[Mutated Wolf Hide x1]
[Mutated Wolf’s Large Fangs x2]

For anyone who's played this game, the methods to acquire equipment items are pretty straightforward. You can buy them from shops, order custom pieces from a blacksmith, or even win rare items at auctions.

In this game, one of the most common ways to get items is to commission them from a blacksmith. Of course, since this game strives for "another reality," other methods are possible too.

However, the items you find in stores are often of mediocre quality, and auction prices can be outrageously high. That’s why most players opt for custom orders—they’re more reasonably priced and generally better quality.

But there's a catch to this method... You usually need to provide your own materials. Sure, you can buy materials, but that often makes things too expensive. In that case, you're better off settling for mediocre store-bought gear. Money, after all, is a constant obstacle.

And unlike other RPGs, this game doesn't just hand out items, so getting new equipment can be tricky. But just when she thought it’d be tough, the materials practically fell into her lap—and they were of surprisingly high quality.

A mutated wolf? Isn’t that a monster from this forest? The monsters here are notorious for being incredibly high-level. Even she, a player considered high-level by most, couldn’t handle them.

Among them, the "Mutated Wolf" was one of the weaker monsters, but even so, it was still very strong.

'What level are Mutated Wolves usually?'

Even though creatures of the same species can vary in level, you can usually figure out an average. And it didn’t take her long to remember why.

It was because the monster that killed her in this forest was a mutated wolf. She clearly remembered the level of that beast...

'83.'

Holy crap.

Chaerin cursed inwardly. That was practically a ranker-level monster. Just what level was this guy?

[Wow, Chaerin’s 'oppa' must be insanely strong ㄷㄷㄷ]
[A strong man ㄷㄷ twisted desires...]
[User has been banned by the manager]
[Wait, why was that one banned?]
[Maybe he just found a dead wolf and took its body?]
[Lol right, like men can be that strong hahaha]
[Fact: There’s a truckload of people who trash-talked only to get sliced by the Knights’ Captain.]

"...?"

Meanwhile, Yor was confused.

Honestly, from his perspective, all he did was hand her a few random items he had lying around. Sure, he knew they were valuable, but for him, they were easy to come by.

However, for Yoo Chaerin, they were rare treasures. Since this region was largely unexplored, the items from here were scarce, making them highly sought after.

Because of that, Chaerin lowered her head in gratitude.

"Thank you so much!"

She was already imagining how to craft them. The hide would make excellent armor, and with two fangs, she could forge a pair of daggers…

‘Hehe.’

Maybe she’d end up with something even better than the level 75 daggers she had her eyes on.

"Alright, now go. It’s getting dark," Yor said.
"Ah, yes!"

With that, Chaerin left Yor’s house.

Once she was gone, Yor casually glanced over the supplies.

'Six bottles of holy water.'

And a strawberry jam pastry!

He was quite pleased with the outcome.

These were the kinds of items you’d normally only find in the city center. Given Yor’s status as a fugitive, they were precious goods he couldn’t easily get.

Compared to that, the junk items he gave Chaerin were nothing. Sure, he could ask some shady folks in the back alleys to get things for him, but who knew what they might do to his bread?

Holy water was also something even they couldn’t easily procure.

Feeling satisfied, Yor took a bite of the pastry with a soft smile.

“Ah.”

The rich, sweet flavor filled his mouth. It reminded him of something nostalgic.

‘Though it’s gotten a bit cold…’

That was a slight disappointment.

The day after Chaerin left, I immediately got to work disguising my house.

Even though I had decided to reveal myself to some extent, that didn’t mean I wanted people wandering in and out of my home all the time.

Using dirt and leaves I found nearby, I started covering the roof of the cave. Luckily, my house was already quite nature-friendly, so adding a layer of leaves didn’t feel too out of place.

From a distance, someone might just mistake it for a large pit. As for the entrance to the cave… I left that uncovered for now. It wasn’t very large, so it wasn’t that noticeable. Plus, I needed some sunlight in my life.

I mean, my mental state was already hanging by a thread; I at least needed sunlight to survive. And besides, there was another thought lingering in the back of my mind:

‘It’s only a matter of time before I’m discovered.’

No matter how well I disguised it, my house wasn’t going to stay hidden forever. If more people started entering this forest, it was inevitable that my place would eventually be found.

When that time comes, I’ll truly feel like an animal in a zoo.

All I could do was hope that these Otherworlders had enough decency not to break into my home uninvited.

"Phew, done."

After some time, I finally finished the work. My little house now blended in seamlessly with the forest around it. With that, today’s major task was complete.

‘Now I need to get some food.’

The only thing left to do was go about my daily routine. Hopefully, I’d be able to find something good today.
 

Click-

[Today’s Yor Hot Moment ㅋㅋㅋ]
(Photo of Yor lifting his tank top)
Damn, ㅋㅋㅋ look at those gains ㅋㅋㅋ
+

[What the hell;]
[It’s kinda hot...ㅎㅎ]
[Who’s this Yor guy anyway?]
[You know, that NPC living in the Forbidden Forest]
[Ah, got it ㅋㅋㅋ]

Click-

[New quest-giving NPC just dropped? Is it true?]

Details pls
+

[Yep, a streamer named Yoo Chaerin found him this time]
[Oh nice ㅋㅋㅋ Can I get a quest if I go too?]
[Dream on ㅋㅋ Why would he give you a quest?]
[Watch your mouth, jerk]
[Who knows if he’ll keep giving out quests? Based on that errand list, he seems like a quest-worthy NPC;]
[Still, worth checking out? NPCs who give quests aren’t that common]

Click.

After finishing her stream, Yoo Chaerin casually scrolled through the community forums, one of her small pleasures.

One of her favorite things was checking out viewers' reactions to her stream. Her editor always warned her that reading those would only mess with her mental state, but she couldn’t help herself.

Fortunately, the reactions weren’t bad today. In fact, the feedback seemed pretty positive. For a small-time streamer like her, even being mentioned in the community was a rare occurrence.

It was a sign of just how much impact Yor had. And on top of that, a quest had triggered today. Of course, it was only natural for players to focus on him.

Not every quest-giving NPC was a major figure in the game, but any NPC that did give quests had a chance of becoming important to the game’s storyline.

It was worth remembering for the players. Besides, Yor’s appearance alone made him pretty memorable. Chaerin couldn’t help but smirk to herself.

It seemed like Yor wasn’t too happy about people coming to visit him.

‘Well, more are definitely coming now...’

That was something she couldn’t control. A quest had appeared, so people would come to check him out no matter what. At least she had hinted on her stream to deter any toxic players from bothering him too much.

Even though she hadn’t seen him fight firsthand, people were already beginning to understand just how strong Yor might be.

Ding!

As these thoughts ran through her head, her phone buzzed with a notification. It was a message from her editor.

[BlackCat: Watched your stream, it was fun]
[BlackCat: Should I start editing right away?]

"Hmm..."

Chaerin hesitated. Normally, the obvious thing to do after a stream would be to edit it and upload the highlights to YouTube. But after hearing Yor’s complaints yesterday… something was bothering her.

She decided to ask her editor for a favor.

[Chaerin: Hey, sis, about that…]
[Chaerin: Could we hold off on uploading to YouTube for now?]
[BlackCat: ??? Why?]
[Chaerin: It’s just… it feels kinda weird.]
[BlackCat: But he’s just an NPC? Why would it matter?]

Her editor had a point. It wasn’t like an NPC would be watching her YouTube channel or anything. From their perspective, Demons’ Saga was just a game. No matter how human or lifelike the NPCs seemed, they were still AI at the end of the day.

That’s why most streamers were quick to edit and upload any content from Demons’ Saga. It didn’t really matter which NPC it was—none of them could check YouTube anyway. It was just the standard practice.

Still…

[Chaerin: Sorry, sorry. I’ll treat you to a nice meal later!]
[BlackCat: ...Fine, but it better be good]
[Chaerin: Got it, got it!]

Just because NPCs couldn't watch YouTube didn’t mean she wanted to risk getting scolded by Yor again. She told herself this to justify her decision. Later, she’d talk to him and ask for permission.

With that, she refocused and resumed browsing the forums. The usual crowd from the game’s community, "Akgal," was chatting away about various in-game topics.

Suddenly, a post caught her eye, standing out with an unusually high number of comments.

[So I think I’ve run into a new type of enemy ㄷㄷㄷ]

I was doing a guild quest in a remote village when the villagers started screaming about demons appearing out of nowhere ㄷㄷㄷ

(Video)

Managed to handle it, but what even was that?
+

[???]
[That’s a person, right?]
[Are we sure it’s human? Those pitch-black eyes are freaking me out ㄷㄷㄷ]
[How old is that kid? They look super young]

Mesmerized, Yoo Chaerin clicked on the video.