I was progressing well. Way better than I thought.
After all, I could feel that even the Sword Empress, the 'strongest in 1 vs 1 PVP', was weaker than me, at least right now. I was progressing well, but it was still true that I hadn't gotten out of the 'beginner' level yet.
'You have to reach level 30 to stand at the real starting line.'
Real 'Playing' could be seen to start from level 40 and onward, at least according to the standards of the future.
'Leveling from 30 to 40… isn't easy.'
At level 30, there weren't that many monsters good for leveling, and fast level ups were difficult. From that point, leveling demanded continuous grinding.
'Lycanthropes that are on the high EXP side… have way too low cost-effectiveness.'
Unless there was something like a creek nearby, Lycanthropes were difficult to kill. People with a lot of money actually just went around with fire trucks and hunted them, but even that wasn't all that effective. Lycanthropes were only level 25. They didn't merit such exaggerated tactics in the level 30s.
'But… it's a different story if I have these guys.'
I saw the monsters in front of me. Three of them were huddled together. They were huge rabbit-type monsters.
♂ Monster Rabbit LVL 18
♀ Monster Rabbit LVL 20
The two male Monster Rabbits were level 18, and the female Monster Rabbit was level 20.
Yeonseo said to me, "One of them is coming up as red. Is it like a boss monster?"
Her level was 19. It appeared she wasn't able to check the level of the level 20 female Monster Rabbit.
"They don't look all that strong…" mumbled Yeonseo to herself.
She was right. They weren't very strong monsters. It didn't always apply, but normally, a monster's 'strength' tended to be reflected to a certain degree in their 'appearance'. Most rabbit-type monsters were weak. They might have become huge, but they were still confined to the constraints of the 'rabbit' category.
'Might be different if they were Demon Realm Rabbits.'
A bunny inhabiting a field set as a different dimension entirely might be different, but these guys were still rabbits, even if they had 'monster' attached to their name.
'The problem is that they're really tough to catch.'
They had a habit of running away when they sensed danger. That was fine, but the problem was that they were so fast it was difficult to catch them. Because they fled through underground tunnels, unless you had an earth-attribute Player, these monsters were practically impossible to catch.
I looked closely at Shin Yeonseo.
'She cleared this gate on her own.'
That meant she had a method to catch these monsters.
'But I'm sure she just cleared it.'
Simply clearing this gate was meaningless. I had to catch as many of those 'Monster Rabbits' as possible. They were monsters that were absolutely necessary for later Playing, for level 30-40 Playing.
'I never thought I'd end up meeting them here.'
I felt my mood go up, and I wasn't the only one feeling happy.
"How about it? Shall we try catching them? It looks fun."
She seemed a little excited. Her cheeks had become ruddy, but her cuteness wasn't the only thing I noticed.
'So the Sword Empress was always this way, starting from the low levels.'
This, too, was the influence of talent—that she felt 'curiosity', not fear, towards a new monster. She might look cute, but there was surely an incredible battle instinct lurking within. The whole person changed as soon as there was a sword in her hand. Some people even gave her the nickname 'Rakshasa', aka demon.
"Sounds good to me," I said before giving an explanation. "Rabbits usually have a tendency to run away when they're in danger. It would be best to kill them in one shot if possible. Do you think you can do it?"
For example, with your innate ability 'Single Hit Finisher'.
Yeonseo innocently thumped her chest. "Of course! I even have a skill that kills in one blow."
The two of us hunted the Monster Rabbits. Killing them in itself wasn't hard. The only attacks they had were kicking with their hind legs or biting with their fangs, so they weren't all that dangerous.
"Now."
That instant, Yeonseo's sword glowed blue. For a very brief moment, it looked like her body whooshed backwards.
Swoosh–!
The whistle of air being sliced rang out.
A straight trajectory of blue light was traced in the air.
'It's fast.'
Her movements were fast. For the briefest moment, Yeonseo's body had shot backwards like a bullet, like her sword was almost a spear.
'That's the Sword Empress' innate ability, Single Hit Finisher.'
It was already astonishing that she'd already awakened an 'innate ability' at level 19, but it was also surprising that she could use it so well.
[Monster Rabbit has been killed.]
[EXP acquired.]
[26 Coins acquired.]
One Monster Rabbit died, and the other two fled. I 'clicked' the Monster Rabbit's body.
[There are no dropped items.]
It was a bit of a shame. Monster Rabbits dropped 'lifesteal items', and at a very high rate. Lifestealer items were absolutely necessary in order to quickly get through the level 30-40 stretch that was called the '1st Hell Phase'.
"Aw. They all ran away."
Shin Yeonseo looked like she sincerely found it regretful. Here, I could feel it again, that this girl was really born to be a Player, that she truly enjoyed this. That was why she was later given the grandiose nickname of 'Sword Empress'.
"They'll respawn quickly, I'm sure."
"But, um, Mr. Hyukjin? Hyukjin? Ah, whatever. Let's just drop the formalities. Whatever. I'm just gonna be casual with you. We're like friend-age. It's actually hella embarrassing to speak politely when we're the same age," she mumbled quickly to herself before simply deciding to drop the formalities.
"Did you always know about this place? Have you been here before?"
Hyukjin also naturally dropped the formalities. It wasn't all that important to him.
"It's my first time, though?"
That was the truth. It was just that he knew most of the strategies of the future.
"Really? It's your first time?"
"…"
Yeonseo's eyes grew wide. It was hard to believe this woman and the woman who unleashed Single Hit Finisher on a Monster Rabbit just now was the same person.
"But how can you be so calm? To me, it looked like you already knew a lot about this place."
"That's…"
The air began to shimmer again, right on cue. It saved me from talking, since Monster Rabbits appeared again.
"Let's keep catching these guys."
"Got it."
Yeonseo seemed to subconsciously trust me quite a lot. She followed my lead without protest. The two of us continued to hunt Monster Rabbits.
[Monster Rabbit has been killed.]
[EXP acquired.]
[25 Coins acquired.]
After we hunted around eight of them, an item dropped.
[Quality Iron Sword]
An iron sword that has likely been made by a fairly high-level craftsman. It has excellent durability and attack power.
Grade: Normal
Attack Power: 7-18
Durability: 300/300
Dammit. Something like this was meaningless. It was pretty decent for a beginner item and even had a durability meter, but I didn't need something like this.
"Mm."
But I pretended to be troubled. There was one item, but two people.
"You have it," I said, as if doing her a kindness.
"Really?"
"Yeah. It looks like you're better at the sword than me."
"…"
For a moment, Yeonseo looked like she was wondering if it was really okay, but then she nodded.
"Got it. I'll take it with gratitude! In exchange, I'll definitely give you the next item that comes out."
She grinned, as if thinking she owed me one. That smile… was certainly pretty.
Yeah, I thought. You take that trash loot. I'll take the lifesteal item, thanks.
[Legolas' Ring]
A ring made by refining a 'topaz' that holds a mysterious power.
Defense: 1
Effect: 2% attack damage HP absorption.
It finally showed up. Yeonseo didn't recognize this item's value.
"Ehhh, it's only 2%?"
It was indeed only 2%. But it was possible to equip a total of ten rings, and it was even possible to strengthen them as long as you could satisfy the conditions.
Yeonseo, who didn't know that, looked apologetically at me. "Feels like only I got a good item."
"We're gonna keep hunting monsters anyway, so it's fine."
A long time passed. I didn't measure exactly how long, but at least five hours passed of doing the same thing. Apparently, the Guardians didn't find our Playing very fun.
[The 'Courageous Lion King' is bored.]
[The 'Nameless Observer' has stopped observing.]
[The 'Lady of the Scales' finds the actions of the Players odd.]
Normally, I would try to keep their interest up, but not right now. The frustration and repetition now would actually come back as intense gratification later.
In that time, I acquired a whopping eight Legolas' Rings. My heart thumped. The only issue was that Yeonseo became a little uneasy.
"But… isn't it taking too long? I feel like we've been doing the same thing for too long. We'll be able to get out of here, right?"
If I kept too tight of a lid on the information, Yeonseo's unease would hit a peak. The two of us were a team. There was no need to put a damper on the team's morale.
"I've already found a way to go out."
"Hm? How?"
Her eyes grew round again. She looked up at me with such surprise that even her lips turned into an "O". I really didn't understand how the gap between when she had her sword and didn't could be so big. I wasn't so sure about the 'easily lovestruck' part, but the 'two faces' part was definitely right.
"Over there."
I pointed some distance away at a certain spot. It was dark.
"I don't see anything."
"A Clear Crystal has formed there."
Like I expected, it wasn't a high difficulty gate. After killing a certain number of Monster Rabbits, a 'Clear Crystal' would form. If that crystal was destroyed, the gate would be cleared, as simple as that.
"A Clear Crystal?"
"We can get out if we destroy that."
"Aha. Then you dragged it out on purpose, huh?"
That was the moment Yeonseo seemed to have realized something. That in the beginner period, lifesteal items only dropped from these rabbits. Yeonseo stared absentmindedly at me. I could feel goodwill from her through Eye of Perception.
And then, she said something I'd never even considered.
"Is it because you're interested in me?"
She said it cheekily, but why did her ears redden? She should decide whether she was going to be cheeky or embarrassed, and not mix the two of them. What kind of answer did she want to hear?
I was saved by the clock when a notice came in.
[There are no more respawning monsters.]
I was a bit sorry to hear it, but I was still able to acquire nine 'Legolas' Rings'.
[Monsters will not respawn.]
[The Clear Crystal will be forcefully destroyed.]
['Flash Gate – Underground Tunnel' has been cleared.]
When a 'gate' closed once, it wouldn't open ever again. That was another trait that differentiated gates from 'dungeons', which remained in place.
It had grown very dark outside. It looked like it was dawn.
'A lot of time has passed.'
At that moment, Eye of Perception picked up on two things.
'Huh?'
One was my sister's presence. My head whipped around, and I saw my sister, who was slumped on the ground with swollen eyes. I also felt another presence.
'Ah, fuck. What is it this time?'
The next moment, the world changed.
____