Chapter 8

When Archer's initial main skill, 'Arrow Shot,' failed to cast, Hern was greatly flustered and shouted. After a long moment of confusion, Ridian recalled something and immediately checked above Hern's head.

As expected, the icon indicating 'Seal,' one of the status-impairing spells that hinder player movement, was blinking.

'Ah, it must have been the 'Sealed Ghost' monster!'

Ridian, remembering the game-era monster that used to cast spell and skill seals, quickly cast 'Holy Blessing,' a healing spell.

Just in case, he also checked Uraegui's status, but fortunately, Uraegui was fine. As the unique light effect of Holy Blessing burst, Hern quickly moved.

He used Arrow Shot again and immediately followed up with the more powerful Strike Shot. The critical hit that coincided with this made the Sealed Ghost groan in pain and disappear.

"Phew, we're safe."

It was too early to let their guard down. All the monsters in the Forest of Caution used status-impairing attacks. Mainly spell and skill seals, as well as frequent stuns and confusion.

Uraegui had wandered around in a daze several times, causing quite a few scares. The effects were so realistic.

Fortunately, with Uraegui and Ridian's high levels, a near-total wipe—dangerous situations—didn't occur.

After dealing with a moderate number of monsters, a couple of hours had passed.

Although the unfamiliar monsters were still somewhat frightening and awkward, they had become quite familiar. The three of them no longer panicked much from status-impairing attacks.

Uraegui, who was initially afraid of being hit, gradually became accustomed to being surrounded by monsters.

The pain sensation feature was such that with high defense values, the pain was less intense. As a Guardian, Uraegui had high health and defense, and with additional buffs from Ridian's spells, he was less painful than expected and was pleased.

Of course, when Hern or Ridian, who had lower defense, were hit by a monster, the pain was excruciating.

Hern, feeling confident, suggested challenging the next level, 50. However, with Hern still at level 43, the damage output seemed insufficient.

Hern also agreed, so the party decided to add another damage dealer.

"Hello everyone~!"

Player Information

Name: Cani / Guild: Delphine Market

Level: 60 / Class: Knight / Secondary Class: Carpenter

HP: 2030 / MP: 870

Cani, a cheerful man around Ridian's age, joined them in the waiting room of the Yotunheim hunting area. His talkative nature improved the party's atmosphere.

The Knight, like the Guardian, is a warrior class. It is the most balanced and easiest to level among all classes in the Norse World. So much so that there's a saying, "If you're annoyed, just level it." The Knight has high pure attack power as a damage dealer, and with buffs, it can perform exceptionally well.

Ridian was somewhat disappointed that the party lacked a 'Bard.'

In most games, healers also increase attack power, but in the Norse World, the 'Bard' class is specifically responsible for attack power buffs. They also provide significant benefits in hunting with continuous MP recovery spells.

However, during the game era, the benefits were not significant due to potion consumption. The attack power increase was not dramatically high, and there were no updates for the Bard class, so there was little difference in spell performance between low and high levels.

Therefore, Bard players often protested to the developers for improvements.

Despite being a low-efficiency class from the early days, Bards have recently found a niche as mana batteries for high MP-consuming classes like Mages and Elemental Summoners, barely maintaining their position.

Now, with MP directly affecting survival, Bards are emerging as a new noble class.

As soon as they entered the gate, a green, damp swamp appeared.

The dark, moldy appearance of the swamp left everyone speechless. While realism is good, it was too realistic.

The eerie atmosphere made it hard to take a step. Ridian gently pushed Hern's back. Hern groaned and cautiously took a step, his face twisted in discomfort. Uraegui, the tank, despite his large size, turned pale and stuck close to Hern.

It felt like a horror movie set with 100% realism. As Cani walked and laughed, the small bushes rustled.

Swoosh, swoosh. The sound of something crawling on the ground was ominous. Everyone held their breath and stopped. "Should we run now?" Uraegui, frightened, muttered.

Soon, a mud golem appeared, just like the one from the game. Hern grimaced.

"Ugh, it's disgusting. It's not like it's covered in filth, but it looks incredibly dirty."

The massive size, nearly two meters tall, left everyone momentarily flustered.

The sticky, chocolate-colored mud that dripped made everyone frown. It felt like it would rot your skin if it touched you.

Ridian quickly cast buffs.

"Guard of God, Holy Grace, Light of Protection."

The main buffs made Uraegui, Cani, and Hern glow blue. Uraegui, the tank, approached with a grimace.

Fortunately, the golem's movement speed was slow. The mud golem, as soon as it got close to Uraegui, swung its arms.

The squishy punch attack made Uraegui scream. He blocked it with his shield, but the thudding impact was terrifying to watch.

Hern and Cani, with disgusted faces, quickly attacked.

Archer's Strike Shot and Knight's rapid sword skills flew simultaneously. The mud golem's body split in half but quickly reformed.

Despite the attacks, the golem's HP was still at 70%.

"Hmm, maybe they're just too slow. They don't seem that dangerous."

"Their HP is just ridiculously high."

Hern and Cani continued their attacks, trading comments. However, Ridian was surprised by the significant decrease in Uraegui's HP with each hit. The attacks were heavier than expected.

"Hand of Mercy."

In 'Dying Swamp,' only close-range monsters existed. Since Cani and Hern, who moved around attacking, had relatively stable HP, Ridian used the single-target healing spell 'Hand of Mercy' to minimize MP consumption.

Fortunately, due to the good coordination between Hern and Cani, the golem was quickly dealt with. Seeing the party members' HP and MP, Ridian thought positively, "This seems doable."

They slowly moved, dealing with one or two monsters at a time, adjusting their pace.

An hour into the hunt, a scream came from somewhere.

"Ahh! Help me!"

"Help! Help!"

"Someone, save me!"

Despite the desperate cries, Hern frowned.

"What's this? Did someone else come in?"

"From level 50 hunting areas, the first one to arrive gets the spot. Even if they're in the same guild, it's a matter of face. Really, no manners..."

Cani also clicked his tongue. Since the field was empty when they entered, it was clear that the screamers had entered knowing others were already there.

"Should we say something?" Ridian stopped the agitated Hern and sighed. While he was usually kind to people, there was no need to be kind to those who had already been rude.

"Expecting us to maintain hunting etiquette here is a bit much. Let's not make a scene. If we ignore them and keep hunting, they'll leave soon."

While it was inconvenient not to have a mini-map like in the game, the open field map allowed a quick escape to the waiting room entrance if they had the energy.

They thought it was no big deal until the sounds got closer.

Hern, frustrated with the golem's toughness, frowned as the screams grew louder.

"Why are they getting closer?"

Ridian, knowing they were far from the entrance, looked around curiously.

'Could they be looking for us?'

Just as he had this unsettling thought, the ground trembled slightly. Then, from the opposite side of the swamp, three players appeared.

As they ran and screamed, everyone watched with displeasure. The sight of a group of golems following them made everyone pale.

There was no time to check the new players' information. Everyone shouted in surprise.

"Damn! What is that!"

"Mob pulling?"

"Such a damn...!"

Among the slow-moving golems, something was jumping.

Poison Toads. The strongest named monsters in the 'Dying Swamp' map. Ridian was shocked to see three toads jumping simultaneously. They couldn't handle them now.

"Ah! Help us!"

The running players shouted, but their expressions seemed oddly excited. Ridian realized they were acting intentionally but had no time to show his displeasure.

Roughly twenty monsters.

Uraegui, Hern, and Cani, overwhelmed by the number of monsters, shouted to run.

"Let's run to the waiting room!"

A ridiculous and tense situation unfolded.

Three large toads were jumping, followed by a group of golems. Seven people were running frantically in front.

The current map had medium difficulty, with restrictions on movement spells and items. They had to walk or run to the waiting room entrance. If their fatigue was high, they wouldn't be able to run properly, leading to certain death. Hern, frustrated, shouted.

"Are you guys crazy?!"

The three players were still laughing and screaming. Just as Hern was about to curse, they vanished.

Ridian held his breath.

It was clearly the 'Stealth' skill of the Shadow Hunter class. Not only had they intentionally pulled the monsters, but they had also used stealth to escape. It looked very professional and familiar.

Naturally, the monster's attack aggro was transferred to Ridian's party.

"Damn it!"

The usually cheerful Cani cursed. Ridian barely held back his own curses.

It was wiser to move faster than to waste time being angry. Due to the large map of 'Dying Swamp,' they had to run for a while.

The entrance to the waiting room finally came into view. They relaxed, but suddenly, Uraegui tripped and fell.

Despite his age, he tripped over a rock at the worst possible moment.

Due to the weight of the Guardian's equipment, Uraegui, the tank, moved slowly and was at a loss. Ridian deeply regretted not casting a movement speed increase buff earlier.

As he stomped his feet, the aggroed group of monsters got closer. Hern and Cani shouted to him, but Uraegui, unable to get up, froze like ice.

Uraegui clenched his teeth and closed his eyes tightly.

"Mr. Uraegui!"

Not knowing what he was thinking, Ridian, despite not understanding himself, ran towards him. He stood next to him and immediately cast 'Holy Barrier.'

It was a Saint's invincible protection spell.