The game’s outcome unfolded predictably after that.

Nayeon, skilled enough to be considered a veteran, moved cautiously and thus didn’t die instantly.

But even she couldn’t overcome Choha, whose stench reeked even among the stagnant waters.

He defeated Jin Na-yeon with an item that was only a low-tier Rank 2, except for its burst damage.

After that, they played a few more rounds of the four-player mode.

The scores were as follows:

Ha-yeon – 1 win

Choha – 3 wins

Nayeon – 2 wins

Sugar – 1 win

It was natural that Choha was first and Nayeon was second.

Sugar was primarily a singing streamer, not a gamer, so it was understandable that she wasn’t very good.

That one win of hers was just due to insane luck.

“So, shall we go to Battle Royale now?”

Not a four-player match, but a hundred-player one.

They all agreed to Nayeon’s suggestion to switch to the main mode of the game and started it.

Simply put, it was a team battle.

The waiting time passed, and the game was found in an instant.

“That was found pretty quickly, huh?”

It was famous, but its fame came from modes other than the main game.

The tail wagged the dog.

So, in Hayden Ring, this hundred-player mode usually took about five minutes to find a match, but it was found in just one minute.

It was probably a stream snipe.

There was no way there wouldn’t be stream snipers among so many viewers.

It was bound to get tricky.

But that was that, and as soon as the game started, Ha-yeon immediately set her follow to her sister and looked at the map for a moment.

“Where are we going?”

“Hmm… Estonia Castle? Fernan Prairie isn’t bad either…”

“Let’s just go to Heia Village, safely.”

The giant map was about ten times larger than the previous map.

Ha-yeon didn’t know anything about it, so there was no need for her to offer her opinion on where to go.

Heia was known as a jackpot map if you won the early fights.

Because quick farming and fast exploration were important in the early game, Ha-yeon stared intently at the screen.

Soon, Ha-yeon entered Heia with several other players.

She immediately used the primary weapon she obtained to cut down the enemy players nearby, then farmed the other weapons around them.

‘Rank 1, Rank 2, Rank 2, Rank 2?’

As per the tutorial, a Tuku, armor, primary weapon, and secondary weapon.

Not bad, but not great either.

“Let’s move on to the next area right away.”

“What’s there to think about? We should go to Rutas Castle right away.”

It was the closest castle and the third largest castle in all of Hayden Ring’s maps.

They quickly cleared out Heia and moved right next door.

“More importantly, are there any bow weapons here?”

Ha-yeon realized something while farming.

There were no ranged weapons.

Thunderclap and other magic spells were hard to call ranged.

More accurately, they were mid-range.

So, when Ha-yeon asked if there were any ranged weapons, which she had never seen before, she got the answer.

“No, but there’s a Disposable Deployable Turret.”

“That trash that disappears after one shot and is Rank 3, so it never appears?”

“Why do you say it like you know everything?”

There were no ranged weapons.

The only thing that could deal ranged damage was the Disposable Deployable Turret.

But it took five seconds to set up, and you couldn’t change its direction once it was set up, so you could hardly use it unless you had Future Sight.

Of course, the skill Future Sight didn’t exist.

‘Then I’m relieved.’

Thinking that, Ha-yeon rode a horse she found nearby and galloped toward the castle.

She easily dealt with the enemies she saw along the way and arrived at Rutas Castle.

As expected of a hot spot, the items were all looted, but that meant there weren’t many people in the castle.

“So, shall we go to the rooftop right away?”

One of Hayden Ring’s famous map gimmicks was the Holy Sword Martas of Rutas Castle.

If you broke through the sealed gate located at the top of the central tower of Rutas Castle, you could obtain one of only three Rank 4 weapons in the entire map.

The sealed gate could only be opened by attacking it with a Rank 3 weapon for about ten minutes.

And now, about nine minutes and thirty seconds had passed.

‘It’s a bit tight.’

Ha-yeon had to kill the guys in front of it, break through the sealed gate, and then get the sword.

They hadn’t decided who would use the sword, but anyone who held it would gain tremendous power.

In other words, it was a pay-to-win item.

“Ah… it’s a bit tight… can’t help it. Let’s take a drug!”

Drug?

What was that?

“Use Leska’s Spell.”

Sugar told Ha-yeon, who looked clueless.

When she used the Leska’s Spell she had obtained earlier, a System message appeared: [Stamina and movement speed increased for 1 minute], and she was able to run a little faster.

[Constellation, ‘Moon-Cleaving Flash’ says that spell actually exists.]

Maybe someone made the item.

Thinking that, Ha-yeon kept running and barely arrived near the rooftop.

She would have been in big trouble if she hadn’t used Leska’s Spell.

“Everyone, get ready.”

At those words, everyone took out the weapons they had been storing to increase their movement speed and went up to the rooftop.

[49/3000]

Not much health left on the gate.

Less than five hits left.

And a three-person party was attacking the gate.

It seemed like one person was already dead.

“Alright, let’s go!!”

Nayeon charged in first, saying that.

She used the heaviness, which was the characteristic of the greatsword-type weapons she favored the most, to hit the enemies first, and they were stunned.

She must have enchanted it with a scroll before going up.

Anyway, Ha-yeon, who had also gone up, swung a sword that looked like it was somewhere between Kanata and the Immortal Longsword.

The special ability on this sword was ‘40% attack power bonus against enemies in a stunned or frozen state’.

The effect was perfectly suited to the opponent, so the enemy’s health, which had been full, was reduced to about 20%.

She continued to attack and killed the enemy.

“Good teamwork.”

Choha and Sugar naturally guarded the entrance, as the other side was finished, and Nayeon and Ha-yeon went to the gate.

“Shall we open it?”

Nayeon swung her greatsword, saying that.

The gate’s remaining health was reduced at once and it was destroyed.

Then, an interdimensional space was created and the Holy Sword came out.

The winner was… of course, them.

“Good work, everyone!”

At Nayeon’s words, everyone left Discord.

At the same time, the broadcasts of the two, excluding Nayeon, turned off.

They had exchanged contact information, and they had become quite friendly since then, so it felt like she had gained new connections.

Anyway, a day had passed since the broadcast.

And where Ha-yeon was now was.

“Oh, you’ve improved quite a bit?”

The training ground with Lee Seol-ah.

Recently, she had been feeling guilty for not teaching her after the first time, but then Lee Seol-ah contacted her first, so she immediately ran over and was giving her lessons.

‘It’s been too long, even I think so.’

“But you’re still far off.”

Ha-yeon strongly parried Lee Seol-ah’s sword, who was buffing herself and attacking her, and kicked her hard in the side with her right foot.

Then, Lee Seol-ah flew sideways and crashed into the wall.

She flinched a little, but she had asked her to be serious when they were training.

‘Well, I stopped her from using her skills.’

Her physical abilities were still S-rank.

Anyway, Lee Seol-ah wouldn’t end it just because she was hit and flew away here, so she went to check on her.

‘Stealth, huh.’

She wasn’t there.

She must have used the Life-Veiling Cloth, the artifact Ha-yeon had given her last time.

‘She’s practiced quite a bit.’

She wasn’t easily caught by the mana’s fluctuations.

Sometimes, the waves rippled and she could be seen, but it wasn’t enough to predict her movements.

Even Ha-yeon, who had become stronger since their breakup, was like that.

But that was all.

Clang!

A slash suddenly flew from the side.

A secret technique that could send most Hunters, even those who had just reached S-rank, to their deaths in one hit if they were careless.

But to Ha-yeon, it was just a slightly tricky attack.

She predicted the attack with her sixth sense and swung her standard-issue iron sword, and the sword strike was easily blocked.

It was a technique that only those who could sense the killing intent, move their bodies to block it, and block it quickly could do.

“Ah…”

However, the sword shattered because it couldn’t withstand the force.

Ha-yeon, who had been watching the scene for a while, sighed and said.

“It’s my mistake, but it’s my defeat.”

She sat down on the bench with a thud and drank the water next to her.

And Lee Seol-ah approached her.

Ha-yeon watched her silver hair for a moment and said.

“Wow… you’re growing really fast.”

“Thank you, even if it’s just a compliment.”

“It’s not just a compliment, you might become an S-rank soon. I’ll give you a new gift when I become an S-rank.”

Hmm… she didn’t really know what to give her.

Maybe she’d find an S-rank artifact while raiding a gate later.

“It seems like the stealth is good enough… let’s work on the buff skills a bit more.”

She seemed to have been building her foundation by raising both stealth and buffs at the same time before, but she had only been training stealth since she met Ha-yeon.

And that’s how far she had come.

If she increased her buff abilities as well, she would definitely become an S-rank.

“First, cast a buff on me.”

She stood up again and went to the center of the training ground, and Lee Seol-ah gathered mana in her hand and placed it on her shoulder.

Then, Ha-yeon sensed that the mana was mixed, its quantity increased, its quality improved, and its speed became agile.

“Oh, it has an effect on me too.”

This was very good.

But the problem was.

“Do you still need physical contact to cast the buff?”

“Yes. That’s why I only use it on myself in real situations.”

“Then let’s start by practicing casting buffs without contact.”

The goal of the next training session was set.