It was only a few days ago.

According to Chaerin, a significant event had occurred in a remote village. A young boy, described as a demon child or Māin, had appeared and killed many villagers.

The knights eventually arrived and put an end to the incident, but not before issuing a dire warning—there was a chance that a demon might descend.

Because of this, the topic had become a major point of discussion among the Otherworlders. Information about Māin, demons, and demon blood was flooding in, and the video of the event was quite shocking.

Chaerin explained that the Otherworlders were now fervently discussing the new content in their online communities.

After listening to her story, I couldn’t help but feel a little grim. In a way, it was relevant to me.

Māin...

I knew all too well what that meant. Māin were humans who had sold their souls to demons. Most often, they were individuals who had the demon's blood within them.

Occasionally, even regular humans without demon blood would transform into Māin under certain circumstances.

Having lived in a city until I was ten years old, I knew that the appearance of a Māin was a serious event.

The reason was simple: when someone sold their soul to a demon, the chances of the demon descending increased. Furthermore, the souls of those killed by a Māin could be used as sacrifices.

From the perspective of any nation, this was a grave issue.

And this time, the boy who had transformed into a Māin was, like me, a carrier of demon’s blood.

I silently offered a prayer for him.

Poor thing...

It was a rare occurrence, happening maybe once every few decades. A demon-blooded individual from a remote area, hidden from the authorities, could slip through the cracks.

After all, this medieval world didn’t have the advanced identification systems of modern times. There were no ID cards, no census bureaus conducting household surveys.

Sure, if you went to a major city, you’d need an identity tag, but that was about it. Conducting thorough checks in remote villages was a near-impossible task.

Thus, gaps like this one were bound to happen.

Sometimes, a child in a remote village would awaken to demon blood around the age of ten, and no one would know how to handle it. Or in some cases, like mine, the authorities were lax enough that the individual managed to escape.

I had, of course, fallen into the latter category. Though in my case, I fled from an imperial city, which put me in a different class altogether.

Anyway.

Thanks to Chaerin, I had gained valuable information. It wasn’t just that a Māin had appeared—it was that the Otherworlders had finally learned about demon’s blood.

"Thanks. That’s quite the major event you’ve informed me about."

I still didn’t know exactly how the Otherworlders would react to the news of demon’s blood. From what Chaerin said, the video had caused quite a stir, but beyond that, their thoughts remained unclear.

Of course, I couldn’t directly ask her for more details without raising suspicion. Even the act of asking might give her clues about my own situation.

But…

At least there was some sympathy for the Māin. That was something. It was a far cry from the immediate hostility I faced from people in this world, who were ready to kill on sight.

Chaerin continued talking, filling me in on other recent events. As expected from a streamer, she was quite good at storytelling.

Before I knew it, the sun had started to set.

“Oh.”
“Ah.”

She glanced outside and gave a small, awkward smile. She had clearly lost track of time, and now it was too late for her to leave. I remembered from our previous encounters that she was terrified of the forest after dark.

“The sun goes down so fast…”

She mumbled to herself, looking wistfully at the darkening forest. It wasn’t surprising—the days were still short, even though winter had ended. It was early spring, so the night was quick to fall.

She turned to me and hesitantly spoke.

“Um, would it be okay if—”
“No.”

I cut her off immediately. It was obvious she was about to ask if she could stay the night.

Last time, I had been curious about Otherworlders, so I allowed her to stay. But now, after squeezing all the information I needed out of our conversation, I saw no reason to let her stay again. Plus, I wasn’t exactly comfortable having someone around while I slept.

To my surprise, though, I was wrong this time.

“Oh, no! I wouldn’t dream of asking to stay again. I wouldn’t impose on a man living alone!”

She gave a playful grin before continuing.

“I was just wondering… would you like to see me log out?”

Logging out of Demons' Saga is incredibly simple.

You just turn off the game, and the user’s consciousness naturally returns to the real world. Of course, players still have lives outside the game, so the developers don’t block the ability to log out.

However, there is one interesting system in place: Fatigue.

Fatigue accumulates even while a player is logged out. It’s as if the character’s body keeps working even when the user isn’t in the game. If a player logs back in with their fatigue maxed out, they get to enjoy the lovely experience of waking up after three hours of sleep post-drinking binge.

In short, it feels like hell.

That’s why managing fatigue is crucial for players. Luckily, there are two simple ways to do that: either sleep in the game or drink a Fatigue Potion sold in shops before logging out.

Once you drink a fatigue potion, your in-game body will automatically go to sleep.

Today, Yoo Chaerin chose the latter option.

Gulp, gulp.

Her throat moved as she downed a bottle that looked suspiciously like a Korean energy drink. After finishing it in one go, she glanced at Yor.

“See you tomorrow!”

And just like that—poof—she vanished. It was as if she had teleported, her body disappearing in the blink of an eye. Watching her disappear, Yor couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

“…Huh. Well, that’s something.”

Sure, he had always assumed they could log out, but seeing it happen right before his eyes was still a strange experience. Moments like this served as a stark reminder: to them, this world was just a game.

At times like this, he wondered whether this world was real or virtual. Could even his own struggles, his own life, be just an illusion?

But… nah, that can’t be.

Of course, that was a thought best avoided for the sake of his mental health.

Yor stood in place for a moment, staring at the spot where Chaerin had been. Eventually, he shook his head and headed back into the cave to sleep.

Meanwhile, in the real world, Chaerin didn’t fall asleep right away.

She had a few things to take care of before calling it a night.

Psssshhh—
Her capsule opened, and Chaerin sat up, greeted by the groggy haze and stiff muscles that always accompanied her return to reality. The game was fun, but this part—the awkward, disorienting transition back—was something she still hadn’t gotten used to.

“Ughhhhh…”

Stretching out her arms, she immediately grabbed her phone. She needed to share the good news with her editor.

[Chaerin: Sis!]
[Chaerin: I got the YouTube permission!]
[BlackCat: Yeah, yeah, you’re amazing]
[BlackCat: So I can start editing now, right?]

As always, her editor responded with her usual cool, unbothered tone.

With a smile, Chaerin spent a bit of time scrolling through the internet before finally drifting off to sleep.

The next morning, after waking up, Chaerin immediately climbed into her capsule and logged into the game.

Pop!

"I'm back!"

She greeted casually as soon as she entered the game. Yor was already nearby, waiting for her. Seeing her return, he spoke up.

"Let’s go. I’ll walk you to the edge of the forest."

Chaerin blinked in surprise.

She had been planning to leave anyway, but she hadn’t expected Yor to offer to escort her. Getting escorted by a man... it felt strangely novel. His sudden show of kindness made her curious.

"Escort me? What’s the occasion?" she asked.

"You’ll be coming here again, right? It’s better if you know which areas are dangerous."

Yor explained that the forest had certain rules. Wandering around without knowing them could get her into serious trouble. At the same time, he subtly warned her not to spread information about the forest to others.

Some of the creatures here guarded the forest in their own way. If people started showing up in droves because she shared too much, it would be a hassle for him.

Chaerin felt a bit of warmth at this explanation. If Yor was telling her this, it meant he at least considered her a guest worth keeping safe.

Yor began giving her a rundown of the creatures that inhabited the forest.

"See the scratch marks on that tree? That’s an owlbear’s territory, so be cautious around there. And that dirt mound over there? It marks the domain of the mutated boars. Sometimes you’ll see red cloth tied to trees; that’s a sign there’s a goblin tribe nearby, so avoid those areas."

Chaerin was amazed at the level of detail. This was truly a high-level zone, with danger lurking in every corner. Most of the signs she’d passed by before without a second thought were actually territorial markers for monsters.

Her curiosity grew even stronger.

How long has he been here to know all this so well? she wondered.

Unable to contain herself, Chaerin asked, "Do you have to avoid all of these things too, Yor?"

"Me? Sometimes I avoid them, sometimes I just walk through."

He answered casually, as if it were no big deal. Chaerin could sense the confidence and ease in his voice.

Just how high is his level...?

She was certain Yor was strong, judging by the powerful items he had given her last time. Living in this forest in itself was no small feat, either.

But she had never seen him in action, so everything was just speculation at this point.

In most cases, men were typically weaker than women. It was common knowledge. Sure, there were exceptions, but combat roles tended to be dominated by women. So it was hard to shake off that assumption entirely.

Not that she doubted his strength. She had seen enough hints of it in their interactions to be convinced. But still, the curiosity remained. What would it look like if he fought?

Of course, she couldn’t just outright ask him to demonstrate his fighting skills, so she kept her thoughts to herself. One day, she’d probably get the chance to see it.

As Yor continued explaining the forest’s dangers, they eventually reached the forest's edge.

After thanking Yor, Chaerin parted ways and headed back to the city.

A few days later…

"Yooha! Hello, everyone!"

A female streamer appeared in front of the Forbidden Forest, decked out in gleaming, expensive-looking plate armor. She looked like someone who had sunk a lot of money into her gear.

Behind her stood a party of high-level players, all of whom looked equally well-equipped. These were the teammates she had gathered specifically for today’s mission.

[Hey, hey!]
[What are you doing today?]

She saw the question pop up in the chat and grinned, ready to hype up her audience.

"What am I doing today? Prepare to be amazed!"

She pointed dramatically toward the forest behind her.

"We’re going to clear the Forbidden Forest!"

Her nickname was Kim Mari.

"And we’re going to do it fair and square—with pure strength!"

Kim Mari was a streamer ranked among the top high-level players. She had built a strong reputation as a skilled fighter and now sought to tackle one of the most dangerous areas in the game.