Chapter 32
Chris’s eyes didn’t miss the white wolf’s tail.
Behind a pile of rocks, at the edge of the dungeon entrance, she ghosted in on the flowing white hair dancing in the breeze.
“…Rain?”
“Eh!?”
Wobble.
Rain, who was just about to step into the dungeon, froze awkwardly. He turned his head towards Chris.
“…Sister Chris?”
With a broad smile plastered on her face, Chris approached Rain.
“Rain! I missed you! Are you also challenging the forward base?”
Rain hesitated as he looked at Chris.
Just then, Chris’s eyes caught sight of the weapon hanging at Rain’s waist.
“…Zarkan’s weapon?”
Chris’s mind short-circuited for a moment.
Not long after the No Name Party cleared, Chris’s party had finished their run.
No weapons had appeared in the auction house yet.
The fact that Rain was equipped with this weapon meant.
“…No way?”
Chris stared at Deathly Death and shook her head. This meant that other advance parties were still stuck.
Chris hurriedly grabbed Rain’s shoulder.
“Rain, are you by any chance the tank of the No Name Party?”
Rain shrank back, a bit uncomfortable.
Seeing this, Chris suddenly snapped back to her senses.
She had barely let this little creature’s guard down, and now she might raise it again with such behavior.
She was curious about many things, but it seemed like Rain had something to do.
If Rain was indeed the tank of the No Name Party, then he would have to continue farming.
It looked like Rain’s party members had already entered the forward base. There was only him close by.
Chris removed her hand from Rain’s shoulder.
“Sorry! Did I surprise you? I didn’t mean to bother you while you were farming!”
“No, it’s fine.”
Rain gave Chris a small smile.
Receiving that smile, Chris beamed back.
“Hehe! Right, Rain! Do your best!”
Rain waved his hand lightly at Chris.
Hops.
He jumped into the dungeon.
Chris gazed at the spot where Rain had disappeared with eyes full of sweetness.
“So cute….”
While Chris stood there dazed for a moment, the party members approached her.
“Wow…! Sister Chris, what’s that? That adorable white creature!?”
“Hehe, he’s my friend!”
Chris chuckled. Bae Merong stammered.
“Y-Y-You’re acting weirdly happy, Sister Chris…!”
“Chris, did you confirm the weapon that kid was carrying?”
Deathly Death’s suspicious question quickly wiped the smile off Chris’s face. She returned to the raid leader mode in an instant.
“Yes. I’m sure. It’s Zarkan’s sword.”
“As we confirmed earlier, other advance parties are still struggling. Not only the 3 Named, but most are having a hard time with the 2 Named landmines.”
“The No Name Party.”
Deathly Death nodded.
“Given the circumstances, it seems likely.”
“You’re saying that little character is the tank of the Purkle team? I can’t believe it,” Bae Merong said.
“No. If he’s a small character, his agility stat would have a boost. Thanks to that, he’d be more advantageous against 3 Named.”
“But still, there’s the synchronization rate….”
“The chances are high that he actually has a small body.”
“A minor? But it’s a 19-year-old game, right?”
“Just because someone is short doesn’t mean they’re a minor! There are definitely adult women shorter than 150 cm.”
Seeing Rain’s childish behavior, he might really be a minor.
Chris chuckled inwardly as she thought this.
“So, is it because our cute white creature is getting attention from Sister Chris?”
At Bae Merong’s mischievous question, Chris blushed slightly and stumbled over her words.
“W-Well, I can’t say I don’t have any of those feelings.”
“He’s a rare talent. It’s hard to find a great tank. Right now, the main content is the 4-person Elite Dungeon.”
“Certainly, thinking of the upcoming 12-person legendary difficulty dungeon and raid, he’s a priority recruitment target.”
“If the No Name Party joins forces with Sister Chris’s raid, they’d be unbeatable!”
Chris nodded.
Now she had more reasons to get closer to Rain.
But being competitive in nature, Chris couldn’t let the No Name Party outshine them.
“We can’t lose either. We gave them the first clear this time, but next time we must win. Come on, let’s hurry! We have no time to waste. Are we ready? Let’s go for the second clear!”
Chris motivated her party members while pushing her regret aside.
Meanwhile, Cherni, lost in thought a little further back, suddenly muttered.
“…That kid, for sure….”
*
[Title]
Zarkan Gear Graduation Looks Harder Than Expected (+76)
[Content]
From here, it’s random stats for accessories.
To get an accessory with preferred stats and high options, you need to keep grinding. PVP users and PVE user preferences are different.
And the newly added socket items, Echo Stones, are the biggest issue.
There are attack power Echo Stones, lifesteal, stat boosts, and status effect damage for PVP too.
But the drop rate is terrible. Even though the advance parties have cleared a lot over two days, barely any have dropped. It’s still pricier than the first weapon sold.
If you continuously collect ‘Zarkan’s Tokens’ added from daily quests, you can exchange it later, and this also drops a bit from replacing accessories.
So, what does that mean? You have to keep grinding your butt off.
[Comments]
– Weapons have become affordable, but the drop rate and prices for Echo Stones are insane, LOL.
ㄴ It won’t stay this way in the future. Once people start working hard on daily quests, it’ll get cheaper and so will the tradeable Echo Stones.
– I’ve never cleared it even once. The advance parties are slowly prepping to receive guests with their trios, and I’m still stuck on a trial party.
ㄴ Which party is already rolling? Chris’s raid? The Kind Healer’s party? The No Name Party?
ㄴ LOL, Chris’s raid definitely lost the first clear to the No Name Party this time. For real, where did the No Name Party come from?
ㄴ But does anyone even know one member of the No Name Party? I’ve asked my advance party acquaintances, and no one knows.
*
A glow from the sunset seeped in through the window, tickling my eyes.
I woke up to the tickling sensation.
“Ugh.”
Stretching lightly, I looked around the room.
Just like every other time, it was my cozy little nest.
But as I rubbed my eyes and checked my bank app on my smartphone, the amount looked anything but ordinary.
[Lee Seulbi]
[Hanwa Bank]
[Balance 21,504,010 won]
“Whoa.”
An amount that didn’t seem real.
It was now in my account.
I hugged my smartphone tightly.
Rain, you’ve worked hard.
Finally, the day is coming for me too.
This time, I didn’t miss the golden time of the advance party.
I overcame the struggle of my weak ‘Lee Seulbi’ body that was bothering ‘Rain’ from the Continent of Astria.
When I got my first weapon that was sellable and put it in the auction house, I was nervous that it wouldn’t sell quickly.
The prices of the two elite dungeon weapons I had gone through before crashed within a day or two, so I feared people wouldn’t easily open their wallets this time.
Fortunately, even at this moment, there existed the rich who had overflowing money. The first weapon could be sold for a decent price.
Similar to the Orc King and the sealed Demon Series, weapon prices consistently drew a downward curve after the first sale.
But this time, since the difficulty was quite high, there were still many parties that hadn’t cleared the forward base yet. The price decline of weapons was clearly more gentle than that of beginner area elite dungeons.
Thanks to that, I was able to farm all day long and earn plenty of gold.
“But I’ve rested for too long.”
I let out a deep sigh.
Eighteen hours of farming followed by eighteen hours of sleeping?
However, this time, I was able to fully leverage the golden time of the advance party.
Now,
“What should I do with this money that has suddenly increased?”
Is it a common worry that arises when suddenly acquiring a lot of money?
A house? Considering the expensive housing prices in Seoul, that’s still a distant dream.
Astria Online will continue to adjust the release cycle of dungeons. Each time, as I keep clearing them quickly as an advance party and maintain my farming, I can earn a large sum every month to two months.
If I keep collecting money this way, one day, buying a house might become possible, but do I really need a good house?
Given my limited range of movement and the inconvenience of my current body, I wouldn’t need a big house.
I glanced around my single room once more.
“This size is enough for me.”
Since I don’t often need to go out, there’s no need for a house in the city either.
Even though it’s just a monthly rental in Moon Village, the landlord never shows up as long as the rent is paid regularly.
If I were to save up to buy a house, I should aim for a cleaner, cozier one than this.
How about a car?
I’ve heard there are devices that allow people with disabilities to drive. Plus, in this era, there are self-driving systems as well.
But I live cooped up at home and just play games, so would I even have any reason to go outside?
Looking at it this way, there’s no immediate need to earn cash desperately, but having extra money is always a good thing. For example,
“Food.”
I opened a delivery app and grinned widely.
The fact that I no longer need to skimp on dining expenses was reason enough to earn money.
If I keep earning this much, would I one day just throw away the lid of a yogurt cup without licking it?
No way, Rain. It’s a hungry spirit. Think of the times when you were starving.
All my current pleasures are within ‘Astria Online,’ but
For the sake of enjoying the one joy left in reality, the pleasure of tasting delicious modern foods and recharging my energy, I earn money in reality.
Before heading back to my world, the Continent of Astria, first
Beep.
I pressed the payment button on the delivery app.
“Oh, maybe a pizza today…”