary of Gravekeeper-related Bait]

Anyone who hunts a bit knows of the hunting ground called the “Old Capital of the Kingdom.”

If you head west from the Empire, you’ll find it; it’s a hunting ground full of high-level mobs, making it quite popular.

Those who have seen it know, but aside from the occasional wreckage, it’s practically a wasteland, hence the moniker “Old Kingdom.”

Unless a significant amount of time has passed, there’s no way the capital would have turned into a wasteland.

But this is actually the capital of the Grasis Kingdom, which perished a year and a half ago in Silia’s world.

I don’t know what exactly happened, but it’s been less than two years since that happened.

So what does that have to do with the Gravekeeper?

(Joanie’s encounter with the Gravekeeper.clip)

A streamer revealed that the Gravekeeper hails from the Grasis Kingdom.

It’s not confirmed yet, but I think it’s practically confirmed.

The Grasis Kingdom speaks a language called Granic, unlike our language, Arkish, used by other NPCs. The streamer spoke in Granic, so it’s said the Gravekeeper paused in the video.

The mountain where the Gravekeeper resides was part of the Grasis territory, and it seemed suspicious that they were hiding their identity, leading to speculation they are from Grasis.

Anyway, after confirming that the streamer spoke in Granic, the Gravekeeper simply let them go without killing them.

Then a shocking fact was revealed:

(Audio file)

Until now, no one had successfully communicated, so we were unaware, but the Gravekeeper was actually a female!

If they had attempted to speak in Granic, they would have known much sooner, but they kept speaking in Arkish, so the Gravekeeper never responded.

Furthermore, considering Grasis was at war with the Empire before its downfall, it’s not unusual for there to be animosity.

All this time, we’ve cursed the sh*tty boss, but aren’t we the real bad guys who went with swords drawn, writing in a language only we understood, and then tried to kill it because we couldn’t communicate?

In fact, the first person who died was trying to steal the sword right in front of the Gravekeeper and got killed.

Indeed, the real root of the problem is our own ignorance.

Ah… I’m sorry for the slander, Demoninus..!

I’m sorry for slandering you, Gravekeeper!

[Comments]

—Listening to the voice, it doesn’t sound like a female, but rather a young boy?

┗ If they’re stronger than me, then it’s definitely a female.

┗ This is correct.

—The little Gravekeeper buries people.

—Looking at it this way, it seems so simple that it’s hard to believe no one knew it;

┗ Most people are too busy leveling up.

┗ Honestly, it’s hard to keep up with the foreign players who figure this stuff out.

—Please give a lot of attention to streamer Joanie~

—So what happened?

┗ It’s still ongoing. ㅇㅇ

┗ Where did you see it?

┗ (Joanie’s stream link)

┗ Thanks!

┗ Haha, I can’t resist; I’m going to watch it right now.

The community’s transmission power is incredibly strong and fast.

While words without legs may travel a thousand miles, in the world of the internet, words with wings soar far beyond that, heading towards ten thousand miles.

And the results manifested in visible forms.

“Wait, the viewer count is….”

—Is our girl… becoming a global sensation?

—Joanie! Joanie! Joanie!

—Ranked #1 by Forbes as the most influential internet broadcaster in the world.

—The surprise is just too funny, lol.

One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand… ten thousand?!

Joanie’s eyes spun at the viewer count she had never seen before.

Originally, Joanie’s broadcasts were on a scale that could easily be described as a “big corporation” in the realm of internet streaming.

She had a large number of regular viewers and subscribers.

Whenever she went live, she received substantial donations.

However, even Joanie had never encountered a viewer count like this one before.

The platform, Fishsik, aimed more at the domestic market than the overseas one, and unfortunately, the domestic market wasn’t very large.

This was primarily because the population was smaller compared to other countries.

Because of this, even if someone was among the top broadcasters on Fishsik, exceeding one hundred thousand viewers was not an easy feat….

“Is it still increasing?!”

Even at this moment, the number of viewers watching Joanie’s stream continued to grow.

It was clear from the awkward Korean and foreign languages mixed in the chat that not only Koreans but also foreigners were joining in.

The translation module applied to the broadcast wasn’t very good, making communication difficult, but they were diligently trying to express their opinions in the chat.

Seeing the wave of managers rushing in, screaming for help as Joanie remained calm, she felt relieved.

“Though it’s regrettable….”

She knew very well the saying “small gains lead to large losses.”

After hesitating for a moment, she firmly pressed the button for “one-week follow chat,” and miraculously, the wave of chat quieted down, allowing the managers to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The people who felt suffocated, with their hands tied and mouths shut, would leave, so the viewer count would likely decrease temporarily.

But those who genuinely enjoyed her broadcast would remain anyway, so Joanie believed that imposing a limit was necessary to maintain the atmosphere of her stream.

It was a correct decision.

However, it was also a judgment that forgot human determination.

[‘q1w2e3’ donated 10,000 won! Thank you!]

—If you take off that rag, it’s 100,000 won.

[‘Anonymous Donor’ donated 1,000 won! Thank you!]

—If you ask about Opfanmu, it’s 1,000 won.

[‘Atomic’ donated 100,000 won! Thank you!]

—WTF! I can’t understand what’s happening!

[‘Anonymous Donor’…]

“Small gains lead to large losses….”

As the chat became congested, a counter wave of donations surged in response.

Unlike before, this time Joanie found herself unable to block them, conflicted.

As she anxiously chewed on her innocent lips, someone came to her rescue.

Suddenly.

“…Huh?”

Something was thrust in front of Joanie.

A steaming piece of cooked protein, essentially a grilled chunk of meat.

“Uh, so… how do I say ‘eat this’?”

In her thin Granic dictionary, there were words like “save me” or “wait,” but there was no everyday phrase like “Are you giving this to me to eat?”

After thinking hard for a while, the gravekeeper was still persistently holding out the meat towards her.

“Whatever, I’ll just take it!”

Could it be that offering a chunk of meat to someone was a special dining etiquette in Grasis?

…She hoped it wouldn’t backfire on her.

When she finally decided to take it, thankfully, the gravekeeper focused on eating without any reaction. S~eaʀᴄh the ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“…Was it given to me to eat?”

—Then is it meant to be thrown away?

—Wow, they’re sharing food with someone they just met…What a character.

—How have we been treating this kind person until now…?

—This is meat grilled by the gravekeeper themself. Enjoy it thoroughly.

“But isn’t this Cockatrice meat…?”

She had never tasted monster meat before…

—???

—Aren’t you going to eat it?

—It probably tastes terrible.

—Monster meat can actually be surprisingly good if you try it.

—You’ve eaten that before?

—NPCs actually eat it a lot. You can buy it at street vendors or inns.

—I bought it and tried it, but it tasted bad; I threw it all away after one bite.

—That meat was low quality, which is why it tasted bad. But the good stuff is really delicious.

But it was hard for Joanie to refuse this time, given the viewers’ watchful eyes.

‘In truth, it’s not just the watchfulness…’

Joanie’s gaze was directed at the Gravekeeper.

Would she commit the atrocious act of throwing away the meat they had grilled for her right in front of them?

No matter how kind-hearted someone is, they wouldn’t be able to contain their anger in such a situation—one could even be killed for such an act.

Just moments ago, she had been threatened by monsters, and now she was faced with the brutal, survival-of-the-fittest ecosystem, causing her body to tremble.

As the time of hesitation stretched out, the mood in the chat became increasingly grim.

“Ugh… fine!”

In the end, Joanie couldn’t withstand the pressure and closed her eyes, taking a bite of the meat.

As someone who loves to travel, she had sampled various cuisines from around the world.

Naturally, she had tried wild game as well, and even though she had experienced a wide range of flavors, this was quite difficult to handle.

The pungent smell of wild game hit her nostrils, and the tough texture made it feel like she was chewing gum rather than meat.

It was probably due to the chef’s lack of skill, but it left such a strong impression on her that she had avoided wild game since then.

Even if it wasn’t wild game, she thought monsters would be even worse.

Moreover, the way the Gravekeeper cooked was just basic grilling with minimal seasoning.

Given that there was no process to remove the stench, the impact would be immense.

Joanie thought so, but…

Chew, chew.

“…Huh?!”

Joanie’s eyes widened.

Her teeth easily sank into the soft exterior of the meat.

As she bit down, the juices trapped inside burst out, overwhelming her mouth.

“It is… delicious?”

The odor she had worried about was nowhere to be found.

The texture was not tough at all; it was soft enough for a child’s weak teeth to chew through.

The subtle smoky flavor from the grilling added a refined touch to the meat.

“What is this… it’s really good?”

As if she had forgotten her earlier hesitations, Joanie began to devour the meat enthusiastically.

The meat looked like it had jumped straight out of a cartoon, making it visually appetizing, and the viewers watching Joanie’s stream swallowed their saliva in response.

—I’m going to hunt only Cockatrices from today.

—They say monster meat is delicious.

—Wow, she really eats it well…

—I’m off to boil water for ramen.

The Gravekeeper, who had been watching Joanie eat the meat ahead of her, continued to observe her intently, but she was too engrossed in her meal to notice.