My face froze. This person! What are his intentions?
I stood up… This piece of shit! My scythe was as quick as lightning, pressing its blade against his neck.
"So you knew? And you still followed ? I knew sothing was weird about you. What are your final words?" I was ready to kill. I felt the sha and rage of those days crashing into like a tidal wave.
"Of course. Who in Korea doesn't know the na of the infamous Lee Gaon, the best female player, who brought hope to many won gars, only to be exposed as a cheater, making the gaming industry even less accessible for others?"
I felt imnse anger and resentnt. I hated my past so much. Why did every single person in the world have to be against ? Even now. I thought I had found a friend, but...
"Of course, I don't believe those rumors." He looked at with a smile and fearless eyes. Was he really that confident that I wouldn't kill him?
"I've seen you play. I was a fan—or should I say I still am. Anyone with the least bit of brains could see the truth behind the shady curtains of the gaming world." He gave a warm smile.
I felt conflicted. Is this person telling the truth, or is he just toying with ?
"Don't worry. I've already promised to follow you, so let's be friends, shall we? And, um… Can you put your scythe away? I'm starting to think you actually might kill . Hahaha!"
"Count yourself lucky. Next ti you cross the line, my hand might slip." I canceled my scythe, leaving only a small cut on his neck as a reminder not to ss with again.
"Hehe, how scary..."
I didn't want to waste any more ti talking to this idiot; my mind was focused on finding a monster camp or at least so high-level monsters to hunt.
To say these grass plains were huge was an understatent. After walking for an hour, we had yet to find any monsters or people.
I wonder how big this world is. Is it a replica of Earth?
After another twenty minutes of boring traveling, we spotted a group of people ahead of us.
"Do you want to go say hello, big sis?" He hit my shoulder teasingly.
"No, thank you. I have no interest in making friends in this world." I smacked the back of his head as a warning to keep boundaries.
"Ouch, so wild..." he complained.
I decided not to stop for a pointless talk, but Kim Seong-Hoon grabbed my shoulder and stopped .
"Wait a mont. I understand you want to be alone, but we need to gather information. The key to survival is intel; the more you know about your surroundings, the more likely you are to survive."
His words brought back to reality. Maybe I am too focused on leveling up quickly. The fact that I almost froze to death at night is a sign that I am too reckless.
"Fine, but you do the talking. I have a feeling they won't take seriously." I was too used to being neglected lately.
"Why's that?" I could see genuine confusion on his face. Maybe he's not that bad of a friend.
"I just have a feeling. Stop asking so many questions." My hand instinctively reached for Malrang's fur on my shoulder, seeking comfort in petting her.
"Hmm…? Okay. Let's go say hello to them."
We slowly approached a group of around ten people, a mix of n and won with a diversity of age groups. I could even spot a little girl, about ten years old, hiding behind a woman who was most likely her mother.
The group was chatting loudly, discussing plans to invade a goblin village a few kiloters from here.
"Hello, fellow players. My na is Kim Seong-Hoon, and this is Lee Gaon. We were wondering if your group needs extra people." He bowed politely.
What is he doing? Does he want us to join these people?
"Hmph. And why should we recruit you?"
A tall man, around two ters, stepped forward with his arms crossed. He looked like the leader of the group. His body was that of a bodybuilder, but I didn't feel much pressure from him.
"Hahaha, we were just passing by and heard you're about to raid a goblin camp. Naturally, we're interested in so battles. We may not look it, but we're strong fighters." Kim Seong-Hoon patted the big guy's shoulder in a friendly, joking manner.
I could tell this person was low-level despite his looks.
"Then allow to test it out myself."
Without any warning, the tall, bulky man attacked Kim Seong-Hoon with a punch.
He's asking for humiliation.
The next mont felt straight out of a cody movie. Kim Seong-Hoon easily blocked the punch with a finger and sent the man flying a few ters away. Instantly, the entire group turned hostile, and I knew the fight would break out sooner than later.
"Pfft!"
A burst of laughter sounded from the little girl.
"I'm sorry for my uncle's behavior. Everyone stand down. We can't win against these two that easily—they're strong."
To my surprise, the entire group put their weapons away and stood behind the little girl.
"I suspect you're the leader of this group. What a cute little miss. Don't worry, we an no harm, though I don't mind sending people flying if they attack first. Haha!"
I used my inspect skill on the girl, and my jaw dropped.
-Park Jieun, Level 4 Celestial Mage-
Stats:
Level 2 Stamina
Level 9 Attack
Level 1 Strength
Level 2 Celestial Magic
Level 5 Defense
Level 10 Wind Agility
Level 4 Mana Pool
Level 2 Quick Mana Regeneration
"Hey, big sister, don't you know it's rude to inspect soone without their consent?"
The smile on her face looked terrifying. I'd never seen a child who was so mature and cunning.
"Why are you scolding when your eyes are shining so brightly?"
I could tell she was inspecting us, but I didn't care. Even if they had the advantage of numbers, they wouldn't have an easy fight.
"Sorry, big sis, but I couldn't help myself. Such a beautiful big brother and sister. Eh? What a cute fox! Can I pet it?!"
The girl's eyes fell on Malrang, who was standing behind . Suddenly, the cunning child turned into a cute princess who'd seen a prince for the first ti in her life. I knew I had just found my trump card.
"What do you think, Malrang? Eh? You'll let her pet you if she tells us where the goblin camp is? I don't know… Can we trust them?"
I noticed the weird look Kim Seong-Hoon was giving , but the little girl bit her lip and started shaking as if she couldn't wait for Christmas morning.
"I… Fine, you can join us. Can I pet the fox now?"
Easy victory!
"Not so fast. I still don't know if I can trust you and your group. How are you going to prove yourselves trustworthy?"
The girl's expression soured, but after a mont, she cald down and took out a red bottle from the space. I suspected she could also use inventory.
"This is a magical health potion that we stole from a goblin a few days ago. It can heal your wounds instantly. Think of it as a health potion. This is only one of the two I possess. I'll give you one in exchange for letting pet that fox."
"Young lady, you can't!"
The woman who'd been standing in front of the girl when we first saw the group shouted in panic.
"Shut up! Did you forget who's the leader of this group?"
"Yes, young lady…"
The woman backed away, a hostile expression directed at , but I couldn't care less about sobody's lackey.
"I can tell you're a very kind person. I'll accept your gift. If you want to pet Malrang, co here alone with the potion in your hand."
The girl was like the wind, quickly approaching and placing the potion in my hand while simultaneously grabbing the fox with her other hand.
So fast!
I was surprised by this child's speed. If I thought she ant harm, I could've blocked her, but I wanted to see if she would try to pull any tricks on . But I guess children are children after all. She was happily playing with Malrang, truly acting like a ten-year-old girl.
While the leader of the group was occupied with the fox, Kim Seong-Hoon approached the group and started questioning them about what they knew about the goblin camp.
The tall man was back on his feet. After apologizing to Kim Seong-Hoon, he calmly started explaining the situation.
"As far as we know, we're the first group to get our hands on this intelligence. After killing a goblin that was wandering around alone, we found an old crusty map in his pouch. The map shows the ten-kiloter area around us. We noticed there was a camp marked on the map. We suspect it's a goblin camp." His expression was worried but confident.
"Have you sent soone to scout the exact number of enemies in the camp?" Kim Seong-Hoon inquired. His fox-like grin revealed his talent for conning people.
"Yes, our group has a stealth-role mber who counted around thirty to forty goblins in the camp." The man pointed to a thin woman who looked to be in her forties. She didn't seem strong, but having a stealth ability was an asset for any team.
I couldn't help but ask, "What about their levels?"
"Most of the goblins are level two and three. However, there are five goblins at level four." The rest of the group looked slightly worried after hearing this.
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