Dungeon Farming Prep

Immediately after arriving in the capital city, I raise the Berserker job rank by one level.

[Berserk] [Enhancement]

Damage, movement speed, and attack speed increase as health decreases.

The skill’s maximum effect is triggered when at low health.

Maximum damage increase rate 50% → 75%

Maximum movement speed increase rate 30% → 40%

Maximum attack speed increase rate 30% → 40%

[Steps Towards Death] [Enhancement]

All damage taken increases by 10% → 5%.

When at low health, 20% → 30% of the damage is converted to defense-ignoring damage.

[Combat Continuation] [Enhancement]

Upon receiving fatal damage, become [Immortal] for a maximum of 2 → 3 seconds, with health fixed at 1.

If the [Immortal] state disappears, the character dies instantly.

[Frenzy] [Enhancement]

Upon attack, inflict the [Bleeding] debuff on the target with a 50% → 80% chance.

Damage increased by 10% → 20% when attacking enemies with the bleeding status.

The most important Berserk and other passives have been greatly enhanced, and the name [Enhancement] has been added to the end of all skill names.

Active skills have also been greatly enhanced.

Damage has increased, and activation speed and cooldown have been slightly increased.

Since all skills are always active, I could feel the character getting stronger in real-time.

The red aura blooming from my body had become even more intense.

I had reached the level cap, but I couldn’t go dungeon farming right away.

That’s because I was the only person who had reached level 45 at this point.

I bring up the guild window to check the number of connected members.

Among them, I carefully examined the members of my raid party.

Everyone was diligently leveling up.

Most were in their late 30s, but some had just passed level 40.

“What the fuck…”

I was so dumbfounded by the absurd sight that the words involuntarily slipped out.

It couldn’t be helped. The lowest level among the party members was Hwarang, at level 37.

What the hell is this guy doing instead of leveling up?

Yeon – [Hey]

Hwarang’s reply arrived after quite a while.

Hwarang – [???]

Yeon – [What are you doing?]

Yeon – [Not leveling up?]

Hwarang – [Leveling up is hard;]

I frowned at Hwarang’s words.

It wasn’t easy to find a ranged dealer who could deal as much damage as Hwarang in this world.

Of course, the same was true for tanks and melee dealers.

Yeon – [You, come to the coordinates I’m giving you right now. You’ve cleared all the main quests at level 37, right?]

Hwarang – [I still have a little bit left. Should I finish it and go?]

Yeon – [Yeah, you have to clear the last part of the main quest here to unlock the map]

I sighed and started packing the items needed for hunting.

Hwarang’s leveling speed was too slow. If I left him like this, he wouldn’t be able to reach the required level by the raid appointment date.

After completing all the preparations, I head to the meeting place.

The level 45 elite Drake area.

It was an uninhabited area since I had just been hunting there.

Had I waited for about 10 minutes?

Hwarang, wearing black leather armor, ran quickly from afar.

Instead of a large greatbow, a long musket was positioned behind his back.

It seemed this guy had also chosen the Musketeer job.

“Does that have a lot of skills compatible with Ranger?”

“Huh? I can’t use one AoE skill anymore, but my single target damage is stronger, so it’s okay.”

The AoE skill he’s talking about is definitely the Arrow Rain skill that shoots arrows high into the sky and drops them.

I sighed and invited Hwarang to join the party.

“Oh, are you going to carry me?”

“Isn’t that what you expected when you came?”

Why else would I call him to an elite area that’s not suitable for his level?

Of course, it was to carry him.

I form a party with Hwarang and raise my sword.

“Hostile alliances often come here, so take care of yourself.”

“Should I help with the hunting?”

“As long as you don’t get in the way.”

I said that and glanced at the time.

Two hours left until the shutdown.

With this much time, Hwarang should be able to reach level 40.

“Are archers always that slow?”

“I’m pretty high up in the archer rankings.”

I frowned at Hwarang’s words and entered the level rankings to check the levels of the archers.

I was able to check the level of the user at the very top.

Level 39.

The person who was supposedly the number one archer hadn’t even surpassed 40.

Moreover, Hwarang’s nickname could also be found on the first page.

“What a mess?”

“It can’t be helped… you know that too, right?”

I slowly nodded at Hwarang’s words.

I had seen in the battlefield just how terrible the archer job was.

Since it’s a character with the lowest recognition and heavily dependent on the pilot’s skills, it wouldn’t have been possible to find a party.

The best party composition for maximum efficiency is a 3-person tank-dealer-healer party.

Usually, a mage with many AoE skills would fill the dealer spot.

“Can’t you go to a guild party?”

Hwarang was the top dealer in the raid party.

Under normal circumstances, there was no way he wouldn’t be able to join a party.

But Hwarang shook his head.

“I hate coordinating schedules with other people. I’d rather solo grind in the elite zone, even if it’s slower.”

I blankly nodded at Hwarang’s words.

It wasn’t that I didn’t understand what he meant.

It’s just that I felt he was very different from the old me, so I was a little taken aback.

“How many levels do you think you can gain today?”

“Roughly 40.”

“Th-that fast?”

I didn’t answer Hwarang’s words, but swung my sword and ran forward.

Due to the enhanced skills, the speed is faster than before.

It was close to the speed of galloping on a normal horse.

“Don’t come close until I’ve completely gathered the mobs!”

If the distance gets too far, the aggro I had will go to Hwarang.

He nodded and climbed onto a high rock to hide himself.

I gradually began to adapt to the faster movements.

After circling the hunting grounds once and looking back, more than 20 Drakes were running towards me, koongkwang koongkwang.

I immediately jumped into the air.

[Leaping Strike]

Kwang!

The speed at which I fell from the air was faster than before.

Immediately after that, I activated the next skill.

A bright red whirlwind blooming from my body spread out widely and began to grind the Drakes.

Hwarang’s bullets were fired on top of it, but it wasn’t of much help.

If the level difference is too great, the damage won’t be properly inflicted.

As a result of repeating the mob hunting, Hwarang was able to reach level 40 just before the shutdown.

Hwarang’s nickname shot up to the top of the archer level rankings.

Just before logging out of the game, I said to Hwarang.

“I’m going to study alone today, so level up diligently.”

“O-okay…”

Hwarang was probably surprised by this rapid leveling speed, as he only nodded slowly with a dazed expression.

Aside from Hwarang, there wasn’t really anyone else to take care of.

Helena was a mage with overflowing financial power, so her leveling speed couldn’t be slow.

In fact, she was currently level 43.

The other raid party members were also forming parties and diligently leveling up.

***

The next morning, I put on my school uniform and head to school as usual.

The sensation of the stockings covering my legs is now so familiar.

It was to the point where it felt awkward if I wasn’t wearing them.

I stroked my thigh, marveling at my adaptability.

The soft skin was hidden beneath the black stockings.

When I arrived at school and headed to the classroom, Sohee had already arrived, as always.

Seeing her sitting at her seat and looking at her cell phone, I tiptoe closer and reach out my hand.

At that moment, Sohee’s body rotated slightly and reached out her hand to me.

Transparent gazes intertwine in the air.

“Oops…”

Contrary to my intention to surprise her, I ended up holding hands with Sohee.

I had felt it while playing the game, but Sohee’s reaction speed was also on a different level from ordinary people.

“Hi.”

“Ah, hi.”

I wriggled the hand that was being held, but Sohee didn’t seem to want to let go.

Rather, the strength in her hand increased.

“Let me join too.”

“Join…? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Hwarang told me yesterday. That you partied with him.”

“Ah, that… he was leveling up too slowly, so I helped him a bit.”

“Me too, let me join too.”

I tilted my head at Sohee’s words.

Was there really a need for that?

And what I did yesterday was more of a one-sided carry than a party hunt.

“Sohee levels up fast, though.”

The moment I finished speaking, the smile on Sohee’s face slowly began to fade.

I shook my head. If Sohee joins the party too, the experience will be too dispersed.

That means the leveling speed will slow down.

“It would be better to reach the level cap and run dungeons together.”

That was better in terms of efficiency.

But Sohee didn’t seem to like it.

She lightly pulled my hand and sat me on her lap.

“I want to party too.”

“No. It’s not efficient.”

“Aren’t you focusing too much on efficiency?”

“That’s my play style.”

The feeling of black stockings rubbing against each other under my thighs was strange.

I quickly got up from my seat and said.

“Reach the level cap and come. Let’s run dungeons together.”

“Mean.”

Sohee let out a small laugh at my words and nodded.

It seems she’s finally given up.

As I was about to return to my seat, Sohee handed me a chewy cow candy.

Boseureok buseureok, I moved my hand around and found that there were two today.

***

After school, I immediately took Hwarang out hunting.

Now that he’s over level 40, there were situations where the Drake’s head was pierced by his snipes and fell down tuk tuk.

When party hunting, you get more experience if you kill the monster yourself than if a party member kills it.

In other words, Hwarang’s leveling speed has increased.

Hwarang will reach the level cap today.

I opened the guild window and checked the remaining members, and there were quite a few users between levels 44 and 45.

There was plenty of time left, so it seemed like I could enter the new dungeon and farm equipment today.

The moment I swung my sword and blew away the head of the last Drake, I noticed Hwarang staring blankly.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah, a friend sent me a message.”

“What does he say?”

“He’s angry that the price of gold has gone down.”

“Ah…”

I thought of the friends Hwarang had told me about.

It seemed like it was the friend who gathered herbs in the mountains and sold them to buy chicken with the gold.

“It can’t be helped that it’s falling, the price of the loot appearing in the expansion pack is expensive, and a lot of money is dropped.”

“I told him to level up, but he said it was too hard and he didn’t want to.”

“What level is he?”

“15.”

“He was gathering herbs at level 15?”

“I guess so. But now that higher-level herbs have appeared, he’s complaining that lower-level herbs aren’t selling.”

Since I thought of it, I checked the gold price.

The gold price, which had formed a price of 15,000 won per 10 gold in the early days of the game, was plummeting.

The recent transaction price was 10,000 won per 10 gold.

It still felt expensive.

There are now more ways to get gold than before.

The gold price will continue to decline steadily for about a month.