CHAPTER 90: SEKIRO STREAM END

She sat cross legged in front of the Ghost Buddha statue, activated teleportation, and her screen faded to black. When it lit up again, she was back at the Ghost Buddha near the temple entrance.

Just as she got up to find the temple’s Buddha sculptor, her eyes caught a figure, a woman in red, standing gracefully at the gate.

She wore a flowing gown, her hair in an elegant bun, radiating a calm, dignified beauty.

"Whoa, who’s that?!"

"She’s gorgeous!"

"Damn, old school beauty, 10 out of 10!"

Beautiful NPCs were always a fan favorite, and clearly, the dev didn’t disappoint this time.

"He really delivered with this one," Natalie said with a grin, striding over.

As she approached, the elegant woman stared at her with deep, soulful eyes and sighed softly. "You really came back from the dead... I never thought I’d see it with my own eyes."

Her voice was warm and familiar, Natalie tilt her head and Wolf asked. "Who are you?" he asked.

"My name is Emma," the woman replied. "I serve a certain master as a pharmacist."

"A certain master?"

"Forgive me. The master ordered that I keep his identity secret," Emma said gently. "He only asked me to assist you."

The Wolf paused, then narrowed his eyes. "Were you the one who sent me the letter before?"

Natalie suddenly lit up. "Oh! That’s why your voice sounded familiar! She’s the one who tossed us that letter at the start!"

Emma nodded. "Yes. That was on the master’s orders. And the healing gourd you’re carrying, it’s from me, too. If you find more gourd seeds, bring them to me. I can enhance its capacity."

"For real?!" Natalie’s eyes sparkled. That meant the gourd could be upgraded to heal more times!

"Understood," the Wolf responded coolly to Emma’s offer.

"Please, be careful out there," she said, her expression serious.

The Wolf simply replied, "...Yeah."

"Pfft... C’mon Wolf, can’t you say more than one word?! She’s such a gentle beauty!"

"Bro’s got no game, LOL."

"If it were me, I’d already be asking for her contact info."

"He’s too real. Like me, who gets nervous around pretty girls IRL!"

The viewers burst into laughter. Even Natalie chuckled, then bid Emma goodbye and headed into the temple.

Inside, the Buddha sculptor was still focused on his carving but spoke without turning. "You’ve returned. I forgot to give you something earlier, it might strengthen you."

He put down his tools and handed her a scroll.

As Natalie took it, a system prompt popped up:

[You’ve acquired a Martial Arts Manual: Unlocks a variety of powerful combat skills and stealth techniques.]

A new martial arts skill tree appeared on her interface, displaying a list of techniques like: Whirlwind Slash, See Through, Streaming Light, Triple Thrust, and more.

Each required skill points to unlock, which were gained through combat and leveling up.

Just like other RPGs.

"Whoa, there’s a whole martial arts system now?!"

"Of course! What kind of martial artist has no martial arts skills?!"

"New World really thought of everything with this one."

The chat was buzzing with excitement.

Unfortunately, Natalie only had one skill point at the moment, so she could only unlock a basic move, Whirlwind Slash.

Natalie didn’t hesitate. With a tap, she decisively unlocked the skill.

[You have learned: Whirlwind Slash]

Just then, the Buddha Sculptor spoke again. "Ah, I see you’ve already obtained the ninja gear. Come over here, I’ll install it for you."

Without question, Natalie sat down beside him. The sculptor turned toward her, gently adjusting something on her left arm.

A few seconds later, he nodded. "Alright. It’s installed."

A new prompt popped up in her field of view.

[Bend the index finger of your left hand and wave your left hand to launch a shuriken]

"Try it now, Natalie!"

"Yeah, yeah, do it! Hurry up!"

"Let’s gooooo!"

"Alright! Let’s test it out!" Natalie shouted, rushing out of the temple with excitement.

The chat was hyped, but she was even more impatient. Once outside in the temple courtyard, she scanned the area, and locked eyes on a rock ahead.

"Alright, target acquired. Watch this, rock! Taste my dart!"

Natalie focused on the stone, then flicked her left hand with full confidence.

Swish!

With a sharp whoosh, a shuriken burst out from her arm, slicing through the air like a streak of light!

Boom!

The power was impressive. Her motion looked slick, too, but the shuriken soared past the rock and stuck into the dirt behind it.

"Uh..." Natalie froze. That... wasn’t exactly on target.

"One more time! Ready, set, go!"

She squared her shoulders and launched another shuriken.

Miss.

"It’s too far," she muttered, face slightly red. "Okay, let me get closer..."

She stepped forward and tried again.

Miss.

Three in a row.

Natalie grit her teeth. "I don’t believe this!!!"

Fed up, she stormed right up to the rock and hurled the next shuriken at point-blank range.

Bang!

The shuriken embedded itself deep into the stone, dead center.

"Natalie finally nailed it!"

"Man, even the shuriken takes skill, this game’s too real."

"No wonder it’s hard. You’ve gotta train like a real ninja!"

Natalie wiped her forehead. "This is seriously hard..." she muttered, then reached for the sword strapped at her waist. "Alright, guys, It’s time to test out Whirlwind Slash!"

Following the tutorial, she pulled the blade to her side, adjusted her stance, and swung it forward in one sharp motion.

Swoosh!

The suit’s body sensors activated instantly. Natalie’s feet lifted slightly off the ground, and she spun in a perfect 360 degree arc, her blade trailing a brilliant silver light behind her.

It was like a dancer’s elegant pirouette, except her blade exploded with a violent, circular shockwave!

"Holy crap, so cool!!"

"She just did a Galen E!!!"

"It’s like something out of a action movie!"

The viewers were blown away.

That kind of acrobatic move? Normally you’d only see stunt actors perform it, heavily wired and choreographed. But Natalie, an ordinary person, pulled it off seamlessly.

"This move is insane!" she shouted. "Next time I get swarmed, I’m busting this one out. Feels super strong!"

She could already tell, Whirlwind Slash was made for crowd control, just like the heroic sword moves you’d see martial arts protagonists use when surrounded by enemies.

Satisfied, Natalie sheathed her sword.

"Alright, guys... I’m calling it here for today’s stream. I’m totally wiped out..."

Her voice had grown noticeably softer. She still wanted to keep playing, but Sekiro was far more physically draining than Subnautica.

In Subnautica, she was just swimming. But here, she had to move her entire body. Even with the help of her vr suit, the full body movement wore her out. Her limbs felt like jelly, and her heart was racing.

"Honestly, just watching Sekiro is more exhausting than Subnautica..."

"But hey, I’m already hooked. I’m claiming that knight class for myself tomorrow!"

"Lmao, for people like us who dream of being swordsmen, this game is the real deal!"

As the viewers chatted away, Natalie ended her stream and logged out.

She slumped into her chair and checked the stats.

"Wow..." she gasped.

Peak viewers: over 7 million.

"Almost 7 million people watched this stream..." she muttered, wide eyed.

Then her stomach growled.

"Ugh... I’m starving."

The adrenaline from the game had kept her going, but now that the rush had worn off, the hunger hit hard.

"Hey, Tony, got anything to eat?" she called out weakly, but her voice barely had strength behind it.

She sighed and tried to stand, but as soon as she got up, her legs gave out.

Thud!

She collapsed to the floor, limbs completely drained.

1285 Words.