As Jaejung-hyung said, I could do some knife work and let people kill me so I’d pop over to where the Return Point is, but at this point a good number of players will already have headed there, so it doesn’t seem meaningful to go now—I put it on hold.
Plus, if I’m unlucky and drop a weapon right now, I’d basically have to start over. That’s a problem, too.
Wandering Sky Forest.
A blue crystal has an exclamation mark floating above it—when I touch it, it gives me quests. It hands out a main quest and a sub-quest separately; the main looks story-focused, and the sub seems centered on hunting.
The closest one for now is Fox Hunt.
I cut a bit north through the forest; the big trees thin out, and here and there I see a fair number of clearings.
Players are sprinting around trying to catch foxes that spawn there and dart every which way.
At a glance, the foxes pop on regen and bolt off at ridiculous speed.
Some folks group up to catch them, some chase the lone runners, some fire bows—and I also see people swapping to other weapons when their arrows clearly aren’t landing.
To hit a small fox sprinting that fast with an arrow, you’d basically need to be Olympic-level at archery.
If target lock snapped on and your shot just homed in, sure, it’d be easy. But when you have to control every single thing with your body and take them down manually like this, the difficulty spikes without end.
“Looking for a fox spot!”
Maybe I was lucky—after shouting only a few times, a party invite came in.
“Thank you.”
I manipulate the window, accept, and step in; the party cap is eight, and with me we’re exactly eight.
Top-left, in order, I can see eight IDs and their HP bars.
The party leader, a sturdy-looking guy, assigns me a position.
“Foxes are really fast. Stand over there and, when the fox tries to escape that way, either catch it or just body-block so it can’t get past.”
We trade quick nods and look toward the spawn. A fox pops and sprints to one side; the guy covering that lane keeps using his body to deny passage.
“Hurry and finish it.”
Two or three others, men and women, angle in to block other gaps so it has nowhere to run, and then the remaining guys finish it off with daggers.
Once a hunting spot settles, it’s just repetition from there. Foxes aren’t particularly dangerous monsters anyway.
“Do foxes drop anything good? Even after finishing the quest, people aren’t leaving?”
Honestly, fox EXP isn’t that high, and they don’t pay much either. Aside from being easy to kill, there’s no reason for this many people to be here. After a little of this, you’d want to move on to something else.
“I heard wolves are right up ahead from here, but if you get bitten by a wolf your HP gets shaved off hard, so everyone wants to get some items here first and then go.”
A woman sitting close on my right answers with a slight smile. She has long, wavy blue hair and an overall calm impression.
Big eyes, a soft smile—you can’t miss the charm in her gaze. Small, slender face; maybe a bit taller than average?
Honestly, more than that, I like her voice—it’s poised and composed.
“Straight from foxes to wolves, huh. That’s a big gap.”
While we’re talking, a fox comes out and dashes toward the woman on my right. Maybe she missed the timing while chatting, because the fox slips past her in a blink.
I was already tracking it with my eyes, so I throw a dagger at the fox slipping behind her.
The fox’s speed, pathing, exact dodge beats—everything autopiles in my head, and the dagger shoots along the optimal line, burying itself into the back of the fox’s neck.
The fox shudders the instant it’s hit, stiffens, and goes limp. Probably has to do with those vital points Jaejung-hyung mentioned.
“Nice!”
The party leader’s shout comes out pumped.
Once a fox escapes, widening the formation to chase it down is tough, so it ends up as some other party’s catch.
“Thanks.”
The blue-haired woman beside me gives a light thanks. Realistically, a single fox getting away is such a small thing it barely matters. But she’s probably sensitive about making mistakes and causing trouble for others.
“I just figured I could reach—no need to thank me.”
“That easy for you, huh? If I’d let it go, I would’ve felt awkward for no reason—thanks.”
Over just one fox, the vibe turns pretty warm. Having a woman smile at you up close isn’t a bad thing. I can kind of understand Jaejung-hyung’s feelings—just a tiny bit.
While we spend a full two hours straight grinding foxes, the nickname people slap on me is Fox Master.
I guess it started once I began nailing passing foxes with thrown daggers.
Like a machine, dagger after dagger slots into the foxes’ necks, and people found the sight fascinating—by the end, we even had onlookers.
Maybe she liked the few words we exchanged while hunting side by side, or maybe it was because I covered the fox for her—but the blue-haired woman suggests a friend add.
My first friend add…
Her ID is Charming.
Meaning “attractive,” right?
“I wish we could keep playing together, but that’s a shame.”
“I need to log off now. Next time.”
“Okay, then I’ll head out first. You won’t ghost my whispers, right?”
“No way. Have fun hunting. If you’re on, I’ll ping you.”
It was fun, but time is finite, and I don’t have much to game with.
Leaving the regretful-looking Charming behind, I log out.
***
The next day, aside from the place being more crowded, there’s nothing special. I finish my shift and get back to log in again.
< Welcome to the world of Lost Sky. >
Brainwaves confirmed.
Joo Seungho. Male.
Character name Jooho. Level 1.
Loading…….
***
0 Novice’s Arm Guards / DEF 1
0 Novice’s Leg Guards / DEF 1
***
I drag on the items I ate right before bed—sure enough, they equip, and light-brown, sleeve-like guards form around my arms and legs.
While I’m looking at the guards, a blue-lit monitor-icon emoji in the top-right starts to sparkle. I tap it with a finger; the emoji blows up and morphs into a translucent blue window.
“Hello.”
“Ah… yes. Hello. So it even does video calls here.”
Charming. Her familiar face appears in the blue window. I’m honestly startled. Video calls?
“Yeah, I just learned that too—wild, right? Can you see me okay?”
“I can. Were you in the middle of a hunt?”
“No, I’m organizing in front of the peddler right now.”
Looks like she kept playing quite a while after I left. She tells me what the NPC sells and what monsters there are.
Even with a pretty big gap now, getting a greeting the moment I log in is… nice. Being welcomed by someone. Separate from that, though, I still think we should play the game on our own tracks.
From the look of it, Charming’s playtime is heavier than mine. There’s already a level gap. Too bad—but teaming up will be tough.
Maybe later, once hunting grounds stabilize or overlap. Right now, we’d just inconvenience each other.
But contrary to my thinking, Charming says she’s coming over.
“Is that okay? I’m the same as yesterday.”
“Yeah, why?”
“Our levels are probably pretty far apart.”
“It’s fine. I don’t care about that. As long as it’s fun.”
That’s way off my standards. Are women normally like this? It makes me happy and also… complicated.
I just decide to go with it. She says she doesn’t mind, and honestly, I’m not that opposed either.
“Then I’ll have to make sure you have fun somehow.”
“No need—it’s fine. I’m coming. Let’s meet around where the wolves are.”
“Okay, see you in a bit.”
I cut the video and start moving. A bit north through the forest: in another clearing, I see people fighting wolves.
I sit and watch the hunting for a moment; a whisper pings from Charming.
I’m here.
—Yep, I see you there.
Charming waves from afar and comes over.
“Thanks for coming all this way.”
“Actually I got a little lost, so I’m late. I’ll be in your care today, too.”
Her gentle smile lodges right in my eyes.
I see some gear I don’t recognize. This time she’s carrying a longbow. Guess that suits her better.
“Mm, let’s find a party first. There should be a group that’ll take the two of us.”
“Okay, I’ll look.”
We could make one, but joining an established party sounds easier.
“Looking for a wolf party.”
It’s only Day 3, and beginner zones are already starting to have open spots. Plenty of lone wolves roaming, too.
“Join us over here.”
Looks like lots of parties aren’t full at eight. We pick one nearby and enter. It has three guys and two women; with me and Charming, that makes seven.
“Nice to meet you.”
After quick greetings, the mild-looking male leader assigns positions.
“As usual, I and this player will block the wolves head-on with shields. Jooho-nim, Charming-nim, and PrettyGirl-nim take the right and circle to attack; the other two circle the opposite side.”
I nod at the leader’s words, then glance at the woman who ends up beside me.
PrettyGirl, huh.
She has a cute, soft, girlish face and round, big, striking eyes.
Light pink hair that swirls like a little whirlwind just past the shoulders—maybe a roll perm? The hair catches my eye for a moment—kinda mesmerizing.
A little shorter than Charming, maybe?
“Okay, let’s go.”
The leader and another man approach with shields and draw aggro. The wolf turns, wary. The leader gives it a light shove with his shield—now it finally charges in, furious.
“Whoop!”
As the wolf tries to sink its teeth into the leader’s shield, the other guy shifts his own shield to interfere. Their job is to hold its gaze.
To keep other wolves from joining, we, waiting a bit off, start moving.
Since I’m left-handed, standing on the right risks us getting in each other’s way—so I take the left. I wanted to read the wolf first and move, but PrettyGirl just bolts in and stabs with a dagger. Contrary to her looks, she’s totally headlong?
Not a girl—she’s a berserker. The gap between her cute exterior and that play is so huge I blank out for a beat.
When the wolf tries to turn, the opposite side stabs with daggers or spears. After a flurry of hits, the wolf startles and hops back; the leader pursues immediately.
Our coordination is better than I expected. They’d have killed it fine without me. The mild-looking leader, contrary to his looks, grits his teeth and covers the front, sticking close even with a somewhat slight build.
The leader’s sense isn’t bad. He takes hits when he should, goes in when he should, and when the wolf tries to glance left or right, he unfailingly steps in and blocks its front with his shield.
If you’re not reading every movement, that job is brutal. Thanks to him, even with PrettyGirl going full tilt like a madwoman, the party holds together.
By the time I’ve put in only two dagger strikes, the wolf’s already on the ground.
Now the leader’s ID finally registers clearly.
Shield Warrior.
Maybe because of him, PrettyGirl flips into a true berserker the moment we’re in combat—she stabs without a care in the world.
Still, if she paid a little more attention to where she stabbed, we’d get a beautiful picture—but she doesn’t.
It’s just venting—wild stabs. Sure, base damage goes in, but not beyond that.
Proof? Me.
Meticulous focus on the neck and nothing else. No matter which direction the wolf darts or moves, my dagger targets the nape, and only the nape.
Reach out—it’s the neck. Bring it down—it’s the neck. Slash—it’s the neck. If I were the wolf, I’d lose my mind.
Even the hit zones line up. When a mob or person takes damage, cuts from blades show as long red gashes. On this wolf’s neck, there’s only a single line.
I slashed several times, but the line is one. Which says I re-opened exactly the same spot, again.
Right now, in the mess, nobody will notice—but keep this up, and they’ll realize.
Case in point: PrettyGirl, who was stabbing like a berserker in a trance next to me, suddenly stops dealing and just stares at me. That “what the hell is that” face? Exactly that.
PrettyGirl has just eyeballed a little realm of the inexplicable, and her brain stalled. Beside her, Charming is also staring at me, dazed.
***
“Let’s take a break.”
Shield Warrior definitely had it rough. He pulled out the wolves’ movement routes and patterns, creating an easy window for our flanks to deal.
That alone is a massive talent.
The other party members look worn out, too. We really didn’t stop—so much so that we rotated through three spawn points.
“Doing okay?”
Since Charming followed me, it’s on me to look out for her. I also feel a bit bad, hunting in a low-level place. She acts like she doesn’t mind, though.
“Yes, thanks to you. And what you did earlier—I’ve never seen anything like it.”
She means the way I kept slashing the exact same spot on the neck? Her eyes sparkle like she just found something really fun to watch.
“How do I even put it… I saw something absurd, so it’s hard to believe? I’ve partied several times since you logged off, and no one even did anything similar.”
She looks at me like I’m some rare artifact—honestly, that gaze is a bit much.
Well, at least I put on a fun show. I’d worried I dragged her here to suffer, but that fear eases a bit.
I can feel Shield Warrior sneaking glances at me.
The only changes to their party are me and Charming; if the kill speed suddenly more than doubles, anyone would notice.
It’s not like Charming carried—she was actually a little reserved—so the eyes naturally come to me.
Shield Warrior raises himself, then plops down by the tree I’m leaning on.
“We’re thinking of going on to boars like this. Do you have time?”
He doesn’t ask anything else.
He just makes it clear he wants to keep hunting together.
“For me, if the team fits, it’s comfortable. As for time…”
Right now, I feel like I have plenty. I’m playing at an RTP everyone else enjoys.
“Yeah, I think I can.”
“Mind if I send a friend request?”
“Ah! Of course—go ahead.”
“Thanks.”
“Me too.”
Second friend, huh?
Then I feel someone tug lightly at the hem of my top from behind.
I turn—PrettyGirl is pinching my top with her fingertips and giving a tiny pull.
“Me too…”
The girl who was hemming and hawing is only that—right here. Who’d ever call that a berserker?
“I should be the one thanking you.”
“Please take care of me.”
“Me too…”
***
“Here, take some potions.”
“Eh? It’s okay.”
“Even blocking with a shield, your HP keeps dropping, right? I barely use potions, so I don’t need many right now. And we can buy them near the Return Point anyway.”
“Then thank you. I was running a bit thin, honestly.”
In a game without fixed tank/dps/heal roles, if Shield Warrior didn’t have that talent for handling his shield, he would’ve been out ages ago. That’s for sure. Lasting this long with dwindling potions is impressive in itself.
Right now, he’s choosing to do it—but once he runs dry, he’s the one who’ll suffer.
“At the next spot, speak up clearly. Potion costs won’t stay cheap.”
That one’s straight from Jaejung-hyung. If you do it sloppy, your potions can’t keep up. Shield Warrior seems skilled, but if he keeps this up, he’ll dry out fast.
Well, if he feels it’s not worth it, he’ll change. I’ve said what I can. I can’t hover and nurse him.
Seeing that, Charming also hands over some of her potions.
I didn’t say much, but she can tell Shield Warrior worked hard. She just passes them with a faint smile. Quietly siding with me like that feels nice.
“This too…”
Come to think of it, there’s another gentle soul here. She fiddles with a potion and hands it over. Cute. Are you sure you’re over twenty?
***
Name: Jooho
Level: 2 ▲1
【Strength 2 ▲1】 【Agility 1】 【Vitality 1】 【Intelligence 0】 【Mana 1】
0 Novice’s Leather Top / DEF 2
0 Novice’s Leather Bottoms / DEF 1
0 Novice’s Leather Shoes / DEF 1
0 Novice’s Wooden Shield / DEF 2
0 Novice’s Arm Guards / DEF 1 ◀ NEW
0 Novice’s Leg Guards / DEF 1 ◀ NEW
0 Novice’s Longsword / ATK 1–4 ◀ NEW
***
I just heft the longsword—it feels heavy—then, as Jaejung-hyung said, I raise Strength, and it feels light in my hands, easier to swing.
Compared to the dagger, the longsword’s max damage is higher by 1, and its reach is way longer. The blade looks maybe 80–90 cm, so it should be far easier to land damage than with a dagger.
In this game, any time you take a hit, your HP goes down somehow. Blocking with a shield reduces the drop a lot. From a few tests, I even learned that blocking with a sword reduces HP loss, too.
I found it by absentmindedly watching my HP bar; since then, I’ve been practicing to block with the blade when I can.
Even blocking straight-on versus deflecting at an angle makes a difference. Naturally, deflecting shaves off less HP.
If I train this properly, I have a feeling it’ll help a ton later.
***
In the end, half voluntarily and half not, we pooled party potions and passed them to Shield Warrior.
Everyone we’d partied with decided to follow to the next hunting ground. Some don’t have the gear for it, but since we’re mobbing together, it should be fine.
When we reach where the boars are, there are still quite a few parties hunting. The boars bare their tusks and charge; people split in two to dodge and strike from behind—like that.
Each area definitely has a different concept. How do we handle this one?
With charges like that, pure shield-blocking will be tough. Even if you block, your HP will slide down.
On the other hand, if we can stuff the charge, we might be able to mince them. Watching closely, I see a brief stun-like stiffness after they charge. The charge itself is probably a skill with a post-use penalty like rigidity.
I glance at Shield Warrior—he’s thinking hard. I can’t watch anymore and speak up.
“This might work, but if we mess it up, someone could die.”
“You’ve got a good idea?”
“Even if you block with a shield, HP drops. And if you block it, you get knocked back.”
“Right, exactly. That’s the headache. If we fail to stop the charge, the boar runs way past us and we waste time chasing it.”
“Then… let’s do something dumb. Let the boar charge, and you, Shield Warrior-nim, just eat it head-on with your shield. Then the party braces you from behind so you don’t get shoved.”
“You think that’ll work?”
“If it doesn’t, we hunt like those folks do. We funnel all potions to you and try—it might work.”
“Hmm. Let’s give it a shot.”
Shield Warrior sets a tighter formation, explains to everyone, then takes his place in front of the boar.
“Come on!”
He paces a bit at mid range; the boar locks on and charges straight in.
“Now!”
Shield Warrior lowers his shield, drops one knee, leans into it, and braces. Two men stand in a line right behind him, backs braced.
Thud. The boar stops dead in front of Shield Warrior. Immediate stiffness.
“Stick it!”
Shing—shing—shing—(not my sound, mind you).
Blades flurry and carve the boar to ribbons. At this point, I’m not even bothering to take the neck. A stab will kill it. It’s basically a carcass. Miss the headbutt, and it’s just a frozen pig—you don’t need more than that.
The kills are so fast we occupy three spawn points and still have downtime to sit and rest between waves.
The party watching us starts copying the exact same thing. At this rate, by tomorrow the whole server will know.
Anyway, today we suck the honey first.