I barely managed to scrape off the “pervert” label with half-assed excuses. PrettyGirl still had a trace of that look in her eyes, though. It’s so unfair.
“I didn’t mean clothes. I mean, could you hand me a piece of your armor? Anything.”
“Mm?”
Charming makes a dubious noise, but takes off her arm guard and hands it over.
“Will this do?”
Of course. If I asked for anything more, those two would probably eat me alive. Their eyes alone were enough.
Charming and PrettyGirl both stare at the arm guard and at me.
“Mm… just as I thought.”
At my words, everyone—including Shield Warrior—looks at me full of questions. I remove my own arm guard and put on Charming’s.
“Exactly as I thought.”
Even after equipping it, then taking it off again, the +1 buff remains. This isn’t a buff on the user. It’s on the armor.
“As you can see, I can put it on, take it off, and the +1 buff still stays.”
“Ah! Then—?”
Charming is the first to react, clearly having grasped it. Since it’s her spell, of course she’d instantly see the application.
“So if I equip it, cast the buff, then hand the gear to someone else, it’ll work?”
“Correct.”
Lost Sky has no classes. That means all armor is universal. Unless your STR is too low to wear heavier pieces, nearly everyone can equip anything. You could even equip something you’re too weak for—you just wouldn’t be able to move properly in it.
In other words, standing still and putting it on is something anyone can do.
Even Shield Warrior looks a little surprised.
“In the VR games I played before, classes were locked to specific gear. I never even considered this.”
Makes sense. But if it’s only a flat +1, then it’s just like wearing slightly better gear. That makes a difference in close fights, sure.
But I have one more experiment in mind.
If it doesn’t work, we shelve it for later. But honestly, what are the odds I discovered this and nobody else ever will? There are millions of players. Too optimistic. If we don’t use it now, it’ll just become another cheesy exploit that gets patched once it’s out in the open.
“Charming, could you put this back on?”
I return the arm guard. She puts it on, and it adjusts to her size again.
“This is just a long shot, but…”
“Hm?”
“Try casting Protect Shield again.”
She tilts her head, then does as I say. The white light circles up around her and fades. Afterward, she checks the arm guard—and her eyes widen. She’s so shocked her shoulders tremble.
“Uh… I think this could be a problem.”
Charming glances between me, Shield Warrior, and PrettyGirl, then carefully takes off the arm guard and passes it over.
Shield Warrior inspects it, his expression tightening, then silently hands it to PrettyGirl. She takes it, and her eyes widen slightly too before she asks:
“…Is this even okay to use?”
Even she looks uneasy. If it were just a small exploit, we’d laugh about it. But this is way beyond that. She holds the arm guard in both hands as though she’s gripping something dangerous.
Charming re-equips it, casts Protect Shield again, and we test in a safe corner where no mobs aggro. She and PrettyGirl trade the arm guard back and forth, casting whenever mana refills.
“It just keeps stacking…”
Even after about twenty rounds, the DEF keeps climbing. There’s no point in continuing. At that level of armor, your HP bar wouldn’t even twitch.
“I’m stopping.”
Charming halts the experiment. Shield Warrior, watching the whole time, turns to me with an exasperated face.
“Why do you always do this? Seriously. You’re a burden.”
He looks at me with a half-laugh, half-groan expression. And yet, he isn’t saying we shouldn’t use it. Which means his brain’s already spinning on how to.
“This really is a bit much, isn’t it?”
I grin wryly. It’s too late—we’ve discovered it. Honestly, I hadn’t been sure it would work. Now the only question is whether we use it or not.
At Shield Warrior’s grumble, Charming and PrettyGirl’s faces turn serious. The fruit is right there, sweet and ripe—but biting into it might come with consequences.
If we use it, named bosses and anything else will just melt. With DEF stacked so high, we’d never lose HP. As long as our DPS is there, there’s nothing we couldn’t kill.
“Considering how many mages are already on the third floor and in the fields, Protect Shield has spread everywhere. Someone else will discover this. It’s perishable—short shelf life.”
“So if we use it first, that’s a problem, but if we leave it alone, someone else will use it anyway?”
“Exactly. There are millions of players. Someone will figure it out soon.”
“A perishable exploit, limited applications, and potential backlash. That’s the situation.”
In my head, I can’t think of a safe, surefire way to use this. I was hoping Shield Warrior might, but from his words, it doesn’t seem like he has one either.
“I’ll think on it. It’s unlikely anyone else will figure it out overnight. But this puzzle’s a tough one.”
Shield Warrior just shakes his head. Solve the puzzle, win the prize—but the puzzle’s too hard.
“Um…”
Charming, who’d been listening quietly, suddenly speaks up.
“This reminded me of something Shield Warrior mentioned before.”
Her cherry-tinted lips part, and she explains her idea gently. All of us listen without breathing. After a few sentences—
“…What about this?”
“That could work…”
“There’s a chance.”
Shield Warrior and I both nod. PrettyGirl too.
“Do you think it’ll work?”
Charming asks. She’s offered the idea, but no one can guarantee it.
“Probably? It seems doable. And if not, we’ll make it doable.”
Shield Warrior relaxes at last, smiling. With both Charming and PrettyGirl nodding firmly, I can’t exactly object.
They beat the Orc Chieftain once and lost all fear… Maybe this is my fault.
“Alright, then it’s decided. I’ll handle preparations. I’ve got the connections for this. One day’s enough. Log in two days from now, and we’ll be ready to start. I’ll have everything set.”
Yeah, this kind of role suits Shield Warrior perfectly.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Hope it goes well.”
“Unni, it’ll work out.”
PrettyGirl smiles at Charming, and Charming smiles back. It’s the kind of moment you’d want to screenshot.
We spend the rest of the session hunting on the third floor, then log out with our goodbyes. D–2. The so-called “Poison Pill Operation.” Shield Warrior came up with the name, only to hang his head when PrettyGirl called it childish.
Another day passes without incident. I spend it at the PC bang, then head home and lie back down in the VRS.
***
< Welcome to the world of Lost Sky. >
Brainwave check.
Joo Seungho. Male.
Character name Jooho. Level 14.
Loading…
I log back in at the wolf den entrance. Last time, I’d sorted my gear and logged out right after. As soon as I load in, a party invite and whisper arrive from Shield Warrior, as if he’d been waiting.
<Shield Warrior> You’re here. Time’s tight. Let’s move now.
—Where are you?
<Shield Warrior> Right out front.
I follow the party marker and find him ready, waiting for me.
“Let’s go. Even a little delay will make this harder on us.”
At his words, we all head straight for the third floor of the wolf den. Unlike yesterday, the place is crowded again. We push past to a quieter spot and start stacking Protect Shield like before. Since only Charming can do it, it takes a while.
“Let’s break through the fourth floor and push to the fifth.”
Normally, the fourth floor is suicide to just charge through—War Wolves of all types mixed together: spearmen, archers, warriors, mages.
But not today.
With Shield Warrior in the lead, we run straight through. Our HP bars don’t even flicker. Archers and mages snipe at us constantly, but it doesn’t matter.
At first we sprinted in panic. Then, realizing our HP didn’t move, we settled into an easy pace. We had to match Charming’s running speed anyway.
“Let’s slow down a little.”
Everyone eases up at my words. Before long, the entrance to the fifth floor comes into view.
“This is ridiculous.”
Charming finally blurts it out, unable to hold it in. We all nod. What else is there to say? This should feel exhilarating, but the weight of what we’re doing dulls the thrill. From here on, it’s a race against time.
“They say the Twin-Head War Wolf is just inside.”
The fifth floor has no regular mobs. It’s just the named boss.
Not far in, we see it: the Twin-Head War Wolf.
About two meters tall, with two wolf heads—one red-maned, one blue-maned. It stares at us as if daring us to come closer, majestic and imposing. Whether it stays that way a little later, we’ll see.
“Let’s go!”
Shield Warrior hefts his massive pentagonal shield, leading the charge toward the boss. The rest of us grip our weapons and follow carefully.
“It really does look tough.”
“I’ll engage first.”
Shield Warrior rushes in. Clang! The huge shield rattles as the beast slams its massive paw down.
“My HP isn’t moving at all.”
He glances back at us with a wicked grin.
He takes several more hits. Then comes the ice breath—his armor’s DEF is so high, he doesn’t even freeze.
The fire breath hits too. His HP dips for a moment, then fills right back up.
“Come on in. It’s not budging.”
“Let’s do it.”
I bring Charming and PrettyGirl in, and we all dive onto the Twin-Head War Wolf.
“Khuhuhu!”
Shield Warrior even drops his shield, grabbing his sword with both hands, laughing like a maniac as he hacks away. PrettyGirl’s practically ecstatic, hammering with her glaive.
Charming stands right in front, fully charging her spells before firing—no damage loss at all. I cling to the beast and hack at its neck.
With no need to dodge, the four of us are more than enough.
After a relentless beating, the Twin-Head War Wolf lets out a scream and collapses, dissolving into light.
A mountain of loot floats in the air where it fell.
“All ours.”
“All ours.”
Charming and PrettyGirl cheer, Shield Warrior unable to hide his excitement either.
“Tomorrow’s going to be interesting.”
At my words, Shield Warrior just grins like everything will go perfectly.
I really hope it does.