Chapter 8

"Perhaps because the breeding season is approaching, the deer have become more ferocious, causing a big problem. Now they even come down to the nearby areas and destroy the crops... What do you think, could you possibly bring me the antlers of a mutant buck? If we stick the leader's antlers in the farm, the deer will be scared and won't come near."

Ding!

[You have received a quest from the worried farmer.]

[Eliminate the Mutant Buck!]

[Quest Level: D]

[Level Requirement: Level 10 or below]

[Quest Content: Hunt the rare mutant buck that occasionally appears near the village and bring back proof.]

[Mutant Buck Eliminated (0/1)]

[Mutant Buck's Antlers Obtained (0/1)]

*Quest Tip: The mutant buck is an Elite monster. It is recommended to form a party.

"Hmm. There's even a quest tip. This game isn't entirely unhelpful."

-It's the starting village, after all. They have to give some information.

As he followed the blonde man and the beginners from a distance, he met a farmer at the outskirts of the city, and Carpe received a quest from the farmer.

"Hey, I'm from the Mammonism guild, the best quest helper in the beginner support guild! I'll help you with the buck quest!"

"I'll protect you from PKers and tank the buck's attacks!"

"I'll help you for just a little loot!"

A well-known restaurant is always crowded.

The area around the farmer was always bustling with people: those who had received the quest, those who were trying to complete it and receive the reward, and those who were leading them.

"Alright, if you've all received the quest, let's move on. I'll take full responsibility until it's completed."

"I trust you, Rohan!"

"It seems that getting such a good quest is common... I'm sorry for doubting you, Rohan."

"Haha. It's fine. Let's go."

The blonde man Rohan and the beginners had already introduced themselves and set off with a friendly atmosphere to complete the quest. Carpe also slipped away.

"…What is this?"

-I expected it, but this is a bit much, isn't it?

At the destination, people were lined up in a very long queue.

"Ah, I've been waiting for an hour, when are we going to hunt and complete the quest?!"

"Just wait a bit. We're almost there. This quest is more efficient than completing four normal quests, after all."

People who were tired of waiting but couldn't bear to waste the time they had already spent.

"Hey, don't push! Don't you know this is a PK zone? Do you want to get stabbed?"

"If anyone tries to cut in, we'll all die."

People who were so frustrated that they were on the verge of giving up.

"Ah! The buck has respawned! Number 67! Number 67, come forward!"

"Yay! Finally!"

"Ugh, I've been waiting for two hours. Let's get it over with and move on to something else."

And those who finally reaped the rewards after waiting, making the buck zone almost like a market.

"I've heard that in famous RPGs of the past, people used to stand in long lines to complete quests..."

-It seems that people don't change, whether in the past or now. Well, it's not surprising. In reality, there are plenty of people who will wait in line for hours to eat at a popular restaurant.

"Indeed."

But this was not a real place but a game space, and therefore unexpected situations that could not happen in reality did occur.

"Ah! What are those guys doing!"

"It's our turn!"

Three men suddenly rushed towards the buck, cutting in front of the party that was just about to approach it.

"Idiots! How long have we been waiting for this!"

"The one who gets it first wins. Do you want to maintain order even in a game?"

"You'll fall behind for life, just standing in line!"

Unexpected cutting in!

Or rather, it was a different case. The three men were not paying coins to receive the quest but were acting independently.

"Let's quickly take it down."

"This is a piece of cake. We've got the experience."

"Of course, I've never actually eaten experience!"

Min-su, Gwang-su, and Jung-su.

They were current high school students at a prestigious high school in Seoul. In reality, they always stuck together and were known to their friends as the '3-su'.

"Alright, Gwang-su, get the aggro!"

"Okay!"

When Min-su, the leader of the 3-su, shouted, Gwang-su, who was standing next to him, immediately responded.

Bang!

When Gwang-su headbutted the buck, the buck flinched and started to glare at Gwang-su.

"Got the aggro! I'm in!"

"Got it!"

Despite their young age, they had a good sense of the game. Moreover, their teamwork was smooth due to their long history of playing together.

"Alright, now I'll deal the sharp damage... Huh?!"

But only up to that point.

Why wouldn't others try to cut in? Anyone would want to avoid waiting boringly in a game.

However, there was a reason why people didn't do it.

Whoosh!

Just as Min-su was about to strike the buck with his wooden sword, an arrow flew from the forest and hit Min-su's leg.

"Min-su!"

"Who... Ah!"

Gwang-su and Jung-su were angry, but their anger didn't last long. Arrows rained down on them as well.

It took only a few seconds for the 3-su's health bars to hit the bottom.

"Is this a one-shot kill?!"

"Ah! Sister, I'm dying!"

"Idiot! Are you going to make jokes while dying? Over there, help us!"

Min-su asked for help from a Mammonism guild member nearby, but the response was cold.

"I'm sorry, but if I help you, our users might get hurt. The one-shot kill arrows target us too. Sorry."

The Mammonism guild member said this and blocked an arrow aimed at the user next to him with a shield. It was clear that he had been doing this for a while.

"Therefore, please escape on your own. If you can't, you'll have to die."

"That... can't be."

"Oh, and if you respawn, please come to our Mammonism guild. If you pay coins, we'll definitely protect you."

"I already sold all my coins to the shop!"

"Ah, that's a shame."

Thud.

Dozens of arrows from the forest pierced the 3-su, and they disappeared into ashes.

"Alright, everyone, keep the line and protect the beginners!"

But the one-shot kill group was not satisfied with just taking down the 3-su and started shooting arrows at the waiting users. The Mammonism guild members blocked the attacks excellently.

"Sure enough, Mammonism lives up to its name."

"I was thinking of trying to take it down without help... If I had, it would have been a disaster."

People were amazed by the Mammonism guild's performance.

A few minutes later, the attacks from the forest stopped, and the quest resumed.

-So, you need to progress the quest too?

"Huh? You want me to join that long line?"

Carpe said this while looking at the long queue. Due to the one-shot kill attack, the queue didn't seem to be getting any shorter. In fact, it seemed to have grown longer as those who had tried to do it on their own joined the line.

"…I don't want to."

-Do you think I would tell you to waste your time like that? There are other places where the buck respawns. Actually, there are more of them there than here.

"Really? Where?"

-Over there.

Carpe looked in the direction the Centaur pointed to and smiled.

"…It'll be fun."

-Isn't it? And it's not just fun; it can also be profitable.

The place the Centaur pointed to was the forest next to the buck respawn field.

The one-shot kill group's nest.

"But if I go in, won't I become a porcupine? Can I win?"

-You can't just rain arrows in the forest. And, can you win? You don't realize how absurd your stats are yet, do you?

The starting city is like a beginner village in other games.

It's a place where easy quests and easy monsters are placed to help users adapt to the game.

-The starting city can only have users up to level 10. When you reach level 11, you are automatically warped out of the city.

High-level users cannot stay in low-level areas.

This was one of the rules that ran through the Lase world. It was a natural measure in a world where PK was allowed.

-If high-level users want to enter low-level areas, they must accept severe penalties. Except for special classes like 'Merchant', who can move without restrictions.

"Hmm. So merchants can go anywhere?"

-That's the idea. Anyway, the strongest in that forest is level 10.

Each level grants 5 stats.

With all stats +24, Carpe's stats were equivalent to level 24.

-There has never been a user with such high stats in the starting city. Didn't you notice when the arrows flew?

"They were slow."

Indeed, they were very slow. It was hard to understand why he couldn't dodge them. To exaggerate, it felt like he could catch the flying arrows with his hands.

-That's the level 10 standard. Can you win? Ha, get ready to go on a rampage.

"Lu Xun's Lü Bu is here."

Carpe said this and headed into the forest without hesitation.

A man was watching him from a distance.

Rohan.

A Mammonism guild member who had led a group of beginners to the buck zone.

After confirming that Carpe had completely entered the forest, he sent a whisper to someone.

<One user has entered the forest. A beginner. Handle as usual.>

* * *

The inside of the forest was peaceful, not at all like a hiding place.

"But thinking about it, there's something strange."

-What is it?

"When the one-shot kill group shot arrows, the first and the later shots felt different."

-Hmm. How so?

When they targeted the three who suddenly appeared, the arrows clearly aimed for fatal spots.

However, the arrows that rained down on the Mammonism guild later were very straightforward.

"It's like they were shooting to make it easy to block."

-Ha. You felt that, did you?

The Centaur laughed inwardly. It seemed the one who summoned him had more potential than he thought. The Centaur was very satisfied.

-So, what's your conclusion?

"It's obvious. Mammonism and the one-shot kill group were in cahoots from the beginning...!"

Whoosh!

Carpe suddenly moved to the side. Arrows started to hit the spot where he was originally standing.

"What? You're a beginner, right?"

"Probably a mistake. From the movement, he's definitely level 10."

"Tsk. There's still someone trying to get revenge. It was quiet for a while."

The one-shot kill group members waiting on the trees grumbled. However, there was no tension in their voices.

They had done countless PKs. Many of those who had been victimized came back for revenge, but all of them became sacrifices to the one-shot kill group.

"It's annoying."

"He's hiding behind a tree. Can't use arrows, so let's end it quickly in close combat."

"Yeah, we have to work for our pay."

They came down from the trees and started to close in on Carpe.

The situation was tense, but Carpe was even more relaxed.

"Let's see, where's the video recording function?"

-Lase automatically saves gameplay videos, but... video? Are you a streamer?

"No, but I don't know what will happen later. Just in case."

This video might be useful when he gets involved with Mammonism later.

If not, creating a streaming account and uploading the video there might be a good idea.

[You have been attacked in a PK zone.]

[The user who attacks first receives a penalty.]

[The first attacker has a 90% chance of dropping items upon death.]

Loot videos are always in demand!

Bang!

Carpe shot out like lightning towards the one-shot kill group.

A 10-star player strengthened by luck.