8
#8 - A Place Known to No One
After logging into Elrmo with my new newbie character, GoldenTaeyang1234, I sat quietly by the fountain in Asine's park and waited for Celial.
Today, we were going to hunt together in a good beginner hunting ground and then try a field boss as a light introduction.
Not that we'd immediately go fight one.
The plan was to let her get used to hunting first and then teach her, "This is what a field boss is like!"
While organizing suitable hunting grounds for a Magic Swordsman and Dual Swordsman party, as well as good solo hunting spots for Magic Swordsmen, someone poked my shoulder.
When I turned around, I was greeted by an unbelievably adorable sight.
"Taeyang! Hello!"
Our newbie was standing there with a bright smile, greeting me.
An incredibly lovable and precious sight.
Ah, becoming happy from a simple greeting.
Newbies truly are the most lovable beings in the world.
Who was it that said only people who saved a nation in their previous life get the opportunity to raise newbies?
There wasn't a single lie in that old saying.
That's how moving it is.
But something felt strange.
"Um... Ms. Celial."
"Yes?"
"Are you left-handed by any chance?"
"No? I'm right-handed."
"......Then did you set your main weapon slot to your left hand?"
"No?"
Then...
"...Why are you holding your grimoire in your right hand?"
In Elrmo, characters have a main weapon and a sub-weapon.
And unless they're using a two-handed weapon, people naturally place their main weapon in their dominant hand.
The game even guides players toward that setup when they're first configuring their controls.
And our newbie's answer was almost painfully innocent.
"......Because I'm a Magic Swordsman who mainly uses magic, shouldn't the grimoire be my main weapon...?"
That pure, innocent question made me burst out laughing.
"Kuhhh... Hahaha... Hahahaha...!"
The moment she heard me laughing, Celial seemed to realize she'd said something odd.
Her face immediately turned red.
Then she shouted:
"D-Don't make fun of me!!!"
"Hahahaha! Ah... sorry. Kuhahaha..."
"I'm going to get mad! Seriously, I am!?"
"Haa... haa... hahaha... Ah, sorry. You're just too cute..."
"C-Cute...?"
Hearing her flustered voice almost made me laugh again, but I somehow managed to hold it in.
Because if I laughed any more, it really would turn into a fight.
"Magic Swordsmen always use their sword as their main weapon. As for the sub-weapon, they usually choose either a shield or a grimoire."
"Ah..."
"So switch the positions of your sword and grimoire first. By the way, are you planning to use a grimoire as your sub-weapon?"
"I just equipped whatever was in my inventory...."
Oh?
Looks like she'd been trying to figure things out on her own.
"If you use a grimoire as your sub-weapon, your magic will become stronger. But you'll lose the stability that comes with using a shield. And you won't have the mobility of going without a sub-weapon either."
Magic Swordsmen generally fell into three categories.
First were the frontline Magic Swordsmen who used shields.
Though honestly, those were complete PvP maniacs.
They stacked defensive magic on top of their tankiness, absorbed attacks head-on, slowly chipped away at their opponents with minor healing and harassment spells, then won through timeouts.
There was a reason people called them "Pervert Magic Swordsmen."
The nickname had become so widespread that the abbreviation for Shield Magic Swordsman was less common than the abbreviation for Pervert Magic Swordsman.
Apparently the timeout strategy originally came from a Priest player who reached rank twenty in PvP.
Now it had become synonymous with PvP Magic Swordsmen.
That said, even ordinary Magic Swordsman players often considered cutting ties with those people.
They were that awful.
Hopefully our adorable Celial never becomes one of them.
Anyway...
Next came the balanced Magic Swordsmen who used grimoires.
This was probably the most common build.
Their magic dealt respectable damage.
Their enhanced sword strikes dealt respectable damage.
They weren't exceptional at anything, but they were competent at everything.
The grimoire suited the class perfectly.
In fact, both the developers and veteran Magic Swordsman players recommended it.
...Finally, there were those who didn't equip a sub-weapon at all.
In some ways, these people were the real weirdos.
They wanted to play a Magic Swordsman but only used magic as a support tool.
They were literally Magic "Swordsmen."
Earlier I called them the biggest weirdos, but honestly they were far more respectable than the Pervert Magic Swordsmen.
At least these people fought fair.
Meanwhile, after falling into deep contemplation, Celial stared at her equipment and finally announced:
"Then I'll use the grimoire!"
"A grimoire's a great choice."
After hearing my answer, she immediately swapped the positions of her weapons.
Only then did her sword sheath move to her left hip, while the grimoire's emblem shifted to the opposite side.
"Anyway, shall we go hunting now?"
"Finally, hunting...! Where are we going?"
"Where else? Obviously we're heading to a recommended beginner hunting ground."
"Ah! I know this one! Rabbit Hill, right?"
Oh?
Looks like she'd done some research.
Rabbit Hill was populated primarily by rabbit-type monsters.
There were tons of them, they were extremely weak, and they gave decent experience.
As a result, it was one of the most commonly recommended beginner hunting grounds.
But I knew somewhere better.
"No, Ms. Celial. We're not going there. Rabbit Hill is probably crowded anyway."
"Ah... Is it?"
Of course it was.
Rabbit Hill allowed players in the level 10 range to level incredibly quickly if they secured a good spot.
The problem was actually securing one.
Unless you were lucky, you'd need to check all fifty channels and visit every hunting spot.
If you found an empty location, you'd immediately claim it.
If not, you'd wait beside someone who was nearly finished leveling.
There was also the issue of combat experience.
The rabbits were so weak that even Priests could kill them in one hit.
Anyone with area-of-effect skills could clear them effortlessly.
But that also meant players gained very little actual combat practice.
Which was why I never recommended Rabbit Hill to newbies.
Instead...
"Let's go to Wolf Territory."
"Wolf Territory...? Isn't that a little high level for us?"
Wolf Territory's recommended level range was fifteen to twenty.
For level ten players like Celial and me, it was slightly early.
Still, I thought it was the better option.
So I decided to give her a choice.
"Ms. Celial, let me give you two options."
"Rabbit Hill, where hunting is incredibly easy but getting a spot is difficult. Or Wolf Territory, where hunting is a little harder but finding a spot is easy and you can actually practice combat. Which would you choose?"
There was a simple reason I gave her a choice.
My job was to help newbies.
Not play the game for them.
Providing options they might otherwise overlook and giving them enough information to make their own decisions.
That was the best way to raise a newbie.
At least, that's what I believed.
Though honestly, I already knew what she'd choose.
And just as I expected, her decision came quickly.
"I'll go to Wolf Territory!"
When we'd discussed her class earlier, she'd said:
"...I wanted to try doing something myself."
Someone who chose Magic Swordsman for that reason would never choose Rabbit Hill.
"But is Wolf Territory actually a good hunting ground...?"
"Hmm~ Not really."
"Huh...?"
Compared to Rabbit Hill, Wolf Territory had lower monster spawn rates.
The wolves even roamed alone.
Sure, each wolf gave two or three times more experience than a rabbit.
But rabbits died in one hit.
If you did the math, Rabbit Hill was much more efficient.
"Ah, don't worry. We're definitely going to Wolf Territory."
"But we're not hunting in Wolf Territory."
Question marks practically appeared above Celial's head.
Ignoring her confusion, I led her toward one of the teleport portals found in every town.
"Ms. Celial, let's head to Wolf Territory...!"
After paying eight hundred copper for both of us, we used the portal and arrived.
Then we walked for about three minutes before entering an inconspicuous side path.
As I stepped inside, Celial hurried after me.
And when we reached the end of the hidden trail, her eyes widened.
"Wow...!"
A crescent moon hung in the night sky.
Below it lay a lake reflecting its pale light.
The howls of wolves echoed through the romantic atmosphere.
That's right.
The hunting ground I'd chosen was the hidden dungeon inside Wolf Territory.
Wolf Lake.
For the first time, I revealed a hidden dungeon that nobody else knew about to another person.