The Wood Spirit's Fury
Sung Min-woo, who had learned crafting, spent every break repairing gear.
He wanted to craft too, but the one-time-use tools were pricey, and it felt like a waste with his low skill level.
So after hunting with Mu-hyuk, he'd head to the blacksmith where he'd learned the skill, help out with work, and craft in the workshop.
Balancing hunting, repairs, and crafting like that, he leveled up nicely—enough to take on two black ghost trees at once.
"Hoo, getting boring now, huh?"
"Yeah."
Mu-hyuk was level 47 with 30% experience. Sung Min-woo was at 46 with 10%, closing in fast.
By the time Mu-hyuk hit just shy of 51, Sung Min-woo might scrape level 50.
Perfect, since I know a level 50 dungeon.
"Wanna push to 50?"
"To 50?"
"Yeah. I know a dungeon that's exactly level 50."
"No way, for real?"
"Yeah. Too much hassle to move now. Let's farm black ghost trees till then, hit 50, and go."
"Call!"
Sung Min-woo's shout was loud.
But his expression gradually hardened.
"Ah, but our levels won't sync."
"It's fine. I'll wait a bit."
At that, Sung Min-woo approached Mu-hyuk.
"Thanks, man."
And tried to hug him.
Mu-hyuk shoved him away.
"Gross, get off."
"It's the thought that counts between friends..."
"Whatever. Let's hit 50 in two weeks."
"..."
In the old days, he'd have scoffed at the impossibility.
But not now. Hunting with Mu-hyuk had shown him it was doable.
Right on cue, the black ghost trees respawned.
Three of them, no less.
Wind!
He slowed all three at once.
Earth.
Vines bound them tight.
Then bone arrows coated in slowing poison struck home, while enhanced skeletons and Bone Swords blocked their approach.
The fire spirit at the rear unleashed hell, as Mu-hyuk and the Bone Bows loosed arrows without pause.
Kiririk!
The black ghost trees' agonized shrieks.
After downing one.
Kirik, kiririk.
Three at once was a real strain.
Bone Sword 7 and 8 melted away in seconds.
While the enhanced skeleton pinned one, the remaining Bone Swords had to hold off two—tough going.
Only after Bone Sword 4 and 6 got reverse-summoned could they finally drop another.
The enhanced skeleton held firm, but its HP was critically low.
Mu-hyuk kept chipping at the tree it was tanking whenever he could.
Sung Min-woo did the same, steadily whittling the raging third.
They downed it just before the enhanced skeleton despawned.
"Whew."
"Last one."
"Finish it. Earth!"
The final tree was done for.
Already ablaze from fire attacks, riddled with arrows, it could barely move.
Vines surged up, hindering it further.
An arrow flew straight for its face core.
-366 HP
Lucky break.
The crit sealed it.
Mu-hyuk quickly corpse dissected, stowed the mats, and moved to reverse-summon the rest.
The level of Skeleton Warrior Summon has increased.
The level of Skeleton Archer Summon has increased.
Summon skills leveled up right on time.
"Oh ho."
"What?"
"Nah, summon levels went up."
"Nice? Means more summons, right?"
"Yeah."
"Okay!"
Now: one enhanced skeleton, nine Bone Swords, five Bone Bows.
Fifteen total.
But worries grew too.
Tch, swords and bows are fine, but need shields.
"Break time."
"Yeah."
They settled in a corner.
"Three was rough, but this works out."
"Yeah. Two more warriors, one archer—threes should be smooth now. I'll check weapons for the new ones."
"Okay, I'll repair."
Sung Min-woo pulled out repair tools; Mu-hyuk hit the auction system.
*
Morning: wake, gym.
Post-workout: quick bite on the way home, log into Illusion.
In-game: endless hunt, repair, cook, craft loop.
Logout: dinner, chill, bed.
Amid it, word that Sung Min-woo's crafting hit level 3.
"Level 3 crafting is key."
"Why?"
"If your strength holds, options stick great. Barely any use limits."
"No way?"
"Yeah. Focus and craft."
From then, Sung Min-woo bought disposable tools, ground crafting even mid-hunt.
Decent gear emerged.
"Ooh, nice!"
It solidified his all-in on Illusion.
Levels rose steadily.
Days left till two-week goal.
Mu-hyuk at 49.
Sung Min-woo at 48.
Rest over, back to black ghost trees.
Just like yesterday.
Except for the sudden message.
A Hidden Quest has activated.
Wood Spirit's Wrath
The wood spirit, witnessing the slaughter of black ghost trees, has appeared in fury. Slay the wood spirit to ensure safety.
🎁 Reward: Varies by contribution.
Sudden quest pop-up.
"Wha? What's this?"
"Hidden quest."
"Wood spirit?"
Mu-hyuk was mildly surprised too.
Hidden quest.
Rare things. Tucked away in regions, trigger methods unknown.
Some theories floated, but even for the same quest, triggers varied wildly.
Even rankers hunting patterns gave up.
"Let's go."
"Huh?"
"Hunt the wood spirit."
"Can we?"
Mu-hyuk shook his head.
"Just us? No."
"Then?"
He scanned around.
Sung Min-woo followed his gaze.
"Other users everywhere."
"Ah...!"
Solo impossible, but with a crowd? Doable.
Quests measured contribution anyway. Max yours for max reward.
No PvP needed—perfect.
"Sweet, let's move!"
They hurried.
Nearby users buzzed too.
Their chatter.
"Ugh, wood spirit—where?"
"Over there, crowd?"
"Check it out?"
"Hurry, gotta clear it fast."
Mu-hyuk turned too.
Users flocking somewhere.
That way?
"Shall we?"
"Yeah."
High chance where users gathered.
Minutes tailing the herd.
No wood spirit.
What...?
Doubt crept in.
"Weird, right?"
"What?"
"Front-runners. Just milling aimlessly?"
Confirming as he spoke.
"Not here."
"Eh, really?"
"Yeah. Slip out quiet."
"Okay, if you say so."
Sung Min-woo trusted Mu-hyuk.
Just bail now.
Just walk?
Worried it'd look suspicious.
Shook it off. Crowd was fixated on the spirit, flailing blindly.
"Argh, where is it?!"
"Wood spirit, seriously?!"
No issue ditching.
"Now."
"Okay."
They peeled off together.
Rear users glanced, puzzled eyes—but soon refocused ahead.
Mu-hyuk veered opposite.
Minutes later.
Kwaang!
Battle sounds.
"There!"
They rushed.
Thick trees ahead.
Wood spirit below.
Dozens of users fighting it.
Mu-hyuk and Sung Min-woo dove in.
Summon!
Earth!
Wood spirit stunned perfectly.
Vines sprouted, wrapping it; bone arrows pierced the gap.
Users glanced, frowned—but refocused, no choice.
Bone Bows, rapid fire.
Mu-hyuk loosed too.
Sent Bone Swords forward.
Pook.
Mu-hyuk and Bone Bows struck.
Contribution (+5).
Contribution (+1).
Contribution (+1).
Contribution (+1).