Chapter 4: The Return of an Old Name

Elara barely slowed her pace as she jogged toward the boss room, her breath steady despite the increasing number of viewers in her stream. The chat scrolled rapidly, messages flying past as her audience debated just how much destruction Min-seo had already caused.

[Konqueror99: Nah, we're getting another Elara highlight reel of failure.]

[PhantomBlade: I bet the boss is already at 10% HP.]

[SwordBaby: Imagine not even getting a hit in on the final boss.]

And then, a message popped up that caught her attention.

[SundaeNight: Half the boss will be left.]

Elara nearly stumbled.

It wasn't the content of the message that made her pause—it was the name. SundaeNight.

A small smile tugged at her lips. It had been a while since she'd seen that name in chat, but she could never forget it. SundaeNight had been there from the very start, back when her viewer count barely scraped into the double digits. Through every terrible match, every humiliating loss, every scuffed stream, they had been watching. She used to see their messages constantly, usually a single line predicting something eerily accurate.

Elara flicked her gaze between the screen and the path ahead, deciding to trust the old chatter's instincts.

"Half left, huh? Alright, SundaeNight, I'll take your word for it. It's been a while, by the way."

The chat immediately erupted.

[Stormcaller: WHOA, a direct callout??]

[SilentVoyager: She actually remembers a specific chatter?!]

[NoobHunter: Wait, how long have they been here???]

Han Ji-eun sat in her private training facility, a cold sports drink resting between her fingers as she watched Elara's stream from the large holo-screen mounted on the wall. The soft hum of the air conditioning filled the otherwise silent room, only interrupted by the occasional notification sound from her phone.

Her grip on the bottle tightened slightly when she heard her name spoken aloud.

"It's been a while, by the way."

Elara's voice carried through the speakers, casual and teasing, but Ji-eun still found herself pausing. She hadn't expected to be recognized—not after she had gone quiet in chat for a while. Work had kept her busy. Being the Rank 1 Hunter wasn't exactly a job that allowed for much free time.

Still…

She let out a quiet breath and leaned forward slightly, typing her response with an ease that didn't match the slight heat creeping up her neck.

[SundaeNight: Yeah. Work's been busy.]

Almost instantly, the chat went wild.

[DarkKnight13: THEY RESPONDED.]

[ShadowSlayer: Wtf this is actually wholesome??]

[SilverEdge: Are we witnessing a reunion??]

Ji-eun ignored the messages flying past as she took another sip of her drink.

She didn't know why she kept watching Elara's streams despite her clear lack of skill in most games. Maybe it was how effortless she made everything seem, even when she was clearly struggling. Maybe it was the way she bantered with chat, responding with just enough sarcasm and charm to keep them engaged. Or maybe…

Maybe it was because she knew exactly who Elara really was.

Not that the rest of the world had figured it out yet.

As far as everyone else was concerned, Elara was just another streamer. A returnee, sure, but one who had decided to take it easy instead of stepping into the high-stakes world of hunting. Most people called her lazy for it, wasting her potential, but Ji-eun… Ji-eun found it oddly endearing.

It was frustrating, of course. If Elara actually put in effort, she could easily climb the ranks. She had the experience, the power—Ji-eun knew she did.

But instead, she played video games for an audience of thousands, entertaining them with her failures and occasional flashes of brilliance.

Ji-eun sighed, rubbing her temple. She really shouldn't enable this.

And yet—

[SundaeNight: Hope you're eating properly. You still forget, don't you?]

Elara nearly choked when she saw the next message pop up.

"Wha—excuse me??"

The chat exploded with laughter.

[ChocoMuffin: LMAO SundaeNight just exposed her.]

[Knightmare: Oh they KNOW her fr.]

[DeathByMagic: Wait, they sound like a mom checking in on their kid??]

Elara huffed dramatically. "For your information, I have been eating perfectly fine. I just had…" She trailed off, thinking about the half-eaten convenience store food still sitting on her desk back home. "…a very nutritious meal recently."

[SundaeNight: So, convenience store food again.]

Elara groaned. "Oh my god, are you stalking me??"

[TeraGod: MC getting mothered in real time.]

[SoftBreeze: This is the funniest thing I've seen all week.]

Despite herself, Elara felt a grin tugging at her lips.

"Alright, alright, you win. I'll order real food later. Happy?"

[SundaeNight: Good.]

The sheer finality of that one-word response made Elara laugh. "Alright, chat, let's move on before SundaeNight turns into my full-time life coach."

The chat buzzed with amusement as she refocused on the dungeon, but in the back of her mind, she couldn't shake the strange warmth settling in her chest.

She really hadn't expected SundaeNight to still be watching after all this time.

And for some reason…

She was kind of glad they were.

Elara leaned back slightly, eyes flicking between the ongoing chat messages and the dungeon path ahead. The excitement from chat hadn't died down, and SundaeNight's presence only made things more energetic.

She smirked, an idea forming in her head. "You know what, SundaeNight? Since you've been here since the beginning, I should give you a special rank in my streams from now on."

The chat instantly went wild.

[ShadowSlayer: OOOH VIP STATUS?]

[Stormcaller: What kind of rank tho?]

[PhantomBlade: The 'Mom Rank' LMAO.]

Elara chuckled, stretching her arms above her head. "I'll just have to figure out how to actually make one. I don't think I've ever messed with stream settings that much…"

[SundaeNight: If you can't even configure basic settings, should you really be a streamer?]

She narrowed her eyes at the screen. "Excuse me? I'll have you know, I have incredible streamer instincts."

[ChocoMuffin: Then why do you suck at every game you play?]

[SoftBreeze: 'Incredible instincts' is wild coming from someone who walked off a cliff last stream.]

Elara sighed dramatically. "Why do I even read chat…"

[SundaeNight: Because you enjoy it.]

She hesitated, lips slightly parted. The words were casual, but they struck somewhere deeper than she expected.

"…Yeah, yeah, whatever," she muttered, quickening her pace as she and Kim Ara finally neared the boss room. "Let's just get this over with before Min-seo—"

The doors to the boss chamber groaned as they stepped inside, revealing the aftermath of absolute carnage. At the center of the spacious arena, Choi Min-seo stood atop the massive, already-defeated boss. The corpse twitched slightly, glowing embers still flickering from the cuts that had sliced straight through its thick hide.

Elara blinked. "Oh."

[Konqueror99: LMFAOOOOO SHE ALREADY FINISHED IT]

[TeraGod: Choi Min-seo speedrunning again.]

[NoobHunter: Didn't even leave a piece for Elara.]

Min-seo turned to them with a smug grin, hands on her hips. "Took you long enough."

Kim Ara sighed, clearly unbothered. "At least let us pretend we're needed, Min-seo."

"Then get here faster next time."

Elara shook her head and walked closer, offering a lazy salute. "Congrats on the solo clear."

Min-seo's grin widened. "You could at least sound slightly more bitter about it."

"Oh, I am bitter." Elara lifted her staff and casually flicked it toward the lingering specters that floated near the edges of the room, instantly annihilating them with a burst of light magic. "I was looking forward to doing the bare minimum and coasting off everyone else's efforts."

[DeathByMagic: SHE'S NOT EVEN HIDING IT]

[SilverEdge: Laziest returnee ever confirmed.]

[Stormcaller: And yet she still clears faster than 90% of people lol.]

Min-seo rolled her eyes but didn't argue. "Too bad, I got bored waiting."

Elara exhaled through her nose, shaking her head in mild exasperation. Min-seo was a force of nature—if she wanted something done quickly, it would be done quickly, whether anyone else was prepared or not.

Kim Ara stepped forward, examining the boss's remains. "At least let me heal you if you took any damage."

Min-seo waved a dismissive hand. "Nah, barely got scratched."

[ChocoMuffin: Casual flex.]

[SilentVoyager: Some things never change.]

Elara turned her attention back to the few remaining enemies in the room, swiftly eliminating them with casual flicks of her wrist. It wasn't anything impressive, but at least it made her look productive.

As the last specter dissolved, she stretched and let out a satisfied sigh. "Well, that's that."

[SundaeNight: Don't forget loot distribution.]

She groaned. "Ugh, fine. See? This is why I don't do dungeon runs."

[TeraGod: Because you're lazy?]

[SoftBreeze: Because you're lazy.]

Elara sighed again, dramatically long and exaggerated. "You guys are so mean to me."

[SundaeNight: Then stop making it so easy.]

Elara stretched her arms over her head, letting out a deep sigh as they finally stepped through the shimmering blue veil of the dungeon gate. The cool evening air of the outside world rushed to meet them, a stark contrast to the stale, oppressive atmosphere of the dungeon they had just cleared.

The moment her boots hit solid ground, she pulled up her stream overlay. "Alright, that's it for today, guys. I'll be back later with another stream. And this time, I'll pick something exciting—so don't miss it."

[Stormcaller: Don't let it be another one of your 'surprise' horror games.]

[PhantomBlade: Watch her play a dating sim and fail at romancing NPCs.]

[ChocoMuffin: I'd watch that, not gonna lie.]

Elara huffed out a laugh. "I'll see you all later." With a final flick of her fingers, the stream shut down, and the chat disappeared from her screen. A strange sense of relief settled in her chest. As fun as streaming was, it was always a little overwhelming to have thousands of eyes on her at once.

She turned back toward her party, only to find Kim Ara standing a few feet away, hesitating. The healer's fingers curled slightly at her sides, and her lips parted as if she was about to say something, then changed her mind.

Elara tilted her head. "Ara? You good?"

Kim Ara knew she should just ask. It wasn't a big deal. Exchanging contacts was something normal people did all the time. But standing there, watching the way Elara casually tied up her hair, her golden eyes glimmering under the streetlights, Ara felt a strange nervous energy bubble up in her chest.

Why was she hesitating?

It wasn't like she hadn't talked to Elara before. They had spent hours together in the dungeon, fighting side by side. And yet, something about approaching her now, outside of battle, made her palms feel uncomfortably warm.

Just ask. It's not like you're confessing something.

Taking a quiet breath, she finally stepped forward. "Elara? Can we exchange contacts?"

Elara blinked, as if surprised. Then, she smiled. "Oh, yeah, sure. Gimme a sec."

Ara quickly pulled out her phone as Elara navigated through her own settings. A few seconds later, their devices chimed, confirming the exchange. A small wave of satisfaction washed over Ara as she stared at Elara's name now saved in her contacts.

She glanced up just in time to catch Elara grinning playfully. "Careful, Ara. Now you have direct access to all my nonsense. You might regret this."

Ara chuckled softly. "I think I'll manage."

Before she could say anything else, a loud voice cut through the moment.

"Elara!" Choi Min-seo strode over with her usual confident swagger, arms crossed. "Fight me."

Elara groaned immediately. "Min-seo, no."

"Min-seo, yes."

Ara sighed, stepping aside as Min-seo got right up in Elara's space, practically vibrating with excitement. "Come on! We barely got to see you fight in there. You didn't even get to go all out!"

Elara took a slow step back. "That was the plan."

"Well, I'm challenging you now."

"Yeah, and I'm rejecting the challenge."

Min-seo clicked her tongue. "Coward."

Elara narrowed her eyes. "Tactician."

Ara watched the exchange with a faint smile. It was always amusing to see Min-seo get so fired up over a fight. But more than that, it was interesting how Elara reacted. She never got angry at Min-seo's persistence—just exasperated, as if she already knew resistance was futile.

Which, to be fair, it probably was.

Min-seo smirked, leaning in slightly. "What's wrong? Afraid you'll lose?"

Elara snorted. "Afraid you'll drag me into a way bigger mess than just a simple spar."

"Three days from now. Awakener's Arena. Just us."

Elara groaned again, rubbing her temples. "Min-seo, I—"

"I'll even hold back. A little."

There was a brief silence before Elara finally sighed, her shoulders sagging in resignation. "Fine. Three days from now."

Min-seo grinned triumphantly. "Good. Don't be late."

Ara couldn't help but shake her head in amusement. Min-seo always gets her way in the end.

But as she glanced at Elara, she noticed the other woman wasn't scowling as much as she pretended to be. In fact, there was something almost fond in her exasperation.

And for some reason, that made Ara's chest tighten just a little.