Level 15 Achieved
Bam!
Experience points acquired. Level up!
You have defeated one hundred wolf-type monsters. New achievement unlocked: Wolf Slayer!
Strength stat gained. Reputation increased by five.
Five hours. That was the time it took Fafnir to reach level 15.
“Not bad. Two hours faster than expected.”
Fafnir let out a low whistle. He had finished two hours ahead of schedule.
Without any rival players chasing him, he had swept up every single target.
And that wasn’t all. Harvesting had been a success as well. He had obtained wolf hides.
He had carefully skinned every single wolf he had killed.
Most players discarded these as junk loot. But when collected in quantity, they added up to a decent sum of money.
‘I’m so used to this sort of thing.’
Fafnir had dissected countless monster corpses in the Dragon World.
He had even hummed while collecting the wolf hides.
‘Level 15 is good enough. Time to head into calculations.’
Clover Village Leather Workshop.
The only place in the village that handled leather.
Beginners who had accumulated rabbit or fox hides were required to visit here at least once.
They could learn not only how to process the hides but also the tanning skill that would be useful over the long term.
However, most players never bothered to stop here.
First reason: it stood in the way of rushing straight to the big city.
Second reason: there was a small issue.
“Excuse me…?”
“No visitors during working hours.”
The leather workshop.
It was already pushing out the rookie players who had brought in rabbit hides.
“And you don’t even give them that pathetic amount?”
“What did you just say, old man?!”
“You want to try me?”
The middle-aged man flexed his bulging muscles.
The desperate beginners finally lowered their tails.
‘That personality is the real problem.’
No customers allowed during work hours, and if someone did show up, he’d kick them out the moment he was displeased.
In polite terms, he was proud. In blunt terms, he had an extreme my-way-or-the-highway attitude.
Because of this NPC personality, it was no wonder players had little desire to visit.
The frustrated players had no choice but to gather their leather and head toward the big city anyway.
But…
“Hello, Uncle Paul.”
“No way, it’s Fafnir?”
The middle-aged man named Paul brightened up upon seeing Fafnir.
“I’m a bit busy right now. I’ll come back later.”
“It’s fine. There are a few favors you’ve done for me.”
The goodwill he had steadily built in the village was on a completely different level.
“By the way, what’s the matter?”
“Actually, I’d like you to process some wolf hides for me.”
“Wolf hides? Let me see them.”
Fafnir handed over the hides.
Paul examined them for a moment, then asked.
“Did you tan these hides yourself?”
“Yes.”
“Well, well.”
Paul smiled faintly and continued.
“In my entire life, I’ve never seen a rookie adventurer bring me intact hides of this quality.”
“So you’ll buy them?”
“With this level, I should be begging you to sell them to me. Sixty-five coppers each, no, seventy coppers. Call it seventy.”
Normal wolf hides fetched fifty coppers.
But cleanly tanned hides were hard to find.
This was more than enough for a fair trade.
And considering the accumulated goodwill, the price was already generous.
“Could you give me a little more? I barely managed to hunt them…”
“Negotiation attempt.”
“Um… these hides are rare, so… all right. Seventy-three coppers.”
“Negotiation successful.”
“Tanning skill proficiency has increased.”
He didn’t miss out on any skill proficiency on the way!
Fafnir added, “And Uncle Paul, could you make armor out of the remaining hides?”
“That’s not hard. Ten silvers…”
“I don’t need anything that common.”
Paul’s expression finally hardened.
“No matter how much help you’ve given the village, you can’t insult my work.”
“I need the absolute best.”
“What are you going to use it for?”
“I have to defeat someone. He’s got heaven-sent luck.”
That was the foundation.
As Paul listened, he chuckled.
“A few words for a country leatherworker like me are over the top.”
“Please do your best.”
“Don’t expect miracles.”
In essence, he had accepted.
Paul nodded, then tilted his head.
“Is there more material? These are the ones I’m selling, so there should be extra.”
“I’ve prepared them. Just give me a moment to… access my inventory.”
“Inventory? What do you mean?”
The workshop still had enough space for several people.
Was there really more to bring out?
Paul looked around and suddenly noticed a shadow fall over him.
“T-that can’t be all of them…?”
“Yes. Thank you once again.”
A mountain of wolf hides filled the leather workshop.
Paul’s eyes changed as he scanned the contents.
“For a while, I won’t have a moment to rest.”
All the hides were of equal quality.
Even if he cheated, it would still be a fair trade.
Swallow.
Paul swallowed hard.
To Fafnir, that sound felt like his wallet filling up.
***
“And that brings it to two gold.”
In his capsule apartment.
Kim Ganghan checked his balance.
‘One gold equals fifty thousand won. That’s about ten thousand won from the wolf hides.’
He checked the gains from this session and his budget situation.
‘Current remaining funds are approximately twelve million won.’
Monthly living expenses were about seven hundred thousand won. Add thirty to forty thousand for Horizon maintenance and electricity.
‘I can hold out for maybe eight months at most.’
He had already minimized unnecessary spending as much as possible.
Any further cuts and he wouldn’t survive.
‘When the money runs out, it’s game over. Without the game, I can’t even return to the real world.’
He could die on the streets of the novel world at any moment.
And he couldn’t sell items either.
‘I can’t eat monster meat just because I’m hungry.’
Game money was an investment for the future.
Not just for growth, but because the exchange rate with real cash would rise sharply.
Simply put, it was like replacing gold coins.
That was why he hadn’t sold the rare skill book.
‘Of course, I have to save it for growth.’
Kim Ganghan’s gaze dropped to the floor.
Shin Sa-dang, or rather Ga-sadang, the two of them were staring firmly this way.
“It’s real, huh?”
Ten thousand won when you start playing the game?
Fake voice phishing was actually happening.
But Kim Ganghan didn’t smile.
It meant every other quest from the author was also real.
‘New quest… here it is.’
Obtain a profession in Horizon.
You are the first person to enter this new world. You must now decide how to live in it.
Reward: One kilogram of Hanwoo beef set.
‘I need money fast.’
He had to repay the billions in debt and accelerate his growth.
The first thing he had to do was decide on a class.
‘First, what class?’
Kim Ganghan rested his chin on his hand.
Once you leave the starting point and head to the city, you can choose a class.
‘What would be good?’
In the real world, Kim Ganghan wouldn’t have faced this dilemma.
In the Dragon World, he had slain countless dragons in the highest-difficulty hunting game.
‘But here, achievements matter.’
Achievements meant power.
Not only in the game but also in the real world outside.
‘The problem is there are too many targets.’
Kim Ganghan recalled the novel content.
There were two ways to achieve achievements in Horizon.
Defeat the villain groups in the novel or become even bigger villains.
‘Including not just monsters but also players.’
The massive guilds and clans they created.
To defeat them, he would need to prepare for multi-person battles.
‘Hunters are the opposite.’
Hunters who were strong in one-versus-many or one-versus-one fights.
Kim Ganghan shook his head.
‘In the end, I’ll need help from people around me, and that won’t be enough.’
A class that could handle one-versus-many.
Kim Ganghan naturally thought of one class.
‘Magic users, only magic users, huh.’
Magic users who freely used powerful magic.
It was a costly class, but for Kim Ganghan that wasn’t a problem.
‘I can earn money by checking strategy guides.’
He had finished thinking. Time to move.
Kim Ganghan stood up from his seat.
***
“You’re finally leaving?”
“We’ll miss you.”
The NPCs of Clover Village had gathered in a crowd.
Clear skies and chirping birds.
The scenery around the village entrance looked like a painting.
“We’ve received so many blessings from you, we can’t just send you off. Please, take this.”
Everyone held out their items.
“This is my sincerity.”
Large travel backpack acquired.
The first backpack that could expand inventory.
“If a bear attacks, throw this. Don’t die from blind fangs out in the wild.”
Dried meat for bait acquired.
Meat for survival bait.
“These are travel shoes. Once your current ones wear out, use these.”
Leather boots acquired.
Handmade shoes.
“……”
Items piled high in his hands.
The gift barrage didn’t stop until his inventory was full.
The past three years of working hard for the village.
It didn’t feel empty.
“Thank you. Thank you so much!”
Just the items were a gain, but receiving something more felt even better.
Fafnir bowed his head, and the village chief added,
“Don’t forget my request either.”
A side quest that let him deliver a letter to an elder son working in the city.
Along with a little experience, he could enter the city.
A quest he had no reason to refuse.
‘Then I’ll head out.’
Fafnir headed north toward the forest after receiving his send-off.
At the forest entrance stood a single NPC.
“You were waiting, right? Heading to the city?”
It was the leather artisan Paul he had entrusted his crafting request to.
“Here.”
Leather Artisan Paul’s leather armor upper body and lower body acquired.
“This is…”
[Leather Artisan Paul’s Wolf Leather Armor Upper Body]
Grade: Rare
Level limit: 12
Physical defense: 35
Strength +3
Vitality +1
Agility +3
Movement speed +2%
Critical hit rate +2%
2-piece set effect: When hit by a critical attack, injury and bleeding effects occur with extremely high probability.
[Leather Artisan Paul’s Wolf Leather Armor Lower Body]
Grade: Rare
Level limit: 12
Physical defense: 32
Strength +2
Vitality +2
Agility +3
Dodge rate +2%
Cold resistance +2
2-piece set effect: When hit by a critical attack, injury and bleeding effects occur with extremely high probability.
‘Not bad?’
A complete rare set item.
He could sell it for one hundred fifty, no, two hundred million won on the item market.
‘It will only rise in value over time.’
Of course, the best use right now was to wear it.
Fafnir started walking the path between the trees.
‘No one else seems to be around.’
Most players used warp gates to reach the city.
The cost was one gold.
A pretty steep price, but people paid without complaint.
Two reasons.
First, it was faster and shorter.
Second, there was an ‘extremely minor’ reason.
‘In the original novel it was written that way…’
Fafnir raised his head.
In front of him, a swarm of small monsters with pointed ears and fangs had suddenly appeared.
A horde of cannibal goblins.
The reason rookie players rushed to the warp gate.
‘It’s not that easy.’
Which was why no one knew about it.
In the original novel, the hidden piece sleeping in the goblins’ nest was what the protagonist obtained.
‘I’ve upgraded equipment, so let’s try it out.’
The moment Fafnir raised his sword, the goblins charged.
The battle had begun.