Teaching Two High Schoolers the Path to Real Gold
“Ha…! Sis Hana! Tell me too! I wanna make money!”
“Didn’t I already set you up to make four hundred last time, and now you’re flipping out the second I teach him some grinding spots?”
“Four hundred? Four hundred gold, right?”
“Four hundred man won.”
Lee Siwoo stared at me with eyes full of disbelief.
“Four hundred man won’s off the table now. That was only possible because the market went totally haywire back then.”
“Yeah, Sis and I were pulling herbs and selling them, but the prices ballooned like crazy, so that’s how it worked out.”
Even after the explanation, Lee Siwoo couldn’t speak—those words “four hundred man won” were clearly dancing in front of his eyes.
“Still, the grinding spots I’m about to teach you are ones that won’t crash and burn. They’re only going up from here.”
“P-please, Sis! Teach me!”
Whoa, why’d his voice suddenly go all intense like that?
“But I’m warning you upfront… this kind of grinding takes grit. Got it? If you keep dreaming of that four hundred man won and quit the second you don’t make a ton in a day, you’ll drop it fast.”
“It’s fine. I’m really good at this stuff! And these days… nobody’s even hiring for part-time gigs, so if I wanna make money, this is pretty much my only shot.”
Lee Siwoo looked genuinely desperate.
“Yeah! Sis! Teach him quick already. Then I can get my ten man won, waaah—!”
I pinched Im Harin’s noisy cheek with my fingers.
“Just… go ahead and shake him down already.”
“Tch, who said you could go around calling people liars?”
Lee Siwoo just trembled, too stunned to speak.
But it’s a fact, right? Not wrong at all~
“Anyway… both of you, look at my game screen. Take notes if you want.”
I pulled up the world map UI via the world manager and showed it to them.
“Siwoo? Harin? Listen up. The grinding I’m teaching you now is the Elemental Essence grind.”
“Ooh… sounds like something straight out of a fantasy novel.”
“In Lost of Fantasy, there are spirits, right? No need to explain—you get the idea. Fire spirits~, water spirits~, wind spirits~”
“Ah, yeah! I’ve seen ‘em while leveling up, Sis.”
High schoolers really are quick on the uptake.
“Among those spirits… see here? Silina and Popey Caldera.”
The two spots were so close they were practically one above the other.
“You can grind wind essences and earth essences in Silina. In the caldera, you can farm fire essences and fire elements together.”
“Huh? Sis, sis. Are fire essences and fire elements different?”
“Yeah, different slots. But just grab everything that drops and shove it in your bags—no need to sort.”
“Slots?”
Lee Siwoo looked a bit baffled.
“Anyway, Siwoo? You’re a Demon Black Magician. Summon some demons to tank, beat ‘em down, and your repair bills’ll be next to nothing.”
“Sounds good. So which spot should I run, Sis?”
“All of this goes into max-level crafting gear, so demand’s gonna be solid. But right now, you want the best efficiency per hour, yeah?”
“Yes, yes! That’s right, Sis! Please!”
Lee Siwoo’s eyes sparkled, and the second Im Harin saw it, she pressed her chest against my right arm.
“Hey… Siwoo, how much more are you gonna bleed her dry?”
“It’s fine. He’s gotta pay back that 100 gold I loaned him tenfold.”
“…Sis, are you a demon? A thousand gold’s a million won! And Siwoo! Are you nuts?!”
“You think I’m an idiot? Sis is teaching me how to make ten times that.”
Im Harin puffed out her cheeks.
“Isn’t that some common scam tactic?”
“I’m teaching you real money-makers.”
I flew straight to Popey Caldera and showed Lee Siwoo the “fire spirit” he needed to hunt.
“Anyway, just kill these.”
“Fire Spirit… Got it. Sell everything it drops on the auction house, right, Sis?”
“Exactly. Smart kid. Toss every fire essence and fire element straight up for auction. But…”
I tried to shrug, but Im Harin’s chest was in the way.
“Fire essences and elements are guaranteed to skyrocket later. Total moonshot incoming, so pace your sales smart.”
“Huh? Why’ll they go up, Sis? Why?”
“Once… people start running raids, demand’ll spike naturally.”
“What’s a raid, Sis?”
Both Lee Siwoo and Im Harin looked puzzled.
“Raid party.”
“What’s that? The 50-person group Sis gathered last time?”
“Yep.”
“…Sis! Don’t just say ‘yep’! Explain moreeee!”
Im Harin grabbed my chest harness and shook me like crazy.
“No, if I explain, you’ll get it…”
“We can handle it, Sis! Gotta know stuff to make money and buy chicken!”
“Exactly! Totally!”
I couldn’t shove off the high schoolers clinging to both sides…
“Ugh… fine, you know Moonlight Spire, right?”
“Duh. Beyond the level 55 crafting mats or whatever, it’s one of the 4 Major Induns you mentioned, Sis.”
“Right. Remember the map it’s on?”
“Moonlit Mountain, I think.”
Im Harin seemed to know it too, so I pulled up the world map and showed them Moonlit Mountain.
“Moonlit Mountain has two more dungeons besides the ones you know.”
“Ah! I know that one, Sis!”
Im Harin shot her hand up and grinned at Lee Siwoo.
…Harin? No prize for quiz night.
“There’s the Moonlight Spire Upper! Right, Sis? Super hard one!”
“Yeah, tough upper level. But I said two, didn’t I?”
“Ah… Sis, you mean Moonlight Abyss?”
“Oho, Siwoo. You lurk the forums, huh?”
Lee Siwoo grinned back at Im Harin.
“My level’s lower than Im Harin’s, but I know more.”
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean? I obviously know way more than you! Th-that Moonlight Abyss or whatever? I know it too! It’s hard.”
“Why’s it hard? Why?”
“Ugh…”
Im Harin puffed her cheeks and shot me a super aggrieved look.
“What are you, elementary kids… bickering over who knows more. Anyway.”
I patted Im Harin’s butt to calm her down.
“Anyway, Moonlight Abyss is accessed through an entrance deep underground in Moonlit Mountain. And yeah, it’s tough.”
That’s why I didn’t count it among the 4 Major Induns.
Moonlight Abyss was just too long, complex, and sprawling for efficient grinding.
Unlike modern dungeons with their clean, smart straight paths, you had to go in with a goal or you’d come out empty-handed.
“There are good items… but anyway, at the bottom of the abyss, there’s a hole leading to another dungeon.”
“How do you know that, Sis?”
“I wandered around when I was bored. I play all day.”
“Ooh…”
They bought my kinda ridiculous white lie, hook, line, and sinker.
“You’ll see when you go. It looks so obviously like a dungeon entrance, you have to check it out.”
“So? What’s in that dungeon-inside-a-dungeon, Sis?”
“It’s called the Heart of Fire. And it’s a 40-man raid dungeon.”
“This is totally new to me, Sis.”
Lee Siwoo looked pretty skeptical.
“How do you know it’s a raid dungeon? It’s not marked in-game, right?”
“Hey, Siwoo. If you don’t trust Sis, beat it.”
“No, it’s fair to doubt. But Lost of Fantasy is inconvenient, not secretive.”
Lucky timing, honestly.
I’d hit max level, so I’d checked if the Heart of Fire from my memories was a raid.
Right in front of Lee Siwoo and Im Harin, I clicked the “Raid Info” UI and showed them.
Heart of Fire — Raid『40-man』
“See? Devs set it up so you need a raid party to clear the Heart of Fire dungeon.”
“Whoa… whoa! Sis! You’re amazing! Nobody on Logal even found this!!”
“Wow… Sis! I’ve never, ever seen this! There’s a UI like this?!”
They were amazed, even grabbing my mouse to hover over the text.
“Bind expires…?”
“Resets once a week, on Thursday.”
“What’s Thursday, Sis?”
“I mean Thursday.”
The two high schoolers’ eyes sparkled like baby birds, full of curiosity.
“There’s boss kill info too. Instance binds don’t matter to you, anyway—back to grinding.”
I pointed at the world map with my thumb.
“Heart of Fire raid—you can tell from the name, but enemies deal fire damage.”
“Ooh…”
“So gear with fire resist—fire resistance—is gonna be huge soon.”
Of course, nobody knows that yet.
I know because I’ve been through it.
Fire resist sets might get niche later depending on patches, but early on? Essential.
Can’t just burst it down, so DPS need some too.
Heck, even tanks like Gang Minseo who suck at aggro management—DPS without resist means party wipes incoming.
“That’s why the fire essences and elements you’ll farm? You’ll need tons more for fire resist. They go into potions, for starters.”
“Consumables, got it, Sis?”
“Exactly. See why it’s a surefire moonshot?”
Lee Siwoo nodded right away.
“And Harin needs fire essences for her chest piece too~”
I shrugged lightly and shoved Im Harin’s illegally parked chest away.
“Chest?”
“Item, I mean. Chest armor.”
“Ah?”
“Your… well, the best item you can get right now is crafted. Takes about 20 fire essences.”
“Whoa, guess I gotta grind too, Sis?”
“Nah?”
I lightly poked Im Harin’s excited belly.
“Huh, why? Endgame item, right?”
“Your crafting profession’s baby level? Making endgame gear’s a nightmare. Better spend that time elsewhere.”
“Then should I just grind fire spirits too, Sis?”
Lee Siwoo, sharp as ever, seemed to be mulling it over.
“Siwoo. You know this?”
I threw an arm around his tense shoulders.
Plain grinding? Anyone can do it.
“Grinding, grinding? Real grinding.”
“Ah… you mean the construction workers?”
“Yeah. There’s the back-breaking, all-day manual labor kind, and the skilled kind adults always nag you to learn?”
Lee Siwoo swallowed hard.
“No way… Sis, you’re telling me to learn a skill?”
“Bingo! For now, grind fire spirits to pay Harin her ten man won and level up. But later, pick up a professional job.”
Raw grinding gets obsolete eventually.
Sweatshops are coming, guaranteed.
“People hate professions ‘cause they’re a pain? But endgame gear, potions, elixirs, enchanting? All essential.”
“And that all… makes money?”
“Duh. Just skimming fees’ll net you plenty. Grinding crashes when mats tank, but skilled crafters never go broke.”
Lee Siwoo’s eyes lit up at the money talk.
“Alright then, Student Siwoo. Grind hard from today and hit max level first.”
“Uh, uh… but Sis just said professional—”
“Professions cap at your combat level. To craft two-thousand-gold endgame pieces, you need maxed profession level.”
“Ugh…! Got it, Sis! I’ll level like crazy!”
Lee Siwoo slipped out from under my arm and dove into the game.
“Sis, Hana Sis.”
Im Harin, who’d been side-eyeing him, quickly pressed her chest to me and whispered in my ear.
“You sure it’s cool spilling all this to him? You’re only getting a thousand gold out of it, right?”
“Don’t worry. Once Siwoo maxes his profession, I’ll bleed him plenty. You’ll be cheering how easy it is.”
Friends don’t charge fees, and lottery potions? Winner winner when the buyer cashes in—win-win.
Anyway, Siwoo’s got a bright future as my crafting slave. Yep.
But you like that too, right? Free rice and all.