Tankless Ambitions
Dungeons offered faster leveling than open-world grinding, but to run them, you had to meet people. Like 'Ssangmundong Unbreakable Shield'.
The owner of that overly hokey nickname was a streamer boasting 4,000 regular viewers.
The chat flooded with criticism, but to Kang Min-seo, it was just par for the course.
"Argh, seriously!!! Guys! This is a brand-new game! Brand-freaking-new!!"
"Ah! Whatever!! You guys think you'd nail it after one tip? If you're so good, why ain't your tiers higher than mine! Anything below Master can shut their~~"
Kang Min-seo's streams were always like this.
Having accidentally half-doxxed her real name at the start, she was constantly bickering and bantering with her viewers.
Today, though, she'd just started Lost of Fantasy and run into someone who actually gave her solid 'help'—and she was a bit touched.
GutRipper
"Seriously… nickname's a bit brutal, but unlike the ore guild, check out how nice they are. Take notes, guys. Yeah?"
"Lemme see… I picked up something else too… I watched Rice's full job guide compilation…"
Ignoring the incoming flak, Kang Min-seo hammered out a chat message.
"And get this~! For you no-prep folks, lemme explain: Warriors have three build paths, right? Shield Warrior's a tank! Tank! Like that sturdy top-laner stuff you do!"
For Kang Min-seo, who'd hit 'Master' tier in League of Legends, this was a bit of a complex.
Kang Min-seo's main role was support.
She barely touched aggressive or lane-dominant champs.
Still, hitting Master proved she was skilled—but the world didn't acknowledge it much.
And she wasn't satisfied herself.
"I'm gonna prove it this time, for real. Ore guild, get ready? We all remember your 'safe investment' fan cafe promises."
"Uh…"
In Lost of Fantasy, tanks were rumored to be key.
She'd bragged about landing one for herself, but the lukewarm reply left Kang Min-seo speechless.
"Ah…! What?! This guy! I didn't even finish typing and they vanished!!!"
Kang Min-seo, mid-chat frenzy, watched 'Jeong Hana' disappear in an instant and was left dumbfounded.
"What, what the hell! For real! Total weirdo?!"
Thus began the long, fateful connection between Kang Min-seo, who'd clung desperately, and her vanishing savior.
Lost of Fantasy capped at level 60.
Unlike other games, your chosen 'race' determined your starting zone.
In other words, the tutorial levels 1-5 varied by race.
But it wasn't just the early game—your 'faction' altered questlines and dungeons afterward too.
Not every quest or dungeon differed, of course.
Northern Crash Zone
Anyway, Demon King faction players, after tutorial—unless they picked something super weird—usually gathered in the Northern Crash Zone.
As expected, first-timers meeting 'other races' were nonstop shocked by their bizarre looks.
Especially those who'd picked relatively 'beautiful' Demon race—they freaked hardest, predictably nostalgic.
Demon King faction had four races in the original version.
My pick: Demon.
The much-mocked 'Hosgar' passersby ragged on.
'Jadekin', evoking orcs and goblins.
And 'Immortal', classic undead vibe.
Obvious from that: the other three were uniquely not 'beautiful' types.
Instead of leveling, they jumped around NPCs, chattering—it felt nostalgically old-school and nice.
Like, this was Lost of Fantasy's vibe, kinda…
Demon King vs Alliance flamewars on forums back in the day…
Pure romance you don't see anymore.
As I sorted my inventory, a Hosgar with massive armor—like it crawled from a gutter—approached.
Truly grotesque, clueless about basic gear, draped haphazardly in leather and chains, looking even more ragged.
Game's fresh, everyone's super chatty.
…What the hell?
They ask my job then troll?
…Not picking a fight—trying to help?
Thinks I'm dooming myself, urging escape?
Ah, got it.
Those who grind trash non-meta chars for thousands of games to claim 'mastery'…
Doesn't want that for me, or themselves—warning off Holy Knight.
Kind of kind, or 'fuck off if you don't get it' vibe.
Three Rogue specs: Combat, Ranged, Stealth.
Worst trash of all…
Ah, hipsters pick hipster everywhere…
This Rogue sadly declared Stealth Rogue—trash even in PvP.
You could respec within class—Stealth to Ranged/Combat easy.
But visuals differ so much, same 'DPS' but treated like different jobs.
Poor 'MoonSugarLover' would stick to it, even if called trash.
Mid-awkward lull, MoonSugarLover hit '/greet' emote and trudged off to friends.
Northern Crash Zone dungeon with friends? Alphadisco Excavation Site, probably.
That one's deceptively long vertically, complex and tough—okay?
Alliance starters get easy trash 15-lvl dungeon for smooth leveling…
"Huh?"
Lost in memories, I spotted MoonSugarLover's crew.
Five total including him—job comp issue.
Two Rogues, one Mage, one Priest, one Gunner.
Priest heals, sure—but no tank?
"…No way they're thinking of running without tank-DPS-heal balance, right?"
Impossible by my logic…
But in Jeong Hana's world, balancing tank-DPS-heal was the 'weird' thing.