A sudden gasp escaped me.
Upon reaching the third floor of the tower, an undead monster immediately charged.
With a sickening crunch!
I casually drove my fist into its skull.
True to the undead found on the third floor, its soft skull shattered with ease.
You’re startling my viewers.
What kind of stunt is this?
This is an undead.
[Shiba!]
[Air raid warning! Air raid warning!]
[What is it? What’s happening?]
[Aargh!!!!!]
Glancing at the broadcast, I noticed a steady increase in viewers.
Some were arriving after seeing posts in online communities.
Others, curious why a new streamer had such a large audience, had sought out the broadcast.
-Someone sponsored 1,000 won!-
[Teacher… why on earth is it a first-person perspective?]
It was a good question.
‘Why first-person?’ one might wonder.
Naturally.
[Third Life: I chose first-person so you could see more clearly.]
[What the hell is that nonsense…?]
[No, damn it, as soon as I joined the stream, what’s with the undead head?]
[I’ve smashed those bastards’ heads countless times in Rio World, but seeing it this close is genuinely terrifying.]
[It’s like a horror movie all on its own.]
[Why first-person…? There’s a third-person view too!]
[Can’t you use both first-person and third-person?]
Normally, streams are conducted in a third-person perspective.
It’s easier to observe everything at once,
and it allows viewers to watch the gameplay without feeling overwhelmed.
However, if that were the case, it would be difficult for viewers to truly grasp how I fight.
There’s an unavoidable gap in perspective between someone actively playing in the arena and someone merely watching from afar.
To minimize that disparity, I boldly decided to share a first-person view.
This is how it’s done, so try to follow along.
[Third Life: More people came than I expected. Today, we’ll be tackling the third floor undead. It seems many misunderstood my previous advice to other streamers about using staffs as blunt weapons.]
[No, if you’re communicating through stream chat, you’re obviously looking at the chat, so why are you stubbornly sticking to first-person?]
[Communicate with us!]
[Change the setting from first-person to third-person!]
[What is this? This is the first time I’ve felt like I’m trying to communicate but can’t.]
[Please read the chat…!!!]
The undead on the third floor were remarkably faithful to their lore.
Undead typically arise from lingering thoughts or malevolent spirits.
What that means is,
an already deceased entity is resurrected solely through sheer willpower.
[Third Life: Since undead are made of bone, they move using lingering thoughts instead of muscles. In other words, a dead corpse becomes an undead.]
[Aren’t undead originally those kinds of monsters, Teacher?]
That’s right.
Undead are indeed that kind of monster.
As they are not a new birth of life, they retain their original physical form.
If the flesh is less decayed, they are ghouls.
If it’s entirely decayed, leaving only bones, they are classified as undead monsters.
Regardless, they are all dead, but the reason for distinguishing them is
due to the structural differences between ghouls and undead.
Unlike ghouls, whose muscles and nervous systems still function to some extent, undead are left entirely as skeletons.
Lingering thoughts replace invisible muscles and substitute for optic nerves.
This implies that all undead with weak lingering thoughts are generally frail and weak-boned.
Furthermore, if one can manipulate their lingering thoughts, their inner structure isn’t muscle or thick subcutaneous fat, but fragile bone that shatters with a mere strike.
[Third Life: That’s why you can break their heads so smoothly.]
With a resounding crack!
The staff, wielded carelessly, plunged into the very top of the undead’s skull.
As expected of Rio World.
The implementation is excellent.
To implement even such minor details is impressive.
If this level of detail had existed during my hero days, I wouldn’t have had such a hard time teaching the kids.
[No, Teacher, if that were possible, they’d be warriors, not mages.]
[Teacher?]
[It’s hopeless. Communication is hopeless on this stream.]
[Is this a ‘backseat gaming’ stream…?]
From this point on, it was a continuous cycle of repetition.
[Third Life: And if you repeat this several times…]
When an undead approached, I’d smash its head.
If the distance wasn’t right, I’d momentarily retreat before swinging the staff again.
Since I hadn’t verified my advice regarding undead, I was swinging a mage’s staff like Yura, and surprisingly, its durability was excellent.
It was then I understood why that guy used to swing his staff when his mana ran out.
‘A staff made from the World Tree is harder than most metals.’
Though the character of a guy who’d use a branch, held more sacred than life by elves, as a mere blunt weapon was certainly questionable…
‘Is that something *you* should be saying? You, who only called the Holy Sword a needlessly flashy torch with a sword function?’
Anyway.
Just as he said, the staff was surprisingly a good blunt weapon.
This comfortable grip.
The bluntness, with a slightly protruding tip.
Ah, perfect.
The more I swung it, the more satisfying it felt.
As I continued to swing it mercilessly for a while,
it was over before I knew it.
[Congratulations!]
[You have successfully cleared the 3rd floor of the tower.]
Perhaps because I took my time this round, I didn’t break any records.
But after showing them this much, they should understand, right?
[Third Life: Now you understand how to defeat undead as a mage, don’t you?]
[Did they change to a warrior class lol]
[No, Teacher, is this really how a mage defeats them? Isn’t this a warrior?]
[? This is a mage?]
[No, but you’re unclassed in the first place, aren’t you?]
-QuestionMarkKiller sponsored 1,000 won!-
[Did you actually use magic?]
[Third Life: I did. I used Body Enhancement and one more, but…]
Come to think of it, I might have lacked detailed explanations while busy fighting the undead.
[Third Life: Let me explain in detail again, starting now.]
It was a moment that called for supplementary explanation.
I gathered all the defeated undead in one place.
A boneyard.
A hidden stage exists on the third floor.
If all the undead are gathered in one place and offered at an altar,
[A knight awakens due to powerful lingering thoughts.]
[The knight seeks their army.]
[Fallen specters rise again at their lord’s call!]
An army returned from death was born.
If the previous undead were on the level of ants, these new undead were at least beetle-level.
And that knight standing at the very front.
Clad in black armor that looked sturdy at a glance,
and emitting lifeless blue eye-glow, they were certainly stag beetle-level.
In other words, a Death Knight.
[Kyah]
[Every time I see it, it blows my mind.]
[The character design is really awesome.]
[Would a real Death Knight look like that?]
[My cousin said it’s glamorized.]
Clank.
The knight raised their sword as if preparing for battle.
[Third Life: I explained about undead lingering thoughts earlier, do you all remember?]
[Yes, yes, Teacher!]
[Lingering thoughts, something or other?]
[Summary: Undead are lingering thought-based monsters, and are weak because they lack muscles.]
[Third Life: If those lingering thoughts grow stronger, they become a Death Knight like that. Don’t they look strong?]
[They look incredibly strong.]
[But I know that’s a hidden stage, and the appropriate level to clear it is at least level 20.]
[Come to think of it, what level are they?]
[Level 3]
[OMG, but they’re challenging a hidden stage?]
[? Isn’t the point of surprise weird?]
[?]
[Usually, people are surprised that they killed enough undead at level 3 to summon a Death Knight, aren’t they?]
[True.]
The Death Knight slowly lowered its body.
It was a charging stance.
[Third Life: Hmm… they must have done a good job with the character design if that looks strong.]
Strictly speaking, that Death Knight maintained a very weak form for the sake of game implementation.
It lacked the Death Knight’s characteristic intimidation or intelligence.
A Death Knight without those two was truly like popcorn without kernels, or curry without curry powder.
[? Didn’t you just say they looked strong?]
[???: I will walk my own path!]
[That looks weak?]
[Third Life: A Death Knight is strong because its lingering thoughts are strong. Conversely, this means that without those lingering thoughts, both Death Knights and regular undead are nothing but empty husks.]
Boom!
The Death Knight stamped its foot.
Utilizing the explosive acceleration from its massive body, it charged forward in an instant.
Its posture, running with knees bent low, made it seem as if the Death Knight had suddenly vanished to anyone looking only straight ahead.
[What? Where did it go?]
[?????]
[Teleportation??]
[Huh?]
But that wasn’t the reality.
It had simply disappeared into a blind spot.
The Death Knight was still right in front of me.
[Third Life: Everyone seems to misunderstand. When I say to attack with a blunt weapon instead of magic, even as a mage, this is what I mean.]
Crash!
A heavy longsword whistled past my nose.
The Death Knight straightened its bent knees, closing the distance.
Although it was a construct, it was executing surprisingly proper footwork.
If only Yura could have managed even this much, I wouldn’t have given her so much unsolicited advice.
With a pivot.
Shifting its weight to its right side, it attempted to force the raised sword back down.
The Death Knight was attempting a diagonal slash, but its guard was too open.
Into its wide-open guard, I lightly thrust the staff.
And then.
With a sickening crack!
The Death Knight’s ribs shattered instantly, like boneless concrete without rebar.
[Third Life: If there are lingering thoughts, you infuse mana into them to dismantle them. This exposes the undead’s characteristic brittle bone structure, and by simply crushing that, a Death Knight breaks apart this easily. See? Easy, right?]
[?????]
[?????????]
[?]
[????]
-RiceDaddyHardcore sponsored 1,000 won!-
[Teacher, how many layers of magic did you use just now?]
[Third Life: I used two layers. One Body Enhancement and one Lingering Thought Disruption magic, so two.]
-RiceDaddyHardcore sponsored 1,000 won!-
[You’re unclassed, right?]
[Third Life: Of course. But this is something easy that even mages can do, so give it a try.]
No, wait.
[Third Life: In fact, mages can do it even better. Because it’s magic.]
[Isn’t it common sense that a mage should handle magic better than someone unclassed, Teacher…?]
[That’s magic…?]
By infusing my mana, an impurity, into the undead’s lingering thoughts, I create fissures.
Then a subtle gap opens up.
If that spot is struck with a blunt weapon, even the strongest undead will shatter into pieces, unless their bones are solid or reinforced.
Therefore.
[Third Life: It’s really]
[Third Life: easy.]
[Third Life: Well then, I’m off.]
Now they’ll get it, right?
Having achieved my initial objective, I pressed the broadcast termination button without a moment’s hesitation.
[The broadcast has ended.]
[Where on earth is this easy…?]
[Ah]
[Aah!]
[They’re gone!]
[You should answer questions before you go!]
[N]
[A]
[R]
[A]
[K]
[Where did they go? No, seriously, where did they go?]
As soon as the unsolicited advice concluded, I abandoned 156 viewers.
****
“I’ve taught them enough; they’ll figure it out themselves.”
I even showed them how to do it in a first-person perspective; surely, they can’t fail at that.
Even that mage guy used to do it back in the day.
‘You son of a… (Muffled!)’
With my frustration somewhat relieved,
I checked my schedule for the day.
There were no broadcasts I particularly wanted to watch.
Nor did I have anything else to do.
The only thing left to do was perhaps level up for the upcoming tournament.
Even that had its deadline extended, leaving me with ample time.
“Shall I go to the supermarket?”
The game ended precisely at lunchtime.
Normally, I’d eat lunch later than this, but if I went to the supermarket and came back, it would be just the right time for lunch.
The supermarket I visited last time had been completely repaired, from the ground floor to the basement, with no trace of the gate remaining.
I roughly bought some lunch items.
On the way back home,
I saw a letter stuck in the mailbox.
Who could it be from?
Usually, letters regarding electricity bills or other subscription fees arrived in yellow envelopes or contained yellow documents.
I hadn’t seen a white envelope with white contents like this many times.
Wondering if it was just an advertisement, I almost ignored it, pretending not to notice.
But once it had caught my eye, curiosity got the better of me.
So I took it, and looking back, it was an excellent decision.
The letter was none other than from school.
[Regarding Elementary School Start Date]
Ah.
Right.
I was eight years old.
I had to go to elementary school.
