I Couldn’t Afford to Buy Mana, so I Started Streaming

“So? Which place are we going to raid first, the Materials Warehouse or the Admissions Office, meow?”

After a long-awaited reunion, the cat’s ears perked up.

“Here, take this.”

As I pinched around my forehead, an intangible laurel crown manifested itself.

“Whoa… the laurel? This is supposed to be your responsibility! I don’t even know how to use it!”

Adella jumped as she confirmed what she had carelessly caught from my throw.

“It’s more suitable for you than me.”

[Warning: Circle magic usage is prohibited.]

[Warning: Action assist function has been disabled.]

[Warning: Scroll usage is prohibited.]

[Notification: All growth stats have temporarily reset.]

[Notification: All penalties have temporarily been deactivated.]

Then, a multitude of warnings and notifications that couldn’t be blocked by the settings filled the screen.

-????

-What are you going to do with the laurel?

-Adella can’t use magic.

-Adella is an idiot.

-Adella is such a dumbbell that her head is just for decoration.

-That’s too much, lol.

-Actually, Adella’s corpse is treated as an ‘item.’

-N-n-no way!!

-If you go in unarmed, you’ll get wiped out even on normal difficulty, let alone the Nightmare.

I felt a sense of liberation as the shackles that dampen power were released, and a new restriction engraved itself in the dantian.

As expected, I had no signs of mana or aura manifesting.

“Adella, hit me hard once.”

“What…? Did you go crazy after getting hit on the head earlier?”

Adella flinched and furrowed her brow, but my head was still firmly attached to my neck.

“If you’re going to do it, at least slap my cheek. I’m just sleepy.”

“… You’re not joking, are you?”

“I’m always serious.”

“No retaliation later? You really want me to hit you?”

I purposely presented my cheek to be slapped.

“Are you scared or something?”

I grinned deliberately, and finally, she made an interesting expression.

She cracked her knuckles and swung her arms around.

A bit too many preparatory movements didn’t sit well with me, and soon her palm slapped my cheek hard.

Bang!

I felt my body lift with a sensation like a bomb exploding.

“NoName! Are you okay?”

Adella rushed over to help me up after I rolled several times on the ground and crashed into a bush.

It’s just a game world, so it didn’t hurt that much. Instead, it was merely quite uncomfortable.

Looking at how much HP had dropped, I could only guess how much internal damage I had received.

“That was a solid hit… but still, it shouldn’t send me flying like that…!”

“Don’t worry about it. We just confirmed the effects of the laurel.”

All the growth stats accumulated since Adella passed on the laurel were stored in the Cycle’s Laurel.

The source of this information, of course, was Tree Wiki.

I normally didn’t need to worry much since I was protected in an invisible state, but when facing a boss that could steal items, the laurel was the most critical thing to protect.

If we lost health, attack, defense, and mana, we would have no choice but to rely solely on levels and equipment.

It was natural that Adella would deliver such a result after receiving the full power of such a laurel.

“But it’s not enough.”

I was still far from being prepared to face Jin Chronicle possessed by a demon.

I couldn’t guarantee that pouring all experience points into just Adella would lead us to victory.

“You wouldn’t know until you try.”

“Huh?”

“Mind giving me your hand for a second?”

“I don’t have time for this! The enemies are right on our tail!”

“Hurry up.”

“Ugh, fine…!”

To my surprise, her rough hands felt blistered.

Unlike the cat furry girl I’d picked as a manager before, there was no jelly-like softness to be found.

[Cast: Circuit Reconstruction]

[Sync: NoName-Adella]

“Do you have any food you like or dislike?”

“Things I like…? I don’t really know. I dislike carrots a bit.”

“Got it.”

With that, all preparations were complete.

“Now let’s go face Ballum Benavons.”

—

Adella felt a stomachache.

Not in a heartfelt way, but it was a physical sensation like she had a stomach upset.

“Did I drink too much… especially now…!”

For such a ridiculous reason, she couldn’t give up on the mission and moved on with NoName to the Materials Warehouse.

“Are you okay?”

“Of course, I’m fine! What do you think I am? Adella? This mission is trivial; I’ll finish it in no time and head home to rest.”

They dashed close against the dark stone walls.

How long had it been since then?

Adella kept fiddling with the invisible laurel and asked NoName.

“I feel uneasy. Are you sure I can use this? Is there no separate strategy?”

“Strategy? Since when have you ever followed a strategy?”

“That’s true, but…”

“Just think easy. Just do as I told you.”

“What have you told me? I haven’t heard anything!”

“Then I’ll teach you one from the start.”

Before entering the Materials Warehouse, NoName faced Adella.

“You and the laurel are connected now. Close your eyes and concentrate.”

“Like… this? I can’t see or feel anything!”

“If it’s like this—”

In an instant, NoName lunged forward and swung his fist toward Adella’s cheek.

It was a moment of sheer timing.

Before she could blink, NoName had struck, and Adella’s body reflexively dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack from the Forest Keeper.

“Yikes…! That was dangerous! What are you doing?!”

Adella protested vigorously, getting back on her feet after the sudden attack.

“That was close… or rather, what does it taste like now?”

“Taste? What do you mean… huh? Tuna?”

Adella’s eyes widened.

The salty taste of tuna burst on the tip of her tongue.

Adella became unable to focus due to the pleasure that washed over her every time she smacked her lips.

“If you didn’t dodge and took the hit, it would have tasted like carrots.”

“What are you talking about!”

The action assist of the laurel simply provided options for players.

Attack 1, Attack 2, Attack 3, Defense 1, Defense 2, Dodge.

The laurel always ensured perfect execution of the various possibilities the user could execute.

However, the perfection of the action did not guarantee the best choice.

Considering that fighting game characters each performed perfectly while some kept attacking and others just stood there waiting, the “choice” of actions solely depended on the individual.

“This is the fifth time I’ve told you this, Adella. So don’t panic and trust your senses.”

“Senses…”

Adella swung her dagger through the air.

Whoosh—

With the laurel’s assistance, the blade sliced through the air skillfully and swiftly.

If the academy exam officials had been there, she could have split them in half with that perfect trajectory she’d long dreamed of.

“That was so easy…”

What on earth had she been practicing so hard for? She felt like she was starting to understand why everyone covets the laurel.

But then, she started to feel doubt towards the defenseless Forest Keeper.

She realized it as she struck her body.

‘So incredibly weak…’

The proficiency she had displayed at the Observatory was leagues above without the laurel’s aid.

Yet, before meeting the Observatory Keeper, she had unhesitatingly passed the laurel onto herself, and with a strange sensation, Adella could defeat him without breaking a sweat.

Although it was an impressive item, wasn’t it fairer for the healer class, like the Forest Keeper, to wield its power instead?

As she pondered this, NoName ruffled Adella’s tousled hair.

“You can do this.”

When his warm voice struck her ears, Adella couldn’t shake the feeling of a deep ache in her heart.

Here we go again.

Was she still tipsy?

Or was it the side effect of wearing the laurel?

When she defeated the Observatory Keeper using the power of the laurel or slapped NoName hard, feelings surged up from deep within her.

[Remember.]

Gripping her racing heart, she moved forward and soon reached the Materials Warehouse.

“I feel like the guards aren’t a lot… no, it feels like there are tons inside.”

“Yeah. We can’t sneak in because of the alarm system. We’re heading in through the front.”

“But why does my mouth taste like cat treats and carrots? What’s the criteria for that?”

[Intruder alert! Capture those bastards!]

No matter how versatile the laurel was, it didn’t have the intellect to accurately assess whether the right choices had been made in each situation.

NoName then pulled out a stick wrapped in plastic from his pocket and took a bite. It was an item he bought from the in-game shop that wouldn’t impact gameplay. The price was 0.00003 Bitcoin per stick.

“My feeling.”

[‘Ishirin’ sent a donation of 1,000 won!]

-The teacher is more sensitive than expected!

If Adella managed to defeat Ballum Benavons in this cycle, it was time to move on to advanced training after finishing the basic education, Na-me thought.

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