"Wow, this is easier than I thought!"

A few hours after they had taken down the mutated deer, Kim Mari’s party continued to proceed without any issues.

It wasn’t just because their party was well-balanced and stable—it was also because the monsters they encountered weren’t as strong as expected. Despite the mutations caused by dark magic, most of the creatures blocking their way were weak herbivores like squirrels and rabbits.

They weren’t swarming with monsters either.

It was almost as if the creatures were avoiding this part of the forest. There were barely any living things around, with only a few quick but dumb herbivores making occasional appearances.

No matter how savage a beast, it knows to respect boundaries. After all, this was someone’s territory.

But Kim Mari’s party, unaware of this, was confidently patting themselves on the back.

"Are we really going to make it to the entrance of the deep zone at this rate?"

"This isn’t as hard as I thought it would be..."

"Don’t get cocky yet. We’ve only been running into herbivores. We don’t know what might come out next, so stay alert."

Only the mage had enough sense to caution the rest of the party.

Even the mage, though, couldn’t help but feel a bit excited. The run had been smooth, and the viewers watching the broadcast were enjoying the high-level gameplay.

However, that confidence came to an abrupt end when they encountered a new monster.

Grr... Grrrr...

A giant monster appeared before them—a creature with the head of an owl and the body of a bear. Its front paws were covered in sharp, blade-like feathers.

It was an owlbear, a massive monster.

Kim Mari quickly checked its level.

[Owlbear Lv 107]

“...Shit.”

She immediately cursed.

There was no way they could take it on. This thing was more than 10 levels higher than even the current world’s number one-ranked player.

Even if they organized a raid, they might not be able to take it down, yet here it was, appearing out of nowhere.

Losing her fighting spirit, Kim Mari quickly issued a retreat order to her party.

"Fall back! Now!"

[Screaming in terror]

Under normal circumstances, they might have been able to escape.

Owlbears were generally known to be docile among monsters.

But their bad luck was that they had already invaded the owlbear’s territory. The creature showed no mercy to those who trespassed.

ROOOAR!

The enraged owlbear charged at Kim Mari’s party, moving incredibly fast for its massive size.

At this rate, they would be caught. Kim Mari gritted her teeth and gave her party another order.

"Damn it! We need to injure its leg and run!"

Even an owlbear couldn’t keep up the chase with an injured leg. Clutching her axe tightly, Kim Mari prepared to make her move.

Her party members, determined, set their sights on the monster's legs. Just one leg—if they could just wound it, they might have a chance to escape.

ROOAR!

The owlbear launched its attack, swiping horizontally with its feather-covered claws.

Kim Mari gritted her teeth and braced herself to block the blow.

“Gah!”

But the monster’s strength was too much for her. Despite her efforts, her body was sent flying, and her arm was severely injured even after blocking the attack.

No matter how strong she was, the fact that the monster could send her flying with one hit showed just how overwhelmingly powerful it was.

And the worst part? The owlbear wasn’t done yet.

"M-Mari!"

In the brief moment Kim Mari was knocked away, the creature shifted its attention to the archer, taking advantage of the distraction to charge at him.

THUD!

That was the end of it.

The archer’s body was flung into a tree and died on impact. There was no way the archer, who was weaker in defense, could have survived such a blow.

By then, the mage’s spell was ready.

"Saxum Funda!"

The spell, a rock projectile, shot toward the owlbear. It wasn’t much, but with enough mana behind it, it should have been a decent attack.

But...

Crack!

It didn’t even leave a scratch on the owlbear. The rock shattered on contact with its leg, doing nothing more than making the monster angrier.

"This can’t be..."

The mage muttered in disbelief.

Those were her last words.

ROOAR!

The enraged owlbear bit down on her, and the mage, too, disappeared in a burst of light.

All that remained was her hat, lying on the ground.

“Damn it...”

Kim Mari cursed under her breath. In just a few moments, half of her carefully prepared party had been wiped out.

The male priest, who had been healing her, was trembling as he muttered in fear.

"W-We have to run... now..."

By this point, he was terrified.

Since this game tried to mimic reality, the scenes were horrifically brutal. Although death in the game only caused mild physical pain, the psychological impact was far more intense.

"Shit..."

Kim Mari, swallowing her frustration, grabbed the priest's hand and began running.

Whether they could escape or not was uncertain. The odds were not in their favor.

But they ran as fast as they could.

Meanwhile...

I quite enjoy eating meat.

But even so, no one can eat meat every single day for 365 days straight. As tasty and protein-rich as it is, the greasiness gets to you after a while.

Sometimes, you just crave something else. Today was one of those days. For some reason, I was in the mood for vegetables.

So, instead of hunting, I was out gathering plants.

I was picking fruits and greens and stuffing them into a pouch at my waist.

The fruit was for tonight’s dinner, and the greens were to accompany my next meal of meat. After all, eating raw greens by themselves wasn’t exactly appetizing. The path of a vegan is a long and difficult one.

“Ah, so peaceful.”

I wished it could stay like this forever.

I had just about finished gathering when I suddenly heard a scream.

“Ahhh! Help! Somebody help!”

The screaming was getting closer by the second.

‘What’s this?’

Tilting my head in curiosity, I looked in the direction of the noise. I saw a man and a woman running toward me, their faces contorted with terror.

It was clear they were being chased by something.

Looking behind them, I saw, of course, my neighbor: the owlbear.

Its face was twisted in rage.

It looked like these two had wandered into the owlbear’s territory. As I assessed the situation, they noticed me.

“Huh?”

Upon seeing me, they hesitated for a moment, their faces a mix of confusion and fear.

That was a bad idea.

“Ah!”

In that moment of distraction, the male priest tripped over a tree root. Before he could recover, the owlbear was upon him.

At that moment, I activated "Player's View."

[Oh, it’s Yor! Hi!]

[LOL, look at his outfit! ㅗㅜㅑ]

[Hey there, I’m a fan!]

[This isn’t the time for that! Run, you idiot!]

As expected, they were Otherworlders. And not just any Otherworlders—streamers.

Even as I was processing the situation, time marched on.

ROOAR!

The owlbear's claws came down, slicing the priest in half, and his body disappeared in a flash of light.

“No! Jaehoon!”

The woman, apparently named Kim Mari, screamed. Judging by the chat, that was her name—a name that reminded me of the tempura I used to eat at snack bars.

It was a tragic scene.

But our kind neighbor, the owlbear, wasted no time.

While Kim Mari screamed, the owlbear took advantage of the moment to swipe at her with its sharp claws.

“Guh!”

Thud!

She was sent flying, spitting blood. While she wasn’t dead, she was clearly gravely injured.

Blood poured from the deep gashes on her body, and it seemed like some of her bones were broken, making it hard for her to move.

With the priest gone, she was likely to bleed out.

Knowing she wouldn’t make it, she looked at me and shouted.

“Run! That thing’s a monster!”

I let out a deep sigh and rubbed my forehead.

Then I turned to the furious owlbear.

“What’s got you so mad, owlbear?”

Truth be told, I felt a little kinship with the owlbear.

As long as you didn’t invade its territory, it was fairly docile, and it acted as a guardian for my home.

There were plenty of times it took care of intruders before they even got close to my place.

In return, I’d sometimes toss it a goblin corpse to eat.

Not because I was too lazy to dispose of the bodies or anything. Honestly.

In any case, I didn’t really want to fight the owlbear.

But an angry monster doesn’t listen to reason.

It didn’t recognize me and swung its claws in my direction.

Whoosh!

The sharp sound cut through the air as I dodged the attack, my expression twisting into a frown.

‘Should I just run?’

It’s not like I cared if Otherworlders died. They’d just respawn anyway.

And it wasn’t like I’d entered the owlbear’s territory. I could just run until it calmed down.

That was my plan, at least.

Except for one problem: the owlbear was heading straight for my laundry.

“Oh no!”

I was genuinely horrified.

Not the laundry! If it didn’t dry today, I was done for!

That’s why I had no choice but to stand my ground.

If we couldn't come to an understanding, someone was going to get hurt.

“I’m really sorry about this, owlbear...”

I pulled the spear from my back, the familiar weight comforting in my hands.

I didn’t want to make the first move. With how angry it was, it would attack first, anyway.

ROOAR!

Sure enough, the owlbear swung its claws again.

I could block the attack, but since I could see its trajectory, there was no need. I dodged and prepared to counterattack.

With the owlbear off-balance, it was my turn. I thrust my spear toward its front leg.

Thwack!

“ROOOAR!”

Its steel-like feathers were sliced, and blood sprayed into the air.

From somewhere behind me, I heard Kim Mari gasp in amazement.

“Wow...”

But I just frowned.

‘Damn it.’

It wasn’t as deep a cut as I had hoped. As expected of an owlbear. Its strength was impressive, but its tough hide was even more so.

Being unarmored didn’t help either. If I had enchanted my spear with blood magic, I could’ve taken off the entire leg.

‘Not that I can do that in front of her...’

I glanced at Kim Mari.

If I used blood magic in front of her, she would definitely become suspicious. Especially since word had been spreading among Otherworlders about "demon blood."

There was no way I could risk using it openly.

‘Oh well.’

I quickly let go of the idea. I had another technique that was a little harder to use and slightly less effective, but it would do.

Everything in this world contains mana.

Whether a lot or a little, everything is born with the potential to become great. Some people hone themselves enough to manipulate their mana.

They can enhance their bodies, compress mana, or convert it into magic.

And I was someone who had survived in this place for over ten years.

I had fought nearly a thousand battles and crossed death’s threshold dozens of times.

After going through so much, learning to control my mana was a necessity.

Why? Because if I hadn’t, I would’ve died long ago.

Hummm...

I wrapped mana around the tip of my spear. The energy coursed through my body, revitalizing me, and a blue light surrounded the weapon.

I readied my stance, preparing to strike.

My muscles contracted, gathering power into a single point. When I unleashed this strike, my spear would shoot forward like a spring.

ROOAR!

Sensing danger, the owlbear assumed a defensive posture. Its front paws crossed in an X, its steel-like feathers ready to block any attack.

But it was too late.

If it had wanted to block me, it should’ve interrupted my attack earlier.

That was its mistake.

With my strength gathered, I thrust my spear toward the owlbear.

BOOM!

Feathers and blood sprayed into the air as the force of the strike created a shockwave that rippled outward from the owlbear’s body.

When the dust settled, all that remained was the corpse of the owlbear, its two front legs and head pierced through.

“!!”

Kim Mari’s voice rang out in shocked disbelief.

I ignored her and silently mourned my fallen neighbor.

‘Rest in peace, my friend...’

In my heart, I shed a single tear for the owlbear.