“What the hell are you?!”

...Yoo Chae-rin thought to herself.
How did things end up like this?

To understand, we need to go back a few minutes.

At that time, she was extremely cautious.
The high-level zone lived up to its reputation; even in the mid-range areas, the monsters' levels were far higher than she’d expected.

Most of them were tough enough to be overwhelming even one-on-one, so she had no choice but to keep her stealth skill active at all times.

While exploring the Forbidden Forest, she came across a strangely deep cave.

“Oh, what’s that?”

Her first emotion, of course, was curiosity.
As someone exploring the map, a cave like this naturally piqued her interest.
Her viewers were just as curious.

[Oh, look at that!]
[What is it?]
[Is that a hidden boss room or where rare monsters live?]
[Maybe there’s some kind of special item in there?]

Speculation ran wild about the cave. And there was only one conclusion she could reach.

“Should we go in?”

[Yeah, go for it!]
[Let’s gooo!]
[Get in there, get in there, get in there!]

Without hesitation, Chae-rin stepped inside. The cave greeted her with an eerie and oppressive atmosphere.

“Wow, this goes pretty deep…”

As she and her viewers ventured deeper, the guesses continued—was it a monster lair, a hidden piece, a treasure room, or maybe even the boss of the forest? But one thing she never expected was to find a person.

After all, this was a high-level zone where people could barely survive.

So, when the silhouette of a person suddenly appeared deep inside the cave, everyone was shocked.

[?????]
[What the hell is that??]
[Is that a person? What’s someone doing here??]
[Is that an NPC or a player?]

There it was. Off in the distance, a figure wrapped in fur clothing, sitting and doing something.
The unsettling sound of swish, swish echoed through the cave, adding to the creepy atmosphere.

The scene was terrifying, but collective curiosity was stronger.

[Let’s get closer.]
[Come on, go up there already!]
[Talk to them, let’s see what happens.]

“Ugh, fine, everyone calm down…”

She opened the chat window to speak directly.

[Chaerin: If I talk, I might get noticed. From now on, let’s communicate through chat.]
[Come on, just say something to them!]
[Our streamer’s too shy, she can’t do it.]

So, she crept slowly toward the figure.

The closer she got, the more clearly the person came into view.
A man dressed in a thick bearskin coat, sharpening a blade.
Around him were tools covered in dried blood, adding to the already grim atmosphere.

What is that? Why are there so many blades?
What the hell was he cutting that left the knives so covered in blood?

[Uh, maybe don’t talk to him...]
[If you talk to him, you’re probably gonna die...]
[That’s not a person, it’s probably a human-shaped monster.]
[No, it’s a person for sure. Look at him sharpening those knives.]

Chae-rin stopped about 15 meters away.

The chat was right—this was terrifying.
The cave’s creepy atmosphere, the bloodstained tools, and the eerie sound of sharpening blades were enough to paralyze anyone.

People fear the unknown.
The more unfamiliar something is, the more dangerous it seems. Her mind was racing with all sorts of bad possibilities.

What if she got caught?
Even with her immersion rate set low, she could still feel pain.
And it could hurt—a lot.

She didn’t want to get stabbed by one of those knives.

[Is that a woman? Or a man?]
[It’s too hard to tell with all that fur.]
[Get a little closer, we can’t tell from here!]

The viewers clamored for her to get closer, but she had her limits.

[Chaerin: Why don’t you come here yourselves? It’s really freakin’ scary, okay??]
[Yeah, we get it, but come on, just a little closer!]
[From the shape, it looks like a guy...]
[Maybe the coat’s just bulky.]
[Or... what if it’s really the guy from the ghost story?]
[Oh man, it might actually be!]

[TibetFox donated 100,000 won!]

• "Please go a little closer."

In the end, she couldn’t resist the power of money.
You can’t ignore that kind of donation, or you risk losing your viewers’ support.
She sighed inwardly.

Sigh...

[Chaerin: TibetFox... Thank you so much for the 100,000 won...]
[Lololol]
[You better be thankful, lol.]
[Is she really grateful, though?]
[Lmao, look at this money-grubber, this was your plan all along, huh?]

She cautiously moved forward again, circling from behind the figure.

At one point, she accidentally kicked a small stone, which briefly caught the person’s attention.

“...?”

They looked around for a moment before returning to their work.
Chae-rin let out a sigh of relief.

Phew...

[This feels like a horror game, omg.]

She was now only about 7 meters away.

But that’s where her courage ran out.

Whoosh!

The moment she took one more step, a throwing knife flew straight at her.
Even though it was dulled from the dried blood, it still looked sharp enough to kill someone.
Her scream came naturally.

“Kyahhh!!”

And right after that, a spear followed.
Fortunately, neither weapon hit her, but it was enough to freeze her in place.

Actually, there was another reason she froze.

When the figure lunged forward with the spear, the fur hood fell back, revealing the face hidden underneath.

It was a man.
His black hair was slicked back, and his amber eyes held a hint of coldness.
He was strikingly handsome, with sharp, almost dangerous features.

The atmosphere had felt deadly just moments ago, but now, all the chat could focus on was his good looks.
Actually, it wasn’t surprising—the viewers had been starving for a "man."

[Whoa, whoa, whoa!!]
[He’s so hot!!!]
[It’s a man!!! A man!!! A man!!! A man!!! A man!!! A man!!! A man!!! A man!!! A man!!! A man!!! A man!!! A man!!!]
[Look at him swearing... it’s so sexy... Oppa...]
[Why is there a man here?!]

Normally, Chae-rin might’ve been equally stunned by his looks.

“Hey, what’s your deal? Are you mute? Can’t speak? Want me to stab a hole in your throat so you can talk?”

...That is, if she weren’t currently being threatened with death.

I pulled the spear out of the wall and brought it up to the woman’s neck.
Even though I was startled by her unexpected appearance, one thought dominated my mind:

‘Should I kill her?’

I was already planning to kill her if she turned out to be a monster.
Just because she turned out to be human didn’t change the fact that she’d trespassed into my home.
But still, I hesitated. She was a fellow human, after all.

‘Ugh... killing people gives me bad dreams.’

There’s no point in hiding it—I’ve killed people before.
I’ve had plenty of enemies, and in the past, bounty hunters had even come deep into this forest to try to claim my life.

Some were so extreme they tried to kill me and... force themselves on me.
After all, this place is an isolated forest, with no society or laws to worry about.

Those kinds of people? I had no problem killing them.

“Hiiik! No, no, I’m sorry! I saw this cave and got curious, so I came inside, and then...!”

But this situation was a little different.

This woman didn’t seem hostile. It looked like she really had just stumbled in here and accidentally found me.
Yes, she had invaded my home, but it didn’t seem intentional.

So, what should I do... let her go?
But then again, there was something that made me hesitate. The danger of my existence itself.
What if she went back to the city and spread rumors about a man living in the forest?
Before I knew it, bounty hunters might come after me again, like they did in the past.

So what should I do...?

“Oh.”

As I struggled with my dilemma, a thought flashed through my mind.
What if she’s one of those otherworlders? She’ll just resurrect in three days like Jesus, so killing her wouldn’t even matter.
If that’s the case, killing her would be pointless.

So, I decided to check if she was an otherworlder while also testing out my skill, Player’s Eye.

Turns out, she was.

System windows popped up before my eyes.

[An unknown NPC is hostile toward you!]

One strange message that seemed to refer to me...
And then:

[Chaerin’s beta instincts kicking in, lol.]
[This reminds me of my school days...]
[Wow, his language is rough, huh?]
[It's fine, he’s hot. That makes it all okay.]
[Sexy.]
[Actually, now I’m pissed. How dare a man threaten a woman with a knife?!]
[For real, Chaerin, teach him a lesson! Show him your female superiority!]
[Subdue him! And then—well, you know!]
[This user has been banned by the moderator.]
[Uh... looks like you’re the one about to get schooled.]
[Hey, didn’t you see how fast he threw that knife? Even though the streamer has decent levels, she couldn’t even react.]
[Yeah, that’s ‘cause her reflexes are trash and her gear is all low-tier.]
[He threw that knife into a stone wall, though...? Could you do that?]
[I don’t know about the rest, but can we strip that fur coat off him? He’s covered up too much to really appreciate...]
[This user has been banned by the moderator.]
[Sexy.]

The chat was scrolling so fast I could barely keep up.
Seeing it, I couldn’t help but feel confused.

“...Huh?”

What the hell is all that...?