**[Pilia Village, Oasis of the Desert]**
“Oh.”
I had finally arrived at *Pilia Village*, after crossing the *Pas Desert*.
For a village situated in the middle of the desert, it was quite large. Though smaller than the first city I had passed through, *Ehrenburg*, it was still equipped with all the necessary shops that adventurers would need to prepare for dungeon expeditions.
In the center of the village was a large oasis.
Since not many players had reached this region yet, the village still seed to have more NPCs than players.
Although I hadn’t visited the real *Pas Desert* on the Astra continent, I imagined a similar village must have existed there as well.
*Tap, tap.*
I casually walked through the village, scanning the shops that would be important for preparing for my adventures.
First stop, the general store.
“Welco!”
A middle-aged man with a turban and a friendly mustache greeted .
The general store NPC in *Pilia Village* seed much friendlier than the grumpy one back in *Ehrenburg*.
I chuckled to myself, rembering that rude NPC from before.
[HP Recovery Potion (dium)]
[Cooldown: 30 seconds]
[Restores 200 HP over 10 seconds.]
“Oh.”
The HP potions here were more effective, likely scaled to match the higher levels of players in this region.
The price was 1 silver.
“Yikes.”
I let out a small gasp.
A small HP Recovery Potion had cost 30 copper, so these were more than three tis as expensive.
The performance was twice as good, but the price was three tis higher.
Still, if I wanted to hunt effectively in this region and prepare for the next elite dungeon, it was an essential investnt.
Good thing I had saved up so gold from selling elite weapons during my *Orc King’s Cave* farming runs.
Holding back tears, I bought 50 HP potions.
I was determined to ration them until I graduated from this region.
---
After buying potions and so convenient food from the general store, I stopped by the weapons shop.
But the weapons there were disappointing.
Their attack power was only slightly better than the elite weapons I already had from the previous region, and they lacked special options—plus, they were expensive.
Now that I could farm elite dungeons, there was no reason to waste money on store-bought weapons.
In the higher-level areas of the *Pas Desert*, there would probably be rare weapons from field bosses, just like the *Orc Warrior’s Weapon* from earlier.
I could level up using the *Orc King’s Sword*, farm field boss weapons, and then move on to the next elite dungeon gear.
Shaking my head, I left the weapons shop.
---
My next stop was the clothing shop.
"We have many fine outfits here!"
“Oh.”
The fabric shop.
This was the type of store for players who enjoyed dressing their characters in various outfits—so-called “fashion gars.”
I glanced down at my current outfit with so dissatisfaction.
I had been wearing this *Orc Warrior Outfit Set* for a while now.
At the beginning of the ga, it felt unique to , but now it wasn’t rare at all. It had beco a common sight among players in the *Orc Forest* region.
If I had gotten the uniform from the *Orc King’s Cave*, I would’ve switched to that by now.
“It kind of looks worn out.”
Even though ga clothes didn’t wear out over ti, they sohow seed faded to .
It was about ti I got a new outfit.
I looked around at the clothing on display.
And then, I spotted an outfit set that I imdiately fell in love with.
“Oh my.”
It was marked as a limited-edition item—a rare set!
The simple shirt and slightly open shorts looked like they’d be very comfortable for combat.
A white beret was displayed alongside it, and it seed like it would complent my hair color perfectly.
And the best part? A long, stylish coat that gave off a military uniform vibe.
It looked a bit too warm for the desert, but I rembered hearing that long coats help prevent moisture loss in dry desert climates.
I imagined how amazing it would look, swirling around as I swung my sword.
With my mouth agape, I checked the price.
[Desert Admiral Outfit Set]
[1 Gold]
“Eek!”
I couldn’t help but scream.
1 gold? That’s 1 million won in real-world currency!
How could an in-ga outfit cost so much?
Sure, the ga had just launched, so gold was still expensive, and eventually, as the economy balanced out, such items would be easier to buy.
But still, “That’s way too expensive.”
I checked my remaining gold with a tearful expression.
After converting so of it into real money to help with living expenses and buying all the potions and supplies for hunting, I had about 1 gold and 30 silver left.
“I-I could afford it.”
As in-ga currency, it was steep, but I could buy it.
But when I thought about the real-world equivalent—1 million won—I started to feel dizzy.
I’d never spent more than 30,000 won on clothes for myself in real life.
*Sniff, sniff.*
With tears in my eyes, I tried to tear myself away from the outfit, but just as I turned to leave—
*Thud.*
I bumped into sothing soft.
When I looked up to see what it was, my eyes t with sothing red.
The red object was looking down at with a beaming smile.
“Hello?”
“Gasp…”
---
*Tap, tap.*
*Tap, tap.*
“Why are you following ?”
Not only had this red-haired woman stolen my *Pas Scorpion*, but now she had even snatched up the limited-edition *Desert Admiral Outfit Set*, which I had been eyeing but couldn’t afford.
And now she was following around the village.
How long had she been watching ?
“Oh, I bought it because it looked cute, but I think the *Orc King’s Outfit* suits better. Maybe I shouldn’t have bought it?”
To make things worse, she was even mocking now.
I swallowed my tears of frustration and hurried my steps.
*Tap, tap.*
*Tap, tap.*
“Hey, um, Rain?”
“...”
I kept walking without turning to look at her.
“It’s just... I feel bad about wasting this outfit, and I don’t want to deal with auctioning it off or constantly checking its price.”
“Huh?”
What was she getting at?
“So, how about you take this outfit set?”
“W-What?”
I was stunned by her unexpected offer.
She was offering to give the outfit that cost 1 gold for free?
The *Desert Admiral Outfit Set* swayed in front of my eyes as she held it out.
“Oh!”
I stared at the outfit, hypnotized by its movents, before snapping back to my senses.
*Smack!*
I slapped my cheeks with both hands.
Get it together, Rain.
There’s no such thing as a free gift in this world.
What if this wicked woman was using the outfit to lure into her party and force to be her tank?
Before I knew it, I’d be trapped, stuck doing tank duties as a fill-in forever.
But... but that outfit set was just too perfect.
Maybe, just maybe, it wouldn’t be so bad if I accepted, worked as a fill-in tank once, and then left.
1 gold for a fill-in tank job wasn’t such a bad deal, right?
“...”
Slowly.
*Cautiously.*
I carefully approached her and snatched the outfit set from her hand.
“Oh my.”
The red-haired woman smiled brightly.
*Beep.*
[You have sent a friend request to Exorcist ‘Chris’.]
[You are now friends with Exorcist ‘Chris’.]
“Just so you know, I’m not available when I’m busy.”
Especially when I’m doing solo elite dungeon runs.
I was planning to turn off all ssage notifications during those tis.
“Really? You’ll party with ?”
“Only once.”
“Kyaa!”
She jumped for joy like a fool, her smile stretching wide—like I had been when I first logged into the ga.
She’s acting so childish.
Though, of course, I’m technically an adult too.
---
The red-haired woman, whose userna was *Chris*, waved at until I was completely out of sight.
Thankfully, she seed satisfied with sending a friend request and didn’t continue following .
Once I was sure she was gone, I took out the *Desert Admiral Outfit Set* from my inventory and put it on.
“Heh.”
*Twirl.*
*Flap, flap.*
The coat fluttered stylishly as I spun from side to side.
It looked amazing! So cool!
*Hop, hop.*
Even jumping felt comfortable in it.
For 1 gold, this outfit was worth every bit—it didn’t even have the slightest bit of discomfort.
I was thoroughly satisfied.
I was now the proud owner of a 1-gold, limited-edition outfit!
*Click, click.*
I spent so ti taking tons of screenshots in front of the oasis, showing off my new outfit.
---
Chris was in an excellent mood.
“Hehe!”
*Boom!*
She sent out a talisman, and with her powerful exorcist skill *Demon Binding Array*, monsters in the *Pas Desert* fell like autumn leaves.
“Wow, Senior, you’ve already reached level 18? Wasn’t the next elite dungeon for level 25?”
*Cherni*, the spirit summoner of the *Chris Raid Party*, approached her, surprised.
“Yup! I’m going to focus on leveling up for now. Hehe!”
“...
?”
Cherni looked at Chris skeptically.
“Senior, did sothing good happen? You don’t usually smile like this.”
“Hmm~? What’s our dear junior so curious about my personal business for?”
Cherni’s jaw dropped.
“S-Senior! Did you catch so kind of illness from Beirung? You never smile like this! You’re even talking in third person like a fool—ow!”
*Thud!*
Chris kicked Cherni in the shin.
“Ugh... It’s definitely you, Senior.”
“Shut up. If you have ti to chat, then you should focus on leveling up. We’re in the sa hunting grounds, so get lost. Shoo, shoo!”
Chris waved her hand as if shooing away a fly, then resud hunting.
Scratching his head, Cherni moved to a different part of the desert to avoid overlapping monster spawns.
“Hehe! Hehehee!”
For a while, there were strange rumors among the advance players that a red-haired beauty could be seen hunting monsters in the *Pas Desert*, smiling like a fool the whole ti.
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