Outside the Beginner Village (1)

'Goblins don't even taste good.'

Goblins are just bloated bellies with scrawny everything else—nothing worth eating. And tasty? They reek like a rag that's gone unwashed for ten years, and they're tough as hell. So when I do eat them, I chop 'em small and swallow in one go. The smell still lingers, though.

"This is the kind of penalty indiscriminate PK users get hit with."

I was just about to ask, but Chaerin beat me to it. As expected from a pro guide—sharp instincts.

"Getting wanted this publicly is pretty scary, huh."

"Right? But more than that, it makes using the adventurer guild a pain."

"'Cause users are lurking everywhere?"

"Not just users. The NPCs here turn hostile toward wanted criminals too."

Which means no taking quests, and leveling up gets way harder. You can still grind levels by hunting monsters or gathering, but quests give overwhelming EXP. And if you die? You wake up in a jail cell, not a respawn bed. Gotta pay a fortune in bail or grind labor till you're out. Real punishment.

"Anyway, let's ignore it and go hunt some slimes."

"Can't we catch the wanted guy?"

Wanted posters count as quests, so they give cash and EXP. A ton of it.

"We're still newbies. Our stats and experience are too low for PK."

Hmm. Fair enough? I might lack stats, but experience? Nah. Still, who knows. Maybe that guy's a vet who could overwhelm pure skill. Better ignore him like Chaerin says.

"Alright, slimes it is."

We picked a slime quest from the request board. Grabbed a herb-gathering one too, to level Chaerin up. Heading to the counter to register...

"Adventurer, you've exceeded level 10, so you qualify for class registration."

The counter NPC said that. Class registration? Forgot that existed.

"Proceed?"

Like a job change? Stats boosts based on class, maybe? Better do it.

"Yes."

"Request accepted~"

I scrolled through. Knight, spearman, warrior... Kinda meh. Then one icon caught my eye—a katana. Hovered: Samurai.

This is it.

'Confirm?'

'Warning: Selected class cannot be changed without a Class Reset Scroll.'

Yes/No. No hesitation, Yes.

Focus? Focus: +1% crit chance per point.

Oho. Low base attack/defense, fights with crits and mobility. Perfect.

'Love it.'

I dumped 5 points each into mobility and focus. Chaerin sidled up.

"Iaidō Master!"

"Huh?"

"You went Samurai, right?"

"Yeah. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠You?"

"Musician!"

Musician. Hurling notes like Dr. X-Range? Or sound/mental attacks? Those can be nasty.

"I do throw notes, but I'm a supporter, not DPS."

"Ah."

DPS and support. Solid combo.

"Slimes await."

"Yes!"

Heading out with Chaerin, I pondered slimes. What are they? Physical DPS nightmare. Slice in half? Two slimes. Smash with blunt? Shards fly, multiply by shard count. And that's not all—their goo is strong acid. Touch it, and it melts flesh to bone.

Once I cluelessly slashed one—my blade got fully dissolved. Expensive sword... Anyway, best way? Magic nuke. But I'm a swordswoman, not a mage.

So rare encounters meant rare acid baths. Scars shame a swordmaster, but dodge fast enough, no scars? World doesn't always let you run. Fought unintentionally once—chaos. Thousands of beasts, hundred slimes from one big split. Look slow, move like arrows. Infuriating every second.

Sha sha shak—

Fo yong~ Hug me~

"Ah."

Hug me~ x50

"Grumh..."

Hug me~ x100

"Ah, fuck!!"

'Can't even slice these bastards...!!'

Roll, slice one, dodge, slice another. Till dawn—even I ran out of stamina. That's why my left arm... Ugh. Anyway, prime chance for payback. Early mob, won't be unfairly bullshit like that world.

"Ehehehe..."

"W-why? Your eyes are scary—cut it out..."

Hing. Harsh.

Slimes spawn in fields a bit from Beginner Village. Vast green plains—Rebion Arc's first tourist spot.

"...Dunno."

Mic muted, muttering to viewers only.

"He says he doesn't know me, so let's trust for now?"

"Haha, I'll stay vigilant..."

Even if sniper, no biggie. What could he do? Sudden attack? Fat chance. Why? Avatar's too distinctive.

Appearance changes ain't easy. Hunt materials across map, find ritual site. Even then, need prior quest with head priest for favor. Newbie? Takes a month. Assuming normal questing.

PK me? Instant indiscriminate PK stack. One stack won't wanted you, but I can post a bounty request. Victims can nominate PKers. Gets penalties till wanted—NPCs might report on interact, deny quests.

Didn't tell ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Iaidō Master. He wouldn't care knowing, but just in case. YouTube fodder maybe. Anyway, PK happens? Straight to guild, bounty him. Upload clip too.

"Ehehehe..."

"Chaerin's eyes scary."

Ah, hem. Overkill ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for daytime sniper? Nah—planned to stream musician leveling. He's in the whole early arc. Unavoidable. Not "convenient," but "necessary."

But what if Iaidō Master's a pro sniper with account wipe? Even better—no worry. Too pathetic. Diehards want legacy—name, highlights. Dirty ways exist, but he ain't. Contributing steadily. Viewers like him. Sudden "All fake~" backstab? Pointless.

Real twist? Means big prep. Worth tanking for YouTube gold! Your life's set, Iaidō Master!

"Kuhuhuhu..."

"...Not joking, scary."

Ah. Slipped again. Musing thus, we reached village outskirts. Green plains unfolded past buildings.

"Whoa..."

Pretty meadow. Iaidō Master ahead halted.

"..."

"...Iaidō Master?"

"Chaerin, you're too careless."

"Huh? What—"

His eyes turned—twisted like he'd seen ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠something foul.

Ting—

Blade flicked from his sheath.

'Wait.'

Thud thud—

His steps toward me. I backpedaled two.

"F-for real...??"

Like this? Outta nowhere? No event?

"Haha, fuck."

"Sorry."

He gripped hilt. No. Panicking, but okay. Just left village.

'Run now...!'

Turned—his form blurred in. What? Samurai skill? No escape.

Blade unsheathed, lunged fiercely. Target? My throat, obvious.

...For real!!

"You bastard!! You're dead meat!!!"