NOVEL NEXT Chapter 63
Standing in front of my fallen character was Senior Namikawa.
She was aiming at me with a sniper rifle that was one tier better than the one I had been using earlier.
[Hmm. It doesn’t make sense to kill others in a survival game where the goal is to survive… right?]
“Um, um, uh, S-Senior Namikawa…?”
[That is certainly a fair point, but for some reason, hearing Izumi say that just makes me want to laugh… What do you think?]
“Haha…”
I had no words because it was the truth.
Just thirty minutes ago, I pierced through Senior Namikawa’s head.
“W-would you forgive me for this…?”
I just wanted to enjoy the Gray City peacefully now. Since we had both killed each other once, could we just call it quits?
That hope of mine was embodied in the question.
[Well. I’ll think about it.]
Senior Namikawa responded with a sneer.
I didn’t even have to see her to know.
That shadowy, chilly expression she often wore on her broadcasts, with just the corners of her mouth turned up.
She must’ve been wearing that expression for sure.
Bang!
With the sound of the shot ringing once more, my character lost its life.
★
– Karma really does come back around.
– Mei-chan’s fault for ignoring Senior’s request.
“…I can’t help it.”
As the Izutomo said, it was my fault for killing when I should have heeded Senior Namikawa’s clueless words.
If I had noticed that the person I shot at first was her and had done nothing from the start, this wouldn’t have happened.
It was clearly my mistake for not properly gauging the distance from my opponent.
I had no choice but to humbly accept that.
If it had been Suzuha, she would’ve probably smiled kindly and… let me live, right?
“There’s no hope in this world…”
As I came to realize that reality, I quietly let out a sigh.
– Does this kid even understand that she was the one who crushed her own hope?
– Mei-chan, do you know the phrase ‘you reap what you sow’? (´･ω･`)
…So noisy.
In the multiplayer of Gray City, if you save your location at a base, you respawn at that point even if you die.
But if you don’t save separately like me, you respawn randomly in a place that isn’t a base in the area that players have already explored.
This time, I respawned at a gray river filled with materials handy for creating a base, which had been useful when I played Gray City alone.
“Lucky…”
From the trees, which are the most needed for building a house, to steel for fortifying walls or crafting weapons, and oil needed to create the next level of technology, this place had almost all the materials necessary for the early build.
The fact that I respawned here meant this area was already mapped out, but even after looking around, I didn’t feel any presence of other players.
They probably just came to explore and left without knowing anything.
“If that’s the case, my base will be here…”
Actually, this place, while good for gathering materials, wasn’t the best for a base.
Maybe because it was near the river, there were many wild animal attacks, and it was more suitable for getting through the early game easily, not for long-term plans.
But considering that I had already died twice and was essentially starting late, I needed a stepping stone to move on to the next stage as quickly as possible.
I could later move the base once I had a solid foundation, and I could adequately handle wild animal attacks with my skills.
Grrr…
– Mei-chan, behind you! Wild dogs!
– Dangerous!
“Ah, I know.”
If it’s just wild dogs, I can easily handle them with the dagger given at the beginning.
They’re not exactly the dangerous kind of wildlife in Gray City.
Of course, considering their size, they were on the larger side, but it didn’t pose a significant problem.
“Alright, let’s do this, just a little pivot back…”
With a whoosh, my dagger plunged into the wild dog’s back.
Seeing the HP of the wild dog visibly drop, I moved to the side without hesitation, pulling the dagger out to stab it into its neck.
Grrr, ugh…
The wild dog fell with a sickening cry.
The dropped items were leather, teeth, raw meat, and three units of wild dog’s blood.
The leather and teeth could be used for crafting survival items, the raw meat could be used for food, and the blood, when sprinkled around, could deter weaker wild animals from attacking.
Wild animals also drop items when defeated, so it’s worth hunting them each time they appear, but…
“Ah, since I still don’t have a house, I’ll just use this blood for now…”
My priority was still to find a home.
Whether you have a main base or not drastically changes the stability of the game.
“Hmm…”
But again, it was a bit boring.
I was veering far off from how I wanted to play, which was unavoidable, but even considering that, the sound was just too empty.
Gray City is ultimately a survival game, so it’s hard to showcase much with normal gameplay.
Well, considering the characteristics of Gray City, it would be impossible for there not to be any PK (Player Killing), but if I continued playing normally until then, viewers might get tired.
That’s why I was trying to offset that weakness with early, quick PK…
Of course, there are Izutomo who would watch and enjoy no matter what I did, but still, it wasn’t good for a frame of my broadcast to feel boring.
…Worrying about all this, am I now a professional VTuber?
I’m making money, so it’s only natural, but still.
Anyway, I guess there’s no choice but to use my trump card now.
“Hmm, ahem… Ah, ahh.”
-?
– Didn’t you suddenly clear your throat and cough last time too?
“U-um, everyone, you know… I’ve prepared a trump card pun…”
– Don’t do it.
– I don’t want to hear it.
– Let’s just play the game, Mei-chan.
For some reason, the Izutomo didn’t seem to react well.
But this was a pun I had prepared after days of contemplation.
I was sure that even the Izutomo who said they disliked it would surely enjoy it once they heard it.
“Do you know why my name is, um, Izumi?”
– Because you’re the Water Avatar.
– That can’t be it, right?
“The answer is, Izumi is Izu-mi. Heh, heh….”
-??
– You’ve crossed the line.
– What the…
– From now on, no more puns, Mei-chan.
…What’s this? I was sure everyone would find it amusing.
Seeing that reaction, surely I had a plan to deliver stages two and three of my trump card puns…
Ah, could it be they didn’t understand my pun?
Well, it was a rather challenging play on words to come up with.
If that’s the case, I guess I’ll just have to kindly explain it.
“T-that’s because if you translate ‘○○가 나야.’ to English, it becomes ‘○○ is me.’ The ending sounds like ‘Izu-mi’, right? Hehe…”
– Please stop.
– This is a clear Yeo-sang.
– Is this really a trump card pun…?
– Who taught Mei-chan such garbage?
“So, um, I used my name Izumi to create a pun…”
Bang!
“…Huh?”
With the sound of the shot, my character, who was chopping wood, fell over.
“W-why…?”
[Sorry. Since I killed you earlier and didn’t want to let it go when it seemed like you were trying to play normally, I thought I’d let it slide, but if I heard any more, I’d go deaf…]
Then slowly approaching from behind was Senior Namikawa.
– Thank you for saving me!
– This is the senior’s majesty!
– Tsubaki-chan was our savior!
– Please educate her properly!
[Then, let’s definitely tell Izumi-chan to refrain from puns from now on…]
…Why?
On top of shooting me, now every Izutomo is stopping me from sharing my beloved trump card pun.
No matter how much of a senior she is, isn’t this too much?
[For now, I’ll heal you. Also, right now, I’m living with Rinjii, so it would be…better for you to move your base closer to us.]
“N-Namikawa-senpai…”
Yeah.
She was touching me, who was just trying to live normally and suppressing her instincts as a death god.
[Huh?]
“It’s a war!”
I couldn’t stand it even if she was a senior with my social anxiety.
I was a little scared, but still…
[…Huh?]
– Hahaha!
– They say the thief has more audacity, huh…
– It was so bold that I couldn’t help but laugh.
– Even Neko-chan is preparing for war against Mei-chan, lol.
★
[Thread 201 About VTuber Kainoh Izumi]
…
12. Is there no Suzuh in the Gray City? Is that alright?
13. Mei-chan has now grown enough to be a somewhat independent streamer.
14. Is this the same VTuber who said she was rebellious just a few days ago…?
15. Lots of participation from first-generation seniors including Natsune. Mei-chan’s future is grim.
16. She seemed so innocent, not able to say anything when they gathered.
17. Aren’t you guys underestimating Mei-chan too much? Hahaha!
…
26. It’s a bit scary how she shoots without hesitation.
27. Especially when it’s the first generation that scares Tsubaki when angry. Hahaha!
28. The courage to just ignore both voice and chat.
29. Is she pretending not to hear, or really not hearing it?
30. If it’s Mei-chan’s personality, she really might not have heard it.
31. Where did this audacity be learned, despite having social anxiety?
…
49. Just got retaliated against by my classmate.
50. War declaration incoming!!!
51. Nekoiz counterwar!
52. When the horse’s name is Bucephalus and you see it talking, it feels so middle-school-ish. Hahaha!
53. Sensitive age, I guess.
…
73. Canceled the war in less than 10 minutes.
74. Isn’t that a bit too cowardly?
75. Since all the supplies I prepared were all taken, well…
76. Hahaha, I died again.
77. I expected it when Tsubaki shot me, but getting up and laughing was just like before.
78. Just paying the price for messing with the senior.
…
95. Ah.
96. You’ve crossed the line!